Applied Ergonomics 34 (2003) 23–28
Technical note
Corporate ergonomics programme at Ford Motor Company
Bradley S. Joseph*
Ford Motor Company, Health Protection Services, WHQ 532-B6, P.O. Box 1899, Dearborn, MI 48120-1899, USA
Abstract
The use of ergonomic principles in automobile assembly and manufacturing operations has become an important part of a
comprehensive health and safety process as well as an integral part of the engineering systems. Ford Motor Company has developed
an ergonomics process to manage issues related to injury and illness (e.g., musculoskeletal diseases) and to ensure the appropriate
use of human resources on the plant floor. The ergonomics programme uses joint labour and management teams to identify and
evaluate jobs and develop and implement solutions. This paper summarises the efforts of the Ford Motor Company in implementing
and maintaining the programme. Key strategies are outlined that provide important links to internal organisational units that are
critical to fully utilise the ergonomics process. In addition, the paper outlines differences between proactive and reactive efforts and
shows the importance of using the information generated by the initiatives for process improvement.
r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Ergonomics process; Proactive; Reactive; International
1. Background
Ford Motor Company is the largest producer of
trucks and second largest producer of vehicles in the
world. They produce 70 different vehicle types in over 30
countries including Jaguar, Lincoln, Volvo, Mercury,
Aston Martin and Ford. Ford has over 300,000
employees world wide. In the United States, Ford has
approximately 100,000 hourly employees and vehicle
sales over 3,000,000 units.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) is the primary
labour union that represents Ford hourly employees in
the United States. In the early 1980s, Ford Motor
Company and the UAW came to the understanding that
sharing responsibility for certain aspects of the business
was mutually beneficial to both parties. This understanding developed into the development and implementation of several joint programmes. These
programmes are assigned full time Company and Union
people to manage the process and to ensure joint
ownership.
One of the larger joint programmes is health and
safety. This programme designs, develops and implements comprehensive Union and Company programmes
to ensure the health and safety of the employees. The
*Tel.: +1-313-594-6957; fax: +1-313-594-2501.
E-mail address: bjoseph@ford.com (B.S. Joseph).
health and safety programme is managed by a joint
labour/management team called UAW-Ford National
Joint Committee on Health and Safety (NJCHS). This
team has sponsored the development and implementation of Ford’s ergonomics process.
2. The Ford ergonomics process
The UAW-Ford Ergonomics process began in the
United States with a number of research projects to
evaluate the effectiveness of using ergonomics within
Ford’s operations. The research included the following
groups: vehicle operations (vehicle assembly, metal
stamping), powertrain operations (engine and transmission manufacturing and assembly) and The University
of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The outcomes of the research projects showed the
positive impact that can occur when ergonomics is
applied in manufacturing operations. It also showed
that ergonomics can be implemented with workers and
management problem solving teams if they are trained
properly and given appropriate plant support. Consequently, in the third quarter of 1989, the UAW-Ford
National Joint Committee on Health and Safety funded
the development and implementation of the Ford plant
ergonomics process. Formal training for the US plants
began in the spring of 1989.
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PII: S 0 0 0 3 - 6 8 7 0 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 8 0 - 7
B.S. Joseph / Applied Ergonomics 34 (2003) 23–28
24
The customers for the ergonomics process are the
plant production workers assigned to the plant floor.
Customer needs and expectations will vary within each
facility. To facilitate making the programme work, Ford
developed a simple corporate vision statement and
presented it to senior management and labour representatives for approval. The Ford ergonomics vision
states:
Through the effective use of ergonomics, Ford will be
a global leader in providing a highly productive work
environment for all employees world wide that is safe,
injury/illness free, and facilitates continual improvement of quality and total cost for today and in the
future.
In order to achieve this vision, three requirements
were identified:
*
*
*
ergonomics would be available to all levels of the
company,
ergonomics would co-exist with existing processes,
ergonomics would be developed with a participative
approach.
The Ford ergonomic process involves the use of plant
union and management teams called Local Ergonomics
Committees (LECs). These teams are responsible for
identifying and evaluating problem jobs and developing
and implementing solutions. Each team develops a
yearly action plan to manage key process items
including prioritising concerns. There are three ways
to identify concerns: informal reporting from the plant
floor, jobs with medical cases, and risk assessment. In
general, jobs that have injuries are set at the highest
priority.
Solutions can arise from a number of strategies. They
are separated into two categories: engineering controls
and administrative controls. Engineering controls are
changes to tools, work station layout and possibly,
depending on timing and budget, product design.
