Implementation of re-usable, configurable systems engineering model using product lifecycle management platform

Abstract

Industry is facing the challenge of increasing product complexity while at the same time reducing cost and time in a highly competitive global market. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Systems Engineering have the potential to help companies avoid costly product development and launching, as well as failure during use; these two concepts not only share many common characteristics, but also complement each other. PLM provides an information management system that can seamlessly integrate enterprise data, business processes, business systems and, ultimately, people throughout all phases of the product lifecycle. Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary approach to designing, implementing, evaluating, and managing the complex human-made systems over their life cycle. The same underlying methods that improve management of products and services can be used to organize the framework in which PLM systems are implemented, integrated, and evolved. Though several studies have indicated that adopting Systems Engineering with PLM brings many benefits for industries, implementation of PLM based Systems Engineering with PLM has rarely been conducted. Pattern-Based Systems Engineering (PBSE), a form of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) based on the use of Systematic Metamodel (S* Metamodel), represents a family of manufacturing system, and is used in the life cycle processes of ISO 15288, was implemented here using TEAMCENTER® PLM software as the platform. More specifically, we have implemented the key portion of the General Production Pattern based on S* Metamodel, and demonstrated the benefit through the manufacturing of oil filter case study. The above implementation have resulted in a powerful systems engineering model in PLM that leverages the capabilities of Teamcenter, to enable an enhanced systems engineering approach. Benefits brought to systems engineering practice include: the ability to capture and reflect stakeholders' requirements and changes in product design process promptly and accurately; the ability of systems engineers to create models quickly and prevent mistakes during modeling; the ability of systems engineers to do their job much easily by using reusable and reconfigurable models; the ability to re-use of previous designs in a new process.