Can PLM Make You Lean? 1 of a Series

By Nancy Rouse-Talley

Modern design and manufacturing is all about lean. The system of designing and implementing processes that add value by improving product and eliminating waste (see the sidebar “Defining Lean,” below) first began in Japanese automobile production facilities in the 1940s and has spread to other industries and to product development.

“For the past ten years lean was considered relevant only for manufacturing systems,” says Ron Yosefi, marketing director of digital manufacturing for UGS. ”Today we also look to lean transformation of design and the back office.”

Delmia from Dassault.

> > Modeling the factory floor in 3D with Dassault Systemes’ Delmia software can shorten the time it takes to design lean processes. Once modeled, processes are validated before they are implemented.

 

Successful execution of a lean program requires assessing processes,  recognizing bottlenecks, and making improvements that not only eliminate holdups but enhance efficiency. In fact, when used properly, product lifecycle management (PLM) forces the evaluation of a process necessary for implementing lean programs. “Even if you apply PLM to an existing process, you have to start improving it before you implement,” says Yosefi.

Digital manufacturing programs such as UGS Corporation’s Tecnomatix and Dassault Systemes’ Delmia support lean manufacturing processes by helping manufacturing engineers pinpoint problems and validate production procedures. Software such as UGS Corp.’s Teamcenter, PTC’s Windchill, and Dassault Systemes’s Enovia Virtual Product Lifecycle Management (VPLM), Smarteam, and MatrixOne manage complex product engineering data and make it easier to share across the enterprise.

PLM Streamlines Manufacturing

Programs that model processes in 3D can shorten the time it takes to redesign manufacturing methods. Toyota uses Delmia software to model programs in its manufacturing facilities, for example. “Engineers can do an assessment of manufacturing processes, determining whether they have the right equipment and tools to ensure product quality before any change is implemented,” says Peter Schmidt, VP of marketing and business development for Delmia. “In addition, they validate (in 3D) that any change made does not put other parts of the process in danger.”

Tecnomatix from UGS Corp.

PLM also can power lean product development. Toyota’s Powertrain Division uses PTC’s Windchill PLM system to manage CAD data and the product-development process. Toyota standardized on PTC’s Pro/Engineer in 2002, and upgraded to Pro/Engineer Wildfire 2.0 in 2004.

Windchill maps concurrent engineering processes, says Brian Shepherd,  division vice-president of product management for PTC. He adds that Windchill also helps Toyota standardize design practices. “Toyota is well-known for its rigorous standardization approach,” says Shepherd.

Shepherd says Windchill is used to store design templates that represent best practices for specific powertrain components. “Templates are downloaded ]from Windchill] into Pro/Engineer. A template would not involve a complete design for an engine, but perhaps a trusted design for piston rings,” says Shepherd.

Windchill from PTC.

> > PTC’s Windchill manages the data related to 3D design files. Once captured, this information is then stored in the system and can be reused by engineers.

 

Defining Lean Manufacturing

In the 1990 book, The Machine That Changed the World,  manufacturing experts James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos described the secret weapon that Japanese automobile manufacturers were using to beat America’s Big Three. They called it lean production and characterized it as a way to create value for customers by improving quality and eliminating waste. According to  the authors, five principles guide lean manufacturing:

•  Specify the value desired by the customer
•  Identify value streams and eliminate wasted steps in them
•  Make product flow continuously through the remaining value-added steps
•  Introduce just-in-time production methods to all steps where continuous flow is possible
•  Manage toward perfection to reduce the steps in the process and the time and information needed to serve the customer.

The seminal implementation of lean manufacturing is the Toyota Production System, which was pioneered more than 50 years ago by the company’s founder Sakichi Toyoda and engineer Taiichi Ohno. The Toyota Production System changed the way manufacturing engineers looked at production. It eliminated concentration on individual machine performance in favor of optimized product flow through a complete process. In lean, no one part of a process is improved at the expense of other parts.

Lean production methods eliminate what Ohno called the seven deadly wastes:

•  Excessive time to transport product between processes
•  Excessive, wasted, or improper motions by workers
•  Waiting for the next operation in a process
•  Maintenance of parts inventory
•  Improper use of high-cost automation
•  Quality defects that  lead to scrap
•  Overproduction of finished product

Tools such as kanban (instruction card) stock management, just-in-time inventory control, and poka-yoke (foolproof) equipment design are associated with lean processes. However, lean strategy is more than simply tools. A successful implementation of a lean program involves a new, process-oriented way of thinking.

 “Tools will never be the competitive edge,” says Ken Kreafle, general manager of vehicle production engineering for Toyota of North America. “The competitive edge is found through the interface of people with the tools.”

The Toyota Production System helps workers find a problem, solve the problem, and keep the problem from returning, says Kreafle. Keeping a problem from returning is hard, he adds, and requires process standardization and the use of kaizen, or continuous improvement using problem-solving and analysis. It is kaizen that is central to lean thinking.

Kreafle adds that many companies have copied the tools used in the Toyota Production System without as much success. “They copy tools, but they don’t copy the thinking,” says Kreafle.
—N R-T

Companies Mentioned

Dassault Systemes
Suresnes, France

PTC
Needham, MA

UGS Corp.
Plano, TX