BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise - Key Capabilities

BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise - Key Capabilities Engineering Data Management within the extended enterprise white paper Edwi n van Dijk, Director Product Marketing BlueCielo ECM Solutions www.bluecieloecm.co m November 2012 Version 1.0

2 Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION... 3 2 BLUECIELO MERIDIAN ENTERPRISE ADDED VALUE... 4 3 KEY CAPABILITIES... 5 3.1 USER INTERFACE FOR USERS OF ENGINEERING DATA... 5 3.2 USER INTERFACE FOR AUTHORS OF ENGINEERING DATA... 6 3.3 MANAGING ENGINEERING DOCUMENTS AND DATA... 7 3.4 SECURE ACCESS & CONTROLLED CONTENT... 9 3.5 SEARCH & RETRIEVE... 10 3.6 CAD APPLICATION INTEGRATION... 12 3.7 RENDITION SUPPORT... 18 3.8 VIEW CONTENT... 19 3.9 REDLINING, MARKUP & COMPARE... 21 3.10 WORKFLOW & REVISION MANAGEMENT... 23 3.11 MANAGED CHANGE / WORK ISOLATION... 24 3.12 EMAIL INTEGRATION & NOTIFICATION... 25 3.13 REPORTING... 27 3.14 HIGHLY CONFIGURABLE TO MEET YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS... 28 4 BLUECIELO MERIDIAN ENTERPRISE MODULES... 29 5 BLUECIELO MERIDIAN ENTERPRISE BENEFITS... 30 5.1 IMPROVE EFFICIENCY... 30 5.2 REDUCE COSTS... 30 5.3 ENHANCE QUALITY... 30 5.4 REGULATORY COMPLIANCE... 30 6 ABOUT BLUECIELO ECM SOLUTIONS... 31 2

3 1 Introduction BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise is a versatile Engineering Data Management solution with a broad range of features, allowing companies in multiple industries to optimize their business processes related to the creation, collaboration and distribution of engineering data. The technical documentation may consist of many CAD files, either 2D or 3D, but much technical information may also be available in MS Word, MS Excel, PDF or email format. Fully CAD platform-independent, BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise (BlueCielo Meridian) provides flexible revision management, workflow support for projects and single documents and a safe, secure environment for documents using a vault concept. BlueCielo Meridian is available in 11 languages and offers great flexibility in configuration to customer specific business requirements. All key capabilities can be adapted to your specific needs and to maintain naming, numbering and revisioning conventions used within your company. Existing documentation and data, including revision history, can be easily imported to get a head start when going live with BlueCielo Meridian. BlueCielo Meridian manages the lifecycles of products or installations, controlling all technology-related data, and allows a choice of database back-ends ranging from Hypertrieve (proprietary) to Microsoft SQL and Oracle. BlueCielo Meridian offers enhanced support for regulatory compliance, including built-in support for document renditions, subscription, email notification and server-based viewing to avoid local downloads of documents. This document gives an overview of the key capabilities of BlueCielo Meridian, which can be configured to support your business processes and organizational needs. At the end of the document we give a brief overview of the possibilities to extend the BlueCielo Meridian environment and tailor the Engineering Data Management environment even further in order to meet the specific business demands within your organization. 3

4 2 BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise Added Value Within organizations, many departments and stakeholders are involved in the creation, approval and use of documentation. At an enterprise-wide level, content management has a very broad scope, comprising all the documents in the form of electronic files for the entire organization. This can include legal documents, financial documents, marketing documents, scanned post, etc. Within this broad set of documentation, engineering documents with their associated meta-data play a specific role both because of their importance in the organization and the specific requirements for managing them. Based on the definition of the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) for EDM, BlueCielo defines Engineering Data Management as: Engineering Data Management (EDM) comprises the strategies, methods and tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver engineering data and technical documents related to all engineering-related organizational processes. EDM tools and strategies allow the management of an organization s unstructured information, wherever that information exists. Since engineering data requires specific management features and complex business processes with internal and external resources participating in the process, Engineering Data Management can be seen as a superset of Enterprise Content Management. Specific Engineering Data Management related topics are: Reference management CAD application support Title block integration Assemblies & Where used Copy with references Document & Project Workflow Revision management Meta-data; dependable lookup lists Viewing & Compare Role base security Navigation views and To-Do lists Print/Plot Based on the experience of many worldwide users, BlueCielo Meridian is a proven solution which adds great value to small up to very large organizations where the management of engineering data is crucial in order to meet operational and strategic goals. Through implementing BlueCielo Meridian, some companies have increased their organizational efficiency dramatically, leading to reduced costs for engineering, collaboration and construction. Others have improved their compliance with internal as well as external regulations, thereby maintaining their license to operate. Another group of customers have improved their on-time delivery of projects, including better control over design change requests leading to an increase in change order value. BlueCielo Meridian is able to provide this added value through its ease of use, extended set of features, configurability to meet specific business needs and openness for integration with third party business systems. 4

