Ministry of High Education

And Scientific Research

*** * ***
University of Carthage
*** * ***
National Institute of Applied
Sciences and Technology

Graduation Project
In order to obtain the

National Engineering Diploma

in Applied Sciences and Technology

Major: Industrial Computing and Automation

Subject:
Embedded Software Product Quality and Handle-Non
Conformity Processes Quality Improvement
Improvement

Realized by: Baha-Eddine ALAYET

Host company:

Volvo Group Trucks

Presented on the 10/10/2017
President: Mr.Khaled ELLOUMI
Examiner: Mrs.Imen JAAFAR

Company supervisor : Mr.Denis MARTIN

INSAT supervisor : Pr.Faouzi BEN AMMAR

Academic year: 2016/2017

 Ministry of High Education
And Scientific Research
*** * ***
University of Carthage
*** * ***
National Institute of Applied
Sciences and Technology

Graduation Project
In order to obtain the

National Engineering Diploma

in Applied Sciences and Technology

Major: Industrial Computing and Automation

Subject:
Embedded Software Product Quality and Handle-Non
Conformity Processes Quality Improvement
Improvement

Realized by: Baha-Eddine ALAYET

Host company:

Volvo Group Trucks

Company Supervisor : INSAT Supervisor :

M.Denis MARTIN: Pr.Faouzi BEN AMMAR:

Academic year: 2016/2017

 Dedications

To the Omniscient,
Omniscient, the Omnipotent, the Om
Omnipresent...
nipresent... To the One beyond
beyond his creatures, thank you

Lord for giving me this chance, to fail, to resist, to love, to defy, to think, to disobey, to fall, to rise, to
live; and to exist. The leap of faith comes first, the Beginning of all beginnings.

To the best Mom in the world, for the unconditional love, affection and support during all these
years. To the woman who inspired me with her patience and love, who has always encouraged me to
be a better person, even with rebukes. The word itself doesn't sound very kind. But it was. "Place no
one above you, sweet lady and dear mama"

To my dad, for everything, the blue bicycle, the first ball, the first sports shoes, even the Sousse trip
that we never had, thank you for everything and for every single
s ingle sacrifice...

ne can ever have, Houssem & Mohamed Dhia, I love you guys.
To the worst brothers that oone

brotherhoodd shaped in the cave of Ordeals, in the dark. To the siblings of days, Houcem,
To a brotherhoo
Amine, Karim, Mahmoud, to the ones beyond the oceans, Michael, Khalil, Hideya. You have all
played an integral part in my change over the past years. Thank you for everything.
To the rebellious minds and the beautiful souls, Hadhemi, Omar, Rana, Nesrine, Amani. Thank
you guys.
To all my Basket-Ball community, AS Marsa, INSAT, Renault Trucks, AL Vénissieux Parilly the
best four Basket-Ball teams in the history of the game. Thank you teammates, coaches and fans.
To the new friends that made me feel like I know them since ever and were there for me this
particular year, Imene, Emna, Oumaima. Love you guys.

To all those who matter to me …I dedicate this work to you. And I know, there is no great
fulfillment here. But I’m not celebrating this very modest achievement; I’m celebrating the twisting
course that led me here. Because meeting all of you on the road is and will always be my greatest
achievement.
 Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements

I owe my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor Mr. Denis MARTIN, for the prodigious opportunity

he gave me to work with him and his highly regarded network and gain practical experience in
conducting Quality projects. I’m thankful for his confidence.

I must express my very profound gratitude to my academic advisor Pr. Faouzi BEN AMMAR for
his precious guidance, his valuable suggestions, his continuous support and his constant availability
which brought this project ttoo light.

I’m also grateful to Mr. David FRÄNNE, Vice-President Quality & Environment of the Volvo
Group Trucks Operations, for welcoming me in his honorable team and specially for giving me the

opportunity
opportunity to discover the Swedish culture.

Without forgetting to thank all the members of my working groups and specially Capucine
BOUSQUET, Loan BESSE, Emeric JAUSIONS, Ederson CALSAVARA et Philippe
MAUGUIN.

I express my gratitude to all the members of the jury for making of their valuable time and accepting
to evaluate my graduation project and the work that I have conducted.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank my teachers at the National Institute of Applied
Sciences and Technology for considerably contributing to my professional and academic
development. With a special thanks to Madam Afef BEN ABDELGHANI
ABDELGHANI.

This accomplishment
accomplishment would not have been possible wit
without
hout you all. Than
Thankk you.
 Table of Contents
General Introduction………………………………………………………………………………1
Chapter I Project Context………………………………………
Context………………………………………………………………
…………………………………3
…………3
I. Introduction .................................
..................................................................
....................................................................
........................................................
.....................4
II. Company presentation ..................................
....................................................................
....................................................................
......................................
....4
1. General presentation ..................................
....................................................................
....................................................................
......................................
....4
2. Volvo Group History ..................................
....................................................................
....................................................................
......................................
....6
3. Volvo Group Brands.............................
..............................................................
.....................................................................
.............................................
.........7
3.1 Trucks..........................
Trucks...........................................................
...................................................................
..............................................................
............................7
3.2 Construction equipment ..............................
.................................................................
............................................................
......................... 10
3.3 Buses .................................
..................................................................
....................................................................
......................................................
................... 11
3.4 Marine & Industrial engines ..............................
...............................................................
......................................................
..................... 11
4. The Volvo Group Organization .................................
....................................................................
......................................................
................... 12
5. GTO: Group Trucks Operations.....................
Operations......................................................
.................................................................
................................ 13
5.1 GTO Localization .............................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
....................................... 13
5.2 GTO Role in the Volvo Group .................................
...................................................................
................................................
.............. 14
5.3 GTO Organization: .................................
....................................................................
.................................................................
.............................. 15
5.4 GTO Global – Quality & Environment...............................
..................................................................
....................................... 16
III. Project specifications ..............................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
...........................................
....... 18
IV. Conclusion .............................
..............................................................
....................................................................
............................................................
......................... 22
Chapter II Current Situation Study & Proposed Solution…………………………………
Solution……………………………………...23
…...23
I. Introduction .................................
..................................................................
....................................................................
......................................................
................... 24
II. Software claims ..................................
...................................................................
...................................................................
................................................
.............. 24
1. Process Approach ................................
...................................................................
....................................................................
.........................................
........ 24
2. Customer Clai
Claims
ms Informatio
Information
n Flows & the way iitt is proceeded.............................
.....................................
........ 25
3. FF1: Fault Frequency 1 Month........................
Month.........................................................
.................................................................
................................27
3.1 FFx .............................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
............................................................
......................... 27
3.2 Fault Frequency 1 month .............................
...............................................................
............................................................
.......................... 27
3.3 The FF1 dashboard .................................
....................................................................
.................................................................
..............................29
4. First High Level Analysis ...............................
..................................................................
.................................................................
..............................29
4.1 STD 920-0004: Defect codes ...............................
..................................................................
......................................................
................... 30
4.2 PROSIT+: ..............................
................................................................
....................................................................
................................................
.............. 30
4.3 Analysis Results..................................
....................................................................
....................................................................
...................................... 30
5. Next step .............................
..............................................................
....................................................................
............................................................
......................... 35
III. Handle Non-Conformity Process & QULIS ...........
.............................................
...........................................................
......................... 35
1. Definition ............................
.............................................................
...................................................................
............................................................
.......................... 35
1.1 Produce Product Process .............................
...............................................................
............................................................
.......................... 35
1.2 Handle Non-Conformity Process ...................................
....................................................................
.........................................
........ 36
 2. Handle Non Conformity Processes .................................
...................................................................
................................................
.............. 37
3. HNC Support IT Solution : QULIS.................................
...................................................................
................................................
.............. 39
4. Main takeaways..............................
................................................................
....................................................................
................................................
.............. 42
5. Proposed Solutions ..............................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
...........................................
....... 43
IV. Conclusion .............................
..............................................................
....................................................................
............................................................
......................... 43
Chapter III Solutions & Implementation…………………………………………………
Implementation……………………………………………………….45
…….45
I. Introduction .................................
..................................................................
....................................................................
......................................................
................... 46
II. Software Working Groups ............................
..............................................................
.....................................................................
....................................... 46
1. Working Group Team Members................................
...................................................................
......................................................
................... 46
2. Way of Working...................
Working.....................................................
...................................................................
...........................................................
.......................... 46
3. Action Plan ................................
.................................................................
....................................................................
......................................................
................... 47
3.1 High contribution from External Campaign claims (39%) .............................
.....................................
........ 47
3.2 Unjustified FF1 claims ..................................
....................................................................
...........................................................
......................... 48
3.3 Justified FF1 claims .................................
....................................................................
.................................................................
..............................48
4. Working Groups & Action Plan Results ...............................
...................................................................
...........................................
....... 51
5. Software claims status ...............................
..................................................................
.....................................................................
...................................... 53
III. Handle Non-Conformity Processes Improvement.............................
.............................................................
................................54
1. QULIS Deployment Strategy ...............................
..................................................................
............................................................
......................... 54
2. Handle Non-Conformity Performance Indicators .................................
..........................................................
......................... 55
3. Handle Non-Conformity Dashboard...............................
.................................................................
................................................
.............. 57
3.1 QlikView..................................
...................................................................
...................................................................
................................................
.............. 57
3.2 Qlikview Components .............................
..............................................................
.................................................................
................................58
4. The developed solution.............................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
....................................... 59
5. Results.................................
...................................................................
....................................................................
...........................................................
......................... 66
IV. Conclusion .............................
..............................................................
....................................................................
............................................................
......................... 67
General Conclusion and Perspectives…………………………………………………….68

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………...70

Annexes………………………………………
Annexes…………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………
………………………...71
…...71
Annex A: PROSIT+ ............................................
.............................................................................
...................................................................
.....................................
... 72
Annex B: Green OK Process Analysis .................................
....................................................................
......................................................
................... 74
Annex C: QULIS Deployment Status..................................
Status.....................................................................
......................................................
................... 75
 Table of Figures

