I am no expert on industrial production but an article in today's DT Business section reports on the success of Mini production and the number now exported to USA. It goes on to say that the Oxford factory employs 4700 people, split between 3 shifts, who produce "Up to 200 cars a day". I realise that there must be some admin and technical support but that production figure seems ather low to me. Anybody got any thoughts?
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when you consider that works out at 8 cars an hour the figure doesnt seem that low to me (potentially 70,000+ cars a year)
Edited by welshlad on 22/07/2008 at 10:05
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Well 8 cars an hour seems low and if it is true it doesn't seem like much output from a 4700 person workforce. I still think there is something wrong somewhere!
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Counting the number of the people in the factory seems to me to a misleading approach, because modern cars are built using a variety of items completed elsewhere.
If you went back to a pre-Fordist small-scale car manufacturer, you'd probably find everything being built under one roof, from the guy in one corner machining the engine to someone else stitching together the seats. But nowadays the engine is unlikely to even be built on the same site, and many of the other components are bought in from outside suppliers. (Some manufacturers even have the body panels pressed offsite)
It seems to me that the number of people working at the assembly site is probably better seen as an indication of how much of the assembly takes place on the one site.
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Name me a vehicle assembler that makes anything (rather than just assembling), specially on same site as assembly is done !
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Indeed NW. the engines are built in Bridgend, the bodies are pressed somewhere other than Cowley and it IS just an assembly job in which case I am still asking what all these people are doing? If they are working a 5 day 3 shift week to produce 1000 cars that isn't very marvellous, or is it?
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Indeed NW. the engines are built in Bridgend the bodies are pressed somewhere other than Cowley and it IS just an assembly job in which case I am still asking what all these people are doing? If they are working a 5 day 3 shift week to produce 1000 cars that isn't very marvellous or is it?
How many of those people are on the assembly line? Does the workforce figure include the design, finance, administration and marketing people?
Given the inflated prices that BMW can persuade people to pay for the pseudo-MINI, the marketing team is probably huge.
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According to a piece I've read 3,000 are on the assembly line over 24 hours - 1,000 per shift. So I assume the rest are back office.
Just under 80,000 new Minis were sold last year.
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Thanks DJP. So that means that 1000 people each work 8 hour shifts which is 24000 man hours (less some comfort breaks) so call it 20000 hours, to produce 200 cars which is 1000 man hours per car produced. That still seems like a lot of hours per car. 200 cars produced in 24 hours is just over 8 cars per hour. Surely they come off he line faster than that? Maybe not.
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Lets make sure we're comparing car assembly times and not including any other tasks done offsite by some car assembly plants. Sometimes a lot of the work is not done on site, e.g. even a Bentley Continental body arrives fully assembled/welded from Germany. But the Mini factory welds the body, zinc treats it etc.
Also the capacity for BMW Oxford is meant to be about 240,000 cars per annum although about 220,000 were meant to be built in 2007.
So assuming working at 365 days a year that means about 600 cars per day so 200 per shift. And it's not 365 days so they assemble/produce a lot more per day.
And from the official document: www.mini.co.uk/pdfs/MINI_Manufacturing.pdf
"In 2001, when MINI production began, some 2,400 associates worked in single shift operations to build up to 300 cars a day at Plant Oxford. Today more than 4,700 associates work three shifts, seven days a week, to produce as many as 700 MINIs per day."
Edited by rtj70 on 22/07/2008 at 17:28
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The DT Business article adds that apart from the 4700 at Cowley, there are 2100 more working in a pressing plant at Swindon and an engine production facliity in Bridgend. Doubtless these 2 are doing work for other projects than Mini. rtj70 - those figures you have kindly produced look a lot more lke the true position. Thanks! I am none the wiser but I am MUCH better informed!
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 22/07/2008 at 17:35
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It was a quick google AS. And you're right it's Swindon that presses the body panels. The DT seems to have quoted a figure per shift not per day.
I cannot comment on Bridgend for engines (Ford make petrol engines there) because the petrol BMW engine's for the Mini are produced in Birmingham at Hams Hall. And all BMW 4 cylinder petrol engines are apparently now built at Hams Hall.
EDIT: PSA machine the diesel engine parts but the assembly for BMW/Mini is at Hams Hall in Birmingham. And the DT article too says Hams Hall ;-) You need new reading glasses AS.
"When production started at the factory in 2001, exports accounted for 60pc of output. The Oxford factory employs 4,700 workers and operates a three-shift pattern, building up to 200 cars a day. Another 2,100 people work at the pressing plant in Swindon and the engine factory at Hams Hall, near Birmingham."
Edited by rtj70 on 22/07/2008 at 17:42
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"Indeed NW. the engines are built in Bridgend"
What Ford make the Mini engines ;-) They are from Plant Hams Hall in Birmingham although not sure where the diesel engines are made (same place).
The body panels are pressed at Cowley and welded together at Plant Oxford. And obviously painted etc.
And they work a 7 days 3-shift pattern to make up to 4900 cars per week.
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