CM Trends 2023
Configuration Management Seminar, Workshops, And Training
SPEAKERS
Speakers, Presentations, Workshops & Schedule of Events
"Raise the Floor: Achieving better results with standards, policies, and procedures" by Jeff Windham, US Army Armaments Center
Presentation Overview: As configuration management professionals, our goal is to improve configuration management practices across the full spectrum of our organizations. Part of this effort involves crafting effective standards, policies, and procedures. This briefing will discuss better ways to approach the writing of standards, policies, and procedures with the goal of “raising the floor” on the effectiveness of our organizations.
Speaker Bio: Jeff Windham has over 30 years’ experience as a systems engineer and configuration manager for the US Army, Armaments Center at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. He is currently the chief of the Small Caliber Systems Configuration Management Branch. He has a Master’s Certification in Enterprise Configuration Management from CMPIC, is NDIA certified in Configuration and Data Management and teaches configuration management throughout the Army. He holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Mississippi State University and an MS in Business Administration from East Texas State University.
"TBD" by M'Shairi Parks, Leonardo DRS
Presentation Overview: To be announced
Speaker Bio: M’Shairi Parks is a 45 year old single mom to 15 year old twins. She works for Leonardo DRS Land Electronics in the heart of aerospace and defense technology-rich in Huntsville, AL. The Land Electronics line of business provides advanced components and systems to address critical gaps and needs in platform and network capabilities, as well as field and sustainment level diagnostic tools. She has been with the company for 24 years and has been in Configuration Management for 23 of those years. She is the CM manager for DLE over her team that covers 2 sites, one team in Huntsville, AL and one team in Melbourne, FL. She received her Configuration and Data Manager certification from NDIA first in 2017 and renewed in 2022 and her SME with CMPIC in 2019.
M’Shairi started in CM with minimal knowledge and was unsure if this was the career path she wanted to continue down. She started with just working ECP deliveries to the customer and managing DRS electronic drawing repository. M’Shairi was instrumental in taking DRS from paper ECP and drawing deliveries to electronic deliveries with the customer and setting up a filing system for the electronic and master repository. M’Shairi grew to like CM and was well received by her internal and external customers. As times and technology changed, M’Shairi was instrumental in reviewing PLM tools and making recommendations to upper level management for the future of DRS. The team decided to follow another DRS site and go with Empower, then called Omnify, now owned by Arena solutions. They have been on the system for over 10 years and M’Shairi has been instrumental in bringing other sites onto the platform. She is now considered a super user and the lead administrator and lead trainer for NIS. Every division is now on Empower and we have also integrated it with our ERP system Deltek Costpoint.
M’Shairi has grown to love her job in CM. She has seen CM become well respected in her division and her expertise called upon in many different areas. M’Shairi believes CM is important to every organization and works to make sure the importance of configuration management is understood by every department. We are not just “paper pushers”. What we do is vitally important to our company, our customer, and the end user our soldiers. Without proper controls in place there is no control or understanding of your configuration, proper parts and supplies being ordered, or production lines being correct. CM is definitely not for the faint. CM touches and works with every department in the company and should see the bigger picture and help satisfy every teams needs. I may do the same thing everyday, but everyday it comes to me differently.
"AFLCMC Digital Transformation in Configuration and Data Management" by Rose Morton, Air Force Lifecycle Management Center
Presentation Overview: DoD Instruction 5000.88 “Engineering of Defense Systems” was released in November 2020 as the Systems Engineering component of DoD Instruction 5000.02 “Operation of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework”. This instruction calls for a digital CM approach across the system lifecycle, and for a digital Authoritative Source of Truth (ASOT) in technical baseline management. This presentation addresses how the Air Force is managing digital transformation in Configuration and Data Management through development of an enterprise digital strategy and implementation guide, identification of tools and necessary process updates, and workforce enrollment and training to enable sound configuration and data management practices in a digital age.
Speaker Bio: Rose M. Morton serves as Chief of Configuration and Data Management for the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Air Force Materiel Command, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. Entering her fourth year of Center leadership, Rose serves as the Center Competency Manager for Configuration and Data Management and is responsible for organizing, training, and equipping Configuration and Data Managers across AFLCMC with knowledge and tools that enable thorough and reliable execution of Configuration and Data Management processes. In addition, Rose oversees the Air Force’s digital transformation effort for Configuration and Data Management. She leads a team of subject matter experts dedicated to developing a digital strategy and implementation guide that will assist managers across AFLCMC develop program-unique plans that align with organization strategy and digital goals. Prior to serving as Center Lead, Rose served as Chief of Configuration and Data Management for the AFLCMC Fighters and Bombers Directorate and the Mobility Directorate’s C-5 Galaxy program office. She has 13 years of experience as a DoD acquisition professional and holds advanced acquisition certifications in Engineering and Technical Management (ETM) and Production, Quality, and Manufacturing (PQM).
