2009 SAE-A Automotive Engineering Excellence Awards winners 

Innovation in safety and environmental performance highlighted the winning entries in the twelfth annual SAE-A Automotive Engineering Excellence Awards.

The 2009 Awards entries made a strong statement for the Australasian automotive industry through world’s best practice entries that challenged the economic pressures of one of the toughest years faced by the global automotive industry.

The Society’s Awards celebrate automotive engineering excellence for vehicles and components across the sector, including passenger, freight and specialist vehicles, and a Young Automotive Engineer of the Year Award. The 2009 SAE-A Automotive Engineering Excellence Award winners were: 

Gold Winner:

MIGfast Pty Ltd . . . for the development of the MIGfast Welding Tips that reduce energy consumption, costs and emissions. The MIGfast Welding Tip is a consumable welding contact tip that represents a breakthrough in the traditional design of the contact tip and addresses fundamental physical issues of wire transfer through the tip and continuous current delivery.

Silver Winners – for the first time Judges could not split the runners up, and two Silver Awards were made: 

Autoliv Australia . . . for the development of a new pole side impact crash simulation sled device. New Autoliv pole side impact crash test equipment accurately reproduces the dynamic intrusion and deformation of vehicle structure and seat components, without having to scrap a whole vehicle after each test. 

GM Holden . . . for the development of the Spark Ignition Direct Injection 2010 Commodore vehicles with technologies combined to reduce fuel consumption and increase performance. GM Holden made fuel efficiency the priority for its 2010 model Commodores and achieved significant results, through the application of new engine technology, mass reduction and other fuel efficiency enablers. 

Other entries received from:

AutoCRC……for the development of the Automotive Speech Enhancement. This specialised hardware is designed to reduce background noise and improve speech acquisition for Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). Current ASR systems work well in the presence of low levels of background noise, but suffer markedly in vehicle environments. The Automatic Speech Recognition System enhances speech to improve the overall performance of ASR in cars.

AutoCRC……for the development of the Friction Stir Blind Rivet (FSBR for short), is a new process for joining aluminium and magnesium alloys and is particularly suited for joints with one-sided accessibility. During FSBR, a blind rivet rotating at high speed is brought into contact with the upper workpiece. The frictional heat developed between the rivet and the workpieces softens the material, thereby reducing the force required to drive the rivet into the workpieces. Once fully inserted, the blind rivet is upset using the mandrel and an appropriate tool as in conventional riveting. FSBR thus retains the one-sided capability of conventional blind riveting, but eliminates the extra pre-drilling step required for this latter process.

GM Holden…………….. for their design and development of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, the fifth generation version of this American muscle car icon, which is based very largely on the current Australian Holden Commodore platform. 

The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro features a 345 kW 6.2 litre V8 engine coupled to a 6-speed transmission in either automatic or manual versions. It has class leading performance against its major competitors with a 0-100km/h time of 4.7 seconds.

The request for Holden Engineering to develop the iconic Camaro for the US market was a unique opportunity for Holden to demonstrate their capability in a global engineering project. Several tools and technologies that were implemented as part of the Camaro program will be utilised for other programs at both Holden and General Motors.

Young Engineer Award Winner:

Peter Whitlock, GM Holden – A graduate of RMIT with Bachelor degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Business Administration, Peter Whitlock is the Automatic Transmission Development Engineer at GM Holden. He is also completing a Master of Engineering degree at the University of Michigan, in the USA. Peter Whitlock won the judging panels final vote based on clear demonstration of the personal attributes, and learned and developed skills to meet the Award criteria. His use of various engineering disciplines and methodologies and adoption of new technologies all played a significant role in his selection.

…..and Runner Up for this Award is:

Shane Christian, GM Holden – Shane graduated from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor Degree in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, as well as a Bachelor Degree in Management.

Shane worked on this project with fellow researchers both in Australia and the General Motors Research Laboratories in Detroit USA. His project management discipline ensured that the project was successfully completed on time and within budget.  

Winning against the odds

SAE-A President Patrick Ross said that the 2009 Awards demonstrated that Australasia’s automotive engineering foundations are solid. “The SAE-A Awards are an accurate measure of automotive engineering in the region. The strong state of the local industry is also demonstrated by recently announced engineering export projects, including the Ford Figo and GM Holden police vehicle. Engineering export programs such as these are the commercial proof of the creative skills of our automotive engineers,” he said.

“Looking forward, we want to encourage engineers working in all facets of passenger and freight mobility to enter the 2010 Awards. This includes individuals and businesses operating in the aerospace, automotive, trucks, trains, trams, ships and rail sectors,” said Patrick Ross.

2009 Judges’ overview

The scope of the 2009 entries in terms of complexity and purpose, and the diversity of the organisations submitting entries made the task of the 2009 judging panel very difficult. “The high standard of entries resulted in many late nights and is reflected in the fact that, for the first time, two entries were tied for the Silver Award,” said Judging Panel Chair David Ford.

“This is a true indication of the quality and market impact offered by the winners. The significant safety benefits, savings in materials and energy, and their added features cannot be underestimated.

“The judging panel agreed that the difference between the Gold and the equal Silver winners was very small indeed. A great deal of debate was required to make their final decisions. This is a commendable outcome from these companies, particularly in such difficult times, and we heartily congratulate them,” said David Ford.

Victorian Minister attends Awards presentation dinner

The 2009 Awards were presented at a black tie dinner in Melbourne on 20 October. “The Society hosted Victorian Minister for Small Business Joe Helper, who commended the SAE-A for its Awards initiative. “Over the years, the SAE-A has proved to be a valuable ally for the Victorian Government in its drive to secure a sustainable and prosperous future for local automotive manufacturing,” declared Minister Joe Helper.

Members attending the Awards dinner also welcomed SAE–International Chief Executive Officer Dr David Schutt. “We thank him for his informative address on the global realignment of the automotive industry and his continued commitment to our long standing alliance,” said SAE-A Executive Director Max Chanter.

“As a not for profit organisation, the Society is most appreciative of the RACV’s long standing sponsorship of the Silver Award. Special thanks to RACV Chief Engineer Michael Case for presenting two awards this year.

“The Awards organising team is also grateful to BRV Pty Ltd Managing Director Tony Wallis, who was the after dinner speaker. He told of his work on the development of an Australian F1 engine technology.

“There would be no Awards without people to evaluate the projects submitted. These Awards are judged methodically by a panel of engineering peers. Everyone involved is thankful to Panel Chairman David Ford and Judges Chris Shattock, Bill Malkoutzis, Hugh Videion, Prof Simon Watkins and Prof Harry Watson for their dedication and time,” said Max Chanter.

See the SAE-A Awards report in GoAutoNews here: goautonews_saea

Read the article published in AAAA Dec 09 magazine: aaaasaeawardsdec09

CALL FOR AWARDS NOMINATIONS

Nominations for the 2010 SAE-A Automotive Engineering Excellence Awards (including the Young Engineer Awards) open in December 2009.  Plan now to submit your entry. Contact Marissa at marissa@sae-a.com.au to receive a reminder notice when nominations officially open.

AWARDS MARKETING OPPORTUNITY

Make your business a big part of Australia’s prestigious Automotive Engineering Excellence Awards in 2010 – be an Awards sponsor.  Contact Marissa on (03) 9696 5190 or email marissa@sae-a.com.au   for an information package.