5 3 Key Capabilities 3.1 User Interface for Users of Engineering Data Within organizations, many departments and stakeholders are involved in the creation, approval and use of documentation. The majority of the users are consumers of the engineering data. These users need to be able to quickly find correct and up-to-date technical documentation through various search methods, regardless of the location in which they may be working. For this large group of users, the web-based BlueCielo Meridian Explorer Client is available. The zero footprint BlueCielo Explorer web client provides extensive but easy-to-use search options to find technical documentation. Specific views of the data can be provided to different user groups, showing only the data they need to see. After the initial search, the user has many options to further refine the search results through additional criteria or filtering techniques. The user interface of the Explorer Client shows several areas: 1. Search panel with quick find and direct access to advanced search 2. Search results grid, with extensive filter options 3. Property tabs (fully configurable) for the selected document, which can be docked or floating, leading to more detailed data, including: a. In-built Viewer, deployed through Client-Server based viewing b. Detailed properties c. References d. Revisions e. Optionally: Feedback page for users to enter comments for the authors to make changes to the data. Of the engineering data displayed, the user has options to either report the search query results or look at more details of the content. Documents can be printed or viewed (many 2D and 3D formats are supported through server-based viewing) and revisions can be compared. For extensive reporting and dashboards, third-party reporting tools like Chrystal Reports or Microsoft Reporting Services can be used. 5

6 3.2 User Interface for Authors of Engineering Data Having up-to-date engineering data available to the organization requires authors such as engineers and project managers work with the best engineering data management environment available. The most extensive set of features is provided within the BlueCielo Meridian Power User running in a Microsoft Windows environment on a Local Area Network. The Power User is specifically developed to meet the highest demands for CAD Engineers and team members working in complex engineering projects, like Project Managers and Administrators. The User interface of the Power User Client shows several areas; 1. Toolbar menus with quick find and direct access to advanced search 2. Pull Down menus, depending on the scope in which the user is working 3. The folder view, providing a user specific view to the vault (Navigation views) 4. Property pages (fully configurable), which can be docked or floating 5. In-built Viewer, which can be docked or placed on a second screen Besides the Power User Client, BlueCielo Meridian can be used through the Office User Client. The Office User Client is for all users participating in the document change processes and making changes to the content, with the exception of CAD files and models. Meta-data of the CAD files and models can be changed, but the CAD application integration is not available for the users of the Office User Client. Besides the MS Windows Clients, authors can use BlueCielo Meridian through the Internet. The following Web Clients are provided for remote authors: Power Web Client for CAD Engineers, Project Managers and Administrators, provided with the Remote CAD integration Office Web Client for all users participating in the document change processes and making changes to the content Office Web Part for all MS SharePoint users participating in the document change processes and making changes to the content through the MS SharePoint user interface 6

7 3.3 Managing Engineering Documents and Data BlueCielo Meridian uses secure repositories, called vaults, to store engineering data. Each vault can have its own configuration of document types, workflows, meta-data (properties) and access rights (see next paragraph). Engineering data can be stored in the secure BlueCielo Meridian vault in various ways. The first is to create a new document from a template within the BlueCielo Meridian environment, where the wizard assists in entering properties correctly to ensure meta-data consistency. The properties (organized in property pages) can be mandatory, optional, automatically generated, have (dependable) look-up lists and can be calculated through scripting. Besides starting from BlueCielo Meridian another way to store engineering data in the Meridian vault is through drag & drop, which allows users to drag already existing documents right into the vault from their desktop or Windows Explorer. Next, files can be stored from within the (CAD) applications using Application Integration. This means that documents can be stored into the vault by use of save as in the application. Within the save dialog, the vault icon is shown. The appropriate vault can be chosen and the wizard related to the document type enables proper storage in the vault, including automated number generation according to company standards. 7

