Visteon Creates Lean, Customer-Focused Manufacturing System

Visteon Creates Lean, Customer-Focused Manufacturing System 


DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 30  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Visteon is undergoing an
evolution toward "lean" production areas.  Many of these cells feature extensive
input from the hourly workers who build the products.  The Engine Induction
System (EIS) line for the Ford F-150 at Visteon's Rawsonville Plant in
Ypsilanti, Mich., USA, is one of Visteon's shining examples of this change.

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The F-150 EIS, also called the Integrated Air/Fuel Module, necessitated a
brand-new line for the plant.  So, five years ago, planners started from scratch
and designed one of the most flexible, efficient and highest quality assembly
lines in Visteon.  The line is designed with two main concepts at the forefront:
supporting the operator and matching the production process to customer
requirements.  Neither concept is revolutionary at Visteon, but the team was
committed to perfecting both concepts, and spreading the transformation to older
lines at the plant.

Supporting the operator

Hourly operators were heavily involved in the early stages of planning the new
line.  One assembly technician was taught the lean principle of Standardized
Work and assembled and disassembled a prototype of the F-150 EIS more than 50
times.  He documented each motion to determine the optimum assembly process. 
From that process, engineers and operators were able to sketch out an
operation-by-operation work flow chart.

Operators also sketched out how the parts should be oriented as they entered and
exited each operation.  A flow rack supplier worked closely with the production
operators, using the sketches to provide all of the part presentation racks. 
This shortened the development time by eliminating an engineering liaison.

"We brought in the operators much earlier in the process than we've done in the
past," says Jeff Riedel, Lean Manufacturing manager and Engine Induction System
launch manager.  "This not only involved safety and ergonomic issues, but also
the assembly process itself."

For ergonomic purposes, operators rotate jobs every two hours.  The line has
been designed to exercise different areas of the body at each station, so
rotating will help cut the fatigue factor on any one part of the body.

Working at customer speed

Most lines in the past were designed to work at 100 percent speed with a fixed
number of operators.  The new EIS line was designed to run at whatever
production rate, or takt, the engine plant customer requires.

To quickly change the rate of production, the line was built to be flexible in
the number of operators it takes to produce a complete system.  If the customer
engine plant is running at full capacity, the line is staffed with nine
operators, each with a balanced workload.  If the customer cuts demand, the line
is flexible enough to reduce the number of operators required for the reduced
levels.

To truly run at the customer takt time, the line must be successful in its
cornerstone "live load" strategy.  Less than 50 yards away from the final
operation is Rawsonville's new East Dock.  Full pallets are taken off the line
by a lift truck at specific intervals and loaded directly onto a waiting truck. 
When the truck is full, it drives off to deliver the products to either the
Windsor or Essex Engine Plants, both in nearby Ontario, Canada. Pallets never
sit for long periods in a warehouse or staging area, decreasing the probability
of incidental damage or late shipments.

While pallets are being loaded onto waiting trucks, empty dunnage is coming back
from the customer, unloaded at the East Dock and loaded right onto the line in a
proprietary material handling station that automatically stacks and destacks the
pallets for loading.

Smart machines

Many of the individual stations on the Visteon Rawsonville assembly line are
unique in that they send information to a data file, which future technicians
can reference by scanning a bar code on each Engine Induction System (read about
this "genetic code" in an accompanying release).  The stations were also
designed with built-in "fail-safe" mechanisms, or poke yokes.  If a part is
defective, or an operation is not done correctly, the next station will not
accept it.  This is one reason the quality on this launch was very high.

One of the big attractions to the line is the unique ergonomic lift assist,
which operators helped design.  The easy-to-operate lift allows operators to
transfer the completely assembled system, which weighs in excess of 30 pounds,
correctly oriented onto the pallet without straining.

Visteon Corporation is a leading full-service supplier that delivers
consumer-driven technology solutions to automotive manufacturers worldwide and
through multiple channels within the global automotive aftermarket.  Visteon has
approximately 75,000 employees and a global delivery system of more than 180
technical, manufacturing, sales and service facilities located in 25 countries.


Web site:  http://www.visteon.com

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001201/DEF008LOGO

DATASOURCE: Visteon Corporation



CONTACT:  Robin Pannecouk, [phone],  or

Jim Fisher, [phone],  both of Visteon Corporation

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