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The 7th October marked the anniversary of the adoption of the moving assembly line by Ford. Although the basic concept of the assembly line was patented by Ransom E. Olds in 1901 it was Ford's use of the process from 1913 that is best known. Having popularised mass production the company claims to have built on its tradition of pioneering advanced manufacturing with developments to increase global production. Back in 1913 there were only four Ford factories - in the USA, Canada, Argentina and the UK - each producing the same model. By 2017 the plan is that flexible manufacturing will allow its plants around the world to produce on average four models on a single production line. It is also expected that 90% of those facilities will be working three shifts to increase production by 30%. Those cars will be based on nine core platforms for improved economies of scale - today the company has 15 platforms to support its model range.
In addition to mass production Ford is using technologies to speed up the process of building low volume and one-off prototype parts. By using 3D printing it is possible to prepare testable prototype parts in days rather than months. For sheet metal Ford has patented a process that cuts the time to make stamping moulds so that it takes three days rather than two to six months.
Innovations to improve manufacturing include a 'virtual factory', which is a computer simulation of the whole manufacturing process. This allows vehicle assembly to be optimised right down to simulations of how workers have to reach and bend to ensure working conditions meet Ford's ergonomic standards. Using this technology has cut ergonomic issues by nearly 20% since 2001.
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Another innovation designed to improve quality is the 'dirt detection system'. This uses robotic vision to scan a completed car and compare it to a digitally stored perfect model in order to detect paint and surface imperfections.