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2022/02/08 | Time to read: 4 min
エリン·コールドウェルは、十数社のSaaS企業の市場参入戦略を立案·実行してきました。彼女は、説得力のあるストーリーテリングと顧客中心主義の組み合わせで、ドリシュティの価値を市場に示す手助けをしています。戦略的マーケティングの修士号を持ち、ボストンに在住しています。
I had big plans automotively this year. My 2019 MINI Cooper lease was ending, and I was excited to switch it up to a brand new hybrid plug-in MINI Countryman, ensuring I could still make the nearly 400 mile drive to visit family a few times a year while minimizing my carbon footprint while I run short, in-city errands.
Turns out that MINI isn’t leasing the hybrid Countryman; due to demand, it’s only available for purchase. Oh, and you’d have to put your order (and payment) in now if you want to be on the receiving end of one in about six months when they’ll be available. I grudgingly decided to buy out the lease on my Cooper and watch the market for signs of more amenable terms in the automotive industry. But as the New York Times made clear this morning, I may be waiting a while.
The demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is at an all-time high, and in all likelihood, the internal combustion engine is in its swan song. While this is good news for the climate, in the short term, it’s creating headaches not just for drivers who want to be stylish and eco-friendly like me, but even more so for manufacturers.
How do I double EV production?
Manufacturers who are seeking to increase production can take a few routes:
Borrow resources from other lines to enhance the existing EV line
Replace production on a non-EV line with EV production capabilities
Increase the capacity of the existing line
Borrow resources from other lines
Obviously, moving resources — whether human or machine — requires capacity reductions in one area to boost production in another. Automakers need to decide what products to reduce or eliminate to increase EV capacity. And “borrowing resources” isn’t as plug-and-play as it sounds: A line designed for two robots and six people needs to be reconfigured to accommodate four robots and twelve people, which means process changes.
For example, you may initially set up two stations on a line for step one, two stations for step two, and one station for step three, knowing there will be a bit of a build-up at station three that you can schedule breaks around. If you double the volume on the line, the backup on station three may become unbearable, so you’ll need to rework the whole process to alleviate the bottleneck.
Replace production on a non-EV line with EV capabilities
A more lasting solution than borrowing resources is to reconfigure a current line into an EV production line. Because the materials and process for assembling EVs is different from the non-EV line, reworking the line, stations, standardized work, etc. — not to mention retraining the line associates on the new tasks — can take several days, weeks or even months. Benchmarking against a current EV line helps speed up that process, though variables still exist. Can I duplicate certain parts of the line, or do I need to duplicate the entire line?
Increase capacity of the existing line
Increasing a current line’s capacity is a good solution for both short- and long-term high demand challenges. In most cases, though, that means adding another shift, which adds another whole level of complexity.
First, you’ll likely need seasoned line associates and supervisors to give up their preferred shift to avoid having all new people on the overnight shift. (Handicapping your original line, at least temporarily, as it loses its seasoned players and runs short-staffed.)
Second, you’ll need to find folks with which to staff the additional openings — no easy feat in the current labor market.
Third, you’ll need to train the new line associates and supervisors to get up to speed on standardized work instructions.
Fourth, you’ll naturally have fewer support resources (training, quality control, engineering) in the non-peak hours because those domains tend to concentrate on the daytime hours.
Finally, you’ll need to ensure the quality of the assembled parts doesn’t suffer no matter whose circadian rhythm has been disrupted.
Drishti can help EV manufacturers make the change
Here’s where makers of new technology like electric vehicles can turn to other makers of new technology, including AI providers like Drishti, to help ease the pain of making the requisite transitions.
Drishti can help manufacturers benchmark operations on an efficient line to aid in spinning up a new line with those same efficiencies. When processes are running, Drishti can identify bottlenecks and help with line balancing. The data and insights Drishti creates can help the operations team compare shifts and identify variations between first, second and third shifts to address production shortfalls, training needs and more.
Drishti can detect standard work deviations and provide immediate alerts to the line associates, acting as a quality guide and training support mechanism even at 4 a.m. And most importantly, Drishti can provide video-based training that reduces the time to onboard new line associates by 50%.
As a hopeful hybrid MINI Countryman owner someday, I’m cheering for the automakers who are amping up production on those and other EVs. Any production boost that gets more cars on the road sooner is a step closer to me bombing around the city getting 73 miles per gallon.
