Industrial Engineering #3 - Ashwini Balasubramanian, AWAF
Guest: Ashwini Balasubramanian | President of Automotive Women's Alliance Foundation (AWAF)
After diving into the nuances of industrial data last month, I wanted to better understand the industry perspective around these newer tools and how they are being adopted by operators. According to the Center for Automotive Research, the automotive manufacturing industry supports over three million jobs, adding over $450 billion to domestic GDP annually. To learn more about how the industry views the next generation of engineering tools, I spoke with Ashwini Balasubramanian, President of the Automotive Women’s Alliance Foundation (AWAF). Founded in 2001, AWAF is a non-profit organization focused on connecting and uplifting women focused on automotive and related mobility applications, with over 300 members today. Below is an edited transcript of our discussion covering the tools that have most transformed Ashwini’s workflow, the importance of a customer-first perspective, and AWAF’s impact on the industry.
If you are building, operating, or investing in these categories, please reach out. My email is ananya@schematicventures.com – I’d love to connect!
Ashwini Balasubramanian is currently President of Automotive Women’s Alliance Foundation (AWAF), a non-profit organization that focuses on advancing women in automotive through advocacy. Under Ashwini’s stewardship, AWAF has thrived operationally and emerged as a beacon of empowerment and innovation within the automotive sector.
Ashwini also currently serves as General Manager – Advanced Engineering at Harley-Davidson. In this role, she leads all aspects of test and reliability engineering, core engineering, product sustainability, and innovation/technology roadmap teams. Prior to this role, she spent 20 years working for companies like Bosch, Toyota, ZF and Martinrea. Automotive News named her a “Rising Star” in 2019.
Ashwini holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from India and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She is a Certified Sustainability Excellence Associate from the International Society of Sustainability Professionals. She is widely acknowledged for her dedication to corporate social governance and is a sought-after international keynote speaker in the field of ESG.
If you could snap your fingers and solve the biggest technical bottleneck you've seen in the automotive engineering industry today, what would you fix?
Within the automotive industry, we should work to deliver connectivity to unlock new experiences for our customers while finding new differentiated revenue streams that don't duplicate features that can be easily accessed through other means.
We are in a business where we need to create models that increase revenue. But sometimes in the auto industry, we forget to build revenue models based on enhancing customer experiences. The customer experience has to be our obsession; it has to be at the forefront. If the customer experience is great, you will automatically build a sustainable revenue model. I think sometimes we have it backwards.
Which tool has had the biggest impact on your engineering workflow over the years? Are there any new tools or software solutions you are currently evaluating?
I think in general as a working parent, the evolution of virtual meeting tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, and their widespread adoption across corporate America has been such a blessing to allow for flexibility without giving up career goals and organizational deliverables. In addition, whiteboard tools have been great for virtually collaborating with team members. This has also enabled us to tap into talent that is beyond the usual geographical limitations we usually get boxed into.
“The other aspect is the advancement of simulation across the automotive industry. Those tools have been a game changer when it comes to our product development because they are helping reduce costs around development and time to market.”
Additional investment in these tools will be critical to the continued success of the industry.
What is one piece of advice about technical architecture choices that you would share with engineers who are looking to build solutions for the automotive/mobility categories?
Commonization and modularity will be key to ensuring we can keep costs down for new technology. For engineers, it can be interesting to keep building the "cool" stuff but it is important to keep in mind what foundational frameworks can stay common and modular so we can keep our vehicles affordable for the customer while maintaining profitability.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a software, electrical, or mechanical engineer or which level of the company you're in, but you don't have to be the CEO to ask these questions. We need to understand if we are going to work on this feature on a sprint basis and get this to market quickly, what does it solve for the customer? Does it make their driving experience of the automotive vehicle more pleasurable or easier? Do customers now have more options to control the driving modes, or does it make service more seamless for them? We have to be careful that we're not building technology that is already available to them, such as on their smartphone, and then expect them to pay for a subscription.
This is helpful to understand as an engineer because it connects your work to the purpose of why you're doing it. I think that can become your North Star, which then impacts how you view everything. For example, if you have a cost challenge and you have to prioritize one feature over another, you can again go back to that North Star and question if it compromises the experience. What does it mean for the customer compared to the original purpose that we set out to accomplish?
What should engineers consider as they evaluate how to build modular systems?
Technology will probably evolve faster than we've ever experienced in the industry so expecting technology to stay stagnant for the next decade is likely unrealistic. When you're building your technology foundation or framework, for it to reach as many people as you can, you have to lower the cost or you'll only reach the premium customers. To attract more customers by managing costs, you need to have common systems across multiple platforms.
You should start with that mindset and understand the lay of the land for your foundational framework. How can that system work across multiple product lines or platforms? Then, you can build customization based on each product line and customer needs. If you build a foundation for each product line, it will become very expensive and you have to price it at a higher price point, which makes it difficult to build volume. We are sometimes so enamored by the technology itself we forget we have to keep it equitable when it comes to cost.
Within the automotive engineering space, what is one new technology trend you're watching?
Connectivity and the mindful, intentional application of AI and ML to enhance the customer experience without compromising privacy will be areas I would like to watch closely. I also think the connectivity space will continue to evolve. 10 years ago, having Apple CarPlay or Android Auto Play was not standard in cars but now all of that connectivity is assumed to be the base.
The customer's expectation of technology is continuing to shift so you have to continue to make sure you're putting your customer at the forefront of everything you're doing. You need to understand what customer experience your system can enhance and then build your technology to meet the customer experience, and not the other way around.
What role do organizations like AWAF play within the automotive industry?
Women have been and continue to remain major players in the decision-making process of buying a vehicle. It only makes business sense to include them in your workforce to anticipate the needs and preferences so you can grow your top line. We have made progress but have miles to go in becoming a gender equitable industry.
“AWAF is committed to helping achieve a more gender balanced workforce in the industry. We will accomplish this through three aspects: recruit (our signature scholarship program), retain (our strong mentoring program and network of mentors), and thrive (showcasing talent, facilitating crucial connections through networking, sharing best practices from established industry leaders).”
The unique aspect of AWAF is that not only are we an entirely volunteer-run organization that is dedicated and passionate about achieving the above goals, but also are people who are part of the industry which enables us to understand the challenges of today in real time.
To learn more about the incredible work of AWAF and get involved, check out their website here.
This series focuses on navigating technical software decisions within industrial companies. From optimizing infrastructure choices and leveraging DevOps best practices to harnessing the power of cloud technologies and improving data workflows, our guests will highlight how they've considered these decisions and implemented new solutions across their organization. If you're similarly excited about leveraging technology to empower our national industrial base and/or building solutions focused on this category, please reach out!