PLM ELEMENTS
PLM can not be simply bought as a Software Application, though software forms an integral part of PLM People, Technology and Processes/Practices are all integral to PLM In definition of PLM, we called it an ³Approach´ and a ³System´ Three elements namely People, Technology and Processes/Practices make up such an Approach/System
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PROCESS/PRACTICE vs TECHNOLOGY MATRIX
While people and their processes/practices have been around for a long time, Information Technology is relatively recent introduction. It is a key enabler that allows us to do tasks that are not impossible, but surely impracticable without IT But people and their processes/practices are also a prime necessity in implementing PLM IT, however enables people to perform their processes & practices in a more efficient manner
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PLM PROJECT OUTCOMES
P R O C E S S E S
Good Results High Lower efficiency
Good Results Higher efficiency High ROI Limited Results Low ROI High
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Low Poor Results Poor efficiency Low
TECHNOLOGY
Look at previous slide This shows a matrix of the impact of low & high IT utilization against the low & high process/practice development IT includes all manners of Information Technology -- from manual paper & records to sophisticated computer applications & systems
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Low end IT refers to paper & manual systems whereas high end refers to on line computer based systems Low process/practice development refers to processes & practices that are Ad hoc, undefined or spontaneous High process/practice development refers to processes & practices development that is continually being analyzed, refined and improved
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In the lower left quadrant ± low IT & low process/practice development, the result is a great deal of wasted time, energy & material It exhibits very poor efficiency where there is a high employee turnover Even routine, standardized tasks are performed differently by the same people There is a great deal of trial & error Any information learnt is immediately lost Wastage of time, energy & material is high
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In the lower right quadrant ± high IT & low process/practice development, the result is limited results and low ROI Finding solutions in high IT but without proper processes & practices does not lead to improvement in efficiency Employees will exert least possible effort in working with the system. Entering data & information will not be complete / correct They will have no use or interest for the information develop by the system
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There may be some useful discipline imposed through the use of IT but due to poor processes any task structuring & efficiency will be lost Low ROI is a result of efficiency gains from task improvement being off set by poor processes & practices In PLM scenario it will lead to poor and even counter- productive results
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In the Top left quadrant ± low IT & high process/practice development, it leads to Good result but lower efficiency Well defined processes that are continually improved organization can get good results Good results mean decrease in waste of time, energy & material
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Best example of this is Toyota¶s Total Production Systems (TPS) TPS uses simple IT such as kanban cards that pull inventory from the previous cell TPS continues to analyze, improve & document its processes. Toyota also spends great deal of time & effort to train its people on processes
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Some people think that this approach of using low technology with highly developed processes / practices would be
± Successful in a deterministic set up like Factory where Processes rule ± It will NOT be successful in a design & engineering functional area where Practices rule
Toyota has successfully implemented in its design & engineering functions However low technology demand employing more people
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In the Top Right quadrant ±high IT & high process/practice development, the result is Good with higher ROI and higher efficiency. IT is used to implement continually improving Practices & Processes For information processing, technology is more suited than people & paper Further processes & practices can be simulated in virtual space, saving the cost of wasted time, energy and material
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ELEMENTS OF PLM
Process / Practice versus Technology matrix is conditioned on one main factor ± people. It holds true if people are motivated and act with good intensions & competence in making the process/practice & information technology work If they do not, best processes/practices and information technology will fail Well intentioned people will make mediocre/ poor processes/practices & IT work for them using fair amount of improvising
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ELEMENTS OF PLM
PEOPLE
PROCESSES TECHNOLOGY PRACTICES
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In the above slide people have been shown in the top of the triangle to indicate their dominant role However all the three elements must perform individually & work together cohesively for implementation of PLM
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People have some characteristics which we need for PLM to be successful There are also some characteristics that will limit their effectiveness The relevant practices of people to be considered are
± Capabilities ± Change Capacity ± Organization
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CAPABILITIES
People have a wide range of capabilities Some have limited capabilities suitable for simple, uncomplicated, well defined task Others have robust capabilities that allow them to engage in efficient goal achievement even under ambiguous and uncertain circumstances
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These capabilities are determined by
± Experience ± Education & Training ± Support
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EXPERIENCE
Experience is accumulating information & knowledge about different situations in order to be able to trade off information for wasted time, energy & material As humans, every time we experience & learn from encountering a situation or performing a task We find out quicker and easier ways to do the task as the time progresses
