photo credit: mnadi
It’s only been 4 months since all the major TV news and newspapers journalists spread the main points of the so-called “Referendum Marchionne”. Right or wrong most of the media trying to highlight, some in a slightly veiled way, the real change in the time table of the Fiat group workers. In short it seemed that a work timetable was going to tighten up materializing in a higher physical effort, heavy in many cases,for a longer period of time.
We all know how the story turned out but in all this spread of information no one news magazine of national importance has given importance to a very interesting initiative that will bead opted in two European plants of the Ford group.
The majority of worker sat an assembly plant in Valencia(Spain) and Saarloius(Germany) can execute many assembly operations while sitting. To be honest it looks like a toll story and also the name chosen for this new technology could suggest an initiative of McDonalds. In any case the new “Happy Seat”could become a very successful tool for improving production from the inside.
The characteristics of this device consists of a specialtilting seatth at allows assembly workers to work in a seated position, with greater comfort, without compromising the mobility needed to install the components both inside and outside the cars.
It seems that Ford had adopted several years ago the principle that “working in a happy and healthy environment means working well and better”, in fact some medical studies supported by some trade union representatives,some production specialists and representatives of disabled people started several years ago.
The first results come out in 1998at the plantin Genk, where the first experimentation was made in order to decide the adoption of this methodology for the installation of the antennas mounted on the car’s roof. At this point we believe we have stimulated your curiosity and you’ll no tresist the temptation to search “Happy Seat Ford” related videos on YouTube.
Apart from rhetoric citation sregarding Ford as first cars manufacturer which, at the time of the”Model T”, introduced the assembly automotive industry, I just believe that this initiative deserves a huge favor and appreciation for the well being of the work force,despite the undoubtedly high cost of installation, and it surely becomes an important success factor for the organization.
In the hope that this is not an isolated initiative, it is probable that the American brand had opened a more sustainable way to produce cars.
(Translated by Raffaele Vincenti)
