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The Rybnik Eng Center was reactivated at the beginning of 2008. One of the objectives of this new center is to develop the lean spirit and to directly apply it to the new center. Two years have now passed and these 2 papers give the opportunity to review the current status and to reflect on the lessons learned so far on our lean journey. The 2 papers are structured around people, processes and tools. The first paper focuses on the people, the second one on the processes and the tools. Some great progress has been made in the different areas of application including: - Processes: Some key engineering processes in Testing, CAD, CAE and prototype shop were thoroughly investigated and improved. Especially the quality of the outputs and significant reductions in lead times have been achieved. - Tools and Technologies: Tenneco worked on both aspects, the soft and hard tools. Soft tools are covering visual management which allows a better alignment.

The emitted noise of an exhaust system is divided into three different kinds of noise: Tailpipe noise, noise transmitted through the hanger into the cabin and surface radiated noise. This paper deals with the surface radiated noise which becomes more and more unmasked as the radiated sound power of other sources, e.g. of the tailpipe, decreases. Noise sources, the transfer path and the radiation of a structure are presented. A method for calculating and optimizing a structure with FEA (finite element analysis) is also part of this paper. An exhaust system is a complex dynamical system. Global eigenfrequencies of a whole exhaust system are below 200 Hz. A muffler moves then in rigid body motion and the radiated sound power is subjective not relevant. The main sound power is transferred through the hanger to the underbody. At higher frequencies the acoustical effects appear more local and are more effective in noise radiation.

Steel prices soared in the past years due to the increased demand on the Asian market. Due to difficult economic conditions of the automotive industry it is not possible to transfer expenses to the final customer. Reduction of steel is therefore required to compensate for higher steel prices. Whereas the underbody design space decreases in European vehicles, requirements are getting higher in terms of tailpipe noise and backpressure reduction. This leads to flat structures for mufflers which are integrated into the underbody to achieve as much inner volume for tailpipe noise damping as possible. That requires larger surfaces and results in a rise in costs, weight and radiated noise over surfaces. Additionally, original equipment manufacturers (OEM) require lightweight designs to meet carbon dioxide and consumption targets. Especially for Diesel applications the weight of exhaust systems is penalized by heavy Diesel particle filters.

After having successfully implemented Lean in Tenneco's Clean Air division, Tenneco Europe decided to expand Lean to its other divisions - Ride Performance including Aftermarket in 2011. These divisions were able to fully benefit from the best practices developed over the last 10 years. The implementation was articulated around two major axes: the execution of complex projects related to processes including several functions and sites. This approach allowed us to reach a critical mass in a reasonable time within the different functions and sites; the execution of smaller projects focused on one specific function,e.g.: Engineering or Sales. This approach is complementary to the first one since it enhances the spread of the lean spirit within the organization. This paper focuses on Tenneco's Ride Performance division and is split into two parts.

During the 4 last years, Lean has been successfully implemented in one of the Tenneco’s Business Units: Ride Performance. This paper reflects on the results and more specifically on the third principle of Lean [1] “How to make flow” and on the fifth principle “To strive for perfection” obtained in the fields of “Product Development” related to Processes, Tools and People. Processes and Hard Tools. How to improve the flow in the engineering processes? It will be shown that In general standardized processes supported by some integrated tools and, more specifically Some workload leveling in testing, CAD Departments, Standardization in design processes, testing procedures and prototypes development processes and Standardization and availability of components and parts for prototype building are key enablers to enhance flow in the Product Development.