I have always been fortunate to have an interesting job and being able to get involved in things which interest me. I have also always had a job, which was beyond my formal education level. On the other hand I have been able to read up on topics I had to know more about. I have never had any real problems with not having an academic degree. Probably I was lucky to be born at a time when it was still not expected or even required that everyone working at my level should have an academic degree. Being gifted with an open mind and a strong sense of curiosity, I managed to be on top of most of the problems that came my way and for which I was expected to come up with some solution. Traveling has also been my passion. I have had lots of opportunities with Volvo to travel and live abroad. I am very international in my attitude and love to observe the differences in culture in various countries and parts of the world.

What I did before I was involved in PDM, added a lot to my skills. I worked for 10 years as a Product Engineer developing trucks and busses. Part of that work was of course the Documentation of the Products and the Engineering Changes. I worked closely with the people at Parts Catalogues, Manufacturing Engineers, Purchase Engineering, Sales Promotion and Marketing. I did Product Cost Calculations and followed the testing in the Laboratories and on the Test Ground. I did a lot of Strength of Material Calculations myself and followed up such calculations at our department for Strength of Material and Materal Specification. I became involved in Product Planning and other activities related to the future development of trucks. Etc.

Even after I started to work with PDM development, I continued to work with all kinds of people within the different Volvo and Volvo CE Companies. I usually came very early in contact with new companies bought by VME/Volvo CE such as Michigan, Euclid (picture), Åkermans, Zettelmeyer, Pel-Job and Champion etc. while continuing to work with the companies from the earlier Volvo BM era

With this background it became easier for me to understand what was needed and to be able to specify requirements.

Through fate or by sheer luck I was drafted into a project supposed to replace the manual Parts Lists used by Volvo until fall 1967. I found this a very interesting and intriguing area. We had a very experienced consultant from Knights in Chicago, Mr. Ben Laird Cody, who was a tremendous inspiration to the project during fall 1967 and winter and spring 1968. We also had a very good Project Team with just the right mix of experience and skill. In fall 1969 we launched the first computer based Part List or BoM system at Volvo: KD69 (KonstruktionsData 1969) intended as a tool for Product Engineering. The system was based on "IBM BoM Processor" and updated through tape encoders (in stead of punch cards). It took quite a while before we had migrated all Product Documentation for all the Volvo Products from the manual lists to KD69. During the next few years it was used for cars, trucks, busses, marine engines and all constituent parts and components. All output was on paper. Various enhancements were proposed and some were developed and implemented before KD69 was replaced.

However, the computer industry was maturing rapidly and new possibilities were offered such as data bases, networks, terminals and real time computing. Volvo was also growing fast and was split up in divisions for Cars, Trucks and Busses etc. Each division was keen to develop their own flavor of PDM system: KDP at the Volvo Car Division and KOLA at the Volvo Truck and Volvo Bus Divisions. These systems replaced the old KD69 in 1981-1983. All based on IBM IMS with DL/1 databases and later DB2.

At Volvo BM in Eskilstuna they were making farm and industrial tractors, harvesters and forest machinery etc. They were a Volvo subsidiary since 1956 and they had developed their own flavor of KD69: ENS based on an early version of IMS with DL/1 databases and functionally with a lot of "stolen" goods from KD69. When I joined Volvo BM in late 1978, they were planning to replace the system. I was appointed Project Manager for the Project.

The first installation of PROST was done in March 1982, the next one in February 1983 and the last one in May 1984. The Project was finished on time and on budget. Further development of PROST was started immediately and has been going on since then. The major part of changes and enhancements was due to structural changes of the company and the Product Program. We switched from agricultural machines to construction machinery in a few years time. Volvo BM became a Group of Companies and an international enterprise by merging with American and other companies. The name of the enterprise changed from Volvo BM to VME (Volvo-Michigan-Euclid) to Volvo CE (Volvo Construction Equipment) with Wheel Loaders, Articulated Haulers, Rigid Haulers, Excavators, Graders etc of all sizes on the product program.
PROST is still, 2006, the common PDM application within Volvo CE and will probably not be replaced during the next three - four years. PROST has been enhanced and supplemented with a few new functions in more modern technique, but still on mainframe.