Figure 1: Contribution of products to the total turnover of Volvo AB (2016) [1] …………………….. 4
Figure 2: Volvo Group Production Sites [1]…………………………………………………………… 5
Figure 4:
3 :Volvo
The Volvo Group
Trucks Pyramid
Model [1] ………………………………………………………………. 58
[2] ………………………………………………………………………
Figure 5: Renault Trucks Model [2]…………………………………………………………………… 8
Figure 6: UD Trucks Model [2]………………………………………………………………………... 9
Figure 7: Mack Trucks Model [2]……………………………………………………………………… 9
Figure 8: Eicher Trucks Model [2]…………………………………………………………………….. 9
Figure 9 : Products segments [2] ……………………………………………………………………... 10
Figure 10: Volvo Construction equipment [2]………………………………………………………... 10
Figure 11: Volvo Buses Model [2] ……………………………………………………………………... 11
Figure 12: Volvo AB Organigram [3]…………………………………………………………………. 12
Figure 13 : Volvo Group Divisions [1] ………………………………………………………………… 13
Figure 14 : GTO Plants and Services localizations [1]……………………………………………….. 13
Figure 15: GTO Role in the Volvo Group…………………………………………………………….. 14
Figure 16: GTO Organigram [3] ……………………………………………………………………… 15
Figure 17: Quality & Environment Department
Dep artment Organization……………………………………… 17
Figure
Figure 18:
19: Truck
VehicleECUs…………………………
ECUs…………………… ……...…………………………………………………
Software Exponential Growth .… 18
…………………………………………………… 18
Figure 20: Specifications mapping…………………………………………………………………… 20
Figure 21 : Graduation Project Gantt chart…………………………………………………………... 21
Figure 22 : Volvo Group Trucks Core Processes [6]………………………………………………… 25
Figure 23 : Customer claims flows and processing [7]……………………………………………… 25
Figure 24: C value Calculation and Criticality [7]…………………………………………………… 26
Figure 25: Warranty Mapping [7]…………………………………………………………………….. 26
Figure 26:FF1 figures of Volvo FH (June 2015)
20 15) [7]………………………………………………….. 29
Figure 27: Software claims contribution to FF1 and claims payments……………………………... 31
Figure 28: SW claims trend before starting the WG…………………………………………………. 31
Figure 29: Plants SW contribution to FF1 claims ……………………………………………………. 32
Figure 30 : Impact of campaigns on FF1 software claims…………………………………………... 33
Figure 31: FF1 Claims that could be approved or not……………………………………………….. 34
Figure 32: Produce Product Process Diagram [6] …………………………………………………… 36
Figure 33: Handle Non-Conformity Process Diagram [6]………………………………………….. 37
Figure 34: Add/Update-New case handling Step…………………………………………………… 39
Figure 35: Investigation step ………………………………………………………………………….. 40
Figure 36: Containment action step ………………………………………………………………….. 40
Figure 37: Root Cause Analysis Step…………………………………………………………………. 41
Figure 38: Implementation/Lessons learned step…………………………………………………… 41
Figure 39: Verification step…………………………………………………………………………… 42
Figure 40: Completion within 20 days step …………………………………………………………... 42
Figure 41: Software UCHP new auto-exception rule………………………………………………… 50
Figure 42: SW claims trend after starting the working group……………………………………….. 53
Figure 43: SW claims payment trend after starting the working group…………………………….. 53
Figure 44: QSP Purchasing Changes Requests……………………………………………………… 55
Figure 45: Qlik Official Logo …………………………………………………………………………. 57
Figure 46: Magic Quadrant for
f or Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms [9]……………...... 58
Figure 47: QlikView Layers & Components [10] …………………………………………………….. 58
Figure 48: QlikView QULIS Database Schema ……………………………………………………… 59
Figure 49: QULIS Dashboard Filters Overview ……………………………………………………... 60
Figure 50: QULIS Lead Time combinations………………………………………………………… 61
Figure 51: Lead Time Main Dashboard ……………………………………………………………… 61
Figure 52: Display of number of QULIS cases per HNC Category………………………………… 62
Figure 53 : Number of QULIS cases per case status………………………………………………... 62
Figure 54: Number of cases per Current Status Phase……………………………………………… 63
Figure 55: Number of QULIS cases per VMS……………………………………………………...... 64
Figure 56: QULIS Cases per Problem Location ……………………………………………………... 64
Figure 57: 4M Analysis Root Cause Pie ……………………………………………………………… 65
Figure 58: 4M Analysis - Root Cause per Month for Curitiba plant ………………………………… 65
Figure 59: Detailed Table Portal ……………………………………………………………………… 66
Figure 60: Bus communication and protocols in TEA and PROSIT+…………………………….. 72
Figure 61: Truck Electronic Architecture…………………………………………………………….. 72
Figure 62: PROSIT+ Architecture……………………………………………………………………. 73
Figure 63: Example of a programming file…………………………………………………………... 73
Figure 64: Green OK Process Status………………………………………………………………….. 74
Figure 65: QULIS Deployment Status……………………………………………………………….. 75
 Glossary

ARGUS: IT support tool for QJ and QSP handling and

a nd follow up.

Electronic Control Unit, ECU: complete piece of hardware including software that implements a
control system

External campaign: set of organized actions to secure that the product delivered to the customer
customer is
at the right quality level by releasing campaigns to implement solutions on potential or real Customer
quality issues on delivered products.

Green OK: describes the necessary steps to determine that a truck is ready to be delivered from a
factory.

Implementation: the coding phase of software development implying the translation of the design
proposal to source code.

Process: set of interrelated activities, which transform inputs into outputs (ISO/IEC 12207).

Product Quality Leader: Ensure the product quality performance within determined responsibility
scope through investigating and prioritizing market product
product quality issues related to GTT / GTO to
achieve committed quality and warranty targets. Secure the voice of the customer in the problem
solving processes.

Software Design: umbrella term for analysis, design and implementation of a software system.

Software Green OK: The truck fulfills all functional requirements as stated in quality requirements

- It has passed the Dyno/roller test and/or test drive without any remarks (all functions OK)
- The vehicle software as specified corresponds to the order and has been installed successfully
- No active fault codes
- All calibration results/ values are according to specification
- The truck is not in factory mode when leaving the factory

Software System: umbrella term for the complete software program, typically consisting of one or
more application programs, parameter settings, drivers
 Abbreviations

APAC: Asia/ Pacific

CAB: Cabin
E&BM: Europe & Brazil Manufacturing
EL: Electrical
EMEA: Europe Middle East Africa
FF1: Failure Frequency 1 Month
GTA: Group Trucks Asia
GTO: Group Trucks Operations
GTS: Group Trucks Sales
GTS&M: Group Trucks Sales & Marketing

GTT: Group Trucks Technology

HNC: Handle Non-Conf
Non-Conformity
ormity
KPI: Key Performan
Performance
ce Indicator
LS: logistics and services
NAM: North America Manufacturin
Manufacturingg
OU: Operation Unit
PI: Performance Indicator
PQL: Product Quality Leader
PTP: Powertrain (Production)
Q & CS: quality and customer satisfaction
QJ: Quality Journal
QSP: Quick Solving Process
QV: QlikView
QULIS: Quality Informatio
Informationn System
SW/ HW: Software/ Hardware
TEA: Truck Electronic Architecture
VMT: Vehicle Module Team
WG: Working Group
WoW: Way of Working
 General Introduction Confidential

General Introduction

The product quality is a primordial requirement, from design to manufacturin

manufacturingg till the moment the
product is put into circulation. In a competitive and regulatory vehicle environment in a constant

evolution, the quality strategy of Volvo Group -in order to achieve its goal to become the world
leader in sustainable transport solutions- is to keep the costumer in focus in whatever it does.
However, let us not forget that competition is tough and that its place is not gained.
In a context that is rapidly changing environmentally, regulatory, digitally and economically, the
automotive world is evolving at a fast pace.
The truck got electrified, is now connected and is becoming automated. The number of innovations
developed on vehicles is multiplying.
Continuous leverage of more intelligent vehicles can only be achieved through functionalities
implemented as embedded software. There are claims that 80 to 90 per cent of automotive

innovation is enabled through software.

Thus, the international deployment of engineering requires strict execution of processes within
shared and coherent development logic.
Also, working on the continuous improvement of Handling Non-Confor
Non-Conformities
mities Processes whether
detected inside the manufacturing
manufacturing line or at the customer is a key point to achieve the wanted place.
Knowing the importance of those two subjects, Volvo Group entrusted me, first of all, during my
graduation project with the responsibility to initiate and lead two working groups in order to ensure
the improvement of product quality from the embedded software point of view and subsequently
reduce its contribution to customer claims. Secondly, to ensure the evolution of the operational
excellence in Handling Non-Conformity Processes through the definition of performance indicators
and the establishment of a global dashboard to monitor and control these processes.
All the activities carried out during my six months internship are illustrated by a report of three
chapters.
The first chapter is a presentation of the host company, its brands and products to finish with the
definition of the project specifications.
The second chapter is a diagnosis based on customer feedback on embedded software problems in
order to prioritize the most critical defects, detailing the standards and approaches taken into
account. The second part is an analysis of the Handling Non-Conformity
Non-Conformity processes of the group and
their IT support application.

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The third chapter focuses on a more detailed analysis of customer claims in order to establish an
action plan and monitor its execution. As well as the definition of performance/key performance
indicators, the development and implementation of a dashboard in order to monitor and
continuously improve the operational excellence at all Volvo Group plants.
The report concludes with a General Conclusion in which we outline both the quantitative and
qualitative outcomes of our graduation project as well as its perspectives.

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Chapter I

Project Context

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I. Introduction

Our graduation project was carried out within the Volvo Group Trucks. In this first chapter we
present the Volvo AB group, its history, its organization and its values and vision. Then we detail the
specifications of the work.

II. Company presentation

1. General presentation

The Swedish group Volvo AB -born in 2001 of the grouping of two centennial companies ( Volvo &
Renault VI) - is today one of the world leaders in the design and production of transport solutions
with products
products such as:

• Trucks (Volvo, Renault, Mack, UD, Eicher)

• Bus & Cars (Volvo, NovaBus, Prevost, Eicher)
• Construction machinery (Volvo CE, SDLG)
• Engines for marine & industrial applications (Volvo Penta)

development,, including: Volvo

Various entities assist the group in logistics and manufacturing development
Powertrain (Powertrain Production), Volvo 3P, Volvo IT, Volvo Logistics and Volvo Parts.
The Volvo Group approximately 110,000 people, has production sites in 18 countries
Group now employs approximately
and markets its products in more than 190 markets and has a turnover of more than 32 Billion
euros in 2016 by selling more than 190,000 truck that year.[1]
2,60%
3,30% Trucks
3,70%

Construction
8,40% equipments

Autocars-Autobuses

16,80%
Financial Services

66,50%
Marine engines

Others

Figure 1: Contribution of products to the total turnover of Volvo AB (2016) [1]

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Figure 2: Volvo Group Production Sites [1]

The group is one of the leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment, propulsion
systems for marine and industrial applications.

Volvo offers a complete range of transport and financing solutions.

Volvo provides transport products and services that meet the criteria of excellence in terms of
quality, safety and respect for the environment. Since its inception over 80 years ago, Volvo has built

a solid reputation throughout the world. The Group's values revolve around three areas: Quality,
Safety and Environme
Environment.
nt. [1]

The Volvo Group aims to become the world leader in sustainable transport solutions by:
- creating value for its clients in targeted sectors
- Using its expertise to create innovative products and services for transport companies
- guaranteeing quality, safe and environmentally friendly transport
- Working with energy, passion and respect for the individual

This point was resumed in the Volvo Group Pyramid in order to have a clear vision of the wanted
place and how we should operate to get there.

Figure 3 : The Volvo Group Pyramid [1]

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2. Volvo Group History

History

Founded in 1927 by Assar GABRIELSSON and Gustaf LARSON, Volvo is one of the world's
leading manufacturers of heavy duty trucks and diesel engines. The Volvo Group also offers a full
range of customized solutions: financing, leasing, insurance and services, complete transportation
systems for urban environments.
The 1920s were a period of progress
progress for trucks and, more generally, for trucking. At the beginning
beginning of
the decade, trucks were generally equipped with chain driven systems and rigid rubber tires. Volvo's
first truck, the "Series 1", came out of the production lines in 1928. Until 1932, Volvo medium-duty
pickup trucks with two service brakes and wooden spokes did not stand out by their modernity. A
smaller, more modern truck became indispensable. Volvo’s LV71 and LV73 series were designed to
be such a success that Volvo became one of the largest exporters of trucks in the mid-1930s. The
early 1940s were marked by the Second World War. Sales of civil trucks were growing at a very slow
pace. The army, meanwhile, was generating strong demand, and Volvo became a leading supplier to
the Swedish armed forces. During the Second World War, thousands of Round nose trucks were

delivered in different models: standard, simplified design or all-wheel drive.

