Largest Fire Truck Manufacturer | Mega Manufacturing | Free Documentary

[Music] a first-rate fire truck built to prevail in the battle against the flames pierce from Wisconsin USA is one of the biggest manufacturers of firefighting apparatus in the world it's a vehicle made from a combination of aluminum and steel tons of life-saving equipment assembled with millimeter precision and a chassis that allows it to rapidly get to the scene of the emergency the factory is extremely flexible when it comes to incorporating customer wishes but still manages to produce a top quality product and an impressively short time [Music] Pearse produces its fire trucks in the 70,000 strong town of Appleton and the state of Wisconsin over 1,000 vehicles leave this factory each year [Music] the models carry names like impel arrow saber and enforcer the customers designed their trucks down to the smallest of details the lettering is made from real gold leaf Pierce offers everything from chrome trim to giant turntable ladders and nearly everything is built by hand a high-performance pump system is of key importance Pierce also offers extra large trucks but one model is the undisputed customer favorite the enforcer the cab has eight seats the pump thrusts 5,600 meters into the hoses each minute an onboard 3,000 liter tank ensures there's sufficient water for firefighting a 33 meter turntable ladder sits on the roof and the heavy truck can corner at up to 90 kilometers an hour project manager Bill Kyle supervises production of the fire trucks each truck is custom-designed by the client so errors can creep in quickly especially at the first stage the chassis precision is vital here because it has to accommodate all of the enforcers components if the assemblers don't stick to the dimensions the entire production will fail the truck we start matching it up to what the customer specifications are so we make sure we meet that the customer actually starts picking where they want certain things on their truck and we need to land that right here on the birth of the truck the initial phase of construction is extremely important because it lays the foundation for all subsequent steps Todd Limburg mounts to 12 meter steel girders for the chassis as the assembler must make sure that everything is installed absolutely leveled and equally spaced to do this he clamps the steel girders in place using hydraulic presses [Music] they prevent the parts from shifting the yellow base frame ensures the construction is level without such aids the chassis could lose precision and effect production so once they're tight we should be right at 34 inches otherwise we'll either pull a frame in or moving out or keep it the white great lift so that down the line everything fits assembler Todd and his colleagues both the chassis together with several cross members this prevents anything from shifting the chassis alone weighs nearly four tons it's the foundation on which the rest of the enforcer truck will be built it will be another 44 days until construction is complete Pierce employs nearly 2,000 assembly workers [Music] one of the key elements is fitted right at the beginning the axle together with matching shock absorbers this component makes it possible to drive at high speeds even around corners the axle system goes by the name tech for Pierce builds this component of the fire truck in its own factory - that takes a team of three workers to construct the tech for suspensions the tick 4 was originally only intended for use on military vehicles it allows for rapid travel even over rough terrain the engineers had peers take advantage of his properties for their own requirements thanks to its long travel suspension that tech 4-axle offers 25 centimeters of vertical deflection no other chassis allows for such tight cornering it's able to do a u-turn at a crossroads without having to maneuver it the axle can also accommodate huge brake discs with a diameter of 43 centimeters they can bring the enforcer to a stop significantly faster than other axles the customer also has a choice when it comes to the axles and shock absorbers different axles can be fitted to the same chassis thanks to its handling characteristics that Tech 4 is a very popular option but also the most expensive we build our suspension from the ground up a lot of other manufacturers buy their chassis from another supplier Pearce starts from the ground up we start framing it up we get some of the key components here installed we'll pick it up and we'll move it over here and we'll install the suspension parts and some of the axles the team maneuvers the chassis into position it must be located exactly on the attachment points the spring eyes afford zero tolerance everything must fit perfectly the subframe is now complete the rest of the components are already being fabricated by other departments the Appleton factory is home to the fabrication shop it's where the chassis cab and body are built the assembly line is located a few miles away this is where the workers install the electrical systems as well Pierce also has a paint shop materials warehouse and proving grounds here the enforcers journey continues in the fabrication shop every one of the enforcers components is made in punch presses like this workers place aluminum sheets in the machine the press punches the pieces out according to a computer-controlled pattern the workers have to produce hundreds of thousands of parts like the parts of a giant clock movement all of the pieces are perfectly matched to one another Bill Kurtz wiles team must adhere to the engineers specifications down to the millimetre there's a