Administrative controls are changes to the work
organisation job cycle time, job rotation, or job
enlargement. Ford’s primary control strategy is to use
engineering controls. However, the most effective
controls often involve a combination of both engineering and administrative controls.
3. Ford global ergonomics process
In 1995, the Ford Corporate Occupational Safety and
Health Department began to look into better coordination and globalisation of health and safety services.
Ergonomics was chosen as one of several areas to
globalise. A Global Ergonomics Design Team, consisting
of representative from operations, safety, industrial
hygiene, and medical departments was formed to
evaluate the current state of the ergonomics process in
the United States and in other areas around the world.
In 1996 a plan was presented to senior management of
Occupational Safety and Health and included plans to
globalise ergonomics by establishing LECs in every
manufacturing, assembly and warehousing facility
world wide. Several pilots were conducted in manufacturing operations in Europe to demonstrate the benefits
of using ergonomic principles on the plant floor. They
yielded positive improvements in employee health and
safety while increasing product quality and productivity.
Full implementation began in 1998 and continues till
today. Below is a summary of key elements of the Ford
Global Ergonomics Process.
The Ergonomics Process needs to be constantly
reviewed and updated. Best practices from all areas of
the Company need to be incorporated into the Process.
Global and local regulations will have to be evaluated
and implemented on a timely basis. These activities are
referred to as Global Strategies. It is a system of
constant evaluation and process improvement.
Much thought has already been given to long-term
strategies of the ergonomics process. Three critical
conditions for improvement are identified:
*
*
*
A need for specialised training as the process
matures. Participants will require advanced and
specialised ergonomics training.
A need to communicate ergonomics. A main reason
for bringing together the ergonomics committee is the
multi-disciplinary nature of the science. Successful
implementation of ergonomic principles is both
reactive and pro-active. Successful activities in
identifying and correcting poorly designed jobs must
be communicated to the engineers and others who are
responsible for developing new processes in plants, so
the same ‘‘mistakes’’ will not be repeated.
A need to constantly review and improve the process.
As time goes on, many Ford sites will recognise the
benefits of ergonomics. They will want to increase
their plant’s level of activity.
3.1. Summary of tasks involved in developing and
implementing global strategies
Co-ordinate the development and maintain world
wide ergonomics process recording, data collection,
and communication systems:
3 Work with Health Care Management (HCM)
to implement an Ergonomics Web Page for the
Ford IntraNet and link to appropriate Web
sites inside and outside the Company.
3 Work with HCM to implement and maintain
computerised evidence book and incident response recording system and tie it to the
Corporate Lessons Learned and Best Practices
Data Base.
B.S. Joseph / Applied Ergonomics 34 (2003) 23–28
3 Develop a formal organisational and reporting
process to ensure communications and feedback.
Work with the Ford facilities management group
(Ford land) to develop and maintain an Office
Facility Managers Manual.
3 Ensure ergonomics issues are appropriately
represented by reviewing furniture and seating
guidelines for administrative workplaces.
3 Participate in Ford land value-analysis teams
to ensure the best value furniture that includes
ergonomic considerations.
3 Design new production facilities to ensure
flexibility and lean layout.
3 Evaluate offices where employees exhibit issues
and report them to medical services.
Provide technical support and act as resource to
advance manufacturing cross functional teams,
manufacturing forums, vehicle centre teams, and
simultaneous engineering teams.
Work with ergonomics co-ordinators to develop
pre-programme guidelines that can be published
and distributed to appropriate engineering functions to help evaluate and prioritise ergonomics
issues during product and production design. These
guidelines will help guide engineers into better
designs that ease the assembly process.
Participation in the development and deployment of
advanced ergonomic analysis tools (e.g., simulation
and other related evaluation tools) to support
proactive analysis process. This involves leveraging
opportunities by identifying common needs and
focusing efforts on a single corporate wide solution.
Some of the current efforts are outlined below:
3 manual material handling process improvement research,
3 connector insertion forces measurement and
evaluation process,
3 developing an improved risk assessment tool
for plant floor surveillance of existing jobs.
Improvement Guide. In addition, Ford recently published an updated policy document that outlines and
specifies the ergonomics process.
5. The job improvement cycle
The manage events process uses a problem solving
circle called the job improvement cycle. Fig. 1 shows the
sub-steps of the cycle. It is a six step approach to
practical ergonomics that includes methods for identifying priority jobs to fix, evaluating job stresses, developing and implementing job improvements, and
documenting and following up on individual projects.
Since the cycle is so important, the job improvement
guide was written to explain, in detail, each of the six
steps.
