Filed under: Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Ram



Thanks to a host of upgrades at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Michgan, Ram Trucks is boosting production of the already strong-selling Ram 1500 to build 28,585 more of them a year. That works out roughly to five more per hour, or an additional 100 per day. The major key to the improvements was redesigning 353 assembly workstations to allow employees complete their tasks more efficiently. According to Ram, the expansion was done to meet growing demand for the pickup.

These kinds of comprehensive changes can't happen over night, obviously. From the end of 2013 through the summer shutdown in August, the Warren Truck plant received automation tweaks in the body shop and upgrades to the color booths in the paint shop.

However, the biggest shift was working with "UAW-represented team leaders and operators" to examine every workstation for efficiency improvements. In that analysis, the company identified and altered over 100 problems that could have caused an injury. What really helped to boost the production rate so significantly was moving about 300 parts, or grouping them into kits for better ergonomics, and eliminating walks to grab tools. Once everything was done, about 63 percent of workers at the factory got updated training.

Beyond just building more trucks, Ram is also partnering with the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, TX. During the State Fair of Texas, the automaker donated $100,000 to the organization to help "the preservation of the history of the renowned law-enforcement organization," the company said in its release.Continue reading Ram ramping up MI truck production, does deal with Texas Rangers

Ram ramping up MI truck production, does deal with Texas Rangers originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Sep 2014 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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