Oxford, England. November 10, 2011

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the UK is highly active in promoting the latest techniques and best practices in engineering, as a learned institution and as the promoter of the Manufacturing Excellence awards. Its support for the PLM Standardisation series run by the PLMIG extends the scope of this activity to PLM, and creates a new platform for PLM industry development.

Many of the underlying problems in PLM are due to the lack of clear industry-wide guidance to show the best ways of adoption and implementation. There is no central body of advice for companies to turn to in order to facilitate their progress, and provide a neutral reference point against which to balance the proprietary approaches of their vendors or advisors.

Partnership with the IMechE creates a highly-visible antidote to this. Once a clear relationship has been established between a professional industry body and the whole subject of PLM, then this can be replicated by other institutions around the world. Companies in those countries will become more aware of PLM as a serious subject, and find it easier to adopt PLM as a result.

Participation in the London Workshop will help shape this process. Over two days, users and vendors work together as a single group to cover issues such as PLM standards for the extended enterprise; metrics for the benefits of implementing PLM; through-life support and MRO; and cross-platform challenges in harmonising PLM. The input of the IMechE means that the Agenda can also include a roadmap for the development of the PLM industry over the next 5-10 years.

For more information, see the PLMIG web site or contact Roger Tempest at Email Contact.

The PLM Interest Group
The PLM Interest Group is a global Group which brings together its members to work proactively to solve their PLM problems. It is developing a new generation of applied PLM standards including the PLM Best Practice Library and the Path to PLM, and has previously run workshops that have produced the PLM Benchmarking Handbook; the PLM-SCM Guidebook; and the PLM Maturity Reference Manual.

For more information, please contact:
Roger Tempest
PLMIG