[PROJECT] TOYOTA VS BMW

At this point, I would like to take the time to make some specific observations about the BMW plant tour we took on Wednesday in Munich.  I would also like to make some comparisons to the Toyota plant tour I took three weeks ago.

The BMW Tour began at BMW Welt, just next to the main headquarters for all of BMW Group.  This was the first big difference from Toyota, whose plant was only the American headquarters (not the corporate headquarters).  The tour officially began with a company overview video, similar to how the Toyota tour began.  While Toyota began within the weaving and textile industry, BMW began by manufacturing airplane engines in the early 1900s.  Eventually the plant would evolve, especially after the two world wars that would greatly affect Europe, Germany, and the car company itself.  Many dark periods exist in BMW’s past, including one during World War II when they utilized forced labor to fuel the German war machine.  Today, such periods are highlighted well in their museum, and the company has taken many reconciling initiatives since that era.  Going into the 1950s, they began to really place a focus on their vehicles and developing a car company.  At one point, the company about went under, but they rebounded.  Today, BMW is an international company and a name most people are familiar with and associate with quality, performance, and luxury.  BMW has plants and distributors in many countries worldwide, with their headquarters located in the northern part of Munich.  Back in its younger years, the plant was outside of Munich’s city center.  Since that time, Munich has grown exponentially, and BMW now rests in the midst of a major Munich suburb.  Residential areas surround the plant, limiting its geographic growth.  This poses many interesting issues for BMW that most other companies do not have to face. 

Press Shop (Presswerke)

After the video, we left for the factory and entered the press shop.  Like Toyota and many other car companies, they begin their process with giant steel coils which are unrolled, cut, stamped, and trimmed to form car body sections.  The press room in BMW was large and clean.  Sunlight was able to enter the room through a number of semitransparent roof sections.  The plant floor had stacks of BMW designed and manufactured press tools and dies.  These are inserted into the presses as car models change and different batches must be produced.  Typical car panels would take three to five press cycles to be completely formed and trimmed.

Welding (Schweißwerkstatt) and Body Shop (Karosseriebau)

Following the stamping production, we were taken to welding.  Here the body sections are taken and welded together.  The car body starts with the floor section.  The sides and columns are welded together separately.  In the end step, the floor, sides, and roof are all welded together.  Almost no workers were in sight during this welding process, and everything was very easy to observe.  Transparent protective walls surrounded all of the welding robot arms.  In Toyota, the process was similar, only it was nearly impossible to see through the guards because they were covered with so much soot.  Another unique part of the BMW process was the use of a sliding assembly line and sliding jigs.  For example, when the car sides and roof were being welded onto the car floor, precision holding fixtures and jigs would hold all of the pieces together within a fraction of a millimeter.  After the weld sequence finished, the car would move to the next welding location.  In the event that a car type/model changed, the jig that held the body pieces together would slide down along with the car and a new jig would replace it in the first weld stage.  The process of changing jigs and the car moving down the line occurred almost simultaneously.  This cut down on the space required for jigs and the processing time. 

In terms of a quality control and measurement, bright lights and high resolution cameras would take pictures of each important weld and upload the images to a database.  Between digital processing and actual human observation, the quality of each fastened, welded, or glued section could be checked before the car was sent to final production.  Should quality deteriorate, corrective measures could be taken.

Paint (Lack)

After welding was paint.  Again, the cars on the line moved in batches (unlike the sequencing used in Toyota).  There would be a batch of white sedans and then a batch of black sedans.  All facets of the paint process were similar to Toyota.  First an acid bath of Zinc Phosphate removed all weld debris and films preparing the surface for the anti-corrosion dip.  Second, another acid bath (cathodic dip bath) would chemically treat the steel surface.  Following this step, the primer was applied, followed by a base coat and gloss finish.  The painting booths were very technologically advanced.  All vehicles were given negative ground charges while the chemicals were positively charged as they left spray nozzles. To ensure a wide and even coat of paint, the paint was discharged from atomizing (like a perfume bottle) nozzles that spun at nearly 40,000 RPMs.  This was very unique, but ensured a perfect coat of paint.  Each paint booth was also pressurized to ensure excess paint was pushed down into a waterfall like drain below each station.  The excess paint and water were then filtered and treated so that very little water waste from excess paint was accumulated.  Our guide stated that BMW takes great pride in its waste conserving initiatives.

Moving on past paint, we entered a hall which led past a room where completed car bodies were stored.  It appeared to be like a giant closet with box slots in which to place the car bodies-in-white.  These were bodies produced based on sales forecasts.  At this point in the production process, these cars did not have an owner.  They were not sold products.  This was another dynamic contrast from Toyota, who only places a car on the line after an order has been placed.

Assembly (Montage)

We next observed engine assembly.  Here cast parts were mounted onto a turntable that slid along the production track.  Workers would literally have to push these engines along as they were completed.  No conveyor system forced the production to move at a set speed.  Our guided explained to us that BMW prides itself in quality before pace of work.  In this regard, workers give each engine the time it needs.  Again, this was different from Toyota.  No andon cords were needed because of this method of manually pushing the product down the line.

In general, the lines were very open.  By that, I mean that workers could easily see from all angles surrounding the engine.  The assembly layout was a zig-zag line versus a straight long line.  This allowed someone to check the engines at all major phases of assembly as they walked down a row perpendicular to the length of each assembly row.  Photo and laser inspection stops were in place to ensure quality products were being passed through.

I did notice one Japanese concept playing an important role in assembly.  There was definitely a Kanban card system in place for bringing parts to the assembly line.  To further reduce errors in that system, pictures of animals were used instead of part numbers.  So a steering column might be a giraffe instead of PN4567.  This allowed workers to more quickly determine where a part should be placed on the line.

Final Assembly (Endmontage)

Towards the tour’s end, we were shown a video of how the bodies are “married” to the car drive chains.  After this marriage and all steps of final assembly and inspection, the cars are driven off of the line and into a boxcar just outside the factor doors where it is shipped by train to the final destination. 

In summary, my main observations were as follows:

· Space constraints force BMW Munich to find innovative plant layouts to maximize output and efficiency.

· While no inventory was technically produced at the end of the line, the entire production process resembled more of a traditional “push” system.

· Plant cleanliness was very apparent.

· Photo and laser inspection was prominent.

· Automation was highly integrated into the manufacturing process.

Finally, in terms of work culture, it was observed that all employees wore a blue cover-all uniform.  Plant workers work on a 36 hour workweek and worked four days a week in 9 hour shifts.  Two of these shifts took place each day.  The free days are staggered.  While in periods of transition, such as now when a new car production model is being placed on a line, many days are given to workers to take off.  I met up with a former BMW colleague later on Wednesday night, and he informed me that most workers were being asked to take a minimum of four additional weeks off of work to accommodate for the line changes.

BMW has quite an impressive operation, and it is no wonder why this company is held in such high esteem within the car industry.