Analysis of product development toolsets for electrical distribution systems in the automotive industry : a study inside an original equipment manufacturer

Abstract

A study was performed to understand the definition and utilization of a key product development enabler, the tools, in the development of Electrical Distribution Systems inside a sample Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). The primary purpose of this study was to take in in-depth look at the integration of the system of tools utilized by the commodity department in the development of Electrical Distribution Systems components, and then to identify opportunities for establishing a more efficient system of tools for the compliance of requirements. The study focused on the deliverables required in the fulfillment of requirements as the element for critical comparison. That comparison consisted of the utilization of the current system of tools versus the desired system of tools-a desire system resulting from the fulfillment of requirements that would constitute a "Utopia System". The mapping of deliverables to requirements, and the processing linkage among them were based in the definition of inputs and outputs already identified by the sample OEM for the development of this specific commodity; and the mapping of deliverables to the utilization of tools was enabled by experiential inputs of the author as well as insights gained from interviews with employees at the sample OEM. Structural representations allowed for a better and thorough comprehension of the mapping of deliverables and provided a foundation for understanding the challenges embedded in the desired objective: clustering existing tools for an improved and more effectual integration. Specifically, the mapping of deliverables to the utilization of the current system of tools, allowed for the analysis of efficiency levels and the identification of opportunities for redundancy avoidance. Considering the challenges and sudden changes constantly faced by those in the automotive industry, including those of this OEM, the proposal for optimizing the system of tools was based on network metric comparisons between the current system of tools and the desired system of tools. The proposal for integrating a better system of tools then concluded with a step-by-step plan that could be utilized as an approach for continuous improvement of this key enabler of the product development process-the tools. The desire of this "vision" would be that such optimization would then lead to performance metrics improvements for the EDS department and the product development organization as a whole.