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Vol 32 - No 03 - May 2006 Branch news: East Midlands - Visit to JCB Power Systems More than 20 delegates attended this combined event with the IEE and IMECHE. Officially opened by HRH The Duke of York on the 16th February this year, JCB’s impressive new plant at Foston is dedicated to the assembly of the JCB 444 diesel engine. The Engine Welcoming us to the facility, Richard Butler, Sales Director, explained the background to the project. Historically diesel engines for Construction and Agricultural vehicles have been derivatives of those originally designed for road-going trucks. This has largely been dictated by the economies of scale driven by the high-volume, mass-production ethos of engine manufacture. Unfortunately the characteristics required for Construction and Agricultural vehicles are not well met by the derivatives of a road-haulage power plant. In particular the ideal design would produce very high torque at low engine speeds and would recognise the harsh operating environment both in terms of reliability and serviceability. Setting about developing a new engine specifically for this market, JCB have been able to meet these design ideals and incorporate right from the initial stages, the current and planned emission regulation requirements. So much so that with only minimal changes even Tier 4 emission controls, not expected until 2014/5, can be satisfied. The Plant The Power Systems manufacturing plant comprises the Engine Assembly Line and dedicated test facilities, the delegates enjoying an informative tour of both with our guides Graham Munro and Ken Smith. The design of the Assembly Line reflects that volumes are relatively low compared with a typical automotive-engine assembly line (approximately 100 units per day, with a Takt Time of 4.6 minutes) – with less automation and a novel approach to defect elimination evident. The assembly line comprises 33 stations. The analysis of the operations carried out at each station has been painstaking and wherever practical Poka-Yoke (or fool proofing) has been used to ensure mistakes cannot be made. However, this is not always practical to achieve; this is where JCB’s new approach takes over. “No Faults Forward” is an approach where automated tests are made before the assembly line moves the engine carrier forward to the next station, ensuring that no possible mistakes have been made at the workstation. As would be expected from a world-class company best practice is much in evidence at the plant. Visual management, Just In Time principles, Annualised Hours, and most importantly a highly trained and flexible workforce to name a few. Next time you are following a ubiquitous JCB excavator (or to give it its correct name a back-hoe loader) pause for thought for a second – all of these are now built with the new JCB 444 engine - and it might be going faster than you’re used to! Kevin Tamkin MIOM Related Topics:
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