What is "Benchmarking" ? Concept ,Types and Procedure of Benchmarking | Words of Engineer

What is Benchmarking ?

Whose straight drive is absolute bliss to watch in cricket?

"Sachin Tendulkar "

Who's capable of bowling back to back yorker and make batsman's play as hell ?

"Lasith Malinga"

Why you immediately named these two players only ?

It's because they created a "Benchmark" for others with their work. So,after them,any player you see good at above skills will directly compared with "Benchmark Setters".

That's Benchmarking at glance.

Seems interesting ? So, let's dig deeper to understand benchmarking in engineering.

What is Benchmarking ?

Below quote from Author, Philanthropist Mr.Tony Robbins about success which can be bluntly relatable with benchmarking.

" If you want to be successful,find the someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you will achieve the same result".

formal definition of benchmarking can be written as -

" Benchmarking is a business tool used for identification, recognition, and adaption of best practices which have shown superior results in similar businesses".

Why to do Benchmarking ?

Benchmarking is simply essential,

1. To improve efficiency by continuous improvement in performance and processes.

2. To take extra edge on competitors while dealing with customers.

3.To outperform within your industry.

Types of Benchmarking -

Broadly, Benchmarking can be classified in three types - 

• Strategy Benchmarking

This type of benchmarking is used by management to evaluate organization's strategic moves with respect to other businesses. Company growth - survival strategies, competencies, innovation levels are the few factors of strategic benchmarking.

• Performance Benchmarking

This type is used to evaluate the organization's performance by its products or services. Cost ,sells,profit -loss,growth rate are  examples of performance benchmarking factors.

• Process Benchmarking

Process Benchmarking is done to find and adopt best practices of specific business process. Purchasing process,Industrial safety processes etc.are the example of process benchmarking.

How to do Benchmarking ?

Benchmarking is a simple "OPDCA - Observe,Plan,Do,Check,Act".
cycle. Just by answering the following questions and steps, you can easily complete the benchmarking process.

Planning

What - to Benchmark

When -Decide timeline for benchmarking

Who  - Select a team for benchmarking
Whom - find the competitor
How  - Decide key measures for evaluation

Analysis

Collect - competitors data
Compare - with your existing processes
Coincide - decide targets for improvement because of cost associated with it or lack of technical expertise or say any other factors all improvement points can not be feasible to implement.

Action

Inform - Benchmark study result to management and get approval for implementation
Improvement - Divide improvement plan in short, medium,long term with timelines.
Implement -   Plan as decided

Review

Review - Implementation results
Report - Implementation effectiveness
Repeat - The Benchmarking Process

So,that's about Benchmarking,its needs,types, and process to do benchmarking.

Did I missed any point on Benchmarking or you have any questions on Benchmarking ? Comment below and let me know.

Classification of Electric Vehicles | Words of Engineer

Classification of Electric Vehicles -


Hey guys, in previous article 'Key components of electric vehicles' we have seen key components and it's functions.Demand of EVs are gradually increasing along with increase in customer requirements. Requirements like ,some customer may want to drive fully electric vehicle on other hand some may want hybrid.So, to fulfil this requirement arrangements of key components are required however their function remains the same. Let's get into the classification of Electric Vehicles.

Electric vehicles can be classified on the basis of -

# Degree of Electric energy as main source

1. Pure Electric Vehicle

Pure Electric Vehicles, are the vehicles in which only battery or fuel cell is used
to drive electric motor which finally rotates the vehicle wheels and helps to propelled on ground. Further,pure electric vehicles can be classified as Battery Electric Vehicles and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles.

1.1 Battery Electric Vehicle ( BEV)

As name states, electric vehicle runs only on battery. Battery Electric Vehicles uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. BEV doesn't have IC engine instead they have Electric motors for propulsion.

1.2 Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle ( FCEV)

Fuel cell electric vehicles can be called as electrochemical engine which uses hydrogen and oxygen from air as fuel. FCEV has battery,hydrogen tanks,fuel cell stack,booster, electric motor and power control unit and interesting part is it emits only water.

Here attached an article from Toyota Europe which explains fuel cell working  in various road conditions.
      

