SRI KRISHNA COLLEGE OF

TECHNOLOGY
(An Autonomous Institution |Affiliated to Anna University Chennai| Accredited
by NAAC with A Grade)
Kovaipudur, Coimbatore - 641042
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

19MEO11 - PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT

CASE STUDY

NAME NANTHAKUMAR G

REGISTER NO. 19TUME125

CLASS/SECTION IV MECHANICAL B

CASE STUDY OF PLM

TOPIC
FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES
 ABSTRACT
lifespan of a product or service in a network of global supply chains. Data from things, parts,
PLM software is a solution that regulates all the data and procedures throughout the
products, documentation, specifications, engineering change orders, and quality procedures are
included in this. Supply chains have expanded globally in recent years, and firms are changing the
way they operate. For instance, many businesses use embedded software services to market new
goods and services, such as product-as-a-service (PaaS). These firms are now realizing that they
require cloud-based PLM software that is prepared to assist them in becoming flexible and
responsive. Because it offers the digital basis and enterprise product record for a comprehensive
product development and management process, modern PLM software is swiftly emerging as the
lynchpin of a company transformation. Management of design and process documents is one of
PLM's key components. management of the product architecture (bill of materials), centralized
information bank (electronic file repository), document classification, management of metadata
("characteristics"), Identification of material composition for environmental compliance project
work assignment with a focus on products, management of the authorization for changes,
Implementing security with multiple users and "electronic signature" Data export to be loaded into
later-stage ERP systems

INTRODUCTION
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) can be examined from different viewpoints. It
represents an integrated approach in product data management, that allows the merging and
balancing of different roles and activities to organize and streamline product development. PLM
is also an Information Technology (IT) solution that should implement that integrated approach.
In the best case, a PLM solution can support product development and manage the entire data
related to the product.
Design methodologies and processes enable the designers to structure and carry
out the tasks related to design and are focused on the design and development phase of a product.
The design activities and decisions carried out in the design phase rely heavily on the other phases
in the product lifecycle. However, currently, these, and concepts of the product lifecycle and
lifecycle management have been developed in parallel without sufficient integration. The result is
a limited overview of the downstream phases of the product lifecycle in design as well as an
intuitive approach toward design, deployment, delivery, operation, and support rather than a more
systematic approach.
The limited inclusion of the design methodology support in The product lifecycle
management (PLM) models leads to overlooking aspects of product design with implications
across its lifecycle. Often these implications are very expensive to overcome for the stakeholders.
Addressing trans-disciplinary issues necessitate a holistic overview of the product lifecycle,
incorporating not only discipline-specific tools and processes but also transdisciplinarity and
consideration of all the stakeholders.
 The objective of the overall thesis is to have a comprehensive view of the
features of functions and
PLM, considering it as a technology solution and as a business strategy for improving
knowledge management, collaboration, and inter-functional coordination.

Product’s Life Cycle Management

The lifecycle of a product has four fundamental stages. These are the most common steps, though
some businesses would add more. The planning stage is the introduction. Plans and tactics for
advertising are developed by marketing teams. Designers create conceptual designs for products
and run several testing. Once the product moves to the standard tests, the growth stage examines
how they want to develop the product with availability, the number of products they want to sell,
and other aspects. When a product matures, it is supplied to vendors or online merchants and
generates profits. As more businesses attempt to produce identical products or offer enhancements,
marketing and production cost gradually decrease. The original product may see a drop in demand
and eventually go out of style if newer versions, corporate knockoffs, or enhancements become
popular.

The benefits of this approach to streamlining product lifecycle procedures include Enhanced
Productivity Because it tracks every stage of a product's lifecycle, makes it simple to submit
modifications, and updates data in real-time to keep everyone informed, enhancing productivity
and reducing bottlenecks, Increases Revenue When productivity soars, you can provide goods to
customers more quickly. This accelerated market time dramatically increases customer satisfaction
and income. Automating activities and entering real-time data, increases product quality and
lowers costs, enhances supplier cooperation since you can promptly notify suppliers, internal and
external stakeholders, manufacturers, and executives of any product recalls or adjustments that
need to be made before allocation.

