University of Michigan Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Department Joins IBM and Dassault Systèmes’ PLM Higher Educational and Training Program

USA’s top ranking undergraduate shipbuilding program to use SMARTEAM to manage ship design information shared by students, researchers and faculty

Ann Arbor, Michigan and Paris, France - November 20, 2003 - IBM and Dassault Systèmes (Nasdaq: DASTY, Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) today announced that the University of Michigan is the latest university to participate in IBM’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Higher Education and Training (HEAT) program. This program, supported by hardware and software contributions from IBM and Dassault Systèmes, is designed to help alleviate the shortage of skilled engineers by preparing students for the business world with training on the world’s leading product development and data management applications.

The Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (NA&ME) with the support of the Naval Sea System Command Ship Production Science Program, has adopted SMARTEAM as a core technology for the university’s shipbuilding studies. SMARTEAM, a collaborative product design data management solution from IBM and developed by Dassault Systemes, will be the collaborative product data and lifecycle management application for the development of its Federated Ship Design Management and Guidance Tool (FSDMGT) program.

Professor Thomas Lamb, Director of the Shipbuilding Research Laboratory, Director of the Naval Sea System Command NAVSEA Ship Production Science Program, and Adjunct Professor, said, “The University of Michigan has long promoted the use of digital tools and management methods through the undergraduate ship design courses and ongoing research. Today’s complex shipbuilding projects are only possible because of electronic communication, management and collaboration tools.”

“SMARTEAM’s workflow, Web portal and collaboration multi-CAD features will help student project team leaders to delegate tasks among the student-designers in the best way possible,” said Alain Houard, director Shipbuilding Business Unit, Dassault Systèmes. “Their use of SMARTEAM on the Capstone ship design teams and research projects will facilitate communication of design data and task management and leverage the emphasis on teamwork at the University of Michigan.”

The University of Michigan is implementing this state-of-the-art program to provide an environment in which designers and managers can share information in a streamlined way. Students learn the same organizational and project programming skills required for design projects undertaken in a shipyard. The SMARTEAM platform will help students launch new projects by acting as a central repository for project information.