PLM Software Promotes Collaboration for Increased Productivity
A recent article at Managing Automation discusses how technology has evolved to better support the product design process. The piece begins by asking the important question: "How do you engineer good outcomes?" A typical manufacturing workflow involves multiple engineers each working on their own piece of the project, which can create an unintended silo effect. Product lifecycle management (PLM) software helps streamline the information sharing process.
PLM software provides a system for relaying product and process information across the organization and with select outside interests. By facilitating the collaboration and sharing of work and ideas, PLM improves product design, reduces time-to-market and minimizes waste and redundancy. There are numerous options to choose from in this growing field.
Siemens, PTC, Dassault Systèmes, Enovia, Geensoft, and Intercim are just a few of the vendors offering solutions to manage production and design. Each platform has its own industry focus and unique profile, and all these solutions aim to give manufacturing engineers the information they need "to make better decisions that support greater production yield and improve product reliability."
According to the author, "the era in which each engineering discipline — design, manufacturing, quality, and so on — maintained its own data is coming to a close." There's no more excuse for the inefficiencies and vulnerabilities of the siloed workflow. PLM software presents a unified view of data across departments, strengthening collaboration and increasing productivity.
