DETROIT, MI — Assembly facilities will become more adaptable and nimble as a result of the proliferation of big data, the transition to electric vehicles, and improved insight into the supply chain, a Toyota Motor Corp. manufacturing leader said Tuesday.
Brian Eggleston, Toyota’s general manager of strategy and planning, told attendees at SAE International’s World Congress Experience in Detroit that the industry’s transformation is providing businesses with a “amazing opportunity to re-imagine the infrastructure” on which they have relied for decades.
He explained that assembly facilities are beginning to use massive volumes of data generated by their machines, providing insight into how to improve the efficiency of their production lines – potentially altering the role of humans in the workplace.
“We will be able to transition the workforce away from repetitive actions that require little thought and toward decision-making,” Eggleston stated. “How we deliver data to the workforce will be critical. We must utilise the most vital component of the human being: their minds, not their hands or feet.”
Eggleston’s statements come amid a wave of new factory investment as automakers electrify their lines in response to increased demand for electric vehicles and imminent regulatory mandates. At the same time, manufacturers face unprecedented obstacles, including the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects and supply chain interruptions caused by the semiconductor scarcity and Ukraine’s war.
With the prospect of continued uncertainty, Eggleston stated that it will be critical for automakers and suppliers to become “more integrated” in the future by sharing real-time data on how many parts a supplier has on hand, as well as increased visibility into the supplier’s supply chain.
It will be critical for all to be visible to automakers “and even to our dealer network,” he explained, “so that they can inform our consumers about what is currently available and what sort of wait times they can anticipate given that entire supply chain.”
SAE International launched its World Congress Experience in downtown Detroit on Tuesday. It will continue till Thursday.