A PLM software application can help an organization manage its product's lifecycle by providing
a data warehouse for all the information that affects the product. PLM software can be used to
automate the management of product-related data and integrate the data with other business
processes such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing execution systems
(MES). The goal of PLM is to eliminate waste and improve efficiency. PLM is considered to be
an integral part of the lean production model.
Various PLM systems and vendors flood the market with products of the user can choose which
product best fits your enterprise's needs these in-depth product overviews of the leading PLM
systems like Aras Innovator, Arena PLM, Autodesk PLM 360, Dassault Systemes' ENOVIA PLM
platform, Oracle PLM, PTC Windchill, SAP PLM, Siemens PLM suite and Synergis' Adept PDM,
etc.

In today’s industrial production, therefore, PLM is an essential tool for coping with the challenges
of more demanding global competition and ever-shortening product and component lifecycles, and
growing customer needs. New, better, and more flexible products must be
introduced into markets more quickly, with more profit and less labor, and the lifecycle of each
product must be better controlled, for example, from financial and environmental perspectives.
Fierce competition in global markets drives companies to perform better. In order to perform well
financially, companies must be able to make informed decisions concerning the lifecycle of each
product in their portfolio. Winner products must be introduced into the market quickly and poorly
performing products must be removed from the market. To do this well, companies must have a
very good idea of the lifecycle of each product. A good command of product and process
definitions over a large product portfolio requires that ways of operation and IT-systems must
support each other flawlessly.

The scope of product information being stored, refined, searched, and shared with PLM has
expanded. PLM is a holistic business concept developed to manage a product and its lifecycle
including not only items, documents, and BOMs, but also analysis results, test specifications,
environmental component information, quality standards, engineering requirements, change
orders, manufacturing procedures, product performance information, component suppliers, etc.
On the other hand, modern PLM system
capabilities include workflow, program
management, and project control features that
standardize, automate, and speed up product
management operations. Web-based systems
enable companies easily to connect their globally
dispersed facilities with each other and with outside
organizations such as suppliers, partners, and even
customers. A PLM system is a collaborative
backbone allowing people throughout extended
enterprises to work together more effectively.

FEATURES OF PLM
A product's total economic performance is significantly influenced by product lifecycle
management. For instance, it also considers elements like the availability of spare parts or software
upgrades. The fundamental core duties of PLM consist of-
Requirements management
Software-supported requirements management captures different and sometimes contradictory
requirements within a PLM process. These are assigned to specific components or assemblies and
assigned priorities. The creation of requirement structures without reference to material masters is
also part of this process. Requirements form the basis of target analyses and traceability. It lets you
manage complexity with the customer in mind and continuously improve quality by understanding
and intelligently assessing the impact of changes across the entire asset and lifecycle. It is a
systematic, secure, and repeatable solution that enables easy capture, verification, and maintenance
of requirements across the entire lifecycle.
Integrating requirements with the asset’s lifecycle are the only scalable way of delivering
successful products. This ensures that requirements are captured, related and accurately maintained
in the context of the overall product development process. It mitigates the risks of non-compliance
by tying requirements to downstream implementation processes for continuous asset compliance
monitoring.
Change management
Change management is the coordinated monitoring and management of all product-related
changes. It is part of configuration management. IT enforces control over revisions to designs,
items, and records during the many phases of the product lifecycle—from development and
production through end-of-life. Product lifecycle management provides change management
workflows to help departments efficiently automate and document revisions for enterprise-wide
visibility and traceability. The following 7 steps provide a blueprint of an effective change
management process: Establish the scope of the change, Create a business case that shows
stakeholders why the change is needed, Plan the change, Establish new benchmarks,
Communication, Celebrate the wins, Evaluate, adjust and continuously improve.