8 Application Integration provides direct access to BlueCielo Meridian from within every application via the standard File Open and File Save dialogues, including: Microsoft Office applications (MS Word, MS Excel, MS Visio, MS PowerPoint) MS Outlook and Lotus notes for emails Scanning applications 2D and 3D CAD applications (see paragraph 3.6) Properties can be shown in the document (in headers, footers or title blocks) and automatically, bidirectionally or manually synchronized with the repository. ` Should there be large sets of documents (including entire Assemblies and older revisions), BlueCielo Meridian supports Batch import. If multiple documents have a wrong value for a certain property, Set property value can be used for the selected files. 8

9 3.4 Secure Access & Controlled Content Access to the BlueCielo Meridian vault is provided through Windows authentication, utilizing your existing Windows Users and User Groups. Role-based security determines what persons in certain roles are allowed to do with the content in relation to the status, for example: edit, view or print. Content can be worked on by only one person at a time, while the previous version of the document is still available, although locked. Depending on the configuration of the BlueCielo Meridian environment, it can be controlled so that certain groups of users can only work with the rendition of the document. 9

10 3.5 Search & Retrieve BlueCielo Meridian provides various ways to find data, documents or folders within or across vaults, such as: Quick Find This feature is directly available from the main Client interface and allows you to enter simple search criteria such as a document name to find the necessary document. Key Find Allows you to search on a specific property, indicated by an icon on the property pages. The key find properties can be configured in the Configurator. Find Dialog This is a more advanced search feature that adds some real searching power. You can customize a search to your needs by adding properties to search, restrict the search to certain Document Types and even save your search results in static or dynamic Collections. Full Text Search Full Text Searching is fully integrated into the Find dialog. It gives you the possibility to search for strings that are found in the documents themselves. In addition, user-specific views (Navigation Views) can be created showing a filtered subset of the repository for specific groups or activities, like To-Do lists. On vault (repository) level, a selection can be provided as a Scope, like Projects Scope holding only the active change projects, which can have restricted access and specific Navigation views. Scopes tailor the views and functionality to certain types of data within the vault for specific purposes, for example, scopes for: archived documentation, master (as-built) documentation, objects (representing assets), project documentation, etc. The scope menu in the user interface is shown in the picture above on the left. The user can select a scope, a view, and a time within the vault in that order. For each scope, separate Navigation views can be selected. The available views may also be dependent on the user groups to which the user belongs, as shown in the picture above on the right. 10

11 Menu options are also dependent on the selected scope, ensuring that only those options that make sense for the scope are shown. Security roles can be used to further limit the options that users are allowed to use. Commands and Navigation views can be configured per scope (availability depending on the security role of the user), as well as which document and folder types are accessible within the scope. Additionally, filters for workflow definitions, project definitions, reference types, and reports can be specified. A scope can also limit users to documents within a specific branch of the vault folder structure. The user is then restricted to that branch in the Explorer view and all search results are restricted to the documents in that branch. 11

12 3.6 CAD Application Integration CAD Applications are designed to speed up the design process and minimize design errors leading to reduced construction errors and quicker time to market. Engineers therefore want to (and should) make optimum use of all the features these design packages provide. On the other hand, Engineering Data Management is specifically useful in controlling engineering projects. Many features are provided to manage the project in all the design phases with approval cycles, reviews, progress monitoring, and the many other documents that are created in applications other than CAD applications, such as specification sheets, standard operating procedures, regulations, etc. So the project is larger than the CAD applications. Therefore the engineers must have all the freedom in their CAD applications while the project is optimally managed. BlueCielo Meridian provides a balance between the requirements of the engineers to do their work within their CAD application and the requirements of the organization to have control over the engineering project. For all applications, the Application Integration provides direct access to BlueCielo Meridian from within every application via the standard File Open and File Save dialogues. On top of this, the CAD Integration provides specific additional features, such as: File Open/Save dialog integration Property synchronization Bi-directional title block integration Reference synchronization Reference management (including XRef s) Assembly structure and Where Used Viewing, Compare, Redline and Markup In the next paragraphs, the integration with major CAD Applications are described in more detail. 3.6.1 AutoCAD Integration (and DWG-based CAD Files) For AutoCAD and DWG-based applications (like AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD P&ID, AutoCAD Raster Design and others), CAD integration features are provided from within the BlueCielo Meridian Client as well as from within the CAD application itself, through pull down menus as well as through the BlueCielo Ribbon. When working within AutoCAD, the BlueCielo Meridian properties can be edited and synchronized at will to the BlueCielo Meridian vault. BlueCielo Meridian supports Bi-directional Title Block integration, which means that values of properties changed in the title block are updated in the BlueCielo Meridian vault and vice versa. This can be fully automatic or controlled through configuration (only at save, from file to vault only or from vault to file only, for certain users only, etc.). Through the BlueCielo Meridian workflow process, the document might have redlines, which can be shown or hidden within the drawing (redlines are not part of the drawing itself). 12

