Foton Shandong Multifunction Plant in the Weifang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone is promoting smart technologies in production processes and is strengthening its quality management approach in order to support its long-term growth.

Smart technologies have been used in processes such as painting, welding and gluing at Foton Motor's Weifang plant over the past two years, according to the company.

These smart technologies have helped Foton to reduce production costs by 41.83 million yuan ($6.14 million) in 2015 and 2016. The number of employees on Foton's production lines dropped from 2,433 in 2015 to 2,281 in 2016.

The employees who left their positions were retrained and acquired new skills to support the company's growth in other job positions, according to the company.

Li Yongjun, an employee who once worked in Foton's assembly workshop, said that smart technologies can accurately sort and assemble vehicle parts and effectively reduce the risk of human error.

"We can make production plans more efficient and allocate manpower more accurately with smart systems," said Qu Junqi, a department manager of Foton's Weifang plant. "The overall interruption time has been reduced by 80 percent."

Xie Xianjun, a division head in the painting department, said that the smart systems help Foton to improve production efficiency and reduce overtime work.

Foton produces more than 200 vehicles per day. In previous years, Xie and his team had to work overtime everyday to complete daily tasks.

Foton installed painting robots in 2015. The robots have not only helped to significantly reduce the rate of occupational hazards, but also helped the company to increase average net profits per capita by 10 percent.

"We can finish our work on time with the new technologies," said Xie.

Focus on Quality

Foton has trained a skillful quality inspection team to maintain its quality standards.

Guan Zhiyong, who is in charge of six quality control teams at Foton's Weifang plant, has made a name for himself thanks to his outstanding quality inspection skills.

He can accurately judge whether a newly assembled vehicle has quality problems within five minutes despite a very noisy working environment.

Foton's efforts in quality management have paid off. All its products work well under extreme natural conditions, such as extremely high temperatures and elevations. Vehicles' corrosion-resistant coatings can effectively stand sea transportation.

Foton's Weifang plant was selected as one of the official vehicle suppliers for the parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) on Sept 3, 2015.

Qu and another 18 technical experts from the plant were asked to go to Beijing to examine and enhance the performance of 18 Torano-branded vans in August 2015. The vehicles were used to serve international leaders.

Looking ahead, Foton will continue to promote quality enhancement and smart production. It will also seek business opportunities online. The company has developed a Shandong internet automotive development base to support its internet-based vehicle development.

Liu Jing contributed to this story.