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128 ARCHIWUM INŻYNIERII PRODUKCJI
PRODUCTION ENGINEERING ARCHIVES 2023, 29(2), 128-139
PRODUCTION ENGINEERING ARCHIVES
ISSN 2353-5156 (print)
ISSN 2353-7779 (online)
Exist since 4th quarter 2013
Available online at https://pea-journal.eu
Civilian armored vehicle operations in Brazil – challenges
and production processes improvements:
a qualitative survey
Guido Muzio Candido1* , Paulo Carlos Kaminski1
1 Mechanical Engineering Department, Polytechnic School of the University of Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 223, ZIP 05508-030,
Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil; guido.candido@usp.br (GMC); pckamins@usp.br (PCK)
*Correspondence: guido.candido@usp.br
Article history
Received 29.12.2022
Accepted 10.03.2023
Available online 08.05.2023
Abstract
Armoring civilian vehicles requires specialized knowledge and experience that many armoring com-
panies lack as they are not direct or indirect suppliers of vehicle manufacturers. This limits their access
to automotive quality and manufacturing certifications or detailed vehicle designs, which can result in
loss or malfunctioning of automotive components during the armoring process. Therefore, this study
aimed to investigate the challenges faced by Brazilian civilian armoring companies and identify oppor-
tunities for improvement in their production processes. Qualitative research was conducted using
a questionnaire-based survey of eight specialized firms in Brazil, as well as literature related to DFMA,
design for manufacturing and assembly, quality, automotive, and ballistic references. The study results
include detailed armoring operation steps, qualitative survey reports, and helpful literature references
for armoring practitioners to generate a standard armoring procedure for different vehicle models. Fol-
lowing best practices in automotive and armoring procedures collected in the survey responses can
standardize and enhance ballistic protection operations while preserving the original vehicle systems'
functionalities and warranties. This work provides valuable information for armoring companies to
improve their operations and interfaces with automotive systems and follow automotive and ballistic
references.
Keywords
Automotive industry
Ballistic protection operations
DFMA, Design for Manufac-
turing and Assembly
Production processes improve-
ments
DOI: 10.30657/pea.2023.29.15
1. Introduction
The practice of armoring civilian passenger vehicles has be-
come increasingly significant in the automotive aftermarket
sector, particularly in countries that experience high levels of
urban violence, such as Brazil. In this country, the robbery rate
is almost seven times higher than in the United States of
America (USA) and 33 times that of Poland. According to the
United Nations Global Report (UNODC, 2022), in 2019, Bra-
zil had a rate of 561 robberies per 100,000 people, one of the
highest in the South American area. In contrast, Mexico had a
rate of 261 (in 2018) and 244 in Colombia (in 2017). On the
other hand, in 2019, the USA had an estimated rate of 81, and
Poland had a rate of 17.
In this context, Brazil has the highest per capita number of
civil armored vehicles (CAVs) with handgun protection,
ahead of the USA, Colombia, and Mexico.
According to Associação Brasileira de Blindagem [Brazil-
ian Armoring Association] (ABRABLIN, 2023), since the be-
ginning of the 2000s, the automotive armoring sector in Brazil
showed continuous growth, reaching almost 26,000 new ar-
mored units in 2022, evidenced by the increase in the vehicle
protection service and ballistic materials companies installed
in the country. Regarding the total number of new automobiles
and light-duty commercial vehicles (local and imported) reg-
istered in Brazil between 2011 and 2022, the production of
CAVs has consistently increased its ratio related to the au-
tomakers' production, with expectations of significant growth,
as shown in Table 1.
GUIDO MUZIO CANDIDO AND PAULO CARLOS KAMINSKI / PRODUCTION ENGINEERING ARCHIVES 2023, 29(2), 128-139
ARCHIWUM INŻYNIERII PRODUKCJI 129
Table 1. New vehicles registered from 2011 to 2022 and new ar-
mored vehicles produced in Brazil (units per year).
Year
New au-
tomobiles
registered
[1]*
New light-
duty
commercial
vehicles
registered
[2]*
Total new
vehicles
registered
(T)
[1+2]*
Total
new ar-
mored
vehicles
produced
(AV) **
AV/
T
Ratio
%
2022
1.576.666
383.796
1.960.462
25.916
1.322
2021
1.558.467
418.643
1.977.110
20.024
1.013
2020
1.615.942
338.877
1.954.819
13.837
0.708
2019
2.262.073
403.510
2.665.583
18.842
0.707
2018
2.102.114
373.224
2.475.338
11.912
0.481
2017
1.856.584
319.400
2.175.984
15.145
0.696
2016
1.688.289
300.307
1.988.596
18.865
0.949
2015
2.123.009
357.523
2.480.532
18.086
0.729
2014
2.794.687
538.796
3.333.483
11.731
0.352
2013
3.040.783
539.113
3.579.896
10.156
0.284
2012
3.115.223
518.960
3.634.183
8.384
0.231
2011
2.901.647
524.184
3.425.831
8.106
0.237
* Source: ANFAVEA (2023).
** Source: ABRABLIN (2023).
Ordinarily, civilian vehicles are armored after undergoing
entire assembly at Original Equipment Manufacturers
(OEMs) and are subsequently sold to customers at dealerships.
