CURRENT PROBLEMSCHALLENGES

CURRENT PROBLEMS/CHALLENGES

Although Wayne Russell was very pleased with the new PPT process, he realized that T1-Auto was on a never-ending path to change. There was continual pressure for T1-Auto and other tier one suppliers to imporves their processes. They were expected to squeeze out cost while at the same time make their processes more responsive to their customers. That could mean anything from quick response to new OEM product line requirements to testing in the face of warranty claims.

T-1 were considering enhancing the ELTS system by adding web enablement using Lotus Domino™. By completing this enhancement, it would be possible to create a portal allowing direct involvement to T1-Auto's customers. Another possible enhancement was to integrate the ELTS system with the manufacturing scheduling system. This would allow the ELTS system to be updated by automatically canceling tests for parts if they are not scheduled for production. Integration could also allow the initial test documents to be automatically generated to eliminate manual loading of this information. A final planned enhancement is to integrate the testing system with the Product Data Management (PDM) system. This would tie all of the parts design and specification data together with the parts testing data.