PLM Innovation Approach

PLM means many different things to companies depending on their particular focus. Generally there is an acceptance that today's PLM is a further extension of PDM. Where PLM in effect extends beyond product development and manufacturing activities. PLM means bringing the concept of a single product definition into defined processes and methods of working whilst at the same time introducing a more rigorous change management life cycle, with the associated audit trail and product traceability.

Often companies are sold prescriptive solutions from the vendors of PLM applications. A COTS or  OOTB plug and play PLM application sounds very tempting, but the reality is enevitably some application tailoring is required, including a large amount of IT based application work. Using IT or harnessing IT capabilities is important. Unfortunately, IT led strategies for engineering particularly when broadened to the wider PLM design into manufacturing context fail through the very fact that each PLM project inherits legacy data and inevitably some legacy applications.

To achieve success companies, need to ensure at least the following twelve steps are undertaken and the groundwork is prepared properly:

1. Understand the design parameters & critical interfaces between functions.

2. Define complete processes for design and change management.

3. Drill down into the detail to understand the complexities

4. Don’t be complacent define & specify at the detail level

5. Chair constructive weekly PLM review meetings with facts and pre-defined agenda, always understand change management issues.

6. Define and capture the complete manufacturing process for the product.

7. Integrate design with manufacturing and assembly processes used for the product; be prepared to compromise.

8. Be focused on closer integration between design & manufacturing but have balance between data integrity checks and freedom to accelerate the product development process, remain pragmatic.

9. Organise support for a well-managed CAD & data management system and the associated product data attributes, meta data, product configurations and bom.

10. Involve suppliers; recognise their fallibility, support & trust as necessary see them as part of the whole not separate.

11. Continually work at closer integration of information flow, define & deploy better information control.

12. Project manage, monitor and record status, manage the design teams, coaching and mentoring through periods of system adoption.