Ed DeSmet, global safety belt technical specialist

Ed DeSmet, global safety belt technical specialist in Ford Motor Company’s Restraints Core Engineering department, is a self-described “car guy” who also has been an avid motorcyclist since his college days. He said he’ll never forget when his former father-in-law, who worked for Genesee County Police as the crash investigation reconstruction expert, showed him a graphic, four-inch-thick binder full of motorcycle fatality reports as warning. 

 

“After I finished looking through the binder, he asked me if I still wanted to ride,” said DeSmet. “I said yes and thanked him for making me ride more defensively. I’m always on the lookout for potential hazards and safety concerns whether I’m riding a motorcycle or driving a car.”

 

One safety concern that has caught DeSmet’s attention over the years is car occupants who still don’t wear their seat belts despite state laws that require it.

 

“Knowing that I work on a commodity that saves people’s lives is very rewarding,” DeSmet said.  “I want to make sure that everyone wears their safety belt. So, making them comfortable, easy to use, and, of course, as safe as possible are my top priorities at Ford, and providing protection for my wife and daughter is my top priority as a husband and father.”

 

DeSmet’s work on development of Ford’s inflatable safety belt has been especially important to him because it advances the safety for rear seat passengers, particularly children 

 

DeSmet has worked on restraint systems at Ford for more than nine years, starting as a safety belt design and release engineer. Prior to joining Ford, DeSmet worked on safety belt testing, design, manufacturing, benchmarking, research and development, and assembly at suppliers TRW and Autoliv for nearly 11 years.

 

Among his many career highlights, DeSmet was one of Ford Body Engineering’s technical maturity model award winners this year for new safety belt pretensioner testing methodology, pretensioner benchmarking and specification development.  

 

DeSmet developed the lower seat belt guide for the 2005 Mustang Convertible, and Ford’s first seat-integrated three-point belt system.  He also helped develop multiple safety belt technologies that are in Ford vehicles today such as the Excell height adjuster, higher powered pretensioners, and adaptive and digressive load limiting retractors.  

 

In 2006, DeSmet led a global summit with Ford of Europe, Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover to commonize global safety belt design specifications and content strategies.  He also mentors new safety belt engineers and developed Seatbelt 101 training material for new engineers or non-safety belt engineers. 

 

While safety is his primary concern, DeSmet also keeps an eye on safety belt quality, having developed a global craftsmanship standard for D-ring and height adjuster execution through Ford’s Interior Group.  In addition, he developed the global safety belt J.D. Power APEAL linear regression model for the Vehicle Integration team. 

 

“Safety belts have changed as much or more than cars have since I started working on them almost 20 years ago,” DeSmet said. “Safety belts are continuously improving and doing more to help protect people in crashes. Developing requirements and technology needed to deliver world-class safety belts is my driving interest.”

 

# # #

 

 

Nov. 5, 2009