Basic EDMS concepts and information structures at CERN

Life-cycle support of a product such as an LHC detector from design and construction to maintenance, requires that the data describing the product is structured in a coherent manner. This note explains the basic concepts and objects in the Engineering Data Management System (EDMS) CADIM/EDB in use at CERN and gives some recommendations for how to structure information in Engineering projects in order to benefit the most from the functionality of an EDMS. Although using CERN specific examples, the paper also applies to other engineering projects and EDM systems.