Interesting Factory / Build info

[Superman]

We had a factory tour on Monday, and were given some stats on current build rate, probably not new news, but might be helpful to work out projected build rates:

• On target for 6,150 per year
• 2 shifts in full operation
• Running at 23 mins per car (and have been for the last 3 months) (TAKT time)
• 17 mins initial aim has proven to not be possible thus far

 

[EspritGuy]

We had a factory tour on Monday, and were given some stats on current build rate, probably not new news, but might be helpful to work out projected build rates:

• On target for 6,150 per year
• 2 shifts in full operation
• Running at 23 mins per car (and have been for the last 3 months) (TAKT time)
• 17 mins initial aim has proven to not be possible thus far

Thanks.
I think a large portion of this Forum won't be interested in rushing a build.

 

[idleuser]

What is the actual in vs actual out? Estimated means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Lotustoronto]

We had a factory tour on Monday, and were given some stats on current build rate, probably not new news, but might be helpful to work out projected build rates:

• On target for 6,150 per year
• 2 shifts in full operation
• Running at 23 mins per car (and have been for the last 3 months) (TAKT time)
• 17 mins initial aim has proven to not be possible thus far

Did you happen to see any of the new colour options?

 

[2BIG2FAIL]

We had a factory tour on Monday, and were given some stats on current build rate, probably not new news, but might be helpful to work out projected build rates:

• On target for 6,150 per year
• 2 shifts in full operation
• Running at 23 mins per car (and have been for the last 3 months) (TAKT time)
• 17 mins initial aim has proven to not be possible thus far

Perhaps this a dumb question but what is the 23 minutes a measure of (i.e., what is the start and end point)?

 

[Superman]

Did you happen to see any of the new colour options?

Nope, lots of Nimbus Grey, Seneca Blue and Hethel Yellow, several Dark Verdant (honestly had to look hard at a couple as they appeared black at first, but definitely Dark Verdant) and Magma Red, just a couple in Shadow Grey. None of the new colours unfortunately.

 

[Superman]

Perhaps this a dumb question but what is the 23 minutes a measure of (i.e., what is the start and end point)?

One complete car is built (comes off the end of the production line) every 23 minutes.

The whole production line is broken down into stages that are all 'complete' in 23 minutes, before moving on to the next stage, etc.

 

[2BIG2FAIL]

One complete car is built (comes off the end of the production line) every 23 minutes.

The whole production line is broken down into stages that are all 'complete' in 23 minutes, before moving on to the next stage, etc.

Interesting. I suppose it makes sense given how many cars they are outputting/plan to build, but to me, at a brand like lotus, I would have expected it to take longer than that.

 

[TomE]

Interesting info.

It takes about 10-12 hours on the line for a car to go from a collection of parts to complete car. Takt time is how long each station is allocated to complete its part of the process before the car moves on to the next station.

 

[Cutting42]

Also the TAKT time for a mainstream brand like Toyota is around a minute to put that into perspective

 

[Superman]

Another step they pointed out: They now have an extra QC step that takes a selection (not all cars) from final production to run extra QC checks (not sure how long this has been set up, but suggestion was this was relatively new)

 

[JimH]

Also the TAKT time for a mainstream brand like Toyota is around a minute to put that into perspective

When comparing e.g. Toyota with Lotus Hethel - wouldn't that depend on how many stations there are on their line, compared to Hethel, and how much work is done at each station, and whether tasks are manual or automated though?

 

[KAR120C]

Another step they pointed out: They now have an extra QC step that takes a selection (not all cars) from final production to run extra QC checks (not sure how long this has been set up, but suggestion was this was relatively new)

They had that station when I was there in March. I think it started early this year.

 

[KAR120C]

Wouldn't that depend on how many stations there are on their line, how much work is done at each station, and whether tasks are manual or automated though?

The stations are balanced so that the work performed at each station takes about the same time. Each station moves it's completed work forward to the next station at the same time. Every 23 minutes the stations move forward and a completed car leaves the line.

There are a number of reasons they can't get below 23 mins at the moment. It could be literally that one station can't move faster, which limits the entire line. It could be something else, but that's a common issue.

 

[2Lotus]

Did you notice any US cars (Orange markers in the headlights) on the line or finished?

 

[yohc88]

See any i4's ?

 

[JimH]

The stations are balanced so that the work performed at each station takes about the same time. Each station moves it's completed work forward to the next station at the same time. Every 23 minutes the stations move forward and a completed car leaves the line.

There are a number of reasons they can't get below 23 mins at the moment. It could be literally that one station can't move faster, which limits the entire line. It could be something else, but that's a common issue.

My comment taken out of context/misunderstood - edited above for clarity - I meant when comparing Toyota TAKT times with Lotus Hethel TAKT times.....

 

[KAR120C]

My comment taken out of context/misunderstood - edited above for clarity - I meant when comparing Toyota TAKT times with Lotus Hethel TAKT times.....

OK - I see what you're saying. And you're correct, the Toyota lines move very quickly. There are many more stations in huge plants, each performing much smaller units of work. I read an article a few years ago that one of their car-every-60-seconds lines was actually limited by a single work station where the robot was installing the spare tire. That process took 57 seconds and they couldn't get it to go faster! So the rest of the line had to essentially match it's limiting speed.

Their overall build time for a car was 4-6 weeks, so it went through a LOT of stations.

 

[Nova]

I don't really think you can compare Toyota vs Lotus Takt times. If a car takes 10-12 hours to build at Lotus, with 23 minutes at each station, that means there are 26 to 31 stations. Meanwhile, the most recent factory layout for a Toyota facility in Japan shows 92 stations. Obviously, Toyota's factory has more streamlined automation and tooling and their car parts are designed for streamlined production.

 

[Cutting42]

Thanks to all for the clarification on Takt times. I was not trying to compare Lotus with Toyota in any meaningful way. Other car makers also have very short Takt times, I believe the MINI is around 50 seconds.