Syfte – Syftet med denna studie är att underlätta implementeringen av produktlivscykelhantering (product lifecycle managmenet (PLM)) genom att öka förståelsen för vilka förmågor som krävs av organisationer när de ersätter ett produktlivscykelhanteringssystem (product lifecykle managament system (PLMS)) och vilka aktiviteter som realiserar dessa förmågor. Metod – Studien är en kvalitativ fallstudie och observerade en ersättning av ett PLMS på ett företag inom fordonsindustrin i Sverige. Intervjuer hölls med projektledare, affärsarkitekter, affärsanalytiker, utvecklare och användare, alla involverade i eller hade kunskap om den studerade systemersättningen. Totalt genomfördes 21 intervjuer och resultat genererades genom en tematisk analys. Resultat – Studien resulterade i sex domäner (1) business process and practice, (2) communication, (3) people, (4) user experience, (5) technology, och (6) system management bestående av förmågor som krävs av organisationer vid en PLMS-ersättning. Sammanlagt identifierades 15 förmågor underbyggda av 42 aktiviteter och samtliga domäner och förmågor är sammanfattade i ett utvecklat ramverk.   Teoretiska Bidrag och Praktiska Implikationer – Studien bidrar med en grundlig genomgång av den befintliga litteraturen inom PLMS-implementering, en empirisk studie av PLMS-ersättning samt vidareutveckling och upptäckt av domäner som presenteras i ett ramverk. Dessutom hjälper ramverket chefer att utvärdera om organisationer besitter de förmågor som gör att de kan utföra de aktiviteter som krävs för PLMS-ersättningar eller inte.  Begränsningar och Framtida Forskning – Studien begränsas av en fallstudie av en PLMS-ersättning i en tidig fas. Därför rekommenderas framtida forskning att validera och utöka studiens resultat i andra sammanhang. Det är också av praktiskt intresse att kartlägga aktörer inom en PLMS-ersättning och undersöka när, hur ofta och av vem aktiviteter som stöder förmågorna ska genomföras. Nyckelord – Product lifecycle management; Product lifecycle management system; Product data management; System implementation; System replacement. / Purpose – The purpose of this study is to facilitate the implementation of a product lifecycle management (PLM) approach by enhancing the understanding of what capabilities are required by organizations when replacing a product lifecycle management system (PLMS) and what activities realize these capabilities.  Method – The study employed an abductive single case-study approach, observing a PLMS replacement effort within the automotive industry in Sweden. Interviews were held with project managers, business architects, business analysts, developers, and superusers, all involved with or had knowledge about the studied replacement effort. In total, 21 interviews were conducted, and results were generated through a thematic analysis. Findings – The study resulted in six domains (1) business process and practice, (2) communication, (3) people, (4) user experience, (5) technology, and (6) system management consisting of capabilities that are required by organizations when replacing PLMS. In total, 15 capabilities underpinned with 42 activities were identified, and the domains and capabilities were summarized in a developed framework.  Theoretical Contribution and Practical Implications – The study contributes with a thorough review of the existing literature on PLMS implementation, an empirical study of PLMS replacement, and further development and discovery of domains presented in a framework. Furthermore, the framework assists managers in evaluating whether organizations possess the capabilities that allow them to perform the activities needed for PLMS replacements or not.  Limitations and Further Research – The study is limited by a single case study of a PLMS replacement effort in an early phase. Therefore, future work to validate and extend the study’s findings in other contexts is recommended. Also, mapping actors within a PLMS replacement effort and investigating when, how often, and, by whom activities underpinning the capabilities should be performed is of practical interest.   Keywords – Product lifecycle management; Product lifecycle management system; Product data management, System implementation; System replacement.

