“Indian engineering design firms can command a premium”

James Dagg, vice president, Software Development, Altair Engineering, talks to AKHTAR PASHA about how India is well-positioned to become a global hub for high-value engineering services

• Can you give us an insight into the kind of engineering design jobs that are coming to India? Is it high-value engineering work?

Engineering design jobs being outsourced by large OEMs to India are high-value in nature, involving core CAE [computer aided engineering] modelling used for crash analysis to figure out the impact on a vehicle when it hits an object on the road. Typically, it will be an analysis of interior head impact…of how energy is absorbed when the vehicle hits an object from various angles—head-on, sideways or from the rear. Then there is structural analysis of vehicle dynamics, body or frame structure, NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) performance, prototype fabrication and assembly. Indian firms with design, analysis and test capabilities can command a premium for their services, ranging from $30 to $40 per hour when compared to low-end services that fetch only $20 per hour. India has a technical edge but soon it will face strong competition from China, so Indian companies need to use technology effectively in order to remain competitive.

Digital manufacturers such as GM, Ford, GE and Caterpillar are setting up virtual design centres in India. Do you see India emerging as an engineering design hub for the world?

It’s already happening. You rightly pointed out that GM, Ford, GE and Caterpillar already have virtual design centres here. India is headed in the right direction towards becoming a global engineering design hub.

Many OEMs such as TVS Motors, the Kalyani Group, Anand Group and others would like to become Tier-1 or Tier-2 suppliers to larger global OEMs. What advice would you give them?

We have already seen optimisation technology [OptiStruct] in use at many Indian OEMs such as Mahindra & Mahindra, TVS and Ashok Leyland. I see strong growth for these products in India. OEMs can make use of optimisation tools to reduce by 10-15 percent the mass of components [weight] while increasing the strength of accessories and end-products, thereby improving safety. Indian OEMs had to take this route to catch up with the rest of the market.

Optimisation technology is the buzzword in digital manufacturing. What is its significance?

Automobile manufacturers are faced with an increasing need to reduce design cycle times, while satisfying global safety regulations regarding occupant safety and fuel efficiency. They must also appeal to customers who demand high-quality, well-designed products that are light and rigid. OEMs are scouting for ways to reduce the mass of the materials used [so that energy can be absorbed] to attain structural efficiency and make beams and ridges; this is in order to slow down a vehicle quickly to reduce the impact when the vehicle is hit. In a crash analysis test there could be a million elements that require meshes to be integrated manually, you need to check for parts files one by one and then map them to the bill of materials. This can delay the entire supply chain. By using optimisation tools, manufacturers can automate batch meshes and reduce assembly time from a few months to a few hours. Batch meshes speed up process automation. Using optimisation technology, CAE modelling can be fully automated, doing away with the need for manual intervention. This translates into better safety for occupants, reduction in impact if a vehicle hits an object, and processes that speed up new product development.

What kind of work will your Indian software testing centre undertake?

We are not shifting our software testing operations located in Michigan to India. The Indian software testing centre will be an extension of the existing one. For example, we have a large product development team [65 people] in Bangalore that is solely responsible for the core product development of the Altair HyperWorks Suite that includes HyperMesh, OptiStruct, MotionView, Hyperview and HyperGraph. Since we have a large team here that develops core products, it makes sense to have a software testing centre at the same facility. Secondly, many of our global customers are doing core CAE design and modelling right here in India. For instance, General Motors is doing R&D in the area of FEA [finite element analysis], crash analysis and structural analysis in India. Our four-member Indian software testing team will help GM’s local development team iron out any grey areas.

We recently set up a technical call centre in Bangalore for providing engineering support to our European and Asian customers. Currently there are seven engineers but we plan to raise that number to 12 shortly. We will be investing $2 million in India between May 2004 and May 2005. We plan to open offices in Delhi and Pune later this year.