Rightsizing and Management of Prototype Vehicle Testing at Ford Motor Company

Kenneth Chelst, John Sidelko, Alex Przebienda, Jeffrey Lockledge and Dimitrios Mihailidis
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Kenneth Chelst: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Wayne State University 4815 Fourth Street, Detroit, Michigan 48202
John Sidelko: Amazon Platform, Ford Motor Company 17425 Federal Drive, Allen Park, Michigan 48101
Alex Przebienda: Product Development Process Leadership, Ford Motor Company, 20901 Oakwood, PO Box 2053, Dearborn, Michigan 48121-2053
Jeffrey Lockledge: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Wayne State University
Dimitrios Mihailidis: Technological Education Institute of Crete Estavromenos, 71500, Heraklion, Crete

Interfaces, 2001, vol. 31, issue 1, 91-107

Abstract: The prototype vehicles that Ford Motor Company uses to verify new designs are a major annual investment. A team of engineering managers studying for master's degrees in a Wayne State University program taught at Ford adapted a classroom set-covering example to begin development of the prototype optimization model (POM). Ford uses the POM and its related expert systems to budget, plan, and manage prototype test fleets and to maintain testing integrity, reducing annual prototype costs by more than $250 million. POM's first use on the European Transit vehicle reduced costs by an estimated $12 million. The model dramatically shortened the planning process, established global procedures, and created a common structure for dialogue between budgeting and engineering.

Keywords: INDUSTRIES—TRANSPORTATION/SHIPPING; DECISION ANALYSIS—APPLICATIONS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001
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