World-class technology will make South Africa more competitive

Engineering News , 3 June 2005

The worldwide use of com-puter-aided design (Cad) and computer-aided manufacturing (Cam) software became a necessity as it helps companies – from small-sized companies to large industrial corporations – to respond faster to changing markets. Catia software, which was originally developed by Dassault Aviation, France, in 1976 to design the Mirage’s wing shape, is currently in use in the automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding and process plants, as well as in consumer goods, fabrication and assembly and electrical and electronic goods internationally, as well as locally. The Toyota motor company started deploying the Dassault Systemes’ Catia V5 Cad solution two years ago and might be completing the implementation of the system this year, Toyota states.

With a reported 3 500 seats of Catia V5 currently in production at Toyota, there remain only 1500 seats of Toyota’s in-house developed Togo system still to replace. Should Toyota succeed in replacing its remaining Togo seats this year, its migration to Catia V5 will be the largest and most rapid switchover from one Cad system to another ever achieved by a large automotive original-equipment manufacturer (OEM).

In South Africa, Catia is also widely in use, IBM Business Partner CDC (CNC Design Consultants) MD Igal Filipovski tells Engineering News. South Africa’s automotive OEMs and suppliers use the product as well as aerospace companies such as Denel Aviation and Aerosud. He says that the need for software such as Catia is important for South Africa, as the country is becoming more and more competitive. Filipovski supports this by telling Engineering News about the award CDC recently won. The company was awarded the IBM Business Partner of the year 2004 for the IBM northern region – comprising countries such as the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands – for being the fastest-growing business in the IBM northern region. “For many years, South Africa did not attract business as it was small and technologically old-fashioned,” he says, which resulted in companies not investing in technology. What worries Filipovski is that the result of local industry not being guided, is that South African companies are buying cheap technology. “Price is important, but quality and functionalities should not be compromised,” he urges, adding that many companies presume that all software has the same features.

Filipovski says that productivity, quality and the cost of the product must be the main parameters in deciding on whether software should be bought. “Local industry must understand that cheap technology will not buy benefits in the long term,” he says.

“You do not replace a cellphone because it stopped working, but because something more advanced is needed,” he says, adding that software works on the same principle. The Asian markets – equipped with high-standard technology – are local industry’s main competitors, Filipovski reports. He points out that the Taiwanese Tool Manufacturing Association realised the importance of investing in better technology and, as a result, it standarised on Catia as its Cad/Cam solution. With the Asian markets as its main competition, Filipovski notes that the magazine, Supplier Business, reports that, in a comparative study of supplier plants’ operational performances, it was measured that emerging market suppliers in South and East Asia are making rapid progress in improving quality and delivery reliability compared with European competitors.

The survey showed that, between 2001 and 2003, the East Asian suppliers grew by 101,5% on average, compared with an inflation-adjusted growth rate of 10,9% among the European suppliers. He says that if South Africa wants to compete with the Asian market, the same technology must be used. Filipovski says that the majority of Cad/Cam software is design-centric and does not cater sufficiently for the manufacturing process. “We focus on the complete process of each company, trying to offer an end-to-end solution.” With Catia’s Knowledgeware product, all the user’s knowledge becomes the company’s intellectual property. All information on products designed and manufactured can be stored as a template and reused at a later stage. “The same mistakes will thus not be repeated,” he says, adding that the Knowledgeware product increases productivity, improves the quality of the product and reduces cost. He believes that OEMs demand a product that shortens the time to market and lowers cost but has the same standard of quality. “From the days when the development of a new-model car took three years or more, today that same time is down to 24 months or less, and the OEMs are aiming for a 12-month cycle in the near future,” he reports, adding that Catia can offer the solution.

Earlier in the year, CDC held a seminar in Port Elizabeth on generative tooling technology where the company showed 80 automotive-industry delegates how Catia technology can boost productivity in tooling design and manufacturing. The event served as a means of tackling the many challenges placed on the South African automotive industry. Filipovski says that CDC works closely with local industry and that another seminar will be held on June 23 in Durban.

IBM started marketing Catia’s products in South Africa in 1982 and, in order to give a better service, decided to market the product through CDC, an IBM business partner. “We started with fewer than ten customers in 1997 but, today, we have more than 60 customers locally,” Filipovski reports.