Audi wants to make a change in the history of automotive production , which in the last century has been based on assembly in series. However, global disruptions in supply chains have put this production model to the test, and the German automaker is seeking to change the paradigm.
From its main complex, located in Ingolstadt, Germany, the firm with the four rings seeks to put aside the emblematic conveyor belt with workers on the sides, while launching its 360 Factory program, whose objective is to make a factory at a time smarter .
Audi’s global production amounted to 815,975 units in the first half of 2022, a decrease of 10.2% compared to the same period last year, due to disruptions in global supply chains , mainly in China. The new automation strategies are aimed at overcoming future problems that may arise around its value chain.
Gerd Walker, head of production and logistics at Audi AG, said in an interview with Expansión that conveyor belts, essential in production lines, are reaching their limits more and more, because being a rigid and sequential process, the variables , as supply chain disruptions are difficult to master.
The company is launching a pilot project at the Ingolstadt plant, called “modular assembly”, which replaces the traditional conveyor belt with specific processes that are carried out in independent stations, depending on the supplies available and what is needed. need to produce.
In this complex, where nearly 45,000 people work, the assembly plant produces the Q3, A3, A4 and A5 models. The process begins with the assembly of interior doors, through the programming and implementation of automated guided vehicles, in charge of taking the supplies to the specific place where they will be incorporated into the production stage.
For example, the area destined for this assembly has eight stations; in one of them, cables and lighting elements are installed. Consequently, the jobs that do not need to stop in this space, either because there are no more inputs – for example, chips – or because that particular model will not have a certain device, go to the next station.
If the jobs accumulate at one station, the guided vehicles will take the supplies to the next one, with the shortest waiting time possible, since the job configuration is adjusted cyclically. This integrated logistics system is expected to increase efficiency by up to 20%.
Wolfgang Kern, project manager at Audi’s production lab, notes that the initiative is generating valuable insights by allowing engineers to derive other applications. He adds that the next step is to take these processes to a larger scale and to other components of the car, such as dashboards or suspensions.
“Unplugging the stations makes it possible to reschedule things without much effort. Thanks to flexible hardware , such as automated guided vehicles, it is often only the software that needs to be adjusted. Stations can be adapted to products and demand more easily, compared to a conveyor belt,” he adds.
The modular assembly pilot program will continue to be implemented throughout this year, with the intention of taking it to other plants between 2023 and 2026 , and being able to transfer it to its other factories, such as José Chiapa, in Puebla , where the SUV is produced. Q5 for everyone.
