Background
The Ford Motor Company car assembly plant in Valencia, Spain, employs more than 8,000 people and is responsible for the assembly of workhorse models for the European market and the production of 2000 and 2300 CC engines. Busy business and increasing orders bring major challenges.
They needed a better storage solution to solve the problem of engine parts management. In the end, Ford purchased three Modula VLMs integrated with robotic solutions.
Now, the Spanish plant can produce more than 74,000 engines per month for vehicles in the European market.
Pain Points
As the plant continues to grow and sales increase, the production line must run around the clock. To keep up with the tight production schedule, parts must be in place on time at every step of the assembly process. Part delays cause interruptions in the production line or process, which stops the entire manufacturing process and ultimately affects the number of vehicles which the plant produces that day.
In addition, the wait time for procurement is often too long due to insufficient storage space, which also has an impact on the production schedule.
Solution
Ford wanted to be able to provide the parts for production quickly enough to meet production requirements, store them efficiently and allow operators to pick them quickly.
After much research and comparison, Ford purchased three Modula VLMs to enhance the original production automation system at the Spanish assembly plant.
Modula VLMs integrate manipulators to handle heavy parts, fully automated picking and can bypass faulty production lines to run, avoiding stopping the entire production process and reducing downtime. The plant now operates on a continuous cycle, six days a week, producing 17,250 engines per week – a significant increase in productivity.
In addition to improving production efficiency, Modula VLMs took advantage of the vertical height of the factory to store 260 engine blocks in a space of 14 square metres, helping Ford to save a lot of valuable floor space.
