Traceable and Secure Document Management at Data Respons
Norwegian technology group Data Respons, which specializes in the production of embedded solutions, faced a growing demand of streamlining and organizing its documentation management – not the least because the company was growing and some of its production was being moved to Taiwan.
“It provides us with a lot of security because we have full control over what product information document has been cleared or not, or whether changes have been made along the way. But the traceability is the most important.”
Mikal Løken, OEM Solutions Manager, Data Respons Norge AS
Data Respons had a problem
Data Respons needed to better control its production processes and improve the traceability of changes made to blueprints and other product information documents.
“The number of documents involved in making a product can range from just 100 to over 1,000, so there can be a lot to keep track of,” explains Mikal Løken, OEM Solutions Manager at Data Respons Norge AS.
The deciding moment to switch to TECHNIA Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tool came when one of Data Respons’s main customers, high-technology systems maker Kongsberg Gruppen, offered a lucrative defense system contract – but on the condition that the order would be overseen by a reliable PLM solution.
The solution
After an evaluation of PLM solution providers in the marketplace, TECHNIA was selected as the preferred vendor for Data Respons Norge AS since it would ensure the company lived up to Kongsberg’s strict demands. Kongsberg has been a TECHNIA customer for 12 years and was, therefore, a relevant reference when looking for a PLM partner.
The PLM implementation began as a pilot project, with only three permanent users from Data Respons’s Original Equipment Manufacturer, or OEM, unit.
Initially, the system was used only in connection with the Kongsberg project, but in time, it was expanded to also include other large clients. Today, Data Respons has significantly increased the number of users – of which some PLM licenses have been allocated to the company’s Taiwan office.
The solution provides Data Respons with full control over its production by keeping tabs on exactly what blueprint should be used for which product, the ability to signal users of any changes made – clearly identifying where, why, when and by whom those changes have been made – and includes document sharing and other collaboration capabilities.
TECHNIA continues to provide Data Respons with support, workshops and upgrades.
Traceability and security
The implementation of PLM has boosted the efficiency of Data Respons’s OEM unit significantly.
“We have a product turnaround of between NOK20-30 million a month in our Norwegian operation and a large variety of products. We would never have seen such revenues if we didn’t have the relevant systems in place,”
Ingvild Johansen, OEM Solutions Department Manager at Data Respons
But the main benefit of the solution, she says, is the level of control it allows – as far away as in Taiwan.
“It provides us with a lot of security because we have full control over what product information document has been cleared or not, or whether changes have been made along the way. But the traceability is the most important.”
Ingvild Johansen, OEM Solutions Department Manager at Data Respons
Johansen also appreciates TECHNIA’s professionalism.
