The VW Golf Turns On the Production Lines
On April 27, 2020, the early shift of the Wolfsburg plant began work at 6.30 a.m. which gave the green light of VW’s production lines after the unexpected shutdown due to the health crisis from the middle of March. The production starts again with the most popular model Volkswagen Golf. Production is restarted from 10 to 15% and the goals to reach up to 40% following week. VW has a 100-point plan for maximum health protection of employees.
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| The VW Golf Turns On the Production Lines |
Although the production is
restarted with reduced capacity and longer cycle times, today about 8,000
employees get back on work at the production halls starting the production of
the VW Golf. The other models that were set on hold are Volkswagen Tiguan,
Volkswagen Touran, and Seat Tarraco which production will reopen on Wednesday (April,
29).
At the end of the week,
Volkswagen expects 1,400 vehicles to be produced at Wolfburg plant. With
reopening the multi-shift operation next week the production will be increased
to more than 6,000 units. This is about 40% of the production before the health
crisis.
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| Volkswagen expects 1,400 vehicles to be produced at Wolfburg plant to the end of the week. |
Andreas Tostmann:
(Volkswagen brand
Board member responsible for Production and Logistics)
The team is returning to workplaces that provide the maximum level of safety. The company and the Works Council have agreed a 100-point plan to ensure that.
The 100-point plan has
specific rules on distance and hygiene. Employees have to measure their
temperature at home every morning and to do a health checklist before going to
work. Moreover, people have to be dressed in their workwear before leaving their
homes. Other safety features are the walkway diversion in order to avoid the
contacts, numerous distance markers on floors are set as guides for walking and
for keeping distances during meetings. Masks are required to be on where the minimum
distance of 1.5 m is not possible to be kept. In order to avoid any unnecessary
interaction between the employees, all materials are placed in special
containers. Teams now have more time for cleaning the tools. The cleaning
frequency for washroom and team rooms is increased and several hundred
additional handwashing facilities are installed at the Wolfsburg plant. Conference
rooms are turned into office spaces and also flex time is being extended in
offices, and if possible home options remain. In order to exceed safety, all
employees received a booklet with detailed information about the precautionary
measures additional to the over 8,000 posters that are on display at the plant.
Volkswagen has shared
this 100-point plan with more than 40,000 suppliers and logistic partners
around the world. Only this plant works with 2,600 suppliers (most of them in
Germany) from 71 countries that deliver around 21,000 different parts every
day in about 2,000 trucks and 100 rail cars in normal operation. Every day,
around 180 double-decker rail cars and some 185 car transporters leave the
plant.
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| The 100-point plan has specific rules on distance and hygiene. |
