Liebherr-Transportation Systems (China) performs digital First Article Inspection

Liebherr-Transportation Systems (China) was selected in May 2021 by Korean locomotive and railway car builder Sung Shin Rolling Stock Technology (RST) to supply 142 heating-, ventilation- and air-conditioning (HVAC) units for 71 passenger railway cars that will be operated in Bangladesh. The order included also 118 ventilation- and air-conditioning (VAC) units for 59 railway cars for passenger transport in Tanzania.

Due to pandemic prevention measures such as centralized quarantine requirements when entering China, our customers were not able to visit our site in Pinghu. The inspection of test results and the so-called First Article Inspection (FAI) in a face-to-face manner were therefore not possible.

Yet, in order to ensure proper evaluation of the engineering and manufacturing results, the Liebherr-team in Pinghu provided for the first time a digital First Article Inspection. The team benefitted from the good experience already gathered by the Liebherr-Aerospace and Transportation Systems engineering community with virtual FAIs in 2020 and 2021 with world known aviation and rolling stock customers in attendance.

Mr. Eric Wang, Project Manager at Liebherr-Transportation Systems (China), provides in the following some more details about the digital FAI.

Q: Eric, could you briefly explain the project?

We always provide tailored services for our customer and validation results of the developed and manufactured air-conditioning units. Additionally, we support Sung Shin RST in this project with a dedicated test set up for the design and integration of the ducting in the car. Our test bench simulates the length of the vehicle, its height and volume, and combines the intended duct system with the performance of the HVAC unit in order to optimize the duct system and the related airflow if necessary. This all requires visual inspection and a closer look by all involved parties.

Q: How did the digital FAI work?

Within our validation program, we transformed the individual customer requirements into corresponding pass/fail test criteria. For example, we installed the air-conditioning unit in our climate test chamber for thorough testing.

During the digital FAI session, that took about three hours, we provided our internal inspection report for confirmation by the customer. We also showed drawings and short videos and took pictures in real time with special cameras/in order to share them with all

Q: Compared with a traditional face-to-face FAI, do you think the digital First Article Inspection is more challenging?

To some extent, the digital FAI certainly is more challenging than a FAI taking place on site. During a face-to-face FAI, the customer can directly see and touch our products and personally experience our testing facilities.

A digital FAI needs a different preparation in advance in order to deliver the same level of sufficient information. To give our customer a better product experience within the digital FAI, we provide more data upfront and give him time to prepare questions accordingly. During the remote session, we not only have to present the product with cameras from different angles of perspective and in line with the customer’s individual needs, we also want to enable him to see more from our plant and production site and last but not least from our state-of-the-art testing facilities. With all these preparations and activities in place, I am sure we achieve the same level of customer confidence and satisfaction as with a regular on-site FAI.