Managing Automation- July 2008

[ INDUSTRIES ] Transformation Integration TechWatch Industries deployed Infor’s SyteLine 8. Now, when the company spots a potential problem, it can identify within seconds all the parts made within the same lot. That makes it easier to do root cause analysis. Also, SyteLine lets Leach associate documents and labor records with each lot and part, giving the company and its customers better insight into the conditions under which the part was made. “It’s helping us work hand-in-hand with our customers,” Heer says. “They want to know what our problems are and what solutions we have in place to correct them.” SENSORY INPUT Some aerospace manufacturers are also gaining and documenting greater insights into subsystem performance through the use of on-board sensors. For example, manufacturers of critical subsystems, such as aircraft engines, are incorporating sensors that help them understand how well an engine is operating and how soon it may need maintenance, says Mike Burkett, a vice president at AMR Research. Several engine manufacturers are using sensor systems from SmartSignal Corp. that communicate through existing air-to-ground systems so that operators and service providers can sample performance data during flight, says SmartSignal application engineering vice president David Bell. Similarly, many manufacturers are beginning to use RFID technology to both track and monitor aerospace parts. By putting RFID tags on critical aerospace parts, says Deloitte’s Captain, manufacturers and maintenance providers can quickly get critmanagingautomation.com ical information about a part — for example, when and RELATED ARTICLES: Pharma’s Track & Trace Challenge where it was made, what lot www.managingautomation.com/industries24 number it was par t of, and PLM’s Vertical Challenge who made it — just by passing www.managingautomation.com/plm10 it in front of a transponder. PLM and Manufacturing: A Digital Bond That way, maintenance perwww.managingautomation.com/plm9 sonnel and manufacturers can easily get to critical part inforCOMPANIES MENTIONED: mation without being required IFS to search through a variety of www.managingautomation.com/ifs2 back-end databases or paper Infor documents, Captain says. www.managingautomation.com/infor4 Soon, experts predict, aeroIQS space and other manufacturwww.managingautomation.com/iqs ers will be able to easily share Oracle Corp. that kind of RFID-generated www.managingautomation.com/oracle3 part tracing information with Siemens PLM OEMs using a set of standard www.managingautomation.com/siemens interfaces being developed by SmartSignal Corp. the EPCglobal standards www.managingautomation.com/smartsignal group. Manufacturers and maonline service providers will be able to use the standard interfaces — called EPC (Electronic Product Code) Information Ser vices — to create distributed databases of serial information that can be easily shared by supply chain partners. “Manufacturers and their customers will be able to access and query industry-standard databases that contain historical data about aerospace parts — how it was manufactured, who worked on it, ways it’s been maintained,” says Raj Saksena, CEO of RFID provider Omnitrol Networks Inc., a maker of sensor networks based on the EPC-IS standard. And, increasingly, aerospace manufacturers are sharing with OEMs and others comprehensive part design information managed by product lifecycle management (PLM) systems. Siemens’ PLM unit, for example, offers a version of its TeamCenter PLM platform specifically for aerospace MRO applications. The platform pulls together original part design and simulation information and combines it with information from other sources, such as lot numbers from production systems, mechanic IDs, and maintenance histories. The result is a comprehensive digital record of a part covering its full lifecycle. “Currently, at many companies, these procedures are very labor-intensive, and the information is often paper-based,” says Tim Nichols, managing director for aerospace global marketing at Siemens PLM. While technologies such as RFID, PLM, and sensors automate different aspects of the aerospace parts-tracking challenge, ultimately what will be needed is a comprehensive, standardsbased system that commercial aerospace suppliers and OEMs can use to manage all aspects of their interactions — from product design, through manufacturing, and including post-sales maintenance and support. And though OEMs and their suppliers in commercial aviation haven’t yet agreed on the processes that such a comprehensive system would cover, manufacturers and integrators in defense-related aviation have. Growing numbers of defense aerospace supply chains are deploying integrated logistics support systems (ILSS), which allow participants in the chain to easily exchange critical information, including parts traceability data, says Espen Olsen, global industry director for commercial aviation at IFS. “Commercial aerospace OEMs, suppliers, and operators would do well to collaborate on defining requirements for a comprehensive system similar to ILSS on the defense side,” Olsen says. “Given the increased outsourcing and interdependence on the commercial side, it needs to be on their agendas.” ■ ma July 36 2008 http://managingautomation.com http://www.managingautomation.com/industries24 http://www.managingautomation.com/plm10 http://www.managingautomation.com/plm9 http://www.managingautomation.com/ifs2 http://www.managingautomation.com/infor4 http://www.managingautomation.com/iqs http://www.managingautomation.com/oracle3 http://www.managingautomation.com/siemens http://www.managingautomation.com/smartsignal

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation- July 2008

Managing Automation- July 2008 Contents Take 1 HP's Acquisition of EDS May Face Integration, Global Delivery Challenges Rimini Plans to Woo SAP Support Users Rockwell Steps Up Its Activities in Software Microsoft Targets the Process of Innovation Supply Chain Standouts Honored by AMR Notes Who Are Today's Influential Thinkers? The Robot Revolution Is the Price Right? Without a Trace Harvesting the Suggestion Box Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

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