In order to gain competitive advantages in markets, companies have provided a variety of customized products to satisfy customer-specific requirements, leading to not only a large amount of product data but also high cost, long lead-time and complexity of quality control. Efficient product data management throughout the product lifecycle has become increasingly crucial, of which product structure management is regarded as the most important constituent.  The study took ABB Mine Hoist system as a case to investigate how to construct a generic product structure model fit for engineer-to-order system offerings with the consideration of their sales-delivery product lifecycle. The aim of the model is to facilitate the product-related information sharing and reuse across a company, and the integration of different business operations throughout the entire product lifecycle as well. Based on the current situation analysis of product data management on ABB Mine Hoist, three major issues were identified which need to be addressed in the formulation of a generic structure model: namely the integration of requirements of multiple disciplines; the consistency of product information throughout the product lifecycle; and the constant update of product repository. Through illustrating the formulation of ABB Mine Hoist generic structure model, the method of how to construct a generic product structure model for engineer-to-order system product was presented. The model was achieved by applying the framework of the step-based product model and was regarded as a result of integrating domain-specific requirements. The adaptive generic product structure model was then employed to display the role of this generic model in the different phases of a sales-delivery lifecycle. The model could serve as a “master concept” to transfer common product information in the product lifecycle. It’s expected to benefit the business of engineer-to-order system product through improving the integration of different disciplines, enhancing information exchange and reuse. It could also provide an abstract and conceptual basis for potential product repository to reinforce data consistency and completeness.

Im Zuge der digitalen Transformation im Kontext von Industrie 4.0 tun sich eine Vielzahl neuer Datenquellen auf, die im Produktdatenmanagement berücksichtigt werden müssen. Ein Beispiel neuer Datenquellen sind Daten der Industrie 4.0, die zum Beispiel über Sensoren in der Fertigung erhoben werden. Kennzeichen dieser Datenquellen sind die zunehmende Heterogenität der Daten, die nicht mehr in einer Tabelle erfasst werden können. So könnten dies unter anderem Bilder einer optischen Bauteilprüfung sein oder Code zur Bauteilprüfung. Dieser Umstand führt zum Aufbau vieler einzelner neuer Silos, in denen die Daten separat und getrennt vom PDM-System ver-rbeitet werden müssen. Zudem werden dort abgeschottet von den restlichen Silos Daten gespeichert. Daneben führt eine Vielzahl neuer Autorensysteme (Prüfsoftware, Kundenmanagement, Anforderungsmanagement) zu einer gesteigerten Datenmenge, die nicht mehr in klassischen tabellenbasierten und rein-relationalen Datenbanksystemen sinnvoll erfasst werden können. Um an Informationen zu gelangen, sind im Fall rein-relationaler Datenbanksysteme oft komplizierte Abfragen nötig. Diese greifen dann auf mehrere unterschiedliche Tabellen innerhalb der Datenbank zu und stellen daraus wiederum relevante Informationen bereit. Je mehr größer jedoch diese Datenbanken werden und je mehr Informationen miteinander relational verbunden werden müssen, desto mehr Expertenwissen über das jeweilige Datenbanksystem wird benötigt. Somit büßen rein-relationale (SQL-basierte) Systeme auch einen Großteil der Vorteile ihres logischen strukturellen Aufbaus ein. Um den oben genannten Problemen zu begegnen, können neue Ansätze aus dem Bereich der Linked Data herangezogen werden. Bei Linked Data werden nicht nur die reinen Daten verwendet, sondern auch beschreibende und verknüpfende Informationen um die Daten zu interpretieren verwendet und weitergegeben. Durch diesen Mehrwert an Information wird es in einem ersten Schritt möglich, heterogene Produkt- und Prozessdaten, also Daten aus verschiedensten Quellen, wie zum Beispiel Konstruktion, Simulation und Qualitätssicherung, miteinander zu verknüpfen. Durch diese Verknüpfung kann eine höherwertige Darstellungsform geschaffen werden, die neben den reinen Daten auch die sinnvolle Verknüpfung enthält und so eine semantisch höherwertige Repräsentation darstellt. Die so entstehende, vernetzte Datenbank kann z.B. über eine graphenorientierte Datenbank oder Graphdatenbank implementiert werden. