DETROIT—General Motors expects to invest $4 billion over the next two years at U.S. assembly plants in Kansas, Michigan and Tennessee that will produce both gas- and battery-powered vehicles.
CONTAGEM, Brazil--GE Transportation’s plant here unveiled this week a new approach to manufacturing locomotives with a mixed-model moving assembly line. Unlike traditional stationary production lines, the mixed-model moving line is designed to assemble different locomotive configurations as the units slowly move down the track. The assembly line cuts lead time by approximately 20 percent, reduces inventory by $1.75 million and creates 1,256 square meters of space savings within the factory.
Robots are being used for a variety of assembly and inspection applications, which is enabling the operation of lean, efficient and automated systems where more than one product type or model can be produced on a single assembly line.
Mixed-model assembly lines present numerous opportunities for manufacturers, but they also create headaches for engineers. Lean manufacturing guru, Drew Locher, offers some tips.
