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Data quality standards to have significant engineering applications

10th July 2015

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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Quality standards for data will provide significant benefits for engineering and technical disciplines, as reliable master data can then be sourced and trans-ferred, which enables accurate management of engineering components and services, says data quality and management company Pilog Group chairperson Dr Salomon de Jager.

The first set of data quality standards is captured in ISO 8000, with additional supporting data quality standards being developed. Pilog is represented on several local and international technical standards committees working to develop these standards.

The ability to share technical and highly accurate data among industries is the main driver of data quality. This enables engineering design, maintenance and procurement to use exact, highly detailed specifications of components or engineering services by removing potential inaccuracies and inconsistencies among elec-tronic data through standardisation. Data and metadata used in this way are called master data.

Master data require standards with significant accuracy, as engineering and commercial decisions are based on master data. Thus, the data are usually sourced from the most reliable sources available, mainly from original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs), original-component manufacturers (OCMs) or service standards authorities, as well as best practice maintenance and service manuals.

The master data of a component can include all the information required by various industries. For example, similar bearing assemblies are used in different industries, but the various industries have different priority requirements, while many different bearing assemblies are used in a single production line or machine.

De Jager says data quality standards will enable accurate decision-making, even in highly technical industries such as nuclear, defence and aerospace.

Master data under ISO 8000 are created through data requirements (templates), which segregate characteristics about a specific component or service, such as the exact size and shape of the component, the component’s original part number, the part number used by a company’s supplier, the type of steel used in the component, the steps that have to be followed for a specific service and even the colour of a component.

Further, these data requirements can be divided into subordinate templates to describe the exact specifications of, for example, the ratios of alloying elements in the steel used in the various parts of the component, or the exact actions undertaken as part of a service.

“This makes the ISO 8000 master data system infinitely customisable while maintaining the integrity of the original data. This system will enable companies to compare items with the same form, fit and function irrespective of supplier and OEM part numbers. This will enable proper comparison of prices of various suppliers and OEMs of the components and facilitate the vertification of items received from suppliers. Further, companies can use this system to verify the components used in any product or machine and the quality of service required as best practice,” explains De Jager.

The information captured in these master data templates can enable companies to search OEM databases, their supplier databases or even their own databases for specific service or component parameters. This enables succinct and accurate procurement and engineering quality management, he adds.

Existing data from OEMs and standards organisations can be used to populate the technical details for any company aiming to use ISO 8000 master data systems, such as the OEM’s component specifications or the exact procedures and outcomes of any service, he highlights.

The templates can also be translated into other languages and units of measurement, which enables accurate global procurement networks without any loss of accuracy, though expressions and concepts in various languages should be derived from local engineering standards bodies to ensure accuracy, De Jager concludes.

Pilog will host an International Master Data Quality Conference in Gauteng, on September 16 and 17, which will detail applications of ISO 8000 in industry.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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