Setting sustainable goals
Vehicles and their manufacturing processes are growing in complexity as new technologies, powertrains and more sustainable products are developed and continuously improved.
Consequently, the provision of technical documentation has become a complicated and highly specialized process.
Traditional methods are no longer sufficient in an industry that needs faster, more accurate and flexible technical publications strategies. This need has forced businesses to adopt unstructured processes and disparate systems and data sets that waste time, money and resources. To address the issue, OEMs must invest in more innovative approaches that harness advanced technologies, streamline processes, and foster collaboration.
MSX has revolutionized the authoring process for this world-class OEM.
A smarter publishing approach
MSX collaborated with a world-class OEM to streamline its technical authoring processes and introduce efficiencies throughout the organization, helping it improve production and reduce costs.
MSX delivered a streamlined solution to design, develop and maintain technical publications across multiple formats. The solution required a strong authoring system and dynamic database to minimize errors and increase efficiency. MSX’s stateof-the-art content management system, pubFoundry, houses a repository of vehicle data grouped by topic. Its robust engineering review and sign-off tool, Collaborative Review System, allows multiple engineers to review the live document in collaboration with teams of authors and subject matter experts, ensuring the ongoing smooth delivery of technical authoring on a global scale.
MSX’s technical Information experts own and manage production of technical information at every stage of the development process. Authors manage content across all vehicle lines by ‘component’ rather than by ‘model’ or ‘series’. The technique improves the accuracy and consistency of information stored about each part of the vehicle and ensures all warnings, cautions, warranties and legalities surrounding them are in place across all vehicle lines and markets.
Working closely with engineers, designers and other key stakeholders, authors ensure that the documentation produced demonstrates the design and safe function of the vehicle in a way that’s reliable and meets the needs of the customer.
The streamlined structure has improved consistency across vehicle lines.
Higher output, lower costs
MSX has revolutionized the authoring process for this world-class OEM through the use of advanced authoring tools and the delivery of clearer and more accurate technical publications that meet market demands.
The new component-led structure ensures that data is always relevant and validated by the appropriate author, and that publications are created in the most efficient way possible. Meanwhile, the new engineering review and sign-off tool limits conflicting comments and speeds up the review process, ensuring all technical documentation is up to date and accessible.
The new data-sharing processes and tools have enabled the OEM to reduce its translation budget by around 50%. Moreover, the streamlined structure has helped limit the volume of data housed within the system, helping improve consistency across vehicle lines and reducing administrative effort, resulting in further cost savings.
The project not only reduced the client’s budget and improved efficiency, but it has also enabled the brand’s delivery of 4,000 technical documents annually, with minimal errors. The organization has since rewarded MSX, whose team achieved 100% on-time delivery in streamlining the client’s authoring process, with a ‘Service Supplier of the Year’ award.
Fast facts
Customer: Global, leading automotive manufacturer
Business Challenge: Inefficient processes and tools affected technical authoring, leading to duplicated effort and wasted money and resources.
Geographical coverage: Global
Solutions implemented: An advanced authoring solution to streamline the design, development and maintenance of technical publications across a variety of formats globally.
Reduction in translation budget
On time delivery
Deliverables produced annually
Service Supplier of the Year
Reduction in translation budget
On time delivery
Deliverables produced annually
Service Supplier of the Year
