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Materials Data Management - Critical Issues
Materials information is a valuable resource for enhancing products, processes and, ultimately, profitability. But, too often, it is viewed as a source of problems by engineering organizations struggling to deal with its complexities.
Problems and opportunities
Many of these problems relate to productivity and data integrity. They begin with difficulties in consolidating specialized data stored in disparate sources and varied formats. Problems continue with the challenge of controlling and using approved information effectively throughout an organization, often within complex processes. The diagram (click for a larger image) shows one example of a process that must be supported — the flow of data and information from the test lab to engineers' desktops.
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A recent Granta white paper estimated that a typical mid-sized engineering company loses over $1 million annually due to issues such as:
- Engineers spending hours finding property data to support analysis or simulation
- Materials scientists duplicating existing test results or generating data that goes unused
- Design iterations failing due to outdated or inconsistent data
- Weeks taken tracing the source of design data for certification, or customers, or to support the design process
But forward-thinking engineering enterprises are interested in more than just coping with materials data. They want to turn this data to their advantage. For example, ongoing assessment and analysis of all of the materials property information generated across the testing and design process can allow an organization to continually refine the 'allowable' values used in design, leading to improved product performance.
The materials data lifecycle
The Material Data Management Consortium (MDMC), a collaboration of leading aerospace, defense, and energy enterprises, helps to guide Granta's product development. The MDMC aims to eliminate the problems and grasp the opportunities offered by materials information.
A key insight provided by the MDMC is the need to provide
a complete solution.
The experience of member organizations shows, for example,
that it is of limited use having a superb means to capture
test data if that data disappears into a ‘black hole’ database
that no-one accesses. The best materials property analysis tools
in the world are a wasted investment if they generate
results that are not deployed effectively to the engineers who need
to use them.
In defining objectives for a complete solution, the MDMC
identified a four-stage materials data lifecycle - the process through which materials data passes in an engineering organization (CAPTURE - ANALYZE -
DEPLOY - MAINTAIN, see below). The Consortium identified the critical issues, and the needs of key stakeholders, at each stage in this lifecycle.
Examples of critical issues
Capture
- Information systems must handle the peculiarities of materials data
- Organizations need a single, consistent source for all of their materials information - both in-house data and external references
- It must be quick and easy to import and export data from and to common sources such as laboratory testing equipment and databases
- The pedigree of data must be preserved during capture so that it is possible to trace the source of data and to explore its full context
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Analyze
- Materials scientists require a range of specialist statistical analysis tools
- Access to these tools should be simple and integrated with tools to access and manage the data on which they operate
- Capturing and storing the detail of analyses alongside the information that they generate is important in helping to preserve corporate knowledge
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Deploy
- Different user types must be provided with easy access to the information that they need within their standard workflows
- Materials authorities must be able to control the quality of the data used
- Security is essential - data must be available only to those authorized to use it
- Any system must be scalable and robust across the enterprise (whether for tens or thousands of users)
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Maintain
- It must be easy to maintain information, including through automatic updates as data changes
- The system must be adaptable to changing user needs and information technology standards
- Resources and skills must be available to support on-going development
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Granta has worked with its customers, including the MDMC, to develop a comprehensive solution that addresses all of these issues.
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