ACADEMIA

IBM and Dassault Systèmes today announced that Nissan Diesel Motor Corp. Ltd. has used their PLM Solutions to create a vehicle configuration management system for the development of new trucks. Nissan Diesel's vehicle configuration management system is based on ENOVIA, an IBM PLM Solution developed by Dassault Systèmes, for product data and lifecycle management and decision support. Nissan Diesel deployed ENOVIA's Digital Mock-up (DMU) Navigator in 2000 to seamlessly manage and connect truck component data as the vehicle passes through its development lifecycle (from design to manufacturing). By simulating manufacturing processes using DMU Navigator, Nissan Diesel can detect errors in the early stages of production planning. Truck development involves more components and more complex assembly combinations than development of passenger cars. Nissan Diesel considered it crucial to establish a system to efficiently manage its vehicle configurations, and its configuration management system has shortened the cycle time required to create a vehicle layout by 90%. "Building a system capable of managing the amount data involved in the layout of an entire truck requires a considerable amount of time and energy," said Osamu Mitsuhashi, manager, information systems planning, Nissan Diesel. "Thanks to this system, powered by PLM Solutions from IBM and Dassault Systèmes, the communication between our design and production technology divisions has improved. We expect our vehicle configuration management system, based on PLM solutions, to save development costs." "One of the biggest challenges for truck manufacturers is keeping complex product data organized," said Scott Hopkins, general manager, IBM PLM. "Nissan Diesel is using ENOVIA DMU Navigator to manage truck components so that engineers can focus on innovation rather than continuously searching for parts." "ENOVIA DMU Navigator is the backbone of Nissan Diesel's vehicle configuration management system, which enables the company to manage the highly complex process of developing trucks," said Christian Nardin, managing director, Dassault Systèmes Asia. "Nissan Diesel has leveraged the power of ENOVIA to link product data and processes so that each development team member can access and share comprehensive and up-to-date versions of product information across its entire development cycle."