In this aftermarket segment, AASPs are not OEM stakehold-
ers or suppliers. Thus, usually, they do not consider or apply
the OEM design requirements, such as automotive design en-
gineering or even automotive product development process
(PDP), as detailed in Canuto da Silva & Kaminski (2017). In
addition, the armoring firms do not apply quality standards
(IATF, 2016), perceived quality (Stylidis et al., 2015), or de-
sign for manufacturing and assembly criteria (Boothroyd et
al., 2010) when performing ballistic protection on vehicles.
As a result, some automakers describe in specific chapters
of their in-vehicle owners' manuals that any modification or
replacement of components due to armoring operations will
void the guarantees of their cars. For example, components not
manufactured by Toyota, nor marketed or used in the vehicle's
original manufacture, are not included in the vehicle's war-
ranty period, including the warranty period of the armoring
services and its parts (Toyota Brasil, 2022).
Therefore, the quality and guarantees of automotive parts
that interface with ballistic components installed in passenger
compartments, which are related to Original Equipment Man-
ufacturer (OEM) design, such as safety components, body
panels, and other original parts, are lost due to armoring ser-
vices. This includes the brake systems and rear suspensions
that may be modified during the armoring process. Thus, cus-
tomers often need to know or be aware of losing these OEM
warranties after starting the armoring.
Usually, AASPs protect various types of passenger vehicle
brands and models simultaneously in the same production line
with the same shop floor teams. Additionally, as there is no
armoring design or standard requirements, these firms in Bra-
zil need to adopt quality and process standard procedures for
each step of armoring operations. Therefore, each AASP, with
or without ISO 9001 standard certifications, defines different
disassembly criteria for automotive components and assembly
criteria for ballistic materials according to its shop floor man-
ufacturing procedures, layouts, resources, and controls.
Based on the scenario, this work proposes an armoring
benchmarking guideline in civil vehicles based on literature
references and production process improvements collected in
a qualitative survey to keep the original functionalities and
warranties of OEM components involved in the armoring op-
erations.
2. Literature review
2.1. Civilian vehicle systems
According to Eurostat (2022), the statistical office of the Eu-
ropean Union, a civilian vehicle is a road motor vehicle, other
than a motor cycle, intended for the carriage of passengers and
designed to seat no more than nine persons (including the
driver). The term civilian or passenger vehicle also covers mi-
crocars (small cars), taxis, and other hired passenger cars, pro-
vided that they have fewer than ten seats. This category may
also include vans designed and used primarily for the transport
of passengers, as well as ambulances and motor homes. Ex-
cluded are motor coaches, buses, and mini-buses/mini-
coaches (Eurostat, 2022).
Bhise (2017) defines an automobile product as a system
containing several other systems (e.g., body system, power-
train system, chassis system, and electrical/electronic system).
As a result, the vehicle has many different attributes (i.e., char-
acteristics that its customers expect, such as performance, fuel
economy, safety, comfort, styling, and package). In addition,
Bhise (2017) also described that an automotive product is con-
sidered a system that involves some lower (or second) level
systems.
The vehicle designs and their systems include design stand-
ards, design requirements, and design guidelines on vehicle
attributes and associated vehicle systems. The standards in-
clude necessary background information, design and perfor-
mance requirements, test procedures, and guidelines (for de-
sign and/or installation) to achieve the required level of per-
formance (Bhise, 2017). For instance, during the development
process of a series vehicle body, a multitude of requirements
has to be considered concerning stiffness, energy-absorbing
capability and structural integrity in a crash, noise vibration
and harshness (NVH) behaviour, durability, surface quality,
corrosion resistance, production costs and recyclability
amongst others (Urban and Wohlecker, 2012).
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130 ARCHIWUM INŻYNIERII PRODUKCJI
2.2. Civilian armored vehicles (CAVs)
According to Candido and Kaminski (2019), a CAVs con-
sists of a ballistic protection system for a driver and occupants
in an automobile system, which is assembled with protective
materials, such as stainless-steel parts, bullet-resistant glasses,
and aramid plates. Depending on a specific level of ballistic
protection, using these materials with the corresponding thick-
ness, they are resistant to firearm shootings, protecting the
passenger compartment. Thus, the goal of a CAV is essential
to protect the occupants in a bullet-resistant compartment that
can resist fire guns until the driver can maneuver out of a sud-
den attack.
Virtually indistinguishable from a regular vehicle from the
outside, the armored automobiles are usually inside reinforced
with stainless steel parts, aramid plates, and armored glasses
to resist handgun calibers up to .44-Magnum, according to the
National Institute of Justice of USA standard, named NIJ
0108.01 (NIJ, 1985). NIJ divides the level of attack potential
into six protection classes. In Brazil, the NIJ IIIA ballistic pro-
tection level is assigned to short weapons, the maximum au-
thorized by the Brazilian Army for armor passenger vehicles.
The armored windows are made of multi-layered bullet-re-
sistant glass for IIIA level and are thick, approximately 18 to
21 mm. In addition, car body structures of passenger compart-
ments, closures, and wheels receive opaque ballistic protec-
tion materials. Therefore, with the addition of these compo-
nents, these CAVs are heavier than their original counterparts.
Depending on what protection level the vehicle has been ret-
rofitted for, the model type, and the size of the passenger com-
partment to be armored, its final weight could be, according to
AASPs, from 200 to 400 kilograms heavier than the standard
unarmored vehicle version.
