Oxford, England. Sep 26, 2014 -- An initiative has been launched to set up a new, international Foundation to support advanced PLM research.

 

It is generally agreed that PLM is an important new technology with far-reaching impact and application world-wide. For similarly important new technologies there are well-structured, highly-visible research programs. Yet, despite the best of intentions, research into PLM across the world remains fragmented, low-profile, and limited to very specific subject areas.

 

This is a significant long-term problem for industrial companies. Lack of research means that future PLM capabilities may not support the advanced manufacturing methods that they will want to apply. It may also be a problem for PLM vendors, because separate technological advances such as "thinking components" may mean that current PLM systems become obsolete.

 

There is now a proposal to establish a PLM International Research Foundation as an independent platform to support advanced research into Product Lifecycle Management. The Foundation would work with industrial companies to identify their most important research issues and then with academic and other research organisations to achieve them.

 

The proposal has been put forward jointly by the PLM Interest Group, the PLM Institute in Geneva and PHI-KPE of the Netherlands. A global survey of leading universities and institutions was carried out by the PLM Institute in July and August, and this has established a general academic viewpoint about what might be possible. The next step is to circulate the resulting Summary Document to vendors, user companies and other potential supporters of the Foundation; and hence to gather their views about how things might move forward.

 

You can find more information about the PLM-IRF on the PLMIG web site or by via Email Contact.

 

The PLM Interest Group
The PLM Interest Group is the leading neutral industry group for PLM. It has developed the first ever PLM Governance Standard, together with a new generation of applied PLM material including the PLM Best Practice Library and the Path to PLM. Previously PLMIG workshop series have produced the PLM Benchmarking Handbook; the PLM Maturity Reference Manual; and the PLMuERP Handbook.

For more information, please contact:
Roger Tempest
PLMIG