Presentations from these key executives will focus on digital transformation activities.
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, USA 23 August 2022—CIMdata, Inc. is pleased to announce that Don Farr, Senior Technical Fellow at Boeing and Carol Erikson, Vice President, Systems Engineering and Digital Transformation at Northrop Grumman will each make keynote presentations at PLM Road Map @ GPDIS 2022.
PLM Road Map @ GPDIS will take place at the McCormick Ranch Hotel, Scottsdale, AZ, as a one-day event on Tuesday, 27 September. The theme for PLM Road Map is “Digital Transformation and PLM – a call for PLM Professionals to redefine and reposition the benefits and value of PLM.” Global Product Data Interoperability Summit or GPDIS will take place on 28 & 29 September at the same location.
Mr. Farr’s presentation, Model-Based Engineering Diamond Adoption at Boeing, will offer an updated version of Boeing’s MBE Diamond concept and how the company applies it. Initially introduced in 2018, the MBE Diamond depicts how things have evolved from the iconic System Engineering “V” to an integrated Model-Based environment enabled by the digital thread and the authoritative source of data/information. A key enabler of Digital Transformation is the adoption and integration of industry standards throughout the digital thread. The presentation will also expand on Boeing’s use of virtual components in the generation of Digital Twins. A short discussion will take place on how Boeing leverages the MBE Diamond in internal communication and training on the company’s Digital Transformation.
Realizing the vision of enterprise digital transformation requires many technical transformations but, most importantly, means a cultural shift. For companies like Northrop Grumman, which has rich and diverse digital heritages, achieving full Product and Program Lifecycle Management is more than just migrating to a single monolithic platform; it requires integration and striking the right level of commonality across the enterprise. In this presentation, How to Transform an Enterprise, Ms. Erikson will discuss how to strike that balance and approach the cultural shifts necessitated by digital transformation.
For more information about PLM Road Map @ GPDIS 2022, please visit the CIMdata website https://www.cimdata.com/en/education/plm-conferences/plmrm-gpdis-2022.
About Mr. Farr
Don Farr is a Senior Technical Fellow in Model-Based Engineering (MBE). In this role, he supports Boeing’s Digital Transformation initiative. He has spent the past seven years evaluating and integrating advanced technology into Boeing’s development environment across the lifecycle of programs.
Don has 36 years of System Engineering experience working on dozens of programs, 31 years at Boeing working on Defense and Commercial platforms/systems, and five years at General Dynamics working on fighter platforms.
Don earned his BSEE at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, specializing in digital communications and computer architectures. He completed an advanced degree in electrical engineering at the University of Delaware in Newark, also specializing in digital communications.
About Ms. Erikson
Carol Erikson is vice president of Systems Engineering and Digital Transformation for Northrop Grumman’s Space Systems sector. In this role, she is responsible for leading systems engineering and digital transformation initiatives across the sector that will enable the Space Systems team to leverage transformational capabilities to ensure effective execution across the full program life cycle, from concept through sustainment.
Most recently, she served as vice president and enterprise program manager for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program, where she established and led a nationwide team responsible for capturing and executing the Technical Maturation and Risk Reduction program and for developing innovative engineering and digital environment solutions critical to capturing and preparing for the Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development program.
Carol joined Northrop Grumman in 1987 as a systems engineer and has technical, supply chain, functional management, and program management experience in space systems. She served as the director for Mission 1 system enhancement and captures, deputy program manager for program integration on the Advanced Missions Programs portfolio, and project manager for payloads for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System. In 2013, she was appointed vice president of Engineering for the heritage Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems sector’s Space Systems Division. In this role, she led engineering efforts across the Space Systems portfolio, including restricted space, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Advanced Extremely High-Frequency programs.
Carol earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering and computer science from Stonehill College and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. She also earned a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California and completed the Executive Management Program at the University of California Los Angeles.