2.3. Vehicle system with armoring system
Armoring operations in passenger vehicles require changes
and replacements in some automotive systems to fit the ballis-
tic parts together with the passenger compartment compo-
nents. Adjustments on the vehicle’s components include re-
working interior trim pillars and door trim panels, replacing
windows and rear suspensions, and adding screw holes in
body panels. Figure 1 presents a vehicle system and subsystem
overview, some with armoring interfaces. As the vehicle sys-
tem is very complex, the armoring operation requires high au-
tomotive engineering knowledge and analysis to avoid dam-
ages or compromises to the primary safety, structural, elec-
tronic, or any other vehicle functionalities. Nevertheless, it
also requires high ballistic engineering knowledge and analy-
sis to avoid open and weak areas in the passenger compart-
ment of firearm shootings.
To develop a ballistic protection design in an automotive
system or a civilian vehicle, first, it is necessary to understand
the specific design of each automobile, especially the compo-
nents and the systems that interface with protection parts. Usu-
ally, this interface stands in the passenger compartment, such
as car bodies, structures, doors, windows, roofs, seats, interior
trims, electronics, and other components affected, such as rear
suspension and safety systems.
Fig. 1. Automotive systems and subsystems with and without ar-
moring interface. Source: adapted from Net car show (2022).
In general, after disassembly of the interior finish parts of
the passenger compartment, the AASP operators start to as-
semble the protection components. Figure 2 shows the typical
locations of protection components in CAV. First, stainless
steel parts are attached to A, B, C (and D for sport utility ve-
hicles, SUVs) pillars, door lock areas, roof rails, and other
small areas of the car. Next, the operators assembled the ara-
mid plates in uniform and flat regions, such as the roof, tail-
gate inner panel (SUVs), under the hood (near the windshield),
and inside the door panels. Finally, the armored glass set re-
placed the original automaker windows.
Fig. 2. Civilian armored vehicle and ballistic protection parts lay-
out. Source: Karvi (2020), cited in Candido et al. (2022).
In principle, civilian passenger vehicles were not previously
designed to receive additional armor components. Therefore,
the thickness, dimensions, and locations of ballistic elements,
such as armored glasses, stainless steel parts, and aramid
plates, must be designed to allow the feasibility of assembly
and installation of this ballistic system in each vehicle model.
Therefore, it is essential to know not only the characteristics
and ballistic properties of each type of protection part and the
correct place of application but also to have automotive
knowledge of the vehicle project, the characteristics of the
systems through which the parts will be installed and the direct
contact interfaces of ballistic components with automotive
parts when performing armoring operations.
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ARCHIWUM INŻYNIERII PRODUKCJI 131
2.4. Operation flow of automotive armoring
Based on the simplified description of the AASPs to the fi-
nal customers of the stages of the armoring operation, the re-
spective flow is briefly presented in Figure 3. After the cus-
tomer order and prepayment, AASP generates a service order
describing the materials and levels of protection that the vehi-
cle owner has requested. Thus, the armoring operation begins.
First, the income vehicle is inspected before disassembly (step
3). Next, all protective materials added to the car are selected
to armor the automobile. AASP then completely dismantles
the interior of the vehicle. To fit the armored glasses, thicker
than the original, door trim panels and frames are modified.
Fig. 3. Simplified civil vehicle armoring flowchart. Source: Can-
dido & Kaminski, 2022.
AASP continues the armoring process by covering the pas-
senger compartment with protective ballistic steel and aramid
plates. Next, AASP installs armored glasses. These are made
to fit OEM window channels, giving them an original au-
tomaker finish. AASP then reassembles the interior finish
parts of the vehicle just as received. At this point, the vehicle
is armored, keeping its OEM appearance. After the static and
dynamic tests (step 11), the vehicle is wholly inspected (step
12) and delivered to the customer's destination (step 13). In
case of test failure, e.g., excessive wind noising, the AASP
disassembles the parts affected, fixes them, and performs the
tests again. Finally, the checkout inspection confirms that ar-
moring service is completed and the vehicle is ready to be de-
livered to the customer.
3. Methodology
Initially, bibliographical research was carried out to review
the knowledge and the interface between automotive and bal-
listic protection systems. Next, due to the relatively new field
of investigation in civil armored vehicle operations, in terms
of few references published, this work also adopted a qualita-
tive survey through an exploratory approach with interviewed
experts in eight AASPs established in Brazil, with different
industrial practices in the second half of 2022. Qualitative sur-
veys consist of a series of open-ended questions crafted by re-
searchers and centered on a particular topic (Braun et al.,
2020). Thus, in this study, the authors followed the framework
from Blessing & Chakrabarti (2009), which consists of re-
search clarification (RC) of the problem. The aims are to iden-
tify and refine a research problem that is both academically
and practically worthwhile and realistic.
Therefore, based on the RC steps, shown in Figure 4, this
methodology involves obtaining an overview of the general
understanding of civil vehicle armoring operations, including
literature and interviews in the AASPs.
Fig. 4. Main steps in the research clarification methodology.
Source: adapted from Blessing & Chakrabarti (2009).
Following the RC sequence, it is possible to plan and for-
mulate the questions of the most relevant armoring operations
research in companies to present, as the purpose of this paper,
the armoring procedure guidelines and best practices pro-
posals. Furthermore, owing to the proactiveness and partner-
ship of the companies interviewed, it has been possible to
carry out a detailed armoring operation flow to understand the
steps of vehicle protection.
3.1. Criteria for choosing armoring companies
The selection criteria for armor companies to carry out the
questionnaire to identify the main difficulties in armor opera-
tions considered focusing on companies located in the region
of the country with the highest number of new armored vehi-
cles sold, the number of armored vehicles produced per
month, the number of operators, the longest time in the mar-
ket, i.e., more time in activity, and whether they have an engi-
neering manager responsible for ballistic parts projects.
