|
2PLM John Stark Associates |
Number 7 |
- Welcome Page 2 - Update Page 3 - News Page 4 - Brief lines | Welcome to this issue of 2PLM, an e-zine distributed every two weeks on a free subscription basis. This week's article, "Performance, Performance, Performance", is from Menno Huijben of Technia. But first, a quick update about the PLM Interest Group. * PLM Interest Group * The next meeting of the proposed PLM Interest Group will be held in Frankfurt, Germany on Tuesday 25 November 2003. The main objective is to confirm the draft Charter so that the Group can be formed and start operating by 2004. It is generally agreed that PLM will become one of the most important business activities for manufacturing companies in coming years. Currently though, there is much confusion about PLM. As a result, PLM development, implementation and use are not as effective as possible. The mission of the PLM Interest Group will be to help overcome these and similar problems. Working together on subjects of mutual interest, people from various types of organization - PLM users, vendors, system integrators, consultants, universities and government organizations will be able to progress faster than if they work alone. In addition to reviewing and ratifying the draft Charter, the Frankfurt meeting will also:
* Performance, Performance, Performance * PLM, with its vision to manage all information related to a product during that product's entire lifecycle, does imply complexity. This complexity should be captured and controlled in a PLM system. A PLM system, simply put, is a data model, which is implemented in a database, accessible via a user interface, and connectable to other systems using or producing product information. Let's investigate the lifecycle data of an uncomplicated, industrial product: Time:
However, knowing the answer to this question will help to predict the size of the database and the number of transactions against it. By the way, this will also predict the average number of notifications the system will generate and push into a user's task-box each day. Knowing the expected size of the database and the number of transactions is essential during the design of a PLM system where system performance should be one of the key requirements. Many PLM system buyers do not know how to articulate their performance requirements and take it simply for granted. Performance as a requirement for a PLM system means also understanding what transactions need to be quick and what transactions may take some time. Performance can be very subjective. Try downloading a large file over the Internet. Personally, I have felt a lot better since Microsoft replaced the sandglass with some fancy animation of flying documents going into envelopes. A complex query resulting in valuable, aggregated product information, that before the introduction of the PLM system took days to get, might still take 10 minutes in the new system. This query, implemented in the wrong way, might upset the end user, when he/she has to wait 10 minutes each time. However, implementing this query in an asynchronous way in which the user receives the result after a while in his/her e-mail, could be very acceptable. Back to my simple product: it was designed, made and sold on one location, but in real life, PLM systems need to support the DASAMASA (Design Anywhere, Sell Anywhere, Manufacture Anywhere, Service Anywhere) strategies of global companies. This means using corporate networks, reserving enough bandwidth, defining firewalls, setting up file replication, etc., etc. All these activities will greatly influence the (required) performance of the PLM system. The sum of all this is that every PLM project I have seen has run into some kind of system performance problems. Problems that were predictable. Though perceived performance is subjective and PLM systems are complex, I do believe that a more deterministic approach by all parties on designing and dimensioning a PLM system's performance will help to avoid the all too typical delays in PLM deployment. For questions and comments, please contact me by mail or call +358 424 722 1. Menno Huijben is a consultant at Technia, a leading supplier of PLM solutions in the Nordic countries. |
|
News |
Oce announced that its two largest operating companies will be merged in a move to increase efficiency and improve customer service. Oce Printing Systems USA will be joined with Oce-USA into a single legal entity to be known as Oce North America effective 1 December 2003. Details * Financial * Commerce One, Inc. announced results for its third fiscal quarter, which ended September 30, 2003. Total revenues for the quarter ended September 30, 2003 were $5.7 million as compared with $26.4 million for the corresponding quarter in 2002. Details EDS announced a third quarter net loss of $0.6 million. PLM Solutions revenue rose 8 percent from a year ago to $212 million, reflecting higher sales of software, maintenance and services. Details Intergraph Corporation reported operating results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2003. For the quarter, Intergraph reported revenue of $133.6 million compared to $133.