In 1991, an important addition to the process was the
development and launch of a new comprehensive
documentation system to record information about the
plant ergonomics process, the Ergonomics Evidence
Book. The Evidence Book is similar in design to
evidence documents used for ISO 9000 and 14,000
audits and is used as part of the Ford production system
review. All necessary documents are available in one
place. In order to more readily share this information, a
computerised version was developed and launched in
over 50 plants in the United States. Below is a summary
of the steps that were required to successfully implement
ergonomics in a new region:
Step 1: Securing Leadership Commitment (plant
management and key employee representatives). A preliminary leadership orientation meeting must be scheduled and organised to make the leadership aware of the
incoming ergonomics process. The meeting should be
The Job Improvement Cycle
Identify
Priority
Jobs
4. Managing ergonomics events
Managing events involves the identification, evaluation, and fixing of existing jobs that exhibit ergonomic
risk. As stated above, the agreed upon system is based
on the UAW-Ford Ergonomics Process that was
launched in 1989 in the United States (The UAW-Ford
National Joint Committee on Health and Safety; 1988).
The process is discussed, in detail, in a book called An
Ergonomics Process. The process consists of two parts,
process implementation and job improvement process.
Two publications are available to aid facilities in
developing the programme and implementation plan:
The Ergonomics Implementation Guide and The Job
25
Follow-up
on Projects
Evaluate
Job
Stresses
Document
Projects
Develop
Solutions
Implement
Solutions
Fig. 1. The job improvement cycle.
26
B.S. Joseph / Applied Ergonomics 34 (2003) 23–28
approximately 2 h long and have the following objectives:
*
*
*
*
*
To create an awareness among local leadership of
what ergonomics is, why it is important, and why the
facility needs it.
To provide the leadership with an overview of the
design and structure of the process and to inform
them of their roles and to solicit and gain leadership
support for the process. Leadership support will be in
the form of sufficient time allocations for the LEC
members to complete job analysis and to attend
regular LEC meetings. In addition, support will be
required for resources to implement job modifications
where ergonomic hazards have been identified and
require engineering changes, changes to the job
process, or administrative controls.
To discuss and review local laws and contracts that
may affect the implementation of the process.
Step 2: Development of the committee. Shortly after
the preliminary leadership orientation meeting, members of the local ergonomics committee should be
selected and trained in the process. The core of the
manage ergonomic events process is a joint employee–
management team. This team consists of carefully
selected individuals who will meet regularly as your
local ergonomics committee. The committee should
represent both labour and management equally. Exact
membership, location, and reporting requirements of
the committee will depend on the facility and its
relationship with labour and current organisational
structures. However, at a minimum, it is recommended
that members represent a variety of disciplines within
the facility including engineering, safety, supervision,
production employees, skilled trades, and key employee
representatives.
Step 3: Development of a mission statement and
teamwork process. A Mission Statement sets the direction of the committee. Key elements of a mission
statement include:
*
*
*
overall goal of the ergonomics process,
the objectives toward which your LEC will work,
the strategies by which the team will meet the
objectives.
*
release time for the committee to attend meetings and
complete assignments,
setting concise agendas and recording meeting
activities,
updating the Ergonomics Committee Evidence Book
and other related documentation.
Step 4: Adjustment of the process. After the facility has
gained experience in the deployment of the LEC process,
it is recommended that another leadership meeting take
place to review results and make adjustments. Modifications of the process should be made at this time before
facility wide implementation.
Step 5: Evaluation and auditing. The manage events
ergonomics process is evaluated at two levels, the
process level (voice of the process, VOP) and the
customer level (voice of the customer, VOC). The
process evaluation (VOP) is conducted using the audit
process contained within the Ford production system.
The Ford production system (FPS) is a comprehensive
methodology to transform Ford facilities into more
efficient and lean manufacturing system. FPS reviews
several critical areas of the manufacturing system
including, but not limited to, material flow, layouts,
and product design feasibility. In addition, health and
safety metrics are included in the process to that to
ensure health and safety, is considered as an integral
part of the manufacturing system. It is recommended
that the process audit is conducted at least once a year.
The results from the audits will be used to meet the
requirements for Ford production system checkpoints
and to coach plants on process improvements.
Evaluation of the customer’s needs will depend on a
set of measures that are part of the facility mission
statement and action plan. These actions plans are
developed annually by the first quarter of each new year.
The results of the action plans are collected and reported
through division channels to the ergonomics champions.
A summary is made and presented to the Corporate
office. The Corporate office then develops an annual
corporate ergonomics action plan to support and
improve the ergonomics process. In general, and at a
minimum, injury/illness and absenteeism data is reviewed and targets are set.
