Jay3wheel
Elio Addict
JIT is started with a larger inventory and then gradually reduced as experience with providers show you what they are capable of performing. Luckily for Elio they have soooo muich room available for storage if needed.
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10/15/2014 - Tech Talk - Engine Series: Part 1
- Thread starter Ekh
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ks6c
Elio Addict
Well said - retired after 35 years in manufacturing and know it (too) well <lol> Because in any one factory we may produce 1,000+ SKUs (food industry) and our ingredients were perishable, Cycle Time was actually a bigger driver for us. That's not to say we ignored working capital, though! Oh what I would have given for only 14 variants (7 colors, 2 trannies).....
Jeff Porter
Elio Addict
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Fascinating, thanks for all the info everyone.
Plus, it sounds like some suppliers may be in the plant, so that alleviates some of the risk of the JIT manufacturing.
To me, since an assembly line needs to be running, it would seem to be a high risk to count on parts being there say 2 days in advance, and if something happens beyond your control, the line stops while you wait for the parts. For you and your supplier, communication would have to be instant and real-time, shipping would have to be very dependable, the relationship you two have must be on a large block of trust. It must be worth all the risk to avoid the warehousing costs. :-)
Plus, it sounds like some suppliers may be in the plant, so that alleviates some of the risk of the JIT manufacturing.
To me, since an assembly line needs to be running, it would seem to be a high risk to count on parts being there say 2 days in advance, and if something happens beyond your control, the line stops while you wait for the parts. For you and your supplier, communication would have to be instant and real-time, shipping would have to be very dependable, the relationship you two have must be on a large block of trust. It must be worth all the risk to avoid the warehousing costs. :-)
Wont some storage be needed? No dealers at the time of manufacturing will be open and some will opt to have factory delivery. Since it will only be built in two configurations and all options will be installed later. Wont they have to either build to order on the assembly line or have a 2nd area for installation of optional parts. Wont they have to keep said options in stock? Seems to me at first having them built to order makes sense then changing to the 2 variation system later.
the options needed for each individual vehicle will be known weeks in advance when the order is placed .... no matter what process is used, manufactures use JIT scheduling to ensure that the parts needed are at hand when they need to be installed .... here again, one usually over looked flaw is a lack of spare parts at the manufacturing point .... with something like tires or a batter that isn't an issue .... should a part unique to the vehicle (like body panels) be damaged and need to be replaced, the time needed to get a replacement can be extended .... with EM, the good news is they are trying to use as many off the shelf parts as possible .... with that being the case, many if not most replacement parts should be more readily available
Jim
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zelio
Elio Addict
Paul has already said there will be 14 variations - 7 colors each for the automatic and 7 colors each for the manual. All options will be done outside of the production line. He discussed that in this Town Hall Meeting. :-) Z
You are correct that there will be two steps to this process and the second step will eventually require warehouse space.
The first step is the very efficient vehicle assembly line which will produce the exact same vehicles with the only variations being transmission choice and body color. My guess is that it would cost too much to set up the line for build to order only to reorganize later so this will likely be the way it is from day one.
The second step is after initial assembly the vehicle will move to the finishing area where options are installed however for reservation holders this could also be mainly JIT as EM will have our orders about 60 days out. Eventually the finishing and distribution centers will be located not just at the plant but throughout the country. Efficient management and distribution of the required parts for options should be an interesting part of the Elio Motors process. My guess is that this process will be monitored and managed centrally from Shreveport and it is likely that option parts will be delivered to Shreveport before being distributed via truck and/or rail to the finishing/distribution centers along with the base vehicles themselves.
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tazairforce
Elio Addict
'distrusted via truck'
That's the very reason I don't want mine On A Truck!!! You can tell some of us read your posts Very Carefully.lol
golfmuch
Elio Enthusiast
This read has been fascinating. I almost forgot in another lifetime I knew a little on this process. I was on the engine assembly line at Honda in Lincoln Alabama when they started up. 48 of us spent a few days building a engine. The next day we split into 2 teams building a engine in one day. You can see where this is going. At the end of 4 months we built 325 engines in a 8 hour shift and we ran 2 shifts a day. 650 engines a day. The suppliers were great in the fact they made sure they were responsible for quality. I found a Nut on a alternator that was not seeded on the pulley and told my supervisor and he shut the line down. A team was there a few hours from the supplier. They checked every alternator in stock and we proceeded making engines and then that same team checked with a torque wrench every Honda on the lot. Thousands. At least I was impressed. They never found a second bad Alternator.