Part 3 of 3 - In the first article in this series we summarized the aerospace business and technology trends which have added so much complexity into their mix of products, processes, and programs that risks paralyzing even the best defense contractors and their supply chain. In the last CMsights…

Part 2 of 3 - The importance of As-Configured Management functionality for downstream users In this latest CMsights article from CMstat on hardware configuration management software we examine one of the most important aerospace configuration management functions that downstream users of product configuration data seek in their CM tools and…

The surest way for A&D managers to become interested in CM is when production halts because of a missed change order, a supplier ships to an old rev level, logistics can’t source replacement parts, field service starts submitting warranty claims, and a customer calls to report a product performance anomaly. Or worse yet, when executives first hear about a product failure in social media or on the news because it bore catastrophic consequences.

In this month’s CMsights post we invited Lisa Fenwick, Vice President of CMstat, to share how configuration management training and configuration management certification became so important to her engineering career. Lisa writes... I was very lucky when I graduated college with my BSME. My first job was performing project management…

In our most recent series of CMsights Posts we addressed the question of why not use PDM software for all Configuration Management requirements, including those applications downstream of NPD engineering in aftermarket service, repair, maintenance, and overhaul. A question CMstat received afterwards was about the differences between design-centric PDM software…

(Part 3 of 3) In our third and final post on “why not use PDM for all CM requirements” we will discuss the three most common strategies over the years for providing configuration management capabilities to users across the OEM enterprise, as well as throughout the supply and service chain. The approaches summarized below…

(Part 2 of 3) In our last CMsights post we began to unpack a question we hear frequently: why can’t we just use existing PDM software for all of our hardware configuration management software requirements, including those uses downstream of product engineering in the supply or aftermarket service chains? Managing the…

(Part 1 of 3) A common question we hear from industry attendees at conferences and workshops is “why can’t I just use our Product Data Management PDM software to satisfy all of our Configuration Management CM needs." The answer we at CMstat typically respond with is an honest “yes you…

While recently speaking with the CM manager at an A&D site I asked what type of users did they have of their CM software. The response was that there were some doing a lot of work, but most didn’t do much at all! After my shock from this answer, it…

In our last CMsights post we listed the “Top Ten Requirements” of configuration management software (CM) solutions that CMstat has heard most often from CM practitioners over our many years in business. They were presented in no particular order because their relative importance varies greatly across different industries, product lines…

CMstat has published a new whitepaper on Nimble Hardware Configuration Management for the A&D Contract Supply and Service Chain. This paper examines how the needs of hardware configuration management professionals working in the supply and aftermarket service chains of industries like A&D are different from those CM needs of product...

Configuration Management (CM) is an important function that has often been used to justify investment in PLM by industry. Ironically, however, CM was often not deployed until near the end of many enterprise-wide implementations that often consumed years of planning, budget, and…