Dr. Henrik Weimer, who was recently appointed spokesman of the board of the PROSTEP ivip association, is primarily responsible for the corporate IT architecture for digital design manufacturing and service capabilities at Airbus. In an interview, he explains the challenges facing the aircraft manufacturer in the design of its PLM architectures and where the aerospace industry is headed.
Question: Mr. Weimer, you are responsible at Airbus for corporate architecture in Digital Design Manufacturing & Services. Is all this part of PLM?
Weimer: We’ve come a long way to our current understanding of PLM, from product data management to the entirety of the engineering tools we use to support our product development, to the idea of the model-based company. What we call PLM today is really an integrated and model-based approach to design, manufacturing and services. Not only do we describe our products in models, we also have models of our industrial process and the support and service processes. The challenge is to represent the trade-offs across all these disciplines. For example, whenever we make a product change, we need to be able to see how it affects the industrial process and what impact it has on support and service and on my customers – doing this analysis based on models and simulations.
Question: How does Corona affect the PLM strategy and ongoing initiatives?
Weimer: Of course, the Corona crisis affects aviation particularly strongly. This is a dramatic situation for the industry, which is why the industry is focusing on the essentials. But the crisis is also an opportunity for PLM and digital transformation, as I have said elsewhere, because the decline in activity in certain areas reduces the cost of transformation, creating opportunities, and gives us access to resources that may not have been available to us before.
Question: Can the Airbus PLM strategy be described in a few sentences?
Weimer: We have an enormous diversity of around 3,000 tools around the PLM, which means we have extreme complexity and extreme integration problems, which results in processes that are not yet particularly consistent. Where we had a best-of-breed approach for every capability in the past, today we think this complexity reduces innovative strength and is not cost-optimal. Therefore, our current vision is to move more towards integrated platforms, which is why we have entered into several partnerships. For example, we partner with Palantir to bring data analytics and the product digital twin together in the Airbus platform Skywise, making it available to our customers as a product. We have also entered into a strategic partnership with Dassault Systèmes. Our vision is to establish 3DEXPERIENCE as the collaboration platform for digital design, manufacturing and services to move towards more integrated, model-based and data-driven processes. Then there are capabilities for various disciplines orchestrated through 3DEXPERIENCE. This can include proprietary or 3rd party capabilities, e.g. for configuration management, which are not efficiently supported by today’s commercial solutions.
Question: What does the strategic partnership with Dassault Systèmes mean for the other PLM systems in use at Airbus?
Weimer: PLM is a lifelong journey, and over the years there have always been opportunities to work with different partners. For example, Windchill was selected as the PDM platform for the entire Airbus Group at the beginning of 2000 and continues to play an important role. Similarly, we selected Aras more as a niche solution on the PLM periphery to better control creativity in our business. Finally, we develop many process automation tools and solutions internally, e.g. for structural testing, aerodynamics simulation, etc.
Question: How many different PLM architectures are there at Airbus? One for each aircraft program?
Weimer: That would be too much simplified. Every time we launch a new product program, we have the opportunity to invest in innovation and digital process improvements. We started in the 1980s with the A320 program with integrated product data management, then in the 1990s with the A330 / A340 program, we first introduced the 3D digital mock-up in addition to PDM. Then came the A380 in early 2000, where we worked with the 3D model as the master and integrated processes for configuration management. This was followed by A400M, A350, and other developments that went deeper into the journey to model-based and digitally integrated processes. PLM architectures evolve significantly from one program to another to drive our digital transformation, but there are always elements that are reused to leverage our past investment, and to reduce risk for the next program.
Question: Will the process improvements also be fed back into the running programs?
Weimer: We return them to where we can generate added value through the investments. Because the initial investment has already paid for itself on the new program, it is easier to finance retrofits of the capabilities in running programs. In addition, even our legacy aircraft programs still run significant developments, such as the re-engineering in the A320Neo and A330Neo programs, or the current development of the A321XLR, with which we are dramatically changing the range and market positioning. With each new product variant, we have significant development expenses again and can also justify investments in digital transformation and further process improvements.
Question: How far have you progressed with the Group-wide harmonization of PLM architectures?