 2. Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)

Hybrid electric vehicles uses two power source namely battery and IC engines.
HEV uses electric motor for start off and switches to IC engines as load increases. Battery used in HEV are internally charged by IC engines and regenerative energy received in braking action.

2.1 Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)

PHEV is an exception of standard HEV,which can be charged externally too means it can be charged by on board engine, regenerative energy and by external source.

# Power Configuration

     1. Series Configuration    

In Series Configuration ,all the Electric Vehicle components are arranged in series i.e in a line starting from IC engine, Generator, battery, Inverter, Electric Motor and differential. IC engine provides power to battery only and battery stores this received power passes to electric motor. There is no connection between IC engine and final wheel drive elements.

     2. Parallel Configuration

In Parallel Configuration, IC engine and Electric motors are arranged parallel to each other. Vehicle can receive it's tractive power from IC engine or electric motor or from both simultaneously.

( Image source - https://www.autonomie.net/references/hev_26c.html )

Additionally , I found another necessary  EV classification on EVgo.com based on how fast batteries can be recharged.

# Battery recharge speed

1. Level 1

Level 1 charging uses standard household 120V electric outlet for charging and it can take approximately 7-8 hrs for full charging of battery ranged for 70-80 miles.

2. Level 2

Level 2 charging uses special charging station places at public or workplace charging stations which uses 240V outlet to charge a battery in a approximately 4-5 hrs ranged for 75-80 mile.

3. Level 3

Level 3 charging are the fastest charging available currently solution which can charge a battery for a range of 90 miles in approximately 30 mins.

So, that about classification of electric vehicles from 'Words of Engineer'.

Key components of Electric Vehicles | Words of Engineer

Key components of Electric Vehicles -

When we change from traditional system to any new system ,it is necessary to learn about the key components of new system because new system is basically combination of all the key components and systems efficiency depends upon the effective functioning of key components.

Note - Components mentioned below are only required components for 'All electric vehicles' where electric motor is the only power source for vehicle propulsion. And for hybrid electric vehicles apart from below components traditional vehicle drivetrain components are there such as IC engine.

Key components of Electric Vehicles -

1. Battery Pack

2. Electric Motor

3. Power Election Control

      - Rectifier

      - DC/DC Converter

      - Inverter

To explain the general overview of above components below block layout is created which shows the rear wheel drive axle with all electric drive means vehicle propulsion is powered by battery ,no IC engine used.

(This layout is for illustration purpose only,actual electric vehicle drivetrain layout may vary.)

Explanation -

Electricity we get at home from electric power grid is in alternating current (AC) form but battery stores energy

in direct current form .So, to facilitate the conversion of AC to DC, rectifier is used.

Battery is used to store energy. There are various types of batteries are used in electric vehicle.Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used in electric vehicles.

Maximum distance an electric vehicle can travel after fully charged is depends upon the battery size.That's why electric vehicle battery cost are higher. 

Inverter receives direct current from battery and converts to alternating current because electric motors runs on alternating current. 

Commonly used electric motors in electric vehicles are induction motors. In induction motor, alternating current is passed through the stator which rotates the rotor.Speed of rotor can be adjusted by varying frequency of alternating current passing through the stator.

DC/DC Converter are used to reduce the voltage to 12V for auxiliary battery which is used for starting, lighting and ignition (SLI).

Electric motor is coupled to differential which is used for torque slit and helps vehicle to propell on ground.

Above are the key components of electric vehicles and overview of their function.

Why Electric Vehicles are needed ? It's major reasons | Words of Engineer

Why Electric Vehicles are needed ?

Recently you may have heard the news of major automobile manufacturers announced plan for launching their electric vehicles for Indian market. Few manufacturers are already launched their EVs like Hyundai Kona Electric, Tata Tiago, etc. And the news of cab rental company Ola also has planning for electric vehicles gained more attention. There can be a possibility of most citizens having the question Why electric vehicles? and that can't be denied. So, Let's dig deeper to understand why electric vehicles are needed now?

Basically, Electric Vehicles (EV) are the vehicles which runs partially or completely on electric motors rather than conventional propulsion methods such as internal combustion. Electric vehicles include electric cars, electric trucks, electric motorcycle-scooters, electric bicycles etc.