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird untersucht, inwieweit die Modellierung mit gegenwärtig existierenden Lösungen für Graphdatenbanken möglich ist. Ausgehend von einem Beispiel mit einem vereinfachten Produkt- und Prozessdatenmodell der Blechmassivumformung, wird eine allgemeine Methode vorgestellt, durch die ein SQL-basiertes Datenbanksystem in eine Graphdatenbank überführt werden kann. Anhand dieser Methode wird dargestellt, wie bestehende Lösungen teilweise auch parallel zu neuartigen Linked Data Datenbanken existieren können, um diese Schritt für Schritt in eine Graphdatenbank zu überführen. Die Ergebnisse des Beitrags sind auf der einen Seite das allgemeine Vorgehensmodell zur Einführung von Graphdatenbanken und auf der anderen Seite Aussagen über die Nutzbarkeit der vorgestellten Lösung für das Produkt- & Prozessdatenmanagement. [... aus der Einleitung]

<p>This thesis looks at two sides of the same coin: how to support the production and future development at a specialist medical technology department at Danderyd Hospital. The two sides are; a pilot study of a product management system (PDM) and an interview based study on the characteristics of the silent knowledge of the technicians. The department (National respiratory centre, NRC) is facing retirement of several key employees.</p><p>The technical study shows that the success of an implementation is largely dependent on the users’ prior knowledge and use of a 3D Computer aided design system (CAD).The system itself is shown to fulfill the Lifecycle requirement of tracking the products (mostly tracheostomy tubes) but without a CAD centered workflow, some substantial education and preferably some new recruits, an implementation of the PDM system will fail. The author recommends development of the current “low-tech” system of MS Excel and Access rather than redistribute the dependency from technician towards a complex, commercial software and its vendor.</p><p>The analysis of the technicians’ silent knowledge with the newly developed method, epithet for silent knowledge (ETK), shows that the longer employment time:</p><ul><li>the more differentiated technicians become in describing their work,</li><li>practical knowledge are regarded higher and</li><li>the social and collective problem solving factors of the work becomes more important.</li></ul><p>Typically, it is shown that a new employee should preferably enjoy problem solving, being pragmatic and social as well as having some prior education or work experience in a CAD and/or a PDM system.</p>

[...] Le sujet de cette thèse intervient dans le cadre du projet DEFI et vise à caractériser la notion d'Efficience Inventive en Conception afin d'élaborer des moyens de mesure de cette dernière. L’objectif étant à terme d’aboutir à l'adoption d’indicateurs aidant les entreprises à situer leurs capacités inventives en R&D. Par la suite, les entreprises ayant adopté ces indicateurs pourront, le cas échéant, entamer des actions d'évolution de leurs pratiques afin que la valeur de ces indicateurs évolue dans le sens recherché. Aux vues de la diversité des typologies d’entreprises et l’ampleur d’un tel sujet, notre recherche est focalisée sur les projets de conception de produits au sein des départements R&D de l’industrie automobile. Afin de mener cette recherche et définir les indicateurs de l’efficience inventive, nous avons étudié dans un premier temps les critères inhérents à la conception inventive. Selon nos travaux, la mesure de la performance inventive est corrélée à l’efficience inventive et doit considérer son efficacité par des caractéristiques ciblées, l’étude des connaissances impliquées et des ressources consommées. Notre mesure de l’efficience inventive est aussi basée sur l’analyse des flux des connaissances en jeu tout au long du processus d’innovation technologique, et particulièrement dans la phase de pré-développement. Elle analyse la relation entre ce qui est reçu et ce qui est appliqué ou consommé par rapport à l’inventivité. La mesure de l’inventivité est alors basée sur l’évaluation de l’idéalité, la nouveauté et l’utilité de ce qui sort du processus de conception de produit. L’ensemble des méthodes d’évaluation développées dans ce travail pour chaque critère d’inventivité, et l’efficience inventive, sont intégrés dans un système d’évaluation concret nommé IDPMS (Inventive Design Performance Measurement System) destiné à aider les directeurs des projets de la conception de produit et R&D à observer la performance inventive des équipes projet, et tenter d’améliorer les activités inventives. Donc, ce travail se catégorise dans le domain des sciences de l’ingénieur. Depuis plus de deux décennies, notre laboratoire (le