How about Weifang Futian Automobile Factory?

This is a wonderful work scene: In the spacious and bright workshop of Foton Motor's Shandong Multi-Function Vehicle Factory, it is difficult to see the staff in key positions. Intelligent robots for spraying, welding, and gluing are at various work stations. The operation is not only full of rhythmic beauty, but also brings the joy of efficiency.

In the intelligent control room, several computers, a wall display, and the production status of the workshop production line are displayed in real time. The production dynamics of each vehicle are clear at a glance. This is the intelligent management of this factory. It not only greatly improves production efficiency, but also improves product quality to a new level.

However, in the "run-in" between intelligence and hand-made, "giving up" is a necessary step. Not only the original production methods and work processes were abandoned, but the inherent way of thinking and production concepts were also abandoned. So, how did Foton Motor's Shandong Multi-Function Vehicle Factory complete the intelligent transformation from work to thinking during the process of "leaving the building"? Let’s step into their daily work and find out.

The machine is coming - first lose your job and then get a job, people and products will be greatly improved

Li Yongjun used to be a sorter in the assembly workshop. Because the factory is a mixed-flow production, there are often five people. Several product platforms are running on the production line at the same time. His job was to organize the products from the joint production line. "If you don't pay attention, the entire production line will stop. It's really stressful!" Li Yongjun sighed.

Now, with the advent of machines, the information system has realized automatic sorting, and manual sorting has become a thing of the past. Efficient calculations accurately arrange each package on this most complex production line in China, and the accuracy can reach 100%.

So, Li Yongjun lost his job, but he was very happy. "I no longer have to worry about my mistakes causing losses to the factory. Now I am in a new position, learning new skills, and my brain is freed from tedious and high-pressure conditions."

On a smart production line, a small barcode allows the machine to accurately sort materials and automatically close information. The material reserve information will also closely match the production rhythm of the next day. A coarse row and a fine row, with the cooperation of the transfer vehicle that also carries production information, can accurately reach the production station. At the same time, barcodes are provided throughout the process for information tracking, data storage, statistics, analysis, recording and traceability.

In the workshop, close to the production line, there is a display screen at regular intervals, which displays the production status of each station. When an abnormality occurs at the production site, production personnel can make a call through the Andon button, and relevant personnel will respond and deal with it to restore the production line. Through the construction of a visualization system, the factory has realized the visualization of the production process, which has greatly improved the speed of processing abnormal problems.

“Informatization has enabled prepared production, adjusted and optimized the personnel structure, and made production arrangements more precise.” Liu Fengjun, general manager of the general assembly, said, “After the information system is put online, one person can save 50,000 yuan a year. , downtime is reduced by nearly 80%.”

“Informatization has also improved product quality,” said Zhang Jimin, director of the factory. "The first-time pass rate of the final assembly line has increased by 60%." Problems can be prevented in advance without products coming off the production line, all thanks to the intelligent driving of the equipment. Through the interconnection of vehicle information and intelligent equipment on the production line, the factory can collect the operating status of the equipment in real time and guide the efficient operation of the equipment. Even if the vehicle body error is only a few tenths of a millimeter, the device can accurately identify it and then alarm. Based on the recording and analysis of "alarm" information, further improve and adjust equipment to ensure the smooth progress of the production line.

The system is installed - "zero errors" in coding, efficiency and quality have been greatly improved

As an employee of the engine packaging production line, Zhao Zhiwei also said goodbye to his past job state. Before, he often worked overtime with his colleagues to assemble parts in advance and stack them next to the production line to ensure that they could keep up with the production pace the next day. Now, such days are gone.

Changes to the manufacturing execution system (MES system) on the factory production line. The MES system integrates management functions such as production scheduling, product tracking, quality control, and fault analysis. On a unified platform, complete closed-loop production is achieved by optimizing the manufacturing process. After the system went online, plans were accurate and parts were delivered on time. Zhao Zhiwei and his colleagues only need to assemble the parts according to the plan to meet production needs.

Qin Wang and Wang Zhen also changed their working status because of the MES system.

Before the MES system was put into production, Qin Wang was the workshop planner and was responsible for numbering the 17-digit VIN code. After being numbered, it is sent to the production line's printing station, where Wang enters the code into a computer and prints it out. The vehicles produced by the Shandong Multi-Function Factory cover more than 100 states, and Wangzhen outputs 130-140 VIN codes every day. If something goes wrong, the vehicle cannot be released.

After the MES system is running, the system will automatically generate the VIN code from the moment the order is received, eliminating the need for manual coding and manual input. Wang Zhen can only print the VIN code by clicking the confirmation button.

