The assembly line in Hall M13 at the ŠKODA plant in Mladá Boleslav is one of the Czech carmaker’s busiest. The best-selling ŠKODA Octavia is assembled here, as is the ŠKODA Enyaq iV electric SUV. Every minute of downtime on this line means losses in the form of unproduced cars.

In addition to quality, which is paramount for both the company and the customer, efficient use of capacity is crucial. That means minimizing stoppages, which in turn means minimizing the defects that cause stoppages. Defects can be prevented by enhanced preventive measures, which is expensive, or by more intensive maintenance when defects emerge, which is demanding in terms of personnel.