Timken Takes On Complexity

Tom Stimson, vp of Business Process Advancement for Timken, thought he was getting into a more simplified business when he started at Timken. He had worked at Robert Bosch and GKN and saw the complexities inherent in automotive and aerospace.

 



But bearing product development is very complex. And Timken does much more than bearings. They are one of the last remaining independent steel businesses left in the U.S.

The company spends $60M on research at technology facilities around the world. A disperse organization coupled with Timken’s legacy – 107 years and counting – creates an engineering workload growth that is complex to manage.

Tom’s presentation highlighted how managing knowledge of key workers is also critical. He noted Timken has 7 different PDM systems, 8 different drawing repositories and tons of configurations depending on product type and location. Yet only two employees could really understand the whole process.

Now Timken is leveraging a streamlined PLM platform to manage this knowledge transfer along with four key business drivers:

• optimize resources


• reduce time to market


• improve quality


• increase innovation