Who needs driverless cars ? #automotive

driverless__mercedeslMercedes Benz has joined the herd of Automotive companies who have followed Google’s lead in developing autonomous (driverless) vehicles for use on public roads.

But where is the demand coming from ? Who actually wants driverless cars ? It may surprise but, according to a recent Government survey, over 46% of us do!

Maybe its the thought of an extra hours sleep on the daily commute or the desire to squeeze another couple of hours work time in our already busy days; perhaps we imagine driving on our congested roads will be more pleasurable if the car takes the strain instead of us – whatever the reasons there is no doubt that some time soon autonomous vehicles will be a common sight on our roads and the investment decisions of the major motor manufacturers will begin to make sense.

Once again Google will be praised by some & cursed by others, but there will be no denying the Organisations prescience.

Chris@amberhill.biz

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2014 – Year of Discovery……..#automotive

This year has been an extremely exciting & challenging one for me personally. In January 2014 I signed a 12 month contract with Tata Technologies as Lead Engineer in Exterior Trim developing & bringing to production Jaguar Land Rovers’s Freelander replacement the new ‘Discovery Sport’.

In January I was based in TTL’s Coventry office but spent a lot of time at JLR’s Browns Lane plant in the West Midlands, historical home of Jaguar Cars & now utilised as a Pilot Plant for small scale production.

Walking into Browns Lane was a great experience personally as I met many old friends from JLR having worked on the Range Rover Sport Programme. Although it is a large organization employing many thousands its amazing how many people you get to know working on a project for 18 months.

The pilot build is known as VP build & this stage of the process is very much a learning process. Some trim parts are still not ‘off tool’ & its all about capturing issues via the Automated Issues Management system. This AIMs system is used to track issues & ensure the proper fix is put in place before closure. It provides visibility to Senior Management & its administration is one of the Lead Engineer’s key tasks along with developing engineering solutions & working with key suppliers to ensure timely delivery of quality parts. Most issues require a PACN (to support financial justification) & a Engineering Release to implement the change. As most Engineers are responsible for numerous parts time is rapidly eroded before its time for the next build – Hard Tool Functional Build (HTFB)

This build took place at JLR’s Halewood plant where the Discovery Sport is to be mass produced & which was to be my base for the next 8 months.

Halewood is a large plant which covers several square miles & employs over 8,000 people.  Most of the Product Coaches & Line Engineers were involved in the Browns Lane builds so there were many familiar faces at Halewood as well as plenty new ones. Halewood is one of JLR’s centres of excellence & the Engineering knowledge here is second to none.

Over the next 8 months we embarked on a number of builds increasing in numbers & complexity. This is a very stressful period for all & the nearer Volume Launch approaches the pressure piles on.

It was with a mixture of relief & a great sense of achievement  when Volume Launch in December was achieved and cars began rolling off the production line at a rate of one every 40 seconds !!

It is important to recognise the economic importance of this model; Tata have invested hundreds of millions of pounds in this venture which has created several thousand jobs at Halewood & employed hundreds of thousands in the wider supply chain. With JLR’s commitment to source 60% of parts within a 40 mile radius the importance to the Regional Economy cannot be underestimated.

To play a small part in this great venture & to help take the Discovery Sport from initial concept to volume production brings a great sense of pride & achievement.
chris@amberhill.biz

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Developing an #Innovative society & generating growth

If we want to develop an innovative society we need look no further than Silicon Valley which is the most successful example on earth.1395308240_silicon-valley-sign-lgSilicon Valley has key attributes which are key to its success in generating billions of dollars in revenue & employing millions of talented Engineers who earn enviable salaries. These attributes are not immediately obvious:-

 

  • It may surprise many to learn that Silicon Valley has a strong military connection particularly with the U.S Navy, many early innovations were as a result of collaboration on Radio & communications systems leading to the Arpanet the direct forerunner of todays Internet. Some of todays smartest innovative individuals work in the Defence Industry.
  • The presence of an Internationally renowned eduction establishment – Princeton – has been key to the ‘Valleys’ success. Princeton has developed & encouraged technically educated entrepreneurs to start & grow numerous successful enterprises.The U.K has some of the world’s leading Institutes, unfortunately recent government policy seems to make it increasingly unviable to survive economically as a Student.
  • People may be surprised to learn that Silicon Valley is the home to numerous large Law firms who’s accessibility has allowed start ups to quickly resolve disputes & grow rapidly.
  • Over 30% of residents are immigrants. The ability to welcome International migrants who are highly skilled & educated creating a multinational society of entrepreneurs & Engineers is a key component to success. Perhaps this could provide a solution to the UK’s ‘boats’ problem which often transport enterprising individuals who could be put to good use in the Economy rather than housed in run down hotels at huge taxpayer expense.
  • There are many Venture Capital firms in the area which provide key access to funding to ensure prosperity & growth.

All of these key components are essential if an Innovative Society is to thrive & grow generating huge revenue & employment prospects.

Chris@amberhill.biz

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Developing an Innovative society

workersMost commentators agree that in order to maintain a wealth generating society which grows & generates enough tax revenue to support our Western lifestyles with its social security & healthcare systems we cannot do so by producing things which are cheaper than everyone else. This is a race to the bottom. In order to thrive we need to Innovate by developing high value added products and services to be sold at a premium price in the market place. So how do we go about developing a society which thrives on Innovation.

It all begins in school – if we want an Innovative society it makes no sense to invest a disproportionate  amount of resources educating a wealthy elite. Currently less than 10% of children in the UK are privately educated but end up as the majority of board members, judiciary, Upper Management, journalists etc etc This is foolish in the extreme & teaches those of greater aptitude but less wealth not to waste their efforts educating themselves to reach the heights of society. If we truly want an Innovative society we need more meritocracy which rewards effort rather than class.

