Company Spotlight: Winterpark Engineering

In this series, we spotlight each Burke Porter Group company to share how the company got started, what technologies they manufacture, and what makes them unique. This is your inside look to some of the most innovative manufacturers in the industry. Today we’re featuring WinterPark Engineering LLC.

Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, WinterPark Engineering houses a group of highly experienced engineers who have worked within the automotive industry for decades, providing clients with emission controls and on-board diagnostics (OBD) development, testing, and support services.

WinterPark staff has a combined 213 years of experience in powertrain development in the automotive, heavy duty, marine, industrial, government, and defense industries. The company’s mission is to provide cost-effective emission and diagnostic solutions (hardware & software) as well as streamlined vehicle emissions and OBD certification process.

WinterPark has established a reputable status with California Air Resource Board (CARB) staff and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while developing and testing production vehicle calibrations. The company remains at the forefront of changing standards and is in contact with multiple agencies on a monthly basis.

WinterPark employees have accumulated over 70 years of direct OBD/emissions certification experience with CARB, EPA, and standards bodies in the EU, China, Korea, etc. The company’s signature compliance testing program helps vehicle manufacturers identify potential issues early in the development phase, giving them time to resolve issues proactively so they obtain approvals when expected. This results in a smoother and quicker OBD certification process that avoids potential costly delays in production.

WinterPark helps clients navigate OBD regulations to obtain OBD certification on time with minimal issues.  Team members have developed full production vehicle OBD evaluations and calibrations aimed at detecting defective emission control devices for both European and U.S. automotive manufacturers. They work with gasoline, diesel, alternative fuels, and hybrid electric vehicles, including Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV).

I need their help!

With the advent of the OBDII standard to regulate air pollution, automakers now incorporate advanced sensors to monitor engine and transmission systems. A universal connection interface allows an OBD-II port connection through cables to a PC or hand-held scan tool – or wirelessly with Bluetooth to a smartphone or tablet – so data from these sensors can be monitored.

WinterPark performs engine/vehicle calibration & testing, including scan tool communication verification for production vehicles to ensure the vehicle is broadcasting the proper information to the generic scan tool. The company also provides OBD durability demonstration vehicle testing (DDV) which ensures the emission control system is functional over the vehicle’s lifetime.

WinterPark has over a decade of experience collecting OBD in-use monitoring performance ratio (IUMPR) data for various OEMs. It also performs vehicle fuel economy testing, in-use emission compliance testing, strategy/algorithm development & review, and vehicle fleet testing.

Bottom line, WinterPark’s mission is getting client’s products into production on-time and under budget while keeping government agencies and their customers in mind.

With more than 75 years of combined automotive industry experience, BPG and WinterPark have completed projects for leading automotive companies around the globe including Fiat Chrysler, Nissan and Hyundai in North America, Europe and Asia.

WinterPark’s vast knowledge of OBD brings value-added services to BPG’s customers. By integrating PVE testing into the BPG suite of end-of-line (EOL) systems, WinterPark will help clients demonstrate the ability of their OBD systems to perform properly on a production vehicle and catch legislative diagnostic issues before they leave the production facility.

The future of emissions and OBD for WinterPark and BPG will include telematics: remote OBD systems that transmit diagnostic information to a central location which can be accessed in real time on the web or a smartphone application. The company is already making use of this advanced technology to help customers in the development process, providing real-time access to OBD fleet data which allows engineers to find and solve problems much quicker.   

Currently, there are no OBD regulations for all-electric or zero emission vehicles (ZEV) but as more of these are produced, regulators such as the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will respond with regulations that mandate generic standardized scan tool communication for all ZEVs.

Driverless vehicles using advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) will become more common in the future. OBD regulations will change to keep up with the new challenges which come with the advanced sensors and systems which are automating today’s vehicles – and WinterPark, along with BPG, will be leading the way.

For more information about WinterPark Engineering, LLC, visit www.winterpark.us.