Ford Production System
The Ford 2000 initiative produced five major, corporationwide reengineering projects. One was Ford Production System. Modeled roughly on the Toyota Production System, FPS involved a multiyear project that drew on internal and external expertise worldwide. FPS was an integrated system aimed at making Ford manufacturing operations leaner, more responsive, and more efficient. It focused on key attributes of the production process, aspiring to level production and move to a more pull-based system, with synchronized production, continuous flow, and stability throughout the process. One important part of FPS was Synchronous Material Flow (SMF), which Ford defined as “a process or system that produces a continuous flow of material and products driven by a fixed, sequenced, and leveled vehicle schedule, utilizing flexibility and lean manufacturing concepts.” One key to SMF was In-Line Vehicle Sequencing (ILVS), a system that used vehicle in-process storage devices (such as banks and ASRSs) and computer software to assure that vehicles were assembled in order sequence. By assuring assembly in order sequence, Ford could tell suppliers exactly when and where certain components would be needed days in advance, and buffer stocks thus could be reduced dramatically. If such sequenced assembly could be kept level and if it was well forecasted, the benefits would be felt throughout the supply chain. The vision was of trucks constantly in motion throughout their lives, in continuous circuits between suppliers and Ford, stopping only to refuel or change drivers, feeding a process that worked like a finely tuned and smoothly running precision instrument.