AN EXERCISE IN PRECISION

A quick introductory briefing, and we were ushered to a clean room where we had to don a factory smock, hairnet, and face mask before being led to the production floor. Maintaining the sterility and cleanliness of the production line is utmost priority, evidenced by the steps taken before you even step into the assembly area – industrial-strength air blowers blast debris off your suit, and wet pads you walk on clear any sediment on your shoes before you enter.

The first thing that hits you when you’re on the factory floor is how many rows of production there are. Each camera runs through about 10-12 steps of assembly, cleaning and monitoring both by hand and by machine. While the main components such as the front body unit, pentaprism and sensor reach the line ready for assembly, it’s not quite as simple as fitting all the pieces together and screwing the body shut.

Rather, every unit has to be precisely aligned, and even the amount of torque applied to the screws for particular units is digitally measured for absolute precision. Different units were put through different means of testing – for example, the main mirrors are checked and tested for flaws using an electronic microscope, while the main CMOS sensor is checked for alignment by placing the entire body into a machine that uses sensors to measure the sensor’s exact position before being mounted.

After every camera body is fully assembled, a worker mounts a lens on the camera to test the basic functions like the various drive modes, and physically checks to ensure that everything is fit together well. After that, a computerized system checks the sensor’s resolution, the flash sync speed, and the focusing ability in movie mode, while the flash is fired off several times to ensure that it’s working properly.

Full assembly for a single camera takes about 100 minutes, and on a monthly basis, the Ayutthaya factory alone produces on average 500,000 units of DSLR and Nikkor lenses, with a max production of 700,000 units per month – impressive numbers when you consider the rounds of testing and evaluation each camera goes through.

The factory operates 24 hours a day, split between two teams, but to ensure that the workers stay fresh, Nikon has enforced a fifteen minute break every two hours. Perhaps because of the precision necessary for the assembly, a majority of the workers are female,

and while Nikon states this certainly isn’t by design, they have noted that females have proven to be both adept and nimble in handiwork, which contributes to the meticulousness needed for the assembly process.

Apparently, all new employees at the factory are trained with the basic skills to start, then moved on to specialized training for the particular stage of assembly at which they’ll be posted to. This specialized training takes two weeks, and occurs before the employee begins official duties. Additional training is conducted as necessary, and all employees get bi-annual training to further their abilities.

What’s interesting to note is that while Nikon Thailand initially started with DX-format DSLRs, the quick improvement in skill level of the staff saw them progressively move to managing the production of selected FX-format DSLRs. Now, a large portion of Nikon’s DSLRs are produced in Thailand, with just the “high-end” and “special” category models produced in Japan.

The production plan is managed by Nikon headquarters (Japan) on a bi-weekly basis based on consolidation of market information, allowing them to match demand appropriately. While all the research and development is done in Japan, the key engineers from Thailand are sent up to Japan when new models are introduced, so that they can share whatever new techniques have been developed upon their return.

Recovery from disaster

Nikon says that during the flooding in 2011, the water level around the factory went up to 2.8m deep, and stayed at that level for about 14 days. This necessitated the use of joint efforts with Thailand’s army to fly staff in by helicopter, allowing them to recover important equipment before they were damaged beyond repair.

They started pumping water out of the factory in early November, and it took about a month to have the factory clear, by which time most of the damage had already been done. Production was moved to Japan in the meantime, with some 300 to 400 staff flown over to Nikon’s facilities there. Measures have since been taken to prevent a reoccurrence, like a new flood wall created some 800m away to protect the factory from water damage, and a new satellite factory built north of Ayutthaya on higher ground.

Knowing all that, and looking at some of the photographs shared, we must say it’s incredibly impressive that the factory has recovered as well as it has – there are virtually no signs of water damage anywhere!

“While the main components such as the front body unit, pentaprism and sensor reach the line ready for assembly, it’s not quite as simple as fitting all the pieces together and

screwing the body shut.”