The company operates 36 manufacturing facilities in 12 countries and manufactures automotive components for every major automotive maker in the world. In Port Talbot, Wales, BorgWarner Powertrain Systems locally employs 400 personnel and produces precision automotive components. Products include the transfer boxes for the Range Rover, synchronizer rings in manual gear boxes for General Motors and Chrysler, and flex bands for Ford's automatic gear boxes. In addition, Port Talbot has a press shop that supplies the facility's production lines with brackets for the flex bands and blanks for the synchronizer rings.
Automotive assemblers establish strict deadlines for delivering parts.
JIT manufacturing is the best way for producers to meet the demands. However, the JIT process places maintenance under immense pressure because machine uptime is critical in order to maximize the return on investment. We can't afford to keep our customers waiting for parts. As recently as 1996, the maintenance staff at Port Talbot worked in a reactive, correctional mode. Evans and his colleagues knew the facility needed a reliable computerized maintenance system in order to enact a proper PM system.