A strategic redesign of a vehicle electrical system over an eight-month period led to a significant reduction in warranty claims greater than 50% and a notable boost in customer satisfaction.
Key Highlights
- Industry: Agriculture
- Project Duration: 8 Months
- Services Provided:
- Data Insights
- Electrical Design
- Data Analysis and Tools
- Prototype Development
Background
An off-highway equipment manufacturer, specializing in agricultural machinery, sought the expertise of an established technical services firm with expertise in mechanical and electrical engineering solutions. The manufacturer had been facing significant warranty claims related to the electrical systems of one of their products, particularly in the wiring harness routing and connections, which led to frequent failures, operational downtime, and customer dissatisfaction. The existing team brought ATG fractional team members onto the project to augment their staff and capability, including data analysis, design expertise, and project management.
Objective
The combined team’s objective was to conduct a thorough assessment to pinpoint the root causes of these electrical system failures. Building on this, the aim was to propose and implement product improvements and a comprehensive design guideline.
Assessment Phase
Upon arrival at the manufacturing site, the team comprehensively evaluated the existing electrical routing designs. They began by reviewing design schematics and assembly processes to identify inefficiencies, followed by an in-depth analysis of failure data and warranty claims to detect recurring patterns.
To gain further insights, they engaged directly with production staff and field service technicians through interviews, gathering firsthand knowledge of challenges faced in assembly and maintenance.
The assessment also included virtual simulations and physical inspections of the routing paths to identify vulnerabilities.
A key component of this phase involved leveraging AI tools to summarize extensive customer warranty data. This innovative approach helped identify the root causes of failure and prioritize focus areas for immediate redesign and future new product development.
Based on their findings, the ATG project team developed a prioritized punch list action plan, initiated redesigning and prototyping alternative routing strategies, and improved connector selections to enhance overall reliability and performance.
Challenges
The assessment revealed ~85 key issues affecting the reliability and efficiency of the electrical routing designs. Inconsistent wiring harness configurations across similar models added unnecessary complexity to the assembly process and contributed to higher failure rates.
Additionally, vulnerable routing paths left wiring exposed to environmental factors and mechanical stress, increasing the risk of premature failures.
Compounding these challenges was the inadequacy of existing testing and routing assessment protocols, which failed to fully account for real-world usage conditions, leaving potential issues undetected.
Solutions
To address the identified challenges, the ATG project manager developed a multi-faceted approach focused on improving design standardization, optimizing routing paths, and enhancing design requirements.
- Design Standardization: Standardizing wiring harness configurations across models was a key priority to streamline manufacturing, improve consistency, and simplify maintenance. Industry best practices were implemented for routing and retention, including optimized connector types, orientations, and mounting strategies.
- Redesign Routing Paths: Additionally, electrical harnesses were rerouted to avoid high-stress areas, minimize splices and breakouts, and enhance shielding against environmental exposure.
- Enhanced Design Requirements: To further reinforce these improvements, the team established rigorous design guidelines covering harness routing, retention, connector selection, and application, along with updated assembly instructions and specialized tools for pin crimping and insertion.
- Implementation and Follow-Up: The project manager pulled together comprehensive documentation and training to ensure a smooth transition once the manufacturer agreed to pilot these changes. A structured follow-up plan was also implemented, incorporating regular meetings, customer feedback analysis, and warranty claims reviews to monitor the effectiveness of the changes and drive continuous improvement.
Results
Strategic changes, driven by detailed assessment and innovative data analysis, yielded significant positive outcomes. The predicted warranty improvement based on the design credit for each solution was greater than 50% improvement in warranty claims for the redesigned electrical system, alongside a greater than 30% reduction in overall warranty costs and customer downtime.
These enhancements directly increased customer satisfaction due to improved machinery reliability and fewer operational disruptions. The project also successfully resolved the key design issues.
Addressing the root causes of electrical failures with robust design, analytical, and testing improvements significantly boosted the manufacturer’s brand reputation via better product performance and customer experience. A structured follow-up plan was implemented for ongoing improvement, including regular customer feedback and warranty reviews.