Systems and methods for process-driven bill of material

• US 20060129262A1
• Filed: 12/15/2004
• Published: 06/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: DuPont, Steve, Schreiber, Robert J., Anelle, Joe, Bouffiou, Carl E., Zayic, Jerry D., Franzen, Steve E., Harrison, Brad J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,321,804 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/107
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials

Abstract

The present invention is directed to systems and methods for compiling production and planning information. In one embodiment, a system for planning the production of a product includes at least one database configured to store engineering information related to the product, and further configured to store process information related to the product, and a processor coupled to the at least one database to combine selected information from the at least one database to generate a manufacturing planning document that defines the product. In another embodiment, a method of generating a manufacturing bill of material for a selected product includes compiling a process data structure from the process information, compiling a product data structure from the engineering information, and generating a manufacturing bill of material by combining the process data structure and the product data structure.

Claims

1. A system for planning the production of a product, comprising:

at least one database configured to store engineering information and further configured to store process information related to the product;

a processor coupled to the at least one database and operable to combine selected engineering and process information from the at least one database to generate a manufacturing planning document that defines the product.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one database is further configured to store an engineering bill of material that defines an as-designed configuration for the product.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one database includes at least one of a drawing tree that includes references to engineering drawings that at least partially define a configuration of the product, a parts list that identifies at least a portion of the component parts that comprise the product, and a directory that includes digital representations of component parts that at least partially define the product.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one database includes at least one precedence network that at least partially defines a predetermined assembly sequence for the product.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising an input device operable to transfer selected information to the at least one database,

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a storage device coupled to the processor that is operable to receive a processed result from the processor.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the storage device is coupled to a communications network that is configured to transfer the processed result to a plurality of information requestors.

8. A method of generating a manufacturing bill of material for a selected product, comprising:

transferring process information and engineering information to a central processing unit;

compiling a process data structure from the process information;

compiling a product data structure from the engineering information; and

generating a manufacturing bill of material by combining the process data structure and the product data structure.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein compiling a process data structure further comprises combining a factory layer that includes selected information for a factory, a control code layer that includes a physical work area present in a selected factory, and a process layer that includes one or more process plans.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein compiling a product data structure further comprises generating a reference layer that includes at least one of a reference part description, a reference engineering requirement, and a location and orientation for a selected part.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein compiling a product data structure further comprises generating a product layer that includes at least a product definition and analysis data.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein compiling a product data structure further comprises generating an instance layer that includes an instance, an engineering requirement callout, and an applicability expression.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein generating a manufacturing bill of material further comprises reconciling the process data structure and the product data structure.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein generating a manufacturing bill of material further comprises determining if the process data structure and the product data structure are reconcilable, and generating an error message if the process data structure and the product data structure are not reconcilable.