Ford gets its employee's to place incorrect parts into various vehicles to see how easy they are to locate via the new systems in place.

• “Gremlin Tests”  help realise Ford’s commitment to quality, alongside industry-first digital photo tech that records, checks and traces all vehicle parts at mega-plant in Valencia, Spain
• Vision System takes more than one billion photographs every 14 days – comparable to the number of photographs uploaded to Instagram in Europe

Ford employees are tasked with secretly planting wrong and faulty parts onto the assembly line, including incomplete steering wheels and faulty engine components, as part of a process to ensure all new vehicles built at the plant in Valencia meet Ford’s rigorous quality standards.

Xabier Garciandia’s working day involves literally trying to put a spanner into the works of one of the world’s most advanced auto plants – by making sure wrong parts and faulty components are secretly placed on the assembly line.

Ford’s industry-first Vision System photographs, checks and tracks every single part of each of the 400,000 cars and vans assembled, and 330,000 engines built at the Ford Valencia plant each year.  “Gremlin Tests” are an innovative way of ensuring that each process is working correctly.

“The Vision System is crucial to ensuring every single part of each vehicle is just right,” said Garciandia, technical specialist, Valencia Engine Vision System, Ford of Europe. “The ‘Gremlin Test’ means we can ensure the system is working perfectly.  It is a game with a very serious point; we are making them harder to spot all the time.”

Ford produces more Ford models at the state-of-the-art Ford mega-plant in Valencia than anywhere else in Europe, including Kuga, Kuga Vignale, Mondeo, Mondeo Vignale, Galaxy, S-MAX and Transit Connect and Tourneo Connect.  Ford’s 2.0-litre and 2.3-litre Ecoboost engines are also built at the plant.

The Vision System captures more than a billion photos every 14 days, comparable to the number of photos uploaded to Instagram in Europe. * This also helps to generate a composite image – consisting of 3,150 digital photographs – that highlights any discrepancies to engineers on the spot.

Faulty engine parts, wrong steering wheels, and even incorrect dashboards have been sent down the line, with the “Gremlin Test” now extended to all 34 stages of assembly.

“The way in which we all use digital cameras has totally changed the way we record our daily way of life, and is now transforming the way we build engines and cars,” said Garciandia. “But we also have to test the tests, and we are doing this in a way that is very simple, but which we believe is unique in the auto industry.”

Ford has introduced a range of rigorous and in some instances unusual quality processes at the plant where a new vehicle rolls off the production line every 40sec.

These include:

• Ultra-sensitive microphones used to register engine connectors
• “Engine listeners”ensure each new Ford Focus RS is running flawlessly
• Ostrich feathers that are used to dust models before painting to enhance paint quality
• An industry-first digital camera system that identifies vehicle bodyshell paint defects
• Vehicle audio testing that reflects customer use of audio streamed via Bluetooth
• A virtual rolling road test to evaluate advanced driver technologies

The production ready Kodiaq from Skoda has begun production at the Kvasiny production facility in the Czech Republic.

• Extensive expansion and modernisation of manufacturing facilities for production launch in Kvasiny
• Seventh series expands ŠKODA’s portfolio in growing segment
• Michael Oeljeklaus: “Production launch is an emotional moment for the entire company.”

Launch of the ŠKODA Kodiaq: The series production of ŠKODA’s new large SUV model was launched on Tuesday at the Czech plant in Kvasiny.

“We are pleased that it’s now underway. The series production launch of the ŠKODA Kodiaq is an emotional moment for the entire company and especially for our colleagues in Kvasiny“, says ŠKODA Board Member for Production Michael Oeljeklaus. 

“Over the last few months, the whole team has been preparing for the start of production of our new SUV model.” 

The brand is strengthening its position in the world’s fastest growing market segment with the ŠKODA Kodiaq. From February 2017, ŠKODA’s latest model will be showcasing all the brand’s strengths: with a distinctive design and an exceptional amount of space and innovative technologies.

The manufacturing facilities in Kvasiny have been extensively modernised and expanded for the production of the manufacturer’s latest models. In addition to the newly commissioned car body construction and the conversion of the assembly line, the paint shop and logistics areas have also been expanded.

Kvasiny is one of ŠKODA’s three production sites in the Czech Republic. Approximately 5900 people are currently employed there, making the plant one of the largest industrial employers in the Hradec Králové region. The plant is currently undergoing the most extensive modernisation and expansion in its history. Over the next few years, the production capacity of the East Bohemian site will increase to 280,000 vehicles annually. In this context, ŠKODA will be creating jobs for around 2000 specialists and investing some 7.2 billion Czech crowns into the expansion of the Kvasiny plant by 2018.

Besides the ŠKODA Kodiaq, the ŠKODA models Superb and Yeti currently run off the production lines at the Kvasiny site. In 2015, around 142,000 ŠKODA vehicles were produced here. The automobile plant was founded 82 years ago.

-ENDS-