FORD ROUGE FACTORY TOUR - F-150 TRUCK FINAL ASSEMBLY PLANT

FORD ROUGE FACTORY TOUR
F-150 TRUCK FINAL ASSEMBLY PLANT JULY 12, 2004
By
(Jack) Harold J. McLaughlin, Ph.D.

After a hiatus of 24 years, Ford Motor Company has once again begun tours of its famous and now a historical landmark, Rouge Factory in Dearborn, Michigan. In years past, this huge, formerly vertically integrated factory has amazed, entertained, educated and enlightened the politically powerful, industry giants, interested tourists and students alike.

My tour group, including my wife, brother and sister-in-law began on a very rainy July 12, 2004 about two months following the return of these very interesting and educational tours. The tours starting point was outside the Henry Ford Museum, in the Henry Ford complex that also includes the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, IMAX-Theatre and the Benson Ford Research Center. Buses leave 11 times daily every half – hour from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM for ticketed passengers. Tickets are sold for and valid only on a specific date and time. Ticket prices are: Adults - $14; Seniors (62 years and older) $13; Youth (3-12 years old) $10 and infants under 2 years are free.

Two 44 passenger buses transport “guests� in buses to the “Rouge� for each tour. The buses appear to be renovated from the Rouge “in plant� transportation system. The buses’ sides are a decorative pictorial mural noting they are for the Rouge Plant Tour. The mural also covers the buses’ windows that appear opaque from the outside but inside they are semi-translucent. This semi-transparency detracts from the view (especially on a rainy day) as your drive through Dearborn, to and through, the Rouge Plant complex. Television monitors provide a pictorial and narration about what “guests� are about to see. However, the buses’ noise drowns out the speaker. That is unfortunate because the video’s content looks very interesting and well put together. More modern buses would make the 15 minute ride more comfortable and the video more understandable.

Driving though the one and a quarter mile wide and three quarters of a mile long,
Factory complex, you see is a maze of buildings, large and small, connected by roads and a waterway that feeds them with parts and raw materials. At one time, the Rouge was a “vertically integrated� facility that brought in and “digested� raw materials from ships and disgorged finished trucks, cars, tractors, airplanes and military products to support our nations wars. Truly a remarkable complex!

Our bus dropped us off at a building at the truck plant, designed specifically for tours. Cheerful, neatly dressed docents greeted us with umbrellas to shield us from the heavy rain downpour as we exited the bus. We were directed to a beautiful and what appeared to be a new, three-screen “Legacy Theater� designed to accommodate at least 88 people from the two-bus tour group. Seating arrangement was very comfortable.

A 10-15 minute movie about 100 years of Ford’s progress beginning with it’s humble beginnings fueled by Henry Ford’s dream of producing an affordable car for most people. He also made this possible by paying a wage that for the first time in history enabled people to purchase a product they themselves helped to produce. The movie also answered questions about how the plant came about, why it was located in Dearborn, Michigan and how it became such a large and successful mass production facility. Scenes from these events flashed sequentially and at times, seemly at random across the three huge screens. Ford’s dream and accomplishment changed America in the way it worked and lived. Music composed specifically for this presentation and played by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in surround-sound accompanied these interesting scenes.

Throughout its century of growth, Ford faced many problems, some of which blemished its image, such as the formation and eventual acceptance of the United Auto Workers Union (UAW). Initially, Ford did not accept the UAW and literally fought it with its own plant protection personnel (named Ford’s goon squad by its detractors … not mentioned in the movie) but Ford eventually accepted the union and formed a partnership between management and the workers.

Ford also faced and recovered from other problems during the 20th Century; American’s “Great Depression� of the 1930s, World War II and foreign competition.

Leaving the Legacy Theater, we were ushered into a second spacious, “The Art of Manufacturing Theater� complete with comfortable swivel seats providing a 360 degree view of the seven huge trapezoidal shaped screens. A movie flashed across the seven screens showing dynamic scenes of how vehicles are built in the 21 century from start to finish.

A vehicle begins with the delivery of raw materials. How these materials are made into steel in blast furnaces; how steel is formed into parts by huge stamping machines; parts are assembled and welded together by people and robots; assemblies painted by robots; and the finished vehicle tested by people and machines.

Scenes are accompanied by realistic special effects …delivered to the audience during the presentation. Blasts of heat shower the audience when a blast furnace is shown pouring melted steel from a red-hot cauldron. A mist sprays the audience when parts are shown being cooled. The theater shakes with a loud thunderous clap when giant stamping machines stamp out door, fenders and other parts. An original score performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra accompanies these scenes. All these special effects, make the movie come alive and the audience made to feel like a part of the operation.