6. Ergonomic prevention process
The mission statement should be updated at least
yearly to ensure the LEC is efficiently using its
resources.
Each facility is responsible for handling the day to day
activity of the ergonomics process. It is important for
the LEC to identify a working process that will enable it
to effectively make progress toward its objectives. Some
issues that need to be considered in developing an
effective teamwork process are:
A more effective and cost-efficient approach is for the
process to be pro-active, that is for ergonomic principles
to be applied during product research, design, and plant
layout in order to prevent ergonomic stress. In this way,
problems will be designed out of the product and
process before reaching the operation phase. However,
in order for the proactive process to be successful,
it is essential that all parts of product and process
B.S. Joseph / Applied Ergonomics 34 (2003) 23–28
development are linked to and communicate with the
ergonomics process.
Fig. 2 is a flow chart that identifies opportunities for
ergonomic (and other safety and health) input during
the product and manufacturing development process.
Future product and process development is made up of
a series of specialised functions in separate organisational units that work together in co-located teams
called vehicle centers. Units at the division level typically
perform design and planning functions; and units at the
plant perform operation and maintenance functions.
Often, these units are separated geographically and
organisationally (e.g. division and plant) making it
difficult to co-ordinate efforts. This figure illustrates that
there are several points in time where the ergonomics
data can be applied.
Ford uses a process called design for ergonomics
(DFE). Design for ergonomics links Advanced Manufacturing Engineering and the individual vehicle centers
together to influence the Ford product development
process and the ford production system.
27
The design for ergonomics process must be implemented early in the development cycle. Implementation
involves similar steps outlined above in that a team
needs to be identified and trained to identify potential
ergonomic issues in product and process design. In order
to support the design for ergonomics process, Ford has
developed a training course called design for ergonomics. It outlines a process by which engineers,
equipment suppliers and others work together to
identify, evaluate, develop and implement solutions on
new productions systems.
7. Results
In general, the ergonomics process at Ford has been
successful at altering the engineering process to better
involve the human element in job design. However, as a
whole, it is very difficult to measure the costs and
benefits of ergonomics. However, individual case studies
by plant and by job have shown the following: In a
Current Level of Integration of Ergonomics Info. into World Class Timing
Product Development
Program
Approval
Process Development
Appearance
Approval
Product
Sign-off
Ergo. Issues that
are product related
YES
Done
Launch
Sign-off
JOB #1
Final Program
Status
Lessons learned
are Identified
and Fed Forward
for Continous
Process
Improvement
Ergo. Issues that
are process related
Processor Assigns to
appro. PMT for
evaluation and
resolution
PMT #1
Product Sign-off
Engineering/
Manufacturing
Design Sign-off
Existing Job
PMT #2
PMT #N
Can the issue
been resolved by
product
redesign?
NO
Assigned to Process
Engineers/Product
Specialists for evaluation
and resolution
Current
Production
Jobs
in Plant with
similar vehicle
Local
Ergonomics
Committee
Based on Risk Assessment, do
you fixed Job or wait to next
model launch?--interim or
permanent solutions
TGR/TRW
TGR/TRW
Matrix
TGR/TRW
Matrix
RPN
TGR/TRW
Matrix
RPN
Matrix
RPN
RPN
Fig. 2. Product/process design process with key timing points. Abbreviations: PMT—product module team, TGR/TGW—things gone right/things
gone wrong. A metric of how well a specific process or procedure went after launch. RPN—risk priority number. A risk assessment score that
evaluates both the severity of the event as well as the frequency of the event.
28
B.S. Joseph / Applied Ergonomics 34 (2003) 23–28
1 year time period, over 1500 ergonomic issues have
been identified and resolved in the plants in the United
States. Past data has shown that these solutions for each
problem help, on average, two employees.
*
*
*
In some US based plants an overall reduction of up
to 30 percent in workers compensation costs have
been recorded and a similar reduction in the lost time
case rate. Plants outside the US have recorded similar
results in absenteeism and insurance costs.
Reducing ergonomic risk on jobs has been correlated
with a subsequent increase in product quality.
During a recent launch of a new engine line, the plant
went over 6 months without a lost time upper
*
extremity musculoskeletal disorder. Today, this
plant’s overall rates are lower than similar plants in
the system.
Launching a new vehicle assembly line required less
re-work of the workstations and an overall reduction
in worker absenteeism and worker injury.
Acknowledgements
The UAW-Ford National Joint Committee on Health
and Safety.