The fifties (1950s) were the theater of trucking. Gasoline engines and rudimentar
rudimentaryy pre-combust
pre-combustion
ion
diesel engines were replaced by direct-injection diesel engines; Introduced in 1951, the "Titan" was
one of the most popular Volvo trucks of all time. It was in the 1960s that the truck became the king
of freight transport, not only because of its flexibility, but also because the national and international
road infrastructure
infrastructure now made it possible to transport goods quickly and safely.
Volvo then launched the Titan TIPTOP / F88 / G88. These models have played a major role in the
history of Volvo trucks. In the 1990s, the transport sector was dominated by three aspects:
environmental
environmental protection, the production of more profitable couplings and, by the end of the decade,

the integration of information technology through such programs. As well as Volvo Dynafleet 2.0,
which made it possible for transport companies and drivers to increase their efficiency and safety on
a daily basis. For Volvo, it was then natural to start designing a successor to the F10 / F12 / F16
range, incorporating new generation engines ready to replace the 12-liter engine. The new millennium
witnesses demand for
for road transport
transport diversifying.
diversifying. Although the main objectives remain
remain efficiency and
cost reduction, safety, ergonomics and the environment are also top priorities. At the Amsterdam
Truck Show, in February 2000, visitors
visitors were able to discover the European
European version of the Volvo
NH12: a "high-tech" truck designed for the new millennium. Equipped with the ultra-modern Volvo
D12C engine, a direct injection diesel engine and electronic management, this truck can be delivered
with Volvo's Dynafleet 2.0 software tool.
The history of the group is very full of events and transitions
transitions.. In 1999, Volvo Cars was sold to Ford
Motor Company. In 2001, Volvo Group acquired Renault Trucks and Mack Trucks. 2007 was a

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busy year for Volvo; the group acquired Nissan Diesel known as UD Trucks and in particular,
Lingong, a Chinese manufacturer of construction vehicles. In 2008, a joint venture with Eicher
Motors was created. And in 2012, Volvo Aero's aerospace components company is sold to the
English engineering group GKN.
Innovation is still part of the Volvo spirit with energy, passion and respect for the individual [1]

Table 1: Volvo Group Innovation History [1]

Year Innovation
1954 First Turbo
1960 First Volvo Trucks Safety Cab
1969 Establishment of the accident research team
1979 Three point belt
1979 12 Liters intercooler engine
1995 Truck Environmental Concept
2005 Alcolock equipped with factory

2008 Gand, First CO2 free factory

2011 FM Methane Diesel & FE Hybrid

3. Volvo Group Brands

The Volvo group brand portfolio consists of twelve brands divided into four product categories:
trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine & industrial engines.
Brands owned by the Volvo group include Volvo, Volvo Penta, UD, Terex Trucks, Prevost, Renault
Trucks, Nova Bus
Bus and Mack.
Brands facilitated through strategic alliances and joint ventures include Sunwin, SDLG (Shandong
Lingong Construction Machinery),
Machinery), Eicher and Dongfeng Trucks.
Each brand within the Volvo group brand portfolio has a unique identity and profile. [1]

3.1 Trucks

The Volvo brand was created in 1928 and has a strong global position. It is one of the most well-
known and respected brands in the world within the industrial vehicle industry. It is associated with
the Group's core values - quality, safety and respect for the environment.

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Volvo Trucks is one of the world's largest manufacturers of medium and high range vehicles for
long distance and regional transport, as well as infrastructure projects.
projects.

Figure 4: Volvo Trucks Model [2]

Renault Trucks: Constructor of heavy-duty vehicles for long distances. Since 1894, building on the
legacy of the French truck industry's expertise, Renault Trucks provides strong tools and links with
transport professionals. The main objective of Renault Trucks is to reduce the costs of transport

operations for its customers. [2]

Figure 5: Renault Trucks Model [2]

Manufactures and sells a wide range of light, medium and heavy vehicles. UD
UD Trucks Manufactures
trucks markets are medium and heavy trucks in Japan, Asia, Australia, Africa, Middle East
and Latin America. The UD Trucks motto for its customers is "Going the Extra Mile". [2]

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Figure 6: UD Trucks Model [2]

Mack Trucks The emblematic brand of the American truck is known for its longevity,
excellent application and customer support. Today, Mack is one of the strongest heavy-
duty brands for the North American market. [2]

Figure 7: Mack Trucks Model [2]

Eicher: Thanks to a joint venture, the Volvo Group sells trucks and buses under the Eicher brand,
mainly in India. Eicher is one of the major players in the Indian market, with a strong image of
energy efficiency and profitability for customers, leader in modernizing the commercial vehicle

industry in India and emerging countries. [2]

Figure 8: Eicher Trucks Model [2]

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Products are segmented in different feature and price levels, thus giving them a different position on
the market and meeting different customer expectations.

Figure 9 : Products segments [2]

3.2 Construction equipment

Volvo Construction Equipment (VCE): One of the world's leading manufacturers of constructio
constructionn
equipment, such as dumpers, wheel loaders, excavators, compactors and pavers.

Figure 10: Volvo Construction equipment [2]

SDLG: Through a joint venture, Volvo Group sells construction equipment under the
Lingong brand, SDLG, mainly in China.

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3.3 Buses

Volvo Buses Volvo Buses is one of the world's largest manufacturers of buses and
coaches: it also distributes chassis, transport solutions and telematics systems.

.
Figure 11: Volvo Buses Model [2]

UD Buses is a brand new activity for UD since 2014. The UD bus range will offer modern transport
transport
solutions developed specifically for expanding markets. It will include intercity buses and coaches.

Prevost Leading manufacturer in North America of top-of-the-range touring coaches, converting

vehicles into luxury
luxury motorhomes
motorhomes and other special
special constructions.
constructions.

Nova Bus One of the leading companies in North America in the design, production and marketing

of urban buses.

Sunwin Bus is one of the leading Chinese bus manufacturers and one of the world's largest
manufacturers of fully electric buses. The Sunwin brand is sold mainly in China. [2]

3.4 Marine & Industrial engines

Volvo Penta is the world's leading supplier of marine engines and navigation systems for
recreational and professional boats as well as for industrial applications such as generators
and handling equipment.
e quipment.

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4. The Volvo Group Organization
The below organigram
organigram represen
represents
ts the Volvo G
Group
roup organization
organization..

Figure 12: Volvo AB Organigram [3]

The Volvo Group
Group consists of four divisions, each oone
ne got a well-defined
well-defined functions:
functions:
Table 2 : Volvo Group Divisions and their roles
Division Function
Group Trucks Sales Global responsibility for sales and marketing activities for all truck brands, as
well as for the joint venture bbetween
etween Volvo Gr
Group
oup and Eicher Motors
Limited.
Group Trucks Research and development of complete vehicles, engines and transmissions,
Technology components and ancillary services.
Group Trucks Manufacture of cabs and trucks for the Volvo, Renault Trucks, Mack and UD
Operations Trucks brands
brands as well as the Group's engines
engines and transmissions.
transmissions.
Supply of spare parts for Group customers and logistics operations.
Responsibility for purchases for the Volvo Group.

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Group Trucks Area Sectors:

Volvo Penta: marine engines and navigation systems for pleasure and
commercial boats and industrial applications.
Bus: urban and interurban buses, coaches and chassis.
Government Sales: Sales to government agencies and organizations.

Business Areas encompasses all maritime, governmental, construction site and bus activities of the
Group Trucks, on the other hand, includes all of the Group's trucking activities, including product
development, purchasing, manufacturing,
manufacturing, sales and after-sales.

Figure 13 : Volvo Group Divisions [1]

My graduation project took place within the Group Trucks Operations in the Quality and
Environment team (Service) having Mr. David FRÄNNE as Vice-President.

5. GTO: Group Trucks Operations

5.1 GTO Localization

Figure 14 : GTO Plants and Services localizatio

localizations
ns [1]

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There are six regions (operational units) on which we work in the GTO division, three of which are
geographical and three operational:

- Europe & Brazil Manufacturing (E&BM): assembly plants in Europe and Brazil.
Brazil.
- North America Manufacturing (NAM): assembly plants in North America.
America.
- International Manufacturing (IAM): assembly plants
plants in APAC (Asia and Pacific
Pacific Cab & Vehicle
Vehicle
Assembly).
- Powertrain Production (PTP): engines and transmissions
transmissions production
production plants
- Logistic & services: services and logistics
- Purchasing: purchasing services
Working on a global
global level, means taking into account
account all regions (these six regions).

5.2 GTO Role in the Volvo Group

The missions of the Volvo Group
Group Trucks Operations
Operations division:
- Manufacture of cabs and trucks for Volvo, Renault, Mack and UD brands.
- Manufacture of engines and transmissions for the whole group.

- Supply of spare parts for Group customers and logistics operations

- Health and safety for the whole group.

Figure 15: GTO Role in the Volvo Group

some
We also highlight that some activities of GTO are
are not only related to the
the trucks but can extend
extend to the
buses, maritime products etc.
As shown in the graph above, engine production in the GTO division is not restricted to trucks but
also to products in the Business Areas division.

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5.3 GTO Organization:

Figure 16: GTO Organigram [3]

Quality & Engineering, CKD is an organization that operates on a global level. It represents a
support for current projects in quality and engineering. My internship takes place in the department
GTO-Global
GTO-Global quality and environment.

AMERICAS Cab & Vehicle Assembly: Manufacture and assembly of cabs, complete vehicles and
road tractors for the Volvo and Mack brands in North, South and Central America

Factories: Dublin, Macungie (United States): NRV (New River Valley and LVO).
Employees: 5000

International Manufacturing: Manufacture of a wide range of products for all Volvo Group
brands.

Factories: Ageo (Japan), Bangkok (Thailand), Hoskote (India), Wacol / Brisbane (Australia).
Employees: 2000

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Europe & Brazil Manufacturing: Manufacture and assembly of cabins, complete vehicles and
vehicles kit for Volvo, Renault and
and UD in Europe,
Europe, Middle East and
and Africa.

- 15 factories.
- The biggest plants are at UMEA, Tuve (suede), Kaluga (Russia), Ghent (Belgium), Bourg en Bresse,
Blainville (France).
- Employees: 12000

Logistics & services:

Design, handling and optimization of the logistics chain for all Volvo Group brands.
- 55 sites worldwide
- Employees: 5000

Powertrain Production:
Volvo plants engines
engines and transmission
transmission lines. One of the biggest manufacturers
manufacturers of high
high power (diesel)
machines for commercial vehicles.
- Factories: Ageo, Hanyu, Konosu (Japan), Charlotte, Hagerstown & Middletown (U.S.), Curitiba
(Brazil), Flen, SKOVDE and Koping (Sweden), Limoges & Vénissieux (France).
- Employees: 8000

GTO Purchasing:
A global function
function covering the
the purchase of automotive
automotive and non-automotive
non-automotive products
products and services
services
for the Volvo Group.

5.4 GTO Global – Quality & Environment

The quality and environment department is responsible for defining and managing the medium and
long term quality and environment work methods in the GTO division. It also supports projects on
the global, regional and local level with quality and environmental expertise. It is, among other things,
the main interface with other global functions and ensures good cooperation between GTO, GTT
and VGRE.

It coordinates and share quality and environment networks with the aim of optimizing, standardizing,
accelerating performance improvement and creating a team spirit between the different operational
units.
Its mission is to develop a culture of quality with a spirit of zero fault mind set allowing a quick

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identification of the problem, correction and prevention of customer claims while reducing the cost
of warranty calls.

Figure 17: Quality & Environment Department Organization

We worked with Mr. Denis Martin (Head of Product Quality). Our entity handles the
global product quality of GTO globally and ensures homogeneity in each region.
This is explained by:
by:

• Implement processes to improve product quality by managing the effectiveness of

preventive and corrective actions related to the Cost of Non-Quality
• Develop quality strategy, standards and processes.
• Ensure that the quality of the product meets the requirements and the satisfaction of the
client and the authorities.
• Produce and deploy robust quality standards
• Reduce the cost of Non-Quality
• Provide quality improvements
• Share lessons learned and best practices.

The above points

points are achieved thr
through
ough four key activities or belon
belongings:
gings:

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 Owning the GTO corporate KPI : the FF1 : Fault Frequency 1 month
 Product Audit: as it is the last Volvo check point before that the product reaches
the end customer.
 Handling Customer Quality Issues (through QSPs: Quick Solving Process &
QJs: Quality Journals).
 Internal campaign process management.

III. Project specifications

Since the first software was developed and implemented in a car , back in the 80’s, software have been
knowing an exponential growth considering its size by counting the number of lines of codes.
A modern vehicle’s calculators, nowadays, may contain up to 400 Million lines of codes.
In addition to that, over 40 different ECU can be installed in today’s Volvo Trucks .
These two facts imply a growing risk of non-quality issues related to software, which is also
confirmed by the strong contribution of software claims to the overall customer claims.

Figure
Figure 19:
18: Truck
Truck ECUs
ECUs [4]
[4] Figure19:
Figure Exponential
18:Vehicle
Vehicle SoftwareGrowth
Software ExponentialGrowth
Exponential Growth[3]
[3]

By that, software claims are affecting strongly the FF1(GTO’s corporate KPI) which is our main
responsibility.
Taking that into account , I was asked to initiate and lead two working groups (Europe Brazil
manufacturing and North America Manufacturing) in order to ensure the improvement of product
quality from the embedded software point of view and subsequently reduce its contribution to
customer claims.