Following the movie, two elevators transported the audience 80 feet to the “Observation Deck� where we could see most of the massive Rouge complex … at least that which was not obscured by that day’s heavy rain. A number of interactive kiosks throughout the “Deck,�described a number of the environmental friendly features that Ford has proudly introduced into its factories.

The roof of the 10.4 acre truck plant is designated by Guinness World Records as the World’s Largest Living Roof. It is covered with maintenance free sedum. It can absorb four million gallons of rainwater annually thereby reducing the amount of water released into nearby rivers and streams. It also absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen into the atmosphere. It also provides insulation to the plant that helps decrease its energy costs. Ten huge skylights on the roof also provide natural lighting inside the plant further reducing energy costs while providing a better working environment for the employees. Arrays of photo voltaic cells mounted on the plant’s roof and a nearby experimental system for recovering paint fumes and turning them into fuel for fuel-cells, generate electricity, also reducing operating cost. Ford is realizing that being environmentally responsible while providing a better working environment can also be profitable.

The two elevators returned our group back to the main level, then through a doorway into the assembly plant onto a 16-foot high mezzanine and walkway where we were able to observe the overall plant and its operation. Friendly and informative docents were located near the many interactive kiosks along our 1/3-mile route through the plant’s three buildings. The kiosks (and docents when asked) described each of the operations as we looked down upon the assembly operations. Two things stood out for me: (1) Few people were on the floor and virtually nothing was going on. A docent told me the lines were virtually down because of a two week vacation and the line change over to the 2005 models was approaching. More probably Ford, as well as the other major auto and truck manufacturers, were in a sales slump at the time of our visit and the Detroit Free Press had reported that auto manufacturers had a three month inventory on hand and were once again offering rebates. Perhaps production was slowed for this reason.

The second (2) thing that greatly impressed me was the cleanliness of the three buildings. I had not been through a Ford factory in over 50 years! Then, the buildings were dirty, greasy, noisy and generally in disarray. These three buildings could be described as almost beautiful … as far as plants are concerned. Floors were clean … even gleamed, everything was orderly and was comparable to many of the hundreds of electronics manufacturing facilities I have toured throughout California's Silicon Valley and the world.

Body shop, paint shop and final assembly are the functions of the three buildings. Production lines are arranged in a very efficient serpentine fashion. The body shop’s 289 robots weld the truck bodies together then sends them to the paint shop for painting. When finished, the paint shop sends truck body to the final assembly building for … well … final assembly.

Assembly lines are arranged in a serpentine fashion so when an assembly operation reaches the end of the line it turns around on a “U� track and continues until it reaches that track’s end and again reverses itself working its way through the building until the truck is fully assembled.

Innovative production techniques are used such as inverting the frame as it travels down the line so that underside parts such as axles and brakes can be installed and when those and other such parts are installed the frame is flipped right side up. Another innovation is the platforms, called “skillets,� the vehicle and assembly operators ride on throughout the truck’s assembly. Assembly operators can adjust the skillet height for the operation performed which minimizes assemblers bending, stooping and straining.

At our tour’s end, we returned to the visitor center, housing the Legacy Gallery and the Gift Shop. The Gallery displayed many of the more famous vehicles produced at the Rouge and those that helped make automotive history. Displayed were the one millionth 1929 Model A, the 1932 V8 powered Ford, 49 Coup, 1955 Thunderbird, 1965 Mustang and a F-150 truck now in manufacture. All cars were of course in mint condition … polished to a high sheen and show room ready. Vintage car collectors can only dream about cars such as these.

We visited the very small gift shop that had few memorabilia items for sale. Offerings of tee shirts, a few miniature autos, refrigerator magnets, coffee cups, decorative pins, computer mouse pads and books dominated their offerings. We purchased a few gift items and went to the waiting area for our return bus.

My party and 40 other return passengers boarded our bus at 1:20 for a 1:30 PM departure but it at the designated time, our noisy return vehicle wouldn’t or couldn’t move. The driver tried to solve the problem by flipping power switches, manually closing the rear doors but it still wouldn’t move. At 1:45 PM we all had to get off the bus then something amazing happened … It could and did move. We all re-boarded and the driver whisked us back to Greenfield Village, just in time to make his 2:00 PM return run … concluding a very interesting, educational and entertaining … very rainy day!

Visitors to the Detroit area who complain and are under the assumption that American Auto Manufacturers are not up to Japanese or other foreign car makers should visit Ford’s Rouge Plant. It just might make them change their mind.