LGéCo) travaille à la construction, d’abord théorique, puis déclinée en méthodes et outils, de nouvelles approches destinées à accompagner les mutations industrielles de l’ère de la qualité vers l’ère de l’innovation. A cet égard, cette thèse fournira un chaînon manquant : celui qui concerne l’évaluation, et la mesure de ce qui caractérise l’amont de l'innovation afin d’aider les entreprises à entrer, par rapport à ces dernières, en logique de performance. / [...] This thesis was defined in the DEFI project to characterize the notion of efficiency in Inventive Design, and develop the metrics of inventive-design. The objective of this proposal is to define inventive performance indicators to enhance the creative capacity in the automotive industry. The research is focused on the NPD projects of R&D department, which are known as the responsible of technological evolutions. In this respect, the main elements of design performance, and the main criteria of inventiveness are studied and merged together. The inventive performance of a R&D team is concerned with the efficiency of their activities to create inventive designs when they apply existing knowledge, and/or use creative resources. This analyzes the relationship between what is received and what is applied or consumed to achieve higher inventiveness degree. The measures of inventiveness are based on the evaluation of novelty, resourcefulness, and usefulness of what comes out from design activities. All the evaluation methods developed in this work are integrated into a concrete system as IDPMS (Inventive Design Performance Measurement System), and an initial version of the IDPMS application is developed, by which R&D and project managers can observe the inventive performance of their NPD projects. So this work is categorized in Engineering Science for specifying performance indicators of inventive design activities. In recent years, our laboratory (LGeCo) focused on developing theoretical methods, then appropriate tools to accompany the industrial changes from the era of quality to the era of innovation. In this regard, this thesis provides the missing link of this effort by evaluating the main characteristics of inventions in engineering level to help companies enter into a logic performance along their innovation projects.

The thesis includes diagnostics temperature field of industrial low voltage. Place of origin, flow and heat transfer are important aspects in the design of the switchgear, especially in terms of proper equipment layout. The correctness of the design of the switchgear is verified by measuring the practical temperature field during testing or in work mode. To determine the temperature profile, it is necessary to measure the temperature at various points of the switchgear, either contact or contactless method. Measurements are performed on standardized low voltage switchboards, which are located power elements. The goal is to replace costly and time-consuming field testing switchgear efficient simulation of the temperature field mathematical model developed switchboards.

This thesis looks at two sides of the same coin: how to support the production and future development at a specialist medical technology department at Danderyd Hospital. The two sides are; a pilot study of a product management system (PDM) and an interview based study on the characteristics of the silent knowledge of the technicians. The department (National respiratory centre, NRC) is facing retirement of several key employees. The technical study shows that the success of an implementation is largely dependent on the users’ prior knowledge and use of a 3D Computer aided design system (CAD).The system itself is shown to fulfill the Lifecycle requirement of tracking the products (mostly tracheostomy tubes) but without a CAD centered workflow, some substantial education and preferably some new recruits, an implementation of the PDM system will fail. The author recommends development of the current “low-tech” system of MS Excel and Access rather than redistribute the dependency from technician towards a complex, commercial software and its vendor. The analysis of the technicians’ silent knowledge with the newly developed method, epithet for silent knowledge (ETK), shows that the longer employment time: the more differentiated technicians become in describing their work, practical knowledge are regarded higher and the social and collective problem solving factors of the work becomes more important. Typically, it is shown that a new employee should preferably enjoy problem solving, being pragmatic and social as well as having some prior education or work experience in a CAD and/or a PDM system.