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The importance of EDM/PDM systems As companies come under increasing competitive pressure, they are required to reduce lead times, reduce costs and increase quality. The engineering function of the company is a prime target for action to achieve these targets. It is the function that has the major influence on the amount of time needed to get a product to market. Similarly, it has a major influence on the cost of a product. Although only some 10% of total product cost is actually incurred during design and engineering, some 75% of costs are defined during these activities. Engineering is the function that is primarily responsible for defining the cost of a product. If the product it specifies is too expensive for the customer, the best efforts of the other functions will be wasted. Since the quality of the product delivered to the customer is in many ways a function of the quality of the product defined by engineering, the engineering function can play a major role in improving product quality. Engineering is an upstream function. If it makes mistakes, the downstream functions, such as shop floor operations, will suffer. A change made before a design is released is relatively cheap to correct. A change made once a product is in production may be hundreds or even thousands of times more costly to correct. By improving the control of engineering information and activities, EDM/PDM systems will help reduce lead times, reduce costs and improve quality. Reduced lead-times open up new market opportunities and improve profits. They also reduce market risk by reducing the time between product specification and product delivery. The sooner customers use a product, the sooner their feedback can be incorporated in a new, improved version. If quality is improved, not only will customers be pleased, but there will also be a reduction in scrap, recall and rework. Corresponding administrative activities, and their costs, will be reduced. EDM/PDM will improve engineering productivity. Engineering managers will know the exact design status. They will be able to assign resources better, and release designs faster and with more confidence. Design engineers will know which parts are available and which procedures should be followed when designing new parts. Manufacturing engineers will be able to see how similar parts have been made in the past. In many high-tech companies, the engineering function is expensive to run, and a major customer for investment. Any increase in its internal efficiency will have a positive effect. While engineering remains an apparently artisanal and uncontrollable process, management will find it difficult to achieve the expected improvements in engineering activities. EDM/PDM systems help in attaining the goal of a manageable engineering process that makes the best possible use of engineering information. |