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Details MAPICS, Inc. announced results for its fourth fiscal quarter and year ended September 30, 2003. Total revenue for the fourth quarter increased by 48% to $45.1 million versus $30.5 million a year ago. Details Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd. announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2003. Revenues for the third quarter of 2003 were $20.3 million, compared to $20.1 million for the third quarter of 2002. Details * People * Cadence Design Systems, Inc. announced it has named Jan Willis, senior vice president of the newly created Industry Marketing organization. Details LMS International announced the appointment of Philip Muls, in the position of General Manager LMS Indirect Sales Operation. Details  SolidWorks Corporation announced it named Jeff Ray as chief operating officer. Details * Implementation * Access Commerce announced that Groupe Lapeyre, a division of Saint-Gobain, uses the Access Commerce Advanced Selling Solution to sell more than 46,000 items on-line. Details Ariba Inc. announced that General Dynamics has expanded its investment in Ariba Spend Management. Details Autodesk, Inc. announced that starting with the 2004 academic year, South Africa's Stellenbosch University will train all first year engineering students on Autodesk Inventor 3D mechanical design software. Details Dassault Systemes announced that EMAK has signed a contract for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions and services. Details Dassault Systemes announced that Kinpo Electronics Inc. has implemented CATIA V5, a core application of IBM's Product Lifecycle Management portfolio. Details DC-Formtek, Inc. announced that the 92nd Civil Engineering Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base has selected the Formtek Orion ECM Solution to store and manage their engineering documentation. Details Documentum announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected the Documentum ECM platform as the standard for records management and document management applications throughout the entire agency. Details EDS PLM Solutions announced it has sold more than 5,000 licenses for NX Nastran, its new digital simulation and analysis software, in the eight weeks since its introduction in early September. Details Eurostep Commercial Solutions AB announced that Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg chose Share-A-space for research work on integrated product lifecycle models. Details MatrixOne, Inc. announced that Invensys Rail Systems has deployed Matrix10 in its Westinghouse Rail Systems subsidiary. Details MatrixOne, Inc. announced that Possis Medical, Inc. a developer and manufacturer of pioneering medical devices for the cardiovascular and vascular treatment markets, has chosen Matrix10 as the foundation for its product development environment. Details MSC.Software Corp. announced that Visteon Corporation has purchased a VPD Campus Licensing System from MSC.Software. Details PTC announced that Concurrent Technologies Corporation has purchased PTC's Pro/ENGINEER WildfireFlex3C package. Details PTC announced that FoldaCover, a manufacturer of truck-bed protection and storage systems, has purchased its new Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire Foundation Advantage package. Details Realization Technologies announced that Larsen and Toubro has begun implementing its multi-project management software in the company's heavy engineering division. Details SolidWorks announced that Neville Johnson Offices has standardized on SolidWorks software to accelerate the design of its furniture. Details Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd. announced that Groupe NCF will implement Tecnomatix eMPower for Electronics solutions at its Ardelec Technologies, Atelec Technologies, Emelec Technologies and In'Tech Technologies sites in France. Details * Developments * Dassault Systemes announced an IBM Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Industry Solution for the automotive industry. Details Dassault Systemes, Intel Corporation and IBM announced the delivery of an integrated wireless computing platform. The offering equips CATIA V5 certified IBM T40p Thinkpads with Intel Centrino mobile technology to give manufacturers the benefits of wireless computing as they develop new products, whether working in the office, on the shop floor, or in the field while connected to a Hotspot. Details EDS PLM Solutions announced the launch of Version 15 of Solid Edge, its 3D CAD system for the mainstream product lifecycle management (PLM) market. Details Informative Graphics Corporation announced that a new release of its Brava! for Livelink (version 4.1) integration supports Open Text's Livelink CADManager solution, which Open Text introduced last month. Details Informative Graphics Corporation announced that it has released version 4.0 of its free ModelPress 3D model compression, publishing, and viewing system. Details LMS International announced the availability of the third release of LMS Virtual.Lab. Details Manugistics Group, Inc. announced RFID-enabled solutions designed to help organizations utilize emerging radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to drive increased visibility, control, and security across their demand and supply chains. Details Mentor Graphics Corp. unveiled its new Scalable Verification platform. Details Moldflow Corporation announced Moldflow Plastics Advisers 7.0. Details MSC.Software Corp. announced the release of MSC.Patran 2004. Details MSC.Software Corp. announced the release of SimDesigner 2004 r1 for CATIA V5R11. Details Omnify Software announced significant enhancements to its OmniBOM application for bill of materials (BOM) creation, processing and management. Details Proficiency announced version 3.0 of its Collaboration Gateway feature-based interoperability solution. Details SolidWorks Corporation announced it put rapid prototyping within a mouse click of every engineer with Print3D, a new feature in SolidWorks 2004 software. Details Spicer Corporation announced the release of Imagenation 7.3 and Image a.X 7.3. Details Synchronicity announced the Synchronicity Developer Suite has been re-architected for dramatic performance improvements. Details * Relationships * Cimmetry Systems and think3 announced that think3 has