Representatives of the Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (AD PAG) have published a position paper, Interoperability Standards for Aerospace & Defense, that considers the value proposition of standards enablement of Model-Based Enterprise interoperability.
Ineffective implementation of interoperability standards industry-wide and the selective capabilities embraced by PLM solution providers severely impacts collaboration within a large, global, distributed supply chain of design and development partners. These two factors prevent the digital continuity needed to set up a Model-Based Enterprise.
The future development of civil aircraft, aerospace products, and associated systems will rely on model-based paradigms. In addition, a Model-Based Enterprise will require long-term archiving and retrieval of the associated model-based design, more specialized and complex data structures, and management of their metadata.
The paper begins by framing the problem, then articulating objectives, requirements, and a desired future state. The discourse progresses to the recommendation of a first set of interoperability standards for key Model-Based Enterprise focus areas, including Model-Based Definition, Multi-View Bill of Materials, Global Collaboration, and Model-Based Systems Engineering. It concludes with a plan for accelerating adoption.
Commenting on the importance of this project, Kenny Swope, Senior Manager, Enterprise Interoperability Standards at Boeing and co-project leader of the A&D Standards Workgroup, states, “Boeing considers internationally recognized, consensus-based standards for the exchange of information between stakeholders in a value chain to be the best mechanism for ensuring a robust supply chain that is flexible, scalable, and enduring. By declaring support to a specific set of interoperability standards for the exchange of data, solution providers and supply chain stakeholders will have consistency in the requirements from OEMs like Boeing. Boeing will benefit from a coherent value stream for the product and its data.”
Co-project leader Jean-Yves Delaunay, Product and Process Information Interoperability Engineering Methods and Tools Architect at Airbus, comments, “Open interoperability standards bring business value for Airbus by enabling the digital thread across business functions, across the extended enterprise, and across the product life cycle.”
He continues, “Operational use of interoperability capabilities based on standards contributes to better optimization of the total cost of ownership, increased obsolescence resilience, and the sustainability for long term of Airbus digital assets. The present position paper, gathering requirements of major OEMs of the A&D industry, recommends a first set of interoperability standards. Their implementation by PLM solution providers will deliver benefits for Airbus and the A&D industry.”
Since its founding in 2014, the AD PAG, administered by CIMdata, has sponsored research and jointly staffed projects on a diverse set of prioritized industry and technology topics. These topics include Model-Based Definition, Multiple-View Bill of Materials, PLM Technology Obsolescence Management, Global Collaboration, Model-Based Systems Engineering, and Digital Twin/Digital Thread. As an outcome of these investments, the Group has released a series of direction statements and position papers that are freely available for downloading from its website at www.ad-pag.com. Making these materials available is consistent with the Group’s mission to engage proactively within the PLM ecosystem and advocate for common direction and positions within the aerospace and defense industry on PLM-related topics of importance to the members.
To download the paper, visit https://www.cimdata.com/en/aerospace-and-defense/publications/standards.
For more information about the A&D PLM Action Group, please contact CIMdata at info@cimdata.com.