Premium Automotive OEM reduces rework and boosts FPY through 75% faster troubleshooting in production 

Challenge

A premium European OEM was struggling during its introduction of a new vehicle generation. The complex architectures of the new vehicle led to an increasing difficulty of resolving electrical and software errors on the production line. The intricate interdependencies and significant variance made it hard for in-line and off-line rework teams to identify and resolve root causes, resulting in reduced first-pass yield (FPY), as well as growing and delayed off-line rework efforts. 

In-line and off-line rework staff was lacking vehicle-specific data during troubleshooting. Diagnosis information and repair instructions were not configuration specific, requiring extensive information search and alignment across various systems and experts. This made repair efforts inconsistent, time-consuming, and highly dependent on expert availability – leading to production delays, rework backlogs and escalating costs across plants. 

Approach

To address these challenges, the OEM implemented SPREAD’s Engineering Intelligence Platform. The rollout began with a 3-month ramp-up and phase that ingested wiring harnesses, BoMs, diagnostic data, 3D models, and more into SPREAD’s platform. This was followed by a fast rollout across 5+ global plants and 30+ vehicle models. The rework teams gained access to tailored insights – integrated into their daily workflows without requiring tool replacements. 

Based on SPREAD’s Platform the Error Inspector in Production was deployed:

• VIN-specific vehicle visualization and information, with all information in one place

• Intuitive and interactive visualization in both 3D vehicle twin and 2D wiring diagrams 

• Visual error localization linking diagnostic codes to relevant components and likely root causes  

Impact

SPREAD’s solution directly and quickly translated into measurable outcomes for the OEM: 

• Up to €500k saved per production line, per year: through reduced rework time and effort

• 75% faster troubleshooting: driven by guided diagnostics and root cause visibility, both in-line and off-line

• +5 vehicles production line, per day: prevented from being sent to off-line troubleshooting by guided in-line troubleshooting 

“In the future workers will rotate more, even to other plants where processes might be different. With solutions like E/E Inspector everyone will be able to work anywhere.”
— Plant Manager