A V5 User in a V4 Shell

With lightning speed I point and click
The machine whirs and sputters and sits.
The display glows with colors and shapes
And I sit back to see how long it takes.
I create a point, I draw a line
A cube, a sphere, they all take time.

Many views I do create
To describe the parts I would like to make.
A little change, a hole I moved.
To align this part with another's screw.
The part appears everywhere
I select "Update All" then start Solitaire.

I have seen and heard of something new.
A faster program that is easier to use.
I have trained and worked to learn this version
But lack the program and incursion.
I have asked and begged the IT gods,
Please update my wares replace my box.
And each request the same replies,
No budget today, maybe next time.

I am trapped inside a molasses barrel
I have seen the answer that makes it better.
A new version that is fast and intelligent too,
It takes advantage of the things I knew.
I have seen it work with lightning speed
It seems to anticipate a designer's needs.
It automates many tedious tasks
It saves me time with out being asked.

Oh gods of science, of budget, and machine
Consider my pleas and don't be mean.
The next list you see, think of me well.
I am a V5 user trapped in a V4 shell.

Integral Powertrain Ltd. Speeds Projects and Drives Revenues with SMARTEAM

Leading automotive engineering services supplier relies on SMARTEAM for multi-CAD engineering, collaborative design and streamlined engineering change management

Integral Powertrain Ltd. is a well-respected automotive powertrain engineering consultancy supplying vehicle manufacturers and OEMs with engineering of engines and engine installation systems, engine design tools, and engine management system applications.

Established in 1998 and based in Milton Keynes, UK, the company has prestigious customers among automotive OEMs, engine manufacturers, and Tier 1 suppliers, including DaimlerChrysler AG, Ford, Nissan Motor Co., Cummins Engines, Visteon and many more.

Integral Powertrain and the Automotive Supply Chain
Most Integral Powertrain projects involve design changes and re-engineering of engines and related systems for OEMs. Typically, Integral Powertrain works with each customer to define project inputs, assumptions and goals and then delivers against these the designs, drawings, benchmark and test data, part models and simulation results.

To perform these tasks efficiently, Integral Powertrain uses a variety of specialized templates to consistently apply its engineering and manufacturing knowledge and rules. For example, when creating part models, Integral Powertrain collaborates with the customer's manufacturing group and key suppliers to create the models in the customer's native CAD environment.

The need to systematically and quickly access data, enable collaboration among several different engineers and to manipulate the data in multiple CAD systems spurred Integral Powertrain to seek a system such as SMARTEAM.

PLM Challenges
As competition in the powertrain market becomes fiercer, Integral Powertrain must provide OEMs with distinct advantages in order to secure their business. Integral Powertrain decided that PLM would help its customers reduce powertrain program cost and duration while improving supplier and client design collaboration, providing OEMs with unique powertrain engineering knowledge using state-of-the-art technology. By eliminating redundancy and improving decision-making, SMARTEAM contributes to the overall success of the powertrain engineering program.

Data Management
On the most basic level, SMARTEAM controls data flow and automates CAD data management. Says Luke Barker, Technical Director, "SMARTEAM provides a single point of controlled access to the majority of Integral Powertrain's CAD and non-CAD data, which was previously distributed across various network drives. Eliminating multiple copies of the same data, together with providing full revision management and document history tracking, facilitates the reuse of design data. Excellent search and retrieval mechanisms mean that engineers always have access to the latest data when required; re-using existing data is therefore a much simpler and painless process." In responding to RFQs, Integral Powertrain is expected to carry out a comprehensive feasibility study in minimal time; this means that data management is extremely important and the level of change to the data is very high.

Collaborative Design and Engineering Change Management
SMARTEAM enables Integral Powertrain to collaboratively integrate data and business process management. Designers are confident that they are working on the latest revision of data. "The latest project data is easily available to all engineers employed on the project, thereby ensuring that engineers are not working in isolation; they have full visibility of all design changes as they happen," explains Barker. "The internal SMARTEAM viewer provides a valuable overview tool, enabling project leaders and managers to view the latest project data without having unnecessary and expensive CAD software installed on their machines."

Says Darren Cairns, Director of CAE, "We work as a team using a number of linked CATIA V5 models and associated design tools to ensure that designs adhere to defined rules. In addition, the use of SMARTEAM - Workflow provides a mechanism to manage our change control approval management and lets us maximize the benefit of our investment in knowledge-based design tools."

