Vehicle manufacture

In the late 1980s attempts were made in California to shift fuel use to methanol in order to capture the air quaHty benefits of the reduced photochemical reactivity of the emissions from methanol-fueled vehicles. Proposed legislation would mandate that some fraction of the sales of each vehicle manufacturer be capable of using methanol, and that fuel suppHers ensure that methanol was used in these vehicles. The legislation became a study of the California Advisory Board on Air QuaHty and Fuels. The report of the study recommended a broader approach to fuel quaHty and fuel choice that would define environmental objectives and allow the marketplace to determine which vehicle and fuel technologies were adequate to meet environmental objectives at lowest cost and maximum value to consumers. The report directed the California ARB to develop a regulatory approach that would preserve environmental objectives by using emissions standards that reflected the best potential of the cleanest fuels. 

Vehicle manufacturers must build cars and tmcks that operate well on available fuels. They also specify the fuel requirements of their vehicles. Euel marketers must produce fuels that operate in both new and old vehicles. The consumer, the purchaser of the fuel and the vehicle, wants the fuel to be affordable, readily available, and able to provide a high level of performance. Regulators check that fuels are labeled properly and meaninghilly and that no unwarranted claims are made. They also regulate emissions from vehicles as well as the fuels used. 

These ZEV vehicles are envisioned to be electric battery vehicles (see Batteries, secondary cells-other). The California fleet average standards are to be met by spiling combinations of various classes of vehicles. Manufacturers must certify their new cars in one of the categories shown. The sales weighted average for a given year must then be at or below the standard shown in Table 8. 

WorldMotor Vehicle Data, 1992 Edition, Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association of the U.S. A., Inc., Detroit, Mich., 1992. 

Future brakes must satisfy health standards and most vehicle manufacturers have moved toward removing all asbestos from brakes. Lighter weight rotors and caUpers based on aluminum-based metal-matrix materials are also on the horizon for lighter vehicles requiring a whole new family of compatible friction materials. 

A key success factor for reducing the costs and lead times for vehicle manufacturers, for example, is the degree of integration of the suppliers within the product development process. This is seen as a natural extension to concurrent engineering principles (Wyatt et al., 1998). For many years, in engineering companies, a substantial proportion of the finished product, typically two thirds, consists of components or subassemblies produced by suppliers (Noori and Radford, 1995). 

Galt, J. D. A. and Dale, B. G. 1990 The Customer-Supplier Relationship in the Motor Industry a vehicle manufacturer s perspective. Proc. Instn Mech. Engrs, 204, 179-186. 

Wyatt, C. M., Evans, S. and Foxley, K. 1998 The Integration of Vehicle Manufacturers and their Suppliers Prior to Product Development. In Proceedings EDC 98. Bury St Edmunds Professional Engineering Publishing, 613-620. 

There are several joint ventures, such as the Multi Purpose Vehicles (MPV) that Ford, Nissan, and VW produce exactly the same vehicle with slight modifications. Ford, Seat, and VW also produce a common MPV and there are several partnerships, such as Rover engines being supplied to Proton, Ford, and Honda. Lada get their chassis from Fiat and their engines from GM. Mitsubishi build the Carisma in Holland in the same plant that Volvo build the S40. The Porche Boxster is assembled in Finland by the same company that assembles the Saab 9-3 cabriolet, and so on. One cannot be sure who owns the company that makes your car, where the components come from, and where it is assembled. What matters is that it meets your needs and expectations and this can only be achieved if there are some common systems in use in each of the countries, so that who owns who and who builds what becomes irrelevant to customer confidence. It is reported that within 20 years there may only be six vehicle manufacturers left in the world. ... 

In 1996, an International Automotive Task Force was established, comprising representatives of the vehicle manufactures and trade associations from the Americas and Europe (see Figure 1.1). 

With one global scheme, disparities between the various schemes employed at a national level should be eliminated. This will give a vehicle manufacturer in one country procuring product from another country the same level of confidence as would be obtained had the product been procured from the home country. This will be achieved by ... 

Employing witness auditors sponsored by the vehicle manufacturers and first tier suppliers to verify that the scheme is working effectively... 

Many subcontractors supply product or services to several vehicle manufacturers. Therefore by harmonizing the standards by which subcontractor development will be conducted, variations in the approach to subcontractors will be minimal. 

