No more re-inventing the wheel

BorgWarner powertrain cooling solutions are co-ordinationg design and information systems at sites across the World with help from SmarTeam PLM

Chicago based BorgWarner has always enjoyed renown as a product leader in highly engineered components and systems for vehicle powertrain applications worldwide.

In late 1999 BorgWarner acquired the fluid power division of Eaton Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer of powertrain cooling solutions for the global automotive industry.

Eaton, along with two other companies, Kysor and Schwitzer was combined into the existing BorgWarner cooling systems business, to become BorgWarner Cooling Systems.

The group manufactures and markets air sensing and coolant sensing fan clutch systems that can be mechanically or electronically controlled, and also manufactures and markets polymer fan blades and air control shutters for engine cooling systems.

As a tier one automotive supplier BorgWarner develops best in class cooling systems which are then used not only in the automotive industry but also in commercial, agricultural and industrial engines.

For any major enterprise spread across locations globally as far flung as Brazil, the US and Germany, maintaining communication and keeping control of all of the shared information was going to be difficult.

When three of the most well known names in the cooling industry, Eaton, Kysor and Schwitzer came together under the umbrella of BorgWarner Cooling Systems following the merger, BorgWarner was faced with several such issues.

As a result of the various origins of each company, the CAD and information systems used across the group were often incompatible making it almost impossible to share information between the various sites or to search and access data on a corporate level.

In order to address this issue BorgWarner approached SmarTeam PLM solutions.

Says Marc Young, Systems Integration Manager at SmarTeam: "The problem at that time was centred around information, or lack of it.

For example, engineers at one site could make changes to a design that could then adversely affect other engineers further down the chain without their knowing anything about it".

The lack of a common workflow or system of collaboration between sites and departments was slowing down processes across the company and, ultimately, wasting money.

Young continues: "There was obviously going to be a problem, each company and location had had different part number schemes and different methods of re-using designs".

The implementation began with SmarTeam representatives, including Young, making on-site visits to BorgWarner to take a close look at their requirements, examine the types of data they were dealing with, and look at how they had been addressing processes.

BorgWarner had been using a number of systems, including an Access database, an in-house data system, and the NT system directory, to manage files.

The communications between the facilities were a lot more manual as a result of these systems, this was one of the issues that SmarTeam aimed to address.

Young continues: "What they needed was for everyone in the company to be able to access all of the product data.

If someone in Michigan was designing a product and an engineer in Germany had a very similar requirement for the same type of design BorgWarner wanted that engineer to be able to look through the data, find the similar part quickly and then be able to reuse the part for his purposes.

Whereas before they could have been re-engineering parts, they wanted to be able to quickly query the system to see if a similar part already existed and be able to get access to it and modify it".

In order to plan a system that would be able to respond to these requirements SmarTeam made an on-site visits to investigate the options available to them.

Following discussions with BorgWarner employees SmarTeam worked with the staff to analyse the data and then formulate a plan for the implementation process.

After this assessment, a core development team was established, headed up by a BorgWarner key systems integrator.

Several BorgWarner employees were selected from a variety of areas which would be using the SmarTeam system, including engineers, designers, members of the IT department and some people from other sites included more on a virtual level.

During interviews carried out with this core team all the needs and requirements were discussed and then the SmarTeam system was tailored to respond to these needs.

Following this initial assessment SmarTeam provided the employees of the flagship site, based in Marshall, Michigan with training to use SmarTeam.

Says Young: "This initial training was not intended to make everyone an expert on the system but we hoped to give everyone a good, level paying field for working with it.

We began by simply familiarising everyone who had been used to totally disparate systems with the new SmarTeam software.

BorgWarner brought employees into Marshall, Michigan and we undertook off-site training sessions, which ensured that everyone could give the training their full attention.

It was the generic SmarTeam training programme but we wanted everyone to have a base level of knowledge regarding what SmarTeam can do and what the features and functions were before the actual installation".

Following the implementation at Michigan, SmarTeam provided extra training for the core team, which would allow them, in subsequent installations throughout the remaining eight sites, to become the experts and oversee the implementations.

The first implementation began in March 2001.

Says Young: "The system chosen by BorgWarner includes the ability to check in, check out and keep control of files, almost like a library system.

Users can generate part numbers and initiate engineering changes.

They can also associate products and models and designs for projects and manage the manufacturing data.

Remote users can also get access to the data signing on from a variety of locations.

These features translate directly into a range of business benefits for BorgWarner: everyone can access data, which means that less time is spent searching or querying and sending files.

Within SmarTeam all files are checked and controlled so that there is minimal chance of employees writing over people's files or erasing data.

It also allows employees to be made aware of any changes made to a design at any point in the process and makes the necessary modifications down the line.

There is a formal engineering release process incorporated so that engineers can't modify parts that affect other engineers without their knowledge".

Randall Schwan CAD/PDM Systems Manager at BorgWarner says: "The SmarTeam system means that not only product engineering but the manufacturing department also has access to the data.

What this means for us at BorgWarner is lot of time saving and more re-use of designs which means we don't have to redesign the wheel".

Of the seven BorgWarner sites involved in this installation, four are already up and running with SmarTeam (Marshall, MI Fletcher, NC - Sao Jose dos Compos, Brazil and Markdorf, Germany) and the fifth, Cadillac, Michigan, is currently being implemented.

WEB assess to the data is also available from sales sites worldwide.

Remaining replicated data sites are Bradford, England and Ningbo, China.

Says Young: "Feedback has been positive.

As with everything, it takes a while for employees to get used to using and understanding the new system but, once employees are familiar with SmarTeam they're using it and it's working well for them".

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