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This task includes:

 Running analysis on software claims in order to assess the current situation.
 Communicating the first degree analysis to the top management in order to have their
implication and commitment to the subject.
 Initiate the two working groups (task force) by gathering around the table, representatives
from all the areas involved in the software issues (from Design, Manufacturing to
Warranty).
 Carry out detailed analysis on the software claims and establish an action plan whose aim is
to reduce software claims by having more reliable trucks.
 Monitor and follow up (Follow up meetings) the action plan progress, establishing a
continuous improvement strategy.

Having a customer focus mindset, the target style for handling non-conformity and warranty claims is
to continuously challenge ourselves to secure customer-related interfaces and establish the most
efficient connections with other parts of the Volvo Group.

Speed and agility in solving customer problems and internal problems that may affect also the
customer are key. Despite all preventive measures, problems will occur which may affect customers
and road users. The benefit of common platforms (product-process-supplier) can be jeopardized
when problems occur as they impact a wider range of products and
a nd markets. Therefore, reactivity,
traceability and cross-site information sharing and actions are crucial to contain issues responsibly.

In this context, my main tasks are:

 Analyze handling nnon-conform
on-conformity
ity processes and their categories.
 Work on the enhancement of
of QULIS: Quality
Quality Information System, in order
order to deploy it in

all the GTO plants.

 Set Handle Non-Conformity perfor
performance
mance indicators whose main purpose is to evolve
operational excellence and monitor Non-Conformity
Non-Conformity treatment actions (Draft Proposal)
 Present the Draft to all Operational Units in order to get their approval and start
developing the dashboard.
 Develop and implement the new dashboard in all GTO plants.
 Set a continuous improvement strategy for this new IT tool.

We should also mention that our graduation project should be carried out in corresponden
correspondence
ce with
the ISO 9001: TS16949 Quality management systems – Particular requirements for the
application of ISO 9001:2008 for automotive production and relevant service part

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organizations and the ISO 10002: Quality management – Customer satisfaction –Guidelines
for complaints handling in organizations.

On the technological side, we used multiple IT environments for this project such as MS EXCEL,
QlikView, PROSIT+, QRAFT and ARGUS.
This specification can be resumed in the following figure as a schematic representation in order to
simplify its understanding and analysis.

Current Situation: Target Situation:

- Strong contribution of software - Reduction of software claims.
claims to FF1. - More reliable trucks.
- No coordination between - Close collaboration between all
involved departments (GTO, departments.
GTT, Warranty, Aftermarket). - Quality Information System deploy
- Quality Information System not in all plants and used by GTT
deploy in all GTO plants people.
(Resistance to change from some - Operational excellence continuous
GTO plants and GTT). evolution in handling non-
- No measurement of handle-non conformities.
conformity processes quality.

Actions to be implemented:
- Carry out analysis on software claims to identify to root causes.
- Initiate and coordinate two working groups (Taskforces)
involving GTT, GTO, Warranty and Aftermarket people.
- Establish a clear action plan and actively monitor its
application and progress (Working meeting and engagements
meetings).
- Deploy a change management strategy for the deployment of
the Quality Information System.
- Define and set handle non-conformity KPI/PI.
- Develop and implement a global dashboard to monitor HNC

Figure 20: Specifications mapping

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rt
a
h
c
tt
n
a
G
t
c
je
o
r
P
n
oit
a
u
d
a
r
G:
1
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re
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F

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The actions that took place during our graduation project are defined in the above Gantt chart
(Figure 21).

IV. Conclusion
The environment and the context of the graduation project established in this chapter demonstrate
that the software is complex to control activity of the Volvo Trucks Production System and that
there is no global dashboard for Handling Non-Conformity Processes. These points show a
necessary perspective to master properly these software issues and objectively measure the quality of
the provided services.
Having an industrial computing and embedded systems background with some knowledge on quality
systems where all processes are optimized and measured to assess performance and allow continuous
improvement, I was selected to carry out this mission by bringing a critical eye on the activities
around software problems and establishing solutions in terms of productivity and quality
management.

The next chapter will be devoted to the study and the definition of the way of working for the main
two defined problems in order to set a proposal for solutions.

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Chapter II

Current Situation Study

&

Proposed Solution

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I. Introduction

In this chapter, we will be presenting the existing situation of Volvo Trucks in direct relation with
software issue through the analysis we carried out in order to start the working groups for this kind
of customer claims .Therefore, we will first of all present the warranty system till we get to the
calculation of our KPI the FF1 which is the main driver of all implemented solutions and working
groups in GTO.
The second part will be dedicated to the study of the Handle Non-Conformity Process,
Process, its categories
and its support IT solution QULIS (Quality Information System) the possibility to establish global
performance indicators and a dashboard to measure and monitor Handle Non-Conformities cases
and by that build an
a n operational excellence continuous evolution system.

II. Software claims

To describe properly
properly the state of the art at the begin
beginning
ning of the pproject,
roject, we will start by explaining the
process of handling customer claims, how we calculate our main KPI the FF1, to focus on the
software problems and how we shall proceed with this issue.

1. Process Approach

In correspondence with what the ISO 9001: TS16949 is promoting, the Volvo Group is adopting a
process approach when developing, implementing and improving the effectiveness of its quality
management system, to enhance customer satisfaction by meeting Customer requirements.
An advantage of this process approach is the ongoing control that it provides over the linkage
between the individual processes within the system of processes, as well as over their combination

and interaction.
When used within a quality managem
management
ent system, such an approach emphasizes
emphasizes the import
importance
ance of

a) Understanding and meeting requirements,

b) The need to consider processes in terms of added value,
c) Obtaining results of process performance and effectiveness, and
d) Continual improvement of processes based on objective measurement. [4]

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As shown in the
the next figure, th
these
ese are the Volvo G
Group
roup Trucks
Trucks Core Processes.

Figure 23 : Volvo Group Trucks Core Processes [6]

Our work took part of the “Deliver and Develop Customer Loyalty” processes and more specifically
in the “Collect and Analyze Customer Feedback and Improve Quality” process (Level 2) .

2. Customer Claims Information Flows & the way it is proceeded

To commonly understand
understand the customer claims incoming flows and its processing
processing we have decided to
resume it in the Figure 23:

Figure 24 : Customer claims flows and processing [7]

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We have three possible roads for handling customer claims:

 The Product Quality Leader (PQL who is a member of the GTT Q&CS Team) has all
possible inputs to analyze and decide to deal with an issue through a QJ Draft or a QSP
Proposal during the FQM (Field Quality Meeting).
The C Value is the PQL’s main criteria to decide whether to deal with the problem or not.

The Next figure is a definition of the C Value.

Figure 25: C value Calculation and Criticality [7]

 Through GTO Operational Unit Product Quality Manager based on the FF1 and WC1 data.
 Through GTO plant customer contact using weekly FF1 data.

The Data Bases mapping for customer claims is described in the next figure.

Figure 26: Warranty Mapping [7]

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UCHP: Unified Claim Handling Process is the web based application developed by Volvo Truck
in correspondence with the ISO 10002: Quality management – Customer satisfaction –
Guidelines for complaints handling in organizations, to support customers and Volvo Trucks
processes.
Therefore, UCHP is used by dealers and end customer to write a claim about a certain quality
problem that occurred.
PS: We should note that software related problems are usually automatically approved by
UCHP since they are claims of low cost compared to hardware issues and that the re-upload
of the software resolves a decent amount of the claims but nevertheless the problem may
show again.

3. FF1: Fault Frequency 1 Month

3.1 FFx

The Fault Frequency (FF) are indicators used to monitor the quality. They are calculated using the
number of claims received for a sample, divided by the number of trucks in service within this

sample.
If the FF is low, the quality is good. Otherwise, investigations are set in motion to understand why
the quality is not at expected level.
FFx are commonly used in Volvo’s quality services, but they don’t control the same period. FF12
takes into account the 12 first in-service-months of the trucks; FF24 takes into account the 24 first
months, etc.
These above
a bove FF are used by the Sales service to know which parts of the trucks cost the most to
the company during the warranty period of the vehicle.

As these indicators are essential to the company, a big database (as shown in the Figure 24) exists
in which is gathered every informatio
informationn about every product and every claim.
In these data, we have everything we know about the vehicles: identification number, brand
brand,, model,
assembly plant, in-service date, engine model etc. and about the claims: reference number of the
claim, repair date, dealer information, price, causal part, Defect code, dealer’s comments etc.

3.2 Fault Frequency 1 month

FF1 represents the average number of claims that affects a vehicle (or product) from a specific
production month,
month, from the time it reaches the dealer until 1 month in service at end customer.
=> Unit: claim per unit

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Calculation:
All claims related to the trucks of a production mon
month
th that occurred from plant delivery till 1 MIS (1
Month In Service) / Total number of trucks in service produced this month (unadjusted claim rate).
! Maturity 0 is considered for vehicle: means that a claim is not considered for FF1 calculation as long as related truck
is not in service (but it is as soon as the truck is in service).
Considered claims for FF1 calculation:
– Included claims:
 All variants included (i.e. custom
customer
er adaptation)
 Pre-delivery claims included
 miss-build and discrepancy (out of specifications)
 claims related to body builder activities
– Not included claims:
 Service campaign and safety recalls

Goodwill
 logistic claims (no defined mean to catch them until now)
Conditions to display FF1 (Scope):
Two conditions
conditions are needed to di
display
splay FF1 figur
figuree that has a meaning ((considered
considered as a « matur
maturee »):
1) Minimum sampling  at least 40%* of a production mont
monthh must be in service
2) Minimum maturity level  65% of delivered trucks must have reached 1 month in service
Even when FF1 figure is mature for a specified month, it is still not frozen.
Important: as an exception and to avoid confusions, reported global FF1 is always related to
« reporting month – 3 months ».

Example: In September,
September, we display August
August report with
with Global FF1 related
related to May.
Note also that:
FF1 per model in monthly report is related to vehicles delivered in the geographical region in which
they have been manufactur
manufactured.
ed.
FF1 per plant in monthly report is related to vehicles delivered everywhere.
The Figure 26 shows the FF1 figures of the Volvo FH as displayed in June 2015 :

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Figure 27:FF1 figures of Volvo FH (June 2015) [7]

3.3 The FF1 dashboard

The FF1 dashboard was built using a software called “ QlikView” (a presentation of the software will
be exposed in the next chapter). The dashboard is using the claims data to automatically calculate our
key performance indicator.
It is set using filters in order to be able to select a scope to monitor and focus on:

Example: we can select as Operational Unit: E&BM, Plant: Tuve by that we will be monitoring the
FF1 only for this scope.
It generates also paretos of: Top causal parts, function groups etc.
More details of the Qlikview FF1 Dashboard are presented in the Annex.
Anne x.

4. First High Level Analysis

In order to run our analysis properly, we had to define some points:
 Objective: Deliver a high level analysis to highlight the big contribution of the software
related issues to FF1 and customer claims in general. And then, investigate deeply the root

causes of the quality problem in order to establish an action plan to reduce the software
claims and continuously improve trucks reliability involving all departments.
 Period: Claims for vehicles built from the 1st September 2016 till February 2017.

 Data: Extracted data from the FF1 Database.

 Team: Capucine BOUSQUET (GTO E&BM SW Process Manager), Yamina El
HAJEM (Director SW&EL France), Denis Martin (Head of Product Quality) and
Baha-Eddine Alayet.
 Standard: Volvo Group Standard STD 920-0004: Defect codes.

 Software : Excel, PROSIT+.