Weimer: Airbus was founded in 1969 as a kind of association with an integrated product, but this product was developed by four different companies that had different processes and IT systems. We have been an integrated company since the beginning of the millennium and have also made enormous progress in integrating the system landscapes since then. With programs such as the A400M or the A350, there is only one set of processes, methods and tools that is used at all locations, not only in the founding countries but also in the global engineering centers across the globe. And we have now an aligned strategy also across business units driving through a single group-wide digital design, manufacturing, and services transformation program addressing all business lines and product families.
Weimer: For many years now, we have had approaches towards MBSE in various areas such as powerplant, fuel, noise, electrical or avionics. What we are still working on is to better and more globally integrate this in order to be able to consistently present the trade-offs between the product as a system, the industrial system and the support and service system. To achieve this, cross-disciplinary cooperation in Model Based Systems Engineering must be improved even further.
Question: How universally is the Digital Twin used today at Airbus?
Weimer: As I said, we offer it as a service via the Skywise platform. Our products have the option of uploading data from operations to the platform, so that we can provide our customers with analytics services for route optimization or maintenance planning optimization, as examples. In addition to the Digital Twin capabilities for our customers, there are also projects in production to calibrate our models and optimally control processes via analytical control procedures. One example is the topic of fasting – there are tens of thousands of fasteners in an aircraft. Using IoT-connected tools, we can prove which elements have been set and with what torque they have been tightened, thus reducing inspection costs.
Question: At Airbus you are also responsible for PLM research. Where are the main focuses in this area?
Weimer: A good example is the topic of 3D printing. We see an enormous potential for 3D-printed components and have therefore had projects in the recent past to make design optimizations. For this purpose, we have developed new capabilities in our partnership with Dassault Systèmes, in order to optimize the shaping of the parts on the one hand and the printing process on the other.
Question: In which PLM topics do you see the aerospace industry ahead and can perhaps serve as a model for other industries?
Weimer: I find it difficult to make a statement on this because it might sound arrogant. My personal conviction is that we have to remain humble and can all still earn from each other. Nevertheless, the aerospace industry certainly has a long history in all topics related to safety and the verifiability of product safety. There are many regulatory requirements where we have to prove very precisely, for example with the help of systems engineering, that our product meets these requirements. And the industry as a whole is deeply collaborating to achieve these safety targets, including the regulators, international governance bodies, etc. Here I see many parallels with autonomous driving in the automotive environment, where there are still no clear regulations and requirements that are internationally standardized.
Question: Do these experiences flow into the projects of the prostep ivip association?
Weimer: Yes, we have, for example, just started a project on the topic of Model Based Verification and Validation on the initiative of colleagues from The Boeing Company. One of the aims of this project is to use simulation models for such verifications. We want to be able to prove that the simulation correctly represents reality in order to avoid physical test set-ups.
Question: Which accents would you like to set as the new spokesman of the association’s board?
Weimer: We have similar challenges in aerospace, automotive and other industries when it comes to optimizing products and production processes. In my opinion, the association is an excellent platform for collaboration, for learning together and defining best practices, especially in the interaction with our supply chains. The idea of collaboration is a passion that I bring with me. The second topic I want to work on is internationalization, because I believe that innovations around our topics are not tied to a geographical region.
Mr. Weimer, thank you very much for the interview.
(The interview was conducted by Michael Wendenburg)
About the person
Dr. Henrik Weimer (1971) has worked in Airbus since 2002 and is currently Senior Manager responsible for the architecture and integration of end-to-end PLM solutions, demand and business planning for PLM, as well as innovation, research and development in these areas. Previously he held various management positions in IT at Daimler AG. Weimer studied computer science and electrical engineering at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern and received his doctorate in computer science from Rice University in Houston. Since 2018 he has been a member of the board of the prostep ivip association, which recently appointed him as its spokesman.
Intland Software develops codeBeamer, an end-to-end ALM solution that supports the entire software development cycle and ensures a higher level of process transparency. Its well-engineered functions make it possible to speed up software development, in both agile and regulated environments. In addition, the ALM solution makes collaboration between distributed development teams easier, thus shortening development cycles.
“We are very pleased to have Intland Software, a recognized expert in collaborative development processes and application lifecycle management, as our partner,” says Philipp Hasenäcker, managing director of BHC, commenting on the cooperation. “The partnership allows us to expand our established range of PLM and ALM services for mechatronics and software to include a very powerful, state-of-the-art ALM solution and thus offer our customers an outstanding complete package for their digital business.”
