What is a product?

Tangible:
Physical goods.

owned, traded, and distributed to different

places at different times without changing
their identity.

Services.

Intangible:
Non-physical products

that are not services.

Software
Algorithms

Definition of PLM
... is a holistic business concept developed to manage a

product and its lifecycle (i.e., items, documents, and

BOMs), including;
analysis

results, test specifications, environmental

component information, quality standards, engineering
requirements, change orders, manufacturing procedures,
product performance information, component suppliers,
...etc.

... is an integrative information-driven business

approach comprising people, processes/practices, and

technology to all aspects of a products life and its
environment, from its design through manufacture,
implementation & operation, maintenance and final
disposal (Grieves 2010).

PDM /PLM systems

... is based on data model, enabling the access to,

updating, manipulation and reasoning of product

information that is being produced in a fragmented
and distributed environment (Sksvuori 2008).

Product Lifecycle Management

... is a systematic, controlled concept for managing and developing products
and product related information.
...offers management and control of the product from idea to the scrap yard.
Product process:

Order-delivery process:

Corporate challenges
1. Huge amounts of data produced by

companies,
...

create and produce extremely complex products

with high level of configurability,
...it is necessary to master the definition of each
product;
reuse

parts rather than replicate parts.

2. Different electronic data by disparate

information system apps store,

dispersed

everywhere.

Corporate challenges
3. Data integrity in a networked operational

business environment is difficult when making

changes to product designs or product
implementations.
o

issues with correct versions, visibility of current

design statusetc.

4. System incompatibility due to various

information systems used by companies (using

networked environments) in the planning,
production, delivery and customer service.

Corporate challenges
5. Inconsistent business models due to differences in

companies operational models, processes and

information models.
some models are too complex among companies

Product Information
The definition
data of the
product

determines physical
and/or functional
properties of the
product.

The life cycle data

of the product

is always connected to
the product and the
stage of the product or
order-delivery process.

The Meta data

is information about
information, describing
the product data.

PLM problems in 3 different aspects

Conceptual
aspect

System
aspect

Data Integrity
aspect

concepts,
terms and
acronyms
within the area
of PLM are not
clear and not
defined within
companies.

use of the
information
and the
formats in
which it is
saved and
recorded vary.

The
completeness
and
consistency of
information
produced in
different units,
departments
or companies
cannot be
guaranteed.

PLM concept:
at departmental level,
at corporate level,
at the extended enterprise
level.

~ is a compilation of
business rules,
methods, processes,
and guidelines as well
as instructions on how
to apply the rules in
practice

the PLM concept covers at 6 areas:

i. Terms/abbreviations,
ii. Product information models/ product models,
iii. Definition of products and product-related
information objects,
i. PLM practices and principles,
ii. Product management related processes,
iii. Instructions on how to apply the concept.

PLM concept: Item

oThe development of PLM and the use of different
PLM systems are very largely based on the use of
items
oAn item is a systematic, standard way to identify,
encode and name a product, a product element or
module, a component, a material or a service.
It is essential also that items form separate classes,
subclasses and groups at a suitable level of coarseness
(according to the companys own or, alternatively, wider
international standards)

PLM concept: Item

...(2)

o Items are structured using:

item-numbering scheme
Hierarchies

Relations

Issues:
~ compliance with
international stds,
e.g., electronic
industry.
~ structures vary
among cos.
e.g., Item levels of
cos A and B are not
on the same class.

-->full integration can only happen when all cos use congruent item coding.

PLM systems
The task of PLM is to provide the necessary conditions for
connecting separate information data systems, processes and
automation islets

Crossfunctional
Crossorganizational

The core processes and functional verticals of an industrial enterprise

PLM systems

...(2)

Centralized
vault

~ positioning a PLM system as a common and central databank within the field
of operation of the process oriented manufacturing enterprise

PLM systems
~ indexes info
on files
(=metadata)
contained
in the system.

...(3)

~ Product lifecycle management entities

~the place
where files (the
actual data) or
file
attachments
are recorded.

~ records the
latest valid info
about changes
(e.g, versions) to
a product or
component.

~ communicates/
divides tasks
through graphical
illustration of the
chain of tasks.

~ allows products to be
customized according to
customer wishes

~ the basic
functions
controls the info
on the item and
the status of the
item as well as
Processes.

A typical TPLM system architecture

~carries out the PLM

functions of info
and metadata base
management
(appears to the user
as a variety of
different user
interfaces.
~a warehouse
for information
data, stored in
files, which
meets certain set
demands

~ a link to serve the

proper file type to the
user,
~ conversion programs
for access/viewing
~ e-mail interface for
comm.
~handles the relationships between individual pieces
of product data/structure of the info/rules and
principles, thus enabling systematic recording of the
info.

Differences in PLM systems

The reasons being:
oThe properties and requirements brought by
differences in the scope and scalability of the systems.
oThe different types of functions required within
different branches of industry (e.g.,
electronics/mechanical) due to different priorities
and emphases.
oSystem suppliers approach the whole PLM concept
from different directions.

The integration of different PLM systems

o Use non-proprietary databases.
o Support widely used SQL relational
databases as Oracle, MS, SQL- Server In.
o Support the TCP/IP protocol.

The integration of different PLM systems...(2)

Connection among different applications to the PLM system
by links of different levels.
Encapsulation
Use of a separate
software layer
(middleware) to
transmit /move
the reqd info
among
different systems

Middleware
integration

File-based
data transfer

Reference information for

the file identifies for which
an application that can
open it

Database
integration

Information
exchange
among systems

Different
systems use
a common
databank

Information model
... is a conceptual model that describes relationships
between the most important information entities in a
corporation.

Top-level
model

This top-level
information model
is to describe how
these information
sub-models relate
to each other.

Sub-models

The product information (data) model

... is a concept model that analyses information on
the product and its relationship with other pieces of
information by describing them formally.
Analysis

Examination

Formation

analyzing the product on a

general level
examining its common properties
and common forms of info
forming a generic information
(data) model for the product

The product information model...(2)

general level features

An example of a possible information model for the ship construction industry.

The product model

... is called a generic product structure to refer to a
general product concept rather than to a unique
product unit.
oVariants is the changed physical properties or subsections
of the product.
The process of producing variants are called product
configuration.
oPossible variants are created during the product
development process based on the existing generic
structure .
...to foster reuse of parts
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Main Benefits of using PLM systems

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Sources from

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