13 For design re-use, AutoCAD provides options to insert an existing drawing as an External Reference (XRef). The drawing can be selected from the BlueCielo Meridian Vault, which leads to automatic registration. If the referenced drawing is moved within the BlueCielo Meridian Vault, all the Xrefs remain intact. At insertion, External references can be created in AutoCAD as attachments or as overlays. The distinction can be seen with the BlueCielo Meridian reference types. Besides the concept of reference files, the CAD integration also supports working with Hybrid files. Existing files (such as scanned drawings) can be converted to a hybrid file, or included in the drawing as hybrid or overlay through selection from the BlueCielo Meridian vault. In the Revisions dialog, the hybrid parts can be shown for the previous revisions of a document as well as for the current revision, which makes it possible to compare it with the hybrid of an older revision of the drawing. When the work is completed, the drawing can be saved or closed, resulting in an update in the BlueCielo Meridian vault. From within AutoCAD the document can also be routed to the next step in the workflow. 13

14 3.6.2 Microstation Integration For Microstation, the same as for AutoCAD, the CAD integration features are provided from within the BlueCielo Meridian Client as well as from within the CAD application itself. When working in BlueCielo Meridian the [new document] option can be selected, which enables selection of a document template (based on a document type). The template can have a predefined size, orientation and title block. The wizard will be launched to fill in the mandatory properties (at later stage the other properties can be compeleted) and if configured, by use of lookup lists. When working within Microstation, the BlueCielo Meridian properties can be edited and synchronized to the BlueCielo Meridian vault. BlueCielo Meridian supports Bi-directional Title Block integration, which means that values of properties changed in the title block are updated in the BlueCielo Meridian vault and vice versa. This can be fully automatic or controlled through configuration (only at save, from file to vault only or from vault to file only, for certain users only, etc.). For design re-use, Microstation provides options to insert an existing drawing as an External Reference (XRef). The drawing can be selected from the BlueCielo Meridian Vault, which leads to automatic registration. If the referenced drawing is moved within the BlueCielo Meridian Vault, all the references remain intact. Besides the concept of reference files, the CAD integration also supports working with Hybrid files. Existing files (like scanned drawings) can be converted to a hybrid file, or included in the drawing as hybrid through selection from the BlueCielo Meridian vault. In the Revisions dialog, the hybrid parts can be shown for the previous revisions of a document as well as for the current revision, which make it possible to compare it with the hybrid of an older revision of the drawing. Through the BlueCielo Meridian workflow process, the document might have redlines, which can be shown or hidden within the drawing (redlines are not part of the drawing itself). When the work is done, the drawing can be saved or closed, resulting in an update in the BlueCielo Meridian vault. From within AutoCAD, the document can also be routed to the next step in the workflow. 14

