Oxford Year in Review #3 - Mini Plant Oxford

Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/

A few months after I arrived in Oxford, I was lucky enough to find a job as a media analyst at a communication research company. I was assigned to the automotive team where I read and analysed articles about cars. When I found out there is a MINI assembly plant in Oxford, I made it a point that I must visit the plant before I leave Oxford: firstly, it would add to my knowledge as an automotive media analyst, and secondly, as a trained engineer, I am kind of ashamed to have not been to any assembly plant before, hence, I must not miss the opportunity to do so.

The plant is located at Cowley, southeast of Oxford. The best way to reach the plant is to drive or take a taxi. It is also accessible via public buses, but the journey is longer (about 45 minutes from Summertown) and requires a fair amount of walking. The plant is open for visiting on weekdays only, at specific hours. To visit, you have to book a guided tour through the MINI website (http://www.visit-mini.com/visitmini/). It is best to book in advance to get your preferred date and time slot because there is a limitation on the number of people per guided tour. The price of £17 per adult (£14 for students/ senior citizens) is very reasonable considering that the tour takes close to three hours.

The visit to the MINI plant provided a different perspective to my Oxford experience. While Oxford is generally well-known as an intellectual hub, at its outskirt, there is also a thriving industrial area that attracts many blue collar workers. The factory site was originally founded by William Morris, an entrepreneur with a humble beginning as a bicycle repairer. He bought over the Oxford Military College and converted it into an assembly plant for his first car model, the Morris Oxford "Bullnose" (see photo below). This same guy would later on become Lord Nuffield, who founded the Nuffield College in Oxford.

The Morris Oxford "Bullnose" two-seater car

The MINI plant tour covered the "body in white" and "assembly" facilities. The "body in white" facility is where the car body shells are being put together, mainly by robots. All cars are built to order, which means there is no dedicated assembly line for a particular car model, instead, all cars that come down the assembly are different based on the sequence of customer orders entered into the system. In fact, according to the MINI plant, it is highly unlikely to see two exactly identical car model in its production line, given that there are more than 300 trim options, and more than 300 different exterior options, allowing for 15 quadrillion possible combinations of MINI! It was quite amazing to see how the robots are able to identify different orders and assemble the correct parts. 

The "assembly" facility is where all the other car parts such as doors, windows, wheels, etc. get assembled. This facility seemed livelier because there were more humans at work. Each section was managed by a team leader and his crew, and everything had to be quick and precise, otherwise, the whole production line would be affected. Occasionally, we would see red warning lights going off at certain sections, which means a hold-up had occurred, and the crew would quickly gather to troubleshoot the problem. The plant claims that a new MINI car drives off its production line every 68 seconds - hard to imagine but impressive nonetheless!

No matter you are a car-enthusiast or not, the MINI plant tour is definitely a worthwhile thing to do at Oxford, simply for the educational value that it offers. Where else would you have the opportunity to gain an insider view of a cool and high-tech car assembly plant?

An exotic MINI model covered in cow hide

At the MINI showroom, the only area where we were allowed to take photos