Plastics & Rubber World - July/August 2019 - 33

automotive

For example, the seats are delivered by
Faurecia in Banbury [Oxfordshire]. That's
a bit of a trek, so it has to be carefully
monitored. Then there's parts coming in
from Europe.
With parts coming in from Europe, if
there were issues you would just hold
more stock?
It doesn't work like that. All the suppliers
are working on this two-hour system. Maybe in days gone by, if a truck was stuck in
traffic you'd just pull on stock at the plant.
But materials cost, inventory costs, we're
taking everything down to bare minimum.
Is there any kitting [pre-assembly] of
parts in advance of addition to the
vehicle?
Yes, there's a lot of kitting. Since the start of
this project we've added a super kitting area
and 17 automated guided vehicles (AGVs).
The super kitting area is carried over from
Sevel Nord, in France, which is our sister
plant. The people there used to pick the
parts based on the vehicle manifest, but
now they use a 'pick to light' system.
Dependent on the trolley they're filling,
part bins light up to say which parts are
required. Then the AGVs move the trollies
to where they're needed. We designed
the trollies in-house, they really are custom-made for the job.
Has that eliminated lineside part
racks, having the part baskets moving
along the line with the vehicle?
Bulk materials are still delivered lineside,
but the amount of product stored by the
line has been significantly reduced.
We had to change the dunnage with this
new vehicle. All the plastic bins used for
holding parts across the plant were leased
from one company, but we switched to a
preferred supplier from the PSA Group.
How has assembly changed with the
launch of the new model?
We had to make the assembly line more
compact, so we've reduced the number
of assembly cells [stations] on the line.
We'll look to do CIP [continuous improvement] again to try and reduce that further.
The PSA philosophy is to create as small
a work area as you can because that will
generate efficiencies.
We've also changed some processes

AGVs follow magnetic tracks to move
parts around the plant

on the assembly line. We use carbon fibre jigs to align the headlights, bumper
and grille as they're applied to the front
of the vehicle. Carbon fibre was used because it's very strong and doesn't deviate
due to temperature change. But that was
a significant investment. We have two of
those and they cost £70,000 to develop
and produce.
How many finished vehicles will the
plant produce when it's up and running?
Based on a schedule of 21 jobs per hour
and a three-shift rota over five days, we're
planning to reach 100,000 units per year by
the end of quarter three [previous output,
67,000 units per annum]. We'll be producing Vivaro for Vauxhall, Citroen, Peugeot,
and some limited numbers for Opel. These
replace the previous Vivaro, which was in
production for just three years, and the Renault Trafic and Nissan Primastar.
What types of model variants will be
produced?
We'll be producing short wheelbase Vivaro
variants at production launch, with a longer
wheelbase version coming later. There'll
also be the Life MPV versions. Within that
there'll be different seat layouts, and all will
have left- and right-hand drive.
The new model features a lot of
standard equipment. Has that affected
production?
When you look at the instrument panel,
for example, there is a lot of variation.
You've got the basic plastic moulding and
that houses the binnacle, air vents, but
also the infotainment screen. Functionality is defined by the equipment and then
what level of operating software is flashed
to the system on the assembly line.
The VP trim level of the MPV, which we
could be building, that has features which
include a panoramic glass roof. That's the
top-of-the-range model, comparable to
the Volkswagen Caravelle.

Reusable plastic dunnage was all
replaced when PSA took over

Carbon fibre jig resists shape deformation due to temperature change

Application of the assembled IP is
supported by mechanical lifters

Most parts are shared with the
Peugeot Expert and Citroen Dispatch?
Yes, most parts are shared. The Opel/
Vauxhall front end is specific, some of the
brand-specific trim and mouldings, but
largely most other parts are carried over.
Do you have any input with regards to
design, fixing and fitting of parts, to
help improve the assembly process?
There has been a little of that, but as the
vehicle comes online we'll be passing back
more information about ways to improve
the assembly process, the ease of use and
repeatability of the assembly process.
Along those lines, there was one case
where a supplier was delivering two of
the same plastic buttons, one with a Citroen badge and the other with a Peugeot
badge. There was no need, it was just increasing the part count by a factor of two.
Remove the badge, add a function symbol
and the supplier was able to produce a

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