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4.1 STD 920-0004: Defect codes

This standard covers definitions of defect codes. It aalso

lso defines a structure which shall be used by
entities in Volvo Group systems & organizations that work with defect codes, including for
example claim handling, calculations, warranty, technical service, service contracts, commercial
goodwill and extended coverage.
The standard’s main purpose is to support a common way of working by referring to common
defect codes, so that systems can utilize defect code data from different parts of the organization.
Additionally, the standard defin
defines
es a routine for change management ooff its contents.
contents.
PS: During our project, we will be focusing only the defect code “Software”. There are 120
possible defect codes
codes (Short circuit, leak,
leak, software etc.).
4.2 PROSIT+:

PROSIT+ stands for PROduction System Integrated Tools; it is composed of a set of tools
(software and hardware) that allow multiple tasks:


Read/Erase fault codes (fault codes or DTCs are code defined by GTT that
t hat refers to a problem in
the vehicle: accurately define the problem.).
 Program the ECUs.
 Test.
 Calibration.
 Check.
 Alter Parameters. [4]

We used PROSIT+ central database in order to check for each claim (vehicle) whether it had a
software problem during the production process ( having as an aim to detect if there is a gap or more
like opportunity to enhance the verification on the manufacturing side).
In correspondence with the International Standards all executed tasks and all related results using
PROSIT+ are stored for traceability reasons.
PROSIT+ Environment is presented in the Annex A.
4.3 Analysis Results

Using the defined extracted data on Excel and the pivoted tables’ functionality and “Software” as a
defect code filter, we were able asses the contribution of software issues from a global view as shown
in the Figure 27.

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Figure 28: Software claims contribution to FF1 and claims payments

We can see by that the huge contribution of software

software to customer claims and by that to quality issues
as only software issues represents 11,2% of total FF1 claims having in mind that there is 120 possible
defect codes and only one of the 120 has such a contribution.
The Figure 28 shows the bad trend of the contribution of software claims since September 2016.

Figure 29: SW claims trend before starting the WG

Going further in our analysis, we decided to use the pareto analysis in order to set the main

contributors
contributors in software issues for each operational unit (E&BM and NAM).

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Having that in mind we started by drawing the pareto of the contribution of each production site to
software issues.
This pareto is presented in the com
coming
ing figure.

Figure 30: Plants SW contribution to FF1 claims

As shown in the Figure 28, for Europe & Brazil Manufacturing, the leading contributors are Gent
(Belgium), Kaluga (Russia) and Tuve (Sweden).
And for North
North Americas M
Manufacturing
anufacturing N
NRV
RV (New River Vall
Valley-USA)
ey-USA) and LVO (USA).
 Based on this pareto and knowing the impossibility to manage detailed analysis and
working groups
groups related to mu
multiple
ltiple plant, we ddecided
ecided to carr
carryy on our analysis ffor
or Europe &
Brazil Operational Unit considering Gent plant as a pilot ( since it is the biggest
contributorr to software claims. We should also mention that Gent is the biggest Volvo
contributo
plant in the world with a production capacity that goes up to more than 4600 truck per
month).
All actions will be
be applied to the rest of the pl
plants.
ants.
causing financial losses ooff 8K euro per month (Gent).
The SW claims are causing
 For North Americas Manufacturing
Manufacturing our analysis will take into account both plants: NRV &
LVO.
financial overview these SW claims costs 1077 K SEK (121K$) to the warranty
To have a financial
budget for the last 6 months => average of 20K$ per month (for NAM).

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The Volvo Trucks work is divided into multiple competence areas called “Vehicle Module Team”
during our first analysis we detected that only 3 VMTs which are:

 20: Electrical components

 21: Electronics
 50: Engine

detain 80% of the software claims , so we reduced our scope to take only this three function groups
into our loop.
To reduce our scope for E&BM
E&BM,, we selected these filt
filters:
ers:
 Defect code : Software
 Plant: Gent
 Function Groups: 20, 21 and 50.

Considering that we were able to reduce our scope to select 134 customer claims referring to the top
3 causal parts:
 3651-Electronic Control Unit.

 3111-Battery Complete Energy Absorber.

 2849-Miscellaneous (Control system, Fuel supply).

These 3 causal parts contribute to 770%

0% of Gent software claims.
The next step was to run more focused and detailed analysis on these 134 issues in order to assess
better the situation and define a working strategy.
This task was done using PROSIT+, the customer/dealers comment fields and our expertise in the
embedded software sector.
The main core of the team is composed of: Denis MARTIN, Capucine BOUSQUET and Baha-
Eddine ALAYET.
The final results
results are summaries in the next figures:

Figure 31 : Impact of campaigns on FF1 software claims

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Figure 32: FF1 Claims that could be approved

app roved or not

the figure 30 and figure 31, we were able to elaborate

As shown in the elaborate some statist
statistics
ics highlighting th
thee
main takeaways from our analysis.
To have a better view we choose to clearly define these po
points
ints as below:

1) High contribution from External Campaign claims (39%)

a) Wrongly affected debit
debit code (37, 6 %):
%):
External Campaign claims as defined should not be part of the FF1 database as they are whether
claims of already solved problems or claims with an existing solution. Having this amount of claims
in the FF1 Database in not only causing a miscalculation of our KPI presenting a misleading image of
the actual status but also making it harder to the solving team to process all this data(waste of time
and fatigue).
b) Difficulties to run requested campaign
c ampaign
2) Unjustified FF1 claims

a) See 1)a
b) Few claims with SW re-upload without any fault code (1b + 2b = 2, 4%)
Some customers and dealers are claiming (and getting also paid) for re-uploading the ECUs Software
whether to upgrade
upgrade it (even tthough
hough there is nnoo need and even doin
doingg that should no
nott be considerate as
a claim) or to solve an issue with the truck without properly identifying it.
3) Trucks which have left
left the plant with
with still activated fault code (2, 24 %)
%)::
PROSIT+ showed us that 3 trucks have left the plant with a status NOK for have been delivered.
4) Trucks which have had
had fault code at pplant
lant (upload rreplayed
eplayed &/or ffault
ault code deactivate
deactivated)
d) but
fault code popping up again (8 cases from 134)
Using PROSIT+ also we were able to detect that 8 trucks showed a NOK status for some software
operations in the plant, operators were able to solve the issues back then to have an OK status but

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the same trucks were the cause of 8 claims from the end customer in relationship with the same
operations.
5) 53% of claims « justified » but further investigations needed
More than half of the analyzed cases were for us justified and needed further investigation with the
help of software specialists.
PS: The same analysis and results were done for North Americas Manufacturing considering the
same filters (Plants: NRV&LVO, defect code: Software, Function Groups: 20, 21 & 50).
As a result we got 4 causal parts con
contributing
tributing to more than 80% of NAM SW Claims:
 2841-Electronic control Unit
 3982-Wireless Electronic Control
 3649-Miscellaneous(Electrical Item)
 3811-Combined Instrument

5. Next step

Using these analysis takeaways, we resumed it in a PowerPoint presentation.

This presentation will be used as a communicatio
communicationn material during a first meeting with
representatives from the different departments who will be if convinced a part of our “ software
working groups”, helping in having more information about the defined points and setting a ctions (
set ting actions
an action plan ) to continuously improve the quality of our products and solve customer issues.
The detailed information about our SW taskforces and the action plan defined action plan will be
presented in the 3rd Chapter.
We should also mention
mention that this
this analysis was done man
manually
ually using excel sheet bbut
ut we have started
working with Linda
Linda ÖWRIN (Process Project Manager SW&EE Te
Technology)
chnology) to bu
build
ild a QlikView
dashboard using FF1 and PROSIT+ databases in order to automatically generate these analysis on a
regular basis (monthly) and be able by that to report back easily to design and manufacturing
departments the issues and gaps for improvements.(Using the chassis number as a link between the
two data bases).

III. Handle Non-Conformity Process & QULIS

1. Definition

The “Handle Non-Conformity” process is a Level 3 process which is part of a bigger process (Level
2) called “Produce Product”
1.1 Produce Product Process

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Produce Products add value, step by step, to the physical product until it is in accordance with the
product specification and the production order, thereby fulfilling our customers´ and stakeholders´
needs.
The main purpose of this process is to produce a product according to specification, on time and in
an efficient way. [6]

diagram is presented in the Figure 31.

The process diagram

Figure 33: Produce Product Process Diagram [6]

1.2 Handle Non-Conformity Process

Starting from issues on product or on manufacturing process product related, the organization will
grasp non-conformities by containing the unexpected effects to protect the customer, implement
effective action after proving the root cause and finally expand best practice where possible to
improve overall efficiency.
As for that the main purpose of this process is to develop
d evelop Customer satisfaction by ensurin
ensuringg all non-
conformities on the product are managed prior to delivery and to increase manufacturing efficiency
by expansion of proven effective corrective actions to avoid recurrence of non-conformities. [6]
The Figure 32 shows the Handle Non-Conform
Non-Conformity
ity Process diagram.

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Figure 34: Handle Non-Conformity Process Diagram [6]

The regulation framework

framework fo
forr the developmen
developmentt of this pr
process
ocess is:
 ISO 14001: 2015 :
 10.2 Non Conformity and Corrective Action
 10.3 Continual improvem
improvement
ent
 ISO 9001:2015 ( 8.7.1 Control of non-conforming outputs)

2. Handle Non Conformity Processes

Handle Non-Conformity is the core process for handling quality issues and depending on the issues
(gravity, category etc.) Volvo has developed some specific processes:

 QJ: Quality Journal

QJ Process is to be applied to solve Market Quality Issue. It deals with high important items and is
applied where there is an urgency/severity when DVP (Develop Product & Aftermarket Product
Portfolio)
Portfolio) process is not sufficient. It should be used as a response to meet quality targets and when
the market is “bleeding”.

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High priority resolution to move quickly in order to limit associated costs and disruptions
caused by the issue
Aftermarket publication
publication com
communication
munication and nnew
ew spare parts

The QJ Process
Process shall be applied based on facts or pr
prediction
ediction when w
wee have:
Safety related issues

Non-conformity
Non-conformity to legal requirements
Sudden increase in failure rate, Warranty Costs and Break down
A need to meet Fault
Fault Frequen
Frequency
cy (FF) and/o
and/orr Breakdown /Unp
/Unplanned
lanned Stops ffrequency
requency
(BD/UPS) targets (short term targets)
A need to meet Warranty Cost targets.
A QJ is usually opened
opened to deal with a design issue. [7]
 QSP: Quick Solving Process

It delivers a solution to the issue by following the 8D methodology. It is a quick way to solve quality
issues when
• Potential manufacturing, logistic or supplier improvement action is foreseen to solve the
issue
• No design change is foreseen
• High confidence root cause shall be identified
QSP is divided into 4 specific categories:
QSP PL: quality issues affecting end customer, related to Production Logistics and being solved
through QSP process.
QSP MSL: quality issues affecting end customer, related to Market Service Logistics and being
solved through QSP process.
QSP Manufacturing: quality issues affecting end customer, related to manufacturing process and
being solved through QSP process.
QSP Purchasing: quality issues affecting
a ffecting end customer, related to supplier manufacturing process
and being solved through QSP process. [8]

 Other Handle Non-Conformity Processes

Internal Provider Cab: used for claiming between GTO plants for issues related to Cab.
Internal Provider Frame: used for claiming between GTO plants for issues related to Frame.
Internal Provider Powertrain: used for claiming to GTO provider plants Powertrain

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Internal Provider other: used for claiming between GTO plants for issues related to other areas
(excluding Logistics, Powertrain, Cab and Frame).
External supplier Q: material defect from external supplier.
General (Site Internal): fault highlighted and generated by plant manufacturing process (inside own
factory).
End Customer claim: issue affecting end customer that is not taken through QSP, for any reason.
Product audit remark:
if a fault is found during audit and registered on own factory. [9]

For these processes the solutions are usually simple to implement, nevertheless, all Handle Non-
Conformityy processes are solved following the 8D methodology.
Conformit

3. HNC Support IT Solution : QULIS

Being a global company with production sites in 18 countries plus the fact of having multiple brands
implies the existence of multiple ways of working and multiple ways for documenting cases and
dealing with Non-Conf
Non-Conformities.
ormities.

Having a customer mindset and knowing that reactivity, traceability and cross-site information
sharing and actions are crucial to resolve issues responsibly, GTO decided to develop an IT solution
to support HNC Process. This IT solution is called QULIS.
In other words, this is the IT solution to support communication and follow up around Quality
issues which are related to the manufacturing process.
QULIS stands for Quality Information System. It is a web-based application developed internally
using VB.NET framework and an SQL Server database.
Inspired from the 8D methodology with some modifications a QULIS case contains the following
steps:
 Add/Update New Case
Case Handling

Figure 35: Add/Update-New case handling Step

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This step allows us to initiate the case by filling the case informatio
informationn (Part name, category, severity
level) and assigning the case to a working group composed of one case owner and at least two
assistants.
 Investigation : consists of a first problem description and analysis
analysis using the 5W2H methodology

Figure 36: Investigation step

 Containment within 24h:

It is a description of the containment action.

