Porsche quality management

Total 911 is granted rare access to the production line as Porsche reveals how it will use AR and VR to improve its product quality management in the future

Porsche is harnessing technology for innovative new practises which improve production quality

The production line at Porsche makes for a fascinating place to spend an afternoon. Rarely does anybody get to see the inner workings of how our beloved sports cars are made. Save for a scant selection of press shots over the years, all we really know is the quality of the final product which greets our eyes, ears and hands in showrooms, the occasion marking what is a long and vigorous process for Porsche.

That word ‘quality’ is important. For us as consumers, it’s the reason we buy the car, knowing it is superior to its rivals in terms of build quality and performance. For Porsche, synonymous with sportscar construction at the highest level over the last 70 years, it’s keen to protect that quality par excellence. That’s why, although there are a plethora of twisting, crane-like arms from robots which whiz body parts all around us, a healthy human presence is noticeable, their expertise called upon not only to assist building these wonderful cars, but also to scrutinise quality from the first moment to the last.

As we walk around the plant, Frank Mozer, head of corporate quality at Porsche, explains to us why this scrutiny is so important: “Top quality is a core value of Porsche. Customers pay a lot for their cars so they expect nothing less. We split our interpretation of quality down into four key areas: emotional quality with design, performance and sound; functional quality like reliability and connectivity; service quality regarding customer care and delivery, plus the quality of look and feel.

“Quality isn’t achieved by chance. It is a controlled process from beginning to end, involving methods, people, culture and statistics. This mindset is spread from the chairman of the executive board [Oliver Blume] right through our colleagues at Zuffenhausen, Weissach and Leipzig, to showrooms and aftersales right around the world.” We’re about to see first hand how seriously Porsche implements this mindset.

Mozer explains how a customer expects perfection with his or her 911 visually, aurally and in terms of haptics. This means different aspects of the car’s appearance must therefore be quality checked, which is done by a human. Take the quality control of door panels, for example. After the sheet metal is pressed (on a 991 this is aluminium) and cut into a shape, a ‘look and feel’ technique is carried out, ensuring there are no deviations or bumps. Once painted, the panel is reassessed to check for any runs, polishing errors and the general structure of the paint. There should be no orange peel on the body of a modern Porsche, for example.

Similar techniques are applied by a human when checking panel gaps between the fitted door and other panels. We’re told the trained eye can usually see any deviations, yet each gap is subject to measurement, with further checks to look for any joins which aren’t flush. “Any panels sitting slightly proud or under flush will negatively affect the customer experience when tackling the autobahn, as a case in point,” says Mozer.

Likewise with the interior: that aforementioned door must open and close smoothly, have a good sound when doing so and feel smooth to operate. With notes taken by staff throughout, we quickly realise testing all of this is truly an immersive experience that’s as ardent as it is time consuming.

That’s why Porsche is harnessing innovative technologies to improve on not only its own analysis quality, but also the act of time saving, too, ensuring the perfection of its products is increased, while the process behind this is suitably streamlined. Porsche is doing this with what it calls its ‘Innospace’ innovation area at Leipzig, forming an interface between the present and future of quality management, allowing innovations to be developed and established ready for series production processes at its production plants.

The first such example of groundbreaking Inno-space technology to come to fruition on the production line is the use of both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to bolster quality management. Porsche has successfully integrated AR into the ‘look and feel’ test to improve its implementation and results.

A trained technician now needs just a tablet app and the vehicle due for inspection – that’s it. First, the individual CAD data for a specific vehicle is read into an app on a tablet, while the tablet’s camera is held over a component of the car in question.

The CAD image is super-imposed on the live image, making any flaws or deviations immediately noticeable. Highlighted using a colouring system – similar in appearance to a heat map, if you like – the system checks the entire component or body is within spec (Porsche allows tolerance with its vehicle bodies of -/+ 0.5mm).

“The problem is today a human has to walk around a car and manually appraise it before typing up his or her notes to submit a report. Here the report and pictures are done on the move – saving time,” Mozer tells us. The test can also be streamed in real time to any partner or site around the world, with the results stored at the plant’s central database and made available worldwide. It all sounds wonderfully futuristic, but this is happening now, this system already being rolled out at the Leipzig facility, with upgrades at Zuffenhausen – home of the 911 production line – likely to coincide with a refit for the new 992 generation come the autumn.

Quality management doesn’t just take place on Porsche currently in production, but also on the development of prototypes. Further Inno-space technologies being implemented here include a virtual cockpit, which allows Porsche engineers to try the cockpit on a new car before it’s actually built, helping to optimise the vehicle before it comes into reality. “This way we can refine the ergonomics of the interior, its quality, its layout,” Mozer says.

Testing of pre-production cars can take place at both Weissach and Leipzig, the latter boasting a six-kilometre, Fia-certified track, so clear communications between both sites is imperative. Here Porsche will use VR, with engineers from any site able to dissect an engine – together – and drill down into its minute componentry in minutes thanks to a newly developed program and a headset. This all helps with Porsche being a multi-location business. “Virtual Reality allows somebody in Leipzig to look at the same engine as a colleague in Zuffenhausen at the same time,” Mozer adds, suggesting this technology alone will save millions of Euros per year in employee travel costs alone.

Of course, there’s a perennial danger with technology in that it can render human input superfluous, risking jobs. I ask Herr Mozer if these new technologies aim to eventually replace skilled workers. His answer is reassuring: “Not at all. These new technologies simply mean we will take on a different type of employee in the future. We will be looking for a different type of engineer,” he says before pointing out that in the Leipzig plant alone, the average age of staff is just 35.

Quality always has and evidently always will be central to the Porsche brand, it as important to the marque as it is to its customers, if not more so. That it is investing heavily, improving not just the quality of its products but the processes by which this is measured and executed, underlines its commitment here. With Porsche, excellence is assured – on and away from the road or race track.

“Quality isn’t achieved by chance. It is a controlled process from beginning to end, involving methods, people, culture and statistics”