Newsletter No. 16 July 1997

PDTAG-AM Product Data Technology Advisory Group ESPRIT 9049

• promotion of European cooperation in Product Data Technology, especially in standardisation,
• improvement of the European infrastructure, and dissemination of information on PDT, STEP and related matters.

The PDTAG Project expired in July 1997.

We hope you did find information of interest during the last two years in this newsletter, and that it has contributed to a better understanding of Product Data Technology in Europe.

We sincerely thank all the contributors for their input, and all the readers for their support.

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PDTAG in its duration has organised three annual European Conferences on Product Data Technology, PDT Days '95, '96 and '97 (Munich, London, Sophia-Antipolis). It has conducted 7 Concertation Workshops, numerous Advanced Tutorials on PDT and has built up a European PDT project Database at the Polytechnical University of Madrid. PDTAG has been coordinating European Projects Meetings at STEP Meetings throughout the last several years. Three Annual Policy recommendation papers were prepared by the PDTAG Plenary Working Group.

A roadmap to the tangible and lasting results of the project is presented in the PDTAG WWW Home Pages, which will be maintained through the end of 1997. You will find references to the Policy Papers, Workshop Reports, PDT Project Database, Newsletters, and how to order PDT Days proceedings. The Final Policy paper will be posted there soon. Special reference shall be made to a forthcoming Workshop Report to be presented there which will document the papers given at the 'PDT Visions 2000 Workshop' held in Berlin on June 17, 1997. This document contains many interesting long-range perspectives for the future of PDT.

Some discussions are going on for possible successorships to PDTAG activities. This may include PDT Days Conferences in 1998 ff., and support for workshops, tutorials and thematic network in PDT. Much further interest and encouragement is shown in Brussels for advancing new PDT technologies and their effective deployment in industry.

In closing it remains my pleasant duty to thank Alain Bézos, Association GOSET, for his dedicated work and strong personal commitment as the Newsletter Editor and Communication Actions Workpackage Leader.

Horst Nowacki
PDTAG Chairman

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Although launched in the US to support the defence industry, CALS has now expanded to be relevant to international industry, in both civil and military sectors. Indeed, CALS International has been set up to guide the future directions of CALS in an international environment, steered by senior industrialists. The key lessons learned from CALS include the need to address the fundamental barrier to communication resulting from conflicting understanding or interpretation of information - whether in digital or paper form - and to avoid the costs resulting from multiple conflicting standards.

The emerging global requirement from industry is therefore a set of standards which will support electronic business including CALS, within an enterprise, and interoperability across a wide range of business associates.

A common recognition of this problem by the ISO Technical Management Board led to a decision to establish the High Level Steering Group on CALS. The following groups have been involved in the HLSGC:

• National bodies of Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, UK and US,
• International CALS Congress,
• UNICE CALS Industry Group,
• AECMA
• NATO CALS Office,
• UN/ECE - UN/EDIFACT,
• ISO BSR project,
• ISO TC46, TC154, TC184,
• ISO/IEC JTC1,
• IEC/TC93.

• Development of a handbook for Electronic Business, supported by a reference model,
• Consistency and interoperability of information standards,
• Integrated product data,
• Business data exchange,
• Integrated technical documentation,
• Support for multiple languages and character sets,
• Need for different levels of standardisation,
• Promotion of ISO and IEC standards,
• Relationship between external standards developers and ISO,
• Improved responsiveness of standards bodies.

The benefits of the recommended approach include the facilitation of international business, improved market access for companies of all sizes, increased process flexibility within individual enterprises leading to opportunities for innovation, and effective use of resources for standardisation.

The report was submitted to ISO/TMB for endorsement and initiation of the proposed actions.

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This conference, an annual event for more than ten years, helps the dissemination of information and exploitation of results from the research and technological development carried out under ESPRIT's Integration in Manufacturing domain and related activities. It presents the opportunities arising from RTD results and experiences to a wide audience. The conference also aims to increase synergy among those currently participating in ESPRIT, while lowering the barriers to ESPRIT participation for potential newcomers, particularly SMEs.

The conference will have strategic plenary sessions, invited presentations, technical sessions and a plenary panel discussion on the conference theme.

All conference announcements can be found at: http://www.cordis.lu/esprit/src/iim97.htm

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Contact:
Quality Marketing Services
Beach House, 1 Yorktown Road,
Sandhurst, Berkshire, GU47 9DX, UK
Tel. +44 1252 878482
Fax. +44 1252 877386
Email: billm@qmsstep.demon.co.uk
(A VAT invoice will be sent automatically. EC organisations outside of the UK must advise VAT number, otherwise VAT will be charged at UK rate)

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• 19-24 October 1997: Florence, Italy
• 2-6 February 1998: Orlando, USA
• 7-12 June 1998: Bad Aibling, DE

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Index