Advanced Lightweight Materials Summit

TopicWeighing the costs of Light Weight Material Implementation

Thomas TurnerNicholas NicksonAshley Turner8/28/2012

My policy is to grow my clients Bottom Line by educating their people and improving their processes.

Author’s Comment

Truths we should hold to be self-evident

•It takes 10,000 working hours in a given trade to become competent.•Warranty Costs combined for Supplier and OEMs are 10-15 Billion Yearly.•Warranty costs are split between Suppliers and OEMs fairly evenly.•By 2016 Café Standards will have driven us all to extremes in vehicle lightweighting.•Lightweighting of vehicles encompasses all the raw materials used to make the vehicle/components.•Experience of those needing to do lightweighting of vehicles requires extensive knowledge of manufacturing and materials.

What we are going to do today?

•Discuss problems we find in the current Engineering/Manufacturing models.

•Define where we want to be in the future.

•Define a generic mass reduction model

Problems in the USA Manufacturing/Engineering models.

Problems in the USA Manufacturing/Engineering model.

Lets start with what we know

•Product Knowledge resides in the Supply base but critical guidance of usage lives within the OEMs..•Between 2008 and 2012 a terrific experience loss occurred due to the economic downturn.•We know that our industries have trouble with reoccurring mistakes.•We know that Cost and Weight reduction efforts sometimes stall and provide poor results.•We know that with the introduction of new technology, a great deal of our Engineering efforts are becoming more computerized. As a result our Engineers are doing more Program Management.

Both Suppliers and OEMS agree that manpower is the biggest issue in Lightweighting , Lowering Cost, and Improving Quality. I believe it’s also quality and use of those people.

Problems in the USA Manufacturing/Engineering model.

What can we fix that would affect what we know?•Separation of Engineering and Manufacturing needs to be re-thought.•Bundling of efforts is the key to success in paying for and realizing weight reduction, cost reduction, and quality improvements.•Leadership needs to be granted based on experience and team building.

Problems in the USA Manufacturing/Engineering model.

What can we fix that would affect what we know?•Separation of Engineering and Manufacturing not such a good idea.

Current product lifecycle model –Advanced Engineering - Product Engineering – Manufacturing develops process for manufacture - Launch

Proposed- Blended Manufacturing and Engineering develop product while developing process – launch

Major Change- 30% of Engineering staff needs to be populated with Manufacturing specialists.

Problems in the USA Manufacturing/Engineering model.

Current Model “worst case”

Engineer 3,000 hrs

experienceProduct A

Engineer Supervisor 5,000 hrs

experienceProduct A

Engineer Manager 10,000 hrs experienceProduct A

Proposed Model “worst case”

Engineer10,000 hrs experienceProduct A

Engineer Supervisor 15,000 hrs experienceProduct A

Engineer Manager 20,000 hrs experienceProduct A

The Truth

Significant savings in weight are being achieved through the use of multiple material combinations. However, we can not expect novices to think outside the box and succeed when average success is a struggle .

Problems in the USA Manufacturing/Engineering model.

I find team building to be lacking in most of our medium to large corporations.I have had great success in helping teams to grow with a fewsimple rules:

1. As the leader I will enthusiastically take the blame for all things done wrong by the group.2. Praise loud and often .3. Use humor to relieve social pressure.4. Care for the success of all under you.5. Explain what you want from your people and give examples so when they know when they are doing right and when

they are doing wrong.6. Make fun of yourself. Self depreciative humor connects people through vulnerability.7. Willingly work for your employee as a subordinate when they need help. i.e. jump in and crunch numbers or carry

parts for them.

Problems in the USA Manufacturing/Engineering model.

Bundling:

Why bet it all on one card?

Weight Reduction Model

Weight Reduction model

1. Establish the rules2. Gather data3. Gather the team4. Associate data with Specialists5. Target areas of opportunity6. Make the changes7. Validate

Establish the Rules

The goal is to have the Weight Reduction effort provide a more effective, lighter vehicle at lower cost.

The contract agreed to by all the participants is key for defining success. This contract will incorporate the following:

• Length of cycle.• Set up repeat effort with lessons learned.• Use of projected savings to offset current

expenses.• Understanding that validation of what we have

currently is a success also.• Final decision process for implementation (Bullet

proof)

Establish the RulesPart 2.

Bundle for success –

•Reduce Carbon Footprint•Reduce Raw Material usage•Increase throughput•Lower Material Costs•Increase product life•Lower Running Costs•Simplify Assembly •Prepare for secondary efforts•Explore and use tax advantages

Gather the data

Information:

• Warranty/Repair history • Understand raw material utilization • Categorize components by manufacturing process• Group Common products for bundling• Review cost and process at suppliers• Conduct Transportation evaluation• Define safety items• Define injuries and vehicle failures in use• Review supplier weight and cost reduction ideas• Interview users• Comparative analysis with other vehicles• Software update process, cycle, and cost

How you incorporate this information will greatly affect speed and success of this effort.

Gather the team

The team should be biased based on the content of the vehicle and cost content.

Minimum requirements:WelderFabricatorCasting SpecialistPlastics SpecialistMachinistEstimatorElectrical Specialist Software SpecialistBuyerCeramics specialist

Associate data with Specialist teams

WelderFabricatorCasting SpecialistPlastics SpecialistMachinistEstimatorElectrical Specialist Software SpecialistBuyer Flat sheet and formed metallic parts

-Analyze Repair and Warranty costs for cost reduction and functional improvement. -Validate Best Practice for the manufacture and joining of the parts.-Alternatives for improvement and cost reduction brain storming.-Compare estimated cost with real cost.-Financial evaluation of bundling components and shipping

The Success of these teams is greatly dependent on how the teams are scheduled and lead.

Daily –

Review of previous days progressIdentify road blocksList opportunities and days scheduleBreak into teams

Weekly group discussion-

Review whole vehicleUseSafety itemsVehicle requirementsBrain Storm

Review each other’s team progressSet goals for the week

Questions?