Functionalities of the PLM system

Understanding the basic functionalities of the PLM system

will allow users to adapt the application effectively.

1. Management of files’ status/states

2. Items Creation

3. Distribution management

4. Information search

5. Product structures management & maintenance

7. Files transfer & conversions

8. Communication and management of tasks

9. Archiving & distribution of documentation

6. Change Management

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1. Management of files’ status/states

... is able to automatically control the state of files

or file attachments and their lifecycle status.

Creation and updating files.

Check out/Check in:

~ a user requests for a file. ~ the system verifies user privileges for approval. ~ the user checks out a file. ~ changes are made . ~ the file is then returned (checked in)

2. Items Creation Items are created based

on a certain workflow: When changes are made in documents, they becomes a new version or revision:

PLM system keeps a history log to serve the following functions:

.Viewing

■ Copying ■ Changes ■ Commenting ■ ECR ■ ECO ■ Printing

3. Distribution management

Approved documents are distributed in a process

utilizing the relevant workflows.

This automatic distributions are done based on the

processes/principles defined to the software.

The product structure allows other related documentation to

be enclosed with a document when a reference is needed.

4. Information search

Planning engineers spend 15–40% of their working hours

doing routine searches of the information and retrieving

routine information.

Facilitation of information search is through:

~classification of the information.

~ attributes.

exactness of the metadata. definition/configuration of the system.

~finding/analysis of

information depends on:

4. Information search...(2)

Classification, lifecycle phase, and attribute information

allow the following searches for information to be

carried out in standard PLM systems:

(a) What is the status of each drawing in a certain project?

(b) What has changed in a certain document? Who made the change

and when?

(c) What changes have been made in documents related to a given

project within the last two months?

(d) List all the resistors used in production, of which the resistance is

greater than 5 Ω but less than 10 Ω.

(e) List all allowed suppliers for 20-Ω resistor RES123456.

5. Product structures management & maintenance

... one of the most important functions of the whole

PLM system,

it provides the basis of many other basic system functions.

Product structures management

version management

structural presentation

change management

configuration management

5. Product structures management & maintenance...(2)

• The product structure itself makes the presentation of

the relationships between the separate parts of

product and assemblies possible.

• The product structure can be based on:

• a generic product data model,

• a part list,

• a B.O.M. (Bill of Materials)..

5. Product structures management & maintenance...(3)

• The product structures can be viewed according to specific perspectives—e.g., engineering, manufacturing, etc.

~ derived from a single product

structure to give several discipline-dependent views.

~designers

~planners

5. Product structures management & maintenance...(4)

• Filtration/Filtering feature is used to facilitate the examination of large, complex product structures.

5. Product structures management & maintenance...(5)

• Maintaining information at too exact a level for complex products

(with tens of thousands of parts) is not practical, use a suitable level of precision.

• Using attribute information will help to clarify the information in the

normal data fields and product structure. They are:

(a) Individual product based information such as the serial

number of a sourced component in a certain product

(b) Generic – regarding generic products, product, assemblage,

parts.

(c) User-specific – remarks and notes.

5. Product structures management & maintenance...(6)

Attribute information for the product structure

6. Change Management

• ... It provides 3 important capabilities:

Controllability

Visibility

Traceability

~ the change process takes place in a controlled manner.

~ info. on completed/ forthcoming changes is emailed/notified.

~ specific stages of changed items & documents can be tracked.

Ver1.0 Ver1.1 Ver1.2

6. Change Management: ECR/ECO/ECN

~publication of items to production. ~updated documents are recorded in the file vault and assigned automatically with new version numbers (via versioning)

6. Change Management: ECR/ECO/ECN…(2)

Product structure and version history of the bicycle

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7. Files transfer & conversions

• When a user seeks an item or a document, the following is

executed:

a) for documents:

b) for CAD files:

Fetch Open

Fetch Convert Open

~the system gives access to a document after user verification.

~the system opens it in a suitable application.

~the system converts a CAD file into a format readable to the user’s system.

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8. Communication & management of tasks

• This feature of the PLM system provides the context

for collaboration in CE.

o system provides a communication forum for daily working.

• All relevant team members are constantly and

automatically notified of the events related to their

tasks (as dictated by the workflow).

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9. Archiving & Distribution of documentation

• Legacy of paper drawings and documents could be

electronically archived.

Scanning Archiving

~paper dwg’s/doc’s are scanned using large scanner into suitable formats.

~scanned and saved dwg’s and doc’s are stored in electronic form in the vault.

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Example of an Advanced Search

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Example of Multi-Level B.O.M.

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Example of a Workflow.

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Example of a Classification scheme

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Example of a document change

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Example of Meta Data