PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) is used in a wide variety of industries, but the first use of PLM was in the aviation industry. The development of new products first required a tool to manage the co-operation of many resources, and with good reason. For example, an Airbus or Boeing plane contains approximately 3.5-4 million parts supplied from more than 2000 manufacturers and PLM is an integral component in this regard.  

Aviation and aerospace manufacturers should seek innovative ways to minimize costs and reduce time to market while optimizing product performance. Aviation industry original equipment manufacturers are relying increasingly on global partners to share risks and to maximize product development and manufacturing expertise.

PLM, an important pillar of Industry 4.0, is the management of all processes starting from the idea stage of a product to its complete life, disassembly and recycling. 

Among the benefits of PLM for industrial organizations are the increase in productivity gained by efficiently managing business processes which leads to reducing product costs, increasing innovation, shortening the time of delivery and delivery of the product, accelerating cooperation with suppliers, and the ability to reach the right information quickly, which cumulates in improving brand identity.

The first studies on the subject of PLM at Ege University started in 2012 as a result of the negotiations with Dassault. Prof.Dr.Semih ÖTLEŞ, Prof.Dr.Semih GÜNEŞ and two faculty members visited the universities of Kaiserslautern, Aachen, Bochum, Berlin, Bremen, Trier and Fraunhofer institutes and started bilateral cooperation on PLM. In 2014, ÖTLEŞ participated in the Hannover Industry 4.0 fair and the opening of the Turkish-German Year of Science in Berlin.

In 2014, a workshop was held in Izmir with the participation of industrialists, TUSAŞ, TEİ, SSB and other PLM professors from Germany. In 2015, the Ege University PLM Center of Excellence was officially established with the approval of the Senate, YÖK and the Prime Ministry. In 2016, the PLM Master's program started.

In 2014 the PLM Center, a TUBITAK project (organizing a workshop), was conducted by the European Union Erasmus+ project program between 2015-2018. There are 1,505 TEYDEB and 3 BAP projects in progress.

In the infrastructure of the center, there are 30 computers with high operating systems and 1 server. The computers include PLM software from French Dassault, American PTC and Autodesk and German Contact companies, each of which is costly. In addition, Katia, Creo, Solidworks, Moldex design programs and Logo ERP program are available. The PLM Master's Program consists of; with thesis (2 years, foreign language certificate, ALES score required, free of charge) and without thesis (1.5 years, no documents required, paid). Majority of the students are Mechanical Engineers, Industrial Engineers, then many are Computer / Software Engineers, Electrical / Electronics Engineers, Chemical Engineers, Food Engineers, Textile Engineers, Communication Engineers, and also students from Department of Business Administration and Mathematics. 

PLM Master of Science students are already working in the sector. The companies they work with; BMC, Vestel, Volkan Fire Department, Delphi, Obel Bolt, Mechanika, Wing Paint, CTS Machinery, Weber, DMO, Karya IT, Philip Morris, ZF Lemförder Axle, Volt Electric Motors, Rennova Automation, Maxion Wheels, PTI, Noken, ETI, and Dr.Oetker. Industrial collaborations are being developed by enabling the students of PLM to conduct their thesis studies in their own industrial organizations. In the Master of Science Program for PLM; Theoretical and practical instruction is given on topics such as CAD / CAM, data management, industry 4.0, PLM concept and applications, PLM practices in the automotive sector, research methods and ethics, and PDM. Industrialists and software companies are invited to interact with the students.

For more information: https://egeplm.ege.edu.tr/