Our journey implementing Aras

Need, Plan, Implement SUCCESS!

Agenda• Who is Dedicated Computing?• What drove our need for a Product Lifecycle Management

(PLM) Solution?• Search for a PLM Platform• Planning the Aras Implementation• Executing the Aras Implementation• Where are we now?

Process/Tools Summary Deep Dive on Projects

• What’s Next?• Implementation - What worked well?• Implementation - What challenges did we encounter?• User Feedback• Summary of benefits seen using the Aras platform• Questions

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Who is Dedicated Computing?

An innovative technology company dedicated to creating value for our customers through the

application of connected, secure and complete technical computing solutions.

339 associates at three Wisconsin locations

OperationsSales & MarketingTechnical Engineering

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OUR EXPERTISE

Products & Services:Embedded ComputingRemote MonitoringNetworking SolutionsEngineering DesignQuality ProcessesSupply Chain ManagementLife Cycle ManagementProgram Management

Our Technical Computing Solutions

Connected. Secure. Complete.

Engineering Services includes unique purpose built

hardware feature design & development, software and

driver development, life cycle management and

professional services

Advanced Serversapplication & network ready

embedded computing solutions optimized to deliver

the right balance of power and performance, security, network connectivity and

manageability

Secure Service System provides secure remote field device monitoring,

software stack management, data center

access and system optimization

Our Market Focus

Military Flight Training & Simulation SystemsRadar & Sensor SystemsUnmanned Systems

HealthcareImaging SystemsLab Diagnostic & Patient MonitoringComputer Assisted Surgery Systems

Oil & GasEngineering Control SystemsSeismic Imaging Systems

Industrial Automation

Industrial AutomationBuilding Control

SecurityPhysical Security Intrusion Detection

What drove our need for aProduct Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution?• Many custom tools used to manage multiple Bills Of Material

(BOMs)

• Lack of part/product searchability

• Tools do not support ability to view BOM Revision History

• “Projects” within the business were managed in many different ways using custom tools and forms

• Business processes managed using a combination of custom tools, “word of mouth” and e-mail

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Search for a PLM Platform – road to ArasWe first looked at 4-6 other PLM platforms including:• TeamCenter• Oracle Agile• Omnify• Arena

Each of these solutions had a significant Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) to evaluate which led us to Aras

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Search for a PLM Platform – road to ArasWhy Aras?• Instant use• Configurability• High Value / Low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)• Support• Roles & Workflows• Searching Options• Revision Control & History

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Planning the Aras Implementation (Q4 2011 & Q1 2012)• Initial review and investigation by a small team• Prepare Project Charter and gain executive buy-in and

approval• Project Planning

• Determine which business processes to transfer from existing tools to Aras platform

• Form Project Core Team Business Project Manager IT Project Manager 2 IT resources to code and configure Aras

• Attended 2012 ACE conference • Determine business process owners

Process owners responsible for definition of processes to be configured in Aras

• Decision to use a phased process implementation approach as opposed to a “big bang”

• Complete and maintain project schedule Activity Analysis (Work Breakdown Structure)

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Planning the Aras Implementation• WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)

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Aras Implementation Project Plan – Phases & MilestonesPhase 1 - Project Kickoff and Aras Platform Installation/Training

(January – March 2012)• Creation of project core team• Identify Business Process Owners• Aras subscription purchase, installation and training for project core team

Phase 2 – Aras Process Configuration / Validation & User Training & Implementation

(April 2012 – June 2013)• Business process definition• Aras process configuration• Custom software modifications and integrations coded• Aras process testing• Aras and modified systems software validations• Data mapping and migration• Process documentation updates • Classroom user training

Walk through of execution of Aras processes

• Aras Implementation Phased process launches in Q4 2012 /Q1 & Q2 2013

Phase 3 – Manufactured Parts Implementation

(July 2013 – December 2013)• Manufactured parts process definition• ERP modifications and integrations coded• Launch of manufactured parts

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Executing the Aras Implementation (Q2 2012 – Q2 2013)• Weekly Project Core Team meetings• Work with Business Process owners and other stakeholders to

identify current processes, improve as needed and define Aras configuration

• Configure business processes in Aras• Migration of existing data to Aras• Aras process review sessions with stakeholders to update as

needed• Software validation of Aras processes• Update of Quality documentation to reflect new processes

and use of Aras• Aras Training

• General (all users)• Process Specific (affected users of process)

• Launch of processes in Aras and retirement of old tools

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Where are we now?• 16 business processes now implemented on the Aras platform

• Engineering Pre-production orders Hardware design Software development Hardware validation

• Engineering and Project Management Projects

• Quality CAPA (Corrective Action / Preventive Action) Customer escalations

• Sourcing Qualified supplier list New part creation Part change notices

• Manufacturing Continuous improvement ideas

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Where are we now?How many tools and forms have been eliminated so far as a result of implementation of processes in Aras?• 16 Tools

• SharePoint• Webspeck (Custom Tool)

