The automotive industry is a soaring one. Every day, a car manufacturing company adds upgrades to an old model and releases it as an altogether new version. Stakes are high for this particular industry since it provides people with the most basic mode of transportation. People put their lives on the line which makes it crucial for the industry to test out its products and ensure they are safe to use. Apart from maintaining safety standards, car manufacturers have to certify that all the qualities they are marketing within their products actually exist if they want to avoid a run-in with the law.
Multiple car manufacturers have been sued for various reasons such as overstating the fuel efficiency of their vehicles or for not adding a security layer leading to automobile theft. The negligence of automakers over the years has led to multiple deaths too. Therefore, it is critical for the automotive industry to keep track of every bolt and screw that is used in its products. It takes only one piece of faulty hardware to wreck the efforts of a company.
The fixed assets of an automotive company may turn into a liability if they are not consistently checked. Fixed automotive assets include manufacturing machinery, testing facilities, tools for research and development and many more. By using a fixed asset tracking software, all the aforementioned assets can be a part of a centralized system thoroughly maintained and repaired as needed.
The testing facilities of automotive companies are quite complex and use a variety of tools to ensure trials carried out to see if a specific model is safe to be introduced into the market. Manufacturing machines are quite heavy duty and need to be constantly monitored since any malfunction can cause a huge setback that can result in financial losses for a firm. Consequently, production may have to be halted for an indefinite period of time until the malfunction is addressed.
There are multiple ways in which the automotive industry can keeps its wheels turning through thorough safety checks:
1) Safety of Consumers Insured
The safety of users should be the number one priority of car companies. If this criterion is ignored during the manufacture of a car, it defeats the entire purpose of making a vehicle since it is supposed to safely take a person from one point to another. Any sort of faulty equipment can severely injure or even cause death in extreme cases if it is ignored. If cars manufactured are not up to a certain standard, then the company may not be allowed to introduce its cars to its consumer base. This is why safety of consumers is the first and foremost reason why car manufacturers should introduce a more thorough procedure to check for the safety of their cars.
2) Increased Public Support
With thorough checks, automotive manufacturers can earn the trust of the public and this trust may be shown in the form of better revenues, increased stock prices, and critical acclaim. Any corporation, be it public or private, needs the support of the public in order to keep running without any interruptions. There has been public outcry over negligence of multiple car manufacturers which led to crashes. Such incidents scar people, and they vow to never support a brand which has its reputation tainted from terrible quality control.
3) Rising Stock Prices
Any company which becomes a household name and simultaneously has the approval of the public sees its share price rise since more and more investors are willing to put their money into the company. The financial health of a company improves when its stocks are in demand in the primary and secondary markets. Car companies are continuously working on new technologies and need their stocks to be in good shape in order to introduce better features for their vehicles.
4) Legal Compliance
The aforementioned lawsuits can be avoided if a company regularly tests out its products and adds more layers to its safety procedures to ensure its vehicles are safe to use. Lawsuits can cost companies millions of dollars which goes out in paying for damages and legal fees. Legal issues can bring a lot of negative attention to a company’s name, which is something it cannot afford.
5) Long Term Cost Savings
Introducing a model and then retracting it due to a lack of safety checks comes with a hefty price. The concerned product is pulled, and customers are requested to return them so the company can double check if there was something wrong. This alone leads to a lot of unnecessary costs such as compensation to buyers, transportation, and other logistical costs. The same products cannot go back out there and are rendered useless.
6) Cycle of Innovation
Rapid testing can lead to more research which can cause automotive companies to innovate and come up with better techniques to avoid any failures in the vehicle. Research can only be properly conducted through multiple trials and constantly testing out a product can help a company achieve exactly this. This way, it will have more confidence in its own products and can be sure about sending them out to the market.
Conclusion:
Although most products are expected to be safe for human use, the automotive industry has to show receipts to prove it has tested cars and vehicles a dozen times before they have been deemed safe to drive. The impact caused by car crashes and collisions lead to untreatable injuries and chronic pain, and in severe cases, death. Having a separate team to investigate the safety of the product is crucial. Adding multiple layers to the testing process may use a lot more resources but can save so much time and unwanted costs in the longer run. When safety procedures are thoroughly followed, the wheels of a company will keep turning and consumers will be encouraged to purchase tested products without any hesitation.
