Today we visited the Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Bremen, Germany. This is currently the biggest Mercedes-Benz production facility, producing 10 different models and about 1800 cars per day. They also employ about 12,500 people.
The first thing I noticed when walking into the factory was the massive amount of automation. Almost every step in the production process was automated, meaning there were surprisingly few workers around. This was for the car frame assembly. There were more specialized workers when we got to the internal parts assembly. They would install things like seats and electronics while the cars slowly moved down the assembly line.
Another interesting thing I noticed about this factory, and seems to be a trend with all the factories we visit, is that it was very clean. Specifically, the floors were very well swept. A tour guide at another company said the reason for this cleanliness was that it creates a better atmosphere for the workers.
While it was a very interesting visit, one downside I noticed was that the work environment didn’t seem as inviting as some other companies we visited. I wasn’t able to see a strong community between the employees there, which I see as an important part of the workplace.
Here’s a cool concept car.
