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 Greaser  Connie 
 

SGML and the Auto Industry: Contrasting East-West Management Strategies

 

Abstract:

  The growing complexity of automobiles, coupled with U.S. government requirements for emission-related information to be made available to independent repair technicians, is requiring major changes in the way technical information is delivered in the automobile industry. The European automotive industry also will benefit from implementation of automotive industry also will benefit from implementation of SGML, CGM, TIFF and other standards specified by the SAE J2008 task force, which was charged with developing the recommended organization of electronic service information. This presentation describes common problems U.S. automobile manufacturers have faced in creating electronic service bay systems, and the additional challenges that arise when some of the needed data resides in foreign countries in closed, proprietary systems.
 

SYNOPSIS:

  Honda Motors in Japan and American Honda in the United States have succeeded in blending eastern and western business strategies to build a unique automotive success story that began 50 years ago in Japan.
  American Honda was formed in 1959 to distribute motorcycles in the U.S. The original workforce of 8 has now expanded to more than 18,000 sales, field, and manufacturing associates. The company began making motorcycles in Ohio in 1979, and the first automobile manufacturing line was added three years later. In 1990, the first cars completely designed in the U.S. were built. Although still considered a Japanese automobile, 78% of the 795,000 cars sold in the U.S. for Model Year '96 were built in Ohio, with a "local content" of 92%. Last year, more than 87,000 cars were exported from the U.S. to 50 countries, including most of Europe.
  Worldwide growth also has been spectacular. Currently, there are 83 production facilities in 39 countries, and Honda products are sold in more than 160 countries. In order to handle business activities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for cars, motorcycles, and power equipment, Honda Motor Europe, Ltd., was established October 1989 in Reading, U.K. By the end of 1998, more than $1 billion will be invested in the Swindon, U.K. manufacturing operations, which will produce more than 150,000 vehicles per year, using 251 European component suppliers. Accords and Civics produced at Swindon have more than 90 percent European content.
  American Honda's Service Communications Department is responsible for the technical information necessary to maintain Honda cars, such as owner's and service manuals, warranty booklets, electrical troubleshooting manuals, repair bulletins, newsletters for technicians and service advisors, accessory installation instructions, operations manuals, etc. The requirements of export markets add the complexity of foreign languages, differing country specifications, and legal compliance issues to many of these documents.
  As automobiles have become more technologically sophisticated, the documentation supporting them has grown larger and more complex. All the information needed for owners and technicians for a 1913 Model T Ford was contained in a 3 x 5 booklet that was 32 pages long. Just the service manual alone for most '97 cars is more than 2000 pages of complex information and detailed illustrations and wiring diagrams. No wonder the major request from our automotive technicians is NOT for better or clearer information . . . but a simple plea to help find the exact information needed as quickly as possible without consulting a huge bookcase of service information.
  At the same time U.S. manufacturers were exploring electronic systems to help technicians handle this information overload, the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment was enacted, which contained a short provision requiring "Manufacturers to provide promptly to any person engaged in the repairing or servicing of motor vehicles . . . any and all information needed to make use of the emission control diagnostics system . . . at a reasonable cost." So manufacturers now had to provide information to aftermarket repair shops in addition to their own dealers. This introduced an interesting political component to the technological challenge because some manufacturers see this information as a competitive advantage and do not want to share it.
  The U.S. Environmental Protect, responsible for overseeing implementation of the Clean Air Act, selected the Society of Automotive to develop the necessary standards for an industry-wide information database. SAE Standard J1930 requiring common nomenclature for part names was implemented with Model Year '93. But the largest part of the implementation challenge fell to SAE task force J2008, which developed the recommended organization of vehicle service information. Because of the difficulty of organizing information for both electronic and print delivery, J2008 concentrated on standards similar to those already used in CALS, selecting J2008 concentrated on standards similar to those already used in CALS, selecting SGML for text, and CGM and TIFF for graphics, because of their international usage and flexibility.
  The Clean Air Act Amendment originally called for implementation of the information organization standards by Model Year '96, but underestimates in the work required to develop the standards and the difficulty it would cause manufacturers delayed the implementation. The State of California, frequently a leader in clean air legislation because of the tremendous number of cars on its freeways, recently passed its own legislation which requires manufacturers to make available emissions-related technical information using J2008 standards beginning January 1, 2002.
  In the last few years, the "Big Three" U.S. car companies (GM, Ford, Chrysler) have begun to introduce electronic service information into their dealerships. These systems differ widely in their look, feel, and user-friendliness, but they all use car companies (GM, Ford, Chrysler) have begun to introduce electronic service information into their dealerships. These systems differ widely in their look, feel, and user-friendliness, but they all use SGML and can produce information organized according to J2008. While a few importers, such as Hyundai, already have operational J2008. While a few importers, such as Hyundai, already have operational SGML systems, most are still developing viewing and authoring systems simultaneously with creation of an SGML systems, most are still developing viewing and authoring systems simultaneously with creation of an SGML/CGM database. Development of a J2008-compliant system is even more complex for companies where much of the service information required resides in foreign locations, sometimes in foreign languages, in proprietary, non-standard publishing systems.
  The next few years will be exciting for the U.S. automotive industry as manufacturers rush toward automotive industry as manufacturers rush toward SGML and other standards, while also developing their own unique systems. This is also very good news for the European automotive industry since service bay systems developed in the U.S. will use automotive industry since service bay systems developed in the U.S. will use SGML and should be compatible with the advanced service information systems also being developed here.
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