For a long time, all car body dispatching plans have been formulated by dedicated personnel, and the matching VIN codes have also been manually output, which is related to the correct matching of parts. From coding to engraving, there are two manual inputs in between. This is a risk point that can only be prevented with a sense of responsibility. If the code of a Landscape G7 is wrong, two people will have to dismantle the parts and reassemble them in an hour, which is a huge waste.

However, since the MES system was launched in July 2016, automatic intelligent VIN code printing has achieved zero errors. At the same time, the online and offline code scanning system also realizes real-time feedback and real-time monitoring of vehicle status, achieving the purpose of improving efficiency and reducing costs.

Today, customers scattered around the world can place orders by themselves as long as they open a computer terminal and log in to the order system of Shandong Multifunctional Automobile Factory. Whether it is customizing a new car model or adding new equipment, as long as it can be selected from the system and clicks the confirmation button, the customer only needs to wait for the arrival of the new car.

Not only that, the order system can also automatically evaluate and classify orders, and arrange for 24-hour uninterrupted production of orders. The system arranges the production of body, paint, and final assembly, fully realizing "7 3" scheduling. The cycle time (7 days for material preparation and 3 days for production and delivery) can minimize the customer's waiting time.

The service is smooth - real-time tracking, customers and factories are at ease

Gao Feng, deputy manager of the Production Efficiency and IE Department, was one of the "pioneers" of intelligent production management in factories that year. From knowing nothing about intelligence to now being able to introduce in detail the application of intelligence in various sections of the workshop, you can imagine the effort and effort involved.

“At the beginning, everyone just sketched out the general appearance of intelligence based on their own imagination, and then added details bit by bit. After nearly two years of modifications, we finally have the current layout.” Yong Gaofeng In other words, intelligence is not static, and its internal functions are constantly being upgraded and improved.

The convenience brought by intelligence is not only reflected in workshop workers, but also a qualitative leap for factory customers.

Nowadays, if customers want to know the production information of the vehicle after placing an order, they do not need to make a phone call, nor will they get vague answers such as "about" or "about the same". He only needs to enter the "bill number" of the vehicle he wants to query on his mobile phone or computer, and the vehicle's production and transportation information will be immediately presented to him.

Tracking real-time logistics information like emails, a tracking number allows customers to know the online status of the vehicle at any time. For customers, it is natural and reassuring, as they don’t have to worry all day about how the vehicle is produced and when it will be delivered. For factories, the vehicle number can not only help check the production process of the vehicle, but also quickly trace the vehicle number according to the vehicle number when a vehicle breaks down, so as to find the cause of the problem and solve the problem in the shortest time, instead of one by one as in the past. The efficiency of "grabbing" inspection is greatly improved.

This two-way convenience makes communication between customers and factories smoother, avoids unnecessary troubles caused by information asymmetry, and increases customers' trust in factories.

There have been many improvements - once the information is uploaded, the equipment and I can worry less

Xie Xianjun, the monitor of the calligraphy and painting class, and his colleagues no longer have to work overtime every day.

In the past, the daily production capacity was more than 200 vehicles, and we had to work overtime until eight or nine at night. Now the production capacity remains unchanged, and we can easily complete our work from 9 to 5.

Thanks to the information transformation of Li, the workshop director of the paint department, and his team.

In the information transformation, the 3C2B wet-to-wet process has replaced the traditional coating process. Taking the two-color landscape car as an example, the adoption of new technology has reduced the running time of the equipment and eliminated the topcoat drying and polishing process. This not only greatly improves production efficiency, but also saves 701,000 yuan per year.

In the paint department, busy robots are a beautiful "scenery" in the workshop.

These robots are scattered in various sections of the production line. Each robot is an "all-rounder" that can spray mid-coat, topcoat, and topcoat, and is inseparable from several programming masters in the factory.

Generally, automobile companies have more than a dozen models, but for the convenience of production, as early as 2012 when the factory was built, 7-8 employees with strong learning ability were assigned to follow up on equipment debugging and learn the manufacturer's plagiarized programming. . These experts who are proficient in copy programming enable the robots in the workshop to adjust the program at any time as needed and complete the modification of various models.

The addition of robots not only changes workshop efficiency, but also ensures product quality. The perfect integration of man and machine has also opened up a "new blueprint" for intelligent manufacturing.

Smart manufacturing not only changes the traditional production model, but also improves quality and efficiency. In 2016, the factory's manufacturing costs were reduced by 26.99 million yuan, and in 2017 they were reduced by 14.84 million yuan; in two years, the number of employees was reduced from 2,433 to 1,992; at the same time, production quality improved by about 10%.

Foton Shandong Multifunctional Vehicle Factory uses the Internet of Things and monitoring technology to strengthen information management from the perspectives of smart equipment, smart logistics, smart procurement, and smart management to complete the optimal allocation of people, machines, and resources. Create a green, efficient, energy-saving and comfortable smart factory through innovation and value-adding.

One million car purchase subsidies