FORD KA IN JUST IN TIME
Production of Ford latest small car, the Ford KA has been a dramatic improvement compared to Ford previous product, Fiesta (Kochan, 1997). This is a real example of successful JIT implementation with all its outsourcing strategies.
The production target of 1,100 KA cars per day has been reached only within 8 weeks since the launch date, compared to 15 weeks required for Fiesta. Ford found that the initial bottleneck was caused by material handling, assembly time and inbound logistic. Some of the components in Fiesta are supplied by various suppliers and these components had to be made, loaded in the container and scheduled for delivery before finally delivered by trucks.
This common process is found to be inefficient as every part has to be continuously handled by human and this causes big risks of damages, misplaced and imperfection in quality, especially for cosmetically sensitive and fragile parts such as instrument consoles, electrical wiring and airbags.
With the new developed JIT system supported with sophisticated aerial tunnels connecting Ford with its suppliers, production lead times can be minimised, product quality can be improved, responsiveness towards customer demands can me boosted and the most important thing is inventory, space requirements, handling and transportation cost can be dramatically reduced (Kochan, 1997). Ford is now connected with more than 50 suppliers in Valencia with specifically designed aerial tunnels.
These tunnels are also very useful to transport bulky and heavy items such as seats and fuel tank. The brain of this amazing system is DAD (direct automated delivery) which will integrate the whole processes virtually as one extended manufacturing warehouse.
DAD will enable a smooth manufacturing process by applying Ford scheduling system so that all the supplied components being delivered right on time they are needed. In addition, DAD and its tunnels enable the integration of manufacturing equipment so that the component being delivered can be immediately installed with the main body or other components in Ford factory.
Production of Ford latest small car, the Ford KA has been a dramatic improvement compared to Ford previous product, Fiesta (Kochan, 1997). This is a real example of successful JIT implementation with all its outsourcing strategies.
The production target of 1,100 KA cars per day has been reached only within 8 weeks since the launch date, compared to 15 weeks required for Fiesta. Ford found that the initial bottleneck was caused by material handling, assembly time and inbound logistic. Some of the components in Fiesta are supplied by various suppliers and these components had to be made, loaded in the container and scheduled for delivery before finally delivered by trucks.
This common process is found to be inefficient as every part has to be continuously handled by human and this causes big risks of damages, misplaced and imperfection in quality, especially for cosmetically sensitive and fragile parts such as instrument consoles, electrical wiring and airbags.
With the new developed JIT system supported with sophisticated aerial tunnels connecting Ford with its suppliers, production lead times can be minimised, product quality can be improved, responsiveness towards customer demands can me boosted and the most important thing is inventory, space requirements, handling and transportation cost can be dramatically reduced (Kochan, 1997). Ford is now connected with more than 50 suppliers in Valencia with specifically designed aerial tunnels.
These tunnels are also very useful to transport bulky and heavy items such as seats and fuel tank. The brain of this amazing system is DAD (direct automated delivery) which will integrate the whole processes virtually as one extended manufacturing warehouse.
DAD will enable a smooth manufacturing process by applying Ford scheduling system so that all the supplied components being delivered right on time they are needed. In addition, DAD and its tunnels enable the integration of manufacturing equipment so that the component being delivered can be immediately installed with the main body or other components in Ford factory.