BHC and Intland have worked successfully together on customer projects in the past and expect to be able to assert themselves on the market more decisively by bundling their competencies more tightly. “Our successful collaboration with BHC in the past is the reason we entered into a partnership,” says Andreas Pabinger, vice president of Intland’s Automotive Business Unit. “The pragmatic and customer-oriented approach that BHC’s consultants take to the challenges posed by PLM and ALM provides valuable assistance for our customer projects”.
Following successful completion of an assessment of the current status, the joint research project ProProS being carried out by the Bremen-based Lürssen shipyard group, the Machine Tool Laboratory (WZL) at RWTH University in Aachen and PROSTEP AG is entering the crucial phase. The task now is to develop new methods for end-to-end digitalization of the shipyard’s manufacturing and assembly processes.
Production planning in shipbuilding is characterized by a poor overview of the planning status at the different planning levels and a low-level feedback that is provided late by production. As a result, delays often occur because problems are identified too late and planners have a difficult time finding alternative production paths. The shipyard expects increased digitalization of the processes and the implementation of new tools for anticipatory production planning and control to shorten lead times for the individual departments and result in more efficient use of the infrastructure and available resources.
The aim of the ProProS project is to create a digital twin for the shipyard’s manufacturing and assembly processes that can be used for status monitoring and for optimizing shipbuilding. Together with the WZL’s manufacturing experts, who are responsible for developing the production technology logic, we will be mapping the planning data from the target process (product structure, work orders, assembly sequence, scheduling, etc.) in an end-to-end data model, so that it can be compared in real time with the actual data from production and assembly.
Due to the corona pandemic, we will be holding the traditional PROSTEP TECHDAY as online event this year so that customers and interested parties can find out about new products and news from our company without risk to their health. The live sessions will take place on November 17, 2020 and will be recorded. Please, save the date.
PROSTEP TECHDAY is the free forum for the PROSTEP community that takes place every two years. At the event, we regularly inform customers and other interested parties about important innovations in our range of solutions and present them with roadmaps for the further development of our software solutions OpenPDM, OpenDXM GlobalX and PDF Generator 3D. In addition, renowned users will give short presentations to the participants, explaining the benefits of our solutions in productive use.
On November 17, 2020, there will be three independent sessions, each lasting 90 minutes, so that participants will be free to choose whether to participate in one or more blocks. We will also be recording the entire event so that interested parties can watch it at a later date. The opportunity to discuss with the speakers will of course only be available when participating in a live session.
The PROSTEP TECHDAY will focus on our extended range of cloud-enabled solutions. We will explain how you can use our data exchange platform OpenDXM GlobalX with extended functions and integration solutions “On Premise” or alternatively as a SaaS (Software as a Service) model without any installation or operating costs.
We will present the newly developed MicroServices architecture of our OpenPDM platform, which supports PLM integration, migration and collaboration in a hybrid on-premise cloud environment. And we will present our solution for the automated generation of spare parts catalogs and the provision of service content on the Web. We will also give you a first insight into OpenCLM, our newly developed solution for cross-domain configuration lifecycle management and ensuring traceability in complex development projects.
PROSTEP offers a variety of proven integration solutions for the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. To provide Dassault Systèmes customers with even better support in integrating their heterogeneous PLM system landscapes, we are expanding our portfolio to include official integrations for 3DEXPERIENCE with Aras Innovator and Oracle Primavera P6 and we are developing new integration packages for EXALEAD.
Our OpenPDM integration platform offers the possibility of connecting any PLM and ERP systems, but also other enterprise applications via standardized connectors, to exchange and synchronize product data and structures between different system worlds. The integration modules for the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, which have been in existence for many years, can be used to exchange data with the ENOVIA, CATIA and DELMIA components. Based on this general connectivity, specific PROSTEP integration solutions from 3DEXPERIENCE with Windchill, Teamcenter and SAP have been officially released by Dassault Systèmes.
To meet the growing demand of Dassault customers for powerful integration solutions, we have now agreed with the software manufacturer to expand our range of official product solutions. 3DEXPERIENCE users can now also connect the Aras Innovator PLM solution to their PLM platform. We are also working closely with Dassault Systèmes to develop an integration solution for the Oracle Primavera P6 project and portfolio management solution, which is used by many customers, particularly in the American market.
Furthermore, PROSTEP has been cooperating with Dassault Systèmes in the EXALEAD area since the beginning of 2020 in order to be able to bring lightweight integration solutions to the market. This involves making data from third-party systems accessible to EXALEAD solutions. Together with Dassault Systèmes, special solution packages were defined for these use cases and implemented at PROSTEP, which are now available to customers.