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132 ARCHIWUM INŻYNIERII PRODUKCJI
Based on these premises, according to ABRABLIN (2023),
65% of the Brazilian production of CAVs is produced in the
State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Thus, the interviews were con-
ducted in eight armoring companies in Sao Paulo and nearby
cities in the second half of 2022. These companies have been
in the protection vehicle business since the early 2,000s; the
production of new CAVs in these companies varies between
30 to 100 units manufactured per month with shop floor oper-
ators between 25 and 70 employees in one shift. In addition,
three of these companies interviewed have received armor cer-
tification from automakers, such as BMW, GM, Jaguar Land
Rover, Toyota, and VW.
3.2. Criteria for preparing the questionnaire
The questions were formulated following the simplified op-
eration flow for armoring vehicles, which is summarized in
Figure 3. The aim of developing the questions was to identify
daily difficulties faced by production line operators in each
sequence of the armoring operations with greater clarity. Be-
fore sending the questionnaire to the interviewers, the ques-
tions related to each operation stage were reviewed for rele-
vance. A pilot test was conducted by applying the question-
naire initially to an expert engineer from one armoring com-
pany. During the pilot test, it was observed that some items
needed revision and adjustments to improve understanding,
which led to the refinement of the questionnaire. Finally, the
questionnaire was sent to the eight AASPs, and one expert en-
gineer from each facility was selected via email or telephone.
4. Results and discussion
A questionnaire related to automotive and ballistic systems
was presented to experts with technical and management po-
sitions working in AASP companies to identify the difficulties
with civil armor vehicles. Subsequently, an interview was
conducted either personally or by telephone as field research
at armored firms, using the reviewed questions that were sent
to the companies. The most relevant answers to the question-
naire about the main difficulties of civil armor vehicles in
eight AASPs are presented in Table 2. Appropriate solutions
were considered when it was verified that the majority of the
interviewees reported similar challenges, as determined by the
authors.
Table 2. Questions to AASPs and relevant correspondent answers of CAV operations.
Questions about CAV operations
Relevant answers from eight AASPs expert respondents
1. Please provide a detailed description of
the sequence of armoring operation steps
utilized by your company.
• Detailed armoring operation flowchart according to steps presented in Figure 5.
2. What are the main difficulties in
armoring operations related to
disassembling automotive parts?
• Wide variety of models and versions to proceed with the armoring;
• Operators have not been previously trained or prepared to work on new vehicles;
• Lack of technical information from automakers: parts and procedures;
• Incorrect procedures of disassembly of the finishing parts and electronic components.
3. What are the primary challenges in
armoring operations related to the
installation of high-hardness materials, such
as stainless steel?
• Perform try-outs of stainless steels assembly on the vehicle;
• Adjust stainless-steel parts and stamping tools (mold and cutting);
• Increase tack time with a new stainless-steel part that needs dimensional changes to
fit the passenger compartment interface parts of the vehicle.
4. What are the main difficulties in
armoring operations related to installing
armored glasses?
• The greater thickness of the armored glasses (from 18 to 21 mm) requires high-
quality control during the assembly;
• Risk of high interferences with the automotive parts, especially at windshield and
doors to fit armored glasses on it;
• Manually installation of heavily armored glasses, especially windshields, and
sunroofs.
5. What are the main difficulties in
armoring operations related to installing
aramid plates?
• Install aramid plates in curved surfaces of the car (e.g. rear wheel inner panel);
• Increase the interferences of aramid plates with automotive parts, mainly in the
narrow areas between finishing parts and vehicle body panels.
• Depending on the aramid plate thickness required and aramid location, modifications
not previewed may be required to guarantee the automotive parts interfaced with the
armoring system.
6. What are the main difficulties in
armoring operations related to
reassembling automotive parts?
• Reassemble the original components over the armored parts;
• Keep the same fixing points and geometries within the original gaps and flushes of
the automotive parts;
• No access to automaker specifications and service manuals for reassembly
operations.
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ARCHIWUM INŻYNIERII PRODUKCJI 133
7. What are the main difficulties in
armoring operations related to modifying
existing automotive parts?
• Manual cutting and welding operations in the automotive parts to properly fit the
armoring parts, such as upper reinforcement of the inner door panel (door glasses),
tailgate inner panel reinforcement (aramid plates in SUV), cover trim pillars (stainless
steels) and upper instrument panel cover (windshield).
8. What are the main difficulties in
armoring operations related to determining
the root causes of recurring shop floor
problems?
• Different brands and vehicle models in the same production line;
• High technologies, complexities, and quality of new automotive parts;
• No access to automaker specifications and service manuals for disassembling and
reassembling of automotive parts;
9. Have any difficulties in any other step not
been mentioned or considered as relevant?
• Lack of specialized shop floor professionals in armored vehicles;
• Lack of military or government standards to verify and certify the correct application
of ballistic components inside the vehicles;
• No security assurances in terms of ballistic protection design and operations;
• No quality assurance in terms of automotive safety features functionalities.
10. Are there any inconsistencies between
your company and its internal partners
(employees), or external partners (suppliers
and logistical partners)?
• Conformity of ballistic parts (different dimensions, out-of-material specifications,
different number of aramid layers, armored glasses with distortions and out-of-design
geometries);
• Logistic problems (delays) related to armored glasses (bottleneck).
