OEM&Lieferant Ausgabe 2/2020

we have recently been able to conduct thanks to important in-house investments. I am par- ticularly proud of our software tool chain. It really keeps us well ahead of one or two of the Tier 1s. We’ve purchased an EMC chamber (see title image) and an ISO pulse tester. That makes us independent and enables us to op- erate flexibly, agilely and, not least, inexpen- sively during the process. The EMC chamber, with which we can now test electromagnetic compatibility on site under the latest con- ditions, is a particularly valuable asset and takes us a big step forward as a development partner. In addition, we are completely mod- el-based, and that gives us another important competitive advantage. How do you motivate your team? Facedwith all these newelectronics processes and the challenge of identifying and harness- ing their potential, we have had to create a new and very specific mindset within the unit. My job is to establish a good working envi- ronment in which retrograde attitudes such as „we‘ve always done it this way” don‘t even arise. In this context, we have established some important new models of working such as our Feature Growth Plan, which is a method of working out certain requirements – with regard to software, for example – then approaching the goal on a step-by-step basis. The Thomas Electronics Standard (TES) also helps to optimize our technology. That’s a modular interface toolkit based on interfaces in the hardware and software. What are your goals as head of the Elec- tronics unit? The overarching goal is to enhance Thomas products at system level using electronic solutions. The focus here is on the three key functionalities „Sense. Think. Act.“ We want to develop solutions that incorporate more sensors, software and electronics than ever. We treat our customers’ systems as a whole, not just as individual components. In fact, our philosophy sums it up nicely: „Understand. Create. Deliver.“ Thomas Magnete GmbH www.thomas-group.com Website