lab and process management
5 7
S P E C I A L : S O F T W A R E
N O . 1 2 0 2 3
Testing is critical in develop
ment. Effective and efficient oper
ation of test fields, and their integra
tion into the development process,
is important for the success of our
customers. Making this possible is
not purely a technological issue.
Rather, the key is the intelligent
combination of proven methods
and technology.
“Lab Management is not just an
other piece of software. It is a com
petence,” explains Roland Strixner,
AVL Global Business Segment Lab
Management.
TEST
EFFECTIVENESS
AS A GUIDING
PRINCIPLE
LAB AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT IS ESSENTIAL
TO GET THE BEST OUT OF THE TEST FIELD
and data management. One relevant
KPI is Operational Equipment Ef
fectiveness (OEE), which delivers
information on testing productiv
ity. Software must be scalable and
responsive to the systems of differ
ent hardware vendors.
In addition to the classical test envi
ronment and solutions for propul
sion development, requirements are
changing rapidly in the electrified
automotive world. “It is important
to understand how effectively and
efficiently existing equipment is be
ing used and how it matches up to
current and future customer needs,”
says Michael Conrad, who works
with Strixner in the battery busi
ness field. In battery development,
test engineers deal with a variety of
standards and test specifications, as
well as short innovation cycles. The
result: Up to 50,000 test channels
operating in parallel for cell, module
and pack development. Handling
the growing number effectively is
AVL’s guiding principle. “Process
digitalization and automation is
not an option but a must to han
dle these challenges,” says Conrad.
At AVL, up to 250 experts work
in this area, including the Strategy
Engineers consulting unit. Typi
cally, companies with many global
locations, as well as those who are
extremely speed-driven, need or
ganizational units to collaborate
closely to remain competitive with
a shortened time-to-market. There
fore, the primary concern is the effi
ciency of the test environment. Ide
ally, OEMs even want to keep these
companies running 24/7.
This is where our expertise comes
in, providing world-class workflow