very small margin for errors if you think about if the part is bent over 90 degrees and it has to go onto another part it won't fit if it's a sixteenth of an inch narrow it won't fit over the top of another part bills workers check each finish part using gauges in addition scanners in the press rolls check whether everything is within specification a laser cutter is used for finer cutting patterns because the human eye is too imprecise the challenge for team leader bill is not just the multitude of parts but that tight production schedule when the other plant is having any kind of technical problem they contact us if they have a park that's scratched or damaged or whatever was ordered incorrectly we can stop production create a brand new part nest it punch it form it and ship it back over to them in less than 4 hours from that truck door to the hose mount every single part of the firetruck is made here [Music] the formed aluminum parts then move from the fabrication shop to the other side of the factory where they're used to construct the cab the workers now assemble the various aluminum and steel sections everything must fit together perfectly fixtures are used to precisely align the pieces that need welding the welders used clamps to hold them in place a warped cab would impair the enforcers handling characteristics amanda Halford oversees assembly of the cab she isn't just concerned about the angles and gap conditions of the individual components Marvin gets the issue we need to make sure that all of the weld are smooth that they're even that they look consistent that there's no weld defects and then also just meeting all of those options that's what's going to be critical to us the welds mustn't be too thick or the doors won't close properly the welds mustn't be too thin either this would impair stability it takes the team two to three days to build a cab during this time it remains at the same construction bay this means that it's the responsibility of one worker from start to finish [Music] [Music] the cab of the enforcer truck now has a roof the workers well grab rails and handles inside the cab so that the firefighters can get in and out quicker in an emergency every cab is custom-made according to the clients wishes the workers have welded nearly three tons of steel and aluminum together to form an integral unit every cab must be extremely robust to withstand the rigors of the job approximately five cabs leave the assembly shop each day they then move to the other factory site where the future fire truck is given its distinctive paintwork and the company's own paint shop a first coat of gray white primer has already been applied to the bare steel and aluminum for the perfect paint finish workers remove every last trace of dust from the surface would compress their guns the cab is also wiped down so that the paint adheres consistently the individual nature of each order is especially apparent when it comes to the color scheme Pierce offers hundreds of shades of red and there's a huge selection of yellows too if a customers still can't find what they're looking for the company will mix custom colors as well the time has come two specially trained painters prepare the paint for this fired truck in the making first they apply another last coat of primer only then does the cab of the truck receives its hallmark fire engine red Pierce and Trust this job to humans rather than robots because they apply the paint more evenly it takes the painters up to one hour to complete each coat of paint the components baked in a drying oven over 150 degrees Celsius and the cab is ready for the next shot where it will receive some of its fittings and equipment how it will look in detail is determined by the engineers in the 3d design studio in close consultation with a customer every truck is custom-designed 11 employees plan every single vehicle in detail on a computer with the help of a 3d model all of the other shops must stick to this master the customers expect a great deal of their special fire trucks after all their quality can be a matter of life and death from the smallest screw to the gigantic turntable ladder everything must fit perfectly the cab stays in the Assembly Building for the time being but moves on to a different shop the wiring shop it doesn't take long before the empty cab is transformed into a fully equipped command center with a warning light system on time thousands of feet of cables are installed throughout the cab electrician Joe Bauer installs a yellow wiring harness for the airbags there are hundreds of cables in each cam so it's vital to keep track of things it's just getting everything right because everything is custom-made so it's one company wants this and one company wants that so you got to make sure you have there everything in the right order Rick Roberts is the cab assembly supervisor he regularly checks up on progress it's essential that each work step is performed in a set sequence to avoid any mistakes we set the harnesses inside there's aa certain procedures in which we needed to follow in order to assure that their drop dog and a lot of KSA's there's uh tape points or something that tells us where the starting point is we drag it through the cab we make the drop all its what we're really doing is we're starting to make sure that all the circuits are the correct circuits being dropped down in each one of these areas we verify to make sure that there's no damage to the harness after we run through it we're also making sure that it's secured as it runs through the cab if there's anything that comes through the rough we make sure that all soon all