Ford's Oakville assembly plant to go wireless, eh?
Ford Motor Company is cutting the cord at its Oakville assembly plant. No, the site isn't the latest casualty of The Way Forward-- quite the opposite. As part of a $1 billion dollar investment, the automaker is taking the 486,000 square-meter site wireless.
The facility will feature a transponder lane for trucks called 'Fast Gate,' that will automatically open the main gate and record the time/location/cargo of vehicles entering the site. The entire factory, which is set to produce the new Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers will have wireless internet access, thanks to 65 antennas placed throughout the complex.
The technology infusion will reportedly help the plant's 'just in time' production methods, as well as increase flexibility and efficiency.
[Source: The Canadian Press via CanadianBusiness.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John 11:20AM (4/16/2006)
For more info, go ahead and hit up the original Ford press release: ( http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=23085 )
I just wonder if they'll put RF tags on the employees to make sure they aren't goofing around (errr... I mean to make sure they have "quick and actionable communications")
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Vinny 12:44PM (4/16/2006)
If they did put RF tags on the employees I'd bet it would be to track who is shopping the competition.
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Finished.Law.School 2:39PM (4/16/2006)
Is the wireless internet going to be used by the UAW line workers when they are sick of playing cards? Do those guys even know what the internet is?
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John 3:04PM (4/16/2006)
Hey, these improvements are going into effect for Canadian auto workers.... not your run-of-the-mill poker playing Americans!
Maybe the beaver-skin from their hats coupled with the smoke from Canadian bacon will render the wifi completely inoperative. But most likely we'll never hear of this system again after they realize they're not getting anywhere near $1,000,000,000 (maybe it's in Canadian dollars?) in savings.
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foxrun 8:28PM (4/16/2006)
I'll be using it and I work there. Been using my wireless laptop at home for two years now can't wait to use it at work.
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