The Revolutionary Thread
A data concept has recently emerged in modern business: the digital thread initiative. This isn't just a run-of-the-mill technological development. It's a revolutionary approach to reshaping how organizations conceive, create, and maintain their products and systems. A digital thread is a lifeline of data, weaving through the structure of an organization, linking diverse systems, and allowing an integrated view of a system’s lifecycle from creation to disposal. When implemented and sustained properly, digital threads eliminate data silos by tying critical information together across the business’s data landscape.
The digital thread has been most prominently interwoven into the fabric of manufacturing companies, and they’ve been rewarded for it:
- Lockheed Martin's journey with this technology led to a 25% reduction in code complexity and a 30% enhancement in quality by using data across product lifecycles.
- Ford's adoption of a digital thread carved out a 25% reduction in production time and improved quality by 20%.
- Medtronic, implementing this approach in medical device production, translated to a 50% faster time to market, a 20% increase in yield, and halving product impediments, showcasing the tangible benefits of this innovative strategy.
A 2021 Gartner study highlighted a curious contradiction: while 80% of CEOs were ramping up investments in their companies’ digital transformations, many lacked concrete plans to track their digital transformation journeys. Not collecting metrics on such a large undertaking would be like asking your teenager to drive to a new destination without a GPS—they’d know where they want to go but wouldn’t have the tools to get there. Metrics are the navigation system of a digital thread initiative. They provide a way to measure progress, giving the insights, prioritization, and direction crucial for the success of these immense transformative efforts.
In this article, we explore what a digital thread is and discuss the importance of a good program to identify, substantiate, and communicate these improvements. We also will consider what it might mean to apply digital thread to cost engineering.
A Digital Autobiography
Imagine the digital thread as the autobiography of a product or system. Data is captured from the blueprint to its final day, writing a story of insights into the system's life – and its success or failure. This story gives decision-makers the power to access, integrate, and transform data into actionable information. It brings traceability across a system's life, simplifying issue identification and resolution. The power of the digital thread, along with its digital twin, is its ability to knit together various systems to accelerate the flow of information and enhance the quality of decisions made.
Measure the Organization, Product, and Process
In the many institutions where digital thread has been successfully implemented, there is one key similarity – leaders didn’t focus solely on technological implementation—they took time to understand and measure the journey. Successful initiatives embrace the importance of metrics by tracking performance, identifying bottlenecks, and highlighting areas for continuous improvement. Oversight in this space can be summarized by focusing on Organization, Process, and Product (i.e., People, Process, and Technology). Specifically, an ongoing digital thread initiative can measure its organizational impact with metrics such as the number of people using digital artifacts, the frequency of access, and increases in customer satisfaction. The process can be measured with metrics such as increases in product automation, cycle time, and the amount of rework. And finally, the product can be measured by tracking the velocity or the speed of delivery of new features, their quality and cost.
It is important to note that these metrics examples are not an exhaustive list. For additional metrics to be considered and tracked, please refer to our in-depth presentation on digital thread metrics.
Metrics: The Narrative of Progress
The digital thread initiative is a significant shift in managing products and processes. Understanding its success relies heavily on the diligent collection and interpretation of metrics. These insights provide the narrative of progress by quantifying performance, guiding improvements, ensuring quality, managing costs, and fostering adaptability.
As we entwine the digital thread into the framework of our businesses, metrics collection is a strategic imperative for sustained success. Technological prowess is only the first step. Actual achievement lies in our dedication to ongoing, data-driven improvement and adaptability.
Cost Engineering in a Digital Thread Ecosystem
Cost Engineering is one area that is likely to be significantly impacted by digital thread initiatives. Software will play a crucial role in enabling the success of digital thread initiatives for cost engineers by providing tools and platforms that facilitate seamless analysis, integration, and communication of cost-related data throughout the lifecycle of a product or system. The right software suite offers capabilities such as data integration, collaboration, analysis, and integration with ERP, MBSE, and other digital technologies. With this information, the cost engineers will be empowered to collaborate with other disciplines in the organization to help guide the transformation to optimize productivity and cost-effectiveness.
Unison Cost Engineering provides the framework, predictive models, and domain expertise required for credible cost estimates. Learn more about our solution here.
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