Lean production through PLM approach

PDM as core of PLM systems

One of the tools intended for decrease in losses and implementation of the principle of 'lean production' are the product lifecycle management systems (Product Lifecycle Management, PLM) allowing to standardize production operations, to provide collecting of necessary data for the analysis of a current status of processes and control of losses.

Most manufacturing enterprises are interested in application of this concept for cost reduction or decrease in product cost. And one of the main problems which they face — the choice of software of product data management (PDM, Product Data Management) which is a core of a PLM system and allows to obtain information on where expenses what of them can be reduced what changes should be made to the project in case of replacement of a production equipment, etc. are how exceeded.

In many project organizations the final cost of a product is determined after end of a stage of its design when the project is transferred to estimate department. The paradigm of the PLM approach focused on 'lean production" assumes an opportunity to determine the product cost already in design process with full participation of all project participants and respectively systematically to control deviations.

What to begin the choice of a PDM system with

Unfortunately, many enterprises which implemented PDM systems are not liked to be told about how they selected them and implemented. Most often it is possible to hear links that processes at them 'not really difficult and a system was selected on the best ratio prices/implementation time'. Is also such who develops for himself the similar systems independently.

At the same time specialists of the company select several important points to which recommend to pay attention when choosing a PDM system.

1. A possibility of consolidation of engineering data in uniform structure of an object. In machine-building area designers work with the assembly of a product consisting of models of parts. At the same time each model can comprise diverse information on part cost, its existence in a warehouse, interchangeability with other parts and to other characteristics. Designers in construction area need to create structure of an object of the general plan, an architectural model, metallo-and reinforced concrete structures, technology schemes, the electrotechnical systems, etc. and to supplement it with information on regulations of labor costs, on the used (purchased) equipments and materials and their cost by means of exchange with the ERP system. At any stage of the project it is necessary to have an opportunity to create the estimate or the specification on structure of an object.

2. Project management. It is important that the structure of an object formed a basis for formation of flows of works. A PDM system should provide report generation with information on what is already made and that else should be made what equipment is already supplied and what is not present what changes need to be made to the project who should make it and at what stage. It should allow to plan labor costs and to compare them with actual. In that case a PDM system will serve not as just electronic archive of models and drawings, but also the management tool.

3. A possibility of the coordinated and simultaneous operation over the project. The structure of the company can consist of departments which strongly differ both on specifics of the data used by them, and on problems which they solve during design. For example, the energy company usually has technology department, department of the engineering systems (ventilation, heating, water supply and so forth), architectural and construction department, electrotechnical department, department of an APCS, estimate group, group of planning, department of GIP. The data created by each of them should be approved, and it is desirable that in departments simultaneous operation over the current part of the project was conducted. Therefore the organization of joint work is an important component of any project. Each department, working with the part of data, should see how these data are reflected in all project. In this case it is simpler to make changes and to distribute responsibility. There is an opportunity to appoint works and to control their execution. The functionality of the modern PDM systems rather just allows to organize such work.

4. Integration with ERP systems, reference books and libraries. Projects can assume use of purchased products and also partial development and production of own products which integrate in libraries by parameters including economic. The modern PDM systems allows to use at structure formation of an object elements for which already at a stage of the outline sketch it is possible to calculate the cost and also labor costs on production and installation. And the it is simpler to configure data exchange between a PDM system and other systems used in the company, reference books and libraries, the it is more than chances to receive correctly working tool for business.

For lack of integration a lot of things should be done manually, labor costs often pretend to be on the basis of past experience, and for review every line of the estimate the employees it is necessary to go from department to department.

Stumbling blocks

Several years ago the choice of PDM systems presented at the market was not so various and they were most effective together with a related CAD. Today, as experts note, the situation changed — there are as the specialized systems held for use in a complex with the related system of design, and universal, allowing to integrate data from the different systems of design. But on what option the customer would not stop, he should be sure that this option suits its enterprise. And for this purpose first of all it is necessary to find out that for the enterprise it is more preferable — to rebuild the internal processes under a system or, on the contrary, to finish a system under processes.

It is also necessary to mean that though many developers of PDM systems support support of different formats of CAD data, even in the universal systems such support not always is complete. The ideal case — when is an opportunity to pass to uniform CAD/PDM platform from one developer, but in practice to make such jump for short term very difficult. And case not only in volume of investments necessary for this purpose, but also in need to change the standards of work of the enterprise which developed for many years.

Selecting a PDM system, in some cases it is possible to make a start from the CAD system which is already implemented and used at the enterprise also. It significantly simplifies formulation of requirements to a PDM system and often allows to avoid shortage or redundancy of its functionality.

Anyway, there is no universal approach to the choice of a PDM system and, probably, will not be. But it is necessary to begin implementation of the concept of 'lean production" with a pilot project within which it will be possible to reveal the losses which are most seriously affecting efficiency of the enterprise and to define specific metrics which improvement needs to try to obtain. It will allow to formulate PDM system functional requirements rather precisely.

• On the materials PCWEEK