German Tier 1 automotive supplier test-drives SOA data-exchange standards

Making automobiles is highly complex, data-intensive, and requires close coordination between suppliers and OEMs, yet exchanging data remains a highly manual process that acts as a production constraint.

Since existing standards such as STEP (standard for exchange of product model data) cover only the data's presentation, the process for integrating the automotive value chain still relies on easily broken custom interfaces.

To break the bottleneck, Magna Steyr, one of Germany's largest Tier 1 automotive suppliers, is working on a prototype with IBM and product life-cycle management (PLM) integrator Prostep AG to automate product metadata exchange using a services-oriented architecture (SOA) based on Web services standards.

"We had a huge challenge, since working with the world's leading automakers means relying on vast amounts of data historically exchanged using proprietary interfaces and partly manual processes," says Helmut Ritter, chief engineer of information management engineering, Magna Steyr.

The project picks up where established standards like STEP leave off. While STEP provides a vendor-neutral format for displaying CAD/CAM data, it doesn't cover the metadata that describes how the product is designed. That's where an emerging standard, PLM Services, comes in.

"I can write my business process in a neutral Web services format, so if I migrate from one PLM system to another, I protect the workflow," explains Marcos Novaes, senior IT architect for grid and PLM solutions at Magna Steyr.

The prototype, using IBM WebSphere Process Server, uses Web services standards to automate product metadata flow using the business process execution language standard. Consequently, when an OEM review of product design is required, the Magna Steyr PLM system automatically retrieves data from lower-tier suppliers, and then aggregates, maps, and converts it to a standard format.

The project, currently in prototype, has ambitious goals. As a large Tier 1 supplier, Magna Steyr ultimately has responsibility for virtual assembly of the design of the entire vehicle.