Jordan takes a fresh approach to Formula 1 design

Rand Worldwide, an IBM Premier Business Partner, has concluded a software and services deal with Jordan Grand Prix.

Rand Worldwide, an IBM Premier Business Partner, has concluded a software and services deal with Jordan Grand Prix.

With the Formula 1 race season already grinding away in top gear and everyone working flat out, Jordan Grand Prix has taken the decision to make a major shift in the way it designs its championship racing car.

Jordan has decided to sweep aside its existing computer-aided design and manufacturing technologies and consign them permanently to the pits.

Replacing them in pole position are IBM Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, including Catia V5 and Smarteam applications developed by Dassault Systemes and delivered by IBM business partner Rand Worldwide.

The whole solution is backed up by a 5-year technical sponsorship agreement with Rand Worldwide.

Unsurprisingly, the ultimate aim is to get the best out of the tools and to make the Jordan car go faster.

Under the partnership arrangement, Jordan will be using 50 seats of Catia V5, the world's leading virtual product design solution, together with the collaborative process solution Smarteam.

Jordan will also benefit from Rand's industry standard data quality tool Q-checker.

As part of the same deal, Jordan has teamed up with Rand Worldwide as a technology partner to help it steer the implementation programme and provide training and ongoing support.

John McQulliam, Jordan's Head of Design, said: "I am looking forward to working with Rand".

"The design process is fundamental to the team's success and, as such, I am keen to give my team the best possible tools".

"Rand will be providing us with state-of-the-art design software and just as importantly they will be working with us as technical partners".

"This will ensure a smooth transition from our current software and allow us to quickly realise the impressive capabilities of these products".

Head of Aerodynamics, Nicolo Petrucci also welcomed the deal saying: "Design has always been the basis of our work and these products will make a difference in reaching our targets".

"As aerodynamicists, the collaboration with Rand over the coming years will allow us to explore with more freedom solutions that otherwise would remain merely abstract concepts".

"To develop our ideas we need compatible tools for the methods and procedures particular to our research".

"Rand will provide software, hardware and specialised technical education support to assist the Jordan design team closing the loop of advanced calculation and wind tunnel experiment".

In the race to innovate, Catia V5 is the market leader, helping designers, engineers and manufacturers to be more inventive, shortening cycle times, maximising collaborative flexibility, and cutting design time by up to 29%.

Smarteam impacts the bottom-line profitability of businesses through scaleable and customisable solutions that manage corporate product knowledge and link it with best-practice business processes.

Together they create the core foundation of IBM and Rand's technology solution for advanced collaboration and product lifecycle management (PLM).

The technical partnership agreement between Jordan and Rand follows a number of years of courtship on both sides of the Atlantic.

"There was a burgeoning groundswell of opinion that Catia V5 was emerging as the leading CAD system in the automotive and motorsport industries and that it was the right thing for us to take it on board", said Jordan's Head of IT, Dr James Henderson.

"It had always been on our list of priorities, but due to the challenges of timescales, it was perhaps number three on our list and we needed to focus on other things".

"Then in March of this year our Chief Operating Officer Richard O'Driscoll decided the time was right to turn the spotlamp on implementing Catia V5 as our number-one priority".

The green light on the deal immediately sent Jordan's IT department into overdrive.

The small team was not only tasked with ensuring the smooth transition to the new design system, including a complete change of hardware platform and operating system, but also the introduction of an entire product lifecycle and collaborative management system and a radically new way of working.

All of this was in addition to its daily workload and planning for next year's championship.

"It's extremely challenging and we're working flat out", said Henderson.

"It's also been a lot of fun witnessing the exciting potential of the new system and seeing just how it can make a major contribution to the future success of the car".

"We have every confidence that it will help provide us with a faster car", he added.

Henderson admits that this fast-track implementation probably would not have been achievable had it not been for the "added value" services provided by Rand under the terms of the technology partnership.

"In effect, it doubles our team without having to take on more people", he said.

"It gives us access to a group of specialists, who know the products inside out".

"These guys will roll up their sleeves and work with us to implement and integrate the new systems, while also teaching us how to get the best out of the technology".

The implementation has been segmented into a three-phase programme.

The first, leading up to the end of August, involves rolling out the technology and ensuring that Jordan's engineers and designers are up to speed on Catia, at least to a basic level.

The second, from August to the end of the year, covers training key designers and engineers on the specialist features of the software and using the powerful functions to advance the design of next season's racing car.

The third, next year, is to integrate the entire IBM PLM solution set across all of team Jordan's product-related functions.

"The third phase is a big one for us", said Henderson.

"The introduction of Smarteam opens up an entirely new and radical way of working".

"Over time we'd like to use it to integrate every part of our business from the designers, down to the buyers, the supply chain, marketing and administration, and ensure best practice right across the organisation".

Each annual manifestation of the Jordan F1 car is given the classification EJ, after the race team's founder Eddie Jordan, and a model number.

Jordan is already using Catia V5 to design certain modifications to this year's EJ14 car.

But once the new system is fully operational it will drive the entire production of next year's EJ15 car that will make its debut at the Australian Grand Prix at the start of the new season.

Brian Semkiw, CEO of Rand Worldwide said: "We are extremely excited about having this opportunity to become an integral part of such a well-respected Formula One racing team and to be able to contribute in ways that we believe will help to increase their standing in the sport".

"Jordan's investment in these PLM tools and our services confirms their commitment to creating the best car that they possibly can".

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