15 3.6.3 AutoDesk Inventor & SolidWorks Integration In addition to 2D CAD integration, BlueCielo Meridian also provides a deep integration with the 3D CAD applications Autodesk Inventor and SolidWorks. The integration allows creating new parts and assemblies from within BlueCielo Meridian or by starting in the CAD application itself. Within Autodesk Inventor a Ribbon is provided that allows users to directly access the BlueCielo Meridian vault and required engineering data management functionality to perform their work. Using Standards When creating the part or assembly from the vault, a standard part can be chosen or a template can be used to create a new part or assembly, in which case the wizard will allow you to fill in the mandatory meta-data. Part numbering can be done automatically according to your company standards. The meta-data can be filled in per part or for all parts at once, reducing the effort to manage the design. Direct Access within Solidworks into the BlueCielo Meridian Vault Standard parts can be updated at a later stage. In that case BlueCielo Meridian supports the updating of all the models in which that part is used, or to keep the designs intact with the old version of the standard part and only use the updated part in the current model (Derive or Replace). This allows changes in parts or sub-assemblies to be updated in the (main) assembly when appropriate. In other words, one can easily create new versions of an existing product while maintaining the complete set of documents for older versions. BlueCielo Meridian maintains and displays the status of each part, including active, in progress and retired parts. The complete Assembly Structure can be shown graphically or the user can see in which assemblies the components (or referenced drawings) are used through Where-Used. Design Re-use Another way of speeding up the design process in a controlled environment is by copying parts or complete assemblies. When copying an (sub-)assembly, all the parts and related files are copied and the folder structure is rebuilt within the assembly structure into which it is copied. During the copy process, parts and sub-assemblies can be deselected before the copy action is initiated. To copy an entire assembly, a Duplicator function is available. The Duplicator will not only copy the assembly and all referenced parts, but will also update all references to the copied parts. This results in an independent copy of the original assembly. 15

16 Concurrent Engineering Large designs are made with multiple engineers. BlueCielo Meridian supports concurrent engineering through selective assignment of parts or sub-assemblies to specific engineers who will make the changes. While making the changes, the other engineers can update the model with the latest saved changes to make sure their design changes fit with the work of the other engineers. The BlueCielo mini-client is provided within the CAD application. In addition to selection of parts and sub-assemblies to be included in the design, this allows the required workflow actions to be initiated. The BlueCielo mini-client also gives access to the BlueCielo Meridian vault for making changes to properties, without having to leave the CAD application. 16

17 3.6.4 Revit Integration BlueCielo Meridian provides Revit integration to allow control over the models and to support concurrent engineering. With multiple engineers working on their part of the Revit model, synchronization between Revit models can be managed within the vault and integrated with workflow and revision management. BlueCielo Meridian can be configured to manage retention of Revit history data in conjunction with workflow in the vault. BlueCielo Meridian also provides management of Revit model hierarchies. When work in a large project is distributed over a hierarchy of Revit models (e.g. per project team, within each team per discipline, and then a model for each engineer), BlueCielo Meridian can track which Revit worksets are being worked on in the individual models, and manage the synchronization of updates through the model hierarchy. This enables efficient division of labor while maintaining overview and control of the entire project. Also, by carefully choosing the worksets in the Revit model, concurrent engineering and BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise projects can be implemented in parallel. This supports the process of keeping the plant model as-built. BlueCielo Meridian adds the management of references created in the Revit model (with the exception of references to point clouds). This brings the advantages of BlueCielo Meridian reference management to Revit models and avoids losing track of data and relations that are essential for the integrity of the model. 17

18 3.7 Rendition Support A rendition is a copy of a document in a format other than the original. The rendition is in noneditable format and is distributed only for reference or hardcopy printing while the original, editable source document is not distributed outside of the organization. Examples of rendition formats are: Adobe PDF, Autodesk DWF, JPG and TIF. In most cases, renditions can be created by the same application that is used to edit the original document or they can be created by a different application. A document s rendition inherits the same property values as its parent document. BlueCielo Meridian provides rendition support for all engineering data, including files with XRef s, Hybrids and Assemblies. By use of the BlueCielo Publisher, the native files can be rendered to PDF and stored as a second file to the same document. Depending on the configuration of the BlueCielo Meridian environment, it can be controlled so that certain groups of users can only work with the rendition of the document, or with both the native document and the rendition. The BlueCielo viewer is now able to show either the current document s original content in native format or the document s rendition produced by the BlueCielo Publisher. Users can also configure the client to show the rendition rather than the native format by default. BlueCielo Meridian supports renditions in many operations, like: Rendition viewing options Printing of renditions Redlining of renditions Automatic updating of renditions upon execution of a workflow transition Updating of renditions on demand by users Attaching renditions to email messages sent from PowerUser Specific rendition security privileges VBScript support 18

19 3.8 View Content Within BlueCielo Meridian each document has a thumbnail for quick recognition. The files can also be viewed in more detail through the in-built Oracle AutoVue viewer, which allows viewing of over 200 different file formats including 2D/3D CAD, Office, PDF and Raster formats without requiring the native application. The viewer can be deployed by local installation or by use of a central server (server based viewing). The viewer window can be undocked and placed on a second screen (if available), allowing users to edit the properties of a document, while the user views the file content. Within the embedded Oracle AutoVue 2D viewer many features are available, such as: Zoom, Pan, Magnify-glass Including the Xrefs and Hybrids in the file viewed Layers on/off Show Blocks Precise 2D measurements of design elements Advanced printing options: Print Preview, Full Document, Extents, Print Headers/Footers, Watermark, or Stamps, Force to Black print option, etc. 19

