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Analysis and Improvement of the Change Management of Engine Control Units at Robert Bosch GmbH Branch in Italy

Andre Paz Hamada

Analysis and Improvement of the Change Management of Engine Control Units at Robert Bosch GmbH Branch in Italy.

Rel. Elisa Ughetto. Politecnico di Torino, Corso di laurea magistrale in Ingegneria Gestionale (Engineering And Management), 2019

Abstract:

The following thesis was started in December 2018 as part of an internship at Robert Bosch GmbH in Turin, Italy. This specific branch is responsible for the sales of components to automotive companies based in Italy, especially the ones under the FCA Group (Fiat Chrysler Automotive) umbrella, such as Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Jeep. My internship took place in the Sales Department for Powertrain Solutions (PS). Most of my activities were geared towards improving and optimizing internal processes of the Sales team. These activities ranged from the simple automation of tasks like price checking to more complex ones, such as the development of the tracking tool which is the main subject of this thesis. One of the most important and complex products sold by the PS department are the Electronic Control Units (ECUs). These components are present in every Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) car sold in the world and are responsible for monitoring and controlling the engine, ensuring a proper operation of the vehicle. Lately, due to more recent and strict emission regulations all over the world, especially in Europe, these components have gained an even greater importance. One of the defining characteristics of an ECU is the fact that, unlike most of the other components present in an automobile, it features a genuinely complex software that is divided into two major packages: the firmware, responsible for the functioning of the ECU itself, and the calibration data, which contains a vast amount of information on the engine profile of the vehicle. Then, based on the combustion profiles present in the calibration data, the firmware controls a myriad of engine components to ensure the most efficient functioning of the ICE. Since both parts of the software can be easily changed and different calibrations can result in better emission and autonomy figures, it is fairly common for automakers to request changes to the original versions. This type of order request is called Change Management at the company and it triggers a myriad of internal processes. The goals of the thesis project were then to define, analyze, and monitor these internal processes required to implement a Change Management order request. Developing an effective strategy to monitor the processes was the most important part, since it was essential to avoid delays — which could cause the ECUs to be delivered late to the carmaker. Initially, in order to define the activities undertaken, all of the departments involved — scattered around four different countries — needed to be contacted. After several meetings, phone calls, and presentations, it was then possible to establish the standard procedure, the expected duration of each step, and the responsible teams. Next, with the objective of monitoring the process, it was necessary to assess what steps should be tracked in order to ensure that the components would be produced and delivered on time. Seven different milestone dates were then chosen, based on their importance and how accessible the information was. Then, with the dates decided upon, the next step was to develop a tool that would help the department keep track of all of the Change Management requests that they were handling. The tool developed is a Visual Basic Application (VBA) program that uses Microsoft Excel as the base software, making it easily accessible to all employees in the company.

Relators: Elisa Ughetto
Academic year: 2019/20
Publication type: Electronic
Number of Pages: 141
Additional Information: Tesi secretata. Fulltext non presente
Subjects:
Corso di laurea: Corso di laurea magistrale in Ingegneria Gestionale (Engineering And Management)
Classe di laurea: New organization > Master science > LM-31 - MANAGEMENT ENGINEERING
Aziende collaboratrici: Robert Bosch Gmbh Branch in Italy
URI: http://webthesis.biblio.polito.it/id/eprint/13539
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