Newswise — For a case study on the role of computer technology in business efficiency and cost savings, look at DaimlerChrysler.
The automaker has extended its product data management system to include a tool used to track the company's entire inventory of factory parts and equipment, from robots to paint. The new asset management tool has saved DaimlerChrysler $500 million, according to company officials.
The system maintains an inventory of components and machinery from 33 assembly lines and 18 other of the company's manufacturing facilities and allows managers at different locations to lend and borrow. Rather than purchase new equipment, DaimlerChrysler has employed its asset management tool to reallocate reusable factory parts throughout the company's engineering departments and manufacturing divisions.
"Each time a group sets up a new-vehicle program, members scan the assembly line for reusable parts and enter those part numbers into the management technology," says an article in the July 2003 issue of Mechanical Engineering magazine, a publication of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
The system uses color-codes, which tell managers the condition of each part. Other data includes the location of the part and date it is available. Pictures can also be included.
The automaker's asset management system is an extension of the company's ProjectWise, which stores computer-aided designs and other information on vehicles.
"As information technology people layer and link a company's various software systems, they create a full-blown digital umbrella that works for the organization," says Mechanical Engineering.
For further information about Mechanical Engineering, or to access the article "Raise the Umbrella," visit the ASME Web site, www.asme.org.
ASME International is a 120,000-member organization focused on technical, educational and research issues. ASME conducts one of the world's largest technical publishing operations, holds numerous technical conferences worldwide, and offers hundreds of professional development courses each year. ASME sets internationally recognized industrial and manufacturing codes and standards that enhance public welfare and safety.
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