Efficient management in production companies by implementation of PLM.

Wessely, Emil ; Kralikova, Ruzena ; Krupa, Marek 等

1. INTRODUCTION

Permanently changing more and more demanding requirements for the tasks related to the management and assurance of prosperity of companies as well as increasing pressure from competitors evoke constantly more urgent need of implementation of progressive methods and technologies which should assist to the companies by satisfaction of wants of their customers (Badida et al., 2001). The organisations do need a informational infrastructure for their survival, which enables to perform exact decisions in the real time, and which allows to focus fully on the customer's satisfaction. In the last years has been dynamically developing a strategy of product life cycle management (PLM), which significantly influences and conditions the success and competitive capacity of the companies.

2. LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT

The term product life cycle assessment (LCA) means all stages which each product goes through, i.e. the stage of raw material exploitation and material treatment for manufacturing of a particular product, production of the product itself, utilisation of a product connected eventually with the maintenance and product disposal as waste.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

An important step in the area of efficient management of the product life cycle in manufacturing companies is the implementation of an integrated product policy, which is focused on products and services and their environmental aspects. Integrated view is oriented on various aspects, to which belong:

* Life-long cycle

* Environmental components

* Tools

* Areas Fig.1.

Integrated product policy (IPP) has becoming a part of the

European environmental policy and this strategy covers the measures for internalisation of environmental consciousness and responsibility into the individual decision-making processes. Integrated product policy is based on the market and stimulates the processes towards the sustainable development.

Acceptance of this strategy in the area of environmentally oriented quality management of products and services will bring to the mechanical-engineering companies significant economical and environmental benefits, which in the feedback directly influences the efficiency of functioning of every company (Katalinic et al., 2001). In fact, who approaches the market with a product--regardless of the size of company, if it is a small company or international company, follows the constantly cyclic order of the key processes:

1. Planning of product--covers the time period, when is considered a new product with regard on the market needs, when the management decides which product is appropriate to invest the resources to achieve the profit in the future (Product Innovation Charters--PIC).

2. Product development--is focused on the development of new products (Products in Development--PID), which will be immediately installed in the market including planned company sources.

3. Product administration--is focused on existing products in the market (Products in the Market--PIM), on their administration from their introduction in the market, when they need the support and service.

In the present is preferred predominantly the procedure oriented approach with the goal to eliminate the pollution from the industrial and other procedures. Integrated product policy is based on product orientation and approaches to the issue of pollution in integrated way from the aspect of the whole life cycle of the product and its functional parts and its utilisation (e.g. vehicle and its operation--manufacturing, fuel and lubricants consumption, maintenance, scrapping after end of its useful life). Integrated product policy also puts the accent on so called public procurement, which defines the principles of purchase of products by public institutions and proposes the instruments for the purchase with the goal to prefer the products, which are environmentally friendly during their whole life cycle.

Even though that product oriented environmental policy shall perform in the whole life cycle of a product and influence all in it participating subjects, its activity is focused in the recent practise predominantly on the producer, i.e. on the activities, which change the character of a product with the purpose to accomplish lower negative environmental impacts. Management, informational and educational instruments play the major role. At the same time it leads to the support of green markets (new instruments, for example the support of green procurement, and green orders).

3. UTILISATION OF INFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES

The utilisation of information technologies and electronic communication enables to achieve the competition benefits, which is crucial factor for producers to utilise secure media for information share with partners, data from development, marketing etc. in real time. Production companies are the first, which understanding the outputs and the value "Chain of the digital product", shown below Figure 2. This chain shows like the developing teams cooperate by the information and change creation, which are essential for a new or innovated product (Rucinsky et al., 2000).

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

4. PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT

Product lifecycle management can be defined as the background created to control crucial information during life cycle including all key processes within the whole organisation and among cooperating organisations. It enables to share common processes and knowledge for the concerned product. PLM is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal. It is one of the four cornerstones of a corporation's information technology structure. PLM is an essential element in effectively creating and utilizing global information networks, as it empowers businesses to make unified, information-driven decisions at every stage in the product lifecycle: Plan--Define--Build--Support.

