reduce costs, improve workforce efficiency, and accelerate time-to-market for their products.
Successful digital transformation requires a culture that embraces change and innovation. To foster a culture that supports digital transformation, companies should begin by focusing on quick wins that demonstrate tangible benefits. Automating mundane tasks, such as writing test reports, can allow engineers to focus on more critical aspects of their work, making the benefits of digital transformation immediately apparent. Once employees see that digital transformation frees them to focus on the meaningful work they want to be doing, they are likely to support more significant changes. Amajor challenge that needs to be overcome
The Siemens framework, ‘Five Steps of Digital Transformation Maturity’, provides a roadmap for companies to follow, emphasising the importance of progressing beyond basic digital adoption
he aerospace and defence (A&D) industry is standing on the cusp of a significant transformation. Many programs are
facing increasing budgets, which are leading to delays and even cancellations. Leaders in the A&D industry have been adopting the latest in digital technology to save money, make their workforce more efficient and reduce their products’ time-to-market. Yet, after decades of implementing digital transformation and substantial investment, A&D companies are not finding their expected return on investment regarding these goals. The integration of digital technologies is
not just a trend but a necessity. However, to achieve the desired outcomes, companies must move beyond the initial stages of digital transformation and fully leverage advanced technologies, modern processes, and a culture that embraces change.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Aviation Week Network in collaboration with Siemens, there is a significant gap between perceived and actual digital transformation maturity. While 55% of respondents consider their digital transformation efforts mature, 72% reported not seeing the anticipated ROI.
This discrepancy underscores the need for a deeper understanding and implementation of digital transformation strategies. According to the survey, more than 80% of
A&D companies are still in the early stages of digital transformation, primarily focusing on configuring or connecting data across engineering domains. To realise substantial ROI, companies must advance to more mature stages where automation, generative design, and optimisation are fully integrated into their processes (see image, above). The key to achieving ROI lies in moving past the initial stages of digital transformation. Companies need to leverage advanced technologies to: • Automate mundane, repetitive tasks • Generate innovative design alternatives • Optimise to find the best design.
When designs are optimised in the digital world, before they are built in the physical world, companies can
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is the siloed nature of different engineering domains and product lifecycle stages, which hinders efficient information flow. The comprehensive digital twin, a physics-based virtual representation of a product or process, ties together various elements across engineering domains through digital threads. These threads manage and automate workflows and data, providing an authoritative source of truth that enhances data access, traceability, and virtual testing capabilities. Adopting an agile mindset is crucial for A&D
companies. Instead of forcing old workflows into new software, companies should be open to new processes and technologies, allowing them to quickly adopt the latest tools and stay ahead of the game.
The comprehensive digital twin is a cornerstone of digital transformation in the aerospace industry. It acts as a physics-based virtual representation of a product or process, integrating data from various engineering domains and stages of the product lifecycle. This integration is facilitated by digital threads, which are connected business processes that
Comprehensive digital twins can be used for virtual testing, optimisation, and predictive maintenance
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