In May, BMW’s assembly plant in Munich celebrated its 100th anniversary. Spanning nearly 5.4 million square feet and employing some 7,800 people, the factory assembles 1,000 cars and 2,000 engines daily. The factory’s current lineup includes the 3 series, 4 series and the i4 electric vehicle. In 2016, the plant produced its 10 millionth vehicle.
On the engine assembly line, bearing shells of different thicknesses are used to provide optimum support for crankshaft bearings, but the shells are difficult to differentiate visually. To prevent assembly errors, BMW employs the Local Positioning System (LPS) from Sarissa GmbH of Weingarten, Germany.