A CA is usually a fast and short term solution to stop the “bleeding” and protect the customer.
At this step, there is no need to clearly define the root cause, the priority is to have a temporary
solution till we run a detailed root cause analysis and implement an efficient and long term solution.
The 24h target is
is mentioned in oorder
rder to push the staff to im
implement
plement the so
solution
lution as soon as possibl
possiblee

Figure 37: Containment action step

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 Root Cause Analysis within 7 days:

Identify all applicable causes that could explain why the problem has occurred. Also identify why the
problem was not noticed at the time it occurred. All causes shall be verified or proved. We can use
Ishikawa diagrams (4M) to map causes against the effect or problem identified.

Figure 38: Root Cause Analysis Step

 Solution Implementation:

At the stage the case owner shou

should:
ld:
 Explain what was done to solve the problem so other colleagues in other factories can get
lessons learned.
 Explain how is further detection secured

Figure 39: Implementation/Lessons learned step

 Verification step:

Case owner should:

 Specify from when have we implemented the final solution
 Reflect if the solution can be used in other areas in the plant
 Attach the result from what you
you did to verify th
that
at the prod
product
uct is OK fro
from
m now.

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 Attach the result from what you

you did to verify that the pro
process
cess is secured fro
from
m now

Figure 40: Verification step

 Completion within 20 days:

Marking the date of the case finish, case owner should specify:
 the responsible organization for the long term solution
 the responsible support function in the plant to come up with a short term solution and
contact organizations outside plants for support

Figure 41: Completion within 20 days step

4. Main takeaways

After analyzing the Handle No

Non-Conformit
n-Conformityy Process and its su
support
pport IT solution we came to two
conclusions:
 QULIS is not deployed in all GTO plants and a resistance from GTT organization to use it
for QSP handling.
 There is no global
global monitorin
monitoringg for the hand
handling
ling non-conformity cases ‘performance and by
that we are not securing the continuous improvement and the evolution of the operational
excellence.

For the first conclusion, we used the 5 Whys technique in order to clearly identify its root cause:
“QULIS is not deployed in all GTO plants Resistance from GTT”
1- Why? : Some plants didn’t accept to use it.

2- Why? : Change Resistance.

3- Why? : QULIS a new tool to them.

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4- Why? : Some plants have already developed their own IT tools for supporting HNC cases.
5- Why? : Each plant has its own way of working for HNC and communicating
communicating around it &
QULIS is not flexible enough to support all HNC categories.
 A need to make more
more flexible and user-friendly so that GTO pplants
lants accept to deplo
deployed.
yed.

For the second, we saw an urgent need to set KPI/PIs to monitor the HNC cases around QULIS in
order to actively control the cases and have both global and specific view on our situation so that we
can react according to those indicators.
5. Proposed Solutions
 Form a “QULIS Working Group” whose objective is to continuously improve this IT
solution by:
 Assigning pilots for the deploym
deployment
ent of QUL
QULIS
IS in each plant.
 Weekly follow-up meetings to get plants feedback an
andd change requests.
 Monthly Working Group Meetings
Meetings to assess the current situation and prioritize changes on
the system according to the urgent needs and the allocated budget.
 Defining a new HNC KPI/PIs and developing a global dashboard to be used by people
ranging from global organizations to quality engineers.
To do that, we should:
should:
 Set a list of all the data that we can extract from QULIS Database.
 Build our performance indicator.
 Write the specification
specification of the connection
connection between QULIS and the chosen software
for the dashboard.
 Develop the dashboard & test it .

IV. Conclusion

In this chapter we have presented a first diagnosis of the current situation in relation with software
claims and HNC process and its support IT solution.
For the software issues we were able to assess to situation by running analysis using feedback for
end-customers and dealers (Claims) in order to start our working groups to reduce these claims by
setting and following a clear action plan.
As for Handle Non-Conform
Non-Conformity
ity process and QULIS we did identify the few difficulties it is facing
and set down a strategy to overcome it. The more important point is the decision to set new HNC
performance
performance indictor and a dashboard to display it and actively monitor QULIS cases.

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This way we can ensure a more reactive organization but more than that a continuous evolution of
the operational excellence dealing with non-confor
non-conformities.
mities.
During the next chapter, we will present the development of the proposed solutions.

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Chapter III

Solutions
&
Implementation

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I. Introduction
After the diagnosis
diagnosis that we have pre
presented
sented in the previous
previous chapter, tthe
he actual chapter det
details
ails the
implemented steps, actions and development we did to achieve the target situation as defined the our
project specifications, taking into account the both subjects : Software product quality issues and
handle non-conformity process quality improvemen
improvement.t.

II. Software Working Groups

Considering the first analysis we ran, showing the big contribution of software quality issues to
customer claims. It is time to form the appropriate taskforce to handle these issues.
We decided according to that, to gather two working groups; one for E&BM and another one for
NAM.
PS: We will only present the work for E&BM with a view on NAM.

1. Working Group Team Members

To have an efficient results, we decided to form a cross functional

functional group in order to ensure the share
of knowledge but more than that to secure the communication between all the organizations and be
by that a facilitator to the success of this mission.
 Denis MARTIN : Head of Product Quality
 Baha-Eddine ALAYET: Product Quality Engineer Trainee
 Yamina El HAJEM (Director
(Director SW&EL France)
 Capucine BOUSQUET (GTO E&BM SW Process Manager)
 Jennie LARSSON(GTO
LARSSON(GTO E&BM Product Quality Manager)
 Loan BESSE(Product Quality Engineer)

Anna-Karin FLOOD(Director
FLOOD(Director Warranty Manage
Management)
ment)
 Jenny GUSTAFSSON(Director
GUSTAFSSON(Director Customer QQuality
uality & Campaign Manag
Management)
ement)
 David HAUTEVILLE(ESW Product Specialist)
 Hans LEMNER(Lead Engineer Electronics & Software)
 Caroline NASLUND(Software Product Quality Leader)

2. Way of Working

In order to get the working group members full engagement into this issue we had first of all to
present the first analysis we have done (2 nd Chapter) in order to convince them of the importance of
software into reaching customer success and by the Volvo Group target and to clearly define the
purpose of the working group.

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After that, we started discussing each point defined as outputs from the 2nd chapter in order to set
clear an effective action resumed in a global action plan.
We organized the work by setting
setting global follow-up meetings
meetings (once in two weeks) and specific follow-
follow-
up meetings for each action (depending on the action itself)

3. Action Plan

Following the outputs of our analysis we were able after some decisions and more discussion to set
the following action plan for each point by defining the main activities to do, expected achievements
and we have appointed a team leader and people to involve.

3.1 High contribution from External Campaign claims (39%)

 Wrongly affected debit code (37,6 %): DC10 (f
(factory
actory warranty)

Team Leader: Anna-Karin

Anna-Karin FLOOD
FLOOD
People to involve: Loan BESSE, Jenny GUSTAFSSON,
GUSTAFSSON, Sylvie D
DENIS
ENIS (Quality & Warranty
Director for Renault Trucks), David HAUTEVILLE.
Activities: - Carry investig
investigations
ations to know whether related vehi
vehicles
cles were inside th
thee P-Code period
or not and act consequently with dealers. Only claims related to trucks with this P-code are allowed
to be part of claim.
- How to handle with Op Unit Quality network
 Expected achievement: Better Debit Code Management.
Follow up (correct DC used by dealers)
 Decided actions: Implementation of a monthly SW meeting for E&BM to be
led by Loan to monitor the dealers’ behavior and act according to the situation.
 Status: Done (Monthly Meetings Implemented but needs a continuous follow
up).
 Expected completion
completion date: week 34 (20
(2017)
17)
 Difficulties to run requested campaign

Team Leader: Denis

Denis MARTIN
People to involve: David HAUTEVILLE.
Activities: - Question AM (After Mark
Market):
et): what’s the major difficulties when starting a SW
campaign?
 Expected achievement: support the dealer in SW campaign execution with

better definition of what is to be done.

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 Decided actions: Ensure that all requirements are available and

a nd well defined
when running a SW campaign.
 Status: Conscious decision. Single case. Decision to park it but actively follow
up.
 Comments: Problem with specific campaign (timed out at 99%).
 Expected completion date: Week 20 (2017).

3.2 Unjustified FF1 claims

 Few claims with SW re-upload without any fault code(2,4%) : we should mention that an
investigation we did with the help of Jennie LARSSON and Loan BESSE showed that the
contributionn of this kind of claims for trucks built in Tuve(Sweden) and Blainville(France)
contributio
and delivered to the Scandinavian market are way higher ( up to 15% )

Team Leader: Yamina El HAJEM

People to involve: Jean Yves DROUHUIN
Activities: - Facilitate an efficient Root C
Cause
ause Analysis
 Expected achievement: Avoid SW re-loading without any identified cause.
 Decided actions: analysis chassis by chassis to know if something specific was
decided.
 Status: Ongoing (found the people contact but workshops didn’t start yet).
 Expected completion date: Week 50 (2017)

3.3 Justified FF1 claims

 Trucks which have left the plant
plant with still activated fault code (2, 24 %)

Team Leader: Capucine BOUSQUET

People to involve: GTT organization and Daniel LENHAGEN
LENHAGEN (Project Quality Manager
Operations.
Activities: - 1st step: Investi
Investigations
gations on green O
OK
K process (wh
(whyy trucks have left tthe
he plant with activ
activee
fault code??)
 Expected achievement: Avoid delivery of trucks with fault codes.
 Comments: a deeper investigation showed that these kinds of fault codes are
allowed since it should be turned off after that the bodybuilders finish their
activities on the truck. However, there is no check point when the truck leaves
the bodybuilder yard.
 Proposed actions: Establish a Volvo check point at bodybuilders or a system to
share the validation process for traceability reasons.

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 Status: Ongoing (found the people contact but workshops didn’t start yet).
 Expected completion date: Week 50 (2017).

- 2nd step: Green OK operation sequence optimizati

optimization
on
 Expected achievement: Align Green OK checks on best practice.
Investigation on Green OK with GTT (Quality + Engineering)
Working plan to
to be established
 Comments: a deeper investigation we have carried out revealed multiple gaps in
the Green OK process between GTO Plants.
 Decided actions: Meetings with GTT SW on what should be checked to get an
efficient Green OK.
 Containment actions: Assess which Green OK process is the most efficient
between the plants and standardized for the rest of the plants.
 Status: Ongoing
 Expected completion date: end of 2018.
 Justified claims but further investigation is needed(5
needed(53%)71
3%)71 claims

Team Leader: Baha-Eddine

Baha-Eddine ALAYET
People to involve: Hans LEMNER, Caroline NASLUND, Jairid MOWEN (Director Product
Quality Management Mack Trucks USA).
Activities: - Carry out ddetailed
etailed analysis on tthese
hese claims in ord
order
er the find oout
ut the root causes.
Follow up QJ progress with PQLs and through ARGUS.
 Expected achievements: Better product audit to prevent issues in AM.
Push GTT to open more QJs in order to quickly solve issues.
 Comments: C value formula may sometimes neglect some issues and usually
GTT people use FF12 indicator to decide about quality issues on the other
hand we are working on fresher claims.
 Slow reaction to quality issues.
 Activity outputs: The working sessions
sessions outputs may
maybe
be resumed as belo
below
w:
 20%: 14/71: Campaign S3666 related.
 15%: 11/71: EATS: After Treatment System issues.
 14% : 10/71 :Hardware issue : related to wiring or BBM(Bodybuilders)
 10% : 07/71 :Calibration issue(Sensor, remote control)
 4% : 03/71 :ESCL is
issue
sue (E
(Electronic
lectronic Sus
Suspension
pension Controller)
 4% : 03/71 :Issue when pperforming
erforming TSB/Campaign

 3% : 02/71 ::Bluetooth
Bluetooth (Thi
(Thiss functionality is still not robu
robust
st enough)
 1,5%: 01/71 :Handled in QJ 1-5664571611
 1,5%: 01/71 :Solved through a QSP.
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 1,5%: 01/71 :Will be handled in QJ 1-7455049241
 1,5%: 01/71 : No clear link between reprogramming and explained
failure

More discussions with Jairid MOWEN revealed that software quality specialist are facing major issues
analyzing software claims and finding root causes since that based on the data they have , customers
and dealers didn’t write the fault codes the tool showed in their claims for 74% of the cases for the

past 12 Months.
 Containment actions: To have a temporary solution for the missing fault code
issues we were able
a ble with the contribution of Vince LINDELY (Director
Quality, Reliability & Warranty USA) to implement an auto exception rule in
UCHP. This rule will ensure that software claims won’t be treated unless the
claimer will enter the raised fault codes and will have by that two main effects:
Decrease software claims and software re-upload without proven
failure.
Increase the percentage of software claims with fault codes.