• 5 Forms• Excel spreadsheets

Checklists for various processes Spreadsheet trackers

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Deep Dive - Projects

“Before”:• Many tools/forms used during the execution of a project

Many “checklists” existed to ensure project activities were completed• Processes were defined but were managed in different ways and project

activities/ownership were not readily apparent• Difficult to see aggregate view of project progress and status

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NPI Tool Product Brief Tool

3 SharePoint Tools

3 Excel Forms

Aras

Deep Dive - Projects

• Currently using for mostly Engineering projects• Central view of project owners and status• Use of project templates to drive lead roles and standard sets of activities• Easy stoplight status visibility for management to take actions as needed• Calculation of Engineering hours worked per project

• Data is exported and feeds into Engineering Resource Model16

Deep Dive - Projects

• Use of project classifications to drive specific attributes per project

• Use of “Core Teams” for quick and easy assignment of Lead Roles for project activities

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Deep Dive - Projects

• Use of project relationships for easy access to other Aras items connected to the project

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Deep Dive - Projects

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“After”:• Consolidation of project forms and tools into central area • Standard view of project activities and deliverables required to

execute project plan• Notification and accountability for project activities through

Aras InBasket• Visibility to project progress and Engineering hours worked for

management• Standardized process for executing projects that can be

reviewed and improved

What’s Next?• Complete implementation of remainder of business processes per

project plan by end of Q2 2013• Parts

Component Platform (hardware)

– Link of data to product offerings on our website• Assembly parts• Engineering Change Order (ECO)• Deviations

• Complete implementation of Manufactured Parts by end of 2013 Significant tie to ERP system that will require updates

• Maintenance/enhancement of current Aras processes• 30+ requests so far for updates to workflows and other Aras items

after process launches• Implementation of Strategic Project process• Review and prioritization of other forms/processes to put into Aras in

2014 and beyond• Potential options:

– Utilize Aras document control for Quality Manual documents– Review Requirements management module and apply to project

process– Customer/Supplier interaction 20

Implementation - What worked well? • Having the business process owners engaged throughout the

implementation process • Ownership of definition of their processes in Aras• Collaborative approach to process definition

Led to user buy-in for use of Aras platform• Validation of the configured processes in Aras• Training the affected groups

• Combination of workflow/lifecycle reviews and Aras hands-on for process training

• Using a phased process implementation approach• Iterative “learning” with each process launch

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Implementation - What challenges did we encounter?• Training people on Aras is 20% of learning - actual Aras usage

is 80%• Despite the training “On the job” assistance required once

processes were launched• It is difficult to get people to remember to Save/Unlock/Close

Aras items so others can edit them• Be prepared for an immediate round of process

enhancements after launch• Retired tool interactions/dependencies on other tools• Perception that executing Aras workflows is “more work”

• “I have noticed that while all the checks and balances to move on to the next step in the workflow are good, they also make work more tedious.”

• Resistance to workflows due to increased visibility and accountability

• Departure of IT project manager in November 2012

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User Feedback• Project Management

• “For projects, it is very nice to have everything in one place. Any requirements, design or sustaining requests, new parts, documents, orders, etc. are all right there for you.”

• “The ease of centralized activity tracking, workflow management, and overall visibility brings a great advantage to project management.”

• “The ability to utilize digital signatures for cross functional reviews within projects and workflows decreased our whitespace and helped move us away from the paper and pen signatures of the past.”

• “Activity management from one InBasket provides associates with a great outlook to their current and future workdays.”

• “Dynamic work breakdown structures have increased our connectivity across project core team members and provide great benefits in portfolio management.”

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User Feedback• Engineering

• “The project manager views exactly the same thing that I do. Everything is real-time and there aren’t multiple revisions of project plans stored in different places.”

• “You can assign a work package to someone’s Inbasket so the members of the project team know what they are responsible for. Prior to Aras there was no good visibility as to who was assigned to what.”

• “After implementing Aras for management of our Engineering projects, we saw a drastic reduction of our activity durations and signoffs were gathered a lot quicker as people saw the activities in their inbaskets. Activities are being completed quicker because of the status colors since people do not like to see red boxes tied to their activities.”

• “Having every signoff and document in one location makes finding and updating reports so much easier.”

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User Feedback• Information Technology (IT)

• “One of the biggest benefits from an IT perspective is that it gives us a single platform to replace many internally developed tools that are often heavy on maintenance.”

• “The configuration options are very robust. One does not need to be a software developer to configure Aras items.”

• “It has amazing flexibility, especially when coupled with the ability to create custom methods.”

• “Security is worry free.”• Sourcing

• “With Aras, we are able to execute the work in the proper order and delegate tasks when necessary. It is much more efficient and easier to understand the status and progress.”

• Quality/Compliance• “There has been a significant uptick in compliance to response time for

CAPAs since moving to the Aras platform.”• “We have much better visibility of CAPA items in Aras than we did in the

old system.” • “From an auditing standpoint the linkage between systems in Aras is very

advantageous.” • “My efficiency has improved as we replace our old tools with more

functionality in Aras.”25

Summary of benefits seen using Aras• Reduction in tools used in the business• Centralization of project and engineering information and

activities• Better visibility of projects (status, progress) to organization• Product/part attribute searchability • System controlled workflows for business processes

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Questions?

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