PLM is company strategy, by means of which the organisation controls the life cycle of their product. Product Lifecycle Management or PLM is company strategy, by means of which the organisation controls the life cycle of their product. PLM is a strategic construction that covers wide scale of applications, such as Product Development System (PDM), Computer Aided Design (CAD), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) etc..

All companies need to manage communications and information with their customers (CRM-Customer Relationship Management) and their suppliers (SCM-Supply Chain Management) and the resources within the enterprise (ERP-Enterprise Resource Planning) (Rucinsky et al., 2004). In addition, manufacturing engineering companies must also develop, describe, manage and communicate information about their products (PLM).

The companies can this way improve their infrastructure and cooperation in the value string and significantly decrease the time and costs necessary for the product development. It is a complex solution of all data administration concerning the product, or process changes. At the same time it is the basis, which supports the management and automation of product life cycle process from the first conceptual activities to its introduction in the market. It enables to communicate with the cooperating companies at the required level by using the Internet tools (Beca et al., 2004).

In present a company managed in a modern style must be market-oriented and must tend towards greater attractiveness in the area of environmentally suitable performance. This is possible to achieve by means two basic factors, which lead towards prosperity:

1. Accepting of qualitative requirements of a customer.

2. Respecting environmental standards, which guarantee sustainable development.

Proposed factors determine the trend to achieve strategic plans of the manufacturing companies in the area of environmentally oriented quality of products and services. The product quality cannot be combined only with the group of top technical parameters; it is important also operational reliability, regular supply, design, assembly, disassembly, undemanding disposal or recycling, efficient service and environmental standard.

4. CONCLUSION

In present time of global markets must the companies constantly innovate their products, processes and informational systems to remain on the smart. They must collect, store and utilise their intellectual capital. The need of efficient management of the product life cycle is given by competitive pressure and constantly growing demanding ness of customer requirements. From this view it is the strategy PLM, which offers to the producers the space for cooperation with business partners to speed up the introduction of a product on the market, decrease of manufacturing costs, increase of quality and last but not least improvement of customers satisfaction. It supports long-term environmental goals, contributes to the social and economical destructuralisation and focuses on fulfilment of social and environmental needs on the basis of sustainable development. This conclusion is just a rehash of the paper.

The paper was elaborated in connection with the projects VEGA: "Modelling of factors of working environment and their optimisation in specific conditions of the engineering companies", solved at the Department of Environmental Studies and Process Control Faculty-TU Kosice.

5. REFERENCES

Badida, M., Kralikova, R. & Paulikova, A. (2001): Environmental impact assessment in mechanical engineering, Acta Mechanica Slovaca, Vienala, c. 3, roc. 5, 1/2001, pp. 57-66, ISSN 1335-2393

Katalinic, B., Pliana, S., Lioljic, B. &K Stuja (2001): Modelling Flexible Manufacturing Systems With UML, Proceedings of the 12th International DAAAM Symposium, ISBN 3-901509-19-4, Vienna, Austria., pp. 215-216,

Rucinsky, R. & Mrazko, S. (2004): Integration electronic markets and task information in the regulated supply of the chain. In: Almanac work from international workshop "development small and central businesses lands of central and eastern Europe". Praha:VSE, 2004. ISBN 80-2450809

Beca, M.--Rucinsky, R. (2004): E--business as strategic access to the businesses in the condition of globalization. In: Sudzina, F.--Basistova, A.--Mesaros, P. (eds.): Theoretic aspects of sectional economy II. 1. publ. Kosice : Royal Unicorn. ISBN 80-969181-1-7

Rucinsky, R. (2002): E--commerce and globalization and its hold on economy in Slovak republic. In: Acta academica karviniensia. Karvina : OPF SU, 2002. ISSN 1212-415X