It can use the power of PLM to optimize your product change management processes and realize
innovation. You have a clear understanding of the data, people, and processes impacted by a
change, enabling you to effectively plan. Leverage flexible change processes that meet your
specific needs. These processes drive execution and help provide full change traceability. With
product change management, you can effectively manage the evolution of your products, issues,
and improvements, while also implementing change quickly, accurately, and comprehensively to
better respond to your customers’ needs.

CAD data management

A central function of the PLM system is the management and integration of CAD files.CAD data
management with a product lifecycle management (PLM) system provides a solution to better
control, collaborate and share product information. The ability to manage and leverage MCAD
and ECAD data throughout the enterprise provides for secure and consistent management of the
creation, change, and business impact on the company’s intellectual property. The secure
management of a company’s CAD documents, parts, assemblies, and drawings in a single solution
increases efficiency, reduces errors, and enables design reuse while promoting collaboration
throughout the product development process.
Integration with PDM/PLM makes CAD data available across the enterprise as well as to supply
chain partners and fully integrates it with part and BOM structures.

Document management
Document management refers to file management in a PLM system so that files and data records
are always available in their current version. Unlike CAD data management, document
management includes all documents generated in the context of the product creation process.
Documents can be expensive to produce, have a long life – sometimes longer than the products
they describe – and can be very complex, even having to meet stringent standards in some
industries. Done right, documents can be very profitable, especially when they support the service
business.

It provides documentation tools to help your teams create specifications, analysis reports, 2D/3D
illustrations, spreadsheets, test results, and technical publications. Documents and technical
publications are in the same product lifecycle management (PLM) system as all your other product-
related information. Document authors have direct access to up-to-date product information like a
bill of materials, parts lists, and 3D geometry, and can work toward the same milestones. With
Teamcenter, you can keep your product design and documentation aligned with product changes
to reduce the time and cost of development, while improving document accuracy and effectiveness.

Configuration management
The task of configuration management is to document and manage all related work results as
configurations. This includes product-related changes. Configuration management provides
functionalities for managing product and system configurations throughout its lifecycle, including
document identification, revision management, product (BOM) history, engineering change
proposal (ECP) workflow, and integrated data file management. It increases visibility and
simplifies management, provides configuration identification, control, status accounting, and
verification, and tracks baselines at different stages of the product lifecycle, for example, as-
designed, as-built, as-maintained, etc., supporting CMII-certified best practices for configuration
and change management.
 Project management
Project management comprises the planning, monitoring, control, and completion of a project
using project management systems. It delivers program and project management solutions within
your product lifecycle management (PLM) environment. You can manage your projects in one
place and with one system, no matter how simple or complex they are. You can also integrate into
your existing project management systems, automating the exchange of critical information.

Managers and team leaders can leverage powerful project management capabilities in Teamcenter,
the same PLM tool they use daily. You don’t have to be a project management expert to take
advantage of an easy-to-use, robust project management solution. From basic scheduling with
templates, milestones, and dependencies to more advanced work breakdowns with baselines,
budgeting, costing, and other functions you can manage any project. By managing projects in the
same system used for the actual work being done, you have up-to-date resource information
available, on demand. You can quickly and easily see resource availability to make better planning
decisions.

One of the key advantages to program and project management inside Teamcenter is the ability to
tie project planning with the actual execution of that project. Three key capabilities give you a
powerful advantage:
● Tasks can be tied directly to other PLM data. You can specify deliverables or reference
information for a task. This means you always have what you need to complete a task and
a clear definition of the deliverable. Project managers can access deliverables directly from
the project timeline.
● Tasks can be tied to a workflow for more granular management of their execution. For
example, you might have a task to “develop a business case.” Using a workflow, you can
guide the work required to create, review and approve the document behind the scenes.
● Projects, deliverables, and all statuses automatically update as work progresses. When a
team member completes an assignment, a deliverable is added, a workflow progresses or
another project element moves forward, the project is automatically updated to reflect the
status.

