GM Revealing something at Factory Zero 4-6-2021

Two potential items regarding Factory Zero:

Detroit News has an article on the factory: The Detroit News.

You have to pay though so I don’t know what it’s about. Hopefully someone is a subscriber and can give us the gist!

Second, I just noticed the point about it having an unconventional layout for the plant. I had seen a patent for this a little bit ago but wasn’t sure if this was going to apply for Factory Zero-but sounds like it will! Just hope it doesn’t have too many hiccups moving forward - we all have heard stories about early attempts at overly “robotic” factories and their issues. It’s basically a factory setup that allows maximum flexibility for making many different models/variations. I will try and find that patent and post it. GM also has a patent on the vehicles basically moving themselves around the plant once they get the basic platform on.

Here it is:


Like most patents shown on the US patent site it is pretty dry reading but good for a few nuggets of information. This time I just found it fascinating how GM is potentially moving away from the old assembly line method which has been around since the Model T days!

This flexibility will allow it easily utilize the plant with many models even if they do not sell as well as their ICE counterparts. I would assume the trucks and SUVs would break out into their own plants as sales expand.

I wonder if Spring Hill will be similar or more traditional in layout?

MattF said:

Here it is:

United States Patent: 11059534

Like most patents shown on the US patent site it is pretty dry reading but good for a few nuggets of information. This time I just found it fascinating how GM is potentially moving away from the old assembly line method which has been around since the Model T days!

This flexibility will allow it easily utilize the plant with many models even if they do not sell as well as their ICE counterparts. I would assume the trucks and SUVs would break out into their own plants as sales expand.

I wonder if Spring Hill will be similar or more traditional in layout?

Click to expand...

All of GM's "new" plants will use this new system, I reported on this here 6 months ago that Factory Zero will not have a "traditional assembly line", it will use assembly stations where each worker does many jobs, rather than on an assembly line where a worker might do 1-3 jobs as the vehicle passes.

This is being done as an attempt to increase quality and reduce worker stress. If a worker gets behind on a moving assembly line they have to travel with the vehicle to the next station to finish their job, then run back to the their station to try to get to the next vehicle. Or they have to pull the cord and stop the entire line section, which idles dozens of workers while they wait for one to catch up. In the new system the parts will travel with the vehicle on a platform to a station, where workers do all of their jobs, then push a button and that vehicle autonomously moves to the next station, so you might have 5 stations through final assembly instead of 30, with each worker taking more ownership in the vehicle.

CAMI will have this system (BrightDrop EV 600), I have not seen confirmation about Spring Hill yet. As far as I know Spring Hill is only getting a new body and paint shop, I have not seen anything about final assembly.