20 Oracle s AutoVue is also available for 3D CAD formats. AutoVue 3D works similarly to AutoVue 2D but applies to 3D CAD formats such as Autodesk Inventor, SolidWorks, Pro-Engineer, Catia, and other formats. Embedded in BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise, Oracle AutoVue 3D enables: Markup, commenting, redlining, magnifying glass, etc. features in 3D files Precise 3D measurements and 3D Measurement markups displayed Transform or Explode 3D Models within the viewer Alter the Transparency level of any part(s) of a 3D model Change view to ortho or perspective View model in wireframe or solid 20

21 3.9 Redlining, Markup & Compare When managing engineering data, graphical verification with use of the embedded viewer might be required (without the use of the native applications) before specific actions are initiated: Engineering Data consumers in the organization using the BlueCielo Meridian Explorer Client can add Redlines and Remarks to the technical documentation indicating to the Engineering department that changes are needed. Other users in the organization, like Reviewers in workflow steps might make redlines and remarks for other people to follow up upon. The redline layers are stored and managed by BlueCielo Meridian, for other persons in the organization to work on when updating the content. A navigation view Issues & Remarks can be configured, allowing Engineering managers to verify all comments and requests in detail and graphically. When Engineering decides to make the updates, project revisions will be made which need to be reviewed (see also compare). Any two documents can be compared. The two documents might be revisions, versions or any other two selected documents. Even a document that has been received can be compared with the document that is in the BlueCielo Meridian vault. While comparing, the additions and deletions are shown and can be viewed independently. The overview of differences can be printed. Compare 3D assemblies even indicates part rotations as changes to the other revision. 21

22 In addition to comparing any two documents graphically, the meta-data can be compared, making it possible to compare the properties of the two selected documents. This is useful when updated documents are received from external sources. While comparing properties, it is possible to synchronize them by copying values from one to the other. In the comparison window, you can easily see the properties that have been added, removed, or contain a different value. 22

23 3.10 Workflow & Revision Management BlueCielo Meridian provides configurable document workflow based on document types, allowing mechanical drawings to go through a formal approval cycle, which may not be required for sketches. The workflow determines the configurable revision schema according to your company standards. The to-do person is selected when a document goes through a workflow. In the event that somebody is ill, a manager can change the to-do person or move the document forward in the workflow. Both serial and parallel workflows can be configured and if-then-else statements give full control to comply with internal and external regulations. Clicking the Status hyperlink shows the workflow graphically The configured workflow can be stored as a workflow template, to assign it to the appropriate document types. If a certain document type follows a slightly different workflow, the workflow template can be easily copied and adjusted, enabling quick configuration of BlueCielo Meridian to comply with your company s standards and procedures. The workflow template allows freely configurable workflow states and transitions, including the creation of new revisions during the workflow and the revision numbering. Wizard pages can be configured to appear on workflow transitions to gather information on progress and control subsequent workflow steps. Each step in the workflow can be protected by conditions, rules that control if the document can be moved to the next step. These conditions allow for sanity checks at critical points, to make sure that all relevant meta-data is captured during the workflow process. Parallel review makes it possible to assign multiple persons to a (review) task, while consolidating the outcome from the review via various common options. All workflow activities are stored in the history log in a tabular format to support advanced reporting and auditing requirements (Audit trail). Email notification makes it possible to inform participants of workflow events through email. Preconfigured emails with document attachments or document links are sent to addressees selectable from pre-configured lists. 23

