Articles talking about in-depth topics such as terminology, policies, and work actions within the automotive industry. Here you will find inside information on what you need to know as an automotive engineer and help you to talk the talk.
In my career as a Program Manager I’ve had many long conversations with our Materials Planning organizations. It seems, that no matter how much we coordinate the development activities during the early phases of our products as we approach the prototype and pilot stages where all parts must be representative of the end product, we are constantly waiting for parts …
Have you ever wondered why the light came on when you flipped a switch? Or puzzled over the wiring of two-way light switch when you were a child? Did you disassemble the family radio or reprogram the computer? Do you take apart and reassemble every electronic gadget you come across? If any of these areas sound familiar then a career …
Many of us have seen the popular TV series “The Walking Dead” which portray the stories and lives of people who are trapped in a zombie apocalypse but most importantly feature the ever present zombies. The concept of zombies seems to fascinate people worldwide with their mindless wandering and constant craving for living flesh. These mindless walking dead victims have …
Imagine you are stranded on a desert island and you have infinite amounts of sand, palm trees and salt water. However without the means to put them all together into something that will help you to escape the island, these raw materials mean nothing. You need a saw to cut down the trees and ropes to bind them together, fresh …
It has been said that we should work in order to live and not the other way around but if you are an automobile fanatic then why not consider combining your love for automobiles with a job in the automotive engineering field? When you decide that you want to combine a passion with a career and make a living in …
Automotive manufacturing engineers spend considerable time and effort designing a manufacturing process but in order to ensure the processes are capable and ready to go to production there needs to be a gauge. The process capability index is the statistical calculation that manufacturing engineers employ to assess the statistical capability of the manufacturing process to produce high quality products that …
The vehicles that we driver are engineering marvels that include numerous features designed to keep us safe and protected from harm as we go about our daily lives. Many safety features are obvious such as seatbelts and specially designed car seats for children but there are others that only become apparent in emergency situations such as airbags, seat belt pretensioners …
You hear it in the news almost every day: Volvo issues recall of 116,000 vehicles for front suspension issue, Honda recalls 440,000 cars for potentially defective airbags, GM recalls 8.4 million vehicles for ignition switch issue. And it’s not just the top level OEMs that are subject to recalls, Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers can be impacted such as …
Have you ever gone to a party you thought was supposed to be informal and arrived to see everyone in tuxedos? Or have you shown up for a dinner party only to learn it was moved to a day earlier? When everyone in the party is not included in key changes then you will miss the party or not have …
Everyone has seen car commercials on TV and been amazed at how the new features are carefully staged to give the vehicle an ethereal glamor to the potential buyer but very few commercials will give you the honest truth about a new vehicle. Could you imagine a car commercial that showed a legitimate owner discussing their experience with purchasing? Customer …
Whenever you have a detailed process with many steps, missing just one step can have disastrous results on the end product. Consider when you bake a cake; you must add all the ingredients in the correct order, blend them thoroughly, prepare the pans, bake at the correct temperature and for the appropriate amount of time and then allow them to …
Have you ever tried to sleep when a faucet was dripping in the other room or with an unbalanced fan making clicking noises as it hits interference when it runs? These obnoxious noises are difficult to ignore when you are trying to get a good night’s sleep but at least you can easily repair the leaky faucet or even turn …
When we bake a cake there is a temperature monitor on the oven to keep the temperature constant for proper cooking or the hot water heaters in homes are set to a max temperature to protect people from burning. There are even limits set on the max temperature coffee can be served at to protect restaurants from lawsuits. Each of …
Countries have constitutions that define the operating parameters for their lands and set the basis to govern their people. Religions have bibles and religious documents that outline the basis of their faith and expectations for their believers. The Automotive Industry has also established guidelines for quality management during the design, development and production of automotive products. If you are learning how …
Have you ever watched a home makeover show where a miracle worker comes into a cluttered and disorganized home and magically transforms the living space into an organized efficient home? Well in the automotive industry there is a similar process that is used to transform an inefficient process into a streamlined one that reduces waste in both materials and manpower. …
There are slogans in the world that have become synonymous with a reliable, high quality product like “a diamond is forever” for diamond jewelry, “don’t leave home without it” for a reliable credit card and even “takes a licking and keeps on ticking” describing a durable watch. When you talk about automotive manufacturing the phrase ‘six sigma’ has become the …
Working in the engineering world is about analyzing and solving problems that we face with our designs, production lines and even in our environments as we work to build the highest quality automobiles in the industry. When we are faced with a problem, using an established problem solving process will help us to analyze the issue in the most thorough, …
Have you ever visited someone’s home and tried to find a fork in their kitchen and it wasn’t in the drawer you would have expected? Or when you order your favorite dish in a restaurant only to find the chef didn’t use the same ingredients? Inconsistency can be frustrating in everyday life but when it comes to manufacturing automobiles if …
Do you remember when you were young and you pulled out the map to help your parents plan the family vacation? There was a scale on the map giving you the amount of miles per inch so we took a piece of string and ran it along with our route on the map to determine the distance based on the …
When special ops forces prepare for a mission they begin by gathering as much information about their target as they can find. They look at maps and building blueprints and analyze entrance, exits and potential hiding spots. During the product approval process They go through the entire mission and practice each person’s role in the operation looking at weak points in …