As Fiat and PSA Peugeot-Citroën present their new light commercial vehicles at the Sevel Nord plant, the French facility has seen a €440 million investment in the production lines, workshops, a new supply chain and improved ergonomics.

Main highlights include: new investment in capital expenditure, mainly for the body-in-white unit; the workshops modernised and adapted to the size of the new vehicles; building extensions: 27,000 m2 for the body-in-white facility, 5,500 m2 for the assembly line; body-in-white assembly 92% automated, representing: 415 robots – 214 of them new and 327 PLCs (programmable logic controllers) – 64 of them new; Significant improvements to workstation ergonomics: with a 39% reduction in the number of workstations rated as heavy and a significant increase in workstations rated light or medium; Set-up of a new logistics system; 12,000 parts packages delivered daily in 2007, twice the amount delivered in 2005; Minimised impact on the environment.

An expanded, modernised body-in-white facility

The body-in-white unit has been expanded by 27,000 m2 to house the new vehicles dedicated process line and provide additional logistics capacity, which are essential given the diverse body styles and different vehicle lengths, wheelbases and overhangs. Assembly and quality control processes have been substantially enhanced with greater automation and improved ergonomics. The addition of 214 robots and 64 programmable logic controllers means that the new body-in-white line is 92% automated, compared with 79% for the previous generation. Quality control has also been improved by the deployment of a new 3D measurement station capable of managing the new vehicles “larger bodies”.

A paint-shop fully altered for the new vehicles

The new vehicles technical features required changes to be made to the paint-shop facilities. Handling processes have been improved by the installation of lift tables, overhead and floor conveyors able to support the weight of the new vehicles. The curing ovens have been enlarged to accommodate the larger vehicles. To house the diverse range of body styles, the two pneumatic spray guns in the MPV and combi-van paint booth have been replaced by two electrostatic paint robots.

A flexible assembly line to manage body-style diversity

The new vehicles have been integrated onto Sevel Nord’s assembly line which, over the last 10 months, has been producing the existing LCVs, MPVs and the new generation of LCVs and combi-vans. Adapting the line to this wide variety of body styles has required the implementation of a new supply chain process to deliver parts to the line just-in-time. The new vehicles’ heavier weight, varying lengths and different underbody architecture meant that, to simplify operator’s tasks, some handling processes required adjustment by replacing the elevator section for positioning the body on the chassis and modifying the swing trays. Windscreen glueing and attachment of fuel tanks and sub-assemblies have been automated to eliminate heavy workstations. “Onboard chairs” have been installed at workstations to allow operators to work seated, with the necessary parts all within reach.

Improved ergonomics

Several hundred tasks and situations were analysed by Sevel Nord based ergonomic engineers using the METEO method, which assesses each situation based on workload (repetitive vs. cyclical tasks, working environment, …) and then classifies workstations as “heavy”, “medium” or “light”. Modernising the production base led to significant improvements in workstation ergonomics and a 39% reduction in the number of heavy workstations. In addition, the number of medium workstations was increased by 17% and light workstations by 5%.
 

Operators affected by the decrease in heavy workstations have been trained to facilitate a quick transition to new workstations at the Sevel Nord plant. As part of its social responsibility policy, the Sevel Nord plant is committed to maintaining jobs for its disabled employees (21% of the manual employees) and guaranteeing their long-term employability. Fifteen workstations in the body-in-white unit have been specifically designed for employees with disabilities.

A new supply chain process

The supply chain process has been entirely redefined to enable the delivery of a much greater variety of parts to the workstations in sequence, within easy reach of the operators. As part of this process, the following improvements were implemented: Standard and special-purpose packaging was redefined, in a commitment to reducing the quantity of waste cardboard; Packaging size and weight have been reduced to clear space on the line and improve workstation ergonomics; Small packages distribution has been revised to increase the delivery capacity at the production line to 12,000 packages per day in 2007, compared to 6,800 in 2005; A 5,500 m2 extension to the assembly unit was built to meet the floorspace requirements for these organisational changes.

Municipal authorities from “the Porte du Hainaut” also gave the go-ahead for a 46 hectares Supplier Park next to the plant, with a direct 1.2 km track to the assembly line building. Five suppliers have already set up facilities in the park: Lear: supply of wire harnesses; Inergy: fuel tanks; Inoplast: new light commercial vehicle’s front and rear doors; The Ostrovent workshop: manages the sequential delivery of five families of parts and prepares 12 sub-assemblies; Gefco: the PSA Peugeot Citroën Group’s transport and logistic division has a 20,000 m2 facility to support the 419 trucks that supply the Sevel Nord plant every day.

Enhanced environmental protection

The Sevel Nord plant was ISO 14001 certified in 2000. All of the environmental factors related to the manufacture of the new range of compact light commercial vehicles and combi-vans were integrated in the project from the beginning. The main improvements in Sevel Nord’s environmental performance are:

A reduction in paint solvent waste: Paint solvent waste has steadily declined, from 13.75 kg per vehicle in 1996 to 6.09 kg in 2005, with further reductions being driven by the recent modernisation of the paint-shop.

A reduction in water consumption: Water consumption has decreased from 8.31 m3 per vehicle in 1994 to 2.3 m3 in 2005. The increase of new vehicle dimensions was integrated into the search of technical solutions to reduce water consumption (i.e. more precise spraying as each vehicle goes down the line and the introduction of water recycling).

Quieter facilities: The choice of new installations has been carefully considered to limit and monitor noise impact levels on the plant and its surrounding environment .

A reduction in waste and an increase in sorting and resource recovery: Reducing packaging waste is a key concern at Sevel Nord and the new project integrates the use of sustainable packaging materials for parts deliveries. The objective is to reduce packaging waste to 6 kg of cardboard per vehicle, compared with 7.5 kg in 2005. In addition, the total percentage of recovered waste is expected to remain high thanks to an increase in waste sorting and optimised use of resource recovery services.