Presentation will show how PLM solutions must adapt and evolve to meet the needs of ever increasing systems engineering complexity.
Mark Johnson, Executive Technical Leader, Ford Motor Company, will make a keynote presentation at PLM Road Map 2012, hosted by Global Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) management consulting and research firm CIMdata, Inc. The keynote line-up also includes presentations by automotive expert Dr. David E. Cole, Georgia Institute of Technology’s Professor Dimitri Mavris, Dana’s Frank Popielas, EADS’ Tristan Gegaden, and CAD Software Entrepreneur, Jon Hirschtick. PLM Road Map 2012 will take place at the Inn at St. John’s on October 2 and 3.
As today’s cars increase exponentially in complexity with diverse product features enabled by global engineering and flexible manufacturing, PLM solutions are being stretched in ways never originally envisioned when most were created in the 1980s and ’90s. These solutions are expected to simultaneously accommodate both expert and casual users and bring them together in collaborative global teams. They must manage the “whats” of product development (e.g., 3D models, BOM, BOP), as well as managing the “whys” of design decisions, in an environment where the functional product representation has become as important as the physical. The complexity of part and feature/function requirements, verification, and effectivity suggest why relationships across hardware, software, electrical, and electronic systems must be enabled and configuration managed.
In his keynote presentation “Rethinking PLM in a Systems Engineering World,” Mark Johnson will explore some of those challenges and show how PLM solutions must adapt and evolve to meet the needs of ever increasing systems engineering complexity.
PLM Road Map 2012 is an event for industry executives and PLM practitioners—providing independent education and a collaborative networking environment where ideas, trends, experiences, and relationships critical to the industry germinate and take root. It is a strategic conference focused on how companies are successfully employing PLM strategies and enabling solutions to meet challenging product development, manufacturing, and deployment issues. PLM Road Map 2012 is a two-day event that will challenge attendees to shift their current thinking to a new level in a series of presentations focusing on the global transformation of product development and innovation processes. PLM Road Map 2012 is the leading international event that helps companies leverage cross-disciplinary and cross-industry knowledge and feedback to smooth and speed their PLM journeys. For more information on PLM Road Map 2012, visit http://plmforesight.cimdata.com/index.cfm?content=include_conference12.cfm
About Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson is an Executive Technical Leader within Ford Motor Company’s (Ford) IT organization. He is the most senior Technical Specialist in IT and sits on Ford’s Technical Advisory Board (TAB) helping shape some of Ford’s most challenging business and IT technical strategy issues. Mark leads Ford IT’s CAD/CAE/CAM/PDM, Requirements Management, Knowledge Management, and In-Vehicle Systems teams helping create Ford’s digital engineering future. Mark’s team is currently providing IT leadership as Ford transitions to developing products applying the latest systems engineering methodologies and tools.
In his 15 years at Ford, Mark has held various roles within IT. In addition to leading the development and deployment of many of the current IT solutions used by Product Development, Mark led the global manufacturing IT delivery organization responsible for deploying new plant IT environments in Asia-Pacific and Europe. His team’s solutions enabled the latest flexible manufacturing capabilities. In the UK, he oversaw the integration and later separation, of product development IT teams from Jaguar and Land Rover, Volvo Car, and Ford of Europe. In recent years, Mark has led the development of IT solutions that enabled in-car connectivity for Ford’s notable “SYNC” in-vehicle infotainment system.
Prior to joining Ford in 1997, Mark’s career included 12 years with United Defense (now part of BAE Systems) and 4 years at the Budd Company Transit Division. While at United Defense, Mark led their Systems Engineering team and eventually oversaw an engineering organization of over 350 developing and deploying tracked combat vehicles for the US military and NATO. While at Budd, Mark was a Reliability, Maintainability, Safety, and Human Factors (RMSH) Engineer, engaged in the design, manufacture, and launch of the Miami and Baltimore automated subway cars.