Mastering all the data

A new 'Collaborative Master Data Management Solution' will allow engineering companies to centrally manage and access all their engineering and manufacturing data across a range of servers and sites, even if they are all using different software. According to Hasso Plattner, one of the two joint CEO/chairmen of SAP, the ability to work in this way has been the core of the company's skills and offerings ever since he helped start it 30 years ago. As a result, he can justifiably claim "we have some significant knowledge about master data". The need for such a product arises because more and more people need to have access to information about products and business operations. Traceability and ownership becomes a feature because, according to Plattner, "no one system owns the master data in a company any more". The ability to access all relevant data across an enterprise and offer it outside to suppliers and customers, addressing supply chain management (SCM) and customer relationship management (CRM), is becoming vital. Access to current and legacy data is also taking on a whole new level of importance in view of existing and future legal requirements for manufacturing companies to take responsibility for disassembly, recycling and disposal issues at end of their product's lives – a part of the process now known as Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). The aerospace and defence industries have long been bound by the shackles of maintaining traceability of everything that goes into their products and what happens to them. It should therefore come as no surprise to learn from Peter Goebbels, SAP vice president Aerospace and Defence, that his unit has between 60 to 80% of the possible customer accounts in these sectors in Europe and the US. UK accounts include British Aerospace, Rolls Royce and Martin Baker, who signed up at the last Farnborough air show. One of the particular attractions of the SAP approach is its Earned Value Management System (EVMS) which provides customers with regular reports on work in progress – an otherwise irksome task for engineering managers who would much rather be designing products. One of the challenges which Goebbel's unit is tackling at the moment is the creation of a system for Airbus in which the designers of the A380 will be able to share all their data across systems and sites in Toulouse, Hamburg and Bristol. The approach will involve the setting up of 'C' (collaborative) folders making use of standard interfaces to the various CAD systems in use. Central management is achieved by using one of the most important principles of good information management – it is not necessary to store all information at one's fingertips, but it is necessary to know where to find it quickly. The magic phrase is 'Metadata', which, in layman's terms, is simply an index. However, unlike a static paper index, a company-wide system has to address problems of who can modify data and how data held in different places can be synchronised. One of the keys to achieving synchronisation and harmonisation of data is to have a common standard. The only problem with this is that there isn't one. Christine Clevenger, vice president High Tech, sits on the board of Rosettanet, a non-profit US corporation devoted to developing and promoting a universal XML based data exchange standard for the high tech electronic industries. Companies behind this include HP, IBM, Cisco and Intel. The petroleum and chemical industries are developing their own standards and the aerospace industry has a standard called Spec 2000. The automotive industry, on the other hand, still seem to be considering what to do. Some assistance to commonality is achieved by an SAP product called Content Integrator. This checks descriptions of components and parts and produces lists of items which it thinks are identical. It makes no attempt to force one part number onto a part at the expense of another. Since SAP already has such a large proportion of large accounts, the company is now developing products and services for small- and medium-sized companies. Archim Heimann, senior vice president, PLM says, when offering PLM solutions for the smaller user: "Smaller companies have the same problems as big ones, but cannot maintain big systems. Our approach therefore is to offer more out of the box." Out of the box integration with CAD systems include Pro/Engineer, Catia, AutoCAD, Unigraphics, Solid Edge and SolidWorks. "Senior engineers are increasingly becoming project managers, sourcing components and design skills, as opposed to supervising rooms full of designers. PLM systems should help them do this and to achieve greater standardisation and reduction of complexity." According to Plattner, full SAP suite users include some with as few as 10 or 20 seats. SAP's approach to PLM is to start with the business management process and then integrate the CAD function, while CAD-based companies tend to approach the problem from the other end; starting with CAD and then adding on business management. Radical change One of the worries for users large and small, is that taking on all encompassing software that radically changes the way things are done, is associated with a considerable amount of business risk. We have met an executive of one SAP customer company who rather bitterly complained that when its system was turned on, "it worked, but worked wrong" and apparently took six months to remedy. However, this should be contrasted with anecdotal evidence that large PLM systems installed by one of SAP's competitors generally take about 18 months to get fully up and running. And there are constant stories of large systems from some companies which have never worked properly at all. One of the approaches SAP follows – which much of the engineering industry could do well to emulate – is that when a large installation is agreed on, SAP will delegate a senior manager to sit on the project management board of the customer company. Claus Heinrich, a member of the SAP executive board, for example, will be on the steering board of the Airbus project, Goebbels was on the steering board of Singapore Airlines and Leo Apotheker was on the steering board of Lego. SAP has an unusually professional approach, but before committing to such a major investment in time and effort – the direct money cost being a small part – we do recommend that potential users also consult with other PLM systems suppliers such as EDS, IBM and PTC. Pointers Engineering data can be managed centrally, even though it is distributed across different places on different platforms running different software The data can extend upwards through the supply chain and downwards into customer relationships, representing complete integration of all engineering and business processes