Volvo Case Study
(Page 13 & 14) Case study: Job Enrichment at Volvo
1. Itemise the differences in the hygiene factors when the Kalmar plant is compared with the Torslanda plant.
Answer: The working condition at Torslanda plant was extremely noisy, making conversation at a normal level impossible whereas the Kalmar plant has special insulation installed which is used to keep noise down. This is particularly important as this was problem at the Torslanda plant so the company decided to install special insulation at the new production facility at Kalmar. This is very important as important decisions between workers and supervisors can be heard and made. The deployment of dust extractor fans which removes dust from the plant were also installed at the new production facility at Kalmar whereas the Torslanda plant had dust in abundance which effected workers as dust can cause health problems.
The Torslanda plant was based in traditionally assembly line principles: the moving assembly line which was 1 mile long, transported cars under assembly through a series of work stations where assembly line work is carried out short and sharply. The work cycles varied between 30 & 60 seconds, and often involved difficult work postures, e.g. leaning into the car and moving at the same time as completing the work task. Whereas the new Kalmar plant had 240 individual carriers, these carriers are electronically powered through magnetic tracks. They function as a transport device; each carrier transports a car in various stages of completion to a work area. The rate at which carriers arrive at and pass through the work area is controlled by the workers whereas at the Torslanda plant it wasn’t. The carriers are designed so that it can be easily tilted by 90 degrees, and the car on the carrier can be also moved in a vertical direction. Both these features can be used to provide more comfortable working positions whereas at the Torslanda plant it involved difficult work postures.
The
1. Itemise the differences in the hygiene factors when the Kalmar plant is compared with the Torslanda plant.
Answer: The working condition at Torslanda plant was extremely noisy, making conversation at a normal level impossible whereas the Kalmar plant has special insulation installed which is used to keep noise down. This is particularly important as this was problem at the Torslanda plant so the company decided to install special insulation at the new production facility at Kalmar. This is very important as important decisions between workers and supervisors can be heard and made. The deployment of dust extractor fans which removes dust from the plant were also installed at the new production facility at Kalmar whereas the Torslanda plant had dust in abundance which effected workers as dust can cause health problems.
The Torslanda plant was based in traditionally assembly line principles: the moving assembly line which was 1 mile long, transported cars under assembly through a series of work stations where assembly line work is carried out short and sharply. The work cycles varied between 30 & 60 seconds, and often involved difficult work postures, e.g. leaning into the car and moving at the same time as completing the work task. Whereas the new Kalmar plant had 240 individual carriers, these carriers are electronically powered through magnetic tracks. They function as a transport device; each carrier transports a car in various stages of completion to a work area. The rate at which carriers arrive at and pass through the work area is controlled by the workers whereas at the Torslanda plant it wasn’t. The carriers are designed so that it can be easily tilted by 90 degrees, and the car on the carrier can be also moved in a vertical direction. Both these features can be used to provide more comfortable working positions whereas at the Torslanda plant it involved difficult work postures.
The