Lovely report! Thanks for sharing this.
Brings back a lot of good memories when I had been to the plant with my friend for a 10-day in-plant training during December 2006. At that time, plant-2 was under construction. We were asked to come dressed up in white shirts, black trousers and shoes (regular leather shoes not the steel-toed ones). Hard hats, safety goggles and ear-mufflers would be issued by the company.
On the first day, one of the HR guys directed us to a shop-floor engineer who was in charge of the press shops. The press shop is where the journey of the car begins - the sheet metal takes the form of various shapes such as bonnets, roofs, door panels etc. There was a huge hydraulic press from Hitachi Zosen (imported from Japan we were told; most machinery and robots were imported from Japan and S. Korea) that towered over us. Of course, we seen hydraulic machines and presses in our machines lab in the college but when we saw this machine, we were like this:
IIRC this machine was nearly 3 storeys tall! There were racks next to it where the pressed items would be stored and later transported to the panel assembly area wherein the frames are welded by robots. Cute robots with arms moving all around doing spot welding of the panels and frames. The frame of the cars would be transported in a conveyor system wherein these panels would get welded and then proceeds to the next station. Towards the later stages, the car would spend a definite amount of time (say 2 mins) at one station wherein the worker in-charge of installing a particular component (say dashboard for example) would install it within that time and tick one column in a job-card located on the car which meant that work was completed (there was no RFID at that time; perhaps now the system has improved) and then the car would automatically move to the next station where the worker would install some other component. The components at each assembly station were delivered just-in-time and there was no shortage at any given time.
I recall that the efficiency of the plant was indicated in huge LCDs hung from above and it used to hover around the 98-99% mark all the time indicating the production per day is as per the target. The moment bell rang for the tea-breaks and the workers would leave their respective stations, the efficiency would fall to zero. The good thing we had noticed about the shop floors were, it was completely clean! Not even a speck of dirt visible on the floor. Everything was neatly organized at each station and there were no stray nuts or bolts to be found lying somewhere. Very organized and methodical.
Canteens were run and managed by Sodexho. It was a buffet system and the vegetarian food served was wholesome. We had no complaints. The best part was the tea served in this plant - one of the best I have had so far and tasted as if they have used sweetened condensed milk! I am a sucker for good tea and used to take at least 2-3 cups at a time. The Koreans have a different canteen and a different cuisine. They get pork and other stuff served. Pigs are domesticated and farmed within the animal farm located inside the plant premises and we saw huge pigs and their cute tiny little piglets sticking to their parents inside their cages.
We also went inside the engine assembly plant and during those times, the Santro, Getz, Accent, Elantra and Sonata were the models sold by Hyundai. The engines for the Santro, Getz and Accent were assembled within this plant whereas those from the Elantra and Sonata were imported. There was no foundry inside the plant (not sure if there is one now) and the blocks came from outside. We saw connecting rods, pistons, cam-shafts etc. located at various stations. Once the engine is completely assembled, before it is plonked into the car it undergoes testing at one station. All the necessary pipes and tubes for fuel injection, coolant, oil, exhaust would be connected and the engine is fired to test it. Then it is sent to the assembly area where it would be installed inside the car. Unfortunately we did not get access to the paint shop and Hyundai suggested that this area was off-limits to outsiders.
We also noticed test tracks outside the plant wherein the completed cars would be driven out and tested. The track would simulate a real-time road - potholes, rough patches and uneven surfaces to ensure there is no rattling inside the car nor any loose part which may come out once the car is delivered to the customer. Testing takes approximately 10 mins and the two engineers finally apply a seal to the job card suggesting that the car is complete.
All in all, it was a lovely experience, to know how a car is built from scratch and how it takes shape from sheet metal.
This is the aerial view of the plant courtesy Google Maps: