ARE VIPERS HAND BUILT?

[joe117]

So what's the point of shutting down the line while a screw gets picked up?

And what has anyone's high volume, high quality, production line got to do with a place building a handful of sports cars every day?

Also,
I worked for GE many years ago, a TV factory in Virginia. The TV manufacturers were still in the USA at that time.
There was a surprising amount of security at work trying to protect the process from competitors.
I would think that this would be even more common these days.
We didn't have tours for outsiders. No reporters were writing articles about our process.
Are the plants open for inspection these days?

 

[Viperfreak2]

The latest multimillion dollar piece of equipment at CAAP is a net form and pierce machine - a machine that drills all the frame holes and makes small adjustments to every mounting point on the frame.

Pontiac invented this machine. It was used to line up the body panels on the FIERO! I think they called it mill&drill.

Anyway, knowing a little about automotive quality.....the real issue is not hand built vs. robot built. Quality comes from both or is missed by both. A robot can (and does) make mistakes. It's up to the people on the far side of the robots to catch the error. I've seen stud robots miss entire sections, mig robots go crazy on one or two welds, and spot robots make cold welds all day long. People need to inspect this quality because the robots only do what the programmer says (or the maintenance crew) People make mistakes too. Bad night at home, no sleep.....let's go build cars for 10 hours! 6 days a week!

Here's the bottom line: Do it right the first time (Toyota) and design the process so people check after each other and can't make simple mistakes (polk-a-yolk) THEN test the product extensively!

My SRT has a passenger window that binds on the softtop 9 out of ten times and a dashboard rattle that ANYONE hitting ANY bump can clearly hear. Quality = do not let the product go out the door without everything being perfect. Did someone close my right door two or three times to check it, see it scrape and the glass go outside the top instead of in the channel (1/2 inch gap) and say "I ain't got time to fix it, let the dealer and customer worry about it." I think so.

 

[Torquemonster]

The Toyota assembly plants here in the states are remarkable. The things that they incorporate just to make it easier on their employee's comes first. The theory is that if the workers are comfortable and happy they turn out better work. One other fact is that if an assembly worker drops one single screw into an unfinished car or even on the floor, he or she is to pull a cord right over-head and it stops the whole line until the screw is picked up. You would think that this cord gets pulled all day long and nothing would ever get accomplished, but it does not. Typical day the cord is pulled less than 6 times. It is also a fact that Toyota invited in all of the American Companies to share the knowledge but the big three just can't grasp the concept. Sorry to go off topic but I am a little biased on this subject.
Chad (The Toyota Dealer)

You guys have no idea how many visits DC employees have made to Toyota plants. Both in the US and Japan. In addition the previous DC VP of Quality came from ... drum roll please ... Toyota. In addition several previous Toyota employees provide a significant amount of technical support via contracts. Each OEM studies the others (with on-site visits) on an ongoing basis. Taking the parts that they believe will help them. Now how much of that reaches a small volume manufacturing location is debatable as there are very few comparisons to be made. But clearly it is referenced in daily life with larger programs.

The Toyota manufacturing process is very well known but not very well replicated. Several Harvard case studies have been made on that topic. A joint venture engine plant in Brazil with BMW (that makes the Mini engine) was a complete wire to wire attempt to replicate the most important aspects of the Toyota system. Such that even high ranking Toyota management toured the plant there to evaluate the progress and to assist identifying where it missed vital steps. This is all published in a Harvard review for those of you that would like the truth rather than drivel. And yes even the andon board concept of Toyota was utilized (system of identifying assembly, part supply, tooling, gauging and other station to station needs).

Impresive Ron - except that those visits have not resulted in practise up to Toyota standard... does this mean Joe is right - DC is only prepared to pay for the quality level they are currently achieving?

I hope that is not right - but suspect it is.

How do you think DC should raise the bar so that each car is well engineered and put together to a very high standard?

so that they do not leak
headlights do not flicker or go out
diff's do not blow up under routine performance use
engine precision matches at least that of a Corolla

 

[DR VIPER]

I took a couple of tours of the Conner Avenue and having met the people and seeing it first hand,they truly are craftspeople.The pride and comradery on the assembly line is unsurpassed.Will there be quality issues from time to time?
Definitely,but for the most part I feel comfortable spending my money in one of their products any time in the future!

 

[joe117]

I was reading a book about WW2 aircraft engines. During the war, the Rolls Royce Merlin V12 was licensed for production to Ford in the USA.
The Ford built Merlins were made to a higher standard of tolerance. The reason was that Ford was really producing interchangeable parts. You could take any piston and put it in any bore.
Rolls Royce used what they called "selective assembly" craftsmen of sorts would select a piston that fit a bore with the correct clearance.
The whole engine was assembled with that kind of selected assembly.
So, did the craftsmen do a better job?
Well, they must have been trained to a higher degree, but was their product better?
When you went to replace a part in the field you would have to specify the replacement as a + or a - or a standard part.
I wonder if the Viper assemblers are picking parts that fit in order to produce a good door seal or a hood.

 

[Trbulnc]

Today's robots are cheap to buy and install, can pick up midsized Fanuc robots for around $50,000 which pays for themselves quickly if a company is trying to replace humans for robots. Robots only do what they are told and programmed to do but do have occasional memory clear or card go out. I have been to Toyota, a plant is about 10 miles from my work and it is impressive although they are in negociations and are voting this month to decide about a union. Japanese companies are very strong willed against a union and usually take care of their people to try and prevent the dust from stirring.

Also, it is Poka~yoke which is a process to identify and prevent a defect from reaching the next station.