licensed Cimmetry's AutoVue visualization product for use within its thinkteam product data management solution. Details CoCreate Software, Inc. announced that GoEngineer has joined CoCreate's Partner Program and will be reselling OneSpace.net as its collaboration software offering. Details Dassault Systemes announced that its Education Partner Program (EPP) now provides a new level of partner certification. Details Documentum announced a new joint offering with TRADOS, a leader in language technology, and Lionbridge, a provider of globalization and testing services. Details Engineous Software, Inc. and IBM announced a global strategic alliance to deliver a comprehensive Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution for engineering process integration and design optimization. Details GlobalSpec, Inc. announced a marketing partnership with the American Society for Engineering Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to further education in engineering and engineering technology. Details Intergraph Corporation and the Western Printing Machine Company announced they have signed a licensing and distribution agreement for Intergraph SmartSketch, the parametric 2D precision design, drafting and diagramming software. Details Mentor Graphics Corporation announced the extension of the integration of their Expedition PCB design solution with the Cadence Allegro PCB layout system. Details SAP AG and IDS Scheer AG announced that the two companies have entered an agreement to create a comprehensive solution for business process management. Details SGI announced a reseller agreement with ViewSonic Corp., a worldwide visual display products leader. Details Trace Parts announced it selected TORNADO Technologies to integrate seamless 3D visualization of CAD component models online. Details Verity Inc. and Factiva announced an agreement to jointly offer enterprise customers the opportunity to integrate a set of Factiva's industry-specific taxonomies with Verity's intellectual capital management software, K2 Enterprise. Details * Other * Document Control Systems, Inc. announced it has been recognized as one of the 100 fastest growing companies in Utah for the sixth time in the past six years. Details EDS PLM Solutions and Prairie View University announced they have collaborated to provide product lifecycle management (PLM) technology and training to enhance engineering education at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. Details Ingenuus Software Inc. announced new operations in Dallas. Details ProSTEP announced the success of its iViP Science Days. Details STEP Tools, Inc. announced the opening of its new STEP-NC Manufacturing Center at the U. S. Army's Watervliet Arsenal. Details Sun Microsystems, Inc. announced it extended its aggressive discounts on a broad range of software technologies for the higher education market. Details |
Brief lines | To subscribe to 2PLM, fill in the subscription form or send an e-mail headed 'start 2PLM subscription' to pdm@2pdm.com Subscription cost Subscribers receive 2PLM free of charge. Privacy policy We understand and respect your desire for privacy. The information we ask for at subscription time is the minimum necessary to effectively fulfill your subscription and communicate with you if and when necessary. We do not release the information you provide us to third parties. In case of further questions, you can reach us at pdm@2pdm.com Previous issues Access previous issues of 2PLM. Limited time We know you have a busy schedule. To reduce delivery and reading time, 2PLM has a simple format and concise content. Termination of subscription To terminate subscription, please send an e-mail headed 'stop 2PLM subscription' to pdm@2pdm.com Sponsorship 2PLM is provided free of charge to its readers. Companies that share our objectives of promoting successful implementation of PLM systems and world-class product development performance may sponsor 2PLM. There is space for a maximum of one sponsor message per page, except on this 'Brief lines' page - where there is room for several short sponsor messages. Publication frequency 2PLM is published approximately every two weeks. Copyright Copyright 2003 by John Stark. All rights reserved. Links to pages on other sites Please note we cannot control the content of pages that are not our own. Permission to reproduce text or graphics Applications for permission to reproduce part or parts of 2PLM (text or graphics) should be sent to pdm@2pdm.com Permission to make 2PLM available within an organization Applications for permission to make 2PLM available within a company or other organization (e.g. by internal mail, corporate Intranet, etc.) are usually accepted. Please send a request for permission to pdm@2pdm.com Your responsibility Information provided in 2PLM is intended solely to provide general guidance on matters of interest for the personal use of the reader, who accepts full responsibility for its use. Information is provided 'as is', with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, or timeliness, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to, the warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose. Nothing in 2PLM shall to any extent substitute for the independent investigations and the sound technical and business judgement of the reader. Technology, laws and regulations are continually changing, and can only be interpreted in the light of particular factual situations. The information in 2PLM does not constitute technological, business, legal, investment or consulting advice, and should only be used in conjunction with appropriate professional advice obtained by the reader from a suitably qualified professional who understands the reader's particular factual situation. |