11. What are the main difficulties in
armoring operations related to the
technology of ballistic materials available in
Brazil? Do they meet the company's needs?
• Despite the composites, materials that replace stainless steel parts, being much lighter
than stainless steel (up to 80% less in mass), they are much more expensive;
• The armored glasses still require layers of polymers and glasses, which adds more
weight to the vehicle for the NIJ-IIIA level.
12. What are the main difficulties in
armoring operations related to the
technological evolution of automobiles, such
as the electrification, onboard electronics,
cameras, sensors, and airbags, in addition to
the launch of new models in a shorter life
cycle?
• The need for a specific electronic engineer to support the AASPs especially for
electric and hybrid vehicles;
• The new vehicles have more technology, modules, and batteries, making the
armoring a complex operation and demanding attention in automobile specifications,
especially during the reassembly phase;
• Shop floor operators have not been previously trained or prepared due to the variety
of new components to be done on each automobile;
13. What are the main difficulties in
armoring operations related to technical
requirements requested by OEM to obtain
armoring certification?
• Lack of traceability before, during, and after the assembly of stainless steel, armored
glasses, and aramid plates;
• No standard work procedures are available on the shop floor for each armoring stage.
14. What does an OEM armoring
certification consist of? Are they valid for a
specific period? Does it refer to a particular
vehicle?
• The OEM certifications are valid only for the specific vehicle model throughout the
life cycle of that model;
• AASPs are responsible for armoring services and ballistic parts warranties added to
the vehicle.
The compilation of the responses of the eight expert respond-
ents from each firm presented in Table 2 shows that the diffi-
culties in each of the armoring operations are similar among
the AASPs. And at the same time, it offers the necessary di-
rections to focus on solutions proposed by the authors.
4.1. CAV operation detailed flow
According to the interviews carried out in the armoring
companies, it was possible to understand and describe, based
on the AASPs responses, how each stage of the ballistic pro-
tection of passenger vehicle operations is performed in detail.
Therefore, when compiling and analyzing the answers for
each company, the authors prepared and presented the com-
prehensive armoring operation flow illustrated in Figure 5.
After the customer order, AASPs formalize an agreement con-
tract with the new vehicle's owner and generate a service order
on the shop floor to put into effect the armoring operation of
the new vehicle. The firm describes in this contract the de-
tailed description of bullet-resistant components and the level
of protection the vehicle will receive.
It also includes the terms of responsibilities, the armoring
services warranties, and the ballistic protection certifications
of each component (opaque and transparent) assumed from
AASP to the vehicle's owner. After the contract is signed, the
armoring process begins. Next, the AASPs identify the vehicle
model and the respective armor parts. Then, in the sequence,
they inspect it in detail before disassembling the automotive
components (step 11): checking if the engine, warning lamps,
lighting, electronics, and safety equipment are working cor-
rectly and verifying any damage, scratches, or risks all around
the vehicle. If AASP detects any problem related to original
vehicle guarantees, they notify the customer and request the
respective dealer the corrective actions before proceeding with
the operation.
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134 ARCHIWUM INŻYNIERII PRODUKCJI
Fig. 5. Detailed flowchart of CAV operation.
The bullet-resistant components added to the vehicle, if
available at the ballistic suppliers, are selected to armor the
automobile. However, suppose protective materials must be
corrected or out of quality standard (visual aspect only). In that
case, the AASP performs the same procedures of the vehicle
income check to the respective ballistic suppliers to replace
the components.
In case when a protective part is not available in a specific
dimension for a brand-new vehicle that came at AASP, the
current process flow changed. The operator measures (or
scans) the passenger compartment area, such as the roof,
doors, pillars, glasses, and trunk, which enables the ballistic
stakeholders (AASP suppliers) to design, produce and deliver
the ballistic components to protect and safeguard each of these
areas previously cited.
Situations may occur at AASPs where the design of a new
ballistic protection component requested by an "A" armor firm
does not fit or does not correspond to the current design al-
ready requested by a "B" armor firm from the same ballistic
supplier. In other words, there may be more than one design
for the exact vehicle in the same armoring parts supplier to
produce different armoring components for AASPs because
these companies have different vehicle armoring processes.
AASP completely dismantles the vehicle's interior after
covering the entire car surface with protective adhesive tapes,
exposing only its frame. All the vehicle's interior parts are re-
moved and assigned a controlled number corresponding to the
vehicle to ensure everything is found. To fit the armored
glasses in the vehicle body, thicker than the original, door trim
panels and door frames are modified.
After the static and dynamic tests (step 21), the vehicle is
wholly inspected (step 23) and finally delivered to the custom-
er's destination (step 24). In case the AASP test fails, e.g., ex-
cessive wind noising, the firm identifies the non-conformity
root causes, disassembles the parts affected, fixes them, and
performs the tests again. The checkout inspection is a final
quality audit that AASP guarantees that armoring service is
completed and the vehicle can be delivered to the customer.
4.2. Production processes improvements guidelines
and literature references for CAV operations
Faced with the difficulties reported in the responses and the
detailed armoring operation flow shown in Figure 5, the au-
thors presented in Table 3 the production processes improve-
ments guidelines of solutions applied on AASPs shop floor
followed by the literature references as benchmarks for civil
vehicle armoring operations. The literature on armoring oper-
ations based on Design for Excellence (DfX) references,
adapted from Candido et al. (2022), was researched in parallel
with a qualitative survey of armoring companies. Additional
references in Table 3 were included because the content had
more adherence to the themes respectively of each stage of the
armoring operation related to armoring standards or designs,
automotive manufacturing processes, quality and design pro-
cesses, and supply chain management.
