The car is arguably one of the most desirable products humanity has ever produced: one of the most popular ways to get around, the vehicle industry is worth countless billions of pounds and a significant portion of jobs. And on Tuesday 23 February, Shiplake’s Year 13 Design and Technology pupils added their number to the 15,000 annual visitors of the BMW Mini plant, near Oxford. The 200-acre site is home to a busy manufacturing plant, where more than 2.5 million Minis have been produced since 2001.
Accompanied by Mr Tom Bayley, the group were eager to see the process of creating a car in action. Some pupils in Design and Technology club have been refurbishing and renovating a dilapidated car together, so this trip was a real eye opener. The group’s tour guide, Terry, explained that 900 cars were produced daily at the plant- that’s one every 68 seconds! The vehicles, made up of 4000 parts, are principally constructed by robots, which work around the clock. Using cameras and lasers to effect even the most detailed of tasks, the robots are kept functioning properly by technicians. Seeing as the site is the size of 16 football pitches, technicians ride between each machine on scooters! No two cars are the same: their specifications are read from a barcode and they are built accordingly.
The final journey of the Minis’ through the plant is attended to by humans. Fitting the vehicles with electrical harnesses, cockpits, oil and fuel are performed by skilled technicians. They are allocated just 68 seconds per task! Quality control checks are also in place. When the vehicle has been completed, it is driven onto a one of a fleet of lorries, in readiness for worldwide delivery. Mr Bayley said of the trip that ‘it was fascinating to see the work done at the plant and the pupils behaved impeccably. It is very different seeing this work on a large scale, and it’s important for pupils to recognise the effect of the skills they are learning and nurturing in class. I hope that they take back what they’ve learnt to the classroom and continue projects with renewed enthusiasm!’
