CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
16 August 2007
Company News
New Large-Scale Grant Project Planned: The ProSTEP iViP Association Focuses on Integration
"There are any number of good ideas, concepts and solutions relating to every aspect of virtual product development out there - what now has to be done is to bring all these together to create a whole", says Professor Martin Eigner, chairman of the ProSTEP iViP Association and chair of Virtual Product Development (VPE) at the University of Kaiserslautern. The ProSTEP iViP Association is focusing on integration rather than joining the trend toward verticalization, i.e. the solution of individual problems, being followed by a number of grant projects.
The research institutes organized under the roof of the ProSTEP iViP Association want to create a new large-scale grant project. The aim of this project is the integration and availability of methods and IT solutions for the efficient realization of high-quality, innovative products in global product development processes. It is important that companies are prepared for rapidly changing market requirements, more complex products as a result of increasing variance and multi-disciplinarity, and more complex processes due to closer integration within the supplier chain.
The feedback of information from the entire lifecycle of a product into the early phase of the product development process plays a pivotal role, especial with regard to quality. What is at stake is not only safeguarding the future and the sustainability of product development but also the protection of investments.
"The fact that users, IT vendors and research institutes are working together within the ProSTEP iViP Association makes us unique. We must exploit the synergies that result from this collaboration to initiate new developments that are relevant to industrial practice", stated Eigner. "And the time is ripe for a big step forward. We must set out on new paths. And not only in the direction of standardization and more efficient utilization of IT. We ourselves must also provide impetus for IT innovation. This type of grant project provides an opportunity to all those involved."
The planning for this project was launched several months ago. Initial talks with representatives from the Project Management Agency for Production and Manufacturing Technologies (PFT) at the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and representatives from industry have already been held.
The vision and objectives of this new research project will be presented to a wide audience for the first time at ProSTEP iViP Science Days, which is being held 25 and 26 September in Bremen. Under the ProSTEP iViP Science Days motto "Integrated Engineering - From Patchwork to Network", 150 representatives from science and industry will discuss the latest developments regarding product data management, process management and project management. The software company SAP is the sponsor of this year's event. ProSTEP iViP Science Days is held every two years. You will find details of the program of presentations and workshops in the Internet at http://www.prostep.org/en/events/sdays2007/program/070925.htm .
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