AKRON—Smithers executive Jeff Andrasik will present the webinar "Ensuring hose quality in a changing automotive market" at 11 a.m. EST on Feb. 18.
Andrasik, Smithers' general manager for product testing in North America, will review recent trends and shifts in the automotive hose market, including the "evolving needs of fluid transfer systems for internal combustion engine vehicles and the growing global demand for electric vehicles," Smithers said in a release. He will discuss how these changes impact the journey from research and development to production.
Andrasik also will give an overview of common laboratory testing methods that can be used to predict field performance of automotive hoses, including pressure, vibration, temperature and material tests. Finally, Andrasik will explain the benefits of periodic quality audits for hoses and discuss the elements of a successful auditing program.
"The automotive industry is constantly changing," Andrasik said in the release. "Product development cycles are speeding up, the number of hoses in an assembly is growing, lightweighting and other cost-saving measures are becoming more common, and supply chains have been affected by COVID-19 and other unpredictable factors. My goal with this webinar is to help manufacturers keep up with all these changes while upholding the automotive industry's unshakable dedication to quality. Many of them may find value in a proactive, structured solution such as an auditing program."
Since joining Smithers in 2002, Andrasik has developed and executed a vast range of test programs for hoses and fluid transfer assemblies for the automotive, industrial, aerospace, nuclear and consumer products industries.
Click here to register for the webinar.
For those unable to attend the live session, Smithers will publish a recording available for download here.