Ford trains thousands of Kansas City Assembly Plant workers to support F-150 production

Since May 2013, more than 8,000 skilled trades and production workers at Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant and Kansas City Assembly Plant have undergone an intensive training program to support production of the all-new Ford F-150®.

The production training program was designed to support the vehicle’s manufacturing process, which incorporates advanced materials and forming and joining technologies, including a riveting operation system versus conventional welding.

Totaling more than 400 hours of in-class and hands-on courses, the skilled-trades program covers everything from installing and configuring new equipment for the production line to constructing the truck’s electrical control system.

The overall program uses a “train the trainer” model, in which the workers become subject matter experts on the new equipment, enabling them to train the crew they work with on a daily basis.

The new manufacturing process called for the overhaul of both Dearborn Truck and Kansas City Assembly facilities. Dearborn Truck saw its largest manufacturing transformation in decades, with legacy manufacturing equipment being replaced by new production technology, including:

• New press lines to help stamp four different types of aluminum alloys that assist with light-weighting the vehicle cab and box.
• New hydroforming lines to use fluid pressure to form metal tubes into structurally strong support rails.
• New chemical and heat-treat area for corrosion resistance and material hardening that results in stronger, more durable materials.
• A closed-loop aluminum recycling system process in which all aluminum assembly scrap is collected and sorted so it can be used again in new F-150s.
• Five hundred new robots in the all-new body shops to conduct joining technology.
• Updated paint shops with dirt detection technology and increased automation.

Combined, Dearborn Truck and Kansas City Assembly will have capacity to produce more than 700,000 F-150 pickups per year for availability in 90 markets globally. The truck features a military-grade, aluminum-alloy body and high-strength steel frame, which has reduced its weight by up to 700 lbs.