A DATA MANAGEMENT STRATEGY TO CONTROL DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING INFORMATION

This paper presents an information-based approach to integrate the parallel and serial functions that occur in a typical design and manufacturing environment. EMTRIS (Engineering and Manufacturing Technical Relational Information System), a relational data base application designed using ORACLE [1], was developed to cater to the engineering data needs of practicing designers and engineers working in a large industrial setting. The design and manufacturing activities within a large computer manufacturing plant provided a realistic case study environment for implementing some of the strategies discussed here. A description of the methodology that was employed in designing and implementing EMTRIS and the numerous issues that arise while undertaking such endeavors is presented. Strategies to coordinate the data transfer between different groups of individuals as well as mechanisms to ensure data consistency in such environments are discussed in this context. Various techniques used in documenting the data flows and the interrelationships between different forms of data are also reviewed. The end result is a plantwide database system that integrates the information requirements of multiple groups and disciplines.