“With this technology, our digital employees – Jack and Jill – are helping us predict the ergonomic affect of long-term repetitive motions,” said Stephens. “The impact on health and safety metrics as well as on quality has been tremendous.”
Ford has been advancing its approach to digital ergonomics work since it began using virtual tools to improve ergonomics in 2000. The company is collaborating with the University of Michigan as part of a technology consortium as well as participating in the Virtual Soldier Research program with the Department of Defense and the University of Iowa.
Building the vehicle, virtually
As a part of the company’s product development, the ergonomic data are handed off to the Virtual Build Arena, where the program team – designers, engineers, suppliers and line operators – assemble the vehicle part by part, virtually.
This happens long before the first physical parts are produced and a prototype vehicle is built. In fact, the virtual build event takes place before Ford and its suppliers install tooling and set up workstations.
In the virtual build event, Jack and Jill assemble the vehicle part by part on a wall-sized computer screen as the program team scrutinizes the vehicle’s manufacturing feasibility, i.e., how well the parts go together in the assigned sequence and at the specific plant where the vehicle is to be produced.
“The impact on cost-savings and quality improvement is significant,” said Cheryl Bruins-Rozier, Virtual Build manager.
Bruins-Rozier said the technology contributed to high quality early builds of the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKS, both launching this summer. In each case, the vehicle reached the prototype build stage with 80 percent fewer manufacturing feasibility issues.
“Thanks to the virtual tools, parts compatibility on both vehicles was extremely high,” she said. “These products are on track to launch at world-class levels.
The U.S. GQRS study, conducted for Ford by RDA Group, asks customers of all major makes and models to comment on vehicle trouble and rate their overall satisfaction with their three-month-old vehicles.
Source: www.ford.com
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