The CIMdata administered group expands the position of major aerospace and defense companies on the topic of Multiple-view Bill of Materials.
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, 14 February 2019—Representatives from the eleven-member companies of the Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG) have published their expanded position on the topic of multiple-view bill of materials (multi-view BOM). This 3rd release is a significant enrichment of previous work by the AD PAG cross-companies project team, which has been operating for two years. In earlier releases, the authors explored the dichotomy between single BOM and multi-view BOM approaches, analyzed current state “pain points,” and, within this context, proposed an architectural solution with supporting architectural principles. In this release, the authors have added substantial new content, including preliminary requirements; new sections on Effectivity and Domain-specific Accountability and BOM Restructuring use case classifications. This release also has two new appendices: an extensive Glossary, containing BOM-related terminology as harmonized across the member companies and relevant industry sources, and Concept Definition and Use Cases, containing walkthrough examples and a list of use cases to illustrate BOM Restructuring and Accountability requirements—suitable reading for those with deep expertise in the subject area.
Javier Reinés, Configuration Management Expert at Airbus, who is the team’s project manager, stated, “The multi-view BOM team has done an excellent job during the last two years, identifying common issues, requirements, and expectations about multi-view BOM management in current PLM tools. This is especially remarkable when considering existing differences in each company’s business and their PLM landscape. I hope this Position Paper will help PLM solution providers to improve multi-view BOM capabilities in near term offerings.”
Aleksander Przybylo, Process Engineer at The Boeing Company, a lead author of the position paper, explained that “Boeing is in the middle of revamping its processes and tools as part of the Second Century Enterprise Systems (2CES) initiative. The digital twin and digital thread rely on interconnected data that stays consistent as individual product views evolve. This makes the multi-view BOM approach and the accountability methods documented in the multi-view BOM position paper a key enabler in that journey.” Mr. Przybylo’s colleague, Bruce Hiebert, Associate Technical Fellow at The Boeing Company, a senior expert on the project team, offered his perspective that, “The A&D PLM Action Group marks the first time major players in the Aerospace and Defense industry have openly shared their pain points and formed a single front for delivering requirements to PLM vendors in the BOM accountability arena.”
One year into the project execution, AD PAG leadership approved adding tier-1 suppliers to the project team. Five major suppliers accepted the invitation and have been very active and valued contributors. Luc Aebi, Configuration Management & PLM Expert with Latécoère offered his perspective, “In the frame of ‘Extended Enterprise’, as a supplier Latécoère has to face two challenges, a large amount and diversity of incoming data from our different customers and the complexity of multi-view BOM accountability. Working with the AD PAG allows us to raise our pain points to OEMs, to share the best practices, and identify common issues in order to improve and harmonize digital tools.”
Since its founding in 2014, the AD PAG, which is administered by CIMdata, has sponsored research and jointly staffed projects on a diverse set of prioritized industry and technology topics, including Model-Based Definition; Multiple-view Bill of Materials; PLM Technology Obsolescence Management; Global Collaboration; and Model-Based Systems Engineering. As an outcome of these investments, the Group has released a series of direction statements and position papers that are freely available for download from its website at www.ad-pag.com. Making these materials available is consistent with the Group’s mission to engage proactively within the PLM ecosystem and advocate for common direction and positions within the aerospace and defense industry on PLM-related topics of importance to the members.
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