Ford has overhauled its approach after conceding that depending too much on artificial intelligence came at a high price.
The American automaker has, in recent years, brought back roughly 350 long-serving engineers to tackle manufacturing faults and raise vehicle standards. Those areas had previously been overseen by AI, but Ford now says human expertise is essential to catching problems early.
“Artificial intelligence is a fantastic tool, but it’s only as good as the information you use to train it,” Ford vice president of vehicle hardware engineering Charles Poon said to Bloomberg.
“Over prior years, we didn’t pay as much attention as we should have to the experience of our most knowledgeable engineers who have been with us through many product cycles.”
Ford says those returning specialists are now vital in detecting trouble before it reaches the assembly line. Chief operating officer Kumar Galhotra said the engineers are “at the heart” of the company’s campaign to address its quality issues.
“We brought back technical specialists and they hunt for failure points before a part ever reaches the plant floor.”
The company is reportedly also requiring regular meetings to keep a close watch on its AI systems and reduce the risk of errors before they emerge.
The pivot follows what Ford has described as tough lessons about where artificial intelligence falls short.
“Free from daily production schedules, these engineers now act as internal auditors, running mandatory weekly design reviews to hunt for and eliminate potential failure points before blueprints ever reach the factory floor,” Ford said in a statement.
Ford chief executive Jim Farley told Bloomberg TV that the revised model is already helping the bottom line. He said falling warranty claims and lower recall expenses are saving the company millions.
“These are all contributing to literally hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of a tailwind for Ford on cost,” Mr Farley said.
Ford is seeking to cut $1 billion in costs by the end of the year, and company leaders say the reintroduction of experienced engineers has played an important role in that recovery.
The improvement has also appeared in independent quality results. In last year’s J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, which measures problems reported during the first three months of ownership, Ford was ranked 10th among mainstream brands and sat below the industry average.
This year, it became the most improved brand in the study, jumping to third overall behind Porsche and Genesis.
Even so, Ford’s problems are not over. It is still the most recalled carmaker in the US and has warned it expects around $1 billion in warranty and material costs this year.
Australia has not been untouched by Ford recalls. The company has issued several recall notices locally, with the Ford Transit Custom and F-150 among the latest vehicles affected.
“Owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by Ford in writing requesting they contact their authorised Ford Dealer,” the notices state.