We also need to radically overhaul the education system. Instead of teaching children how to pass exams we should teach them how to THINK.

Innovation never thrives in a rigidly structured organisation with lots & lots of layers. A flat structure of 5 layers maximum from shop floor to CEO works best. Just look around at successful innovative organisations – Apple, Dyson, Microsoft, Google – all have a flat structure.

More on this in the next post.

chris@amberhill.biz

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Capitalism is dead ? #innovation

maker-labA recent article in New Scientist described how underfunded Libraries in the US, which have been particularly badly hit since the Great Recession are starting to set aside space for small workshops called ‘Maker Labs’
These spaces contain 3D printers & other tools & equipment enabling budding entrepreneurs to design & build their own innovative products.

I’m not sure if a similar trend is apparent in the UK but it is certainly true the recession has spawned a large increase in self employment & this is not just peoples desperation but rather a desire for independence & self determination.

Capitalism may not be dying but it feels like we’re entering an exciting new phase of individual entrepreneurship & small collective innovation – who knows where it will lead?
Chris@amberhill.biz
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Jaguar Land Rover goes from strength to strength #innovation

evoque2This week Jaguar Land Rover released the following press statement:-

‘JLR creates 250 new jobs as Halewood is confirmed as the home of the new Discovery Sport
The Land Rover Discovery Sport has been confirmed as the latest model to be produced at Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant. The additional jobs announced to support Jaguar Land Rover’s newest model will see the Halewood workforce reach 4,750 – more than treble the number employed there in 2010. The Halewood plant has benefited from a £200 million investment to support introduction of the first member of the all-new Land Rover Discovery family, taking the total amount invested in Halewood over the last four years to almost £500 million.’
 
So why are JLR doing so well when volume manufacturers like General Motors Vauxhall and other Marques are struggling:-
 
1) JLR are taking advantage of a global rise in premium SUV’s driven, to a large extent, by the Chinese market.
 
2) Their customers are relatively well off & have higher disposable income.
 
3) They have targeted the export market, with over 80% of sales destined for overseas.
 
4) Their Quality standards are superior, the attention to detail is exceptional .
 
5) They have an excellent engineering pedigree with a stable workforce with many, many years experience. There is no other company in the World knows as much about four wheel drive systems as Land Rover.
 
6) Jaguar Land Rover has a flexible business model & employs many talented & experienced engineering contractors. 
 
7) They use a proven stage gate development process (described in an earlier post)
 
8) They have enjoyed massive Capital Investment from Tata investing over 2.75 billion pounds in 2014. Not bad for an organisation which was on its knees before the Tata takeover.
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Are you a headless chicken?………………….#innovation

You must be doing something really important eh ? running around like a headless chicken all day putting those fires out. You haven’t got time to headless-chickenthink about future products because your far too busy fixing the current ones!
But hang on a minute……if your not focusing on those future products where is your future revenue coming from when all the old ones become obsolete?

How do you escape this vicious circle ?

  • Keep a timesheet to find out how much time you spend fire fighting & how much on future products.
  • You will probably find it’s 80/20
  • To turn this around you need to gradually increase the time you spend on future product development  to 80%
  • Resist the urge to persist in fire fighting.
  • As time progresses the time you spend on fire fighting will decrease because you have put more effort into your future product development, getting it right first time and minimising the need for fire fighting.

so, are you a headless chicken ?
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Stage gate process aids product development #pmot

ISO9001designprocessIn the Automotive# industry thousands of individual components are designed, developed, prototyped, tested and tuned silmultaneously to be brought together as a finished car which has to meet exacting standards for safety, perfomance and reliability.

An incredible feat of engineering and project management which is made possible by the effective use of a rigorous stage gate process based on ISO9001 . Here the output of one stage has to meet pre-defined standards before the project is allowed to move to the next stage.

The key to continued success is the fine tuning of the process itself based on ‘lessons learned’ from previous projects.
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What is #Quality ?….

RolexQuality has a number of definitions, ‘fit for purpose’, ‘exceeding expectations’ ‘meeting specifications’. It can be a tricky thing to measure but we all know it when we perceive it.

Take a Rolex watch for example, the materials used in its construction, its finish, its mechanical integrity all tell us it is  a ‘Quality’ item – this is naturally reflected in its price.

Although lots of fakes exist it is impossible to replicate the original without investing the same levels of workmanship and materials into it’s manufacture. This gives us a clue as to the origin of the Quality of the object. It lies in the specification & manufacture of the object within a given set of tolerances.

This is reflected in the luxury end of the automotive industry where body panels are specified as beng within a tight dimensional tolerance which in previous generations of product may have been deemed impossible.

Such tolerances lead to a vehicle which is perceived as high Quality without the buyer neccesarily understanding why.

So, if we can capture the expectations of the customer & translate them into product specifications with tolerances we can design & build something which has increased added value & perceived customer Quality.

 

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10 tips to minimize cost at the Design stage….

Bizplan03All companies need to be mindful of costs & for those producing products this is best done at the Design stage. Here are some suggestions:-

 

  • Before beginning the design a Product Specification is essential, this needs to have been agreed at Senior Management level.
  • The product design needs to meet the spec and no more.
  • The material choice is critical, why make it out of gold if steel will do.
  • Use minimum thickness, as long as the design meets the spec.
  • Reduce the number of components as much as possible.
  • Re-use existing design components wherever possible – this gives Purchasing negotiating strength over suppliers and reduces inventory.
  • Consider Manufacturing by minimizing the number of process steps in manufacture.
  • Hold regular Design reviews & involve other parts of the Organization.
  • Build a prototype to test the design.
  • If possible test the Design using Computer Aided Modelling.

If you need help minimizing cost at the Design stage feel free to get in touch.
chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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