Fundamentals of PLM

What is a product?

• Product means tangible products, i.e. goods.

• The term goods refers to physical, tangible products that can be owned, traded, and
distributed to different places at different times without changing their identity.
• However, a product in the modern world can also be intangible, such as a piece of
software, a piece of knowledge, an algorithm, or a formula.

Three different kinds of products:

1. Goods, meaning physical, tangible products,
2. Services
3. Intangible products, meaning non-physical products that are not services.
For example: Software, an algorithm
 PLM: What is it?

• First, EDM (Engineering Data Management) and then PDM (Product Data Management)
emerged in the late 1980s as engineers in the manufacturing industries recognized a need
to keep track of the growing volumes of design files generated by CAD (Computer Aided
Design) systems.
• PDM allowed them to standardize items, store and control document files, maintain BOMs,
control items, BOM and document revision levels, and immediately see relationships
between parts and assemblies.
• This functionality lets them quickly access standard items, BOM structures, and files for
reuse and derivation while reducing the risk of using incorrect design versions and
increasing the reuse of existing product information.
 PLM Capabilities:

• The product information being stored, refined, searched, and shared with PLM has expanded.
• PLM is a holistic business concept developed to manage a product and its lifecycle including
not only items, documents, and BOM’s, but also analysis results, test specifications,
environmental component information, quality standards, engineering requirements, change
orders, manufacturing procedures, product performance information, component suppliers,
and so forth.
• Additionally, PLM system capabilities include workflow, program management, and project
control features that standardize, automate, and speed up product management operations.
Web-based systems enable companies to connect their globally dispersed facilities and with
outside organizations such as suppliers, partners, and even customers.
• A PLM system is a collaborative backbone allowing people throughout extended enterprises
to work together more effectively.
 Benefits of Operational PLM:

• The benefits of operational PLM go far beyond incremental savings, yielding greater
bottom-line savings and top-line revenue growth not only by implementing tools and
technologies but also by making necessary changes in processes, practices, and methods
and gaining control over product lifecycles and lifecycle processes.
• The return on investment (ROI) for PLM is based on a broader corporate business value,
specifically the greater market share and increased profitability achieved by streamlining
the business processes that help deliver innovative, winning products with high brand
image quickly to market, while being able to make informed lifecycle decisions over the
complete product portfolio during the lifecycle of each product.
• Work faster through advanced information retrieval, electronic information sharing, data
reuse, and numerous automated capabilities, with greater information traceability and data
security.
 Benefits of Operational PLM:

• This allows companies to process engineering change orders and respond to product
support calls more quickly and with less labor.
• They can also work more effectively with suppliers in handling bids and quotes, exchange
critical product information more smoothly with manufacturing facilities, and allow service
technicians and spare part sales reps to quickly access required engineering data in the
field.
• PLM can result in impressive cost savings, with many companies reporting pay-off periods
of one to two years or less based solely on reduced product development costs.
• PLM gives opportunities for companies to boost revenue streams by accelerating the pace
at which innovative products are brought to market.
• Excellent lifecycle control over products also gives new opportunities to control product
margins more carefully and remove poorly performing products from the markets.
 Product data or product information
• Product data can be roughly divided into three groups
1. Definition data of the product
• It determines physical and/or functional properties of the product – i.e. form, fit and function
of the product
• It includes very exact technical data as well as abstract and conceptual information about the
product and related information
2. Life cycle data of the product
• It is always connected to the product and the stage of the product or order-delivery process.
• It is connected to technological research, design and to the Production, use, maintenance,
recycling, and destruction of the product, and possibly to the official regulations connected
with the product.
3. Metadata:
• Metadata is information about information
• It describes the product data: what kind of information it is, where it is located, in which
databank, who has recorded it, and where and when it can be accessed?
 Product data or product information

• The product data – the information about the product to be created – lies at the core of the
integration of the functions and business processes of a manufacturing company.

• BOM (Bill of Materials):- BOM is connected to product data. BOM refers to a manufacturing
part list (i.e., not a hierarchical structure); it is not the same as a product structure.

• The external and internal functions of the company use and produce product data in their daily
business.

• The internal functions that produce product information include the planning, design and
engineering functions related to the product, the procurement, production, and customer
service organizations.

