DIVISION Inc. Announces Agreement With Genicom Consultants to Resell Safework Human Modeling Software.

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 1998--

Strategic Agreement Enhances DIVISION's Enterprise-Wide Data Access Environment With Addition of Anthropometrically Correct Manikin 

DIVISION Inc., the world's leading developer of engineering data access tools, announced that it has become a world-wide reseller of SAFEWORK, the leading human modeling software from Genicom Consultants Inc. SAFEWORK will be offered as a complementary product to DIVISION's market-leading dVISE Interactive Product Simulation software.

SAFEWORK creates anthropometrically-correct virtual humans that can be used to test the human factors of a product before it is built, reducing the requirement for expensive and time-consuming physical prototypes. SAFEWORK contains a comprehensive suite of analysis tools that can be used to examine posture, reach, comfort, strength, lifting and vision.

"DIVISION is partnering with the world's leading provider of human modeling solutions to satisfy the exacting Human Factors requirements of our customers," said Charles Grimsdale, CEO, DIVISION. "SAFEWORK allows the user to analyze a human's ability to function within an imported CAD design to ensure that the final design is optimized in terms of the target audience."

SAFEWORK can import and export solid geometry from a wide range of CAD systems including CATIA, CADDS, Pro/ENGINEER, EUCLID, AutoCAD and SDRC I-DEAS, enabling designers to cost-effectively analyze their CAD design using virtual humans and ergonomic principles. The imported CAD design remains intact with its object hierarchy so that individual parts can be exported back to the host CAD system and adapted as necessary.

"In addition to six default manikins, SAFEWORK can create, by means of an

'Anthropometry Module,' any human being from any population anywhere in the world by defining up to 103 anthropometric variables on the manikin," Mr. Jones added. "Using its unique multi-normal technique for generating relationships between specified anthropometric variables, the software ensures that the virtual human is a very close simulation of humans in the real, or target, population. Many detailed validation studies have been undertaken, resulting in a 97 percent accuracy of the manikin."

Although SAFEWORK was built to analyze CAD designs imported from a host of CAD systems, it also possesses some basic CAD tools to create simple geometric objects including spheres, cubes, cones, ellipsoids. All of these objects can be attached, detached and animated in conjunction with manikins and imported designs.

In addition to generating an accurate virtual human, SAFEWORK permits designers to investigate detailed Human Factors issues such as the ability to install, operate, maintain and dismantle a product. A Vision Module displays the manikin's vision allowing the designer to 'see' what the manikin sees. SAFEWORK also features a collision detection module that enables the SAFEWORK user to detect, verify, analyze and simulate physical contact between two objects in the scene.

"This strategic partnership is the first step of a long-term relationship that will benefit customers of both DIVISION and SAFEWORK by allowing them to create a Virtual MockUp of a product while ensuring its optimization from both an industrial engineering and a human factors standpoint," said Robert Carrier, general manager of Genicom's subsidiary, Safework inc.

"The technical edge of the dVISE products, combined with their comprehensive product structure from WEB visualizer to extensive and immersive mock-up capabilities, has made DIVISION a strategic partner of choice for us," Mr. Carrier added. About Genicom

Genicom Consultants (http://www.safework.com) was founded in 1984 and quickly became a North American leader in human factors consulting. Genicom's subsidiary Safework inc., is the world's leading provider of advanced human modeling software solutions. SAFEWORK's unique and powerful features have made it the turnkey human modeling solution of choice in leading aerospace, automotive, military and industrial companies by providing accurate, quantified and cost-effective human-centered analysis. The company's worldwide headquarters are located in Montreal, Canada. SAFEWORK's products are sold worldwide through an ever-expanding sales and distribution network. SAFEWORK's prestigious client list includes: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Motors, Chrysler, United Defence, FMC, Canadian Army, French Army, Canadian Navy, the Canadian National Railway, Loral Federal Systems, Aerospatiale (France), the Canadian Space Agency, DMRI (Defence Medical Research Institute, Singapore), Samsung SDS Co. Ltd. (S. Korea). About DIVISION

DIVISION (http://www.DIVISION.com) is the world's leading developer of engineering data access tools which enable industrial and research leaders to communicate more effectively through visualization and Interactive Product Simulation of product designs. DIVISION customers include Airbus, Boeing, British Aerospace, Daimler Benz, Ford, General Dynamics, John Deere, Lever Brothers, Lockheed Martin, NASA, Toyota and United Defence. DIVISION's dVISE product family currently runs on Sun, HP, SGI and Windows NT and '95 platforms. DIVISION's stock (DVG) is traded on the London Stock Exchange and worldwide headquarters are located in Bristol, UK, with US headquarters in San Mateo, Calif.

Note to Editors: dVISE is a trademark of Division Group Plc. Other product names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks and or registered trademarks of their respective companies.