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Our experience allows us to reduce such time, predict outcomes with higher probability or success & pick right routines for the right situations For example if we have experience in categorization of parts, we look through only those categories of parts that perform the function we want to add to a new product Similarly if we have experience with the order of assembly, we know which of the sequences can be done in the least amount of time
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Experience is an individual characteristics If the individual lives, so does the experience But if we can capture the experience by recording it in virtual space, we have opportunity to impart this experience to others PLM takes it a step further by embedding experience in to processes & routines
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A caution about assessing experience Often people with 30 years¶ experience really have one years experience for 30 years¶. This is to say their experience level is equal to a person who has been on the job for one year Such a person has been performing uncomplicated, standardize tasks with little variability for 30 years¶ he reaches the limit of learning in short period of time Additional time on job adds no information or knowledge Thus we have to assess the variety & range of experience and not simply the duration of the experience
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In PLM we can trade information for time, energy & material therefore our most experience people will have the most information about our products Capturing that information as they work with the PLM applications will improve the efficiency of the transition to PLM
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May organizations have a knowledge gap in their work force There are large number of people retiring in the next few years There are also large number of in -experienced, younger workers hire in recent years They do not have workers in the middle because of down sizing in 1990s To capture the experience of soon to be retired workers; only hope is PLM
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PLM requires new & different ways of approaching product information Our most experienced people may also be most rigid people who resist new ways of doing things Promise of PLM is not in duplicating the old ways but finding a new way of doing things This requires flexibility on part of people
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Organizations have no longer the luxury of time & cost of waiting for people to gain experience Increasing product complexity & decreasing cycle times mean that we have to gain more experience in less time
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Gaining experience is an expensive, passive & unstructured activity Expensive because it requires a good deal of time, energy & material to find the right solution for a problem through trial & error Passive because activities where we gain experience happen when they happen Unstructured because we do not plan for it Experience happens when we least expect them
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EDUCATION & TRAINING
One way to gain experience is to provide people with education & training rather than waiting for it to happen Education & Training are classical applications of trading information for wasted energy & material With training we teach people what to do With education we teach them why they do it
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Training is better suited to processes We want the same actions performed each and every time to get the same results each and every time Education is better suited to practices For practices we need to understand the theories of inputs affecting outputs so that we can separate the relevant factors from the irrelevant ones
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Information that we collect within PLM can greatly enhance the effectiveness of education & training Using information in the virtual space we can develop proactive & structured simulations that will have the same effects as experienced for the individuals at less expense Simulated activities have always played a role in training for processes but they are also useful in education for practices
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SUPPORT
The support that an individual is provided with will also enhance or detract from his capabilities Support is an extension of education & training but takes place during the execution of task & not in preparation of the task Support is also a substitution of information for wasted time, energy & material Unlike computers people tend to have diminished recall for information the longer they have not used it
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Proper support can reduce the inefficiency of searching & relearning process by providing people with the information they need when they need If processes are used periodically or infrequently we should provide support to avoid waste in time in searching & relearning PLM are complex & affect complex processes. If support is not provided people will become inefficient & frustrated with PLM
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For practices it may not be enough to provide support through computer applications For practices that are part of PLM, enabling with interpersonal communication should be encouraged & not discouraged It may be challenging to identify & separate support activates from wasted time but it is necessary for successful implementation of PLM
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CHANGE CAPACITY
PLM requires a substantial amount of change by people within the organization A determining factor in the success or failure of PLM is the capacity for change Even If people are excited about PLM, it may fade quickly if it taxes their capacity for change
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Following factors affect the capacity for change of individuals: ±Magnitude & Timings of the change ±Ability of people to change ±Willingness of people to change
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Time & Attention are two scarce resources which people do not have. People have only so much attention to give it to their surroundings. This can be proved by driving on a stretch on a highway while talking on a cell phone & in the second case while not using the cell phone. We only have a certain amount of attention available. Talking on a cell phone uses fair amount of this attention which otherwise we would have given to our surroundings.
