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HONDA MOTOR COMPANY LIMITEDHonda Motor Company, Limitedis a Japanesepublicmultinational

corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. Honda has

been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest

manufacturer ofinternal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than 14

million internal combustion engines each year. Honda became the second-largest Japanese

automobile manufacturer in 2001. Honda was the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in

the world behindGeneral Motors,Volkswagen Group,Toyota,Hyundai Motor

Group,Ford,Nissan,andPSA in 2011.

Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury

brand,Acura,in 1986. Aside from their core automobile and motorcycle businesses, Honda

also manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft and power

generators, amongst others. Since 1986, Honda has been involved with artificial

intelligence/robotics research and released theirASIMO robot in 2000. They have also

ventured into aerospace with the establishment ofGE Honda Aero Engines in 2004 and

theHonda HA-420 Honda Jet,which began production in 2012. In 2013, Honda invests

about 5.7% of its revenues in research and development (6.8 billion dollars).

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

a) Press DivisionKey Information

April 1995 - mass production started. Production capacity - 14.75 million shots per year. 18 million car parts produced per year. All excess metal is sent for recycling.

The Process

The car manufacturing process begins in the Press Division where the body panels arepressed for the cars built on site. To start with blanks are received which are flat metalsheets that have already been cut into the basic shape of the panel. These are then

loaded onto the press.

The first press draws or forms the panel The second press trims the panel to remove excess metal The third press bends the panel to create flanges for later processes The fourth and final press pierces holes for other fittings The panels are then inspected and transferred to automatic storage before being

delivered to the Weld Department in Car Plants 1 and 2

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b) Material Logistics DivisionKey Information

Over 200 lorry deliveries per day 10,000 containers are handled per shift 41 tow trucks and 17 forklifts utilized

The Process

The main function of Material Logistics is to receive and deliver parts for the Weld,Assembly Frame and Paint Departments on a just in time basis, two hours before

they are fitted. While some parts are received from multiple local distribution centers,

wheels, seats, door linings and engines are received on a synchronized basis directly

from suppliers.

Large parts are delivered to fitment points on an electronic monorail system. Parts arealso delivered to the line-side via tow trucks following first in first out principles.

Empty returnable packaging is removed from line-side, sorted and taken to a specific

distribution centre for return to our suppliers.

Material Logistics is also responsible for maintaining the accurate inventory controlof production parts. This is supported by zone controllers who regularly undertake

parts cycle counting.

c)Weld DivisionKey Information

Over 300 welding and handling robots Around 2,200 spot welds are performed by the robots per car body One vehicle body is produced every 85 seconds 650 bodies in white produced per shift

The Process

The Weld Department produces complete welded car bodies from panels suppliedboth by our own Press Department as well as external suppliers.

The process begins with the right and left wheel houses welded to the lower dash andfront bulkhead to form the complete engine compartment. This is then combined with

the front and rear floor assemblies to make the floor complete.

The right and left side panels are sub-assembled and transferred to the GeneralWelder (GW). This is the heart of the department where the parts that have been

produced within the various areas (side panels, floor, roof, upper dash and rear parcel

tray) come together and the GW welds all the parts together to produce a completed

body.

The car body is then transferred to a manual line for additional welding and doorhinge installation. In the final part of the process, the doors, tailgates, fenders and

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bonnet are fitted and the body undergoes a series of final quality checks. The

completed body is then transferred by the lift conveyor to the Paint Department.

d)Paint DivisionKey Information

Capability to paint over 1,000 cars per day in a broad spectrum of colours, completewith in house moulded bumpers

HUM has one of the fastest bumper moulding operations in the world, producingcomponents every 42 seconds

At any one time, over 800 car bodies, of three different model types, are being workedon in the Paint Division

The Process

The main objectives of the Paint Division are to provide vehicles with a high gloss,attractive, colourful finish, with a long term durable resistance to corrosion.

Honda completely immerses the car bodies in powerful chemicals to prepare the steelfor painting. Following this, corrosion proof paint is applied to every metal surface

both inside and out. All of the panel joints are sealed to guarantee they are watertight

before the final colour paint layers are applied, utilizing state of the art robots.