24 3.11 Managed Change / Work Isolation In the easiest scenario, documents can be put under change directly, leading to a new revision. A more controlled way of making updates to the managed data is through use of folders. BlueCielo Meridian supports configuration of folder types, resulting in a controlled process of making updates to logical sets of technical documents. This also allows the entire organization to work with the latest released documents, while the engineering department is making the changes within a project folder. After assigning documents to a folder, the documents available to the rest of the organization can be locked, while being modified in the project. After releasing the documents typically at the end of a project - the revised versions of the documents replace the original documents, which become available to the organization again. In case of (large) assembly structures, the entire assembly might not need an update for all its subassemblies and parts. Let s consider the following assembly structure: Assembly Part1, Part 6 Sub-assembly 1 Sub-assembly 2 Sub-assembly 1.1 Sub-assembly 2.1 Part1, Part 2, Part 3 Part 4, Part 5 When changing Part 1, the main assembly and sub-assembly 1.1 must be assigned to a change project, but sub-assembly 1 is not part of the actual change. If the user makes a change in form, fit, or function when there is no project copy of sub-assembly 1 and Autodesk Inventor needs to change sub-assembly 1, the user must exit Autodesk Inventor, create a project copy of subassembly 1, and redo the change. So some components of the project copy of the assembly may resolve to master documents, even if there is a project copy of the assembly. To resolve this, BlueCielo Meridian provides the [Assembly Copy Options] dialog which is enabled by default. When enabled, it will create project copies of the full assembly chain. The user s selection is saved between PowerUser sessions. 24

25 3.12 Email Integration & Notification BlueCielo Meridian provides as standard three types of email integration within MS Outlook or Lotus Notes, while the additional email Manager module provides the fourth option: Client side email storage, including storage of attachments From within MS Outlook or Lotus Notes, users can directly store the emails with required properties into the BlueCielo Meridian vault. This can be done through drag and drop or by using the wizard. The attachments can be stored in a predefined folder or through selection by the user. The system automatically creates references between the email and its attachments and it prevents storing the same documents twice. 25

26 Client side email creation, including the native or rendition as attachment When working in BlueCielo Meridian a document can be sent by email, either as attachment or as a hyperlink in the mail. The email is automatically created for dispatch via the local mail client. Based on the document properties, the email template can be selected and the email subject and body text can be automatically filled. Server side email Notification, to inform participants of workflow events through email. Pre-configured emails with document attachments or document links are sent to addressees selectable from pre-configured lists. Server side email storage This requires the separately available BlueCielo Meridian Email Manager (see Chapter 4). 26

27 3.13 Reporting All content within BlueCielo Meridian can be reported upon directly, through internal reporting from the repository. Reports can be generated by use of templates and the required data can be collected from specific queries, views, searches, static or dynamic collections. Through the BlueCielo Meridian configurator, the reports can be predefined for use within the production environment, allowing a quick overview of project progress or the status of documents sent to external companies. More extensive reporting is provided through use of the Engineering Data Library, which allows the use of 3rd party reporting tools such as SAP Chrystal Reports or Microsoft Reporting Services. The Engineering Data Library can be either a Microsoft SQL Server database or an Oracle database. 27

28 3.14 Highly Configurable to Meet Your Business Needs BlueCielo Meridian is highly configurable and has an extensive API allowing full optimization of the environment to your specific business requirements and integration with your business applications. Document types, workflow templates, lookup lists, numbering formats, revision schema s, navigation views and scopes can all be configured to your requirements, in addition to integration with 3rd party business applications such as financial systems or planning tools. 28

29 4 BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise Modules BlueCielo offers additional BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise modules to meet specific business requirements. Each module offers specific key capabilities to increase the return on investment of your total Meridian environment. BlueCielo Meridian Asset Management Module The Asset Management Module ensures the performance of mission-critical assets and avoids costly operational disruptions by integrating engineering data managed by BlueCielo Meridian with systems such as IBM Maximo, SAP Plant Maintenance, Oracle EAM, FAMIS, INFOR (Datastream), Ultimo and others. BlueCielo Meridian Advanced Project Workflow The Advanced Project Workflow module is the newest add-on module for BlueCielo Meridian. It enables the management of complex projects and fully supports the Management of Change processes of Owner/Operators to assure regulatory compliance. BlueCielo Meridian email Manager The email Manager module integrates email processing with BlueCielo Meridian, centralizing email storage, reducing the cost of authoring applications and supporting regulatory compliance by tracking and tracing email correspondence. BlueCielo Meridian Explorer The Explorer module provides significant benefits for global Owner/Operators and engineering contractors that need timely access to technical asset information and documentation across the enterprise by reducing search time for documents, and facilitating global and immediate access to accurate as-built information. BlueCielo Meridian FDA Module The FDA module is an out-of-the-box business solution that manages current good manufacturing practices (cgmp) engineering documentation throughout the enterprise. The module also adds specific features to the core data management engine that help minimize risk, ensure compliance, and avoid costly recalls. BlueCielo Meridian Global Collaboration Framework The Global Collaboration module enables the smooth exchange of engineering data and facilitates seamless collaboration and synchronization between geographically dispersed teams, allowing them to work as a single "virtual" team. BlueCielo Publisher The BlueCielo Publisher offers the capability to render documents from various source content management systems and publish them into the same or another destination system. In the destination system, meta-data can be published along with the (optionally rendered) file. If the properties in the destination system have different names, the properties can be mapped with to the property names of the source system. BlueCielo Meridian Project Portal The Project Portal module enables highly configurable, web-based document management in large projects requiring multiple contractors. Features include transmittal management, import and export facilities, information flows, reporting and a full audit trail of all changes to documentation. 29

