Product Lifecycle Management. (PLM) is a new information technology that is the natural extension of lean manufacturing. What adds to PLM's power, complexi-.
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PLM— Beyond Lean Manufacturing roduct Lifecycle Management (PLM) is a new information technology that is the natural extension of lean manufacturing. What adds to PLM’s power, complexity, and difficulty is that it also extends collaborative engineering, enterprise resource planning, and most other systems and concepts used by manufacturing enterprises. As the definition suggests, PLM is an attempt to “de-silo” information by function and create autonomous information representations of all physical objects that will be available to all functions: design, manufacturing, sales, support, and disposal. All changes to the object during its life will be collected and associated with the object, and everyone who needs to work with the object will have access to the information about it. The goal of lean manufacturing is to minimize the resources used in the enterprise. While companies have to expend time, energy, and material to produce their products, PLM is an effort to use information so that companies minimize the use of those resources by not wasting them in producing the wrong or faulty products, or producing them inefficiently. PLM assumes that the data to provide this information comes from the entire product’s life and not simply from one phase. How does PLM extend the efforts of lean manufacturing? Let’s look at a couple of possible scenarios: The use of lean manufacturing techniques reduces overproduction, workin-progress inventories, unnecessary motion and effort, and defective products. However, it only works with the information that is associated with the manufacturing process.
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Michael W. Grieves, EDM Principal, Core Strategies Consulting, Irvine, CA and Co-Director, PLM Center, College of Engineering University of Michigan
Consider an all-too-common occurrence for manufacturers. Using lean manufacturing techniques, a manufacturer has removed large inefficiencies and costs from its processes. In the field, however, customer service discovers a problem that necessitates a change in the product. In the functionally siloed information systems of today, that problem might not be identified to the production staff for weeks, or even months. All the products being made during that time, even though being made as efficiently as possible, are effectively scrap. PLM attempts to overcome this delayed responsiveness by collecting and associating data about a product throughout its lifecycle, and incorporating processes that drive all functional uses of that information. In our example, the detection of failures in the field could drive an alert process in both engineering and manufacturing to allow quick correction of the problem. Another example involves quality control. With PLM, the evaluation of quality involves not only whether a product meets the specifications of its design, which quality control in production most commonly measures, but also whether the product functions as it needs to in use. Products that meet stringent specifications, but fail in their use, are not quality products. PLM, as it’s envisioned, captures quality-related information not only from the manufacturing cycle, but also from the usage cycle. This information can then be used to adjust quality control specifications during production. Some specifications might be tightened. However, some might be loosened, so resources are not wasted in meeting a too-stringent specification. These are only two examples of how
PLM enhances current manufacturing practices. The proponents of PLM believe there are many, many such scenarios involving all stages of production. To implement PLM, manufacturing organizations will need to change the way they capture, organize, and control data. They will have to “desilo” it and share it across functional areas in revolutionary ways. While it is still somewhat on the horizon, this new approach offers the most forward-thinking manufacturers competitive advantages in productivity, efficiency and customer satisfaction. Getting in early on this new approach will pay off long-term for manufacturing visionaries! n An SME member, Michael Grieves serves on the steering committee for the upcoming SME Management Forum, "Beyond Lean: Product Lifecycle Management from Design to Disposal." The Forum will be held in Dearborn, MI on May 29 as part of the 2003 SME Annual Meeting. For event details and registration, visit www.sme.org/managementforum.
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roduct Lifecycle Management (PLM) is an integrated, information-driven approach to all stages of a product’s life from its design inception, through its manufacture, deployment and maintenance, and culminating in its removal from service and final disposal. PLM involves everyone in the manufacturing enterprise, including engineering, manufacturing, and sales and marketing, and processes including design, manufacturing, supply chain, and customer support. (Source: The PLM Center, University of Michigan)
March 2003 • www.sme.org/manufacturingengineering
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