Systems Engineering “in real life” at Volvo Construction Equipment

Systems Engineering “in real life” at Volvo Construction Equipment

“Systems Engineering is about simplifying the problem, without taking away what is important. You cannot manage all the complexity at once”. A great lesson for our MT2530 Systems Engineering students that today visited VCE facilities in Braås.

Students at VCE Braås

The concept of ‘articulated hauler’ was invented in Braås more than 50 years ago, in 1966. The site has grown throughout the years to become the largest production facility in the world for this machine type. Nowadays, the factory develops, assembles and tests 6 different machines ranges, from the smallest ones up to the A60, the biggest articulated hauler ever produced, which weights approximatively 100 tons when fully loaded.

In the morning students took a guided ‘virtual’ tour through VCE systems engineering practices and processes, They were presented with examples and challenges related to the definition of needs, context, functions and requirements for complex machines. In the afternoon they had the opportunity to visit the 13000 sum production facilities and to literally touch with hands the subject of their course project. As main assignment, student teams will be tasked with “real life” problems as proposed by VCE: the design of smart lighting systems, the reengineering of the front axle suspension, and the redesign of the axle suspension linkage.

“This is a great opportunity for students to bridge theory and practice” – ensures Alessandro Bertoni, course coordinator . “and to grasp the complexity of the engineering work when dealing with machines of this scale.

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