The greatest impact on the business is through the use of SMARTEAM-Workflow to formalize and control the Engineering Change Process. Says Cairns, "It is a vital part of our business to keep a clear record of design changes. It is clear that the benefits achieved through the use of Workflow alone have justified the implementation of SMARTEAM."

Multi-CAD Integration
When carrying out projects for large vehicle manufacturers, the programs often stipulate that Integral Powertrain use the same CAD solution as the customer. Simultaneously meeting these requirements for different customers is a challenge. The multi-CAD capability of SMARTEAM allows Integral Powertrain to manage data in the long term across all CAD systems and to interface with the different PDM systems specified by their customers. Integral Powertrain currently utilizes integrations to SMARTEAM CATIA V5, Pro/ENGINEER and Microsoft Office to store both CAD and non-CAD data in a single SMARTEAM database. Integration with I-deas is in early stages of deployment.

SMARTEAM Integration to Pro/ENGINEER
Integral Powertrain chooses SMARTEAM to manage data on projects where the customer dictates that Pro/ENGINEER must be used. The integration provides access to SMARTEAM managed data from within Pro/ENGINEER and manages the links created when working with complex product structures. When combined with the SMARTEAM revision control mechanism, the integration enables a concurrent engineering approach to working with Pro/ENGINEER. Using SMARTEAM to access Pro/ENGINEER data simplifies searches and reuse of existing designs, as desired components can be added directly to the Pro/ENGINEER session. 'Where Used' and 'Composed Of' information for all parts is easy to access. The SMARTEAM viewer allows individuals in management or overview roles valuable access to Pro/ENGINEER data from outside the CAD environment.

SMARTEAM and Supply Chain Collaboration
Integral Powertrain targets accelerated concurrent and collaborative engineering with their suppliers via SMARTEAM solutions. "Our aim is to have all of our suppliers either using SMARTEAM, or having access to SMARTEAM, so that we can collaborate more effectively by giving our suppliers greater accessibility to our live database, rather than a copy of the data," said Darren Cairns. Integral Powertrain plans to deploy SMARTEAM Web Editor and Community Workspace products to improve communication with suppliers. The use of SMARTEAM within Integral Powertrain will expand in parallel to the increased use of CATIA V5.

SMARTEAM Implementation
Integral Powertrain found installation of SMARTEAM to be very straightforward. All of the tools needed to perform customizations were supplied with the product and found fairly simple to use. The daily maintenance of their SMARTEAM system proved negligible. IBM Business Partner Intrinsys, who installed SMARTEAM at Integral Powertrain and is, in fact, part of the same business group, has broad experience installing, implementing, maintaining and servicing SMARTEAM applications. Intrinsys has been responsible for some of the largest SMARTEAM installations in the UK.

Benefits from SMARTEAM
Integral Powertain has reduced development time for powertrain design by up to 40% with the IBM and Dassault Systèmes PLM solution, of which SMARTEAM is a key component.

By facilitating design reuse, SMARTEAM contributes to Integral Powertrain designers making better decisions and reaching optimal, error-free designs in a shorter amount of time. Concurrent engineering and faster tooling design shorten powertrain engineering design time as well.

According to an independent study by CIMdata, Integral Powertrain has achieved significant time and cost reductions with its IBM and Dassault Systèmes PLM implementation, including the following benefits:

• Engineers and designers can find information approximately 90% more quickly through the use of data management;
• The use of better automation has improved the management of design changes, with Engineering Change (EC) cycle times reduced by about 25%;
• The time required to create Bills of Material (BOMs) has been cut over 65%; costs of fixing errors in BOMs has fallen by 85%;
• In particular, EC review time in the manufacturing stage is down by up to 75%, while the cost of errors found during production has been reduced by up to 60%;
• EC administration and execution costs are down by as much as 75%;
• The cost of new parts in product designs has dropped by over 40% due to the reuse of designs from previous projects; Rework costs have been reduced by 60%;

Conclusion
Integral Powertrain believes that the impact of PLM on the automotive supply chain will be huge as companies realize that there is more to be gained from software tools than just CAD geometry. The company sees that the widespread use of CATIA V5 across the industry within both OEMs and the supply chain will dictate greater need for a PDM solution that supports links management. Integral Powertrain views PLM as a vital enabler, ensuring the readiness of the company to cope with the future demands of the industries it serves.

Christopher P. Sciacca
Strategic Communications, Manager
IBM Product Lifecycle Management

590 Madison Avenue, 15th floor, 1506E
New York, New York 10022
office:  212.745.4732
mobile:  917.434.9777
tieline:  243.4732
csciacca@us.ibm.com

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