HeiterBlick GmbH builds tram and light rail vehicles for use in public transport. The vehicles that are their main field of specialisation feature bogie technology that offers outstanding ride quality. However the firm, which developed out of the maintenance department of the Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe LVB in 2004, has a portfolio which also includes modernisation projects. From Leipzig to Halberstadt and to Linz, many tram systems are already in operation, bearing witness to HeiterBlick’s quality demands. In 2012 their Bielefeld tram system received the iF Product Design Award in the “Transportation Design” category. The new trams for üstra Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe AG are also being built in Leipzig by HeiterBlick.
Complex
After a lengthy search and having tested a range of tools, HeiterBlick found that AUCOTEC had the ideal planning system. Engineering Base (EB) had a persuasive response to every demand set by the Leipzig-based manufacturer. “It was important to us that the system was able to represent the special identification scheme laid out in FSF manufacturing guidelines. The new tool had to be able to cope with the complexity of our trams, with over 5000 wires and 1400 pieces of equipment,” says Andreas Heinze, HeiterBlick’s team leader for electrical design. The rail specialists also needed a convenient means of creating connection lists, bills of material for fabricating about 400 cable looms per vehicle and a transparent, consistent revision process.
Free
“We were impressed that EB left us the freedom to make choices when editing. Whether you are working in the diagram or in the list, the information automatically appears in the other view too,” explains Andreas Heinze. He goes on to emphasise the simple, intuitive feel of the graphics, based on Visio.
Fast
After just a short period of acclimatisation EB was able to create the complete 120-sheet circuit diagram for HeiterBlick’s Leoliner. Speedy revision of connection lists and terminal diagrams has finally consigned complicated editing in multiple data formats to the history books. Heinze is also enthusiastic about another feature: “The intelligent PDF where everything is documented consistently and navigably saves not only our customers but also our service team enormous amounts of time.” He goes on to attribute significant time savings to another outstanding feature whereby any solution can be further reused once it has been created.
HeiterBlick still has a few items on its development wishlist but, as Andreas Heinze puts it: “Overall we are very satisfied and feel we are perfectly equipped for the future, especially when it comes to complex projects.”
