theEXPRESSway 1 - 1/1997

Short term collaborating com-panies need an easy method to integrate business and technical processes. At the sametime they need to safeguard the autonomy and the know-how of the individual organisation because in a virtual enterprise collaborating companies may become competitors in a configuration for the next project.

Being a MIS executive, a software scientist or a CAD/CAM engineer and still feeling trapped? Standardized datamodeling using the EXPRESS Data Manager gets you unlocked.

Hägglunds Vehicle, a Swedish 1 billion SEK company which manufacturers vehicles for the defence industry, use EXPRESS Data Manager to maintain product definitions, configurations, properties, manuals and lists of spare parts in connection with its delivery of a new series of combat vehicles to the Norwegian army. According to project manager Roger Ljung things have become a lot easier since the company started to use EXPRESS Data Manager

Through a three-year development project, the Det Norske Veritas (DNV) classification society aims to consolidate all the ship-related data it gathers worldwide by using the ISO STEP standard. The EXPRESS Data Manager - the Express-based product from Norway's EPM Technology (EPMT) - was selected as a key tool in achieving this goal.

EPM Technology (EPMT), Norway and Fujitsu (FQS Fujitsu Kyushu System Engineering LTD) in Japan have signed a MoU to exchange information and advice within Express and STEP based solutions.

At present time EPM Technology and Concad GmbH is working together to launch complete software developing tools for the IAI community and version 2.0 of the industry standards. The systems are using the innovative technology developed by EPMT, the EXPRESS Data Manager product line and Concad's IAI Toolbox 1.0. The systems will support both IAI and existing STEP standards, such as AP225, AP228 and AP230.

The product line EXPRESS Data Manager is a modular software system designed specifically for managing Express Schemata and Product Data in accordance with ISO 10303 "Standard for Product Data Representation Exchange" (STEP). The system implements ISO 10303 Part 11, the Express Language, and ISO 10303 Part 22, the Standard Data Access Interface (SDAI).