The integration of cloud-based PLM applications in existing system landscapes is the biggest reservation companies have when it comes to cloud PLM. This is what the market analysts from CIMdata are saying. We believe that these concerns are unfounded.
The new version of our OpenPDM integration platform connects PLM and ERP systems securely and reliably, regardless of whether they are installed in the cloud or locally. Thanks to its modular architecture, independent connectors and the use of microservices, OpenPDM 9 is ready for use in hybrid cloud/on-premise scenarios.
OpenPDM 9 comprises the actual integration platform, which uses workflows to control the automated mapping of data and data structures, and standard connectors to widely-used PDM/PLM and ERP systems and other enterprise applications.
We have divided OpenPDM into smaller “pieces” and designed the mapping and process engine as separate microservices to support use of the platform in distributed software architectures.
Two major automotive suppliers have been helped by PROSTEP Inc. to close gaps in the control of the release of their intellectual property and to increase the security, traceability and user-friendliness of their processes with the OpenDXM GlobalX data exchange solution. Each company has purchased several thousand end-user licenses at a fraction of the cost of operating its own proprietary internal portals or other third-party MFT tools. One of the two companies focused on purchasing and ERP integration for the secure exchange of quotation data when using OpenDXM GlobalX. The other has deeply integrated the solution into the PLM environment to seamlessly send large CAD files to development and design partners.
Furthermore, PROSTEP Inc. has enabled one aerospace customer to publish highly configured TDPs for the rapid distribution of lightweight CAD data, parts lists and technical specifications. All data is combined into a single PDF package using PROSTEP’s PDF Generator 3D. Another project in the aerospace industry was aimed at improving interoperability between PLM, MES and ERP through a robust and distributed microservices-enabled Enterprise Server Bus in secure networks. The basis for this is the OpenPDM integration platform from PROSTEP.
In the space sector, PROSTEP Inc. integrated CAD and other product data from PLM and simulation data management systems for a customer. For another, the company started with a proof of concept for the MBSE federation between requirements, SysML and PLM systems. OpenPDM provides the backbone interoperability that coordinates workflow transactions between the systems of different software OEMs. The seamless synchronization of data between two different PLM systems to create the Digital Thread is the subject of a pilot project in the defence sector that will last several years.
“I am proud of the entire PROSTEP team and especially of our team in North America,” commented Karsten Theis, CEO of PROSTEP AG, on the successful fiscal year of PROSTEP Inc.
“In 15 years of our presence in North America, we have built an incredible portfolio of products and technical capabilities to meet the increasingly complex needs of our customers. This has enabled us to fire from all pipes in 2019”.
Commenting on the impact of COVID-19, Theis said: “Fortunately, at the beginning of the pandemic, we had already completed most of our U.S. business for fiscal year 2019 and were in the final stages of delivery. The real test will be the course of the year 2020/2021. Several projects have been delayed, but we hope that they will soon pick up speed again. Like all companies, we are adapting to the new normality of working from home”.
Shortly before the pandemic, PROSTEP Inc. rented larger offices, almost doubling the company’s working space. To date, however, US employees have not been able to work in the new offices for a single day because the move-in date coincided with the first lockdown in Michigan at the end of March. Now they hope to inaugurate the new offices in early 2021.
PROSTEP Inc. was founded in 2006 in Birmingham, Michigan, right in the heart of the US automotive industry. Over the past 14 years, it has made a significant contribution to strengthening our footprint in the North and South American markets. It has become a recognized partner in the areas of data exchange, PLM integration and 3D PDF-based communication for companies in the automotive, aerospace and defense industries across the pond. Not least thanks to our US subsidiary, we are now able to successfully handle larger global projects.
As a wholly owned subsidiary of the PROSTEP Group headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, PROSTEP Inc. does not publish independent financial information. Customer names are also kept confidential upon customer request.
In the last newsletter, I wrote “To stand still is no option for us” with reference to the difficulties facing the management of companies in an age of global uncertainties. And then came the lockdown and suddenly (almost) everything ground to a halt. Admittedly, the coronavirus pandemic was not entirely unforeseeable, but we were unprepared for the scale with which it hit us. I do, however, feel that one point I made has been confirmed: The situation can only be mastered using an agile approach. And with an even greater level of digitalization, I would now add.
