Strategies for Automotive Parts Manufacturers to Utilize Third-Party Testing Institutions for Reliability Testing to Address Challenges and Trends

. Establishing a Close Cooperative Relationship

1. Early Involvement in Product Development

• Automotive parts manufacturers should cooperate with third-party testing institutions from the early stage of product design. Invite experts from testing institutions to participate in design review meetings and jointly discuss factors such as product functions, performance, and expected usage environments. For example, for a new type of automotive electronic sensor, manufacturers and testing institutions can work together to determine key indicators such as the temperature range, vibration frequency, and electromagnetic compatibility requirements that the sensor needs to withstand, so that product design takes reliability factors into account from the very beginning.
• Sign long-term cooperation agreements with third-party testing institutions to ensure professional testing support throughout the entire product development cycle. Such long-term cooperation enables testing institutions to have a deeper understanding of the product characteristics and quality requirements of manufacturers. Meanwhile, it also helps manufacturers quickly obtain corresponding testing services when upgrading and replacing products.

2. Information Sharing and Communication Mechanism

• Establish an efficient information sharing platform. Automotive parts manufacturers should provide detailed technical materials of products, such as design drawings, bill of materials, and production processes, to third-party testing institutions. Meanwhile, testing institutions should promptly feed back information such as test plans, test methods, test progress, and preliminary test results to manufacturers. For example, through cloud storage and collaborative office software, both parties can view and update relevant files in real time to ensure the timeliness and accuracy of information.
• Hold regular face-to-face communication meetings to discuss problems arising during the testing process and solutions. These meetings can be regular weekly or monthly meetings or emergency meetings when major testing problems are encountered. At the meetings, technicians from manufacturers and testing institutions can have in-depth exchanges and jointly analyze the causes of failures and propose improvement measures.

II. Utilizing Advanced Testing Technologies and Resources

1. Intelligent and Automated Testing Services

• Leverage the intelligent testing systems of third-party testing institutions. These systems can conduct automatic testing on automotive parts, reducing the interference of human factors. For example, for the functional testing of complex automotive Electronic Control Units (ECUs), the intelligent testing systems of testing institutions can automatically simulate various vehicle working conditions, such as acceleration, deceleration, and turning, to comprehensively detect the signal processing and control functions of ECUs.
• Utilize the automated testing equipment of third-party testing institutions to achieve large-scale and high-efficiency reliability testing. For instance, in the durability testing of automotive parts, automated testing equipment can conduct long-term cyclic testing on a large number of parts according to preset programs without the need for human supervision. For example, perform thousands of extension and retraction tests on automotive seat adjustment motors to evaluate their service life and reliability.

2. Virtual Reliability Testing Capability

• Request third-party testing institutions to provide model-based reliability assessment services. Testing institutions use their professional modeling software and rich experience to build accurate virtual models for automotive parts manufacturers. For example, for the electronic components of automotive braking systems, testing institutions can build comprehensive virtual models that include mechanical structures, electronic circuits, and control algorithms, simulate various working conditions during the braking process, and predict possible failure points.
• Participate in projects combining virtual testing and actual testing organized by third-party testing institutions. In such projects, parts are initially screened and optimized through virtual testing and then verified by actual testing. This can shorten the product development cycle and reduce testing costs. For example, in the development of automotive lighting system lamps, first evaluate the optical performance and heat dissipation performance of the lamps through virtual testing, optimize the design, and then conduct actual environmental and durability testing.

III. Collaborative Management of Supply Chain Quality

1. Supplier Auditing and Management

• Entrust third-party testing institutions to audit upstream raw material and parts suppliers. Testing institutions can evaluate suppliers from multiple dimensions such as quality systems, production processes, and product performance. For example, for automotive electronic chip suppliers, testing institutions can check the clean room environment for chip production, chip packaging processes, and records of electrical performance testing of chips to ensure that the raw materials provided by suppliers meet high-quality and high-reliability requirements.
• Jointly establish supplier quality files with third-party testing institutions. The files record basic information of each supplier, audit results, historical product quality problems, and improvement measures. By regularly reviewing and updating supplier quality files, automotive parts manufacturers can adjust the list of suppliers in a timely manner to ensure the quality stability of the supply chain.

2. Quality Traceability and Problem Solving

• When reliability problems occur in automotive parts, cooperate with third-party testing institutions to conduct quality traceability. Testing institutions use their professional testing equipment and techniques to conduct in-depth analysis of the problematic parts to determine whether the root cause of the problem lies in raw materials, production processes, or design. For example, for the problem of reduced driving range of automotive batteries, testing institutions can test and analyze aspects such as the core materials of batteries, the composition of electrolytes, battery assembly processes, and the control strategies of battery management systems.
• Jointly formulate problem-solving strategies. Based on the results of quality traceability, automotive parts manufacturers and third-party testing institutions work together to formulate targeted solutions, including recall or rectification measures for existing products, as well as improvement suggestions for production processes and designs. For example, in response to the above battery problem, it may be necessary to optimize the battery production process, adjust the control parameters of the battery management system, and recall or upgrade the software of the problematic batteries that have been sold.