Auto Assembly Plant

IntroductionCathy Walker

Former Director, Health and Safety Department, Canadian Auto Workers Union

Auto parts are supplied from owned plants or from independent plants

• Power train suppliers of:– Engines– Transmissions

Auto parts suppliers

• Windshields• Steering wheels• Seats, etc.

AUTO ASSEMBLY PROCESS

Stamping

FLOOR UNDERBODY

UNDERBODY ROOF MAIN BODY

SIDE BODY SIDE BODY

WHITE BODY

WELDING

PRE TREATMENT E-COAT

SEALER LINE

DRY SANDPRIMER COAT

WET SANDSEALER

INSPECTION

SPRAY BOOTH

SPRAY BOOTH

STAMPING PAINTWELDING

TRIM 3

TRIM 2

TRIM 1

TRIM 4 CHASSIE 1

CHASSIE 2

FINIAL 1

FINIAL 2

FINIAL INSPECTION

FROM PAINT

FINIAL ASSEMBLY

Stamping:Stamping out and cutting parts from

sheet metal

Stamping line enclosed

Chassis

The typical car or truck is constructed from the ground up (and out). The frame forms the base on which the body rests and from which all subsequent assembly components follow. The frame is placed on the assembly line and clamped to the conveyer to prevent shifting as it moves down the line. From here the automobile frame moves to component assembly areas where complete front and rear suspensions, gas tanks, rear axles and drive shafts, gear boxes, steering box components, wheel drums, and braking systems are sequentially installed.

Chassis

Chassis

Body

• Body is built on a separate assembly line from chassis

• The floor pan is the largest body component to which a multitude of panels and braces will subsequently be either welded or bolted. As it moves down the assembly line, held in place by clamping fixtures, the shell of the vehicle is built.

Underbody

Body• First, the left and right quarter panels are robotically

disengaged from pre-staged shipping containers and placed onto the floor pan, where they are stabilized with positioning fixtures and welded.

• The front and rear door pillars, roof, and body side panels are assembled in the same fashion. The shell of the automobile assembled in this section of the process lends itself to the use of robots because articulating arms can easily introduce various component braces and panels to the floor pan and perform a high number of weld operations in a time frame and with a degree of accuracy no human workers could ever approach. Robots can pick and load 91 kilogram roof panels and place them precisely in the proper weld position with tolerance variations held to within .0005 of a centimeter.

Side body

Welding:Very smoky job, welding flash;today mostly done by robots

Body in white

Body in White• Prior to painting, the body must pass through a

rigorous inspection process, the body in white operation. The shell of the vehicle passes through a brightly lit white room where it is fully wiped down by visual inspectors using cloths soaked in hi-light oil. Under the lights, this oil allows inspectors to see any defects in the sheet metal body panels. Dings, dents, and any other defects are repaired right on the line by skilled body repairmen. After the shell has been fully inspected and repaired, the assembly conveyor carries it through a cleaning station where it is immersed and cleaned of all residual oil, dirt, and contaminants to prepare it for painting.

Body in white inspection

Body in white inspection

Paint: E-coat

• As the shell exits the cleaning station it goes through a drying booth and then through an undercoat dip—an electrostatically charged bath of undercoat paint (called the E-coat) that covers every nook and cranny of the body shell, both inside and out, with primer. This coat acts as a substrate surface to which the top coat of colored paint adheres.

Paint control room

Undercoat drying• After the E-coat bath, the shell is again dried in a

booth as it proceeds on to the final paint operation. In most automobile assembly plants today, vehicle bodies are spray-painted by robots that have been programmed to apply the exact amounts of paint to just the right areas for just the right length of time. Considerable research and programming has gone into the dynamics of robotic painting in order to ensure the fine "wet" finishes we have come to expect. Robotic painters have come a long way since Ford's first Model Ts, which were painted by hand with a brush.

Drying oven

Undercoat

Waterborne paint, outmoded

Paint, today, powder coat

Baking ovens• Once the shell has

been fully covered with a base coat of color paint and a clear top coat, the conveyor transfers the bodies through baking ovens where the paint is cured at temperatures exceeding 135 degrees Celsius.

After paint, to interior assembly

Interior assembly

• The painted shell proceeds through the interior assembly area where workers assemble all of the instrumentation and wiring systems, dash panels, interior lights, seats, door and trim panels, headliners, radios, speakers, all glass except the automobile windshield, steering column and wheel, body weather strips, vinyl tops, brake and gas pedals, carpeting, and front and rear bumper fascias.

Trim line

Trim line

Windshields used to be installed by hand

Today, windshields are installed by robots

Windshield• Robots equipped with suction cups remove the

windshield from a shipping container, apply a bead of urethane sealer to the perimeter of the glass, and then place it into the body windshield frame. Robots also pick seats and trim panels and transport them to the vehicle for the ease and efficiency of the assembly operator. After passing through this section the shell is given a water test to ensure the proper fit of door panels, glass, and weather stripping. It is now ready to mate with the chassis.

Body and chassis mate

Mate

• The chassis assembly conveyor and the body shell conveyor meet at this stage of production. As the chassis passes the body conveyor the shell is robotically lifted from its conveyor fixtures and placed onto the car frame. Assembly workers, some at ground level and some in work pits beneath the conveyor, bolt the car body to the frame.