PROSTEP has been agile in its response to the lockdown. Our employees have been working from home from day one and can be contacted by customers. They are probably even easier to reach and are able to work more efficiently due to the fact that they are saving time they would normally spend visiting customers or attending events. Our software solutions support remote maintenance irrespective of location – if customers are not already using them as a cloud-based service. Thanks to the use of appropriate IT tools and methods, we are even able to conduct consulting workshops online. I’m surprised how well they work, even with new customers, with whom we first need to establish a sense of trust. It is possible to do more online than I anticipated, even if we cannot and do not want to dispense with face-to-face meetings entirely in the future.
The coronavirus crisis has shown us just how important digital technologies are when it comes to staying in touch with colleagues, partners and customers, and working together with them efficiently despite the lockdown. The crisis has not only provided a boost to digitalization in companies but also in official agencies and authorities, schools and medical facilities that we would never have been able to imagine a few months ago. And despite years of complaints about a lack of Internet bandwidth in Germany, everything is working surprisingly well.
The digital progress made over the last few months will irrevocably change the way we work and our mobility behavior, especially as the virus will be around for some time to come. There’s digitalization – and then there’s digitalization. The boost to digitalization triggered by the coronavirus applies in particular to communication processes, which can be digitalized relatively easily with Teams, Skype or Zoom and a good Internet connection. However, it is not yet possible to predict how long-lasting this boost will be for other business processes in which the end-to-end utilization of data and information is particularly important. Because in these cases simply introducing a few new tools is not enough.
The fundamental problems with end-to-end digitalization in product development and manufacturing cannot be solved by digital communication processes. Digital information flows are still hindered by heterogeneous system landscapes involving a large number of individual data silos and poorly integrated processes. The solution to these problems requires not only technical answers but also changes to the organization and to the process landscapes of the companies and, more importantly, a long-term digitalization strategy.
One of the most important lessons learned from the numerous strategy consulting projects that we have carried out in recent years is that companies are not fully exploiting the potential offered by their existing PLM landscapes. The reason for this is not necessarily the PLM systems, which have also become increasingly powerful in recent years, but to the way users work with them. In many cases, they are performing their work the same way they did prior to the introduction of PLM instead of rethinking their processes and methods and adapting them to take advantage of the new possibilities. Sticking with old approaches leads to highly customized PLM solutions. This not only has a negative impact on the ability to update the solutions but also makes it more difficult to respond agilely to new demands placed on PLM landscapes due, for example, to the increasing networking of products and new service-oriented business models.
My hope is that once the coronavirus crisis is over, companies will not immediately return to business as usual but instead will use the time during which business is still somewhat slower to lay the foundation for the digital transformation of their business processes. Regardless of which IT systems they are using, they should determine what information they need for which processes and in what form it needs to be available in order to be able to use it consistently throughout the whole product lifecycle. Thinking about the flow of information from the perspective of the end of the product lifecycle can be useful, especially when it comes to providing support for new service models.
The coronavirus crisis offers companies an opportunity to put their processes and methods to the test, to better integrate their system landscapes and, if necessary, to even roll out new IT tools. They should seize this opportunity to emerge from the crisis digitally stronger. We can provide them with effective support. Based on the analysis of their existing and future PLM capabilities, our strategy consultants identify gaps and potential in the process and system landscapes and, together with the customer, design a PLM infrastructure that will hopefully also be able to withstand the next crisis.
Finding the right PDM system is a challenge for companies with limited IT resources and with no expertise in the field of PDM. This is why Oberhausen-based GHH-Radsatz GmbH, which is part of the GHH-BONATRANS Group, brought in the PLM consultants from PROSTEP. They not only supported the company in defining the requirements and selecting the system, but also accompanied the pilot implementation.
Wheelsets have been made in Oberhausen for more than 200 years, although Gutehoffnungshütte Radsatz GmbH was only founded in 1994. Since 2014, the company has been part of the GHH-BONATRANS Group. With its global workforce of 1,700 and sales of over 300 million euros, the group is Europe’s largest manufacturer of wheelsets for all types of rail vehicles. In addition to its two development and production sites in Oberhausen and Bohumín in the Czech Republic, GHH-BONATRANS has a further production site in India and a sales office in Hong Kong.
