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To be successful in today's highly competitive global manufacturing environment, a company must be able to deliver and support the products that customers require at the time required by the customer. These requirements put tremendous pressure on the engineering function to improve product quality and reduce lead times. One way to do this is to increase the productivity of individual engineering activities, e.g., through the introduction of CAD. Another way is to improve the co-ordination between activities, e.g., through Concurrent Engineering. Both approaches must be followed if maximum results are to be achieved. EDM/PDM supports both approaches. Currently, most companies would claim to have engineering data and engineering workflow more or less under control. They recognize though, that this state of affairs may not last for long. There are several factors that will make both data and workflow more difficult to control. One of these factors is the rapidly increasing amount of data produced by computers. Another is the increasing customization of products. Whereas in the past there may only have been one set of product definition data for a given product, in the future a product may have a different set of product definition data for each customer. There will be a wider range of products, and more versions of each product. Information will have to be maintained on the exact product configuration used by each customer, and on all of the different assemblies used to make up the product in its different configurations. The increasing tendency of companies to focus on that part of their product where they believe they are the best, and to buy in the rest of the product from external sources, will lead to an increasing flow of data between a company and its suppliers and to an increasingly complex workflow. Market forces require manufacturers to reduce lead times significantly. Whatever techniques (e.g., Concurrent Engineering, Just In Time) are used to do this, the result is the same. There will be even less time available in future for a process that today can only just be carried out in the time available. At first sight, it may appear that the need for EDM/PDM stems from the need to manage the large volumes of data generated by computer-based systems. However, it is actually the business reasons, the needs to improve engineering productivity and to respond more flexibly to customers that have become the driving force to achieve better management of engineering data and workflow. EDM/PDM oversees the creation and use of engineering information throughout a product's life. It is by improving the use, quality and flow of engineering data and by supporting new engineering techniques that EDM/PDM will make it possible to reduce lead times and product costs, and improve competitivity, market share and revenues. The detailed technical needs for EDM/PDM systems can be divided into two classes. Some positively impact engineering operations and some reduce the problems that occur in the engineering environment. In practice, both classes of reasons are sources of opportunity. Taken from the positive viewpoint, EDM/PDM systems offer the potential for better use of resources, better access to information, better reuse of design information (since this will be under better control), better control of engineering changes, a reduction in design cost (since it will be easier to be aware of real costs during the engineering phase), a reduction in lead times, and improved security of engineering information. EDM/PDM systems help companies to improve their competitive edge. They help improve the productivity of the engineering process. They allow companies to be more flexible in their manufacturing. They help companies improve the quality of their products, and allow them to be more adaptable to market requirements. Looked at from the other point of view, EDM/PDM systems can be thought of as systems to solve some currently existing problems. There is a rapidly increasing amount of data available in the engineering environment. Some of this is on electronic media (disks, tapes and cassettes), but a lot is still on paper and other traditional media. Few companies even have 10% of their engineering information on electronic media. There are different types of data. There is numeric data (such as part geometry in a CAD system), text information (such as specifications and technical publications), graphic information (such as engineering drawings, photographs and films) and increasingly, voice data. Without EDM/PDM systems this information can not be managed efficiently. As companies increase their use of engineering drawing scanning systems, they need EDM/PDM systems to manage the large volumes of data that result, and to control access and use of scanned data. In the CAD area, EDM/PDM systems can help solve problems arising from the vast number of part files and versions that can so easily be produced. If a company uses several different CAD systems and has to transfer data to suppliers with other systems, the data management process can easily get out of hand. EDM/PDM systems can help regain control. The problems that arise from poor data management can also be looked at from a level higher than that of the data itself. As a result of poor data management, engineers may waste time finding out which version of a part they should work with, or discovering which is the latest version of an existing part. Designs will take longer than expected, because so much time is spent looking for data and checking that the right version is being used. Sometimes the wrong information will be passed on to other people in the organization with the result that their time is wasted, and in some cases, parts are made that will eventually have to be scrapped. A key area here is the interface between the engineering organization and the manufacturing organization. Unless the data release process is under control, much time and effort will be wasted. |