Table 3, identifies the most appropriate guidelines for each
step of the armoring operation according to the respective au-
tomotive, ballistic, and DFMA tool references applied to pro-
cesses with a wide variety of vehicles and low production vol-
umes.
GUIDO MUZIO CANDIDO AND PAULO CARLOS KAMINSKI / PRODUCTION ENGINEERING ARCHIVES 2023, 29(2), 128-139
ARCHIWUM INŻYNIERII PRODUKCJI 135
Table 3. Production processes guidelines and corresponding literature reference to support civil vehicle armoring operations.
Armoring operation
stage
Production processes guidelines’ compilation
Literature reference keywords
Reference authors
(year)
1. Develop armoring
kit design (steel,
glasses, plates) with
suppliers.
• Comply with ballistic standards, define
armoring requirements & tolerances;
• Follow ballistic supplier guidelines;
• Design armoring parts using the DFMA®
method;
• DFM for low-quantity production.
• Armor system – Ballistic
protection.
• Armor design ceramics,
composites, analytical modeling,
numerical simulation.
• Design, assembly, disassembly.
• DFA, DFM, DFMA,
engineering design, product
development, systematic
review.
• ABNT NBR 15.000
(2005)
• Gálvez & Paradela
(2009)
• Boothroyd & Alting
(1992)
• Formentini et. al
(2022)
2. Disassemble
automotive parts.
• Consider the DFMA®, DFD, and DFS
methods for vehicle disassembly;
• Establish a standard work for each operation
stage to deal with a variety of vehicle models
and versions;
• Program regular operator training courses to be
prepared to work on new vehicles.
• DFMA®, disassembly, green
design, sustainability.
• Product design, product life
cycle, disassembly planning,
sustainability, emerging
technology.
• Mamat et al. (2019)
• Chang et al. (2017)
3. Install stainless steel
parts, aramid plates,
and armored glasses.
• Design and test with suppliers the ballistic
protection parts (new vehicle);
• Create quality audits on the shop floor for
ballistic protection parts assembly;
• Obtain 3D of the vehicle to design the ballistic
parts correctly;
• Create equipment to install armored glasses;
• Standardize the operation of polyurethane glue
application in armored glasses and aramid
plates;
• Increase design partnerships with aramid
suppliers, especially for curved surfaces (rear
wheel inner panel) and narrow areas which are
difficult to access, and install the protective
parts.
• Design for manufacture and
assembly, architecture,
construction, manufacturing,
assembly, and design
guidelines.
• Blast waves, ballistic impact,
shielding armors, material
classification, multi-layered.
• Tan et al. (2020)
• Pai et al. (2022)
4. Reassemble
automotive parts.
• Create standard works for the reassembly of the
automotive components over the armored parts;
• Train the operators at OEM factories to keep
the original fixing points and geometries
(dimensional and positioning) within the
original gaps and flushes.
• ASP, DFA, DFMA®, DFE,
DFR, part concatenation
method.
• Book chapter n. 10: Assembly
system.
• Kolur et al. (2020)
• Swift & Booker
(2013).
5. Modify automotive
parts to fit armor
components.
• Side door and rear door panels: optimize the
cutting process in the inner panel to fit the
aramid and armored glasses and minimize the
reduction of structural stiffness;
• Avoid cutting the upper instrument panel to fit
the armored windshield interface by
redesigning the inserted steel in the armored
windshield;
• Avoid cutting a part of the trim pillars to fit the
stainless-steel parts.
• Sustainability, aftermarket,
remanufacturing, strategic
planning, automotive, supply
chain, reverse logistics.
• Sustainable production, design
for remanufacturing, and
material selection.
• Subramoniam et al.
(2009)
• Yang et al. (2017)
6. Determine the root
causes that conducted
to shop floor
problems.
• Provide regular training to operators to deal
with high automotive technologies,
complexities, and quality of new vehicles;
• Assembly processes in the
automotive sector.
• Baraldi & Kaminski
(2018)
GUIDO MUZIO CANDIDO AND PAULO CARLOS KAMINSKI / PRODUCTION ENGINEERING ARCHIVES 2023, 29(2), 128-139
136 ARCHIWUM INŻYNIERII PRODUKCJI
• Provide technical information with OEM to
proceed with the disassembling and
reassembling of automotive parts.
7. Solve internal
(employees) or
external (suppliers)
non-conformities.
• Adopt automotive quality requirements to add
value provided by IATF 16949-2016 over ISO
9001 for improving operation and for receiving
ballistic parts;
• Adopt automotive supply chains related to
armored parts.
• ISO 9001, IATF 16949, meta‐
standards, quality management
systems, automotive sector.
• Supply chain, risk management,
automotive industry, Brazil.
• Laskurain‐Iturbe et al.
(2020)
• Vanalle et al. (2019)
8. Consider the
technological
evolution of
automobiles.
• Include an electronic engineer to support the
AASPs during the development and assembly
phases, especially for electric and hybrid
vehicles;
• Update knowledge of vehicle technologies.
• Eco-design, manufacturing,
Product design, supply chain,
sustainable design.
• Ramani et al. (2010).
9. Receive the OEM
Armoring
Certification.
