The Importance of Measuring

From Jo Blocks to Connected Car - A story of industrial evolution.

This article from the Spherience archives was previously published by Björn Qvarsell, Head of Product Portfolio, on LinkedIn, May 7, 2024.

“There are only two people I take off my hat to. One is the president of the United States and the other is Mr. Johansson from Sweden.”

— Henry M. Leland, around 1920.

Most people would probably not immediately recognize either of the two names from this quote – Henry M. Leland, or “Mr. Johansson”, but even after a full century, what inspired the quote holds true to this day. Some will also rightfully wonder what this has to do with measuring. Well, believe it or not, it has major bearing on today’s Industrial IoT and Connected Vehicles in particular.

On my way to the airport, a very early morning in Stockholm, Sweden last week, following a productive week of workshops with the KDDI Spherience team and partners, I had an interesting conversation with my dad. My dad had kindly agreed to give me a ride to catch the redeye from Stockholm to Frankfurt and then onward back to Dallas, and passing one of the industrial areas surrounding Stockholm, one of the many company signs lining the highway stood out to me. I had wondered about it for decades growing up in the suburbs of that city and passing it so many times on my way to Arlanda airport – Mitutoyo.

As this metroplex is developing and changing, adding new companies, and removing older ones, this sign feels like it’s been there since forever. From the website of Mitutoyo Scandinavia I read that the Japanese company has been there since 1981 and been around since 1934 when it was founded in Japan to produce micrometers for their ongoing domestic industrialization. This was more than I knew then, so I asked my volunteer driver what the company did. Since my dad is a quite decent industrial historian, he immediately replied that they manufactured precision measurement instruments. “Kind of like CE Johansson”, he added. Clearly thinking more highly of my own industrial history knowledge than I deserve, he said, “You know ‘Mått-Johansson’” [Mått = Measurement] and mentioned the quote from Henry M. Leland above.

CE (Carl Edvard) Johansson was a Swedish engineer, inventor and entrepreneur who, in 1901 patented what eventually became known in the US and worldwide as “Jo Blocks” (referring to its inventor, Mr. Johansson) which were a particular set of blocks of different dimensions with such precision that they not only helped standardize manufacturing processes worldwide but made the two great industrial nations of Great Britain and the United States finally settle on a common standard for the inch at precisely 25.4mm.

Automotive historians will recognize the name Henry M. Leland as the entrepreneur and founder of the two US automobile manufacturers Cadillac and Lincoln, and for the purpose of this article, he was CE Johansson’s first US customer for his gauge blocks, or “Jo Blocks” as they became known. Mr. Johansson eventually started working for Henry Ford who ended up buying his company and the agreement between those two gentlemen stipulated that Johansson’s invention would not be limited to vehicles from Ford but remain freely available to the world [Much like the Volvo three-point seatbelt in the 1960’s].

So, what bearing does this have today? and on Connected Cars in particular? Measuring in the Connected business most often refers to bits and Bytes and with the dawn of the Software Defined Vehicle and the constantly increasing data volumes going in and out of your car, making sure that those bits and Bytes get measured properly and ultimately routed and accounted for accurately is of highest importance. This happens to be one of the unique advantages of KDDI Spherience’s product portfolio in the Connected Vehicle space.

That’s how I, on my way back from our opening ceremony of the Stockholm office, found myself reflecting on the history of innovation behind companies such as CE Johansson and Mitutoyo, Cadillac and Ford. Part of KDDI Spherience’s founding DNA is to capitalize on the strong innovative and entrepreneurial legacies of the United States, Japan and Sweden and their impact on the worldwide automotive industry.

History will tell if our impact will be of the same caliber as Mr. Johansson’s, but with the team we have in place, leveraging a global talent pool and three centers of excellence in innovation, we aim to make a difference.

We started with a quote, and we will end with a quote – this one from management guru Peter Drucker.

“What gets measured, gets done.”

If you’re interested in how we help our Automotive OEM customers get it done by precisely measuring and efficiently managing every bit and Byte running in the networks to and from their cars, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Sources:

– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Edvard_Johansson