Product category:
PLM and collaboration software
News Release from: PTC - Parametric Technology (UK) | Subject: Windchill
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 25 September 2007
Elevator company makes software choice
PTC solutions support Schindler's key business processes in product development such as variant design, design outsourcing, and change and configuration management.
Schindler group, a manufacturer of escalators and elevators has expanded its relationship with PTC Schindler has adopted the PTC Product Development System with its recent selection of Windchill for content and process management
PTC solutions support Schindler's key business processes in product development such as variant design, design outsourcing, and change and configuration management.
By implementing a common product development infrastructure based on Windchill, the company improved the collaboration among engineering sites in Europe, South and North America and China and reduced time to market for its highly customised products.
Schindler is one of largest manufacturers of escalators and elevators for almost every type of building, with more than 40,000 employees worldwide.
Many different product variants are created every day and must be serviced over a lifecycle of up to 30 years.
The Schindler development teams use Pro/Engineer for advanced modelling and variant generation, which enables them to design a maximum number of variants from a limited number of base designs, reducing engineering costs, time to market and inventory.
"After identifying the potential for additional realised value by optimising key product development processes, we decided to move from Pro/Intralink to Windchill to take advantage of the enhanced collaboration capabilities globally", said Marc Schaad, Vice President and Head of Services and Testing at Schindler.
"The PTC Product Development System now provides us with powerful tools to manage models, assemblies and bills of material for our core product range as well as our customer-specific variants across the extended enterprise".
PTC's Global Services organisation helped Schindler to move its Pro/Engineer data from Pro/Intralink to Windchill.
Additionally, PTC Global Services consultants implemented Schindler's working methods and processes for release to manufacturing and change management, as well as deploying Windchill as the collaboration platform for the corporate R and D and the local engineering sites that also allows authorised access for external partners.
"The new product development processes reduced search times for product-related information and simplified the data exchange between all our R and D locations and the manufacturing sites", said Marc Schaad.
"The PTC Product Development System makes design re-use and customisation of existing designs a lot easier than in the past, when our information was dispersed across various locations".
"Now, all of our information is accessible from a single source".
Schindler is also deploying the configuration management capabilities of Windchill to support Schindler's after-market services business.
All customised product variants and modifications or upgrades including the latest 3D models are stored over the product lifecycle in one central data base which ensures minimum lead times for spare part production and the ability to offer custom solutions for replacement or modernisation.
"Industrial equipment manufacturers face multiple challenges in the global economy".
"They have to design and deliver customer-specific products in record time and must offer excellent services", said Josh Fredberg, Vice President Product and Market Strategy, PTC.
"This requires a new approach to product development through analysing the value potential of all the business processes involved and tying it back to product development investment to achieve the overall business objectives".
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