The assessment of the ISO GPS system implementation with a GPS maturity model

Abstract

For more than twenty years, the international system for the geometrical tolerancing of components has been reformed. With the aim for a non-verbal specification and verification of components, the ISO system for Geometrical Product Specification and Verification (ISO GPS system) has emerged. Due to the necessary extensive specification language, which additionally contains mathematical descriptions, references, 3D specifications, defaults, rules for manufacturing and measurement etc., the ISO GPS system has now reached a complexity, which cannot easily be understood and decoded by the different engineers and departments in the companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises as well as handicraft businesses. This makes an application in the entrepreneurial practice almost impossible. A structure and guidelines for the application are currently missing. Furthermore, there is a lack of requirements and a general approach for a necessary multi-layered training of specialists like engineers or machine workers as well as managers. There are also no generally accepted standards for the application of the ISO GPS system in companies. Often, small businesses, as contractors to large companies, have to deal with the challenges due to ISO GPS conform specifications. This problem has recently been amplified by the rapid progress of digitization and the increased use of 3D data including PMIs or application of 3D model-based definitions.For this reason, an implementation strategy for an integrated GPS system for small and medium-sized enterprises has been developed as part of a current research project at the Chemnitz University of Technology. To overcome the difficulties caused by the complexity of the ISO GPS system, an agile training concept based on GPS competencies, a roadmap for the integration process, and a GPS maturity model for the assessment of the process have been developed. Fundamental results of the research project with focus on the development of the GPS maturity model for a transparent agile implementation process are presented in this paper.