With some 170 years of experience, the vehicle manufacturer TATRA, based in Kopřivnice in the Czech Republic, is one of the oldest automotive experts in the world. Today, trucks for construction, forestry, mining, military and fire protection form the core business of the company with around 1700 employees. Its heavy-duty trucks are renowned for their reliability in the most difficult terrain and extreme climates, from Europe to the Middle East and South America to Asia.
Since every order, whether small series or special vehicle, contains individual specifications, TATRA's electrical design and construction must meet this diversity and variability. The recipe for success of the short delivery times adds pressure. Therefore, TATRA opted for AUCOTEC's platform Engineering Base (EB).
From the graphic to the data
© TATRA"In the past, we developed documentation in a drawing system purely manually. This was error-prone and extremely tedious when making changes. With increasing order numbers, we needed to streamline and develop our workflows," says Robert Bolom, Head of Electrical Projection at TATRA. Modernization started in 2015 with EB. "The transition from purely graphical to database-supported, collaborative design on a central data model meant a big change, but TECHNODAT Elektro, AUCOTEC's partner in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, gave us optimum support. The decision for EB was exactly right," says Bolom.
Working graphically AND alphanumerically means changing only 1x
© TATRAEB combines graphic and alphanumeric work. "This significantly facilitated and accelerated the design process as well as the service documentation," says Bolom. Reference circuit diagrams form the basis for order-related customization. However, the adjustments are not made by redrawing the circuit diagrams, but by changing the associated tables, such as component or wiring lists. Thanks to the unique synchronicity of data and drawings in EB, the individual documents are created directly from the changed data.
“Faster, easier, more accurate”
"We were also taken by EB's openness and the associated ability to integrate it into our IT landscape - just like its adaptability to the individual processes and needs of the specialist departments. Today, we process orders much faster and complete up to seven vehicle projects in one working week. Before EB, it were three to four,” emphasizes the head of department.
EB also accelerates the cooperation with external cable set manufacturers. Stanislav Calda, Technical Manager at ELBAS, also an EB user, confirms: "Tender documents are transferred in no time, as are the inevitable changes. With EB it's faster, easier and more accurate!"