Major reasons “Why Electric Vehicles are needed ?”

1.       Environment - Global warming

According to an ongoing temperature analysis conducted by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the average global temperature on Earth has increased by about 0.8° Celsius (1.4° Fahrenheit) since 1880. Two-thirds of the warming has occurred since 1975, at a rate of roughly 0.15-0.20°C per decade. Global temperature mainly depends on how much energy the planet receives from the Sun and how much it radiates back into space—quantities that change very little. The amount of energy radiated by the Earth depends significantly on the chemical composition of the atmosphere, particularly the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. A one-degree global change is significant because it takes a vast amount of heat to warm all the oceans, atmosphere, and land by that much.

To combat climate change, all the nations are agreed to take ambitious efforts by being a part of The Paris Agreement. According to the United Nations Climate Change, the Paris Agreement central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Paris agreement requires all the nations to put their best efforts through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) also need to report regularly on their emissions and on their implementation efforts.

An independent scientific analysis, Climate Action Tracker (CAT) rated India’ 2030 NDC as “2° compatible”. The “2°C compatible” rating indicates that India’s climate commitment in 2030 is within the range of what is considered as a fair share of global effort but is not consistent with the Paris Agreement.

2.       Energy Security

Availability of energy resources on the earth are limited and that too unevenly distributed among the countries leading to high energy resources vulnerabilities. For the effective functioning of modern economies, availabilities of cheap energy are essential. International energy exchange programs helped to achieve globalization of the world.

“A country’s ability to secure energy for current and future demand and supply at uninterrupted rate at cheap price can be known as Energy security.”

According to the International Energy Agency, energy security defined as “the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price”.

All nations are working to find a way to meet energy security, and best effective solution will be creating an alternate energy resources such as electric vehicle adaption can turn into better solution for conventional fuels used for propulsion.

These are the major reasons of adaption of  Electric Vehicles . Let me know, if you have other reason to be considered as major by commenting below.

Detailed Engineering Design Workflow | Words of Engineer

Detailed Engineering Design Workflow -

Regardless of time, when you enter in engineering field,you will definitely here the word "Workflow" and will experience the special attention,care taken by the higher management on this.So,before experiencing the same,why not to take a look at it now ?

What is Workflow ?

Workflow is the systematic division of process, in which process is divided into sequence of activities that necessary to perform to fulfil certain task. In workflow,work is being initiated,completed, acknowledged and passed to next activity.

Eg. Below is the sequence of activities needed to publish a blog post.

Writing a draft -- Proofreading -- Prepare a final -- Publish a post - Share with people.

Why workflows are needed ?

Workflows are necessary to automate repeated business processes with the aim to minimize errors and delays in completion of activity.Aditionally below are the few important points which can satisfy the question.

Workflows are needed to -

• Get clear overview of Business Process
• Identify unwanted activities involved
• Remove unwanted activities which reduces process time
• Helps in tracking project status
• Make people accountable for actions
• improve quality of customer service

Engineering Design Workflow -

To start any new product design and development it is necessary to reply  customer's request for quotation with our quote (Price,terms and conditions,etc) and get approval from customer ,then proceed for design.An initial bill of materials is needed for qoute costing. So,we can say that Bill of material is the first step of engineering design workflow. However, some organisation prefers to create final bill of material first then drawings on other hand some prefers to create drawing first then final bill of material. In both cases,initially either final or rough Bill of materials is created to complete qoute costing.

Here we will be discussing on process in which Bill of materials is created first then drawing are prepared.So,let's go into details.

Explaination -

First step is business development team or sales team receives"Request for Quotation" along with technical requirements from the customer. Then technical specifications are transferred to application engineer to verify compatibility of own product being used for customer intended application. Once application analysis is done and application engineer is confident that organisation's product can fullfil customer requirements then it is passed to Bill of materials team where this team creates a list of parts which are required to build the product that requested by customer.  After this, bill of material is shared with the responsible plant costing engineer for cost estimation. Finally, qoute is prepared and submitted to customer. Once the customer approves the quote, engineering design process is initiated.