Whilst the car bodies are being painted, the Plastic Operations Department aremoulding and painting bumpers and other smaller components which will all be

brought together for installation on the final assembly line.

e)Plastic Operations DivisionKey Information

3,000 parts a day are produced by the injection moulding process An average of 1,700 bumpers are made per day The bumper mould has a 42 second cycle time - the fastest in the world 90 minutes cycle time in bumper paint line Waterborne paints are used and any waste bumpers are recycled

The Process

The Plastic Operations facility was officially opened in February 1998 and suppliesbumpers to both car plants. Within the department, raw unpainted bumpers are

received from injection moulding and three paint layers are applied in two stages. The

first stage is sprayed by robots, while the second (and most important) stage is

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sprayed manually by highly skilled associates. This ensures a consistent and high

quality paint application.

f) Assembly Frame DivisionKey Information

24,000 m. sq. Assembly Frame Division in Car Plant 1 15,000 m. sq. Assembly Frame Division in Car Plant 2

The Process

The body shell is received from our Paint facility and begins the process oftransformation into the finished product. Components are physically installed onto the

painted body while larger components such as the dashboard, doors and engine are

pre-assembled in sub-assembly areas next to the main line. Although the cars are painted with their doors on, one of the first processes in

Assembly Frame is to remove them. The doors are then transferred to a sub-assembly

area before being re-united with the car during the final stages of production. This is

done to improve safety, quality and production speed. With the doors removed,

associates can access the cars much more easily and the risk of damage to the doors is

greatly reduced. The doors also contain a variety of components which can be fitted

more rapidly when they are removed from the body.

With the doors still removed, the cars are transferred on to the trim conveyor. Variousprocesses are carried out here including fitting the wiring harness, roof lining andinstrument panel. To save space, many parts travel by overhead conveyor to the

correct location on the production line.

Next the cars transfer to an overhead conveyor where the bumpers, fuel lines andexhaust assemblies are fitted. Then the engine is fitted and the suspension and steering

components are precisely aligned. Wheels and tyres are put in place and the front and

rear windscreens are installed.

The cars are now entering the final stages of assembly. The carpets, seats and doorsare installed and fluids (including screen wash, coolant and brake fluid) are filled.

Each car also receives enough fuel for it to be driven off the production line straight

into the Vehicle Quality Department for inspection.

g)Vehicle Quality DivisionKey Information

Each vehicle is statically and dynamically inspected Every car is dynamically tested down a purpose built onsite Test TrackThe Process

Every car entering the Vehicle Quality Department goes through a five stage process:

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Initial Vehicle Inspection. Completed vehicles are taken through a series of qualityverification processes to make sure that a range of dynamic, functional and cosmetic

quality standards are met. These checks include the engine bay, wheel alignment,

brake performance, chassis, water leakage, emissions and track tests.

Sampling Inspection. A series of specific confirmation processes are performed, withpre-determined aspects analysed to ensure that current production meets agreed

homologation and conformance of production requirements.

Pre-Delivery Preparation. A final series of quality verification processes are carriedout to ensure that vehicles passed to our customers consistently meet Hondas high

quality standards.

Analysis - This provides data that helps us maintain a consistent quality approach toall our completed vehicles.

Complete Inspection Certificate: A legal record of each manufactured vehicle, whichis retained for future reference.

BENCHMARKS AND STANDARDS

Our global approach to protecting the environment is reflected in all our regional activities.

Honda of the UK Manufacturing Ltd (HUM) was established in Swindon, Wiltshire in 1985

and works closely with the local community and authorities to minimise its environmental

impact.

The Swindon car and engine plant has achieved the following certification:

International quality standard ISO 9002 in 1994 ISO 9001:2000 in 2004 International environmental standard ISO 14001 in 1998 Eco Management Audit System in 2001 Nationally recognised safety standard OHSAS 18001 in 2001 (currently updating to

OHSAS 18001:2007)

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