ALTEN China has established a strategic alliance with a leading global commercial vehicle manufacturer, offering a wide range of consulting services from R&D through to post-production. ALTEN China supports the development, testing, and integration of various systems, including electrical/electronic systems (E/E), embedded systems, and vehicle performance testing. ALTEN"s expertise ensures that the client’s products meet the highest standards of quality, performance, and functionality, from initial design all the way to after-sales support.

Challenges

The commercial vehicle industry faces several key challenges in R&D, development, and post-production support:

• Complex System Integration: Ensuring seamless integration of multiple vehicle systems, including infotainment, powertrain, and electrical systems, across different teams.
• Testing and Validation: The client’s systems must be rigorously tested to ensure functionality, reliability, and compliance with safety and performance standards.
• After-Sales Support: Ensuring that diagnostic systems and fault resolution tools are in place to support long-term product maintenance and customer satisfaction.
• Product Development and Localization: Coordinating development and production timelines to ensure that new models are ready for market while managing the localization of parts.

The client required a reliable and skilled engineering partner to provide end-to-end support, ensuring smooth development, integration, and ongoing vehicle performance post-production.

Solutions

ALTEN China assembled a specialized team to provide a wide range of engineering and project management services, ensuring the successful development and support of the client’s commercial vehicles:

1. Electrical/Electronic System Development & Integration

• Functional & Performance Requirements: Defined and maintained the functional and performance requirements for the instrument cluster system, collaborating closely with software, hardware, and user interface design teams to ensure seamless integration with other infotainment components.
• Test Planning & Execution: Developed test plans, wrote embedded system requirement test cases, and executed tests to validate the powertrain and electrical systems.
• System Development & Integration: Led the development of the cluster system and conducted EE system automation and integration tests to ensure that all electrical components functioned cohesively.

2. Project Management & Production Support

• Development Progress Tracking: Closely monitored the development progress to ensure the timely production of new models and parts localization.
• Production and Localization: Coordinated the progress of product development and ensured the localization of parts for production, facilitating a smooth manufacturing process for new vehicles.

3. After-Sales Support & Diagnostic Tools

• Diagnostic Database & Fault Codes: Developed and maintained a diagnostic database and fault code descriptions to support vehicle servicing and repairs.
• Warehouse Management & System Maintenance: Set up and maintained warehouse ledger and systems for tracking parts, consumables, PPE, tools, and equipment within R&D.

4.Vehicle Testing & Performance Validation

• Prototype Truck Rebuilds and maintenance: Responsible for preparing and executing prototype truck rebuilds, ensuring that prototype vehicles met all design and performance standards before production.
• Functionality Testing: Conducted comprehensive vehicle performance and function testing to ensure the reliability of all vehicle systems under real-world conditions.
• Fault Trace & Analysis: Tracked and analyzed faults to identify system failures and improve product performance, ensuring that vehicles met safety and performance standards.

Outcomes

Through continuous collaboration, ALTEN China delivered significant value to the client, ensuring high-quality product development, seamless integration, and ongoing support:

• Enhanced System Integration: ALTEN’s close collaboration between the software, hardware, and design teams ensured that complex vehicle systems, such as the instrument cluster and infotainment, were perfectly integrated into the final product.
• Optimized Product Development: ALTEN’s project management expertise helped ensure that new models were developed on schedule and localized to meet production requirements, reducing lead times and improving efficiency.
• Improved After-Sales Support: ALTEN’s development of diagnostic tools and fault analysis systems enabled effective post-production support, ensuring long-term reliability and customer satisfaction.
• Comprehensive Testing & Validation: ALTEN’s rigorous testing and fault trace analysis helped identify and resolve issues early in the development cycle, ensuring that the vehicles met the highest performance and safety standards.