The Figure 41 shows the description of the implemented auto exception rule in UCHP for software
claims warranty handling.

Figure 42: Software UCHP new auto-exception rule

PS: The rule was only implemented for the top 3 dealers causing 70% of the claims with missing fault
codes and for the top 3 causal parts contributing in 70% of software claims both in NAM and
E&BM.
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 Long Term (Sustainable)

(Sustainable) Solution: After starting this wor
working
king group and in
order to avoid missing fault codes in reported claims and to ensure a
continuous improvement
improvement of our reactivity toward costumer problem and even
to anticipate the occurrence of an issue, GTT organization started the
development of a revolutionary solution that will be tested by the end of

September 2017.
 Other decided actions: Carry on follow up meetings with GTT to assess the
situation and actively push them to considerate and prioritize new issues.
And to do so we are extracting we
weekly
ekly fresh data to analyze during our wo
working
rking
sessions.
 Status: Ongoing.

The action plan is summarized in a shared excel file to have a follow-up on each action and to
communicate with other parties.

4. Working Groups & Action Plan Results

This paragraph will present a summary of the decided actions, the ones who already are in place and
their effects/results:

 Action 1: Implementation of a monthly SW meeting for E&BM led by Loan to monitor the
dealers’ behavior and act according to the situation.
Effects: - Better Debit Code Management
- Reduction of the existence of claims related to campaigns in our data (From 39%
to 0%).
A filtered key performance
performance in
indictor
dictor with no misleading data.
FF1 is reflecting the real situation, displaying real quality issues detected during the first
vehicle’s month in service.
Less overwhelming data to process.

 Action 2: Audit Software campaign execution.

Effects: - Ensure that all requirements are available and well defined when running a SW
campaign
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 Action 3: Continuously audit customer claims handling process and its warranty system.
(According to the paragraph 8.5 Auditing of the complaints-handling process of the ISO
10002:2004: Quality management-Customer satisfaction-Guidelines for complaints
handling in organizations.)
Effects: - Improvement of UCHP rules by setting the new auto exception one, an analysis we

did showed a quick increase of the percentagestof software claims with assigned fault codes
from ( 26% to 79%): reported on august 31 .
Provide PQLs and Software specialists with the needed information to clearly understand
to claimed quality issues and to act accurately according to that.
Avoid SW re-loading
re-loading without any identified ccause.
ause.
Continuously improve the claim handling process (ISO 10002:2004).
Ensure communication and cross functional work between warranty and design
organization (GTT), helping to address issues to the right people.
PS: GTT organization was aware of the missing fault codes, but never found the way the

properly address this issue to someone who can resolve it.

 Action 4: Analyze and do a benchmark about the differences of Green OK processes from a
plant to another.
Effects: - Identify gaps at checks done at end of line.
- Select the most efficient and optimized Green OK Process to run it as a pilot for all
plants till GTT establishes a clear definition
definition of a global Green OK Process.(Align
Process.(Align Green OK
Process Checks).
Results presented in the Annex B.
 Action 5: Carry out working sessions with PQLs and Software Specialists for detailed analysis
on SW claims.
Effects: - Clearly identify the root causes of SW quality issues.
- Monitor the claim handling process from the PQLs side.
- Engage GTT to open more GJs to solve the identified issues.

 Action 6: Build a Qlikview dashboard to connect FF1 and PROSIT+ databases, using taking
advantages of manual work we have performed.
Effects: -Automatically generate
generate on a monthly basis similar analysis to the ones we have
performed.
-Report and track down to design and manufactur
manufacturing
ing gaps and areas of possible
improvement.
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5. Software claims status

Extracting the FF1 warranty claims by the beginning of September we were able to draw this chart
showing to evolution of the number of software claims since January 2016 till our la
last
st mature month
(May).

Figure 43: SW claims trend after starting the working group

We can easily see a noticeable decrease in SW claims
claims contribution after March‘s 12%.
Focusing on the last two mature months (April and May), we can clearly identify an improvement of
40% compared to the same months of the previous year.
The Figure 43 display the evolution of the contribution of SW claims to total claim payments since
2016 and highlighting some improvements, reaching 5,4% by May (February 6,8%) as a decrease of
1,4% which is almost equivalent to 150K SEK (15K euro).

Figure 44: SW claims payment trend after starting the working group
g roup
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That to be said, the software issues are still unstable and

a nd we are certain tha
thatt the implementation and
follow-up of the actions we have set will contribute enormously in its reduction, ensure our trucks
reliability and avoid customer claims.

III. Handle Non-Conformity Processes Improvement

This part will be dedicated to present the work

work we have carried out in order to establish a continuous
improvement system for the handle non-conformity cases by ensuring a sustainable evolution of its
operational excellence.
But before detailing the chosen PI/KPIs and the developed dashboard to monitor quality issues
handling processes and help in the decision making, we should, first of all, show the strategy we have
implemented so that QULIS would be deployed by all GTO plants and used by GTT Quick Solving
Leader for QSP Processes.
1. QULIS Deployment Strategy

After assessing QULIS situation and the resistance it is facing from some GTO plants and especially
GTT Quick Solving Leaders we have decided to act according to the following points:

 Run pilots in GTO plants and get their feedback/Change Requests: Assigned PSKUs (QULIS
Key Users) will ensure the usage of the IT support, collect involved parties feed-back and
proposed enhancements to easily work with QULIS.
 Run QSP Pilots with weekly feedback.
 Working sessions with
with GTT Quick So
Solving
lving Leaders (L
(Led
ed by Didier VIVIAN
VIVIAN:: Process
Manager & Business Process Developer Renault Trucks SAS) to assess the situation from

GTT side.
 Gather all feedback and change requests in one common team place.
 Prioritize Changes according to :
o Whether it is a stopper
stopper or not ffor
or QULIS dep
deployment.
loyment.
o IT budget.
 Coordinate the work with the IT developers (Located in India) to clearly define to wanted
solution.
 Run changes ‘tests in the Quality Assurance applicat ion to give the OK to promote it in the
Production version.

Following the above steps, we were able to transform QULIS to a more flexible and user friendly IT
solution and ensure a continuous improvement process for it.
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For the period of the internship, we able to promote into production mode about 15 changes coming
mainly from Tuve plant (Sweden) which was the most resistant plant for QULIS deployment and by
that we are getting progressively
progressively more engaged plant
plantss in the usage of the HNC IT solution.
By beginning of September 2017, we had a confirmation from both GTO plants and GTT Quick
Solving Leader that they are going to use QULIS for all handle non-conformity
non-conformity cases.
The Figure 44 is the result of two separate working sessions with Bernard PESEZ (Purchasing SQA

Customer Satisfaction Vehicle Manager –Renault Trucks SAS) in order to understand purchasing
needed specifications in QULIS.

Figure 45: QSP Purchasing Changes Requests

In the Annex C we will be presenting
presenting the QULIS deployment statu
statuss (Beginning of September 2017)
2017)..
2. Handle Non-Conformity Performance Indicators

After analyzing the HNC Processes’ specifications and their IT solution QULIS supporting the

communication and follow up around quality issues which are related to the manufacturing process,
we have decided to
to define and build
build perform
performance
ance indicators ar
around
ound QULIS.
QULIS.
The reason behind that is not only to monitor the solving process but more than that to actively
challenge ourselves into reaching customer success and by that achieve the group’s target image.
And by challenging ourselves, we will be by that ensuring the evolution of the operational excellence
in solving quality issues.
As a first step, we have extracted all the data in the QULIS database in order to get a view on the
fields and information that would be useful to use in order to build our PIs.
After one working session with our direct manager, we were able to define the following KPIs

presented in the Table 3:

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Table 3: QULIS HNC Key Performance Indictors

Area Name Purpose Definitio Calculation details Unit of

measurement
n
Lead Time to Measure reactivity of the Time from Containment action Hours
Time Protection organization to protect issue finish date – Start
Customer with detection up date
implementation of effective to start of
containment actions ex
execu
ecuti
tion
on o
approved
containment
actions
Lead Time to Root Measure reactivity of the Time from Root cause analysis Days
Time Cause organization to issue finish date – Start
find/understand/approve detection up date
the root cause of the Non- to approval
Conformity in order to of identified
enable development of root cause
effective corrective actions
Lead Time To HNC Measure global time
time to Time from Completion finish Days
Time solve quality issues issue date – Start date
detection up
to Non-
Conformity
closed
Lead QRQC Lead Measure time needed for Time from QRQC Finish date Days
Time Time QRQC problem solving QRQC – QRQC start date
process opened to
verification
of effective
actions
4M 4M analysis Assess the contribution of Number of
each M to quality issue occurrences(per
detection and no detection M)/Total cases
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3. Handle Non-Conformity Dashboard

In order to build not only a conventional dashboard but more than that a powerful tool for
monitoring HNC cases, decision support and reactivity improvement on a global scale, we had first
of all to present a Proof of Concept (Built using Excel) of the future tool in order to get approval
from all the operational units and get also their suggestions.
After some discussions,
discussions, we got the OK to start the development.
We will be now presenting
presenting the develo
developed
ped dashboard and the used enviro
environment.
nment.
3.1 QlikView

Qlik is a software company based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, United States. Qlik is the provider of
QlikView and Qlik Sense, business intelligence & visualization software.
Qlik (previously known as QlikTech) was founded in Lund, Sweden in 1993 as a software company
in business intelligence (BI). Its PC-based desktop tool was called QuikView. "Quik" stood for
"Quality, Understanding, Interaction, and Knowledge." Initially the software was sold only in
Sweden.

Figure 46: Qlik Official Logo

According to the
the Visual Intelligenc
Intelligencee Website:
“QlikView is the most flexible Business Intelligence platform for turning data into knowledge. More
than 24,000 organisations worldwide have enabled their users to easily consolidate, search, and
visually analyse all their data for unprecedented business insight using QlikView’s simplicity.
simplicity. Effective
decision-making is based on having the right information available and easy accessible. Taking just
minutes to learn, the automatic associations of QlikView create endless possibilities for making ad
hoc queries without requiring tediously defined structures and hierarchies, as is typical in other data
analysis tools. QlikView promotes unrestricted analysis of application data, helping users make time-
saving and accurate decisions. It brings a whole new level of analysis, insight, and value to existing
data stores with user interfaces that are clean, simple, and straightforward.”
The Figure 46 presents the magic quadrant for business intelligence and analytics platforms proving
that Qlik is a leader in the data visualization sector. [9]
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Figure 47: Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms [9]
Being already used to satisfy other GTO business needs, QlikView was the more convenient and
efficient platform to build our HNC dashboard taking advantage of developers’ return of experience.
QlikView scripting needs only a knowledge of the SQL language with some ready to use functions.
3.2 Qlikview Components

To understand
understand Qlikview standard ddeployment
eployment we should
should present its main components as displayed
displayed in
the Figure 47:

Figure 48: QlikView Layers & Components [10]

Components of QlikView are divided into “Back end” and “Front end”:
 Back end contains QlikView Developer & QlikView Publisher :
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QlikView Developer creates documents & qvw files by connecting to various source systems and
extracting data in order to create a data model described in a qvw file.
This qvw file gets published using QlikView publisher which is responsible for data load and
distribution within the Back end.
 Front end is more of a user interface layer in order to interact with applications and documents.

