|
|
www.johnstark.com |
|
|
|
EDM/PDM will provide the infrastructure for effective engineering At the moment we have a lot of Islands of Automation and unconnected networks and databases. All the systems, other equipment, networks and databases belong to people in different groups and departments, so we don't really have an overall computing infrastructure for engineering. We have bits of infrastructure owned by different groups. EDM/PDM will be the part of the infrastructure that unites all the other bits of infrastructure and creates the overall infrastructure. EDM/PDM will support the product development process At the moment people don't think in terms of the overall product development process. Instead, they think in terms of the departments or groups on the organization chart. This type of thinking has led to the situation where we have so many Islands of Automation. To improve development performance we have to start thinking and working in terms of the overall product development process. EDM/PDM is the ideal system for this. It manages data throughout the process and doesn't belong to any individual development department. It supports people throughout the process providing them the data they need when they need it. EDM/PDM will allow data to flow throughout the product life cycle At the moment people are only interested in the way data is used in their group or department. No one thinks about the best way to use information throughout the product life cycle. Within each group and department, people use the data structures, rules and formats that suit them best. This creates problems when they communicate data with other groups. A lot of data conversion and translation has to be done and invariably leads to errors and misunderstandings. With EDM/PDM, we'll overcome these problems. EDM/PDM will be the layer of the infrastructure that bridges all these gaps and discontinuities, and allows data to flow freely from one end of the product life cycle to the other. EDM/PDM will help clarify and improve the product development process, then support its use EDM/PDM systems have workflow management functionality as well as information management functionality. When people use EDM/PDM to manage their data they will be forced to think about the way it flows through their part of the process. When they start using the workflow management functions they will have to understand the process in detail. When they do this, they will find that the current process is inefficient, and they will take steps to improve it. EDM/PDM will support the activities of the improved workflow. EDM/PDM will support life-cycle practices At the moment, Engineering practices are focused on individual departments. In the past it didn't make sense to have life-cycle practices because people in different parts of the process didn't work together and didn't have common data formats to work with. With the introduction of EDM/PDM things will change. EDM/PDM is a cross-functional system, allowing people in different parts of the organization to work together and to share data. Use of practices such as QFD, which is a real life-cycle practice, will benefit from the introduction of EDM/PDM. EDM/PDM will support teamwork In the past, it's been difficult for people in different departments to work together. All the systems, languages, practices and databases they use have been department-specific. When people from different departments have tried to work in a team there has been no common infrastructure to support them. They've all been supported by infrastructure supporting their own departments, but there hasn't been a common base for cross-functional teamwork. EDM/PDM will provide the base and enable cross-functional teamwork. EDM/PDM will allow people to access whatever data they need In the past, people have generally been able to find data that belonged to their group or department fairly quickly. It's been much more difficult for them to access needed data that belongs to other departments. They've had to go through lengthy, time-wasting, bureaucratic procedures to access it. With EDM/PDM, provided people have access rights, the infrastructure will allow them fast access to data anywhere in the company. EDM/PDM will integrate computer systems throughout the company In the past, computer systems have belonged to individual groups and departments who've worked with their own programs and data. These systems have created Islands of Automation and Islands of Data. They correspond closely to the needs of the people in the group or department and usually work efficiently for them. However there is always a problem when data has to be communicated to other groups. Often the other group needs the data in a different format so there is a conversion process to go through - and this takes time and may result in errors. A physical data transfer is needed to get the data from one computer to another. Sometimes this is done on a disk, sometimes by printing out data from one system and entering it at the keyboard of the other system. In both cases time is wasted and errors may occur. EDM/PDM will integrate systems and eliminate errors. Use of EDM/PDM will save time Once the EDM/PDM system is in place as the backbone of the product development process, it will allow data to flow smoothly through the product life cycle. Time will be saved because there will no longer be the discontinuities, barriers and gaps in the life cycle where time has been lost in the past. People won't lose time waiting for access to data from other parts of the company. Use of EDM/PDM will save money and improve quality Once the EDM/PDM system is in place it will allow data to flow through the product life cycle. We'll be able to remove duplicate and redundant systems and databases from the infrastructure. We won't have to pay for their maintenance and upgrade. We won't have to pay for the conversion of data between previously unconnected systems. We'll avoid all the errors that result from manually transferring data between previously unconnected systems. |