When Ford Motor Co. announced on August 11 that it would invest $5 billion in two of its facilities, ergonomics of the factory floor was a key component.
The investment will be in its Louisville Assembly Plant to produce a new electric vehicle. and in its BlueOval Battery Park in Michigan to produce prismatic LFP batteries. Around 4,000 jobs will be created or secured.
“We put our employees at the center and re-created the factory from scratch,” said Bryce Currie, Ford vice president, Americas Manufacturing, in a statement. “We live and breathe continuous improvement, but sometimes you need a dramatic leap forward. We expect ergonomic breakthroughs and complexity reduction – through elimination of parts, connectors and wire – will flow through to significant quality and cost wins.”
Currie noted that Ford has listened to feedback from employees when he explained the improvements. "We know we start with safety, quality delivery, costs. And people should keep safety number one. And so here is some of the things that we’ve been working on out in California. And with the manufacturing team. The result is the ergonomics with this process are going to be simply completely different as you saw. "
Currie laid out the specifics of how the production floor will work, explaining that employees will do less reaching, twisting, turning and bending. He spelled out where improvements were being made. "Think of this: 84% less 24-inch reaches over the front fender or elsewhere. 63% less ingress, getting into the vehicle, both from a safety and from a quality standpoint. That’s been designed out. Three-quarters of a mile of the wiring harness – gone. Twenty-two pounds taken out of that. It’s like carrying two bowling balls for almost a mile. That’s a lot of wear and tear."
The union joined in emphasizing the changes the workforce will feel. "Ergonomics has been taken into it a whole lot more," said Brandon Reisinger, UAW Chairman, Louisville Assembly Plant. "We should have a healthier workforce, should be able to go home to your families and not be sore at the end of the day, which is going to be great."
Note: IndustryWeek reported on how the assembly line was redesigned.