• The external functions that produce and utilize product data include, for example, collaborative
partners in maintenance services, design and engineering, manufacturing, and assembly.
 Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
• According to the definition by Kenneth McIntosh as EDM:
• PLM is a systematic way to design, manage, direct, and control all the information needed
to document the product through its entire lifespan: development, planning, design,
production, and use.
• It is a wide functional totality; a concept and set of systematic methods that attempts to control
the product information.
• Problems of product lifecycle management typically become evident in three different areas:-
• The concepts, terms and acronyms within the area of product lifecycle management are
not clear and not defined within companies.
• The 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. This problem arises when the product
data is produced and stored on different data media or even as paper documents.
One practical problem can be clarifying the location of the latest version of a certain
document.
 Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)

• Product lifecycle management is above all the management of processes and large
totalities.
• It is therefore extremely important that the operation and core business processes of the
company be described in depth before implementing a PLM concept and IT-system.
• The required specifications of the TO BE of future
processes as well as the PLM concept framework
must be set to match the high-level objectives of
the business and the future visions of the company.
• The resulting product lifecycle management solutions
differ considerably as they are based on the individual
strategy and business architecture of each company
 PLM Concept

• PLM concept covers the following areas:

1. Terms and abbreviations used in this field (definition of product,
lifecycle, lifecycle phases, etc.)
1. Product information models and product models.
2. Definition of products and product-related information objects (items, structures, product-
related documents, definition of product information, etc.)
3. Product lifecycle management practices and principles used and applied in the company (how
products are managed throughout their lifecycle, identification of information management
principles such as versioning principles, information statuses, etc.)
4. Product management related processes (a) Product information management processes.
5. Instructions on how to apply the concept in everyday business.
• A good PLM-concept is never static; it keeps evolving in tune with the business and its
requirements.
 Items
• The development of PLM and the use of different PLM systems are very largely based on
the use of items.
• An item is a systematic and standard way to identify, encode and name a product, a
product element or module, a component, a material or a service.
• Items are also used to identify documents.
• Item depends upon the specific needs and products of each company.
• Things such as packing, installation tools, moulds, fasteners, and software can also
be items.
• Items and their classification should be uniform within each company.
E.g. Diode is a component class, and Zener diode is a subclass
• The integration of companies becomes very apparent and concrete at a practical level
from the use of common items and a common item creation and numbering process.
 PLM systems
• PLM systems are ideally an information processing system or set of IT systems that
integrate the functions of the whole company.
• This integration is done through connecting, integrating, and controlling the company’s
business processes and produced products by means of product data.

• The figure illustrates the core processes of an industrial enterprise. It shows how the core
processes are cross-functional and cross-organizational.
 PLM systems
✓ The figure illustrates how a PLM
system is positioned as a common and
central databank within the field of
operation of the process-oriented
manufacturing Enterprise.

✓ The PLM system often creates a wide

totality of functions and properties to
support the different processes involved
in the creation, recording, updating,
distribution, utilization, and retrieval of
information.

A PLM system
 PLM entities
a. Item management
b. Product structure management
and maintenance
c. User privilege management
d. Maintenance of the state
e. Information retrieval
f. Change management
g. Configuration management
h. The management of tasks
i. File/document management
j. Information loss management
k. Backup management
Product lifecycle management entities l. History/System log
m.File vault
(a) Item management – one of the basic functions of a PLM system is the management of
items. The system controls the information on the item and the status of the item as well as
processes related to the creation and maintenance of items.

(b) Product structure management and maintenance – the PLM system identifies individual
information and its connections to other pieces of information with the help of the product
structure, which consists of items hierarchically connected together.

(c) User privilege management – the PLM system is used to define information access and
maintenance rights. The PLM system defines the people who can create new information or
make, check and accept changes, and those who are allowed only to view the information or
documents in the system.

(d) Maintenance of the state or status of documents and items – the system maintains
information about the state and version (e.g. sketch, draft, accepted, distributed, obsolete) of
each document and item, and about changes made to them: what, when, and by whom.
(e) Information retrieval – one of the main tasks of a PLM system is information retrieval.
PLM systems intensify and facilitate the retrieval of information so that:
■ It is possible to utilize existing information better than before when creating new information. All the
existing information on a given subject, such as a particular product, can be easily accessed: documents,
components, perhaps a design solution
of proven quality.
■ It is easy to find out how a given piece of information is related to other information, for example to find
out where else a given design solution, part or component is used. (This is very important for change management –
when implementing changes in this piece of information.)

(f) Change management is a tool with which the latest valid information about changes, such as
version changes to a product or component, are recorded in documents or items, which are then
made available in the right place and at the right time.

(g) Configuration management – varying the physical properties of similar products and
switching inter-changeable assemblages or components. Configuration management allows
products to be customized according to customer wishes.
(h) The management of tasks (messages), also known as workflow management, is one of the
basic properties of a PLM system. The communication and division of tasks is carried out through
graphical illustration of the chain of tasks and by e-mail or a task list. The management of tasks
makes possible the radical intensification of communication in the organization, especially in a
decentralized – even worldwide – environment.

