The Inner and Out Key Issues Related to Design Data Management - Case Study Example

Managing Design Introduction The aim of this essay is to discuss key issues related to design data management within a company and across the company boundaries. The focus of the discussion is a component manufacturing company , which has a large volume of paper based drawings of components and tools as microfiche and dye – line prints . Being employed as the Design Operations Manger of this company , I propose to discuss the data management criterion , the strategy for managing the design operations and essential characteristics of the design team. Initially the essay deals about the general problems that are encountered with design data management along with structured design management. Then the primary focus is on the component manufacturing company’s data management problems. These problems are analyzed in the light of concepts like data exchange protocols , Product Data Management Systems ( PDMS ) , Product Lifecycle Management ( PLM ) and Concurrent Engineering ( CE ) practices. The concepts of Product Data Management Systems , Product Lifecycle Management were created to help companies to efficiently collaborate and exchange information within the company and between companies. They also help in efficient design of the operations. Also the problems related to design team management is considered with respect to concepts related to cross - functional teams that enable Concurrent Engineering practices. General Problems of Data Management : Data related to engineering and manufacture can be of the following types 1. Product Data including graphic, text and numeric data. 2. Production data that describe how parts have to be manufactured. 3. Operational data that describe the sequence of production such as lot sizes and schedules. 4. Resource data, which describe the appropriate resources used for production , some of these may be materials , machines and tools . 5. Data related to Marketing and finance . Any database is a bunch of non – redundant information that has to be shared. For a production company , the data base could be a large number of paper based drawings of a component or manufacturing part. These drawings may have non – current data and can be easily lost by misplacement , disposing them unknowingly , torn off or creasing . The other risks may be due to flood or fire . These drawings carry the vital information about the company’s design secrets and their loss could bring down the competitiveness of the company in the market. The main challenge for companies happens to be the accuracy of the data stored. Creating back up and updating them seems to be a prolonged process. In order to protect and update the data , many companies opt for conversion of these data to CAD files. This conversion is done with the help of Raster Imaging software. Using large scanner and the related software to convert the raster image to mathematical vectors happens to be a costly venture for any Small and Medium scale Enterprise. Structured design management : Design management is another critical issue for any company as it aims at increased productivity , cost control and quality of the final product. Structured design aims at Concurrent Engineering which adopts streamlined design and manufacture. The implementation of concurrent engineering demands fully advanced CAD / CAM systems. According to Tilley.S. ( 1992 ), the major concept of streamlined design and manufacture include part design , optimizing real time schedules , generating process plan , scheduling based on orders , monitoring , reporting and maintaining the database . This method of automation is rarely preferred by Small and Medium scale Enterprises as the cost of off the shelf solutions and the expense for replacing the existing systems seems to be more. Concurrent Engineering is otherwise called as Integrated Product Development ( IPD ) , which is a management strategy to improve the efficiency of product development cycles based on cross-functional teams and customer inquiries. Here the product is not merely a drawing, rather it is an electronic model that focuses on features and components. According to McCurdy ( 1995) an IPD comprises of graduates from varied disciplines like Engineering Scientist , Engineering Technologists , Industrial Designers , Vocational technicians and others. Data Management Problems specific to the chosen component manufacturing company : The component manufacturing company under discussion had been adopting many archiving methods for storing it’s design data. These methods include hard copy paper drawings, photographing and storing them on a microfiche card . These have been stored in another place that is around 30 km from this company , making it difficult to access . Backing up of these files had been easy for this company , but the integrity between these back ups and current drawings was difficult. Scanning the drawing and storing them as word or picture format has been done , the definition of such images were poor. To clarify and modify the scanned drawing in a CAD system , the file has been converted into raster geometry file .The typical cost of such equipment range from $695 to $3360 for Trac Trix , raster vector conversion software and for Trix Drawing centre the rate ranges from $165 to $1735 says the legal notice of Trix