Strengthening Simulation’s Business Impact:
New Strategies in Aerospace & Defense

Ora Research Letter on Digital Prototyping, Simulation & Analysis March 26, 2009

By Bruce Jenkins, CEO

Aerospace and defense manufacturers are among the world’s most mature and sophisticated users of digital simulation and analysis – bringing the technology to bear earlier and more pervasively in product development than almost any other industry. [See our Simulation Maturity Map.] Nevertheless, these companies still suffer program-gating constraints on getting the value they need from simulation tools and the work processes that rely on them.

What are they doing about it? To find out, we interviewed discipline leads and methods experts at major aerospace and defense OEMs and subcontractors around the world. Our investigation focused on business drivers for sustaining or increasing simulation investments, current state of industry practice, constraints on maximizing simulation’s value, and new strategies for overcoming these constraints.

Our findings are reported in a white paper released today. Highlights of what we learned:

Digital Simulation and Analysis Investments: Business Drivers

Commercial aviation business crisis
Defense systems: unprecedented complexity, capability, reliability demands
Space systems: cost and schedule overruns, mission failures
Global project execution
Flight certification
In-service support

Simulation: Current State of Industry Practice in Aerospace and Defense

Pervasive and early…
…but working to achieve still more: “Bring fidelity forward”

Constraints on Maximizing Simulation’s Value

Technology constraints

• CAD-CAE gaps
• Cross-discipline analysis gaps
• Advanced-materials characterization
• Need for better simulation data/process management
• Need for more highly automated model preparation/setup

Organizational and work-process constraints

• Human resource constraints
• Methods development, work-process integration requirements
• Organizational stovepipes

Overcoming Constraints: New Directions, Emerging Best Practices

Overcoming technology constraints

• Toolset integration: cross-discipline and CAD-CAE
• Overcoming materials-related constraints
• Simulation data management, process automation and integration
• Knowledge capture and management
• Global project execution support
• Simulation/test correlation

Overcoming organizational and work-process constraints

• Process capture, methods definition, toolset commonization
• People factors

Next Steps

Technology solutions
Organizational and work-process solutions

We hope this research will contribute to manufacturers' efforts to unlock the still pent-up business value of their investments in simulation tools and work processes. We're grateful to our interviewees for sharing their insights and initiatives. Thanks to them, this white paper offers first-hand advice and lessons of experience for planning new and ongoing investments in simulation technology, and for managing these tools to exploit your organization's simulation competencies to the fullest. Request your copy of the white paper

Methodology & disclosure: Research for this white paper was funded in part by Siemens PLM Software. Primary research consisted of in-depth interviews with discipline leads and methods experts employed by aerospace and defense OEMs and subcontractors. Interviews were conducted by Ora Research in person or by telephone. Interviewees reported using many different software products from a variety of vendors including but not limited to ABAQUS, ANSYS, CFD++, CFX, Elfini, EXCITE, Femap, COMSOL Multiphysics, Flowmaster, Fluent, LS-DYNA, MATLAB, MSC.Adams, MSC.Nastran, MSC.Patran, NPSS, NX Nastran, Simulink, STAR-CD and others. Companies studied were selected on the basis of their recognition and standing in their industry; individuals interviewed were selected based on their positions in their respective companies and their involvement with initiatives to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of CAE usage within their organizations and supply chains.