Implementing the Engineering Collaboration Hub

Standards-based PLM:
Re-engineering the Aftermarket with PLCS - Part 1 Business Benefits 

Standards-based PLM:
Re-engineering the Aftermarket with PLCS - Part 2 Technologies and Deployments

CIMdata Program Review:
Eurostep's Share-A-space - Product Lifecycle Collaboration through Information Integration 

Information Consolidation and Federation

FLIS: an opportunity for transformation

PLCS and S1000D Collaborative Environment

AIA Position Paper: Engineering Data Interoperability - A Standards Based Approach

Analysis of Standards for Lifecycle Management of Systems for US Army --- a preliminary investigation 

Topic Maps in the PDT Domain

DODAF and AP233

Low Cost Tools for DODAF

A Shared Data Environment for Requirements

Sharing Product Data Through Life in the Extended Enterprise - the Share-A-space® solution 

Using Systems Engineering Standards in an Architecture Framework

Open PDM

 Implementing the Engineering Collaboration Hub
Article published in the ProductData Journal, Volume 15, No. 2 2008. Written by Fredrik Almyren, Jonas Rosén and Per Brorson.

Executive Summary
This article presents an approach to Engineering Collaboration in the Aerospace Industry using international standards for information sharing and process integration. It presents the challenges experienced by the industry and the approach used by Volvo Aero Corporation to address them. Areas covered include an Engineering Hub concept based on a secure, standardized collaboration platform and a shared, standardized Engineering Change process.

 Standards-based PLM: Re-engineering the Aftermarket with PLCS: Part 1 Business Benefits
White paper in collaboration with John Stark Associates

Executive Summary
Recent changes in the business environment have opened new opportunities in the aftermarket. Successfully exploiting these trends presents many challenges, including both new commercial relationships and management of huge volumes of product data.  The new approaches to meeting the challenges that are discussed in this paper will enable OEMs to provide effective low-cost global support for long-life complex engineered products such as airplanes, power plant, heavy vehicles, industrial machinery and equipment, elevators, trains, and weapon systems; and also less complex systems.

 Standards-based PLM: Re-engineering the Aftermarket with PLCS: Part 2 Technologies and Deployments
White paper in collaboration with John Stark Associates

Executive Summary
A coherent information environment in which the necessary data are available to all participating actors is a prerequisite for efficient product support. PLCS can be thought of as a new “world map” for product support. Like any new map, PLCS contains much that is familiar – a maintenance task is still a maintenance task – and many new discoveries.  Just like a map, PLCS can be used in different ways. One is to solve business problems by automating data exchange between existing systems. PLCS can also be used to support a major update of processes across an entire organization. This paper describes the standard itself and explains how an organization can implement PLCS to achieve tangible business benefits. Examples are provided of PLCS projects in some well known organizations.

 CIMdata Program Review: Eurostep's Share-A-space - Product Lifecycle Collaboration through Information Integration

Executive Summary
Overall, our impression is that Share-A-space is a solid PLM-enabling technology that supports a number of critical business needs faced by companies as they seek to leverage their selected business partners throughout a product's entire lifecycle. Share-A-space appears to be an excellent tool to support secure asynchronous collaboration both within an organization as well as throughout an extended enterprise with all of its various participants. It complements many existing engineering and product-related solutions like Requirements Management, CAD, CAE, PDM, ERP, Integrated Logistics Support (ILS), Technical Documentation Management, and others, and provides the possibility for these domain specific solutions to deliver additional value to the enterprise and its business partners.

 Information Consolidation and Federation
Eurostep Technology White Paper

Executive Summary
This white paper describes how consolidation adds value when managing information in heterogeneous information systems, across multiple organizations. It describes how the PLCS based information management solution, Share-A-space from Eurostep, enables consistent information through consolidation as well as federation.

 FLIS: an opportunity for transformation
Eurostep

Executive Summary
FLIS is a large program that will need to adopt its approach to information management to match the differing requirements form different business domains. The aim of this white paper is to offer a view as to the challenges and opportunities facing the FLIS program, especially in the E&AM space.

 PLCS and S1000D Collaborative Environment
Eurostep and Corena White Paper

Executive Summary
This white paper describes the problems encountered in managing change across technical publications and product configuration for complex products, and suggests that the two standards S1000D and PLCS (Product Life Cycle Support) be used together. The white paper also offers a pragmatic solution based on two of the leading software applications in the domains: Eurostep’s Share-A-space and Corena’s Life*S1000D. PLCS, implemented in Share-A-space, potentially enables a collaborative environment that does not require complex and time-consuming integration efforts. This is achieved by providing a common and consolidated information set for the business partners while ensuring that all partners can continue working in their respective environments according to their own business processes.

 AIA Position Paper: Engineering Data Interoperability - A Standards Based Approach
Engineering Data Interoperability Group (EDIG)
Aerospace Industries Association, Inc.

Executive Summary
The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) Engineering Data Interoperability Group (EDIG) recommends that AIA member companies and suppliers transition to a standards-based interoperability solution utilizing PLCS (ISO 10303-239) and its associated DEXs.