Systems ( 2009 ). The raster scan mechanism of Trix has been illustrated in Fig.1. Fig.1. The raster scan mechanism of Trix The company has also changed the CAD system . This system has led to further problems with Legacy data and data source and transfer. Data Exchange protocols : As discussed earlier , the component manufacturing company faces challenges due to legacy data. These data may be ignored with the hope that sub – contractors could read this data through custom translators or neutral format. The other method is to translate the data to new system using neutral formats . The different CAD systems and formats need to be collaborated with standards like Standard for Exchange of Product model data ( STEP ) and IGES . STEP 10303 gives an internationally accepted standard for digital product information transfer. STEP is also known as Product Data Exchange Specification ( PDES ) .These STEP data can become the core for PDMS database which include information that relate to the product’s entire life cycle from design to disposal . STEP aims at a single universal standard for all CAD /CAM data exchange says Fowler ( 1996 ). For this component manufacturing company STEP may be more suitable than IGES , because IGES is limited in it’s capability for 3D representation. Other benefits due to STEP include configuration control of product , data vault management and part libraries. STEP can be used in two levels , namely file exchange level and database level . In the file exchange level , the STEP translators can exchange data between CAx systems that could read and write under the same Application Protocol. AP 203 enables configuration controlled 3d design and data exchange between MCAD and ECAD. In the database level , STEP could be a simple database that handles STEP files or it could be a complicated PDMS that uses STEP structures as the core for database schema. The architecture of STEP as outlined by Fowler ( 1996 ) is shown in Fig.2. STEP is divided into seven different classes of parts , each related to a set of part numbers within the ISO 10303 standard. The above mentioned architecture enables easy identification of class and individual parts in a class. Initially STEP has to be implemented with four levels , namely passive file transfer , active file transfer, shared database access and integrated knowledgebase. The disadvantage of using the neutral ( STEP ) product is that the model loses the history and functional information needed for the manufacture. Fig.2. STEP document architecture. Using CAD data translators , not only the geometry but the constraints , features , history tree of the product could also be exchanged. It is better to limit this data exchange within a collaborative design environment which would enhance the manufacturing process. Any successful data transfer must account for the functionality and capability of the CAD system. Also with increasing globalization , collaborative working and product Life cycle Management ( PLM ) , the challenges of CAD interoperability will never cease. Product Data Management Systems ( PSMS ) : For the chosen component manufacturing company the design data are the by products of the component or tool design process . These data have been stored in cabinets and store rooms and are rarely used again. Retrieving these data and converting them happens to be a tiresome process . To avoid the time taken for conversion or time taken for re-creation , a single source of complete and constantly available information base has to be adopted. This would improve data transfer , information flow and data integrity within that organization. Fortunately these happen to be the aim of Product Data Management System ( PDMS ) . An overview of information flow in an organization can be illustrated as in fig. 3. Fig. 3.1 shows the information flow without PDMS and Fig. 3.2. shows the information flow in an organization with PDMS. Fig.3.1. The information flow in an organization without PDMS Fig. 3.2. The information flow in an organization with PDMS The two major components of PDMS are data management and process management. The data management aspect of PDMS has a safe Vault which stores the master data. The integrity of any data could be monitored and assured in this vault system. When ever a master data is issued to any functional area , the new or modified master data is stored again along with the original data in the vault . This type of storage demands that the data history has to be stored which requires a large data base. Another key issue with this type of data base is the methodology to retrieve the data as required by managers and engineers. Similar types of data and information can be grouped under named classes. In PDMS components and documents are classified. Components are entered into the vault under some classes, these classes are grouped under some hierarchy. Documents of classes and assemblies are classified separately and they may contain 3D models , drawings , FEA results or manuals. These documents may have some attributes like author , modification date , part number , etc. Product data retrieval form the vault can be through product structure. When there is a relationship between a product and it’s component assemblies, an entire Bill Of Materials ( BOM ) could be retrieved along with parts and related documents. This type of data association