One of the most critical resources for many manufacturing facilities is too
ling. To properly control tooling and make tool-related data available to d
ifferent manufacturing activities, tooling databases are often employed. Im
plementing a tooling database around computer hardware/software in an exist
ing facility, however, can be difficult. This paper describes how one U.S.
aircraft component manufacturer tackled problems encountered in trying to i
mplement a single tooling database in their facility. Three problems were f
ound: some tooling data were already located in another database; one softw
are application requiring tooling data already had its own internal databas
e; and various computer hardware platforms were used in different departmen
ts, making a single interface difficult. The problems were solved by employ
ing two databases, via various software agents, and creating a platform-ind
ependent interface to the primary database. The resulting implementation pr
oved a viable approach for the facility, and provides a good example of how
such database implementation problems can be handled. (C) 2000 Elsevier Sc
ience B.V. All rights reserved.