Working on the production line is all about precision and being focused on minute details.
However, a little speed would help too, right?
That might explain why Ford has introduced a new wearable device and Android smartphone app, which enables its factory workers to do everything from stopping the production line to making instant spot-checks — all while improving their accuracy, efficiency and speed.
The wrist-worn Portable Quality Assurance Device is essentially a smartphone fit onto Ford employees' wrists — working in conjunction with an app — that's able to save production line workers from walking upwards of one kilometer on a daily basis, while even replacing the automaker's paper-based system in its plant.
Ford says its wearable device has been successfully piloted in Valencia, Spain, and it plans to introduce it to other plant locations as part of the work of its Automotive Wearables Experience lab.
"The ability to simply consult a smartphone screen to check any aspect of a vehicle's quality and specification helps to guarantee highest levels of product quality, and improves work processes and manufacturing efficiency," Linda Cash, Ford of Europe's vice president of manufacturing, said as part of the company's press release.
The way the Bluetooth-enabled Portable Quality Assurance Device works is it recognizes quality inspection requirements as new vehicles pass along the assembly line, allowing factory workers to instantly follow up and tend to areas of need. Ford says this new wearable also helps to reduce human error by seven percent, while making the time to check each vehicle seven seconds faster.
How have Ford's factory employees enjoyed using the device during its testing stage?
"The initial feedback from production line workers has been very positive and we are actively looking at other areas in the process where we could deploy digital innovation and further increase quality and efficiency," Ford production manager Ramón García said in Ford's press release.