• Adopt the automaker's quality production
process for armoring operations;
• Provide the traceability control of automotive
and ballistic protection parts;
• Create standard work procedures on the shop
floor for each armoring stage;
• Create regular training for operators for
ballistic and automotive knowledge;
• Create a BOM for armored parts;
• Create a maintenance service manual for
dealers related to CAVs.
• Manufacturing system,
production quality, maintenance
management.
• Quality, method, design and
manufacturing process, vehicle,
armor.
• Minimum Automotive Quality
Management System
Requirements for sub-tier
suppliers.
• Colledani et al. (2014)
• Rusiński et al. (2009)
• IATF (2017)
4.3. Product and processes considerations in CAV
operations
Based on the answers of the experts from each AASPs, and
the guidelines with corresponding literature references to sup-
port civil vehicle armoring operations, the following key rele-
vant product and process findings and implications for the in-
dustry related to automotive and ballistic criteria are high-
lighted as follows:
• Vehicle systems: Check automotive components and sys-
tems functionalities, especially those with the interface to
ballistic components added, such as electric, electronic,
safety, and structural systems; doors and rear doors open-
ing systems; rear window defogging system; the anti-
smash system at door window; sunroof opening system;
safety system alerts, especially curtain, and side airbags;
• Manufacturing processes: Follow each OEM's disassem-
bly sequences processes using as much as possible their
tools, technics, and procedures;
• Automotive safety features: Apply OEM electronic diag-
nosis control at CAVs for checking safety, engine, elec-
trical and electronic systems;
• Vehicle handling: Protect the body panels, equipment,
and passenger compartment surfaces with appropriate ad-
hesive liners to avoid damages such as rips, dents, and
scratches in visible areas, especially in wet areas (doors)
during the ballistic protection operation;
• OEM requirements: Comply with OEM electromagnetic
compatibility standards as a ballistic design input to avoid
electric and electronic troubleshooting during and after
the installation of ballistic protection components inside
the vehicle; Comply with OEM corrosion avoidance and
protection requirements due to the possibility of damag-
ing panels and structures such as rips, dents, and scratches
in visible areas that can generate corrosion spots; follow
OEM when proceeding with reassembly operation;
• Finishing: Keep the OEM exterior finishing design after
interior trim parts are changed, mainly to curtain airbag
interface parts;
• Noising: Consider the addition of proper automotive felts
or dense foams to avoid the squeaks and rattles effect in
the passenger compartment during the usage of the vehi-
cle due to the contact of the body panels with the stainless
steels added;
• Increase ballistic and automotive knowledge among the
shop floor employees.
The results show that most companies face challenges in
standardizing the armoring procedure and preserving the orig-
inal vehicle systems' functionalities. However, the best prac-
tices collected from the survey responses can be used to en-
hance ballistic protection operations and improve production
processes.
5. Summary and conclusion
Civil vehicles are ballistic protected against firearms up to
level IIIA in NIJ standard in Brazil, the largest country in the
world for armoring passenger automobiles. As most of the lit-
erature on this subject usually focuses on military armored ve-
hicles, this work provided meaningful automotive and ballistic
GUIDO MUZIO CANDIDO AND PAULO CARLOS KAMINSKI / PRODUCTION ENGINEERING ARCHIVES 2023, 29(2), 128-139
ARCHIWUM INŻYNIERII PRODUKCJI 137
protection production process improvements to allow their
system's integration into civilian vehicles.
Essentially, the shop floor operators in AASPs assemble
ballistic protection parts previously designed inside the pas-
senger compartment of the vehicles. Next, they modify some
automotive parts to fit the addition of ballistic protection com-
ponents, reassemble the original parts in the vehicle, and test
and deliver to the customer. If not appropriately performed
following automotive quality standards, production proce-
dures, OEMs, and ballistic standards, these operations may
cause loss or malfunction of automotive components and sys-
tems, such as electronic, safety, or structural systems.
Faced with this scenario, the authors carried out a qualitative
research in eight AASPS. Based on the simplified armoring
flow, a preliminary questionnaire was reviewed and per-
formed with a representative sample of the AASP respondents
as far as is practicable. It means that results from the survey
can be conducted onto the population, which in this survey is
considered armoring vehicle companies in the automotive af-
ter-sales market with a calculable degree of reliability (Hutton,
1990).
Most armoring companies that provide ballistic protection
services in civil vehicles in Brazil are not direct (tier 1) or in-
direct (tier 2) suppliers of vehicle manufacturers, as confirmed
through research. Therefore, usually, most of these firms do
not have automotive quality and manufacturing certifications
and do not have access to vehicle designs, such as drawings,
statements of works, tolerances, specifications, or engineering
requirements, related to structural, safety, electric, electronic,
among others component references with interfaces in the ar-
moring system. In addition, even though the ballistic material
suppliers recommended to AASPs the procedures to assemble
the protection components, the armor company technician
knowledge in automotive and ballistic still needs to be im-
proved.
The obtained answers allowed for the presentation of a de-
tailed flow of civil vehicle armoring operations. This process
consists of disassembling the interior finish components and
the windows of the passenger compartment of the new civilian
vehicle, adding the ballistic protection components inside the
vehicle in the roof, side, and door panels, and reassembling
the interior vehicle parts covering the ballistic components.
Usually, as these operations are performed manually, it re-
quires several adjustments on the body panels. Therefore, the
armoring operation depends on the ballistic skills, automotive
experience, assembly precision, handling, and care of opera-
tors on the AASP's shop floors.
