OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT AT FORD
*Please also refer to the Ford Fact Sheet on the BM Website for information about their
various manufacturing processes used at the Broadmeadows plant.
Facilities Design & Layout
- Ford uses a product layout for its manufacturing operations. The manufacturing facility is
arranged so that equipment and workstations are in line to provide a sequence of specialised
tasks.This means that the assembly line can easily be adapted for the various models of cars
that Ford assembles. ie. Falcon Sedan, XR 6, XR8, station wagon & utility, Ford Territory
(4WD)
- 3 300 employees on site working one 8 hour shift. In Paint Shop, two 8 hour shifts operate
- Broadmeadows Facility is divided into 6 main areas:
1. Body Build
2. Paint Shop
3. Trim Lines
4. Final Line
5. Pre Delivery Area
6. Shipping
Applying 5 principles of Facilties Design & Layout to Ford ( PVASL )
Product
- Product definition for each Ford Model. There is precise documentation for all
the desirable features for each model. ie power steering, disk brakes, airbags,
DVD, LPG or Petrol Tanks etc.
- New Ford Models released to appeal to youth market ie. Ford Barra, XT, 4WD
Volume - 500 to 520 vehicles produced per day
- The volume of cars produced is determined by analysis of recent sales figures
and anticipation of future trends
- Currently all Fords cars on the assembly line are already sold to Ford Dealers.
There is a 3 to 4 month wait for a new Ford.
Activities - Exact specifications needed for each model are determined and included in the
Master Production Schedule (MPS).
- Efficient & lean manufacturing through design of an assembly line to achieve
maximum efficiency. ie. doors removed chassis when in paint shop and then
refitted after to improve paint job on car
- “Sequence Modelling” where assembly line is organised according to customer
needs. ie. model, colour varies from one car to the next.
Space
- Total Floor Space 133 000 square meters for Body Build, Trim lines & Final
Lines on a total site of 162 hectares
- 55 hectare site next to Ford in Broadmeadows as Business Park for Ford
Suppliers
Layout
- Product Layout used. Series of specialised tasks which can be adapted
according to the model produced.
Materials Management
- Materials Requirement Planning (MRP) used which is a computer based system which
calculates the necessary supplies, volumes and specifications required for production.
- Just In Time (JIT) method of Inventory control used for supplies. Ford hold only 3
hours of stock on the lines at any one time. This relies on a very tight supply system where
suppliers must meet Fords JIT requirements on a daily basis.
- B2B (business to business) electronic commerce used where Ford utilises electronic data
interchange for ordering of supplies with all their major suppliers.
- 42 forklift trucks carry pallets of stock to work stations
- Close contact with major suppliers located next to Ford Site in Business Park
Management of Quality
- TQM used to emphasise continuous improvement in all production tasks.
- A customer driven operation in which new models are designed according to market forces
- Staff empowerment is strongly emphasised. Natural Work Groups (NWG’s) meet for 30 to
45 minutes once a week to discuss a range of work issues ie. Safety, Quality, Delivery,
Customer needs, Morale, their Environment.
- For specific checks carried out on the vehicle see Ford Fact Sheet (Pre-Delivery
Area)
New Technology
- 120 robots used in assembly ($120 000 installation cost each). These robots are preprogrammed to perform specific tasks ie. welding roof, back panels, header panels to main
body of car. These robots perform 80% of spot welding requirements.
- It takes approximately one minute per station to complete each production task.
Ie. fitting the engine into the car. ( 2 minutes for each test in Quality Control )
- Computer Aided Design (CAD) used in the design of new models. Future models now
being planned for the next 5 years.
- Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) used at Ford where computers have assisted in the
design of the assembly process and are used to control the flow and sequencing of
production.
- Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) is utilised where Ford has programmed computers
to instruct robots and other machinery to carry out different production tasks according to
the various models which pass by that work station.
- Bar Code system used to fix faulty cars on the production line. This is identified through
CAM.
- The whole assembly facility at Broadmeadows utilises Computer Integrated
Manaufacturing (CIM) that coordinates the various other technologies mentioned into
one integrated system.