End of Line Testing and Diagnostics
End of Line Testing is the final stage of vehicle testing before it rolls out to the dealership or to the stock yard. This is one of the most important quality control points where a lot of issues with the vehicle’s E/E systems can be detected and resolved, making sure that a good quality and functionally fit vehicle is delivered to the customer. This statement is even truer in case of software defined vehicles, where a lot of vehicle functionalities may get affected due to incorrect software versions, un-masked DTCs, faulty components, or even loose electrical connections.
End of line testing yields a wealth of data points, that when analyzed and consumed effectively, can help OEMs reach the root cause of issues quickly and efficiently. Often times we see that EoL tests would generate a negative report while validating vehicle functionalities. OEMs cannot risk a stoppage of the assembly line, and hence the approach is to validate vehicles with simple corrective actions such as – re-flashing of ECUs / component replacement.
However, this is a temporary fix, as it is neither sustainable, nor does it lead us to the root cause of the problem. RCA and CAPA of these issues is usually done by resident specialist teams, often not located on the factory floor. The current methods risk the loss of context, and thereby an incorrect / incomplete resolution of the problem.
It is thus necessary for the RCA to happen right where the problem has occurred. When we talk about vehicle E/E systems, the resources necessary to perform this RCA are too expensive to be deployed on the shop-floor, and even the teams working at EoL lack the technical skills to perform the RCA.
It can be naturally understood that data is the key here. DriveTech helps resolve above concerns in the following manner:
Cost effective Local RCA – without scripting
DriveTech’s StellarAi Data Platform with its Advanced CAN Analysis functionalities helps engineers understand the true reason behind DTCs and failed validations without the need for any coding. Engineers can drill down to the message level, understand the preceding and succeeding CAN communications helping faster issue resolutions.
Remote collaborative diagnostics:
DriveTech’s SierraDT IVN data logger and diagnostics device, integrated with the StellarAi Data Platform, help users collaborate with remote specialist teams to jointly conduct remote diagnostic checks wherever required to reach the root cause.
Statistical DTC analytics for system level problem resolutions:
Along with the ability to deep dive into vehicle network communications, StellarAi also helps in understanding statistical occurrence of vehicle issues, helping OEMs uncover underlying system level issues and resolve them with successive software updates
Data, the key to reach the root of issues and take decisions to resolve them is the center focus of DriveTech’s solutions, with effective data management, collaborations and no-code automation as the primary value propositions.
