Utilization, productivity and efficiency of test facilities

In recent years, the globalization of automotive manufacturers and suppliers has steadily increased. This also has an effect on the test facilities. Today, they are increasingly used globally and must be supported by appropriate software systems.

The Peak Resource Planner is at the center of a software suite from Peak Solution, with which test processes can be transparently organized and controlled. The solution provides e.g. powerful functions for the

• Planning of test series
• Definition of test orders
• Commissioning of tests (or other work tasks such as maintenance, calibration, prototype construction, etc.)
• Controlling of approval processes
• Management of various types of test resources (e.g. test benches, measuring equipment, test specimens, employees, etc.)
• Assignment of suitable test resources to test orders
• Optimization of test sequences
• Provisioning of status information from the test field
• Generation of notifications on the basis of freely definable events (e.g. test start, test interruption, test end) for different user groups
• Determination of process characteristics (KPIs)
• Management of test descriptions and test results
• Search of tests orders, test resources and test results
• Definition of role-based access permissions
• and many more

Depending on the requirements, the software can be used either as a local or global (web-based) solution. You can find an example of a global solution here: Backbone System for the global management of test orders. In both cases, the software leads to the relief of test managers in the day-to-day work as well as to the improvement of the utilization, productivity and efficiency of test facilities.

You can get a first impression of the Peak Resource Planner with our introductory videos on YouTube:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teUtWACRi-U

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noXSESP82Xc

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Mp8GUEqxU&feature=youtu.be

Peak Solution at Automotive Testing Expo Stuttgart 2017

Cross-site utilization of test resources, integrated test request and order processes, global access to test data and big (test) data solutions: These are the topics that are the focus of Peak Solution at Automotive Testing Expo Europe 2017 in Stuttgart (20th to 22nd of June).

We present there:

• The web-based version of Peak Resource Planner, which, in addition to the conflict-free planning of test tasks, provides e.g. functions for the standardized description of test requirements, the control of work tasks and the documentation of the related test information.
• An add-on for test planning that automatically suggests test plans based on customizable algorithms. Depending on the objective, this leads to a significantly higher utilization of existing test resources or shorter throughput times.
• Solutions for processing test data using big data methods, in order to gain new insights for vehicle development.
• The latest version of openMDM® 5: The web-based architecture of the well-known measurement data management framework supports the connection of multiple, globally distributed data sources and enables the implementation of cloud solutions for measurement data management based on the industry standard ASAM ODS.

We are looking forward to stimulating discussions with our visitors!

Automation of complex planning tasks in the test field

It is increasingly difficult for test field managers to meet the requirements of customers on a flexible and timely execution of tests and at the same time to achieve a high utilization of cost-intensive test resources. The reason for this is the increasing number of test orders and limited test resources that must be linked together in a complex network of processes and dependencies.

Backbone system for the global management of test orders

On behalf of a leading automotive supplier, Peak Solution has implemented the first stage of a global backbone system for managing test orders. The company is testing security systems at several sites in Europe, America and Asia. The new software application unifies the processes for the description, commissioning and scheduling of tests across locations and creates transparency about the availability of test resources, such as measuring devices, cameras, dummies, test parts and test staff.

How to document tests in a standardized way

In order to be able to find measurement data quickly even after a long time and to interpret and compare it unambiguously for different purposes, it is necessary to precisely document the context in which they were created. With the help of templates, this can be standardized across team and department boundaries.

Test planning for filter and motor development at MAHLE

The internal test department of MAHLE Technologies Holding in Shanghai carries out tests for numerous development departments of the automotive supplier. In addition to a large number of test rigs, test preparation facilities such as climatic chambers or seawater basins are also used. Furthermore, there are a variety of measuring devices for tensile and compressive strength as well as for sealing. Moreover, the work plans of the test engineers as well as the specimen must be managed. External clients often provide the latter. A lack of transparency about the availability of the various resources made the planning in the past cumbersome and error-prone, particularly in the case of extensive design verification plans (DVPs).

A process example for test planning

The variety and complexity of modern vehicles cause an enormous amount of tests during the development. To cope with this large number of tests, vehicle manufacturers and suppliers operate more and more test resources of all kinds. At the same time, the demand for a more flexible planning is growing. In this situation, it is difficult for test planners to provide the necessary resources at the right time at the right place in the right state. In particular, the lack of transparency repeatedly leads to annoying, time and cost intensive allocation conflicts.