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Waltron: A PLM Story

- Kenneth Then, Service Engineer / Director of Doc

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Agenda

• Company, Product, and Personal Introductions

• Pre-PLM Challenges, Life before PLM

• Waltron meets PLM

• Fusion Implementation

• WIP - Workspaces in Progress

• Looking to the Future with Fusion

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Waltron Products

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Product Applications Along a Boiler Path

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State of Waltron Pre-PLM

Company Culture• Small, tribal knowledge, lack of defined processes

• ERP/MRP system outdated, used for things beyond its design/capability

• That’s how we’ve always done it

Documentation - not just physical product manuals!

Concept of revision control absent!

Concept of lifecycle vague

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State of Waltron Pre-PLM

• Documentation

Storage on network drive

• Mechanical Drawings

No CAD software

• Product Development

Vague development states

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Started with Arena prior to Fusion - Never gained traction

• “That’s how it’s always been done”

• Lack of experience

• Is it worth the resources?

• Small Company

• Resistance to internal changes, accountability

Decision: Efficiency is critical

Step 1. Admitting we have a Problem

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• Invested in CAD software

• Clean up network drive

• Limit access to controlled documents

• Revision control logging in Excel

• Limit printed materials

Result: Limited Improvement

Step 2. Starting to Find Solutions

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Waltron Meets Fusion

Fusion PLM Trial (PLM 360) – April 2015

• Researched by new product development director

• Trial tenant - support from the very beginning

• Immediately looked and felt cleaner and simpler

• Impressed by unlimited configuration options

• Configuration could be done in-house, no start-up fees

• Sell to new management

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Journey with Fusion Begins

Import

+4,000 items

Purge…

everything

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Workspace Structure

Parts &

AssembliesDocuments

CHANGE REQUESTS CHANGE ORDERS

Chemicals

& Reagents

Software &

Firmware

SPACECLAIM

SUPPLIERS

QINMASS (MRP)

Top Level

Analyzer BOM

Production Workspaces

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Workspace Structure

SERIAL

NUMBER LOGTEST SHEETS

RMANON-

CONFORMANCE

SALESFORCE /

CUSTOMERS

Quality Control Workspaces

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Workspace Structure

PRODUC

TSTASKS

QUALITY GATE 1

QUALITY GATE 2

QUALITY GATE 4

QUALITY GATE 3

Product Development Workspaces

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• Documents

• Parts & Assemblies

• Chemicals & Reagents

• Top Level Analyzer BOMs

Workspaces

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Workspace: Product Lines

Basic Workspace with Workflow (non-revision

controlled)

• Capture Complete Product Line

• Lifecycle

• Marketing/Sales Product brochures linked

Summary for NPI• Shows current Quality Gate State, but not details or quality gate

tasks

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Fusion Meets the Rest of the Team

Introduce Fusion Lifecycle/ PLM to

rest of the company via a lunch & learnQINMASS (MRP)

Inventory and Accounting Tool

Manage: RESOURCES ($$$$)

Salesforce (CRM)

Sales Tool

Manage: CUSTOMERS

Fusion (PLM)

Product Development and

Production Tool

Manage: PRODUCTS

As items became live in

workspaces, got individuals

involved and provided training.

How does Fusion

Lifecycle fit in?

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Sneak Peek @ Roadmap

WIP – Work(spaces) in Progress

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Current Process:• Technical service assigns an RA number to the item being returned

• Customer Service provides invoice for a replacement part (if applicable)

• Part received and inspected

• If warranty still valid, part returned to manufacturer for credit/replacement

WIP RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization)

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Current Process:

• Serial Number assigned to a final product

during final QC testing

• Serial number, model number, customer

information logged into Excel sheet

• Started adding columns for software

versions, product versions, etc.

WIP Serial Number Log

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Current Process:

• Status of tasks related to Quality Gates managed in

Excel.

• Benefit Workspace will be able to assign tasks,

schedule milestones, attach all relevant documentation,

gain approval to move to next quality gate (which will

link to Product Line Workspace and script will move

lifecycle to next stage)

• Improve visibility or projects and organization of all

relevant data, documents, and approvals throughout

process

WIP Product Development Quality Gates Get products in market faster

© 2016 Autodesk

Fusion Moving Waltron into the Future

• Add more workspaces and users

• Provide customer support throughout the

true lifecycle or each product

• See trends in products and failures

ALWAYS EVOLVING – BOTH WALTRON AND FUSION

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Acknowledgements

• Waltron Bull & Roberts, LLC

• Jen Hwang, Director of Product Development at Waltron

• Autodesk

• Brian Schanen & Kimberly Stout

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Thank you!