An often misunderstood part of the vehicle development process is the use of benchmarking as part of the target setting process.
Benchmarking is NOT planning to ‘copy’ a competitor product, but a scientific process to characterise essential attributes of vehicle performance and feed them into the programme requirements. A way to ensure the vehicle is competitive in its market sector and to guide engineers in the development process.
Every vehicle programme starts with a high level ‘target’ defined by the brand’s corporate identity and class of vehicle being developed. The use of benchmark data provides ‘context’ for this high-level target, providing guidance on market expectations and highlighting areas of differentiation.
Benchmarking is a science
Benchmarking is a science, a planned and measured part of the development process that makes use of subjective and objective metrics to analyse vehicle performance; completing tests and recording information in a way directly repeatable as part of the later vehicle validation process, ensuring a true ‘like for like’ comparison is made. It is not a process based on personal preferences or opinion, but one that follows defined and repeatable test procedures aligned with industry requirements for performance and safety.
It is essential that a repeatable procedure is used; for subjective reviews this requires a well-defined set of test parameters and scoring metrics. For objective tests the data must be collected by calibrated instrumentation to record vehicle performance, ensuring repeatability of the tests and extracting maximum value from the benchmarking programme.
Engineers experienced in running benchmark programmes provide significant added value on top of the recorded data, providing valuable insight into the individual performance metrics; insight that is born from a fundamental understanding of the physics behind vehicle behaviour and the way vehicles react to certain inputs.
Why structured benchmarking is critical for developing performance targets
Setting targets without consideration of market requirements and insight into competitor performance is likely to lead to unrealistic, unachievable or misaligned project goals.
The benchmarking process helps the vehicle manufacturer define the boundaries of performance across attributes – for vehicle dynamics this will include both ride and handling metrics, with the balance between these defined by the market positioning of the vehicle.
It is essential that the correct balance is struck between individual attributes, and that a full understanding of the implications of the targets is in place. For example, targeting ride performance of a Mercedes S Class (a leading performer in this attribute) with the handling performance of a BMW M5 will give an unrealistic set of targets – the bush stiffnesses and suspension geometries required to deliver S Class levels of ride will inhibit the ability to corner at the high lateral accelerations achieved by the M5.
For Randle Engineering, the application of engineering first principles early in a development programme ensures a thorough understanding of the engineering fundamentals required to develop the vehicle, removing guesswork and ensuring efficiency in the programme. This process is complemented by the use of benchmark data.
Benchmarking is not about imitation – it fuels innovation
A well-executed benchmarking programme can ignite the development of innovative solutions – it allows engineers to identify gaps in the competitive landscape and exploit them to the benefit of their programme.
They can fully understand the compromises their contemporaries have accepted and the opportunities to solve them to give a competitive advantage – informing true unique selling propositions for their products.
For Randle Engineering, the use of benchmark information fuels the first principles reasoning we apply to our projects – making sure we develop solutions aligned with market requirements in an efficient and effective way.
Benchmarking, for us, is not just about physical testing – we utilise a range of in-house developed tools to model vehicle performance, including the performance of benchmarks. These advanced modelling tools provide a quick-fire way to understand vehicle performance and the fundamental mathematics that underpins the suspension systems.
The use of modelling at this early stage will allow for a rapid concept phase, with clear understanding of performance and the impact of suspension design considerations at a much earlier stage than is typical – a clear benefit for manufacturers delivering programmes with short durations.
We see benchmarking as an essential part of the development process and a key input to fully understand the vehicle development targets.
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