CERN to host Product Lifecycle Management Conference

Geneva: CERN1 is to host the Geneva International Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Conference on September 6-7, 2011. The focus of the Conference is the successful implementation and use of PLM.

The Conference will address PLM across the product lifecycle – innovation; development; manufacturing; use/support; retirement/disposal. The provisional Conference Agenda includes speakers from SMEs, as well as from larger organisations such as Bobst, Bombardier Transportation, CERN, CORUM, EADS, European Commission, Givaudan, Jet Aviation, Merck Serono, Mettler Toledo, Salomon, Stadler Rail, SR Technics, Synthes, Transtec Gotthard, and Varian Medical Systems.

PLM is the activity of managing, in the most effective way, an organisation’s products all the way across their lifecycles; from the very first idea for a product all the way through until it is retired and disposed of. PLM has a holistic approach to the management of a product. In addition to the product, it addresses many other resources including data, IT applications, processes, people, work methods, and equipment.

“We’re delighted to be hosting this conference,” said Thomas Pettersson, Head of CERN’s General Services Department. “It’s an opportunity to show that CERN is not only in the vanguard of fundamental physics, but also of responsible product lifecycle management.”

Conference presentations address a wide range of PLM subjects including Application Architecture, Business Process Management, Change Management, Cleantech, Data Cleansing, End-of-Life, Human Resources, Implementation Guidelines, Innovation Management, Internet of Things, Mechatronics, Metrics, NPD/NPI, Portfolio Management, Social Product Development, Standards, Strategy, Sustainability and Vision.

To enable world-leading research into physics, CERN has to carry out great engineering and highly innovative product development. CERN designs, builds and operates particle accelerators that range in size from a few metres long to the LHC, which is 27 km in circumference. These machines and the related experimental areas contain millions of items of many types, such as software, electronics, electrical, mechanical, and chemical.

“It’s a tremendous challenge to develop such highly innovative, high-performance machines,” said Pettersson. “It’s just as challenging to maintain a coherent configuration of everything that's been developed and installed.”

CERN’s integrated PLM platform is called the CERN Engineering & Equipment Data Management System. Developed over the last 15 years, it has 6,400 registered active users located all round the world. It currently manages more than a million components and more than a million documents and drawings.

In recent years, PLM has become a top management issue for companies developing, manufacturing and selling products of all types. During the 2010-2015 period, most companies are expected to launch a PLM Project, Program or Initiative. Executives need to be sure the right objectives are set for PLM, the right visions and strategies are developed, and plans are implemented quickly and correctly. The Geneva International PLM Conference and Exhibition, held in the working environment of a world-renowned organisation, and with speakers from more than 30 leading companies, offers a unique opportunity to learn about the current status of PLM implementations and components, understand PLM best practice, and find out about future developments of PLM.

1. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the world's leading laboratory for particle physics. It has its headquarters in Geneva. At present, its Member States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Romania is a candidate for accession. India, Israel, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Turkey, the European Commission and UNESCO have Observer status.