(i) File/document management involves index information on files contained in the system. In
other words, it is a question of metadata – information about what information is located
where.

(j) Information loss during updating is avoided. The PLM system controls the copying of files and
ensures that the master copy is preserved until the files have been successfully updated.

(k) Backup management – the system automatically logs backup copies.

(l) History/System log – a database of events which ensures that all measures – such as updating
documents or changing component items – made within the sphere of PLM management can be
tracked, if necessary (Product process traceability).
(m) File vault (electronic vault)- The system also includes a file vault, or storage place for files. It
is the place where files – the actual data – or file attachments are recorded. The file vault is
usually located near the group of persons who create, update and administer the files. In
practice, the vault is a file server on the same LAN (Local Area Network). The files on the PLM
system file server are managed by the system so that correct and controlled revisioning
principles, user privileges and information maintenance are maintained.
 System architecture
➢System architecture independent functional
units include:
• The file vault is a centralized filing system for
information files or, in practice, concentrated
databank, usually a file server or set of file
servers. Warehouse for information data.
• The metadata base is needed to maintain
the structure of the whole system. Handle
relationships between individual pieces of
product data, the structure of the
information, and the rules and principles
needed to ensure the systematic recording of
the information. It keeps a record of the
product data produced by the different A PLM system architecture
systems and applications functioning within
the sphere of PLM.
 System architecture
The application carries out the PLM
functions of information and metadata
base management and appears to the
user as a variety of different user
interfaces. The task of the software is to
make possible all the PLM functions,
data transfers, and conversions in
accordance with the principles of PLM.
The PLM application usually also acts as
a link between different applications and
systems within the sphere of PLM and
makes the connections between the
A PLM system architecture
separate databanks possible.
 System architecture
• In many PLM systems a link or association is created, on the basis of the document or
file type, to the application- such as word processor-that should be used for the
proper creation and handling of the file. This allows the system to start a suitable
application and deliver the desired file to it.
• The PLM system usually contains some information conversion programs, which can
be used to convert product data into a second or general format for viewing by the
system user. Nearly every PLM system contains an e-mail interface or can utilize the
company’s existing e-mail system.
• Though there are considerable differences between various systems and system
architectures. The reasons are as follows:-
I. The properties and requirements brought by differences in the scope and
scalability of the systems.
II. The different types of functions required within different branches of industry
due to different priorities and emphases.
III. System suppliers approach the whole PLM concept from different directions.
 System architecture
• System environments involving the use of several different database types present a
greater challenge to the PLM system and naturally to integration and data transfer
between different systems.
• Different applications can usually be connected to the PLM system by links of different
levels. Usually the following four different levels are distinguished:
1. Encapsulation: Reference information for the file identifies an application that can
open it (e.g. e-mail attachments or files selected in Windows Explorer)
2. Information exchange between systems: File-based data transfer
3. Database integration: Different systems use a common databank
4. Platform or middleware integration or EAI (enterprise application integration) use of a
separate software layer (middleware) that transmits and moves the required information
between different systems
• Modern PLM systems are based on an object-oriented architecture and technology in
which separate document or file types are contained as objects. Each object belongs to its
own object class, which PLM applications process by rule. For example, when the Print
command is selected from the File menu the program checks whether it is a graphics file.
The software knows this from the object class.
 Information models and product structures
Information model:- An information model
is a conceptual model that describes
relationships between the most important
information entities in a corporation.

•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 and carefully. The idea of this model
is simply to define carefully the concept of a
product.
Relation of the information model, product information model, and product model
• The most important function of a product information model is to describe the needed
information entities and their significance from the product point of view; for example, a
product must consist of one or more modules, a module must consist of one or more items,
certain types of module cannot be connected together, etc.
The product model :-a general product structure for a certain individual product –
contains information on an individual product, recorded and arranged according to the
product information (data) model.
For example, the individual product units product (data) models or product
structures for two similar but customized products might differ even though the products
are alike at a generic, product information (data) model level.

The International STEP (Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data)
standard utilizes the description of product data at the level of concept models.

The changed physical properties or subsections of the product are called variants.
When a product is customized according to customer wishes, i.e. some variation of the
physical properties of the product is produced, the process is called product
configuration or a configuration process. In this process, a product structure is created
from the product model.
Reasons for the deployment of PLM systems:
• The PLM system brings extremely useful problem-solving tools and methods for every-
day product information and product lifecycle management problems. However, it is
wrong to expect the system itself to solve data management problems.
• For one company a PLM system is no more than a tool to improve the effectiveness of
daily business. To others it is an investment, which will help the company to take over
international markets.
• To improve the business performance by increasing revenue generation.
• To improve the status of the company in market.
Thank
you