Venting

Vent changes involve the lamp seal and deal with the elimination of dust and moisture instrusion into the lamp unit. Such intrusion is characterized by a fogging of the lens, which is particularly critical for headlights.

The vent problems category ranks within the top three of all rankings displayed. Vent changes rank highly in terms of tool time delay, with an average of 25.5 days. This is possibly due to the fact that a venting problem cannot be detected until the part is installed on the car and environmental testing takes place.

Drafting time averages 16.5 days, which is also relatively substantial, because it involves repositioning major holes (and corresponding features) around already existing structural features.

While this problem may be solved by a better quality sealing washer from the vendor, it is usually the design department that is expected to compensate for loose sealing tolerances.

As advising agent could make venting problem determinations under two conditions. One is that there be found a base of expertise in the area of venting placement. The other is that holes be found by a feature recognition system and properly characterized as venting holes, or specified by the designer.