Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

"Of course, since I'm in charge here, I'll make sure everything is well-organized," Geli Xi said. "I absolutely won't allow any waste to happen. And of course, the first batch of workers we've recruited are also the most experienced."

Geli Xi was very satisfied with everything at the moment. This factory was built from scratch, and all the rules and regulations here were up to him. No waste would be allowed to happen, whether it was wasting materials or wasting time!

Geli Xi experienced a special kind of pleasure.

"Now that President Qin has entrusted this place to me, I absolutely cannot let President Qin down."

Hearing Geli Xi's words, Qin Yang was very touched. He had found a good factory director!

"Thank you, Director Geli Xi," Qin Yang said. "I thank you on behalf of Factory 960."

Geli Xi turned around and saw Qin Yang: "President Qin, why are you here?"

"I heard that the first Mercedes-Benz heavy truck is about to roll off the assembly line, so I came to take a look," Qin Yang said. "Has there been any problem with the entire assembly process?"

"Of course not, the workers here are very skilled," Geli Xi said. "They have also been diligently receiving training. I am very satisfied with them. Moreover, I have also adopted a worker's suggestion to improve our product quality evaluation system."

"On every vehicle, starting from the assembly of the frame, we include a record card with the vehicle, and each person's production will be recorded," Geli Xi said. "In this way, the assembly of every part on every vehicle will be traceable to the person responsible. If a screw is not tightened, we can trace it back to the person at any time."

For a long time, automobile production was very chaotic. Because car companies did not treat workers well enough, there were incidents of workers deliberately damaging production equipment and products. For example, due to delayed wages or the foreman's scolding, some workers harbored resentment and might deliberately not tighten screws.

This phenomenon was most prevalent in passenger cars, so much so that every car owner's first task after receiving the car was to tighten all the screws, because they didn't know which screw was loose. Even one loose screw could cause terrible consequences.

If something happened, it was useless to go to the car company. The car company would deny all responsibility. Even if the car company wanted to investigate, it would not be able to trace the person responsible at all, because their management was quite chaotic.

It wasn't until advanced computer technology developed that many car companies had advanced management methods that could record every process. Now it's the 1980s, and computer management is not available, but the workers have used their ingenuity to solve the problem with a record card, which is similar to the account books used in warehouses in the past.

"Will this affect our work progress?"

In the past, everyone only cared about working, but now they also need to record, which will definitely take more time, right?

"So we issued a stamp to each person. While working, they can use the stamp to record it," Geli Xi said. "This is a very simple method that solves a major management problem. The East is indeed creative."

Geli Xi was very satisfied.

Qin Yang nodded: "Of course, Director Geli Xi, you are definitely right to choose to work in our East. You will definitely have more and better gains."

Nie Xiaoqian followed behind Qin Yang, looking at the huge factory building and the vehicles slowly moving on the production line, and was also very emotional. Brother Yang is so amazing. In such a short period of time, he has created a heavy truck production plant and created a miracle.

Moreover, it produces Mercedes-Benz heavy trucks, which have much better performance than Steyr trucks. In the future, this place can become the East's high-end heavy truck production base!

"Okay, the vehicle is almost assembled. Let's go to the end of the production line to take a look," Geli Xi said.

The emergence of the production line was a major breakthrough in automobile production technology. The earliest automobiles were all assembled by hand, and every craftsman needed to master the complete set of operating techniques. Starting from a frame, the car was completely assembled. This not only required a lot of time to train craftsmen, but also the assembly efficiency was low.

In order to increase automobile production, Ford Motor first invented the assembly line, allowing automobile production to flow. Each person was only responsible for a part of it, simplifying the operation process. Simple training was enough to get started, and at the same time, it improved efficiency. Ford Motor relied on this technology to stand out from its competitors and become the strongest automobile manufacturer at the time, and other factories continued to follow suit.

Later, not only the automobile industry, but other industries also began to use assembly lines. Even shipbuilding was the same. During World War II, American escort carriers could be built in a few months, thanks to the charm of the assembly line.

Aircraft production used to be workstation assembly, which was similar to the earliest automobile production. Later, in order to increase production, a pulse production line also appeared.

As the assembly line moves forward, the finished product of the car becomes stronger and stronger. In the end, it becomes a complete car.

The first car on this assembly line is the most common rear dual-axle truck.

Truck technology is also constantly changing. The earliest trucks had single tires on the front steering wheels and dual or single tires on the rear, which were used as drive wheels and load-bearing wheels. Even in later generations, light trucks have this layout.

But, what if you need a stronger load capacity?

The best way is to change to larger tires, but there is a limit to this. When you need to continue to increase the load capacity, the rear dual-axle appears, and another set of the same tires is added, which can provide greater load capacity. If the front and rear differentials are connected, both rows can get power, which becomes four-wheel drive.

Currently, common heavy trucks use four-wheel drive, but there are other ways to lay out the car.

"What do you think, would it be better if the front wheels became two rows?" Qin Yang suggested.

In fact, the most suitable layout for a heavy truck is the one Qin Yang said, with two rows of drive wheels in the back and two rows of steering wheels in the front. The biggest advantage of this is safety. If a tire on the front steering wheel blows out, it will not affect driving safety. When passing through complex road sections, the front row of steering wheels can even be suspended.

"In the past, we used to use this layout," said the Mercedes-Benz heavy truck technician.