- We only do special solutions/one-off production. The use of PDM/PLM is not worthwhile in this case.
Clarity and traceability are also the be-all and end-all for special solutions or one-off production. With a PDM/PLM solution, this can be implemented in a time-saving manner because you can assign documents (e.g. circuit diagram to CAD assembly) and thus bring information into context. By means of a configuration, it is even possible to specify which information must be given as mandatory for a project. This increases the quality of the data.
In addition, with a PDM/PLM solution, you can use rules to predefine and partially automate processes and workflows in order to increase productivity: your employees are relieved of routine activities (e.g. data storage) and can concentrate fully on their project. Through a simple but controlled PDM access, all project participants can cover their information needs. This improves communication between the different departments and prevents the use of redundant or outdated data.
Based on existing "similar" projects in PDM/PLM, special projects can also be processed more quickly and efficiently. For this purpose, PDM Studio offers very powerful "copy functions" in which the documents can be freely selected and the links to one another are updated.
- We can't afford PDM.
Ask yourself the counter question: Can you afford NOT to think about it and take a closer look? How much does it cost to have parts ordered incorrectly because of transposed digits? In addition to the costs incurred for the wrong parts, there is also time pressure in the entire project and this also leads to higher costs due to overtime or express surcharges, for examples.
How much time is lost searching for information and duplicate data? Creating a model unnecessarily costs around 100 € WITHOUT the actual construction costs. This includes the costs incurred for the release, preparations in the OP, inquiries from the purchasing department and much more.
Shouldn't employees work directly on the project, instead of repeatedly transferring information from one list to another? Think of how many lists and systems the same data is entered into over and over again. Employees could move forward with actual projects during this time period.
- We have multiple locations and home office employees who want to work together. The PDM solution must support this.
The integration of several locations or employees in the home office and thus the possibility of collaborating on projects and of exchanging information are state of the art today. PDM Studio uses the cutting-edge technologies for this purpose and makes distributed teamwork, even with the involvement of external service providers, a real experience.
- We don't need PDM because we have an optimally structured directory system.
Directory systems, unfortunately, are not flexible and can become extremely complex. Employees who do not work with it that often or new employees find it difficult.
What do we do with documents that apply to both Project A and Project B? Copies of documents lead to redundant data and thus to confusion. "Which document is now up to date?" No copies means that not all project data is consistently stored in one folder and, if at all, only individual employees know this. Are all the documents really kept on file in the directories or is any information stored locally on the employees' PCs or in e-mail boxes?
It is not possible to assign documents to each other. For example, a manufacturer's specification for a purchased part is assigned to the CAD models it supplies. For example, the calculation in Excel cannot be assigned to the corresponding assembly without PDM, or e-mails from a customer cannot be linked to the appropriate project. PDM Studio solves this deficiency through smart linking. This means that you always have all the information in the right place, without having to worry about redundant data.
- What we do is too complex to automate. No system can do this.
Having a PDF of every drawing is common practice for almost all companies. Creating the same PDF manually over and over again is tedious and error-prone. If an outdated PDF is then used for production, you are at best confronted with the regular question of whether the PDF at hand is still up to date. In the worst case scenario, you would end up with a product that no one ordered.
Finding and printing all drawings of an assembly is time-consuming. It can be just as tedious to search for models in an assembly that do not yet have a drawing. Workflows automated via PDM Studio reduce the personal effort to less than a minute. For example, sheet metal parts are automatically unrolled and made available to production as DXF. With it, you'll never cut and bend obsolete parts again.
- The cost it takes to set up such a system is too high for us.
The introduction of a PDM is extremely affordable. All employees can continue to work continuously without interrupting their daily routine. It usually takes a few hours to provide us with the following information:
- The parts lists and title blocks used in order to obtain the key information about which metadata should be managed.
- Provide the templates used.
- Where is the data located and what does the directory structure look like?
- Such a project can become a ‘never ending story’.
- We keep all the data in the ERP.
An ERP system contains only the information on the relevant component. It is not possible to trace the revision history. In addition, there is typically no CAD data in the ERP. The PDF documents may be included as a derivative of the CAD data. Therefore, after finding the information, it is necessary to search again in the directory structure. Knowing where and which part is used is especially important when a revision is to be made. This is the only way to make good decisions. Information from applications such as CAD (BOM) is transferred only manually to the ERP. This is time-consuming and error-prone. In addition, the ERP does not allow you to open an assembly in a specific state, for example, in the originally released version, with all new parts, or only with the parts that are new and already released.
- Our inventory data is not "accurately maintained" for data management.
Your data has broken links, duplicate file names, not all properties are filled in or similar "flaws". But you don't want to invest time in data that may never be needed again? You don't have to! We take over all data as it is. The data is only checked, revised and supplemented, for example, if it has to be administrated anyway due to a project. And this can be done very conveniently within PDM Studio with the help of the where-used list, filter functions or mass data processing.
- A system like this will never pay off for us.
Based on our experience, we can say that PDM Studio pays off within a few months, even with just a few workstations. The more users you have, the more time your staff and thus the company save. This increases quality and productivity.
What is more: PDM Studio can do much more than just process CAD data. Any type of document can be assigned a lifecycle in PDM Studio. This is not least a significant factor for certifications, in which the documentation must also be monitored accordingly.
- We do not have our own IT and do not want to make our system complex.