In 1992 I began to look for ways to enhance the system with a Document Management Application primarily related to Parts and Part Versions included Cad created documents. Somewhat later I became aware of the fact that it was now possible to acquire PDM commercial applications. PDM had become a buzzword. I also found out that most of the other Volvo Companies were investigating similar ideas. In June 1995 I had the honor to arrange the first meeting with delegates from all Volvo Companies where we discussed a common approach to PDM. We all had old legacy PDM systems (15 - 20 years old) and they would be much older before we would have a chance to replace them. And we needed a whole lot of new functionality.

I became involved in the Volvo PDM Project right from the start. I was one of the most experienced people with experience from several companies within Volvo and outside. The PDM applications investigated as possible replacements for the legacy PDM applications did not have very much to offer apart from more modern technique like: client-server, infra structure, GUI etc. The old legacy applications (home brew) offered more usefulness to the users than the brand new PDM Vendor applications! However, the Vendor applications offered some functionality which we could not afford to develop our self and some which it would be stupid to develop our self.

I have been engaged in the specification of the Volvo PDM Requirements in the form of a business model with pertaining business rules. I have also been working with IBM/Dassault/Enovia in order to specify the Volvo Requirements on the Enovia applications. This work has been carried out in a Requirements Team together with representatives from the other Volvo Companies and some qualified modeling expertise from EuroSTEP.

Life was still interesting at the age of 63 and I still could learn a lot. In November 1998 I decided to stay in Eskilstuna and continue to work with Volvo CE. I discontinued my work with the Volvo/Enovia PDM Project. One reason for this was my family and being tired of all the traveling. Another reason was that the project became political: too much influence from IBM and Dassault, too many turfs to defend, and internal fights etc. There was also a new challenge that had popped up: new and adapted applications for Embedded Software (ESW) in the VCE Products. It became very urgent and important to develop the supporting applications to ESW and I was assigned the job as Project Manager for the development of these. Besides, I had a whole lot of very nice colleagues in Eskilstuna!

After 42 years with Volvo in different countries and in different positions and with very different tasks I was retired according to the general agreements between the "Unions" in Sweden December 2000. About half a year later a new law allowed people to continue their employments until 67 years of age. However, I founded my small consultancy firm right after retirement. I'm in a good position to offer my skill and experience as a consultant for many years to come. That is as long as I can maintain my wits and good health.

In January 2001, immidiately after my retirement, I got an assignment with Volvo Graders in Canada as a Project Coordinator for the implementation of ESW in their Products. This assignment lasted for about 1½ year. Since then I have had assignments with Volvo IT that beside the work at the office in Eskilstuna, Sweden, took me to Korea, Canada, France and Germany. I had one assignment in Germany in May 2004. I also have been assigned during 2005 and 2006 by Volvo CE Components in Eskilstuna as an expert on the "Central ESW Applications" and of course PROST. My latest assignment was wil Volvo Road machinery in Hameln, Germany. I assisted in Adapting their internal applications and interfacing these to the central applications for ESW. This work was terminated early 2009.  
I'm still open for an offer to participate in any interesting project.

By the way, PROST is still very much up and running. New users are still being educated and new Products and Options are still updated and maintained in PROST. This was the size of the PROST applications in 2004.
A replacement of a Part-related subsystem was implemneted fall 2006. However, it will still take several years to have a full replacement. Of course, PROST is not exact what is required to-day. But many of the functions as such, despite a technique that is regarded by some as obsolete, are very good.  - -  and it is running at an extremely low cost compared to the commercial PRD/LCM/PLM applications of to-day! There are also functions that should have been replaced many years ago since the Product complexity has outgrown the available logic.

My business Isene PDM Projections is open for new assignments provided they appear to be some kind of a challenge.