Assembly Planbook - March 2009 - (Page 33) lean tools and principles. The automaker recently embarked on a continuous improvement crusade at it Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Japan, which builds numerous vehicles, such as the Corolla and the Vitz. When the makeover is complete, the extremely flexible facility will build more models, faster, on shorter assembly lines than other Toyota plants. By investing in a network of highly flexible assembly plants, Honda has enhanced its ability to quickly respond to changes in customer demand, while also ensuring more efficient use of overall production capacity. The automaker’s facilities in Ohio and Ontario are capable of building cars and light trucks on the same line. During the recent turmoil in the auto industry, while many manufacturers struggled to cut capacity and scrambled to build different vehicle platforms, Honda calmly sat back and relied on the benefits of its flexible production system. For instance, earlier this year, the automaker shifted production of its Ridgeline pickup from Alliston, ON, to Lincoln, AL. The Alabama plant previously assembled the Odyssey minivan and the Pilot SUV. Later this year, the majority of V-6 Accord sedan production will shift from Honda’s Marysville, OH, plant to the Alabama facility. The Ohio plant will increase its production of four-cylinder Accord sedans in mid-2009, decreasing imports of Accords to the United States in response to fluctuating currency rates and shipping costs. “These moves are part of a series of production adjustments that [we are] making in North America to meet customer demand for fuel-efficient passenger cars and light trucks, as well as to ensure the most efficient use of [our] manufacturing capacity,” says John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co. (Torrance, CA). “We are leveraging our flexible manufacturing network to meet the needs of our customers.” Fundamentals of Flexibility Many of the basic principles of flexible manufacturing used in the auto industry also apply to other products and production processes. “The fundamentals of flexibility hold up whether you’re making cars or eyeglasses,” says Lucci. Indeed, flexible assembly has been successfully adopted by manufacturers in many other industries, ranging from consumer electronics to medical devices. Both of those industries tend to turn over their designs with new and improved models after a relatively short product life. Any market where technology i s c h a n g i n g q u i c k l y, s u c h a s cell phones, is ideal for flexible production. As a rule of thumb, products that contain subassemblies that require the same basic parts and processes as other subassemblies, such as electric motors, generally are good candidates for flexible manufacturing. That’s why many solar panel manufacturers are implementing flexible assembly lines as they ramp up production. www.assemblymag.com March 2009 / ASSE M B LY 33 http://www.staubli.com http://www.staubli.com http://www.assemblymag.com
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