Automotive
The automotive industry is one of the most complex and challenging in the world. Supply chain management is extraordinarily difficult, given the fast pace, high volume of parts being produced and the just-in-time nature of manufacturing. Statistical process control is critical when billions of parts are being produced, and tolerances have to be tight -- a 1 in a million failure means hundreds of real-world product failures. And none of that accounts for the complications of operating in a global business environment.
OEMs work with thousands of suppliers around the world, so their hierarchy has to be incredibly detailed and interdependent. With so many moving parts – from huge internal teams and deep supply chains to the components in the vehicles themselves – precise and clear communication is needed to succeed. Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing is the de facto industry standard for, and you need to use it to meet the TS 16949 quality management system standard and pass your audits.
Not only that, having a universal standard for communication mitigates many of the challenges endemic to the industry, like dual sourcing components from different suppliers and dealing with staff turnover. When everyone has a consistent understanding of the drawings, you can prevent many disputes and deal with those that do occur much more quickly.
And GD&T ensures that the designs being used have the right tolerances in the right places so that components are made to meet NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) requirements and are inspected properly. You’re dealing with heavy, detailed machined components and complex assemblies, so fit is critical to connect the various systems coming from different suppliers.
Tom, the founder of GD&T Basics, got his start working for BMW and ZF, and has trained teams at ZF, Toyota and Honda since founding the company. We designed our training program around American and German automotive standards and we’re intimately familiar with the challenges you face. We know how incredibly costly deviations and disputes are, as downtime on the assembly line can cost $40k a minute. When a part isn’t right, the delay cascades issues throughout the supply chain.
That’s why we use our unique instructional approach. Our program not only teaches students what they need to know of the ASME 14.5Y standard, but also provides them the context needed to understand how the part will function, and how it’ll be made and inspected. Understanding the complexity of an entire project helps your people communicate with suppliers and clients, and spot and prevent problems before they start.
We’re the best training company for automotive companies, period. Our trainers have decades of experience in the industry as engineers and GD&T consultants, and we understand well how challenging it can be to make time for training. We’re also keenly aware of the importance of improving the speed and efficiency of communication and the need to resolve disputes as quickly as possible. Our online coursework combined with live training give you the flexibility to get the training your team needs to do their jobs well. We can even customize our training to incorporate your drawings and the subset of GD&T that you use.
Contact us today and we’ll work together to build your team’s perfect training program.