QlikView Server contains the documents that have been published and it uses either HTTPS or QVP
(QlikView Own Protocol) to handle the communication between the applications and the clients.
QlikView Server handles the processing that accrues on the documents side once it ’s published to the
web portal though
though an access po
point.
int.
The access point is a focal point ffrom
rom which th
thee client can interact with various applications.
applications.
4. The developed solution

With the help of Emeric JAUSSIONS

JAUSSIONS (External Consultant specialized in QlikView) and the access
we have been granted to “QlikView Developer Course” on the UDEMY website, we were able to
develop the QULIS HNC dashboard helping to address problems of visibility and follow-up to an
overall level of handle non-conformity cases. It brings together all the scattered informat
information,
ion, between
solving process teams assessing the situation and each milestone. The displayed KPIs and data are
automatically updated every 3 days to facilitate management and decision-making during all phases of
the solving process.
 Database: In order to develop the solution we were given a view (access) on the QULIS
SQL database from the team in India.
The Figure 48 is a simple view on the used data model for the QlikView Qulis application.

Figure 49: QlikView QULIS Database Schema

 Overall View:

The presented dashboard was developed according to well-defined functional and non-function
non-functional
al
requirements in a way to satisfy the business requirements but at the same time be user friendly
application.
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As shown in the following figure the developed dashboard is using some extracted data as filters;
these filters help users shift from a global view to a reduced scope according to that data we want to
work and specially
specially areas and plants.
In the following example we have selected:
 Brand: Volvo Trucks
 Cases which were accepted by case owner.

Case status: Open

By that the displayed KPIs and data would be related to only the HNC cases having Volvo Trucks as
brand, cases that were accepted by case owner and that are still open.
PS: More filters could be used by clicking on “More filters” button.
To improve the user experience users are given the possibility to save specific combinations
combinations of filters
as a bookmark so that they don’t have to reselect them to get a specific scope.
For example, if Adam WHITE (Director-Core values at Hagerstown: Powertrain Production USA) is
only working on subjects related to QSP manufacturing for North America Manufacturing
Operational Unit, for Volvo Trucks and Mack Brands and only open cases where he is the assigner,
he can save this selection in a bookmark so that by a single click he can see the updates on the
wanted data without
without reselecting tthe
he filters one bbyy one.

Figure 50: QULIS Dashboard Filters Overview

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 The Main Dashboard:

The main lead-time dashboard displays the average lead times which are the results of multiple
combinations as presented in the Figure 50:

Figure 51: QULIS Lead Time combinations

The three lead-times in red are our 3 lead-time KPIs
KPIs,, the rest are also calculated and displayed on the
dashboard but we gave the user the possibility the select the ones he is interested in monitoring.
(Lead Time can also be filtered by HNC category: QSP Purchasing, QSP Manufacturing etc.…).
The date functionality helps us draw the evolution of the average lead-time according the selected
scale of time.
The Figure 51 shows the status of the selected KPIs from a global view (no additional filters).

Figure 52: Lead Time Main Dashboard

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Another power thing about the developed application is that it gives you the possibility to monitor
cases on a global scale (all Volvo cases, per operational unit, per plant) but more than that, using
filters you can progressively go into more reduced scopes and you can even select to monitor a
specific case.
The main dashboard
dashboard presents other
other features such as displaying:
o cases per HNC category as shown in the Figure 52:
The number of cases

Figure 53: Display of number of QULIS cases per HNC Category

o The number of cases per case status (Figure 53), in order to

to have a view on oour
ur
progress in handling non-conformi
non-conformities.
ties.

Figure 54 : Number of QULIS cases per case status

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To enhance the follow up of the progress of the cases, we have implemented
implemented another feature
showing the number of cases per QULIS Step, by this we are able to know the number of case that
are for example still stuck at the root cause analysis step and act according to that to support the
solving team and motivate them.
This feature is presented in the nex
nextt figure.

Figure 55: Number of cases per Current Status Phase

In order to support the decision making process, have a clear view on the problem, the contribution
of vehicle parts to the non-conformities and by that quickly address the issues whether to the
manufacturing or the design side, we have developed more specific features presented in the Figures
below:
o The Figure 55 presents the number ooff cases per VMS(Vehicle Module
Module Structure /
Team)
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The Volvo organization
organization divided a vehicle
vehicle per Vehicl
Vehiclee Module Struct
Structure
ure that repr
represents
esents a specific part
of the vehicle; Engine (50), Transmission (60) etc.

Figure 56: Number of QULIS cases per VMS

o The Figure 56 displays a more specific count of cases per problem location

Figure 57: QULIS Cases per Problem Location

 4M Analysis KPI:

To have a good assessment of non-conform

non-conformities
ities root causes, we have implemented this KPI and
feature in order monitor the contribution of each M(Machine, Manpower, Method and Material) to
the root cause and also to the non-detection of the non-conformities.
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We gave the user the possibility to switch between a global 4M root cause analysis pie as shown in
the Figure 57.

Figure 58: 4M Analysis Root Cause Pie

As for the second possibility it is a monthly follow up of the contribution of each M of the four to
the root cause or to the non-detection of the non-conformit
non-conformity.
y.
The Figure 58 displays, for Curitiba plant (Brazil), the contributio
contributionn of each M in the last 6 months.

Figure 59: 4M Analysis - Root Cause per Month for Curitiba plant
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 Detailed table:

To easily extract the data related to the selected scope (according to the chosen filters), we have put
in place a data extracted portal where the user can select the specific details he needs to process or to
communicate around HNC and then by a simple click generate an excel file with the wanted data.
is presented in the Figure 56:
This portal is

Figure 60: Detailed Table Portal

5. Results

A demo of the developed solution was presented to the different operational units’ quality managers
during the QULIS working group meeting and received good feedbacks. We have also prepared
some training material for the new users.
However, it is now put in the Qlikview QA access point for future users to try it and report possible
improvements.
By the end of September the dashboard will be put into production and used by all plants, quality
managers, quality engineers and handle non-conformity team as the developed solution will ensure:

 An active monitoring
monitoring of tthe
he handling of qquality
uality issues throug
throughh the display of:
o Average lead-time of each step of tthe
he cases with the po
possibility
ssibility to focu
focuss on a
certain case.
o Number of cases per :
 HNC category
 Actual Step
 Causal Part
 Month
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 Plant
 An understanding
understanding of the main contributors
contributors to the non-qu
non-quality
ality through th
thee 4M analysis
KPI.
 Global statistics and a traceability tool for all Volvo AB HNC cases.
These outputs will help the company react actively to any delay or problem with a single case and
even support the work on a more global frame (plant, HNC p rocess etc.…) ensuring the delivery and

implementation of the final solution within the target deadline.

By that our dashboard would be one of the main contributors to the continuous evolution of the
operational excellence within the non-quality solving teams.
IV. Conclusion

The set of actions we have put into

into place through the
the software working groups,
groups, showed a lot of ar
areas
eas
to improve in Volvo’s way of working in related issues. We have succeeded through this taskforce to
enhance multiple processes touching even the warranty organization and delivering GTT software
specialists with the right data to analyze and identify the root causes of the failures causing customer
claims.
As for the handling non-conformity processes we were able to define the appropriate
appropriate performance
indicators and develop a flexible and powerful dashboard for the monitoring of these PIs ensuring an
up to date view on the situation and an active reaction towards delays and bottlenecks which are
slowing down the solving process.
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General Conclusion and Perspectives

The Volvo Group goal is to become the world leader in sustainable transport solutions; this can only
be achieved by keeping the costumer in focus in whatever it does.
“Changing the game is a mindset” ( Volvo Group Concept), the GTO have put “main mindsets and
behaviors that will contribute to customer success; Deliver what is committed with a zero defect
mindset, communicating in a transparent and open manner and striving for efficiency and
effectiveness to quickly solve customer issues.

The main actions that were implemented, during our graduation project, have contributed noticeably
in reaching these mindset and behaviors.

At a first place, we have carried out a diagnosis on the current software claims situation and their
main causes which allowed us after that to initiate and coordinate two working groups around
customer software issues present in our FF1 KPI.
The set of actions that were put in place as output of our WG contributed to improve clearly the
current situation as we were able exclude all misleading data from our FF1 that were leading to extra
analyzing work for our team when they were not real problem contributing in having a robust
performance
performance indicator that reflects the real situation.
We have help in the reinforcement of the communication between the Group’s organization and the
cross-functional work which led to detect the missing information required by the GTT in order to
work properly on solving customer software problem; these missing informatio
informationn were reduced to
reach only 21% by August when it was 74% in June.
We were also able to start a deep investigation around software Green OK processes in all plants
comparing them to the Global Standard, striving for having on common process in all GTO plants
approved by both GTT and GTO.
Our work led to implement monthly software meetings to review the current situation and act upon
that.
On a global overview, software claims contribution to customer claims reached only 9,3% by May
2017(12% in March) and a Software FF1 reduced by 45%(in May compared to March 2017).
We have also reported a decrease of 1,4% in the contribution of software claims to total claim
payments ,which is almost equivalent to 150K SEK (15K euro).

At the second part, we have worked on the deployment of a global IT tool supporting
communication around Handle Non-Conformity cases, where we were able through a change
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General Conc
Conclusio
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management strategy to get approval from all GTO plants and GTT Quick Solving Leaders to use it
as the only tool for HNC.
After that, we have defined HNC performan
performance
ce indicators and elaborated a global dashboard
developed using QlikView through a database connection with QULIS to have a powerful and
efficient tool for the monitoring of HNC cases statics and current progress situation helping quality
engineers and managers act according the displayed data to reinforce the work on particular cases or

on a global view, striving by that for efficiency and effectiveness in solving customer issues and
ensuring by that a continuous evolution of the operational excellence.

Nevertheless, there are still work and improvements to be brought to the both treated subjects; as for
the Software Product Quality we should ensure the implementation of all the remaining actions and
their standardization in all GTO plants and to secure a more efficient and engaging actions from our
working groups we should from now on adopting the Visual Performan
Performance
ce Management
methodology.
For the Handle Non-Conformity dashboard it should be put in production by end of September but

it could also be enhanced by introducing other features and performance indictors reflecting the
effectiveness of the implemented solution.
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Biblio ra h Confidential

Bibliography

[1] HR, Volvo Group. Integration Session.

Session. Lyon, 2017.

[2] Volvo Group Trucks Operations. Volvo Operations Concept 1.0.

1.0. Goteborg, 2016.

[3] HR, Volvo. Organization,Volvo Group Management System.

System. 2017. 25 August 2017.

[4] Volvo Group Competences, Industrial and Technical Team. PROSIT+ Operateur. Lyon,

2014.

[5] The International Organization for Standardization. ISO:9001 Technical

specification(TS) 16949.
16949. Goteborg: Swedish Standard Institute, 2009.

[6] Volvo Group Trucks. Group Trucks Processes, Volvo Group Management System.
System. 2017.

16 August 2017.

[7] ALAYET, Baha-Eddine. Glossary QULIS. Lyon, 2017.

[8] Volvo Group Trucks Technology. P8-0119 Product Maintennace

Maintennace Opetions for Market

Quality Issues.
Issues. Goteborg, 2017.

[9] Visual Intelligence Web site.

site. August 2017. 17 August 2017.

[10] QlikView Developer Course, www.udemy.com.

www.udemy.com. 2017. 28 August 2017.
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Annexes Confidential

Annexes
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Annexes Confidential

Annex A: PROSIT+
PROSIT+

Figure 61: Bus communication and protocols in TEA and PROSIT+

Figure 62: Truck Electronic Architecture

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Annexes Confidential

Figure 63: PROSIT+ Architecture

Figure 64: Example of a programming file

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Annexes Confidential

Annex B: Green OK Process

Process Analysis

Figure 65: Green OK Process Status

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Annexes Confidential

Annex C: QULIS
QULIS Deployment
Deployment Status

Figure 66: QULIS Deployment Status