It is stated in the standard that the standard can also be applied throughout the automotive supply chain. This implies that vehicle manufacturers should apply the requirements to their own operations, but obviously such application is voluntary. In due course, ISO/TS 16949 will become a condition of any contract to supply products and services to the vehicle manufacturers. The supply chain includes vehicle distribution and dealers. However, it is not intended that ISO/TS 16949 be applied beyond the vehicle manufacturers at this time. 

The certification business has grown enormously in the last ten years. The International Accreditation Forum (lAF) recorded 616 accredited certification bodies in January 1999. The experience of the vehicle manufacturers with ISO 9000 certification led them to question the wisdom of so many certification bodies chasing the same business in a competitive market. The results seemed to indicate that cost reductions by the certification bodies led to a decline in the quality of auditing and that was the opposite of what the vehicle manufacturers wanted. The vehicle manufacturers had not seen a significant rise in product quality as a result of ISO 9000 and they believed this was partially due to the quality of the accreditation and certification schemes being operated as well as inadequacies in the quality system standard. When the four national automotive schemes were launched, great emphasis was placed on regulating more closely the accreditation and certification schemes. From a customer perspective, the ISO 10011 scheme had some particular problems ... 

In brief, the auditor has to be qualified by lATF to perform the audits and, to be eligible for qualification, the auditor has to be sponsored by an lATF-approved certification body that is subject to witness audits performed by qualified auditors from vehicle manufacturers. Such measures will inevitably improve the quality of certification offered by certification bodies and will be good for the global automotive industry. 

The trade associations that are members of lATF perform an assurance function and have set up a panel to administer certification activities in their country. This involves witness audits of certification bodies to verify that they are adhering to the lATF agreement. They will monitor the scheme on behalf of the vehicle manufacturers in ensuring that certificates are only awarded to organizations that are 100% compliant with the requirements. These activities should provide added confidence that the certification bodies are fulfilling their obligations. 

We will comply with NMLs policies and procedures for quality assurance activities. In addition we will develop our own ideas to improve upon NML requirements. We will set quality targets and objectives in line with corporate standards. In support of achieving customer satisfaction we will seek to achieve product conformity by carrying out quality assurance activities at all stages of vehicle manufacture - from planning through to vehicle sales. 

Since 1994, the automotive industry in the USA and Europe has been operating quality system certification schemes that extended the requirements of ISO 9001, ISO 10011, and EN 45012. One of these schemes was addressed by my QS-9000 Quality S /stems Handbook, published in 1996. In the same year the automakers of the USA and Europe formed the International Automotive Task Force (lATF) which, in cooperation with the technical committee of the International Organization of Standardization (TO 176), produced ISO/TS 16949. Use of and registration to this new standard is currently voluntary. It is intended that following the first revision to incorporate ISO 9000 2000, the ISO/TS 16949 certification scheme will be mandated by all major vehicle manufacturers on their Tier 1 suppliers. As a result, the standard will be cascaded along the supply chain, ultimately reaching all suppliers to the global automotive industry. 

Another important set of performance specifications is produced by the European Vehicle Manufacturers Association, known by its initials CCMC. The CCMC rating G-1 corresponds roughly to API SE, and G-2 to API SF. G-3 (comparable to M1L-L-46152B, for petrol engines only) covers fuel-efficient and light-viscosity lubricants... 

A good example is the relationship between GM at their truck and bus plant in Janesville Wisconsin, and one of their Tier 1 suppliers BetzDearborn. The agreement covers water treatment chemicals, paint, lubricants, commodity chemicals and solvents. For a fixed fee per vehicle manufactured, plus some additional service fees, BetzDearborn provides the following services ... 

MVMA. 1992. National gasoline fuel survey. Detroit, MI Motor Vehicles Manufacturers ... 

More efficient use of energy, especially at the point of end use in power plants, transportation vehicles, manufacturing processes, commercial buildings and... 

Although it may be difficult, more cooperation is required between vehicle manufacturers, fuel producers, and the government. The infrastructure for the production and delivery of the fuels can evolve as needed with free market forces providing most of the momentum. But, there will need to be a coordination of selections of fuels and the adjustments needed to run those fuels. 

---