Which of the following would you like for your company? More of the same – frequent minor product modifications, customers switching to ‘me-too’ products from competitors in low-cost countries, customers buying services from third parties? Or innovative new products so far ahead of competitors’ products that they do not really have any competition? And customers asking for additional services to add even more value to the products? And the products telling you how to make things even better?
The latter may look like a dream, but it’s the way a E14m European Community project is headed. Launched in 2004, it includes industry giants such as Bombardier, Caterpillar, Fiat, Infineon and SAP.
The premise behind PROMISE is simple – information from a smart product in the field (the Voice of the Product) can be used to support the product in its middle-of-life (MOL) and end-of-life (EOL). And it can be used in the preparation of the beginning-of-life (BOL) of the next generation of the product.
The idea makes so much sense that you may wonder why everyone is not already doing it. There are several reasons. For example, it is only recently that two important foundation technologies – product lifecycle management (PLM) and smart products – have reached the necessary level of maturity.
The main technologies of PROMISE are product embedded information devices (PEID), middleware, product data knowledge management, and applications for decision support. Briefly, the PEIDs sense their environment and the way the product is being used, convert findings to data, and send this via middleware to a PDKM application, where it is available for use by other applications such as decision support systems.
The PIED is a data storage device which identifies a product (or sub assembly or component) and which can be read or written to. In some cases, only a simple device is needed. In others, more sophisticated devices are connected to sensors or actuators on the product. The objective is to capture data about lifecycle events or conditions, such as temperature or pressure, which can impact product performance. Technologies such as barcode and RFID transponders can be used. Data can be stored in different locations depending on the product and the intended use of the data from the PIED.
Middleware enables management and communication of data between devices and the database. This ISC layer (Inter System Communication) is a key PROMISE element that allows information to flow between different phases of the product lifecycle and allows the information feedback loops to be closed. It enables controlled and secure access to relevant information for participants throughout the product value chain. A product data knowledge management application is needed to integrate and manage information from all phases of the product lifecycle. This is more than a basic product data management application. It can locate information for a given unique item via the ISC layer and make this information available to users and decision support applications. The business benefits of PROMISE come from the value-adding use of the data from the PEIDs by knowledge workers and applications. Applications will support many tasks, some, for example, providing decision support for predictive maintenance, diagnosis and analysis of use patterns. Some will use up-to-date and accurate lifecycle information to influence residual life decisions about products. Others will support the development of innovative new products.
Applications
Let us start with an example from the EOL. A car is taken to the breaker’s yard. How can the breaker know which parts are worth removing for reuse and refurbishment, which need special treatment to meet environmental regulations, which should go to specialist reprocessors, which should be shredded? How can the manufacturer show it is meeting the EOL targets of the European Union? This is how it works. A vehicle that has reached its end of life is taken to the breaker's yard. The breaker gets basic information – such as the type of vehicle, its ID, and the assembly date – from a top-level PEID. The breaker also gets mission profile information and statistics about the use of the vehicle and its components, eg, kilometres driven and environmental conditions such as humidity, external temperature, temperature in the engine area, etc. Based on this information, and the maintenance history – in particular for replacements – parts and assemblies worth reusing or remanufacturing are identified and removed. Some may be immediately reusable as ‘used spare parts’, others may need some remanufacturing or repair. Glass, bumpers, foam and cloth are removed for recycling. Some parts, such as catalysors containing precious metals, are removed for further treatment. Statistics on volumes of material treated are updated for environmental records.
Because PROMISE ‘closes the product information loops’, there are many beneficiaries in this example. The breaker minimises disassembly time and effort, yet increases earnings from sales of parts. Regulators get precise information about compliance with the End Of Life Vehicle Directive (EU/2000/53). Detailed data about the BOM, materials, and disassembly operations can be fed back to Marketing, Engineering and Manufacturing, providing important information about the vehicle at its end-of-life, helping to identify, for example, over-designed and/or under-used components and subsystems.
The next example is from the MOL. Your company needs to get a truck with a high-value load to Minsk by tomorrow. You have a choice of two options. You could choose a truck equipped with PROMISE technology including preventive maintenance. Its PEIDs are continually monitoring parts and performance, and sending data back to the fleet management centre where they are automatically analysed. If any potential problems are seen, the truck driver can be guided to the nearest garage to fix the problem before the truck breaks down. Your other choice is a truck that is not equipped with PROMISE technology. Last month, it suddenly broke down at 3am between Kiev and Moscow. The load was stolen. The truck was towed 50km and was out of use for four days. The owner of the load got angry and you lost their business. It’s your choice.
PROMISE increases business value and product revenues by enabling the development and support of innovative products that are clearly differentiated from those of competitors, and allow you to define and create new market segments. PROMISE-based products add value for your customers, yet continue to increase your revenues and earnings. They provide a clear competitive advantage over basic products and services proposed by companies in lower-cost countries. They maintain the loyalty of existing customers who see the benefits of the company’s products and services relative to those of competitors.
Information received from products in the field about their use helps eliminate unnecessary features and costs, and reduce product cost. With better information available about real product needs, manufacturing and support costs can also be reduced. For example, the length and cost of service visits can be reduced due to knowledge of the exact status of the product. u
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John Stark is an independent expert and author on PLM. Promise-PLM, is based in Helsinki, Finland.
www.promise-plm.com