The 280 employees at the Oberhausen plant primarily develop, manufacture and sell light-rail applications with rubber-sprung resilient wheels for trams around the world, but also wheelsets for heavy-rail applications ranging from underground and metro to high-speed trains and railway construction equipment. The staff at the Czech sister company BONATRANS are responsible for developing and producing wheelsets with solid wheels for conventional trains, high-speed trains, locomotives and freight cars. Their own hot forming facilities also allow them to supply forged parts for wheels and shafts, which are machined in Oberhausen and fitted in the wheelsets.
Every year, GHH-Radsatz supplies around 6,000 wheelsets and 40,000 wheels to rail vehicle manufacturers such as Alstom, Bombardier, Stadler, Skoda and Siemens as well as to rail operators. According to Dr. Sven Jenne, Director of Engineering and Research & Development in Oberhausen, Germany, around half of the business is in the aftermarket segment, since wheels are wearing parts. “There is an extremely large range of variants. This is because wheels and wheelsets have to be tailored to each vehicle project and adapted to the infrastructure. This is also our strength, because otherwise we would not be able to assert ourselves in the highly competitive market against competitors from Eastern Europe and increasingly also from China.”
Increasing effort invested in documentation
Compared to solid wheels, the amount of engineering effort needed to adapt the rubber-sprung tram wheels is greater, as their design is more complex. A V-shaped rubber ring between the wheel body and the tire ensures greater ride comfort. Design engineers must therefore always achieve a balance between strength, cushioning and mountability of the wheels. And Jenne explains that the V-shaped cushioning is unique to GHH-Radsatz. “Our GHH® V60 is the most widely used rubber-sprung resilient wheel in Europe.”
Every year, the company handles many concurrent projects, each of which can last between six and 24 months. The aim is to improve punctual delivery by detecting discrepancies in good time. Design engineers are under great time pressure, especially for new vehicle projects, as the time between order placement and delivery is becoming ever shorter, while delivery times for long-running items such as the forged parts are often beyond their control.
At the same time, the complexity of the projects and the amount of documentation needed are growing. Jenne: “Wheelsets are safety-relevant components, and the requirements with regard to traceability and also the volume of documents for each project and order have increased significantly in recent years.” The documents must be kept for 30 years or more because wheelsets have very long lifecycles and are constantly being reordered.
Time-consuming information retrieval
The file-based archive system made it increasingly difficult for users and company managers to keep track of the status of projects and, in the case of aftermarket projects, to trace which documents were actually valid. “Our staff spends a lot of time hunting down and collating information. That’s why we want to make it accessible to all those involved, regardless of the archive systems used in the individual departments, and in the process firm up the ‘memory’ of the company,” says Jenne, explaining the purpose of the PDM project.
In consultation with its Czech sister company, GHH-Radsatz decided to replace the archive system with a database-driven product data management system. When they embarked on the search for a suitable solution, however, it soon became apparent that the company was not in a position to get a clear picture of the multitude of solutions on offer and to assess their capabilities.
Jenne: “At times, we had the impression that we were using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, as we initially only needed part of the functionality offered by PDM.” That’s why PROSTEP was called in as a vendor-independent helper. The company’s PLM consultants not only know the systems and the vendors, but also bring along a wealth of experience from other selection projects.
As a first step, PROSTEP supported the project team in completing the requirements, structuring them clearly and creating a proper requirements specification. One of the most important requirements was the interaction with the Infor Smart Office M3 ERP system, which is currently critical for the creation of articles and BOMs and for order processing, and is intended to remain so. It was also important for the PDM system to offer a good interface to the SolidWorks design system, which is used in Oberhausen on 18 CAD workstations, and it should also be possible to connect it to the CAQ solution. In addition to the system’s integration capabilities, GHH-Radsatz also attaches great importance to simple system administration and the ability to further develop it in-house without the need for programming.
Benchmarking with three system vendors
Even though the first priority is to connect the existing systems and make information more readily available, the company has more far-reaching plans that PROSTEP also took into consideration when selecting the system. For example, the engineering change process, which is currently still entirely paper-based, is to be mapped to an electronic workflow. Jenne would also like to see greater digitalization of the entire order flow from the request for quotation, through design, material procurement and production, right up to dispatch and invoicing. This would be done by parallelizing certain tasks by something akin to PDM-driven project management. It would also help management to monitor the status of the projects and respond to discrepancies more rapidly.
