Evaluering av metoder og verktøy anvendt i utviklingen av Formula Student biler i Nordiske team

Abstract

This paper treats Formula Student, the world's largest motorsport competition for students. Through studying the cases of different Nordic teams created a god way to compare possible results. The theory of Formula Student, Lean thinking, knowledge transfer and Product Life Cycle Management is used to create the focus the of study. The theoretical background to the department Production Design and Materials has been promoted various basic understanding of theoretic philosophies. The cases are compared to results obtained in the competition, and measured the structure and organization, product development and manufacturing, alumni networking and knowledge transfer, product lifecycle management and Lean Product Development. All research is done on the Nordic teams, where all kinds of ranges of results or developments of results are present. These results show clear trends and can be summarized to that structures and organizations have infinitely many proper choices of how to create an organization. Product development and production should be in relation to the schedule for a project to succeed, time and human resources are often the most important resources for a Formula Student team. Quantifiable targets should be made based on what is available, an approach that starts at the bottom and work its way up. Alumni networking and knowledge is the best way to create a steady increase in points of the overall results, knowledge transfer should be done with A3 sheet and Design Reviews if the team does not have any other existing systems that works. Changing system is expensive on human resources. Product Life Cycle Management is a good way to gain control when complexity increases. Based on what CAD program that is used, it is possible to implement a PLM system to assist in the control and structure of files used in the lifecycle of a car in Formula Student. If one does not have PLM currently one should plan an implementation over two seasons to make a smoother transition. Lean Product Development is present in some way in all the teams. An increased focus on various LPD processes will help most Formula Student team, where it will help the most is the knowledge management.