Vehicle electrical system development is a multi-stage, highly collaborative process in which a highly individualized and complex product is created. To support this process efficiently, the automotive companies and suppliers participating in the Vehicle Electrical System Workflow Forum (VES WF) define the "Vehicle Electric Container" (VEC) as a complete digital product model and develop methods for cross-company, model-based development. In addition to the ongoing development and maintenance of the standards "Vehicle Electric Container" (VEC, PSI-21 / VDA 4968) and "Wire Harness List" (KBL, PSI-19 / VDA 4964), the project group develops implementation guidelines and use-case-specific tutorials to prevent the formation of dialects.
The ECAD Implementor Forum (ECAD IF) serves as the platform for system providers. It supports vendors and users in the implementation and validation of solutions based on the aforementioned standards through implementation guidelines and joint test rounds. The activities of the VES WF and ECAD IF are closely interlinked. Vendors are involved at an early stage in the review process for implementation guidelines and in the discussion of open issues and planned model extensions.
Priorities & Concrete Results 2025 — User Perspective
As the standards mentioned above are already in active industrial use, the VES WF currently has two primary areas of focus: on the one hand, the requirements-driven further development of the VEC based on feedback from projects currently using it; on the other hand, topic-driven advancement addressing foreseeable future challenges.
The following results and topics from the project group in 2025 are particularly noteworthy:
The ECAD IF has proven its value as an exchange platform for implementing companies. It is used intensively to clarify implementation questions prior to the adoption of VEC concepts. To this end, a dedicated workshop in the format of a hackathon was held, focusing on specific topics from the vendor perspective. Open issues identified during this validation exercise were fed back to all participants. In addition, the insights gained were used for model improvements and the development of new implementation guidelines. Further progress was also made in the mapping of KBL and VEC, enabling toolchains to be further enhanced going forward.
Online collaboration via Teams has become an established approach for handling straightforward issues. The conduct of regular in-person workshops remained necessary for content that is in part highly innovative and complex. However, individual travel restrictions meant that in-person meetings were generally also offered in a hybrid format. Participants in the ECAD IF responded positively to the regular, biweekly one-hour Teams meetings.
In 2026, the focus will be placed on the one hand on the continuous further development of the VEC and the streamlining of the Recommendation, and on the other hand on advancing Harness Data Exchange and the representation of graphical annotations still commonly used in typical wiring harness drawings within the VEC framework. To this end, the Implementation Guideline Harness will be finalized and mapping rules from KBL Harness to VEC Harness will be defined. Building on this, the ECAD IF plans to conduct test rounds in the area of data exchange, taking into account specific dialects in the toolchain.
"The excellent and harmonious collaboration within our project groups was the key to our success. Through intensive exchange and shared commitment, we were able to initiate significant topics and reach important milestones. The transition to GitHub played a decisive role in this, facilitating collaboration and substantially increasing our efficiency."
"Participation in the project group provides an enormous amount of learning about the wire harness, its components, special cases, modeling approaches in tools, and of course the VEC itself. This knowledge is directly applicable in day-to-day work and in the implementation of the VEC."
"Across all industries, generating reliable data — the concept of the 'digital twin' — and making it available to specialists in development, design, customer service, and other stakeholders involved in the development process is becoming increasingly critical. The existing exchange formats have served their purpose to date but are no longer fit for the future. AUCOTEC joined the ECAD IF to co-define a new, sustainable exchange format in the form of the VEC — accompanying the standardization of a comprehensive object model for such a twin from the very beginning. This allows us to contribute our own requirements and experience to the process while also benefiting from the knowledge and expertise of the other participants."
We are eager to help you with any questions concerning your project or selection of publications
TELEPHONE HOTLINE
+49 6151 9287-336
For more inspiration, news and information about prostep ivip.