Across the aerospace industry, the need for efficient data exchange has never been greater. Aerospace companies have increasingly focused on the role of systems integrator, relying on partners and suppliers to provide significant portions of their aircraft designs. Meeting the requirement for integration and collaboration, however, has been costly and time-consuming given the disparate set of applications and methods typically employed presents. This White Paper summarizes the AIA Engineering Data Interoperability Group's activities, their related findings, and their recommendations.

 Analysis of Standards for Lifecycle Management of Systems for US Army --- a preliminary investigation
NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology, technology Administration, U. S. Department of Commerce

Executive Summary 
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, has published a report titled "Analysis of Standards for Lifecycle Management of Systems for US Army --- a preliminary investigation". The authors of the report make the following observation:
"ISO 10303 appears to have the most breadth and depth of coverage for product lifecycle data. ISO 10303-239 (Product Lifecycle Support, PLCS) is currently the only international standard available that covers the entire lifecycle spectrum."

 Topic Maps in the PDT Domain
Eurostep and Ontopia Technology White Paper

Executive Summary
This white paper describes the potentials offered by Topic Maps to the Product Data Technology (PDT) Domain. We describe in particular how topic maps can be used to enhance the visualisation of product data and data warehousing of product related legacy data.

 DODAF and AP233 White Paper
Eurostep Technology White Paper

Executive Summary
This white paper examines how AP233 (the part of the STEP International Standard for systems engineering data exchange) fits with DODAF (the DoD Architecture Framework). In particular, the use of AP233 as an exchange and sharing format for DODAF is considered, especially the way it complements the existing CADM XML format for DODAF. Implementation scenarios for integration AP233 and DODAF are also considered.

The use of AP233 with DODAF will make a new set of tools available to people working with the framework, since it provides a neutral method for handing over systems engineering data to the DoD during the procurement process. 
 

 Low Cost Tools for DODAF
Eurostep Technology White Paper

Executive Summary
This document examines how low cost software tools may be used for visualizing and manipulating DODAF architecture views. Consideration is also given to how the tools should be integrated with the DARS environment and the CADM database.

 A Shared Data Environment for Requirements
Eurostep Technology White Paper

Executive Summary
The business of engineering and manufacturing complex products is highly distributed. Supply chains are tightly integrated and are usually able to share and exchange information electronically. Unfortunately, the customer (or even the OEM) tends to be less integrated - they often just issue the requirements, approve the proposals and take ownership of the product (and a bundle of paper and electronic support documents). Obviously, this is not the optimal situation.

This white paper describes some initial ideas about a capability for managing requirements across a number of organizations using different requirements management tools. The main topic discussed is the need to trace between requirements that originate in different parts of an organization or supply chain, and may have been authored using different tools. The relationship between requirements and PDM data is also considered. Finally, the big picture of a fully integrated "Lifecycle SDE" is discussed.

 Sharing Product Data Through Life in the Extended Enterprise - the Share-A-space solution
Eurostep Technology White Paper

Executive Summary
The extended enterprise encompasses a multiple set of supply chain management processes ranging from explicit material flows to implicit flows of information. Extended enterprises are built up based on the assumption that information can flow freely among the partners. A major barrier is often the difficult task of integrating PLM, ERP, and Product Support systems across partners in an everchanging market. How do you integrate when the information scope is project based? How do you manage when partners in the project change over time?

 Using Systems Engineering Standards in an Architecture Framework
Ian Bailey, Eurostep; Fatma Dandashi and Huei-Wan Ang, Mitre Corp; Dwayne Hardy, American Systems Corp 

Executive Summary
Developing complex systems requires engineering teams that are distributed in time and space. Effective collaboration requires agreement and a thorough understanding of the various work assignments and resulting products. Many of these products pertain to important systems engineering considerations such as requirements and architectures that transcend the entire life cycle of the system of interest. So it is critical that the system information contained in these work products is accurately captured and "readable" by appropriate team members in a timely manner. Today, this information is generally captured in an array of tools where each is only concerned with a portion of systems engineering data and can't share its data with other tools.

The standards discussed in this paper permit an alternate apporach that should be more affordable and timely. In addition, if the tools that each participating organization is currently using implement one of the standards discussed in this paper, this approach should allow:

• Data exchanges between the tools that each organization is currently using.
• Data exchanges between tools of different types (e.g. requirements and architecture).
• Creation of alternate representations or views of the same system data (where meaningful).

 Open PDM
Eurostep Technology White Paper

Executive Summary
"Open PDM" is a response to the needs of companies to manage product data in a way which supports both internal requirements and facilitates partnership wiht customer and partners, using multiple, different PDM and functional systems. Open PDM must also support future as well as current processes.

Why is Open PDM needed? The current and future business environment is characterised by:
• Partnerships between companies
• Concurrent engineering approaches
• Globalization

The effect of these characteristics is that the design, manufacture and use of products typically involves multiple companies with different PDM systems. Therefore PDM systems and the way they are configured and used needs to support data exchange and sharing between companies as well as within a company.