SMT iconnect007 Part 2/3: Driving Without a Map: Automotive OEMs Need Exploratory Traceability
Driving Without a Map: Automotive OEMs Need Exploratory Traceability
Automotive OEMs Need Exploratory Traceability: As our daily activities become increas- ingly digitized, the global demand for micro- chips and electronic components will con- tinue to skyrocket. As this need grows, there is also a greater need for assessment capabili- ties to avoid tragic malfunctions and debilitat- ing product-wide recalls.
Consider the automotive industry where lives are at stake should a vehicle include a faulty chip. Automakers are bound to strict technical standards such as ISO 26262, which requires them to use state-of-the-art technol- ogy and to identify potential systemic and hardware defects during the manufacturing process. But the industry is not up to date; it’s not adopting state-of-the-art technology when it comes to chip quality and reliability.
Automotive OEMs Need Exploratory Traceability
As our cars become increasingly digital, industry leaders simply cannot afford to be complacent with insufficient traceability. With a rapid increase1 in their reliance on automated processes and digitally advanced chips, auto- mobiles today host complex electronic func- tions from sensors and cameras. As the tech- nological focus of the industry changes, trace- ability must improve to meet the needs of an industry far different from the one it was even a decade ago.
To safeguard manufacturing, improve out- put efficiency and quality, and ultimately strengthen their bottom lines, OEMs must therefore elevate their standards beyond level 4 traceability2 and strive for complete explor- atory traceability.
Traceability Today
IATF 16949:20163, the international stan- dard for automotive quality management sys- tems, attempts to ensure the quality of automo- tive manufacturing. But the production needs of modern vehicles have evolved far more rap- idly than the regulations created to monitor them. For decades, the auto- motive industry concen- trated on optimizing prod- uct assembly over-assess- ing component quality.