Product data management

Product data management means the holistic management of all information generated during the
development of a product. PDM is used to store, provide and manage product-related information
and the processes involved in its creation.
Product data management (PDM) is the use of software to manage product data and process-related
information in a single, central system. This information includes computer-aided design (CAD)
data, models, parts information, manufacturing instructions, requirements, notes, and documents.
The ideal PDM system is accessible by multiple applications and multiple teams across an
organization and supports business-specific needs. Choosing the right PDM software can provide
a company in any industry with a solid foundation that can be easily expanded into a full PLM
platform. At its core, a PDM system provides solutions for secure data management, process
enablement, and configuration management.
PDM systems capture and manage product information, ensuring that information is delivered to
users throughout the product lifecycle in the correct context.File ownership, version control
(check-in and check-out of files), revision management, and release status are all managed by the
PDM system. Security and administrative functionality protect intellectual property rights through
role management, project-based security, and associated access privileges.

Workflow and process capabilities enable both internal product teams and external partners to
participate in the product lifecycle. A PDM system can help you establish, manage and execute
automated workflow-driven processes that reflect company-specific best practices for change
planning (what-if analysis), change incorporation (execution), and change verification and
communication. A PDM system can also support other established processes, including phase-gate
standards. PDM systems provide the visibility necessary for managing and presenting a complete
bill of materials (BOM). It facilitates the alignment and synchronization of all sources of BOM
data, as well as all lifecycle phases, including the as-designed, as-planned, as-built, and as-
maintained states.

PDM systems provide change management capabilities that allow you to see the BOM before and
after changes are made. Lifecycle visualization provides sharing and on-demand representations
of the product and its underlying assemblies and parts, without the need for a CAD authoring tool
or special technical knowledge. Digital mockup capabilities can reduce the need for costly physical
prototyping. Project managers, engineers, salespeople, buyers, and quality assurance teams all
benefit from the knowledge management and reporting capabilities of PDM systems. They allow
companies to-
 ● Find the correct data quickly
● Improve productivity and reduce cycle times
● Reduce development errors and costs
● Improve value chain orchestration
● Meet business and regulatory requirements
● Optimize operational resources
● Facilitate collaboration between global teams
● Provide visibility for better business decision-making

Product structure management

Effective product structure management makes all information about a product centrally accessible
via the PLM system. This component manages highly variant, multilevel product structures on the
Web user interface (Web UI) of SAP Product Lifecycle Management (SAP PLM). Product
structures manage product variant structures in early development phases without the need to
employ material master data. Product structures support products with a large number of variants.
Product Structure Management supports the master data evolution during the product lifecycle;
provides high integration of engineering processes and manufacturing processes for highly
configurable products. It allows you to document several finished products in one structure. This
is effective for high-volume, repetitive manufacturing (for example, the automotive industry), as
well as for complex machinery and equipment.

Product Structure Management is integrated with the Web UI of SAP PLM and the Object
Navigator. It is also integrated with the following components:
● Material Master (LO-MD-MM)
● Change Management (LO-ECH)
● Document Management (CA-DMS)
● Classification (CA-CL)
● Variant Configuration (LO-VC)
It allows you to access and maintain product structures. For more information, see Product
Structure. It allows you to control access to the product structure objects through the authorization
concept of the SAP PLM Web UI. We can use variant configurations for the advanced modeling
of product structures. For more information, see Variant Configuration. We can use parameter
effectivity in product structures during simulation.

Variant management
Variant management aims to create a transparent and configurable product portfolio. This is
achieved by finding a balance between product variants and processes and reducing complexity.
Managing product variants becomes increasingly difficult as the diversity and complexity of
products make business processes more challenging and costly. To ease the product variance
challenge, Minerva PLM provides a comprehensive variant management solution. It enables
product departments to define product architecture and manage variability in one structure,
supporting the entire process beginning from design up to delivery.
To avoid inefficient management, rework, delays and errors, manufacturers need to define their
product architecture and manage variability in one structure, such as a BOM, rather than having
unique structures for each variant.

