Atelier T1

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The head of atelier “T1” assures that the tasks are efficiently delegated. Some employees preassemble individual components. For example, they may install the selfwinding system, the handsetting and winding mechanism or an additional function such as a moonphase display. Others assemble the complete movement. The training given to workers in atelier “T1” varies depending on the degree of difficulty of the tasks entrusted to them. The spectrum ranges from watchmaker's assistants to fully trained master watchmakers. The atelier's manager makes sure that colleagues who have received equivalent training regularly switch from one task to another at various workplaces. This creates greater autonomy and improves morale. Frederique Constant and Alpina are currently approaching a critical dimension which will justify semiautomated assembly lines for movement assembly. Rather than distributing the individual tasks among various workplaces and then passing the semifinished pieces onward to the next colleague who'll perform the subsequent manipulations, a more highly automated facility would circulate the movements on a conveyor belt, along which the various steps in the work could be sequentially performed. How does this work in actual practice? At the beginning, the movement plates are affixed in movementholder rings and placed inside a container. Tasks are sequentially performed at the various workplaces, which are situated one after the other along the line. Each colleague has the necessary components for the movement within easy reach and repetitively performs the same series of tasks. With assistance from the manual assembly apparatus, plates are individually lifted from the worktable so they can be processed. After this work is done, the plate is lowered onto the belt, which conveys it to the next workplace. How can one imagine this in concrete terms? Let's consider, for example, the process of assembling a barrel, which is first preinstalled on its plate and then sent to an adjacent colleague who installs the geartrain. The next step is to monitor the amount of play in the wheels. The geartrain bridge is then affixed, the plate is sent onward and the barrel is installed. Meanwhile, the barrelbridge is preinstalled by a colleague at an external workplace, i.e. at a workbench that's not part of the assembly line. This is the next part to be installed along the assembly line. Some parts of the barrelbridge must be lubricated, so this too is accomplished now. The plate is then conveyed to the next colleague, who inserts the pawl and the mainspring. The time required at each workplace depends on the degree of difficulty of the operations performed and on the experience of the colleague. The advantages of this mode of working are obvious. Each worker always performs individual operations under identical conditions. The repetition of identical tasks increases the quality of the work and simultaneously reduces the time required. Time consuming positioning of the plate so it can be optimally processed is unnecessary because the conveyor belt always presents the plate in the optimal form and orientation. Manufacturing can proceed with optimal efficiency after the team on the assembly line has acquired a certain amount of experience and routine. The manufacturer of the conveyor system summarizes its benefits on his website: “The manual assembly apparatus increases the efficiency of the individual steps in the work because it minimizes repeated movements. The user has both hands free to perform assembly tasks per se, while the apparatus automatically conveys individual components to the next colleague.” (1)

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