The Role of Configuration Management Systems in a Concurrent Engineering Environment

Configuration Management systems facilitate the configuration and version control operations associated with the information pertaining to each release of a product. Such systems are critical components of any concurrent engineering environment inasmuch as they manage the complexity of the information (like specifications, design files, test results, documentation, engineering change orders) and also its dynamics. There are many product information management systems and drawing/document management systems on the market today that can be used for configuration management. By recording an engineering product’s structure and the changes made during development, configuration management allows identification of the structure for any version of a product. While emphasis and capability vary among these products, most of these systems can be used to facilitate concurrent engineering, by managing product data for many users of various roles, allowing easy access to useful, correct, and up-to-date information. This paper summarizes the result of a report that looks at ten such systems currently on the market, reviewing their functionality in areas such as information retrieval, report generation, data repository scheme, change control, access control, system configuration, archival control, interfaces, supported platforms, and other information related to the product. The information was obtained from literature provided by the respective vendors. The evaluation offers a view from the perspective of developers of information sharing and management services for concurrent engineering environments. The systems reviewed are Access Corporation’s TDMS, EDICS, and EDICS/ECC, Adra DMS, Autotrol EIMS, CIMLINC EDC, Control Data EDL, Dassault CATIA, Intergraph I/PDM, Sherpa, SDRC’s DMCS, and Tandem PPDM. The Role of Configuration Management Systems in a Concurrent Engineering Environment Overview January 22, 1993 3 1. Overview In this paper, we present our findings in examining the functionality and features of several configuration management systems. (CMS) We state the general characteristics of configuration management systems, and then specify our concepts of the role played by CMS in a concurrent engineering (CE) environment. A brief narrative of our own research in the engineering information sharing and management services follows. We then identify what we feel are requirements for CMS to be deployed and integrated with information sharing systems in a CE environment. The results of evaluations of several CMS [5] are provided as highlights of each system, followed by tables summarizing the primary functionalities of these systems. 2. Configuration Management Systems By recording an engineering product’s structure and the changes made during development, a configuration management system allows identification of the structure for any version of a product. They are often available as a part of product information management (PIM) system, or as an extension to CAD/CAM software. In order to manage product configuration, the system must first establish a configuration and then track and report on product configurations. It must also track any changes to the configurations during the product life cycle. These entail managing the product’s structure, interrelationships between the assemblies, sub-assemblies, and parts making up a product (i.e., bill of materials), as well as the necessity to track any changes made throughout the life cycle. PIM systems can manage these pieces of information, automating otherwise error-prone processes and producing timely and accurate reports to assist decision making. There are many product information management systems and drawing/document management systems on the market today that can be used for configuration management. While emphasis and capability vary among these products, most of them can be used to facilitate concurrent engineering by managing product data such that useful, correct, and up-to-date information can quickly and easily be shared by many and various users of the system, such as designers, manufacturing personnel, and administrators. By recording an engineering product’s structure and the changes made during development, a configuration management system allows identification of the structure for any version of a product. The system, therefore, must first establish a configuration and then track and report on product configurations. It must also track any changes to the configurations during the product life cycle. These entail managing the product’s structure, interrelationship between the assemblies, subassemblies, and parts making up a product (i.e., bill of materials), as well as the necessity to track any changes made throughout the life cycle. PIM systems can manage these pieces of information, automating otherwise error-prone processes and producing timely and accurate reports to assist decision making. In the following, we briefly describe the features generally supported by PIM systems. 1. Information retrieval, report generation, and the data repository scheme The product information management systems manage many product data attributes, and this information is used to retrieve product data and to generate reports of various types. Examples of the product data attributes include file locations, complete directories for all projects tracked, file users, revision justifications, version number, time spent in creation and in revision, and which application tool uses which data. User-defined custom attributes may also be set up, and they may be specified as required, optional, changeable, fixed, etc. Report generation features of these systems include such standard reports as bill of materials, whereused lists for impact analysis, history reports, up-toThe Role of Configuration Management Systems in a Concurrent Engineering Environment Configuration Management Systems January 22, 1993 4 the-minute project status reports, audit trail reports of approval and rejection, as well as custom reports, often used in conjunction with Structured Querly Language (SQL) query capability. Some systems track session information, such as CPU time and elapsed time by user, file and project, which can be included in the report. These reports can be used for several purposes, such as decision making and logistics planning. The database used to keep track of this information may be a proprietary system or a commercial system. With some of the systems, the user may have a choice among a number of commercial Database Management Systems (DBMS). By centrally managing product data, these systems help share the up-to-date information among all types of users and applications and provide the framework for configuration management throughout the product life cycle. Some systems offer an option to manage information in non-electronic media along with data in electronic format; this can ease a transition from a manual process to the electronic system by not forcing users into converting existing paper files and drawings into electronic form.