Toyota cuts costs and development on PLM

Toyota Industries reckons it's shaved development costs by 53% and cycle time by 44% on its high pick forklift trucks by harnessing product lifecycle management (PLM) from IBM and Dassault.

The firm is also using Catia V5 CAD/CAM software and the firm's Delmia manufacturing production simulation

Toyota began using PLM in late 2000 as part of its 'IT Propulsion' programme aimed at improving business, engineering and manufacturing agility through 3D modelling and data sharing.

Catia V5 and Knowledgeware technology have helped the firm to achieve these goals not least by allowing the company to automatically combine standard designs with customer-specific requirements, allowing it to improve build-to-order.

Additionally, by using the collaborative functions, Toyota has been able to integrate forklift product information with its manufacturing processes - and machines and people resources -- and design and simulate with virtual factories.

The company is now to harness the SmarTeam collaborative engineering and PLM systems to connect development sites world-wide, integrate its environment for 3D models, 2D drawings, technical documentation and BoMs (bills of materials).

Kimpei Mitsuya, Toyota global IT director, sees "tremendous synergies" from the systems. "We achieved our targets both by shortening the High Pick Lift development period from 18 to 10 months and by reducing development costs by 53%."

Beyond this, to get paperless communication with suppliers by the end of 2004, Toyota has now established a Supplier Support Centre at its Takahama Plant, with a collaboration room where suppliers can hold digital design review meetings.

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