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How Well is your Digital Thread Initiative Going?

Arlene Minkiewicz - Unison Cost Engineering,

Boehm CSSE Annual Research Review 2023

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Agenda

Setting the Stage
Digital …..

Thread
Twin
Transformation

Example Use Cases
Metrics and Measurements

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Setting the Stage

Digital thread is a communication framework that connects data flow from multiple systems:

Allows organizations to view data throughout an entire lifecycle
Increasingly used in industry and government to replace traditional silos

According to a 2021 Gartner study

More than 80% of CEO’s plan to increase their investments in digital transformations
Yet, almost half of all organizations have no digital transformation metrics defined

IDC predicts that between 2020 and 2023 $6.8 Billion will be invested in digital transformation initiatives
Organizations are finding it hard to understand the Return on Investment (ROI) of their digital transformation spend

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Digital Thread

According to Defense Acquisition University (DAU)

A Digital Thread is an extensible, configurable, and component enterprise-level analytical framework that seamlessly expedites the controlled interplay of authoritative technical data, software, information and knowledge in the enterprise data-information-knowledge systems

Digital threads inform decision makers by providing the capability to access, integrate, and transform disparate data into actionable information
A permanent digital record of a product or systems lifetime
Imagine a vehicle with a system fault has an accident. Digital thread provide traceability across the life of the vehicle – making it easier to identify and address the issue

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Digital Thread Benefits

Engineering Excellence
Manufacturing Efficiency
Product and Service Innovation
Service Optimization
Sales and Marketing Experience

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Digital Twin

A digital twin is a graphical proxy of a definition or process which the real world is modeled against
A digital thread needs to be created to achieve a digital twin
Adapted from DAU –

A Digital Twin is an integrated, Multiphysics, multiscale, and probabilistic simulation of an as built system enabled by a Digital Thread through sensors and input data used to predict activities and processes for the life of its physical twin

The elements of the digital twin include

Product
Factory
Lifecycle

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Digital Transformation

Digital transformation is the reimagining of business in the digital age
Through digital technologies organizations create or improve their business process, organizational culture and customer experience improving productivity, quality and service.
Digital thread enablers:

Interoperable data and technologies for enterprise-wide collaborations
Digital twin as a foundation for sourcing and manufacturing processes
Digital thread to connect digital twin with production information in the real world
Digital factories providing design for Excellence to support simulation and analysis throughout manufacturing systems and processes

Digital transformation’s value is the connection of all aspects of a system supporting rapid transfer of information leading facilitating optimized decision making

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Digital Thread Use Cases

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Volvo Construction Equipment (CE)

A leading manufacturer of construction equipment
Suffered from market pressure to shorten product lifecycle and increase product complexity

This challenge was compounded by siloed Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems, manual efforts, data duplications across systems

Since 2018 – has replaced 3 of 4 legacy PLM systems with Windchill (a single point PLM)

Enabling management of digital production definitions – anything that defines form, fit, or function of a part, system or machine

Volvo has achieved:

Increased collaboration across shared systems
Reduced lead time – correct first solutions in earlier phases of product development
Increased reuse of already existing solutions – reduced cost and lead time
Global governance to control the global product structure

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NASA

NASA released a proposal in 2022 to develop a high-performance spacesuit for exploration of Mars using digital thread technology
The vision is a “digital human scan” to digitally design/analyze to robotic manufacturing

Ability to rapidly design and manufacture Extravehicular (EVA) space suits aligned with individual anthropometrics (size, form, and functional capabilities)
Create digital twins which improve based on lessons learned and design optimization
Ability for crew in deep space to manufacture or repair EVA components in-situ
Ability to digitally incorporate the EVA suit into the entire Mars Mission Architecture and Concepts of Operations

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Celli Group

The Celli Group manufactures and services equipment for dispensing soft drinks, water, and beer

More than four hundred employees, Six production facilities (3 in Italy, 3 in the UK)
Leaders in innovations since 1974, 30 patents in the past 20 years

Has implemented Internet of Things (IoT) strategy to connect end customers and enables new service delivery and revenue models

Increased visibility , enabled more exact digital twins, perform better simulations
Implemented a model-based system using PLM as foundation for this transformation

Benefits

Shorten design cycle time
Enhanced customer visibility at the point of sale
Improved uptime of dispensing equipment and controlling costs
Increasing customer sales and sell-through of existing inventory
Delivering customers fresher, colder, tastier beer

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Metrics and Measures

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Measurement is important

Digital Transformation and Digital Thread Initiatives require a cost commitment
Organizations need to understand whether the investment is bringing value and what the Return on Investment (ROI) over time
Key measurement principles:

What you measure should be driven by the information needs of the organization and the project
What you measure needs to be defined by what is available thus determined by existing technical and management infrastructures
SMEs within the organization and the industry should define the measurements and metrics that are important
Measurement program should start small and be focused on the high-risk areas
Measurements and metrics should inform actionable decisions

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Measurement is important

Metrics can be categorized as….

Organizational metrics – how entrenched and adopted is the digital thread
Product or project – what are the successes and anomalies of digital thread efforts
Process – how successful are the processes and methods around the digital thread

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Organizational Metrics

Number of People Using Digital Artifacts
Number of People Trained
Frequency of access
Number of interfaces to the Authoritative Source of Trust (ASoT)
Number of consumers of the ASoT
Number of Requirements outside of ASoT
Amount of Reuse of Digital Artifacts
Increases in Support for Automation
Increases in Customer Satisfaction

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Product Metrics

Velocity
Increases in Production Volume
Quality - Defects, Errors, Anomalies – by phase and total
Cost by phase and total
Effort by phase and total
Product Size (Number of Model Elements e.g.)
Time
Number of Model Reviews
Number of successful releases
Number Functions Complete

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Process Metrics

Earlier Verification and Validation
Increases in Product Automation
Improvements in Consistency
Increases in Adaptability
Amount of Rework
Cycle Time
Percent of Design time vs. Production Time
Product Size (Model Elements) per Release
Number of Digital Artifacts per Release
Amount of Review Data Captured Digitally
Number or Percent of Design Engineering tasks Automated

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Arlene.Minkiewicz@unisonglobal.com

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Digital Engineering & Authoritative Source of Trust (ASoT)

Digital Engineering

From DAU - Digital Engineering is an integrated digital approach that uses authoritative sources of systems’ data and models as a continuum across disciplines to support life cycle activities from concept through disposal
It is an enterprise approach for incorporating data driven infrastructure, methods, tools, workforce transformation centered on an (ASoT)

Authoritative Source of Trust

An entity that applies expert judgement and rules to assert that a digital artifact is valid and from a legitimate source
Should meet four conditions

Comes from repository recognized by a governing entity
Credibility, accuracy, relevance timeliness, and trustworthiness of experts
Digital artifact is authoritative if most experts agree that its legitimate
Digital artifacts come from a technical system that maintains its integrity

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Army

The Army’s two Future Vehicle Lift (FVL) programs are crucial to many of its near and future missions
A chief enabler of FVL is the application of digitally connected environments specifically digital thread

Digital threads ensure the platforms are combat ready through efficient integration of mission equipment, avionics systems and software required for safe and effective missions
It has made it possible to continuously add technological and capability improvements – to address whatever is thrown at them
Provide a tool set to help reduce uncertainty and iterate and field capabilities more quickly

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