Since becoming the new Chrysler Group LLC., the company continues to search for and discover new ways to develop products that are better and more advantageous for our consumers. One of the first initiatives of the new Chrysler Group was implementing a more efficient way to manufacture higher quality vehicles. This process, called World Class Manufacturing, allows the company to cut costs, reduce injuries and produce vehicles at a higher level of craftsmanship. Today, at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Mich., Chrysler Group's Vice President and Head of NAFTA Powertrain Operations and Global Powertrain Manufacturing Engineering Brian Harlow announced an additional manufacturing process – a three-dimensional technique to produce transmissions at the company's Kokomo, Indiana, plant. The new 3-D modeling technology will allow the company to save money by cutting engineering costs. Currently, the company is spending $1.3 billion to develop eight-speed and nine-speed transmissions, and thanks to this latest technology, engineering costs for these two transmissions have been cut from 4% to 3%. The 3-D technology allows employees to see all aspects of a plant when planning pre-production, allowing them to consider all machines, employees and ultimately the third dimension, which before had to be imagined. The greater imaging gives pre-production planners a better view of the entire plant and tests how systems will work together before ever putting the actual system into production. Brian Harlow stated that the company can now, “Address issues before they ever become a problem on the plant floor,” saving the company time, money and employee injuries. The company plans to employ the technology at its other engine production plants in Mexico and the United States.
***Courtesy of Blog.chryslergroupllc.com
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