In a professional selection process with transparent parameters, PROSTEP initially selected five candidates from a total of ten potential vendors. These were then invited to submit an offer. After the offers had been evaluated and discussions had taken place with the vendors, three candidates were shortlisted and were given the opportunity to demonstrate their programs on the basis of the use cases engineering change and order processing. This methodical approach to system selection ensured that the results were comparable. “We were always able to explain to management how we came to our decision,” explains Jenne.
Ultimately, the choice fell on the PRO.FILE software from PROCAD, although Jenne stresses that all three suppliers made a very good impression. The decisive factor was not only better value for money in terms of the costs of purchasing, rolling out and maintaining the software, but also the ease of configuration. “I was very impressed with how easily my colleagues were able to program, or rather configure, some wonderful things. This gives me confidence that we will easily be able to extend the solution in the future.”
The consulting service paid off
GHH-Radsatz spent about 10 to 15 percent of its total budget (excluding internal expenses) on consulting. According to Jenne, this was a wise investment because the company is confident that it has taken a decision that is sustainable in the long term. He would particularly recommend external consulting to smaller companies that are less familiar with PDM. “Thanks to the collaboration with PROSTEP, the vendors immediately realized that we knew what we were talking about. And I have the feeling that the consultants’ knowledge of the market also had a positive impact on the price negotiations.”
The company will begin rolling out the system this March. Rollout will be based on an existing prototype that PROCAD set up last year and which essentially maps all the planned functions including change management and order workflow. However, implementation of the latter is not planned until next year in order not to overburden users. The plan is to initially enable CAD data and document management with read access to ERP and CAQ systems. Before this can happen, however, large amounts of existing data from the various file archive structures will have to be migrated. Jenne explains: “We have already held a large number of workshops with PROCAD and PROSTEP on this aspect.”
In the long term, he expects the use of PDM to bring considerable benefits. Users will be more productive because they will spend less time searching for information. Processes will be accelerated by working in parallel, which will reduce throughput times. In addition, the status of projects will become more transparent, so that management can intervene more rapidly in the event of delays.
For companies in all industries, artificial intelligence is becoming a key driver of competition. In this interview, Professor Frank Kirchner explains what it can and cannot do and where the challenges lie when implementing AI applications. Kirchner studied computer science and neurosciences and has been exploring how AI can be used in the real world for 25 years.
Question: You once said that you came to artificial intelligence through music. How did that happen?
Kirchner: I’ve always liked making music. (Kirchner plays guitar and piano.) When I started studying, I wasn’t in a band at first and tried playing along with drum computers and synthesizers. What bothered me was that the rhythms from the computer were very sterile back then. When a human being plays the drums, there are always slight delays because the player gets emotionally involved. It is barely perceptible, but it has a huge impact on the music. So I started trying to teach my computer to vary the precision slightly at certain points in songs. In the end, I didn’t succeed; it just sounded sterile in a different way. It was only later that I realized that this was an AI problem, but the exercise of programming taught me how creative computer science can be.
Question: How intelligent is AI in reality and where are its limits?
Kirchner: It’s not yet possible to develop AI that acts like a human drummer or guitarist, perceiving or even producing emotional states and then adapting their playing accordingly. But with today’s methods, we can mimic human emotions or playing styles by giving the algorithms thousands of examples. This works not only with music, but also with painting. You can train machine learning algorithms to reproduce pictures in the style of certain painters.
Question: What aspects of AI are you currently working on at the Robotics Innovation Center?
Kirchner: We are developing robotic systems with AI algorithms for various fields of application, ranging from exoskeletons for the rehabilitation of stroke patients to autonomous underwater robots for inspecting offshore wind turbines, production robots that can be deployed alongside human workers in tomorrow’s production facilities and space applications. For example, we are currently building robotic systems for the European Space Agency that will autonomously map the lunar surface to detect cavities in the lava layers that can be used to build a lunar base.
Question: What fields of application do you see as deriving the greatest potential benefit from AI?
Kirchner: I see a massive benefit in the field of medicine, which is currently facing enormous pressure as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In particular, machine learning processes could support human diagnosis or relieve hard-pressed medical staff of routine tasks that can be done by AI-based robots. In agriculture, which has a huge problem with the lack of seasonal workers, AI could automate the picking of strawberries or asparagus. Simple automation technology cannot cope with these jobs because each plant grows differently. You need machines with a certain amount of intelligence to recognize the context.
Question: Did you deliberately not mention the field of production automation?
