Automotive News Canada - January 2022 - 13

* JANUARY 2022
13
For ground breaking technology, look to the skies
PHILIP ASANTE
NAVIGATING AN INDUSTRY
ROCKED BY DISRUPTION
CARS AND AIRPLANES MIGHT
not seem to have a lot in common,
but how their advanced
software is designed can be surprisingly
similar. At General
Motors' Canadian Technical
Centre in Markham, Ont., Philip
Asante, DevOps (development
operations) and Integration team
lead, uses his aerospace experience
to help design the automaker's
Super Cruise autonomous-vehicle
software.
" I worked for Lockheed
Martin, where we developed
flight-training devices that model
the behaviour
of a commercial
aircraft, "
said Asante.
" I was writing
the software
for the
autopilot and
other avionics
systems.
There are a
lot of parallels
in the
software that
make up the
Super Cruise
platform. "
Asante, 32,
was always
fascinated
with aircraft
Philip Asante
loves the
challenge of
developing
automotive
software quickly
and with vehicle
safety in mind.
PHOTO: GM CANADA
and came to Canada from Ghana
to study aerospace engineering
at Ottawa's Carleton University.
He graduated in 2012 and spent
six years in that field, including
at Lockheed and working on satellite
control systems at MDA
Systems in Vancouver, before he
heard about an opening at GM.
" A lot of the technology in
aviation doesn't change much,
given the cost of the devices
being developed, but in the auto
industry we're seeing a lot of disruption,
with technology happening
in a matter of years. I was
looking for something more challenging,
and this world seemed
to offer this. "
He joined GM in 2018 as a software-integration
engineer, bringing
together the components to
support Super Cruise. Asante
always tried to improve processes
to speed up development.
Eventually the company formalized
his improvements into its
systems, which led to his current
role.
" I lead a team of eight people.
We make sure our developers
can write code quickly, but preserve
the safety and integrity of
the vehicles. "
Above all, he's able to apply
his past experience. " GM is big
on safety and I feel that the safety
aspect we can bring from aviation
is appreciated here. "
HEATHER PETERS
CUSTOMER CARE NEEDS
A PERSONAL TOUCH
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
required companies to adopt
new ways of doing business. At
Subaru Canada in Mississauga,
Ont., that involved routing outside
calls made to head office to
employees still working from
home.
" We all use the [Microsoft]
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THINKING OF SELLING
YOUR DEALERSHIP...
Teams application, and they set
me up at home with my monitor
and headset, " said receptionist
Heather Peters.
" Someone calls in and
I use my mouse to
answer the phone, and
then I transfer the call.
The downside: " I'm
not seeing people, and
I miss that personal
touch, " said Peters. " At
the desk, I would greet
visitors, accept the mail
and courier deliveries, and look
after the plants in the lobby. And
I'd do things like sending gifts on
anniversaries, or flowers to new
dealerships. "
Her job also included processing
paperwork from dealers for
rebates on sales to graduating
students or mobility
modifications.
Peters is currently
training for a new
role as a customer-care
liaison, helping potential
customers with car
shopping and providing
existing customers
with service and warranty
information.
Peters, 56, studied office
administration at the Toronto
School of Business. After graduation,
she became a receptionist
and office clerk at a safety-products
company.
" I worked in fast food as well,
but I was always in some kind
of service, because I like seeing
people. "
A staffing agency sent her to
Subaru as a temporary receptionist
in 2006. Subaru wanted
her to stay and she did.
Peters sees her upcoming customer-care
role as an extension
of her experience on the front
desk.
" I've been doing customer service
for 15 years and this is just
adding a new facet to it. But now
I'll be talking to them instead of
transferring the call to others. "
- ANC
Heather Peters' upcoming role
as a customer-care liaison for
Subaru is an evolution of her
position as company receptionist.
PHOTO: ALDAS MINKEVICIUS
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Automotive News Canada - January 2022

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