and access allows good relationship between manufacture , finance and maintenance . The accessibility of the vault enables authorized users to trace a classification tree easily , the system also supports querying by simple attributes or combination of attributes. The second major component of PDMS is process management , which relates to the procedures for controlling the creation and modification of data. Process management is entitled to cover areas like work management , workflow management and work history management. This feature of PDMS enables to track the model’s history , maintain records , keeping the project team appraised of the changes. The PDMS emulates the process of compiling the dossier into user packets. These packets help in updating several related documents simultaneously , logical control of the work between individuals or departments. This type of workflow management ensures data validity , move the work between individuals or departments. Thus the implementation of PDMS along with continuous cross checking of data and decisions made during development of cycles enables good data integrity . One major issue with respect to PDMS is configuration management control. The procedures for check – in and check – out have to be under the systems control procedures. Release management procedures of PDMS assure data consistency. Much of the user access can be controlled by project , password and other controls. The meta data available in PDMS enable good tracking , controlling and audit release levels. The implementation of PDMS for the chosen component manufacturing company would prove to be beneficial to handle the large amount of design data . This could be achieved by classifying and cross referencing the product data according to their characteristics. Non - electronic data like drawing and documents could be controlled by referencing which works much like the old fashioned index card systems used in libraries. The PDM vault feature also ensures data secrecy as the user are not made known about the actual location of the data. So users could access the latest version of the work but the access to raw data can be prevented. Product Lifecycle Management ( PLM ) : According to CIM data ( 2005 ) , ‘PLM is much more than data management and CAD. It is a strategic approach that applies a set of business solutions in support of the collaborative creation , management , dissemination and use of product definition information’. The aim of Product Lifecycle Management ( PLM ) is to manage the entire product data and work flow from design to disposal with a complete collaboration from design phase to maintenance of the project and to provide access to the products historical details. PLM combines many business operations like procurement , purchase , design , manufacturing , executive management , marketing , sales and others. PDM is a sub –process of PLM. Though PLM is an overarching concept which enables navigation through the product as quoted by Roberts . B . ( 2005 ), it encompasses many layers of functionality. PLM has a layer dedicated for information and application , one layer for resource management and budgets , another layer for overseeing projects and finally another layer for tracking the work done. Most of the PLM products initiated as PDMS but later added functions and features integrates them to PLM. The major components product life cycle management include Customer Relationship Manger ( CRM ) , Supply Chain Management ( SCM ) , Enterprise Resource Planning ( ERP ). With such an integration, PLM facilitates efficient prediction of the company’s activities , cost and decision making with respect to project management , critical problems and others. The key capabilities of PLM are found to be product innovation, product development management , collaborative management , project management , quality management , compliance management , maintenance management , life cycle analytics of the product and supply chain integration. The PLM sub systems include Electronic Design Automation ( EDA ), Technical Document Management ( TDM ) , Digital mock up ( DMU ) , Virtual mock up , Release Authorization , ECC systems, MCAD , Maintenance , Repair , operations , Project & Programme Management Systems , CAPE. The success of PLM depends on the ability of the company to adapt to the approaches of PLM. A successful PLM solution could be obtained when it is combined with ERP , SCM and CRM. This methodology requires more cost for implementation which is the biggest drawback of this system. An accurate analysis of cost and benefits reveals that the implementation of PLM would be better for long term plans of the chosen component manufacturing company. Collaborative Production Teams : Apart from data management , the other major problem projected towards the company is the attitude of the production team members. The design team of the company has two different opinions and as such have been split into two different teams. The old designers feel more conservative and are comfortable with pencil . They are more resistant to latest technological innovations. But the newer engineers feel comfortable with CAD based drawings . They believe that high quality engineering depends on new technologies. For such a situation , a good design management strategy would be cross – functional teams . These cross – functional