No Fuel Panic - Thanks To Remploy Automotive

Drivers who run out of fuel in Honda’s new diesel CR-V could end up thanking workers at Remploy Automotive.

Running out of fuel is always a pain, and if air is drawn into a diesel’s fuel line it can make matters worse. But Honda has cleverly included an emergency fuel primer in the new CR-V.

The fuel primer is a hand operated pump which vents the system and allows the car to be easily restarted. Although mechanically the primer is fairly straightforward, it has to be made accurately to very precise tolerances.

Remploy Automotive has won a contract to make the priming systems at its Bridgend plant where all but four of the 92 workers are disabled. Remploy is Britain’s largest provider of job opportunities for disabled people.

‘Mistake proof’ Poka Yoke jigs have been specially designed for the CR-V job. These are ‘intelligent jigs’ that allow a series of complex assembly operations to be carried out, but will only release each unit once a series of tests have automatically been carried out.

Remploy Automotive’s Bridgend factory recently became one of the first plants in Britain to gain the sought-after TS 16949 quality assurance certificate, awarded by BSI.

Honda has built the CR-V at its Swindon plant since 2000 and is now Britain’s most popular petrol SUV. The 2.2 i-CTDi diesel model will be added to the range in March 2005 and is expected to boost CR-V sales.

Remploy has been a business partner with Honda for more than 10 years and in addition to the CR-V contracts, also makes parts for the award-winning Honda Civic.