Variant management allows integration with existing development processes and environments
such as configuration management, requirements engineering, modeling, and testing, defining and
managing platforms, product lines, product models, and variable items with features, options, and
rules, viewing the breadth of product portfolio and technical details all in one place, streamline
product design processes, adhere to configuration management and change management
processes, manage configurable structures that capture variable and static content such as parts or
technical documentation and build a configurable BOM and define product variability where it
applies.

FUNCTIONS OF PLM
Digital thread
The digital thread can be defined as a collaborative, single data platform, which only next-
generation PLM software can deliver. This platform ties together all elements of the enterprise and
its data to produce a holistic view of a product’s physical and digital data throughout its lifecycle.
The digital thread begins at the earliest stages of ideation and design through manufacturing,
supply chain, and service—providing a seamless flow of governed data between business systems,
processes, partners, and ecosystems.

The digital thread helps accelerate business value and breaks down the walls between once
disparate and siloed systems. It reduces the latency and complexities of having to gather
information across supply networks and share it at every step of the product value chain—
including early product design, operations, manufacturing, service, and end-of-life. When
combined with real-time transactional analytics, the digital thread delivers insights needed to make
proactive, faster, and more informed decisions. Today’s PLM software provides the digital thread
giving you access to the right information, delivered to the right people, at the right place and
time—breaking down organizational barriers to unlock speed and agility while ensuring the
highest product quality.

Digital twin
A digital twin is a digital representation of a physical asset. Digital twins leverage the aggregation
of current, historical, and representational data of a product to reflect its real-world use. When a
physical object’s data is made available, a digital representation—a digital twin—of the same
object can be computer simulated to model the behavior of the object as it’s designed,
built, maintained, or manipulated, creating a virtual profile of the object at every step of a product’s
lifecycle.

For digital twins to have the highest impact, they need to be supported by systems that are
interconnected and reference the same information through the digital thread, enabled by modern
PLM software—PLM 4.0. This way, any changes to the digital twin can be made quickly and
accurately in real-time, and every person accessing the digital twin can be confident their decisions
are based on the most up-to-date information.

The ability to model a digital twin based on an interconnected digital thread is only available with
modern PLM software. Digital twin technology provides invaluable, real-time updates that enable
organizations to identify and analyze a problem—in an asset or in the production line—and fix it
quickly. Companies that have adopted digital twins gained significant competitive advantages as
well, including eliminating unplanned downtime, which reduces costs and improves product
quality and customer experience.

Seamlessly integrate
Unify the data and processes from your existing ERP and supply chain systems to gain a
foundation for a holistic product development strategy. Streamline all processes, from initial
ideation to production and commercialization.

Drive faster innovation to launch

Build a smarter innovation pipeline fueled by a steady stream of high-value ideas. Efficiently
design, develop, and manage new product introductions and engineering change requirements.

Harmonize product data

Leverage a single enterprise product record that spans all applications to provide the velocity and
resiliency needed to support today’s complex business transformations.

Reduce the cost of quality

Drive closed-loop quality management to make successful, high-speed decisions with real-time
transparency and traceable information.

Enforce product compliance

Enforce product compliance and proactively track changes throughout your product’s lifecycle so
you can quickly adjust to changing global standards, efficiently manage engineering
documentation, and design compliant-finished products.
 Leverage the latest technology
Get immediate value from built-in predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning,
IoT, and digital assistance that work together to create digital twins and turn data into insights.

CONCLUSION
This paper discusses preliminary industrial case study findings about the recognized
Features of Product Life Cycle Management and functions of PLM in new product development
projects. It is proposed that the findings are valid in the manufacturing industry where products
are partially configurable and complicated variants and the projects are dynamic.

It was reasoned how the features may lead to different dominant dimensions (time-to-market, time-
to-serial production, time-to-profit) in a product life cycle. Therefore, there should be a possibility
to choose different PLM configurations for different dominant dimensions or to change
dynamically to another dominant dimension. Engineering changes are related to product structure.
Therefore product structure is at the center of the development targets of PLM.

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