Part 2: Key Takeaways from Siemens PLM Connection 2012

This is the second post of a two-part blog on the Key Takeaways from Siemens PLM Connection 2012. If you missed the first post, you can view it here.

As Friday's post focused on current trends in the manufacturing industry and client viewpoints from the conference, the following provides LNS Research's commentary of Siemens' annoucements and product enhacements. A more in-depth analysis will be available in our Research Library in the coming weeks.

Siemens Continues to Focus on the Intersection of Process and Product Data

LNS Research was encouraged to see that Siemens continues to invest in the concept of Totally Integrated Automation and the convergence of the engineering and manufacturing execution spaces. In this area, there were several announcements made by Siemens regarding upcoming product enhancements and new strategy worthy of mention.

• Quality Solutions on the Teamcenter Platform – Siemens continues to invest heavily in its Teamcenter capabilities with the recent release of Teamcenter 9.1. The new version has more quality functionality and works with a growing number of applications on a single platform. This expanded quality functionality encompasses Inspection Programming, Variation Analysis, and Dimensional Planning and Validation (DPV) under one umbrella. The DPV solution in particular is an integrated Teamcenter-based set of tools, which enables real-time collection, storage, management, reporting, and analysis of quality data. The software is currently being used by major clients to analyze variation trends at an enterprise level. We are expecting to see Siemens further invest in the solution’s workflow automation and change management functionalities.

• Integrated PLM with MES – According to Zvi Feuer, Siemens SPV and General Manager, the vendor is concentrating on an initiative to integrate all product and process information within one system. While an initial solution is in the works for the aerospace and defense industry, Siemens’ ultimate goal is to make a system robust enough for its entire customer base, eliminating the need for industry-specific customization. In addition, it is also placing greater focus on delivering web-based applications than it has in the past. This will allow for increased accessibility, which, for example, could digitally provide shop floor workers with work instructions rather than relying on outdated practices such as tribal knowledge or written documents.

• Enterprise BOP – Automated workflow capabilities have helped to create a playing field for standardized global manufacturing operations. Siemens is working to take this a step further with its Enterprise Bill of Process (BOP) capabilities. The idea is for manufacturing engineers to be able to develop a process at a local plant, standardize it, and then share it as a global best practice. At an enterprise level, engineers from other plants can then take this process and localize it for their own resources and capabilities. This is another area of interest to LNS Research and will likely garner future attention in research and blog posts; especially in regard to the similarities it has to the BPM approach many companies are taking to Manufacturing Operations Management.

  

Concluding Thoughts

Siemens continues to invest in PLM as well as in other areas of software for the industry, like Manufacturing Execution, Quality Management, and more. The long term vision for a complete industry solution is still a ways in the future, but the investments being made today will help to enable success in accomplishing these goals. One thing is clear, Siemens will not rush and will not proclaim victory prematurely; rather, it will take a measured and conservative approach to delivering on the needs of customers.

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