Conversions and changes in production
This year's collective holiday was especially important for the Production and Logistics sector as it saw a number of rebuilds and technology modifications. For example, summer activities in Mladá Boleslav focused on increasing the daily production capacity for MEB cars. Meanwhile, in Kvasiny, efforts involved integrating Octavia cars in liftback and estate body variants into the production line.
Summer Renovations and Production Changes
This year’s collective holiday was particularly important for the Production and Logistics area, with results that will have a positive impact on the coming years.
Production
“Like every year, our department managed numerous renovations, reconstructions, technology modifications and building activities focused on electromobility that needed to be implemented and coordinated,” says Aleš Bureš, Head of PPF – Vehicle Production Planning.
320
That many activities took place across all plants during the collective holiday.
150
The work was coordinated by 150 Škoda Auto employees.
The main plant
At the MBI plant in Mladá Boleslav, the summer activities were aimed at increasing the daily production capacity of MEB cars to 1,000 units. Therefore, the M12 Welding Shop undertook the task of finishing activities related to boosting this capacity for the Enyaq and Elroq models. The increase was also evident in Paint Shop B, where the KTL dryers were extended, including the waste air treatment plant.
In addition, the capacity of the plastisol (PVC) coating lines was enhanced, and robots were added to the fine sealing (FAD) line and the paint and clear coat lines.
In the M13 assembly hall, the long-term project to replace the multifunctional lines progressed, with the multifunctional line in the annex being dismantled as planned and relocated to the main flow line. Furthermore, two workstations dedicated to the adjustment of lights and assistance systems were completely retrofitted with technology to set up augmented reality head-up displays for the Enyaq models. To improve ergonomics, the conveyor EHB suspension track at the PHEV (plug-in hybrid drive) workstation was lowered.
110
The number of external companies contracted by the carmaker for all the work.
50
Reconstructions, modifications and optimisations of production processes occurred in 50 halls.
Kvasiny
Here, the primary focus was on integrating Octavia models in both liftback and station wagon body variants into production. The technology modifications spanned Welding Shops A and B, where major changes were made, including the GEO station for platform assembly. Welding Shop A in Kvasiny had to undergo comprehensive facility modifications, which increased its capacity to 870 cars per day. On the ML1 assembly line, this included installing new manipulators for the cardan (the joint in the drive train that transmits torque) and wheels, as well as new equipment for gluing rear windows.
Busy two weeks for maintenance
This year, employees of the PSZ – Central Technical Service department, in cooperation with the maintenance departments of the individual plants, completed 49 complicated reconstructions and repairs of machinery and conducted 38 standby interventions. The most extensive investment by the PSZ was replacing the control system of the 1.6-kilometre door pre-assembly line at the MBI assembly plant. Equally challenging was the regular service intervention on the key equipment of the MBII Welding Shop, which included a major overhaul of the Framer I equipment. The replacement and repair of the HVAC-equipped booths in Paint Shop A (Hall M17) were also time-consuming and logistically complicated. The Internal Repairs department managed the major fabrication and replacement of the A21 HT6 hydraulic table scissor mechanism in the MBII assembly, which was challenging and risky mainly due to poor accessibility to old technology. Repairs within the PSZ department this year affected 20 halls at the Mladá Boleslav and Kvasiny plants. Internal employees and 18 external companies were coordinated by 15 supervisors from this department, culminating in a smooth restart of production on 21 July.