areas are sealed so we don't have any leakage into the chaos next all of the cables are protected with a fuse where we at right now with it so you right now you just said you we just got started are you gonna make your connections to your the busbars your bill panels put all the battery cables in the transmission harness what are we missing so far every worker is responsible for different tasks and completes them in strict order this minimizes mistakes and maintains efficiency as we go through our stages we got to make sure that everything's in place before we move on to the next stop because as you go through this whole process you'll notice that once we have our harnesses in we make our final connections there's gonna be wall panels put in and we have some cabinets that go in and we have the seats and we can't put do it on a sequence otherwise really have to tear the cab back apart to put the harnesses in or any additional wiring so it is very important that we do it in sequence otherwise a lot of rework and this must be avoided at all costs of course these vending machines are unique to Pierce they're located all over in the factory the workers fetched work materials such as drill bits sealants and even simple brushes as and when needed the advantage Pierce only pays for the work materials that are actually used as long as it's still in the vending machine it doesn't belong to the company once the fire truck has been equipped with a fuse boxes the radio communication systems are installed hundreds of kilometres of wires are installed in each truck within just four days the interior fittings includes the seats the customer can choose everything from the type of seat cover material to the logo there are eight seats installed in each enforcer truck and a space-saving configuration so the firefighters have plenty of room to move around the cab is then ready for technical acceptance at this point all we're really trying to do is make sure that all the circuits are working properly all the switches are functioning properly all our lighting is functioning properly just to assure that when it goes to the next stage the cab gets mounted onto the chassis that we don't have any issues it's a tense moment for team leader Rick have all the cables been laid properly and is everything working flawlessly electrician Marc Moser performs the check if the enforcer cab doesn't pass this test a time-consuming search for the fault will begin mark uses a software program to assist him with the technical acceptance he runs through all of the functions one by one there are no problems this time test passed that's our ultimate goal here is to make sure that we produce a quality product to our downstream customers so a milestone has been reached this truck is fitted out and ready to get powered up but several important steps still lie ahead before the fire truck is ready for service work continues in the adjacent area where workers mount the finished elements onto the enforcers chassis in the assembly area the huge engine block will now be installed at this precise location on the chassis it not only drives the truck but supplies the pump system and turntable ladder with power as well assembly worker John cruel must be careful that the 500 horsepower engine doesn't crush any cables during installation the technician can only install everything safely with the help of a colleague communicating with one of the main assembly worker John must bolt everything together tightly the engine will be in service for several decades for a good cause and this thought motivates the workforce it's nice it's a good feeling it's like a big community or whatever with all the firefighters and stuff another hurdle has been overcome Pearse manufactures trucks in its Appleton factories seven days a week brakes are a must every shift has several the workers bring along their own food and prefer to spend their break time on their smartphones everyone enjoys the peace and quiet and the otherwise so noisy Factory although Peirce does offer snacks in the break rooms most of the workers prefer to stay at their workplaces in the Assembly Building workers are now installing the enforcers windshield this is followed by the marriage of the cab and chassis this will show whether the work thus far has been done properly have all shops adhered strictly to the engineering drawings the mechanics must be careful not to crush any of the cables that are hanging down done the precision workmanship at the previous stages has paid off in parallel to this one of the most important components of the fire truck is being built at a sister Factory eight kilometres away in the north of the town it's pump Pierce buys the pumps from specialist vendors here they're prepared for installation the pump is the core component of the enforcer it sits securely anchored directly behind the cap and approximately the center of the vehicle connections lead from the pump to the enormous water tank when in operation the pump thrusts up to five thousand six hundred litres of water into the hoses each minute in order to do this it needs to be supported in a sturdy frame the so called pump house this ensures that the truck doesn't begin shaking under the enormous forces and pump performance remained stable in cities the pump is connected to a fire hydrant it distributes the water amongst the hoses and controls the pressure an on-board tank serves as a reserve some jobs however don't just require water but foam - this is generated by the foam system by mixing water with air and a concentrate the firefighters can adjust the exact composition of the foam by a a control