A huge challenge for the automotive industry today is the reduction of development time to be able to quicker respond to the constant change in customer's growing flexible lifestyle and other demands. With the increase of CAX tools, engineering partner's development tasks become more and more parallel, which saves time. A further step of time reduction is the elimination of hardware stages and learning cycles, enabled by capable virtual development. The traditional drivers of development evolution - the hardware stages - are history. A new process with efficient math tools must be defined to steer the Virtual Development. In the first step Virtual gates (Virtual Vehicle Assessments) are introduced to support the key engineering milestones. Second: measurable development tasks across all virtually working partners are defined in line with the required stage dependent data quality, data maturity and availability. Third: development directions, innovations and data are synchronized regularly along the Process. Beside the Virtual Vehicle Development process itself, capability must be continuously established and increased. A 'Road-Lab-Math' strategy is introduced to consequently reduce prototype tests by simulations as part of the overall 'Virtual Engineering'. This new approach to develop vehicles changes the development organizations overall. Technology, Process and People have to change. The latter is the key challenge to having success. Introduction of 'Virtual Engineering' in GM was supported by a set of initiatives to gain peoples and organization's buy in. With the current status for instance General Motor Europe's overall efficiency of development effort was improved over the past 5 years by more than 50% with a major impact from Virtual Engineering site.
Integrated and global virtual vehicle development. Virtual engineering in General Motors Europe
2008
13 Seiten, 7 Bilder
Conference paper
English
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