General Motors: The CAD - CAM - CAE Journey
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Case Details:
Case Code : OPER017
Case Length : 13 Pages
Period : 1990 - 2002
Organization : General Motors
Pub Date : 2002
Teaching Note : Available
Countries : India
Industry : Automobiles Manufacturing
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This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.
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Excerpts
About CAD/CAM/CAE
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By the late 1980s, automation and information technology at the shop-floor level
had made manufacturing processes much simpler. With increasing competition,
companies in the manufacturing industry were looking at ways to improve
productivity, save time, reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction. The
birth of 'Computer Aided - Design, Manufacturing, and Engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE)
systems helped accelerate the automation in the manufacturing industry and
revolutionized many difficult fields. The term 'CAD/CAM' refers to the
application of computers in manufacturing - from the drawing stage to the
production, to the machine, to the assembly shop, to the quality control
department and to the finished parts store...
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GM - Using CAD/CAM/CAE
In 1996, GM initiated a program to substantially reduce its VDP time from 42
months to 24 months. In the same year, GM entered into an agreement with
Unigraphics Solutions to use its CAD/CAM/CAE software Unigraphics. In 1999,
GM signed a three-year with the company as a follow up to the 1996
agreement. The agreement included the endorsement of Unigraphics'
Internet-centric PDM application, iMAN . The new US $ 139 million software
and services contract was believed to be the world's largest collaborative
engineering network...
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Reaping the Benefits
GM claimed to have saved hundreds of millions of dollars with the
CAD/CAM/CAE systems. The new systems allowed the company to launch
innovative new cars and trucks in the market faster. The company
successfully reduced its VDP time to 24 months. GM aimed at reducing the
VDP time to 18 months. The company reported a 13 % improvement in
engineering productivity in 1997 and expected an additional 30%
improvement by 2000. According to Jay Wetzel, the CAD/CAM/CAE tools
enabled the company to save costs by reducing the number of physical
validation builds. Cost savings were estimated at 30% during development
and 10% during validation. |
Exhibits
Exhibit I: General Motors - Division Profile
Exhibit II: General Motors - Key Financials
Exhibit III: Comparing Traditional and New Age Product Development
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