Introduction
While they are certainly very different in terms of size, an Airbus A380 and a small car have one thing in common: Their weight is directly proportionate to their consumption levels. Both require sophisticated weight management and this was a key priority for the technical department of an OEM from southern Germany when developing a small car in the premium segment.

The customer made IndustrieHansa responsible for monitoring weight requirements and therefore a key part of the development. IndustrieHansa's expertise in weight management won it the contract.

Solution: Given the customer's increasing requirements for comfort and safety, the IndustrieHansa experts developed a sophisticated weight management solution. This involved taking the vehicle design as the basis for the target forecast and then defining a sensible compromise between the position of the center of gravity, costs and materials.

Puncture points

• Use of the "funnel concept" with integrated band width analysis of weight and the position of the center of gravity, including target forecast and analysis of potential and risk
• Adaptation of function group concepts, parameters and requirements which change as the best technology variant is sought (evolution)
• Divergence of the weight band widths up to a particular point of consistency as a basis for the target forecast for mass and the position of the center of gravity

Benefits
During this project IndustrieHansa transferred the experiences and knowledge it has gained in the aerospace industry to a vehicle from the small car segment and in the process brought together all the synergies needed. Successful implementation of the transfer of know-how meant that the project quickly reached its goal of shedding a few kilograms off the vehicle weight, resulting in reduced logistics and production costs. Consumers now also stand to benefit from a reduction in exhaust emissions and fuel consumption.

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