Driveline systems to meet every off-road need
World-class expertise in heavy duty mobility
Expert and detailed engineering test, analysis & validation
Upgrade your vehicle and extend life with our expert assessment services
Flexible business models
Date:21/03/2021
This case study proves Timoney is a seasoned heavy vehicle provider who can design and manufacture world-class components and vehicle systems within a tight schedule.
We need to go back in time to October 2015, when Timoney signed a contract with a Customer to produce two 8x8 rolling chassis’ for a defense vehicle. The Customer’s goal was to bid for a contract in July 2016. Just twelve months before that date, we kick-started the planning process with our Customer.
To meet the deadline, we had to complete the rolling chassis’ by 31st March 2016 so the Customer would be able to receive them, complete the vehicle build at their site and still have time for the testing phase.
How did it go? First, we needed to look the enemy in the eye.
Time was not our ally, that’s for sure. It’s an understatement to say that nine months to specify and build two completely drivable rolling chassis’ is a challenge.
To picture the level of difficulty, the whole process of designing a chassis system comes down to creating a brand-new chassis structure and using our expertise to integrate major vehicle systems, along with all of the ancillary systems.
And starting all that with a perspective of a fast-emerging deadline. To be able to trick the ticking clock, we had to come up with a solution of building a chassis and space-frame mock-up which replicated the vehicle hull structure. While we developed the rolling chassis, our Customer was working in parallel to design the complete vehicle, including the hull structure. The whole idea was to partially strip the rolling chassis and add the hull later on.
To stand up to the challenge, Timoney assembled a team of suppliers and highly skilled technicians able to work together with military precision. Another critical step was having Customer staff on site, who were involved in all aspects of the project from design, development, testing and sign-off, while also providing a conduit for decision making, thus ensuring Customer needs were considered at all stages.
Efficient collaboration was the key. The beating heart of this collaboration was a set of group meetings we ran with all the experts involved in the project. It was on our shoulders to manage those meetings in a way to build relationships, track and solve any possible problems and to be crystal clear about each other’s requirements.
We couldn’t emphasize enough the need for speed, accuracy, and dispatch to complete the mission with success.
Our second move was designing a space-frame mock-up to replicate the front of the vehicle. The reason for that was to remove the components and then place them in relevant positions within the hull.
It was essential for us to coordinate the entire process of rapid prototyping precisely. Timoney needed to schedule each task to deliver all the components and sub-systems properly. Following the sequence was crucial to keep the manufacturing process move forward smoothly.
The story ends with success! We completed the two rolling chassis within schedule, including shake-down testing before shipping them to the primary build location
