USER STORY IN THE EDM/PDM WORLD : Capstone Turbine Corporation

USER STORIES

IN THE EDM/PDM WORLD :

CAPSTONE TURBINE CORPORATION

Problem
Capstone Turbine Corporation designs and produces the Capstone MicroTurbine, a compact, clean-power generator that converts fuel into electricity and heat. Capstone was enjoying tremendous success as an engineering-oriented, product development company when it decided to broaden its focus by adding a manufacturing operation. This created a number of operational challenges, most which centered around the company's use of dated and cumbersome semi-manual systems.

Capstone's challenges included the management of lengthy and costly product development cycles, a lack of modern workflow technology; and a method to control its product designs which were created in geographically dispersed locations. What's more, while the company's existing electronic function ultimately generated a bill of materials (BOM), it provided neither the scalability, flexibility or sophistication Capstone needed to support its new manufacturing and production demands.

Solution
With CADIM, Capstone was able to leverage a single, centralized database and electronic workflow functionality that have resulted in a number of operational advantages, including shorter development cycles, greater version control and easier product changes. CADIM's product-structure management has provided Capstone with robust capabilities such as variant BOM and graphical drag-and-drop functions for added flexibility and ease-of-use. Inventory status and product costs, which are also needed during product design and development, are now maintained in SAP's R/3 ERP system and available through real-time data exchanges facilitated by E + P's interface to R/3.

In less than sixty days, the CADIM vault/document management and product structures were up and available for use, and the CADIM installation was declared "extremely successful." Because version control problems have been eliminated, employees are now guaranteed correct information every time they log on. And, thanks in large part to E + P, Capstone's products can now be developed more quickly than ever. In 1999 the company is expected to produce 25,000 units, compared to a low volume of 300 units in 1997.

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