Vibes in the paint hospital at NUMMI

[Petervisor]

I took some snap-shots of the paint repair area at work. If you're squeamish, you may not want to look at them, or read my blog...Nothing in life is perfect.http://crunch22.blogspot.com/2....html

[Toasted7]

That makes me cringe just looking at it. and I thought our paint was perfect! (lots of sarcasm)

[tnpartsguy]

Wish mine had gotten repainted...maybe it would have SOME paint on it.

[ColonelPanic]

Ouch! That hurts! About like what went through my head when I read the thing about the cars getting started without oil, that could go some distance toward explaining my engine knock.

[Vibe]

It is GM Company policy that absoutley no camera are to be used at any GM facility without written permission,that includes cell phone camera's.I am not trying to be a "stick in the mud" but if any GM higher up's got a hold of this thread ,the results could not be to pleasant.There is a GM part of upper corporate security that investigates unauthorized pictures and their orgin.James StewartGeneral Motors (Cadillac Motor Division)Detroit Michigan

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by Vibe »It is GM Company policy that absoutley no camera are to be used at any GM facility without written permission,that includes cell phone camera's.I work at GM and I see cell camera phones every day.(I don't own a cell phone) GM has never stopped anyone from using theirs. I would like to see GM inforce that policy.I think the days of "no cameras" because of corporate espionage are over. Petevisor, as for the paint repair, looks alot like our truck paint repair area, but I think the paint on our trucks doesn't chip as easy, but i think that is because of the solvent V.S. water based paints.good blog though.

[ToolGuy]

This is not real news, I mean a vehicle is only crushed or donated if severely damaged such as it falls off a train car or car hauler just to name a couple. I have seen donated cars from working in the industry, they are not pretty usually... I do not see this as a big deal. An automaker cannot crush a car just because of a scratch in a door panel. Mercedes or BMW may handle things differently, Cadillac for that matter too but for a basic car like the Vibe and not hand made car, I do not see the above as a big deal. Sure no one really wants a paint repaired vehicle if they know it but in the end who pays money for it to be re-fixed, the dealer or GM again. Therefore I blame the plant, if it would not have happened from the start the customer would not be possibly unhappy if the issue resurfaces after it is bought from the dealer. The alternative is like a DCX plant in Dundee Michigan that builds the Dodge Caliber World Engines. It is mostly run by robots with only 6 salaried people. The robots would do the job exactly right 99.9% of the time, no human error or involvement to possibly have a bad day or off day and scratch something. Heck, you really do not even need lights above the robots, they can work in the dark all day!Like Vibe said above, I would be careful in posting pics on the web from work. Especially since GM is under some hard times right now... Not trying to be an (removed), just MO...Interestingly enough when I go to DCX corporate, cell cameras are left with the guards until you leave. All others must have permission and property passes.

[jake75]

Everybody shed a tear for the auto workers will you. Most would prefer the "absolute hell of working on the factory floor" for wages and benefits of over $50 an hour to the "absolute hell of working on the Home Depot floor" for wages and benefits of less than $10 an hour.

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »Everybody shed a tear for the auto workers will you. GIVE IT A REST WOULD YOU! we have all heard about how much you dislike unions. This is PETERVISOR's hobby, writing a blog. you don't like it post a comment on his web site.

[jake75]

I don't dislike unions - I do get tired of union workers, in fact any workers, who make extraordinarily good wages and benefits complaining about their jobs.

[scherry2]

whatever, just keep the crappy comments to yourself. there are people on this forum that would like to know how their vibes are built and repaired (obviously you don't). and we can't all just pack and go to NUMMI or any other auto factory to see it done. I for one am glad to see how NUMMI does it. Petervisor I have heard that the body shop has gone to less robots and more humans in some critical weld areas, is that true?

[tnpartsguy]

OT- Peter, I read most of your blog, and i have to tell you, great find on the used Japanese market car site......all those cars that we can't get here....the row of Toyota Sera's, the Nissan Pulsar Gti-R's...wow

[Flip-Side]

Quote, originally posted by Petervisor »I took some snap-shots of the paint repair area at work. If you're squeamish, you may not want to look at them, or read my blog...Nothing in life is perfect.I'm pretty sure thats my neptune vibe on your site. If the paint were any thinner, it would be see-through.

[Petervisor]

Scherry2, As far as I know the body-shop still uses the same number of robots to assemble the unibody. Your question reminded me of how few robots are used at NUMMI. Humans are cheaper and more flexible than robots, so there is only the minimum amount of automation in the factory. The paint-shop and body-shop have the most robots. Assembly has none.The logic goes like this: If you replace a worker with a robot, then you need a skilled tradesman to maintain the robot. This might be cost effective if there are 2 or 3 shifts. But if the cars aren't selling, and you cut back to 1 shift, then you can lay-off workers. But the robot still needs the same amount of maintenance. And during a model changeover, it's easier to retrain a worker than it is to re-engineer a robot. People are just more flexible than robots.Back to the original topic: It should be noted that in all car assembly plants there are vehicle mutilations from scratches and dents. At NUMMI they keep damage to a minimum by using plastic covers on the fenders and quarter panels. Workers cover or remove watches, rings and belt buckles. Air-guns and tools are covered in padding. But regardless of how careful we are, minor damage will always occur. All repairs are thorough.Finally: I will only post photos that show the hard work and care that goes into each Vibe we build!Peter