working teams and customer inquiries result in good productivity and quality besides good cost reduction. The design team has to be re – organized so as to form a collaborative production team which is always ready to share ideas, constraints , requirements during the initial stages of manufacture. The proposed cross – functional , collaborative work environment enables to combine the skills and resources needed . A general team could involve engineers , industrial designers , technicians , research and development personnel , finance personnel and marketing people. The design team is advised to work according to the opinion of the suppliers and customers. The following could be the roles of a good design team . Discover the idea , conceptualize the idea by proper design , develop new techniques ,and standardize the design . These activities have to be under the leadership of a team leader who has good experience , knowledge with training skill , also good managerial capability. Such a collaborative team should have the following co – ordination as described in Fig. 4. Fig. 4. A collaborative production team . Such teams should be further sub divided and each sub team should have only few members who are skilled in that particular job. These division of the teams are done by a senior design manager or a research and development manager or a director or a vice president . This team formation has to account for the physical proximity of the team members and the project execution site ,as this would help in better communication between members , improves the relationship between team members and hence they contribute amore creative product. Thus cross – functional teams with collaboration enhance the design process effectively. Concurrent Engineering Practices : Concurrent Engineering ( CE ) refers to Integrated Product Development ( IPD ) . This a good management strategy that involves technological integration and collaborative team structure. In such a development environment the model deals about the components and their features. Uncoordinated document management can be avoided by integrating them on management applications like Object Linking and Embedding ( OLE ). Technical applications could include CAD, CAM, CAPP, FEA, process design and simulation and part program delivery. Office applications may include e – mail , conference notes , spread sheets , etc . The management applications consists of project management , work flow , product data , document handling , maintain design library , group technology , industry and corporate standards . The steps in designing and manufacturing a product , as proposed by Kalpakjian, ( 1995 ) are shown in Fig . 5 . This flow of the concurrent engineering process has to be reviewed by an Integrated Product Team ( IPT ) . The integrated product team is a group of Engineering scientists who are doctorates in Engineering and whose responsibility is to conduct research and discover . The Engineers would be responsible to design , conceptualize, develop and formulate new techniques and produce new standards. Engineering Technologists who are required to apply engineering and scientific knowledge along with technical skills. Fig . 5. The steps in designing and manufacturing a product according to by Kalpakjian, ( 1995 ) . They must be able to make judgments , produce workable results, perform independently . They are generally application-oriented with technology application facility (TAF) experience . The next category of personnel belong to Industrial Designers who are required to be aesthetics . Finally Engineering Technicians who deal with equipments , repair works , working experience on equipments and specific skills . Practically the CE and IPT techniques have been framed form a three tire lessons learned process that are analysis , team learning , project wide learning . Conclusion : The above essay discusses the issues related to design data management within a company and across the company boundaries. Being employed as the Design Operations Manger of the chosen component manufacturing company , I have proposed the data management criterion , the strategy for managing the design operations and essential characteristics of the design team as required by this company . These have been analyzed in the view of data exchange protocols like STEP , Product Data Management Systems ( PDMS ) , Product Lifecycle Management ( PLM ) and Concurrent Engineering ( CE ) practices. Also the problems related to design team management have been considered with respect to concepts of cross - functional teams and collaborative production teams that enable Concurrent Engineering practices. References : Bill Roberts , 2005 , Managing products from cradle to grave http://www.reed-electronics.com Fowler, J. , 1996 , STEP for Data Management, Exchange and Sharing, http://www.techapps.co.uk, Kalpakjian, 1995 , Manufacturing Engineering & Technology, 3rd Ed. McCurdy, 1995 , www.pcc.edu/ Product Lifecycle Management – Empowering the Future of Business. 2003 . CIMdata . Tilley, S., 1992 , Integration of CAD/CAM and Production Control for Sheet Metal Components Manufacturing, Annals of the CIRP, Vol. 41/1, 1992. Using large format scanners in engineering companies , http://www.trixsystems.com/large-format-scanner.html , Copyright 1996-2009 , Legal notice Revised to 01/ 21/ 2009. Read More