In addition, it is verified that AASP companies adopt dis-
tinct procedures for installing protective parts with different
designs for identical vehicles. Therefore, there are no specific
armoring assembly standards or mandatory requirements re-
garding how the AASPs must proceed to install the compo-
nents to guarantee vehicle protection.
Thus, the study presented production processes improve-
ments guidelines, literature references, and automotive con-
siderations to help AASPs develop and perform the armoring
operation stages with an interface with the automotive systems
by following automotive and ballistic references.
This study did not examine ballistic components with ad-
vanced materials such as ceramics or high-strength steel parts.
These materials have high production costs and are more ap-
plied in military vehicles with higher protection levels against
powerful weapons. The other limitation of this work is the
number of valid interviews at the AASPs. Therefore, the au-
thors cannot generalize the results for the entire sector, such
as to ballistic protection suppliers or logistic companies in-
volved. On the other hand, due to the lack of armoring refer-
ence procedures, the authors considered the research sample
representative. Furthermore, they guaranteed the reliability of
the results obtained by the AASPs interviewed because they
acquire significant experience over the 20 years in armor op-
erations and added automotive knowledge in disassembly op-
erations and reassembly of original vehicle parts. Therefore,
besides the low number of interviews, the information col-
lected was considered relevant and helped the authors to ana-
lyze, discuss and present the best practices for armoring pro-
cedure operations.
It is essential to point out that the research objective was
exploratory in evaluating the significant difficulties in civil
vehicle armoring operations performed at AASPs in Brazil.
Therefore, the work presented the practices, guidelines, and
literature references that generate the most challenges and the
most used tools to mitigate them. Hence, a suggestion for fu-
ture research is to extend the questionnaire to AASPs in other
regions in Latin America or even the Middle East based on the
detailed armoring operation flow. Second, this study could in-
clude interviews with OEM engineering managers focusing on
automotive, quality, and ballistic protection requirements to
increase technological partnerships with AASPs in armoring
vehicle operations. Finally, in future work, it is suggested to
present a detailed development of an armoring project in spe-
cific vehicle subsystems, such as a vehicle door assembly.
This subsystem receives ballistic protection parts, glasses,
stainless steel parts, and aramid plates, considered in the ar-
moring procedure guidelines presented in this paper.
Acknowledgements
The research was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvi-
mento Científico e Tecnológico [Brazilian National Council for Sci-
entific and Technological Development] CNPq for research funding.
Ph.D. fellowship process number 141558/2019-9.
The researchers thank CEA, Centro de Engenharia Automotiva [Au-
tomotive Engineering Center], and CAETEC, Centro de Automação
e Tecnologia do Projeto [Center of Automation and Design Technol-
ogy], both from Polytechnic School of the University of Sao Paulo,
Sao Paulo, Brazil, for their support.
The researchers also thank the ABRABLIN, Associação Brasileira
de Blindagem [Brazilian Armoring Association] and its armor-asso-
ciated companies for their helpful support and interviews.
This paper is based on the corresponding author's professional back-
ground in automotive engineering and the results of the doctoral the-
sis in progress during the academic years from 2019 to 2023.
GUIDO MUZIO CANDIDO AND PAULO CARLOS KAMINSKI / PRODUCTION ENGINEERING ARCHIVES 2023, 29(2), 128-139
138 ARCHIWUM INŻYNIERII PRODUKCJI
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ARCHIWUM INŻYNIERII PRODUKCJI 139
Abbreviations
AASP Automotive Armoring Service Provider
ABNT Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas [Brazilian
Association of Technical Standards]
ABRABLIN Associação Brasileira de Blindagem [Brazilian Armor-
ing Association]
ANFAVEA Associação Nacional dos Fabricantes de Veículos Au-
tomotores [Brazilian National Association of Motor
Vehicle Manufacturers]
CAV Civilian Armored Vehicle
DFA Design for Assembly
DFD Design for Disassembly
DFMA Design for Manufacturing and Assembly
DFR Design for Recyclability
DFS Design for Service
DFX Design for Excellence
IATF International Automotive Task Force
ISO International Organization for Standardization
NIJ National Institute of Justice
NVH Noise, Vibration and Harshness
OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer
PDP Product Development Process
PU Polyurethane
RC Research Clarification
SUV Sport Utility Vehicle
巴西的民用装甲车辆操作 - 挑战和生产过程的改进：一项定性调查
關鍵詞
汽车行业
防弹保护操作
DFMA，制造和装配设计
生产流程改进
摘要
装甲民用车辆需要专业的知识和经验，但许多装甲公司缺乏这些知识和经验，因为它们不是车
辆制造商的直接或间接供应商。这限制了它们获取汽车质量和制造认证或详细车辆设计的机会
，这可能会导致在装甲过程中失去或损坏汽车组件。因此，本研究旨在调查巴西民用装甲公司
面临的挑战，并确定其生产过程的改进机会。使用针对巴西八家专业公司的问卷调查以及与
DFMA、制造和装配设计、质量、汽车和弹道相关的文献进行了定性研究。研究结果包括详细
的装甲操作步骤、定性调查报告以及有助于装甲从业人员为不同车型生成标准装甲程序的有用
文献参考。遵循在调查答复中收集的汽车和装甲程序的最佳实践可以标准化和增强弹道保护操
作，同时保留原始车辆系统的功能和保修。这项工作为装甲公司提供了有价值的信息，以改进
其与汽车系统的操作和接口，并遵循汽车和弹道参考。