Kirchner: Of course, that’s also a field of application in which AI-based robotics plays an important role. For example, we are working with VW on hybrid teams of humans and robots to get away from the traditional production lines with “dumb” robots that always do the same thing. The aim is to create robotic systems that can be deployed flexibly and act as assistants to humans, even if they are only positioning workpieces, thus relieving them of heavy manual work.
Question: In which industries is AI currently used most intensively?
Kirchner: In Germany, as in other countries, it has been in use for some time – and very intensively – in the financial sector. AI methods are used in office automation for text, voice and image recognition or in the security sector, e.g. at airports, although this is not always apparent. They are becoming increasingly widespread in medicine and have also made their mark in production in the context of Industry 4.0. The networking of machines using AI algorithms provides the basis for increasing productivity.
Question: What are the difficulties in implementing industrial AI applications?
Kirchner: I think one of the greatest bottlenecks is the lack of digital infrastructure. Alarmingly, a large proportion of German companies are still living in the analog world. The infrastructure for collecting data from production, logistics, administration and even management is not particularly well developed. We have some catching up to do in this area. Although many German SMEs and smaller companies have begun to wake up to the problem, they don’t know where to start with digitalization, as the rest of the infrastructure in Germany is not a great deal of help. We’ve been talking about the nationwide rollout of fiber broadband for 20 years, and nothing has happened. This is a real competitive disadvantage.
Question: What opportunities does AI offer SMEs in particular?
Kirchner: I see massive potential there, which absolutely has to be exploited if SMEs want to remain successful. Because ultimately, they also are global players and their development, production and logistics have to be very fast and cost-effective to survive in the global market. And they have to be able to react quickly to varying market situations. The problem lies primarily with small companies, which often lack their own research capabilities. Our experts support them in the development of AI-based solutions in fields ranging from the automotive sector to mining – something that distinguishes us from other research institutes.
Question: You worked in Boston for several years. Are people more open to AI there?
Kirchner: In the USA, but also in China, people recognize the benefits of AI, whereas in Europe we tend to emphasize the risks. Leaving aside which is the better approach, it is vital that we Europeans be at the forefront of AI development. Only by playing with the big boys can we influence how it is developed and, above all, how it is used. Otherwise we will become dependent, with all the negative consequences that we are seeing in the pandemic. We need greater digital sovereignty.
Question: What are the challenges currently being faced in AI research?
Kirchner: One of the challenges lies in integrating the various AI methods. On the one hand, there is the area of symbolic AI in traditional, logic-based methods. These have weaknesses when it comes to physical phenomena in the real world. In such areas, sub-symbolic AI methods such as machine learning, neural networks and so on work very well. Then there is a third area that I call physical AI, i.e. the embedding of all these methods in robots or other objects of the physical world. The challenge is to integrate these three areas to form a hybrid overall system. At the same time, this forms a basis to allow AI decisions to be explained and become transparent, which is important if people are to trust the technology.
Question: Is it true that self-learning systems are trained with historical data and make decisions that are often not comprehensible?
Kirchner: That’s correct. On the one hand, we must provide the computer scientists who train these algorithms with the appropriate skills. They need a very high level of knowledge about the data they are using, where it comes from and how it was obtained. These data skills must be firmly anchored in the computer science curricula. The second issue is that the AI algorithms, for example when evaluating MRI scans, must also give the doctor an explanation as to why they have identified a carcinoma. Only then does the doctor have a basis for accepting the decision. It is precisely this kind of transparency that we have to incorporate.
Question: Do we need something like ethical rules for the use of AI?
Kirchner: Yes, of course. But we have to develop them on the basis of the ethical values that we already have and which apply to all technologies. I don’t see that AI raises new ethical issues and I don’t see any way in which this could be incorporated in the technology. It primarily concerns people.
Prof. Kirchner, thank you very much for the interview.
(The interview was conducted by Michael Wendenburg)
About Frank Kirchner:
Professor Frank Kirchner has headed up the Robotics Group in the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Bremen since 2002. He is also spokesperson for the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Bremen and is in charge of the Robotics Innovation Center research department. Kirchner studied and obtained his doctorate in Bonn. He worked as a researcher for several years at the Northeastern University in Boston (USA) and took charge of establishing the Brazilian Institute of Robotics in Salvador de Bahia, which was founded in 2013 and was modeled on the DFKI. Kirchner is one of the leading experts in the field of AI-based robotics and has more than 350 publications on robotics and AI to his name.