"Big Company, Bigger CM" by Susie McIlwain , Hitachi Rail STS
Presentation Overview:Susie will discuss the multitude of tools Hitachi Rail uses, reviewing the benefits and challenges. She will provide examples of large-scale rail and train projects and the struggles / triumphs of CM that surround them.
Speaker Bio: Susie McIlwain didn’t start out as a CM specialist. In fact, she went to art school. Her knowledge of graphic design got her started with formatting technical documents which lead to general document quality control and management at Union Switch and Signal. After changing hands and logos a few times, US&S became Hitachi Rail STS. Globalization and consolidation meant new tools and standardized processes, in some of which Susie was involved with learning, creating user guides, and training. Seeing the vitality of (and lack of management support in) Configuration Management, but lacking the language and knowledge to fight for it, Susie started taking CM classes. She is now the only CM Specialist for Hitachi STS in the Americas. Side note: over the 17 years she has worked at what is now Hitachi Rail STS, there was at one time an actual CM department, which was then removed during reorganization and budget cuts. Susie’s role as CM Specialist is considered a “new” or perhaps “revived” role in the organization (despite the fact she has been doing configuration management for years). She considers this a major triumph for the CM cause. Keep fighting!
"The Criticality of CM in the Era of the Digital Thread/Twin Enablement" by Peter A. Bilello, President & CEO, CIMdata, Inc.
Presentation Overview: Today, it is all about digital transformation, but it appears that many companies have forgotten that at the core of digital is data. Without the proper understanding, appreciation, and management of data, companies will fail in their digital initiatives. This means ensuring that the relevant data is always valid for use, and that the processes by which that is maintained can’t be circumvented. Like most technology enabled trends, there tends to be more hype than reality, especially during the early days of study and implementation. In the area of digital thread/twin enablement this is definitely the case for many. Many companies and individuals appear to be overlooking the fundamentals, especially the overall lifecycle data governance required to be successful. Such data governance doesn’t exist without proven and holistic configuration management roles & responsibilities, practices & procedures, and enablement. This presentation will seek to shed light on this critical topic, as well as position the fundamentals of digital enablement in the bigger context of CIMdata’s Critical Dozen that define 12 critical trends and enablers of successful digital transformation.
Speaker Bio: Peter Bilello, President & CEO of the strategic management consulting and research firm CIMdata—an internationally recognized authority on Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)—has more than 35 years of experience in the development of business-enabling information technology (IT) solutions for research, engineering, and manufacturing organizations worldwide. He has participated in PLM analysis, selection, implementation, and training; CAD/CAM/CAE/CIM implementation and management; synchronous and lean manufacturing consulting; software engineering; and general data management strategy development and support. He has authored numerous papers and research reports on PLM and related topics, and his articles, commentaries, and perspectives have appeared in publications throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Mr. Bilello has been directly involved with consultation on the selection, integration, and implementation of large-scale PLM solutions. He has spoken on a number of different PLM-related topics in Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Mr. Bilello holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science with a minor in Physics from the California State University, Fullerton, and a Master of Science in Engineering degree, in Manufacturing Systems Engineering, from The University of Michigan.
"CM and Digital continuity" by Harald Schwabe and Claudia Rosenberger, usb GbmH
Presentation Overview: Today's intelligent and networked products require the interaction of various components and systems. They are therefore often described as "Systems of Systems (SoS)". The individual elements of this higher-level system are typically developed in different technical disciplines and departments. These disciplines speak different technical languages and require different representations of the same product for their work. As a result, many versions and representations are created during a product lifecycle, tailored to the specific process needs of each user role for each product data. Storing the many different versions in the respective departments leads to separate silos in terms of processes and data.
Digital Continuity is there to bridge this disconnect and enable cross-discipline collaboration. Digital Continuity is the ability to have all the data about a product, system or infrastructure, throughout the various processes in its lifecycle. "Development - Production - Maintenance - Retirement and Reuse." CM is the discipline responsible for seamless traceability throughout the product lifecycle. Therefore, Data Continutiy is an important building block for complete Configuration Management.
Speaker Bio: Harald Schwabe is a CM and PLM specialist for design and implementation processes and database applications. He holds a degree in CMII and CMPIC CMSME from the University of Houston. Mr. Schwabe has been in the CM and PLM field for more than 30 years. Since 1994, he has been working for usb GmbH in various projects and programs in the aerospace field, such as Typhoon and Tornado and automotive. He is a trainer for several CMPIC courses in Europe and he is responsible for the CM-Experience conference in Germany.
Speaker Bio: Claudia Rosenberger is an IT specialist for designing and implementing database applications. She holds a Diploma in Computer Sciences from the Technical University of Munich. Mrs. Rosenberger has been working in the area of technical applications for more than 15 years. Since 2005 she has been working for usb GmbH and leading usb as CEO for the past 5 years. She is specialized on Product Lifecycle and Configuration Management as a Software Architect.