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| CAD, CAM, CAE, design, technical drawing, drafting, delineation, visualization, manufacturing | ISSN 1442-2255 : <%= Date()%> - <%= Time()%> |
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IDEAL Installs IntraNETIXTM Solution at United DefenseROCKVILLE, MD - August 14, 2000 - IDEAL Systems & Scanners, Inc. is pleased to announce the successful integration of the IntraNETIXTM solution at United Defense, LP - Ground Systems Division (UDLP-GSD). UDLP-GSD is one of the nation's leading military vehicle contractors with global accolades for their fighting vehicles, such as the Bradley Fighting Vehicle - one of the hallmarks of Operation Desert Storm IDEAL's IntraNETIXTM solution is a web-based archive management system for document acquisition and distribution that satisfied the UDLP-GSD Request for Proposal (RFP) for a system providing company wide access to their engineering documents with Internet functionality and browser based tools. Background PlanningBetween January 1999 and May 1999, UDLP-GSD developed a functional specification for their Engineering Data Viewing and Printing System (EDVS). Their plan stipulated the need to implement a browser based interface that was platform independent for company wide access to released CAD drawings in their archives and to scanned legacy drawings. UDLP-GSD's RFP envisioned users visiting a specific Intranet web address to enter search criteria. The system would then search for documents containing the given search string and display a list of documents found. From this displayed list, the user would then be able to select items for viewing, printing or saving to disk. Challenges Due to Size, Technology and ToolsUDLP-GSD uses a high speed Wide Area Network (WAN) to link its three main facilities located in York, Pennsylvania, San Jose, California, and Aiken, South Carolina. Over the years, they acquired some of the best parts design, configuration management, database and networking tools. For example, UDLP-GSD uses powerful CAD systems, including Pro/E, ComputerVision, Unigraphics Solutions, and AutoCAD. UDLP-GSD stores many of their drawings in their Oracle-based Optegra Electronic Document Vaults that they actively use in San Jose and York, while they store other drawings on UNIX and PC servers. Their varying platforms, files formats, and array of directory locations presented challenges for their staff. They needed to determine how to find and distribute released drawings from all of these systems. UDLP-GSD Issues RFP"I led a team that wrote the functional specifications for what we required," said Bill Kerns, CAD CAM Manager with UDLP-GSD and their EDVS Project Manager. UDLP-GSD decided to issue a RFP for a system providing company wide access to their engineering documents with Internet functionality and browser based tools. "We were looking for a web-based interface to locate and view our drawings that exist in multiple platforms - Optegra Vault, Unix, and PC," said Kerns. "We wanted to be able to point to these files no matter where they existed and bring them back to a browser. The biggest challenge was that we were in a multiple platform environment and we had a need to bring them together through one, easy interface." The requirements were straightforward:
IDEAL's Prior Success with UDLP-GSD"A year earlier," says Arlene Gerst, Regional Sales Manager for IDEAL, "United Defense implemented IDEAL's PC based aperture card scanner and ScanDEX software. This provided them with an archive management system for archiving virtually any document type to an ODBC compliant database, like Oracle software running on the Sun servers at United Defense." IDEAL Meets RFP"IDEAL was one of the eight companies that responded to the RFP and IDEAL won the bid," said Kerns. UDLP-GSD decided on IDEAL's IntraNETIXTM solution due to affordability, ease of use, and integration with their multiple vault systems. Moreover, IDEAL's proposed technique closely corresponded with what the Information Systems staff at UDLP-GSD had planned. IDEAL met the requirements of the RFP and, in the process, made it simple for the user. "IDEAL delivered the web interface, worked out a solution to access the existing documents residing in multiple platforms, and enabled us to initiate batch printing of user sets," he added. "While security was an issue, it was addressed through the operating system and IntraNETIXTM group restriction policies. It's a secure system and we are able to monitor usage." "From needs assessment, customization and deployment, IDEAL satisfied the RFP and delivered UDLP-GSD with a more efficient document acquisition and distribution system," said Sean Eikenberry, IDEAL's IntraNETIXTM Developer and Product Manager. IntraNETIXTM allows UDLP-GSD's internal personnel access to the drawing archives in their Wide Area Network (WAN). "IDEAL's IntraNETIXTM solution has a link and view feature that puts viewers over CAD vault applications so that you can move them around as needed," said Richard Morris, Configuration Manager with UDLP-GSD. "This is important due to ever changing business requirements." IDEAL customized the configuration over a several month period and provided additional development to deliver UDLP-GSD more features. "We developed software to search their network file servers and document vaults for released drawings, index the links into the database, and developed a custom interface to retrieve documents out of the vault environment," said Eikenbery. "We went the extra mile to provide automated updating within their WAN." New Process Implemented Without Interrupting Workflow"Without interrupting workflow," said Eikenbery, "IntraNETIXTM Builder software scans the network servers for newly released drawings to index into the EDVS database at scheduled intervals. Designers are saving their files the way they have been before, with the drawing number, sheet number, and revision embedded in the filenames. Different CAD systems use different conventions, but with IntraNETIXTM Builder, settings can be applied to individual folders to automatically capture this information using diffe rent rules." Towards an Extended EnterprisePresently, all UDLP-GSD released drawings are available online via their EDVS. Approximately 400 company users can access these documents using their web browsers, even at the factory shop floor. They are able to view CAD drawings and scanned images, and collect images in a 'User Set', similar to a web shopping cart. They can batch print the contents of the User Set to a network printer if needed. IntraNETIXTM tracks their usage, and administrators can assign allowances for viewing, downloading, and printing. Kerns designed an online User Authorization Request form to activate users. UDLP-GSD can also enforce group restrictions. Users can be restricted or allowed to view only the records in the database for the projects that they are working on, a unique feature of IntraNETIXTM. This will also allow them to grant web access to contractors, customers and vendors in the immediate future for greater connectivity. EDVS is really a 'Data Junction' of designs, specifications, and other assets for UDLP-GSD. Future possibilities for EDVS include indexing office documents, and also interfacing IntraNETIXTM to some of their other business systems, including workflow and configuration management. As EDVS traffic, activity, and document capacity increase, IntraNETIXTM will provide the expansion power necessary to scale up. The ability of IntraNETIXTM to use server replication and clustering will ensure data integrity. "We invited all of the responding companies in for an 'up close and personal look' at the products," said Morris, one of the team members who developed the specifications. "The IntraNETIXTM solution from IDEAL was definitely competitive from a price and functional standpoint," said Kerns.
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