Ford Quality Check Factory – Video
Meet Xabier Garciandia, whose working day involves literally trying
to put a spanner into the works of one of the world’s most
advanced auto plants – by making sure wrong parts and faulty
components are secretly placed on the assembly line.
But rather than working for unscrupulous rivals, Xabier is actually a
key part of the process of making sure all new vehicles built at the
plant meet Ford’s rigorous quality standards.
Ford’s industry-first Vision System technology photographs,
checks and tracks every single part of each of the 400,000 cars
and vans assembled, and 330,000 engines built at Valencia each
year. “Gremlins Tests” are an innovative way of ensuring that new
process is working correctly.
“The Vision System is crucial to ensuring every single part of each
vehicle is just right,” said Garciandia, technical specialist, Valencia
Engine Vision System, Ford of Europe. “The ‘Gremlin Test’ means
we can ensure that system is working perfectly. It is a game with a
very serious point. The team are really excited when they find one
of our parts and all the time we are making them harder to spot.”
Ford produces more Ford models at the state-of-the-art Ford
mega plant in Valencia than anywhere else in Europe, including
Kuga, Kuga Vignale, Mondeo, Mondeo Vignale, Galaxy, S-MAX
and Transit Connect and Tourneo Connect. Also produced at
Valencia are Ford’s 2.0-litre and 2.3-litre Ecoboost engines. The
Vision System captures more than a billion photos every fourteen
days, comparable to the number of photos uploaded to Instagram
in Europe. * This also helps to generate a composite image
– consisting 3,150 digital photographs – that highlights any
discrepancies to engineers on the spot.
In Valencia so far, faulty engine parts, wrong steering wheels, and
even incorrect dashboards have been sent down the line, with the
“Gremlins Test” now extended to all 34 stages of assembly, and
Ford considering for roll-out worldwide.
“The way in which we all use digital cameras has totally changed
the way we record our daily way of life, and is now transforming the
way we build engines and cars,” said Garciandia. “But we also have
to test the tests, and we are doing this in a way that is very simple,
but which we believe is unique in the auto industry.”
Ford has introduced a range of rigorous and in some instances
unusual quality processes at the plant where a new vehicle rolls off
a single production line every 40 seconds.