30 5 BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise Benefits BlueCielo Meridian is a scalable solution, enabling you to grow your Engineering Data Management environment with the changing needs of your organization. Its flexibility, configurability, robustness and open platform architecture enhance the operational efficiency of your business. Below are some of the benefits BlueCielo Meridian can offer. Which benefits will apply to your organization depends on the configuration of the system. 5.1 Improve efficiency Always be sure that you are working with the latest released versions of engineering data Standardization in data entry for reduced errors and mistakes Optimized engineering data review and approval cycles On time engineering data delivery Powerful integration capabilities with 3rd party business system 5.2 Reduce costs Reduce search time and costs to retrieve accurate engineering data Decreased printing and distribution costs Reduce asset maintenance and operation costs Reduce costs in sharing engineering data across departments, divisions and organizations 5.3 Enhance Quality Improved good engineering and manufacturing practices Separated released data from work-in-progress engineering data Secure environment with full access control ensuring quality of data and business processes Increase data consistency through automated processes and controlled data entry 5.4 Regulatory compliance Extensive history log and audit trail for full proof of control Comply with internal and external regulations Protect intellectual property 30

31 Taking EDM to the Enterprise 6 About BlueCielo ECM Solutions BlueCielo ECM Solutions is a world leader in sophisticated software solutions in Asset Information Management (AIM) and Engineering Data Management (EDM) for Owner/Operators, and engineering document control for engineering, procurement and construction projects (EPC, AEC). With over 300,000 satisfied users worldwide, BlueCielo s independent AIM and EDM solutions integrate with virtually all mainstream document management systems, enterprise content management systems and operational business control systems, such as for maintenance, engineering and project management. For more information, please visit www.bluecieloecm.com. Contact Info Corporate Headquarters BlueCielo ECM Solutions Handelskade 49 2288 BA Rijswijk The Netherlands T +31 70 413 37 00 F +31 70 413 37 01 info@bluecieloecm.com www.bluecieloecm.com Europe, Asia, Pacific Rim, Middle East, Africa Handelskade 49 2288 BA Rijswijk The Netherlands T +31 70 413 37 00 F +31 70 413 37 01 info@bluecieloecm.com Benelux: www.bluecielo.nl USA, North America 102 Pickering Way Suite 303 Exton, PA 19341 USA Toll-Free: (800) 531-2287 T +1 610 524-1311 F +1 610 524-0458 info@bluecieloecm.com www.bluecieloecm.com United Kingdom & Ireland Empress Business Centre 380 Chester Road, Manchester M16 9EA United Kingdom T +44 161 877 55 79 F +44 161 877 55 80 Brazil, Latin America BlueCielo do Brasil Soluçöes de Gerenciamento Ltda Rua Cincinato Braga, 340 5o. Andar CEP. 01333-010 São Paulo (SP) Brasil T +55 (11) 3145-2480 F +55 (11) 3145-2499 info@bluecieloecm.com Finland, Nordic BlueCielo ECM Solutions Oy Upseerinkatu 1 02600 Espoo Finland T +358 9 229 171 F +358 9 853 1196 Germany, DACH Essener Strasse 5 46047 Oberhausen Germany T +49 208 305 85 00 F +49 208 305 85 025 Russia and CIS countries Korolev Street 6 249030 Obninsk Kaluga region, Russia T +7 (48439) 63079 F +7 (48439) 65095 Copyright BlueCielo ECM Solutions 2012. All rights reserved. BlueCielo is a registered trademark of BlueCielo ECM Solutions. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. 31