Final assembly, trim: tires, batteries, gasoline, anti-freeze

Robot fuelling

Final Inspection

Checkpoint off the line• The vehicle can now be started. From here it is

driven to a checkpoint off the line, where its engine is audited, its lights and horn checked, its tires balanced, and its charging system examined. Any defects discovered at this stage require that the car be taken to a central repair area, usually located near the end of the line. A crew of skilled trouble-shooters at this stage analyze and repair all problems. When the vehicle passes final audit it is given a price label and driven to a staging lot where it will await shipment to its destination.

Final inspection

Specific OHS issues in auto assembly plants

• Safety issues:• Repetitive strain injuries• Ergonomics and pace of work• Machine guarding and lockout • Health issues:• Asbestos• Metalworking fluids

Repetitive strain injuries (RSIs)• RSIs in wrists, elbows and shoulders as a result

of speed up• You don’t die from RSIs but these injuries are

very painful and sometimes mean workers can’t continue to work

• 1989 Free Trade Agreement with United States set the stage for assembly line speed up

Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the United States and Canada

• Even though the majority of Canadians were opposed to it

• Effective January 1, 1989

• Its purpose was to benefit American corporations

What effect did the Free Trade Agreement have on the health and safety of Canadian auto workers?

Workers Suffered from Speed-Up

NAFTA (North American Free Trade

Agreement)effective January 1, 1994

What effect did NAFTA have on the health and safety of auto workers in Canada?

CAW - McMaster UniversityAuto Parts Study

1,600 workers in 1995• Conditions were bad:– 61% said their workload was too much – 40% said they worked in pain at least half the time – 44% said their job was more tense than it was 2

years before – 55% said they couldn't keep up the current pace

until age 60 – 53% said they worked as fast as they could most of

each day – 37% said they worked in an awkward position at

least half of the day

CAW - McMaster UniversityAuto Parts Study

1,600 workers in 1995• And they were getting worse:– 41% said their health risks at work were higher

than 2 years before– 45% said they were more tired after work than 2

years before– 52% said their workload was heavier than 2 years

before

Ergonomics and Pace of Work:

Workers in auto assembly and auto parts needed:

• More rest time• Union representatives to fight against

speed-up• Ergonomics: principle of fitting job to

worker rather than other way around

Solutions: Collective Bargaining

• Bargained improvements in Big 3 collective agreements: union ergonomics and time study representatives, training and other requirements

• Ergonomics requirements to design jobs better• Ergonomics and time-study representatives:

chosen by union but paid for by employer• More time at work for rest and more time off

the job

Union ergonomics reps work with workers to design better jobs

Solutions: Ergonomics Laws

• Lobbied hard in every Canadian jurisdiction• Successful in Canada and some provinces• But the province of Ontario we succeeded only in

getting policies, not laws• No-one should have to do overhead work like this

repeatedly

Ergonomic Orders in Province of British Columbia:

Selected Industries, April 15/98 - April 30/2000

380

245

210

190

160

45

Health Care

Government

Supermarkets

Hotels

Poultry Processing

Sawmilling

RSIs Decreased Dramatically

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

2000 2001 2002

SalesManu.Constr.

• The number of RSI claims accepted dropped dramatically in 2002

• WCB reports safer workplaces

Laws work• Compel corporations

to modify their behaviour in accordance with society’s wishes

• Ensure the dictates of profit are not the only mechanism which influences corporate behaviour

KPMG Canadian Environmental Management Survey

Canadian Corporate Executives reported:

• 16 % motivated to take action on environmental issues when government programs were voluntary

• 95% were motivated to take action on environmental issues to ensure compliance with government regulations

Toyota Tianjin• Visited plant in 2004• In 2000 the average

service, 2 years• Young workers,

technical junior high school

• Small cars and Corollas, including hybrids

Health & Safety• Pace of work too fast

and too hard, even young, fit workers won’t last

GM Shanghai: 5,500 workersPace of work in 2004 seemed OK; 2008

still seemed OK

Beijing Jeep: first automotive joint venture in China, 1983

• 2004 visit was to the old plant

Beijing Jeep

Pace of work slow,4 minute cycle time in 2004

Visited new plant (now called Beijing Benz in 2010)

• Pace of work is still slow relative to other auto assembly plants

• The union had good input into workplace issues prior to the move to the new plant and was aware of the pace of work issue presenting new challenges

Visited Beijing Hyundai in 2006 and 2010

• Pace of work seemed similar to Shanghai GM, faster than Beijing Benz but slower than Toyota Tianjin

Health & Safety isn’t a joint problem

• It is workers who get hurt, not the boss• So we believe it is workers who should have the

say in how to correct health and safety problems in the workplace

• Workers have health and safety rights• Employers have health and safety

responsibilities• Unions must advise workers of their rights and

press employers to live up to their responsibilities.

Companies should spend• As much money on making workers

comfortable in their work as they do making customers comfortable in the cars

Thanks very much!

• I welcome any comments or suggestions for improvements to health and safety.