INCAT and Visteon Support Nissan Pickup, SUV, Minivan IP Design

NOVI, Mich., Sept. 22 -- What started out as a three-month contract for remote-site space, hardware, software and technical assistance evolved into an almost two-year-long design alliance.

Nissan RFB sets project in motion

Nissan was looking for an instrument panel (IP) supplier on its new full- size sport-utility vehicle (SUV), pickup truck and minivan. Visteon received a request for bid from the automaker and needed a well-equipped place -- within days -- to locate its 12-person design team. That location also had to seamlessly communicate with Nissan.

That place was INCAT's North American headquarters facility in Novi, Mich. Visteon temporarily located several project team personnel in INCAT's available space, providing a home away from home during the project. INCAT also provided Visteon with technical assistance, access to hardware and software, communications and server capacity for project data management.

At any one time, the server handled approximately 300 gigabytes of data.

Secured communications between Visteon and Nissan were accomplished via ANX and AutoWeb. Unsecured communications between Visteon locations were facilitated via Data X, the supplier's own system. INCAT provided a virtual private network for secure communications.

"They (Visteon) needed to implement the project immediately and INCAT already had the infrastructure in place," said Craig Radomski, INCAT's project manager. "It could have taken months to set up a project like this. We helped them ramp up quickly and win the business."

After Visteon was awarded the Nissan business, it decided to keep the design team placed at INCAT in Novi, since the facility and infrastructure were in place and running.

Project work set at INCAT site

A dozen Visteon people quickly grew to a complete project team, requiring more of INCAT's available space dedicated to the project. The volume of critical data transfer communications between Visteon and Nissan also grew.

Since INCAT had helped Nissan develop its data processing standards, and in fact has been administering the Nissan Team Data Management (TDM) system for five to six years, the relationship helped the Visteon team acclimate to the processes and systems quickly.

"Visteon was aware of our relationship with Nissan," Radomski said, noting that he believes it was one of the reasons INCAT was selected to help with the bid process initially.

Once the design of the IP started, INCAT helped with the drawings, feasibility, part design, instrument panel design and console design mentioned earlier. INCAT also helped with the surfaces of the IP, and performed some engineering and system compatibility studies.

INCAT in-process support: on time, under budget

INCAT is familiar with the EDS(R) I-deas(R) CAD software that is Nissan's corporate design program.

"Many people are experts in the one or two programs or systems that they use every day," Radomski said. "Since we sell and service a wide variety of hardware and software, we have become experts in making multiple hardware and software platforms all work together. We have a lot of expertise to offer in all areas.

"There was a lot behind the scenes," said Radomski. "Every day new hardware or software was added and we facilitated it. Our people were working on hardware and software, so that Visteon engineers and designers didn't have to.

"We did what we could do to make their lives as easy as possible," he added. He recalled a few times when corrupt data found its way into the project. "Any time there was a data corruption it was a crucial time. We always had them back up within an hour or two."

The bottom line is, the three-way alliance helped complete the IP design on time and under budget.

About INCAT

INCAT (www.incat.com ) provides technical services and solutions for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and supply chain integration to companies worldwide. INCAT's customers include the leading automotive and aerospace OEMs and their suppliers, as well as other users of advanced technology products and services. INCAT, with headquarters in the United States, in Novi, Mich., and the United Kingdom, in Bedfordshire, operates in eight countries in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim.

About Visteon

Visteon Corporation (www.visteon.com ) is a leading full-service supplier that delivers consumer-driven technology solutions to automotive manufacturers worldwide and through multiple channels within the global automotive aftermarket. Visteon has about 77,000 employees and a global delivery system of more than 180 technical, manufacturing, sales and service facilities located in 25 countries.

About Nissan North America (NNA)

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.infiniti.com .