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Fast pace advancements in vehicle technologies, and, in particular, in embedded electronics, coupled with continued pressure to reduce costs and improve time to market continue to challenge the automotive service community. In addition to having to keep up with developments in vehicle technology, strict regulation places increased burden in accuracy of diagnosis and repair, and conversely, open standards emerging from the infotainment industry introduce new challenges stemming from diversity, complexity and lack of regulation. Still, current diagnostic engineering and delivery methods are grossly inefficient and are too slow to respond to these challenges. Ill-equipped service technicians must face these challenges using inefficient methods and outdated information, resulting in increased repair costs and warranty claims, and decline in customer satisfaction. This paper presents an enterprise approach to managing diagnostic knowledge.

This paper describes a project to convert the results of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) information into a diagnostic knowledge base. Combined with a diagnostic expert system, this knowledge base produced an effective diagnostic system for an off-highway vehicle. The paper delineates how FMEA data elements were used in the construction of the diagnostic knowledge base, and the significant performance improvement that resulted from its use as compared with traditional service information tools. Future work to improve the diagnostic development process is discussed, and how the methods described herein can be used to improve the overall FMEA process.