1. Setting the Standard for Product Support
Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Managing Product and Support Information from Concept to Disposal
Setting the Standard for Product Support
December 2002

2. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Imagine the opportunities if …
Configuration management information was always accurate, up to date and immediately accessible
Maintenance information was precisely tailored to the work to be done
Spares and inventory costs were minimized through vendor involvement in an integrated supply chain
In-service feedback was accurate, meaningful and readily available to product designers and support managers
Change was easy to manage throughout the life of product
PLCS helps turn Vision into Reality!

3. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Introduction
A joint industry and government initiative to accelerate development of new standards for product support information
An international project to produce an approved ISO standard within 4yrs; commenced November 1999
PLCS will ensure support information is aligned to the evolving product definition over the entire life cycle
PLCS extends ISO STEP - the STandard for Exchange of Product model data

4. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Current Membership
Finnish
Defence
Forces

5. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Goals
PLCS Initiative Goals
Improve product availability
Reduce operating, support and maintenance costs
Improve quality and accessibility of Product and Support information
Encourage a through life perspective by designing for supportability
PLCS Inc. Goals
Accelerate technical development of the ISO standards
Encourage early implementation commercial software vendors
Encourage early industry participation in the development and testing of the standard

6. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Business Drivers
Reduced Cost of Ownership
Users of products are seeking improved availability, reliability, maintainability and lower cost of ownership.
Protect investment in product data
Users of information systems want more open platforms to reduce IT costs and ensure longevity in use of information
Sustainable Business Growth
Companies are seeking to increase business opportunity, revenue and profits by offering life cycle support services

7. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Business Benefits
PLCS offers potential for a wide range of benefits:
Improved availability
Improved quality of support information and access to information throughout the product life cycle and across the supply chain
Reduced cost of acquiring, maintaining and delivering Product Support information
Interoperability with consistent communication across COTS software
Effective change management and product configuration across the life cycle
Flexibility in accommodating changes in information management technology

8. Extended Enterprise of OEM’s, Customer, Partners
Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Extended Enterprise enabled by Internet technology
Internet-based architecture and federated data models make possible implementations involving thousands of users across many sites
Extended Enterprise of
OEM’s, Customer, Partners
and Suppliers
Suppliers
Tier 2
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
Tier 1 Suppliers
Enterprise Integration
through dedicated networks
Extended Enterprise Integration
PLCS
Domain
Customers
Partners
Domain specific
information systems
(e.g. CAD, MRPII, Planning)
Enterprise
In Service Support
Dept
Concept
Assessment
Demonstration
Manufacture
In-Service
Disposal
Product Life Cycle

9. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Extended Enterprise – Importance of PLCS
When set against a timeline – the picture looks more like this!
Suppliers
Tier 2
5 – 10 years
Typically 25 – 50 years Operational Life
Tier 1 Suppliers
Extended Enterprise Integration
PLCS Domain
Customers
Partners
Design for
Supportability
In Service Support and
Operational Feedback
Enterprise
Dept C A D M
In-Service D
Product Life Cycle

10. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Is product data really so important for support?
USS Vincennes has 23.5 tons of paper above the deck which is a greater weight than weapons
F-16 requires over 3500 manuals
C-5 technical documentation will not fit inside the aircraft
5-9% of fatal accidents in the military traced to documentation errors

11. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Limitations with current standards
Current standards are specialized and focus on either:
a piece of a business transaction or process, e.g. Order,Part or
presentation of specific content, I.e. Aircraft maintenance manual
Example: Transaction oriented
Defence: AECMA 2000M
Commercial: ATA Spec 2000, Edifact, ANSIx.12
Example: Content oriented
Manufacturing and process centric:
ISO 9000, STEP
Operations and maintenance centric:
Defence: MIL-STD-1388, Def-Stan 00-60, AECMA S1000D
Commercial:ATA Spec 2000, 2100

12. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Typical complex systems environment
Operational
Objectives
CM Data
CM Data
CM Data
CM Data 5.
Requirements
Management 9.
Product
Data 12
Depot Maint
Mgmt
14 Defects
& Failure
Reporting 4.
Maintenance
Management
Functional Requirements
Defects and Failures
CM Data
Maintenance
Mgt Data 1.
Support
Data 7.
FMECA
Support Data 3.
Stock
Mgmt
13.
Distribution,
Transportation
FMECA
Results
Design
Data
LSA Data
Support Data
Distribution
Data
LSA Data 2.
Maintainers
Viewing
Tool 8.
CAD 6.
LSAR 10
IETM 11
Parts Supplier
Database
Part Data
LSA Data
Tech Pubs Data
Support Data

13. PLCS compliant information exchanges
Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) PLCS will enable cost effective information exchanges 1.
Support
Data 2.
Maintainers
Viewing
Tool 3.
Stock
Mgmt 4.
Maintenance
Management 5.
Requirements
Management 6.
LSAR 7.
FMECA
Maintenance
Mgmt Data
Maintenance
Mgmt Data
FMECA
Results
Support data
Part data
Functional Req.
LSA Data
PLCS compliant information exchanges
Tech
Pub Data
Maintenance
Mgt Data
Distribution
Data
Defects & Failures
Design Data
Design data
Parts Data 8.
CAD 9.
Product
Data 10
IETM 11
Parts Supplier
Database 12
Depot Maint
Mgmt
13.
Distribution,
Transportation
14 Defects
& Failure
Reporting

14. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Business Problem addressed by PLCS
How to keep the information needed to operate and maintain a product aligned with the changing product over its life cycle?
Product
in Focus
Product Definition
Information
Maintenance
Schedules
Consumables
Software
Transportation
Feedback
Tools
Test
Equipment
Support
Facilities
Spares
Storage
Requirements
Training

15. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Scope of the Initiative
Change Directives
Scope of STEP Today
Shared Data
Product Representations
Product Performance
Product Structure
Life Cycle Data
Support Performance
Support Environment
Failure Analysis
Maintenance Analysis
Task Resource Data
Support and Operational Feedback

16. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Capabilities enabled by PLCS – ISO 10303 AP 239
Activity Management
Capability to request, define, justify, approve, schedule and capture feedback on activities (work) and related resources.
Product Description
Capability to define product requirements and configuration, including relationships between parts and assemblies in multiple product structures (as-designed, as-built, as-maintained)
Operational Feedback
Capability that describes and captures feedback on product properties, operating states, behaviour and usage
Support Solution and Environment
Capability to define the necessary support for a given set of products in a specified environment and to define support opportunity, facilities, personnel and organizations
AP 239
Capabilities

17. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Major IT Domains relevant to PLCS
Manufacturing
Engineering
Suppliers
Customer

18. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Implementation Plan
Year 1 - Nov 99 to October 2000
Develop and document process models, and associated process definitions, for the top level support processes
Year 2 - Nov 2000 to October 2001
Develop and document data exchange modules
Develop initial technology demonstrators
Year 3 - Nov 2001 to October 2002
Complete single integrated data information model and submit for ballot as ISO AP239
30 Data Exchange sets defined as future AP239 Conformance Classes
Year 4 - Transition to Implementation
Transition AP239 to International Standard
Publish test results, usage guides and reference data to members
Industrial testing, vendor test rallies and 1st phase implementations
Promote widespread use of standard and establish user group

19. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Key Deliverables
ISO standard for the exchange of product life cycle support data
Single integrated data model using consistent terminology
Enabling:
Enterprise integration throughout the supply chain
Simplified and improved process understanding
Performance measurement and cost drivers identified from testing and feedback
PLCS – Delivering Business Benefit

20. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Unique Value Proposition
International Standard for exchange of product support information - based on ISO STEP
Complete product life cycle - from concept to disposal
Single source of assured product and support information
Data Independence – Freedom of choice for processes, software applications and data format
Interoperability across enterprises and applications through:
Integrated suite of data models
Utilization of ISO STEP standards
Facilitating data exchange and information sharing
Extensibility through the use of Reference Data libraries
Customers, Contractors and Software Vendors working together to develop and implement a neutral data exchange standard

21. Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS) Contact Details
For further details contact any of the following PLCS team members:
Programme
Technical
Membership
Marketing
Setting the Standard
for Product Support