According to Michael Grieves: “Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is an integrated, information driven approach comprised on people, processes/practices, and technology to all aspects of a product’s life, from its design through manufacture, deployment and maintenance – culminating in the product’s removal from service and final disposal.

By trading product information for wasted time, energy, and material across the entire organization and into the supply chain, PLM drives the next generation of lean thinking.” Product Lifecycle Management • Newest wave in productivity • Expands lean thinking PLM Foundation • Information – Digitizing – Sharing – Moving bits instead of atoms PLM Components • Components – People – Processes/practices – Technology PLM Integration • Internal organization integration • External organizational integration – Partners – Suppliers PLM Benefits: IT Value • Efficiencies – Time – Energy – Materials • Innovation – Product – Processes • Revenue PLM Application of Systems Thinking • Systems Thinking – Understanding the whole by understanding the linkages between the component parts. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV): An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV); also known as a Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV), or Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) is an aircraft that flies without a human crew on board the aircraft. Dual screen workstation x-ray machine is one which enables a human x-ray on its own using digital imaging technology.