Information in Order

This article discusses various aspects of product lifecycle management (PLM). Medical device makers constantly seek innovative technologies; some use product lifecycle management systems to smooth the road to food and drug administration approval. Engineers at superDimension manage hundreds of design changes flying around the company by using the manufacturer’s product lifecycle management technology. Keeping close track of the overwhelming number of documents that a regulatory agency might ask to see is one of them. The Air Force will soon use the technology for a different purpose-to give personnel wireless access to maintenance records and technical manuals where they service aircraft. In order to organize the flow and head off chaos, superDimension implemented its PLM software from the very beginning. The manufacturer uses SmarTeam from the vendor of the same name. The company is now owned by IBM. The company engineered its PLM technology to suit its needs.