Thanks to Data Science, MOOG Parts Offer Extra Advantage of Confidence

Digital Revolution Enables MOOG European Production Facility to Continuously Improve Quality Processes, Assembly Precision

The Digital Revolution might be nearly half a century old, but it continues to accelerate the pace of change in virtually every product and service category, including the design and manufacture of steering and suspension parts. The globally respected MOOG brand remains on the leading edge of this trend through its use of the latest digital technologies and data science to ensure that every genuine MOOG part meets the designer’s stringent quality, performance and durability requirements.

But there’s even more that comes in every MOOG package. Thanks to the brand’s continued investment in best-in-class production controls, every part assembled in the European MOOG facility comes with added peace of mind in the form of an impressive 3-year warranty.

Precision in Every Step

While each MOOG part begins with an innovative design engineered to deliver outstanding strength, performance and longevity in the corresponding application, the brand reinforces this advantage through the use of next-generation digital process controls.

Why is digitalisation important in the production of steering and suspension components? The term digitalisation refers to the conversion of information into a form that can be easily stored, retrieved and analyzed using computers. Manufacturing operations produce vast quantities of information, but until the advent of digital technology this information had to be captured and stored manually. This inefficient, paper-based process made it difficult to achieve the necessary accuracy and depth of information to easily isolate and correct quality issues.

MOOG’s European assembly operation was designed specifically to leverage the power of digitalisation, first though precise measurements captured through automated sensors positioned at all critical steps of the production line. This enables MOOG engineers and quality specialists to assess the quality of every part both in-line, during its manufacture, as well as at the end of the line. The most important point, of course, is that these assessments are completed before the product is approved, packaged and shipped to the customer.

Due to the loads they are often required to carry, all MOOG steering and suspension part assemblies must comply with very strict quality standards. Parts that don’t meet these requirements can be more difficult to install but more importantly they could lead to potential safety issues for the vehicle owner.

Davor Horvat, Steering & Suspension Business Line Leader, EMEA

The Power of Data Science

Perhaps the greatest benefit of the digital technologies used within the MOOG facility is the ability of employees to drill down into the production parameters captured for every part. Data scientists utilize statistical process control (SPC) to analyze the root causes of non-compliant parts that are ultimately scrapped. By utilizing SPC for 100% of the parts produced in the facility, and by applying machine learning to these data streams, MOOG can continuously improve processes to ensure that every part delivered to a workshop or other customer location will perform at the highest levels.