Fri, 29 Aug '08 - Mazda production line

Mazda's HQ is in Mukinada, Hiroshima, and is a small part of a vast Bond villian style complex. 

Don't believe me? Take a look at the facts...

It has it's own power station, it's own deep channel container port, not one but five private fire stations, a huge private bridge and multiple roads, plus it's own college. Frankly I wouldn't have been surprised if the ground had split and opened on mechanised armatures to reveal a space shuttle launch pad.

There are two production lines, each one producing four different models. Together they roll out 1000 vehicles per day. The factory is in operation 24 hours a day. 

Therefore; we estimate the following work rate per production line employee:
1000 vehicles per factory, per day
500 vehicles per line, per day 

250 vehicles every 12 hours

20 vehicles per hour (approximately)
10 vehicles roll out every 30 mins
5 every 15 mins
1 every 3 mins

So, assuming the same task is completed once per vehicle, each task on the production line takes on average 3 minutes to complete.

From a raised gantry we observe each 'station' along the trimshop section of the production line. Between working on vehicles each worker cleans and 'reloads' their station. It seems that Japanese workers are not only highly skilled but they take great pride in what they do. 

Mazda has found that each worker remains more engaged when they have four models to work on (rather than just one), and that higher engagement levels boost morale and quality. It is also testament to the work force's ability to multitask across products. 

Each of the four models appears in rotation on the production line so they never do the same task twice in a row.

We notice large-scale framed reproductions of classical fine art (supposedly to brighten the working environment). The factory is a noisy place, and not as 100% spotless as you might think. 

There are robots at key points along the production line. We observe one robot engaged in the task of fitting the glazing to the vehicles (Robot Glazing Cell). It looks like a giant mechanised calligrapher. First dipping it's nozzle into a pot of hot black sealant, then gracefully inking the rim of the glass with laser guided precision. 

The glass is then lifted and rotated for insertion into the body shell. It's quite revealing that robots are used for this kind of work as modern car glazing is often sited as one of the significant recent innovations in vehicle manufacture.

That sealant the robot applies so carefully attaches the glass to the body but also forms the rain gutter around those elegant frameless windows.

Thought

Mass production of cars is awe inspiring in it's complexity. The production line is an incredibly intricate series of interdependent systems and routines. Supplies appear on automatic platforms that raise up just-in-time from a subterranean level, empty containers descend in their place. It's beautifully coordinated. One can only imagine what would happen if someone made a mistake... the whole thing would grind to a halt.

The robots are mesmerizing. They are used for high risk, high value, highly skilled tasks.