You're facing doubts about new automotive technologies. How can you assure clients of their reliability?

To assure clients about the reliability of new automotive technologies, focus on clear communication and transparency. Highlight real-world testing results, share case studies or examples of successful implementations, and offer detailed insights into safety standards met. Give them access to demonstrations or hands-on trials so they can see the tech in action. Reinforce trust by providing long-term warranties or strong customer support. Showing confidence in the technology yourself will help clients feel more secure.

In order to assure client's of new automotive tech reliability, it is important to focus on change management process. First is to understand what the client is accustomed to and there understanding of reliability. Secondly, carry out a gap analysis of existing tech vs new tech as per the clients understanding of reliability. Lastly, train and demonstrate to the client practically how the new technology addresses and/or exceeds the existing tech reliability. Do no rush or force things down the throat but allow the client to self discover the improved reliability & benefits achieved by adopting the new automotive tech. If possible offer demo vehicle for self discovery & appreciation.

The problem with new technologies is that the yard not a direct response to customer needs and requirements. The customer needs to understand the added benefit of these features and their safety testing and design.

This is another misconception. Human error is not the leading cause of accidents. This has been debunked long time ago. It is Infrastructure, followed closely by inadequate design. However, adhering to safety standards can help, but it is not enough. The safety standards like ISO 26262 provide guidance to companies to follow, but it is in itself the minimum requirement, not the industry standard. An example, of where ISO 26262 falls short is in its recommendation for severity ranking for hazardous events, which goes up to S3, life-threatening injuries, potentially one fatality. The Category S4 for societal risks, which needs to be addressed for autonomous vehicles, trucks and buses, is missing. Companies must ensure adequate safety.

Quality assurance processes need to be adhered to. Quality assurance analysis like the FMEA, need to be performed by qualified people, and need to be given priority in the design. Companies in the automotive industry have started allocating the quality assurance tasks to developers and designers, instead of having proper processes and qualified teams. This needs to be rectified before it is too late.

To assure clients of the reliability of new automotive technologies, initiate a pilot project to conduct a feasibility study. This involves addressing a small problem statement through advanced engineering activities, allowing you to create a working project. By evaluating the pros and cons, you gain valuable insights into the technology's practical applications and potential challenges. Sharing these findings with clients, backed by concrete data and real-world examples, effectively demonstrates the technology's reliability and benefits.

The end user is not there to test released products, or vehicles, or new features in vehicles. The end user is expected to use the technology that has been designed following their needs, or the regulatory requirements, not the other way around. It is unsafe, unethical, and unacceptable to get users to test unfinished technologies like we see now with autonomous vehicles, which have so far killed thousands of people who happened to be the cost of deploying unfinished technologies.

Benchmarking is the industry's norm, but it can be problematic for the end user's safety. Unbiased independent parties financed by the tax payer's money in the form of a committee or a regulatory body needs to be able to have the final say as to the readiness and maturity of new technology to be released on public roads. These committees need to have subject-matter expert, and must be given full access to the technology development and testing processes and results, as well as the full safety case. They must be able to feel confident using the technology to advise on the proper communication strategies for market deployment to ensure easy customer adaptation.