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Building the perfect beast

3rd June 2010, Page 36
3rd June 2010
Page 36
Page 37
Page 36, 3rd June 2010 — Building the perfect beast
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

While the Stobart/Jenkinson order for 1,000 Scanias captured headlines earlier this year (CM 4 February), another major order was placed that perhaps serves as a better indicator of the transport sector's health.That order was Ryder's El8m investment in 613 new rental vehicles, 245 of which are being supplied by DAE

Of those DAFs (see box, right, for the breakdown of the order), one is the 1,000th factory-bodied vehicle to roll off the Leyland Trucks production line. To mark this, CM was invited to Leyland to tour the facility and witness the handover.

It's easy to forget what a modern facility Leyland is: the name conjures so much history (both good and bad) and yet it's one of the youngest truck factories in the world.

Leyland not only assembles the LF, CF65, CF75, CF85 and XF, but is also entirely responsible for the development of the LF and the CF65. At the market's peak in 2008. Leyland produced approximately 25,000 trucks; given the substantial downturn in truck orders worldwide, it's no surprise to learn that the factory only produced 8,000 last year. Currently, it's running at four or five trucks an hour.

To remind CM of how modern the factory is, our first stop is the design centre, which is staffed by 75 engineers who are supported by a six-figure investment in cuttingedge technology.

Leyland chief engineer Denis Culloty is particularly keen to demonstrate the centre's use of virtual technology.

Some clever Formula 1 and aerospace-level software allows the engineers to investigate any aspect of performance of any component without having to build a prototype and test it. Performance aspects that can be checked include: how the stiffness of the rollbar will effect the handling; what the forces are on the springs; and what the friction levels are of the leaves in the suspension. This means the engineers can establish the life of any component and know when fatigue will set in.

"Clearly, virtual testing is considerably faster than real world testing," adds Culloty.

Leyland has gone a step beyond this with the introduction of 3D projection and immersive virtual reality. CM dons its 3D glasses and is blown away by the

projection — this knocks spots off the 3D effects in Amur: you really do feel that you can reach out and touch it.

Essentially, the software allows the engineers to build a virtual truck on a virtual production line. At any stage in the build process, the engineer can view any part of the vehicle from any angle. It means that when new parts are being designed, the engineers can hold design reviews while watching the 3D projection and discuss the part before any tooling is made or metal is cut.

It also helps inform the build process, as the software can be programmed to alert the engineers if any component comes within 30mm of the engine or transmission when those two core parts are installed — a decision can then be made as to whether the part should be redesigned so that it doesn't clash or whether it should be installed later in the build process.

For the full virtual experience. Leyland has headset and cyber gloves, allowing an engineer to review the ergonomics of a new vehicle's interior, for example, from the CAD drawings.

All this new technology is not only used to develop new products, but also to refine and improve the current range. Culloty points out that the Leyland engineers collate all the in-service R&M data from all the DAEs they have built, allowing them to address operational niggles on a continuing basis

We leave the design centre and hit the factory floor, which is markedly clean, particularly in comparison with some older factories CM has seen on the Continent. Evidently the factory floor staff take real pride in their work and their workplace, and seem really engaged with quality control and process improvement.

Leyland's ideas scheme, Every Little Counts, encourages staff to share their ideas with senior management. CM witnesses one of these ideas in action: rather than sending gearboxes away to be painted (which was standard practice incurring cost and time-loss), a Leyland

staffer suggested putting them through the spray booth in between the chassis "So we kid the software into thinking the gearbox [strung off the front of the chassis] is meant to be there, and the robots paint it, effectively for free," explains Culloty. "The guys designed a quick-fix jig, so the gearbox is on and off the line] in 10 seconds."

The paintshop has been the subject of recent improvements:Leyland MD Andrea Paver explains that it gained more robots in 2008 because it became the bottleneck in the build process, which prevented Leyland from getting to the "magical 12 trucks an hour", and that the sludge left over from the paintshop is recycled as a constituent in playground surfaces as part of Leyland's environmental commitment.

But perhaps the single biggest step forward at Leyland was the decision to produce its own bodies. The first factory-bodied truck rolled off the production line three years ago.

Culloty admits that Leyland started with a narrow range, "hut we found there isn't much of a market for 'one size fits all so we listened to customer needs", and so the range has expanded. So, among Ryder's 245-strong order are six distinct cab and body combinations.

Payload is important to Ryder's customers, so it has specified lightweight panels (designed and tested by Leyland, naturally) on the bodies, which allow an extra I 00kg of payload.

For any rental company, availability of vehicles is vitally important — and the shorter the delay between it placing an order and a new truck being ready for a customer to rent, the better. Thus, of Leyland's bodied trucks, Ryder marketing and corporate development director Robin White says: "The speed of turnaround between order and getting the truck on the road is a huge benefit to us."

DAF marketing director Tony Pain reveals that other Leyland-bodied truck customers include the Royal Mail. Burnt Tree and the Prison Service. He estimates that one-fifth of all LFs are factory-bodied and that this figure could double in time.

As the 1.000th bodied truck rolls off the line, Paver says that other Paccar factories are keen to learn more about Leyland's success with bodied trucks.

Is this the beginning of a minor revolution in truck and body purchasing? The final word goes to Pain: "It' you bought a kettle, but were told you had to buy the lid somewhere else [and had to wait five weeks to get it], you'd ask why..." •


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