Helping Volvo maximise uptime
13 July 2012
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With the many challenges facing the automobile industry, such as shortened development times, Volvo is increasingly moving its Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) development into computer simulation and modelling, with less traditional prototyping.
A well-established customer of Brüel & Kjær, Volvo benefits greatly from the value added to their systems in terms of the minimised downtime, optimised functionality and assistance with new applications - thanks to their PULSE Software Maintenance and Support Agreement.
Critically, the modern world is naturally opposed to the energy-sapping weight that has been typically necessary until now in order to produce a quality vehicle. And as sound quality is increasingly important as a key differentiator in the automotive market, advances in NVH development are key to competitiveness. Recognising this, Volvo’s President and CEO has been putting a high priority on NVH since his tenure began in 2007.
Compounding these challenges is the drive to ensure that new models age less on their journey from the designer’s conceptualisation to the showroom itself, meaning shorter development times - so NVH departments everywhere are finding themselves squeezed.
According to the Director of Volvo’s NVH Centre: “The market is moving faster than ever now and all manufacturers have to keep up, to stay on top. We also have more things to measure and verify than ever before.”
For the Director of Volvo’s NVH Centre, the Software Maintenance and Service Agreement (M1) adds vital value to the different Brüel & Kjær solutions his department uses - totalling over 25 separate PULSE analysis systems. Significantly, Volvo saw the benefit of the service agreement when Brüel & Kjær first offered it in 1996 and were one of the first customers to adopt the service. They have kept subscribing ever since.
As the NVH Centre Director says: “Firstly, it ensures that all of our hardware and software works properly, with full solution functionality. Secondly, we get local support and support from headquarters when we need it, like for new applications, as well as for training and system configuration. There is also continuous dialogue with Brüel & Kjær to optimise our setup by shortening the time needed, increasing test efficiency and maximising data quality.”
Read full Volvo case study at: http://www.bksv.co.uk/doc/bn1080.pdf
For more information, please visit www.bksv.co.uk
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