Siemens PLM Unveils Context-Driven Collaboration Strategy

Understanding that simply connecting product design data with factory floor controllers is not enough to fulfill the dream of closed-loop digital manufacturing, Siemens PLM this week announced what it calls the High Definition PLM technology framework.

HD-PLM, at this point a strategic direction, will eventually result in what Siemens PLM described as a collaborative decision support platform that will unite users with different domain expertise by providing the precise product-related information they need to intelligently make decisions. Each individual’s experience in the digital context will be personalized to fit his or her role, the company said.

HD-PLM will build on the existing capabilities of three of Siemens PLM’s flagship products. They are Teamcenter, which is used to store and distribute data associated with product development; Tecnomatix, a digital manufacturing solution that links engineering, process simulation, and manufacturing execution; and NX design software with multi-CAD capability.

And, though this week’s HD-PLM announcement included new capabilities within NX version 7 that added visually rich content and interactive navigation, the real news is Siemens PLM’s promise to provide a personalized, dynamic context for the product design process, industry experts said.

“To me, the important stuff is the strategy and the intention,” said Joe Barkai, PLM practice director at IDC Manufacturing Insights, in an interview with Managing Automation. “It is the ability to synthesize and bring together, in visual form, different data elements. This is the innovation.”

Currently, Barkai said, there is too much fragmentation between design tools that don’t connect and aren’t easy for a variety of people to use. “It’s great if you have CAE tools, but if you are not a CAE expert, it’s hard to get the value from it. If, however, a supply chain person has the ability to [share data that may change] the CAE process, then you are getting value from these tools,” he said.

The ability to change the context of design data to dynamically suit each user’s need is the decision support aspect of the framework. That, Barkai explained, is a step beyond traditional analytics. “Analytics is one-way and doesn’t provide or give information that tells you what to do,” he said. Decision support tools, on the other hand, give users information that helps them evaluate the situation to make decisions quickly.

At this time, HD-PLM is a strategy that will continue to evolve based on four tenets, the company said. Siemens PLM said it will:

• Personalize users’ experience by recognizing who they are and actively presenting them with only the information they need to perform their tasks.
• Assist users proactively to make collaborative decisions by aggregating, analyzing, and monitoring information; notifying users when action is required; and suggesting collaborators to aid in their decision making.Clarify users’ understanding by presenting “rich” information in the most intuitive way and enabling them to navigate to associated data from different disciplines and sources.
• Validate user decisions against best practices by applying analytical techniques to assess alternatives and capturing decision-making best practices for future reference.

Siemens PLM officials were not available to comment on what actual technology will enable these capabilities or when these capabilities will be available. But, a company representative said that the HD-PLM framework will underpin Teamcenter, Tecnomatix, and NX applications going forward, and that an end user will not be required to have all three products in place.

“HD-PLM provides a technology foundation enabling our global collaborative product development team to produce a common set of integrated software tools that will identify, capture, and collate the massive amount of information available both inside and outside of manufacturing enterprises, and then apply meaning to that data using a consistent, compelling, and intuitive visual environment," Chuck Grindstaff, Siemens PLM CTO, said in a statement. "The result is knowledge made instantly available to the right people, at the right place, and in the right context to support rapid and intelligent decision making — or what we call high-definition decision making.”