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Changes required us to expend a substantial amount of attention. More changes ± more attention expended It is more difficult to make major changes than it is to make minor changes Changes should be considered as cumulative. Making a number of small changes can be more taxing than making a single large change Cumulative magnitude of change also includes changes being made in other functional areas
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We have to consider the magnitude of change overall, and not just that of our initiative Therefore the timing of change is very important so that they can be phased so as not to exceed overall capacity of people Capacity for magnitude of change is like stretching a muscle ± the more it is stretch, more flexibility or capacity it develops Phasing in the changes is a successful method to overcome resistance to change
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All people may have the capacity to change but may not have the capability to change People must be assisted whether they have the correct education, training & support in order to be able to make changes In absence of such training & support changes can fail
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Willingness of people to change is an important factor Many initiatives fail, not for faults in technologies / processes but because people are not interested in having them succeed If people feel threatened by the new system or are satisfied with the status quo, then their ability to make changes is limited
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Willingness of people to change is based on three major factors:
± Their belief systems ± Their reward & punishment systems ± Their available options
People perform best when their actions are consistent with their belief system Belief system can be personal or organizational
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Reward and punishment system plays an important role Work habits of people are determined by their compensation system So best way to get people to do what we want is to compensate them for the behavior we want Punishment systems are effective at preventing behavior
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Last factor affecting change are the options people have If we allow the strongest option is no change or status quo People should not be given choice between using their old ways and the new ways of doing things
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ORGANIZATION
Two elements of organizational considerations are Structure & Authority Enablement Structure should encourage the flow of information across functional areas Information should be shared by all Absence of this practice can only optimize the subsystem and not the entire organization
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If Authority in an organization exist fairly high, then the decision to share information will also be taken at that level People will be concerned about over stepping their Authority & will not share information This leads to silos & compartmentalization People must be empowered to share information
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PROCESS/PRACTICE
Though Processes are very important, Practices deserve equal attention Practices did not get much attention due to:
± IT could only support Processes. Information had to be highly structured to be Processes. Practices required unstructured, free-form information ± For structured processes, there is more motivation to implement
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It is important to differentiate between Process & Practice If we del with a Practice as if it is Process ± we attempt to make it more efficient by removing ³Unnecessary´ information & ³Extraneous´ communication. This leads to reduced efficiency Processes & Practices can exist within the same task Processes & Practices require different approaches
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FOCUS ON PROCESS
Process is a very important issue for PLM to focus on More we can define processes the more we can increase efficiency in a systematic fashion It is difficult to define & measure practices We must analyze to separate processes from practices where possible
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Four issues for processes:
± We must have a deep & not superficial or stylized understanding of our processes ± The processes must be defined in an explicit manner & not in a tactic manner ± Processes must be reengineered for a digital environment ± Processes must be integrated across the organization
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In practice most of the processes are stylize To automate processes within the organization analyst must find out how the processes really work Unless there is a deep understanding of how to processes really work, their automation will not succeed Processes must be explicitly defined
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suppose the process goes from A to B to C It is likely that the person doing process A unofficially concerned with people doing processes B & E because he knows that unless he obtains that information work will come back for revision For example ± The design Engineers while defining the product characteristics check with the purchasing department for the available vendors & specify only available products in to the design
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If such a process is automated it will stop working because the people who are suppose to be in the loop in the tactic processes no longer have access to the information As a result, what was once a good working system is now made to wok the way it is formally defined This adds more work in to the environment by becoming a formal, sequential & iterative processes which is inefficient
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Processes are not only build around the information but also around how the information is delivered In old systems presence or absence of the paper would generate an action In digital environment even simple things like signatures are to be enabled in a digital manner as an indication that approval has been made
