Ford Rouge Factory Tour Reflections Paper

Ford Rouge Factory Tour Reflections Paper

MBA 5190

August 10, 2017

On August 2, 2017, I went on the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. Overall, I was extremely impressed by the tour. I have been to the Henry Ford Museum on several occasions and never went on the factory tour.

Three things stood out to me after taking the tour: the environmental commitment of Ford, the on-time manufacturing and the workforce changes over time.

Ford has taken great lengths to make the Rouge Plant “greener” and more environmentally friendly. One, the installed the largest living roof in the world at the time of installation. This roof is not only less expensive to install, it last longer and yields energy savings. The roof reduces heating and cooling costs for the plant by reducing the internal roof temperature by +- 10 degrees. There is also natural water filtration and storage capabilities with the roof. Bottomline, the environmentally friendly changes have resulted in savings for Ford.

I found the on-time manufacturing mind boggling. While watching the production, I could help but watch the different models, different colors, different options and other differences being seamlessly assembled into complete units. Watching the red doors and beds line up with the correct truck bodies provided real life images of class concepts.

The last reflection is regarding the current and historical workforce. At one time, the Rouge Plant employed 100,000 individuals. At that time, raw materials were transformed into complete vehicles. The current workforce is approximately 4,300. Individuals.

I am sure that the cost efficiencies of having everything manufactured at one site have been replaced by new operations techniques that result in greater savings. However,