Honda Launches New Production System

Honda Motor Co. says its new moving manufacturing system can boost line efficiency 10% while reducing manual part handling by the same level.

The carmaker, which is introducing the system at its new plant in Prachinburi, Thailand, says the so-called “assembly revolution cell” (ARC) also is easier to install and less expensive than traditional fixed lines with equipment trenches and overhead conveyors to carry the cars. The 17.2 billion-baht ($490 million) factory began producing the Civic sedan in March.

The ARC system moves a team of four workers on a disc-shaped platform with a car body and a complete set of parts to various workstations along a U-shaped line. The concept is similar to the moving “skillet” General Motors Co. used to produce Saturn vehicles at its Spring Hill, Tenn., plant.

Each of the four Honda workers is responsible for assembling about a quarter of the vehicle. At the end of the process, empty part boxes are removed and the work team walks to the start of the line to board another platform and start work on the next vehicle. Workers use tablet-type devices on each platform for parts sequencing and other assembly instructions, and to access a quality inspection checklist.

The modular layout allows ARCs and individual workstations to be easily added or removed as needed based on production volumes and vehicle requirements, Honda says.

With each of the four workers performing a variety of tasks, the overall number of assembly line workers can be reduced. Honda vows to offset the reduction by adding more product development specialists.

Honda says it will install the ARC system at new facilities as they are opened. But there are no immediate plans to retrofit it into current facilities unless they are otherwise going through major renovations.