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In organizations where workers are not comfortable in digital environment the lack of paper can cause great anxiety People may be interested to continue with paper system as a reassurance or back up This leads to additional cost & inefficiencies
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When product information was limited to a specific function, processes could remain independent & un integrated across functions In PLM scenario we have to see product processes across the functional areas A change process defining the changed to a product but does not alert manufacturing to this change will be inefficient & waste time, material & energy through rework or scrap
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FOCUS ON PRACTICE
Majority of information that we deal with on a daily basis is unstructured There is fuzziness or incompleteness in that information People make decisions on such information through practices Practices are non-algorithmic, Judgmental activities We have to find a pattern in a pool of seemingly unrelated data & information
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Information requirements are different for practices & processes With processes, focus is on the movement from state to state as quickly as possible With practice, the focus is on collecting data & information at each state in order to build a pool of information which will help recognition of pattern in future However both processes & practices are part of the task
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For PLM goal is to provide the pool of data & information & assist in discerning the correct pattern For PLM the important factors for practice are providing standards & guidelines, capturing & categorizing exemplars & providing reach interpersonal communication & coordination
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Ability for computers to handle unstructured data has improved grammatically over the last decade It is now feasible to crate standards & guidelines that can support practices Standards & guideline can also be linked to design & testing information to provide & understanding of the rational for design & approval decisions
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TECHNOLOGY
PLM is a heavily dependent on the applications based on technology With continuous development, mergers & acquisitions even the names of PLM applications have changed Thus reference to a specific PLM application would be familiar only to those individuals with the long experience with the industry
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Since there is large variety of applications for different aspects of PLM, the functions of such applications need to the assessed There are some issues regarding Technology that are independent of any particular application These issues pertain to the considerations that any PLM application must take in to account
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Issues involved are:
± PLM needs an adequate technology infrastructure ± PLM application should be open & harmonized with other applications ± PLM applications must be configurable & not customizable ± PLM applications must be useable and embedded ± PLM applications must be utility-like in their performance
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INFRASTRUCTURE HURDLE
This aspect is mostly ignored PLM with its requirement for access to substantial amounts of math-based designs will strain infrastructure that is not sized to handle it Shortage of infrastructure can cause slow adoption or even failure of the project Infrastructure can be in terms of computing capability, communication, bandwidth, storage & people etc.
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OPEN, HARMONIZED APPLICATIONS
There is a large variety of product information & its uses, as such no single solution provider make over the entire PLM Thus there will be a number of different solutions in selected areas of expertise There may not be a single standard for this & we should look for openness & harmonization in their product offerings
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By openness we mean ability to understand & use the information from the applications at some level of granularity By harmonization we mean to have different applications to be compatible with one another so that information can be shared/transferred
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CONFIGURABLE, NOT CUSTOMIZABLE
Customize software is problematic for new initiatives like PLM With a rapid changes any customization is expensive & will delay adoption of new application Configurable applications are the solutions for the applications that are not customize but are tailored to the organization that acquires them
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EMBEDDED AND USEABLE
Applications should reflect the way that people do their jobs & the technical considerations must not overwrite uses requirements If the applications are updated in a manner that does not reflect the job processes & practices, it leads to wasted time, energy & material
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We must align our information technology with our business processes & practices By embedding, the information system becomes an integral part of the job processes & practices Application must reflect how job is done & not how the programming is easily achieved Software developers¶ needs must not be put over the needs of the application users
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UTILITY-LIKE PERFORMANCE
To capture, retrieve and use product information should be simple & useable like a utility Such applications must be reliable & work each & every time the user ³switches´ them on Absence of this will lead to alternate means of a handling this information resulting in wastage
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