Product data can easily be addressed as one of the most vital data types that directly influence a business’ productivity. Irrelevant, incomplete or unoptimised electronic data of products can have adverse effects on the sustainability of businesses and their brands. Hence, such data streams must be effectively captured and optimally handled to explore product-related information to elevate efforts when designing, engineering, producing, distributing or marketing products, and Product Data Management does just that.
Product Data Management, commonly abbreviated as PDM, is a managerial process of tackling company products’ electronic data using centralised databases and dedicated software solutions. Product Data can be of many types, such as engineering models, Bills of Materials, Blueprints, and more. Therefore, Product Data Management can be addressed as a comprehensive effort to manage product design data and other product manufacturing or engineering processes in a centralised location. Hence, PDM would enable actions such as tracking product revamps, efficiently managing change-order, generating exclusive Bills of Materials, collaboratively designing product models and more.
What is a PDM System?
Product Data Management Systems are software solutions that are accommodated in a company’s IT infrastructure to organise product-centric data. These solutions use centralised databases to manage digitised product data as it moves along the product life cycles. PDM systems are commonly file-based systems that house silos to save product-specific data, such as identification directories of product components, manufacturing instructions, historical data of products, versions of 3D product models and more documentation.
In other words, it can be addressed as a repository of CAD files to save product design records comprehensively.
Firstly, it can be connected to a cloud-based vault to save all relevant product data securely. Secondly, PDM systems are developed to have exquisite version control. This allows the user to ‘check-out a file when being used or edited and then ‘check-in’ the file to the centralised database in the cloud. As all versions will be saved in the cloud, multiple users can collaboratively work on product designs and effortlessly retrieve previous versions, too, if required.
What are the features of Product Data Management Systems?
Managing design data plays an important role in the engineering and manufacturing fields, for it tackles sensitive information that needs to be carefully managed. Here are some features that your cooperation can foster by eventful Product Data Management enabled by PDM systems.
Shared Intelligence
By adopting PDM systems, product designers do not have to reinvent products from scratch. They can access previous versions of product CAD files to revamp or gather intel for new designs using the simplified file access enabled in PDM systems. Also, engineers can share product data to gather feedback and comments by sharing product models with others (in-house teammates or off-prem specialists) too. Two or more people can share their experiences or gather historical information for optimised product designing efficiency.
Undisputed flows of processes
In the ecosystems of engineering and manufacturing firms, internal teams and external partners will be collaborating in streamlining product design workflows. Therefore, PDM systems would allow key stakeholders to actively and effortlessly convey their contributions using automated workflow-driven product designing processes. This feature allows the execution of tools such as automated revision control, engineering change order management, BOM management and more.
Flawless Configuration Management
Bills of Material data and lifecycle information can be aligned and synchronised according to their statuses. Change Management tools can be housed in PDM systems to allow users to compare the previous and current versions of BOM to understand product designs better. Additionally, lifecycle visualisation tools can replace expensive prototyping to design on-demand representations of products and share them conveniently.
Cutting-edge product data security
Relevant data will be delivered to users along with product life cycle progressions in an accurate context without any disruption. Data can be stored securely by adopting security solutions to safeguard sensitive data adequately. Accessible protocols, firewalls, theft trigger systems, encryption methods and other alert systems can be used to ensure the strict security of product data.
Benefits of using a PDM system?
There are many benefits of using Product Data Management Systems in a company that relies heavily on engineering and designing products for better corporate productivity. Some of the main benefits of using a PDF system is mentioned below:
- Saving the time of product engineers by giving them smart search options in navigating in product files
- PDM systems are less prone to errors since it overrides inaccurate data sharing and poor file management
- Proactive access to relevant and accurate data by Product Engineers
- Optimising the data sources of engineering departments
- It facilitates a safe, collaborative platform between global teams
- It can maintain regulatory compliances within the corporation
- Conveniently level up the orchestration of product value chains
- Improve the productivity of manufacturing products and reduce factory cycle times
- Provide product-related data visibilities to improve decision-making processes regarding product ideation.
