Ford takes management of cars’ electronic intelligence to new level

Ford reckons it’s seeing “significant cost savings” following implementation of PLM (product lifecycle management) software developer UGS’ in-vehicle software data management suite on 57 of its world-wide vehicle programmes. The Ford Explorer, Mustang and Escape Hybrid are among Ford’s vehicle programmes now with their electrical control units’ (ECUs – controlling, for example, anti-lock braking systems and on-board global positioning systems) embedded software content being managed by the new system. The system is a development of UGS’ Teamcenter PLM software, and the system now deployed allows cars’ fast increasing ECU electronics content to be tracked throughout their lifecycles, also linking all data back into the overall Ford vehicle management system. Ford says key benefits include its ability now to make better use of its global innovation network, also enhancing enterprise-wide collaboration and standardising product data management associated with the growing volume of embedded software being built into increasingly intelligent vehicles. As vehicle designs continue to grow in sophistication, this kind of system will preside over critical process improvements. ECUs, with their functional electronics and software and revisions each have to be tracked as single components or parts in a vehicle’s BoM (bill-of-materials). But there’s more to it: since development is largely outsourced and subject to relatively frequent updates, it has also become increasingly important to identify and manage embedded software application across vehicle programmes and as part the big picture system. That’s also true of other industries like aerospace, electronics, medical instruments, communications and, for that matter, consumer products that also use electro-mechanical systems to control functions that give competitive advantage. It’s all part of the drive for mechatronics. “UGS has worked closely with Ford and several other customers around the world providing us with a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics and requirements of developing and managing integrated electronics, software and mechanical systems,” says Chuck Grindstaff, executive vice president, Products, UGS. “Our vision is to integrate software solutions for every phase of a product’s lifecycle into an overall mechatronics product and process model. The Teamcenter implementation at Ford is a good example of progress toward that vision. We foresee huge potential customer benefits, such as high-fidelity, product-level simulation, more productive tools to drive innovation, and improved efficiency for a wide variety of industries, enabled by these solutions.”