[IMakeVibes]

Quote, originally posted by scherry2 »and we can't all just pack and go to NUMMI or any other auto factory to see it done. I for one am glad to see how NUMMI does it. but you all are welcome to pack and stop by NUMMI one day . . . just call ahead and let us know you're coming.Quote, originally posted by Petervisor »Scherry2, As far as I know the body-shop still uses the same number of robots to assemble the unibody. Your question reminded me of how few robots are used at NUMMI. Humans are cheaper and more flexible than robots, so there is only the minimum amount of automation in the factory. The paint-shop and body-shop have the most robots. Assembly has none.The logic goes like this: If you replace a worker with a robot, then you need a skilled tradesman to maintain the robot. This might be cost effective if there are 2 or 3 shifts. But if the cars aren't selling, and you cut back to 1 shift, then you can lay-off workers. But the robot still needs the same amount of maintenance. And during a model changeover, it's easier to retrain a worker than it is to re-engineer a robot. People are just more flexible than robots.Back to the original topic: It should be noted that in all car assembly plants there are vehicle mutilations from scratches and dents. At NUMMI they keep damage to a minimum by using plastic covers on the fenders and quarter panels. Workers cover or remove watches, rings and belt buckles. Air-guns and tools are covered in padding. But regardless of how careful we are, minor damage will always occur. All repairs are thorough.Welcome to the site fellow NUMMI person!!!There are now a lot more robots on both the car and truck sides in Body Shop for this model than there were for the previous model. A few more have been added since the start of production (sop) on some of the more difficult jobs and a few more are to be added this year. This usually results in one or more jobs being eliminated for the team members (don't worry, nobody gets fired or layed off because of this, just reassigned to a different job).Also, there are a couple of robots in car assembly, but not many . . . battery and spare tire install come to mind. Don't think there are any others.Not sure where you get your info Petervisor, but robots are fairly inexpensive, relatively speaking (although replacement parts are another story). They don't call in sick, take breaks,complain, expect raises, need benefits (except a little cleaning and lubrication once in a while), etc. And it doesn't take one person to maintain each robot, so many robots can be added, team member jobs eliminated without adding any Maintenance personnel to maintain the robots. There is one project going on in Body Shop now which will add several robots and eliminate the same number of Team Members as the robots that are being added. After all costs are considered, this will result in a cost savings of over $1 million until the end of production of the current model.Also, robots can easily be retaught to do a new job, such as for a model change. Yes, this is a time consuming process, but it only has to be done once. Once a robot is taught to do a job, it doesn't usually forget or deviate from what its taught to do, unless something breaks or goes wrong with the CPU or programming. Interesting little site you have going there Petervisor.

[808 Vibes]

I thought this was interesting. One of the many reasons why I decided on the Vibe instead of the Sunfire was I found out Vibes were made in FREMONT

[iocat]

Growing up around Detroit, my dad would always point out where different cars were made. It was cool. So it's cool now to be able to tell my son, when we cruise down 880, "that's where the Vibe was made!" I love seeing the factory pix, keep it up if you can. It would be cool if NUMMI offered tours or something.

[MRCN RCE]

man that news is disturbing. now when i drive, i wonder if anything happened to my baby during gestation

[IMakeVibes]

Quote, originally posted by iocat »Growing up around Detroit, my dad would always point out where different cars were made. It was cool. So it's cool now to be able to tell my son, when we cruise down 880, "that's where the Vibe was made!" I love seeing the factory pix, keep it up if you can. It would be cool if NUMMI offered tours or something.iocat, check out http://www.nummi.com/tours.html and come on by to see where and a little bit of how your Vibe was born.

[Petervisor]

I perform a final inspection on the paint before the Tacoma truck is shipped. Nothing is perfect in this world, especially the paint on a car or truck. I reject about 1 truck in 20 because of a scratch, chip, dirt in the paint, paint run, touch mark etc. All vehicles are going to have some sort of paint imperfection. The people who buy the car will set the standard for us: Too many warranty claims means we have to raise our standard.

Attached files

[MRCN RCE]

whoa check out the spoiler on that wave vibe!!! i gotta get me one!!! j/p i know it's not a spoiler. why is there a single piece-of-a-piece of cladding on just the front right door?? did the ppl mess up the paint right there, and are tryna hide it from you thinkin you won't notice??

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by Petervisor »The people who buy the car will set the standard for us: Too many warranty claims means we have to raise our standard. Well, not sure how Toyota handles things but at least NUMMI does not have to worry about warranty claims from GM. They do absolutely nothing for us when we bring in our cars with paint defects that shouldn't have been there or occured in the first place. I brought my Vibe in with paint damage on the front that was far worse than other cars I've owned with double the mileage, and they refused to take responsibility. *sigh* At least I wasn't alone. Thanks for the pic though, it's a great way to show people who want to take off their cladding how bad it will look without it.