panel assembler Jamesville brick now fits connector pipes to the pump for the fire trucks water tank it takes a lot of experience to get the positioning right you can't fight a fire if you can't turn on the water the control levers are installed by the specialist colleagues next door yes there's a stack everything you got well Vince and pipe that we stacked everything together then we take it off which I'm gonna do right now and I take it over to mark he's there TIG welder and he'll take it all up come back like that and put it back in [Applause] it's a complicated and time-consuming jigsaw puzzle with each station contributing their own piece once the welding work has been completed the workers spend hours connecting the hoses and valves the pump spends around a week at the pump up before being released for installation extra care must be taken during this production step because if the pump doesn't work properly this costly firetruck isn't for purpose and is absolutely useless for fighting fires the finished pump house is transported to the other side of Appleton for installation at the assembly plant it's home is behind the cab Brian Venters is responsible for ensuring it's installed correctly he must mounted perfectly squared and level making sure that it's gigged correctly making sure that it's balanced so that we do hang it over the chassis we come down nice and nice and level so especially for for quality we don't want to damage anything every pump is custom-made to a real challenge for Brian so there's lots of different weight variations in the pump which I use the kama Long's and weight sandbags to make sure that I can level that out because there's different weight distributions because all the pumps our customers assembler brian has to position the pump exactly only then can he lower it onto the chassis if mounted incorrectly the pump could unbalance the entire truck affecting his firefighting capabilities [Music] the pump is not yet positioned correctly its protruding too far over one side of the black chassis assembler Brian makes the necessary adjustments millimeter by millimeter [Music] he finally sets the pump down is everything in the right place what I'll do is I'll drop the cab the cab will come pretty close to the pump house here the pump house does sit in some Isolators and I want to take some measurements to make sure that we're we're we're the same distance on each side making it making it square here so that when it goes down the line we don't run into issues with it being unscared it will soon become apparent whether the enforcers pump house is in the right place there has to be a two-inch gap between it and the cab and there is Bryan has installed the pump exactly according to plan very happy the pump went on the way it was supposed to with square off of the off of the cab therefore when it goes down to the line the body will go on nice and square the chassis has already been mated with the cab the engine and the pump house our fire truck is now taking shape but the enforcers entire turntable ladder assembly is still missing this is where the so-called torque box comes in this is a tubular structure made from thick sheet steel it forms the connection between the chassis and the turntable ladder the torque box stabilizes the truck when the aerial is in use and provide storage for ground ladders on the back there's a large pedestal where the ladder will later sit a team of three workers mounts the torque box on the chassis of the fire truck it's so large that one person can't keep an eye on everything at once two cranes lift the seven-ton monster into position while the black box is still hovering above the chassis the workers run the hydraulic hoses into place they connect the engine with the pedestal of the turntable ladder allowing it to move independently of the truck and access even the most difficult fire scenes again and again the technicians have to intervene to ensure there is no interference with the chassis but in the end they get it in the right position another important step has been accomplished the firetruck is still missing its rear structure the so-called body this is manufactured in the sister Factory in the fabrication shop this shop manufactures the body from pre-cut sheet aluminum similar to the cab the workers join the sheets with clamps to form the large side panels this is followed by a lot of welding work a day's work later and both side panels of the enforcer truck are finished the workers have to strictly adhere to the panel dimensions so that everything fits together in the end they use the detailed master construction plan as a reference the body needs a lot of storage space for the firefighters tools and hoses the water tank will be installed in the middle protected by the side panels the production manager bill is present for the installation of the body it will now be determined whether all of the teams have followed the specifications of the 3d design studio and most it onto the chassis all of our Moni angles are all leveled and ready to go so we're at that point in the off phase that we're ready to pick this up and mount the body onto the chassis for Bill it's like a big puzzle made up of many individual parts that gradually come together to form a complete picture the enforcer enters the decisive final assembly stage we're making sure that our platform in the back here is level with the platform in the front so we have the body level on each side and front to back we'll make sure that the body figures in with the pump and with the cab once it gets up to be that far another critical moment have their colleagues in the fabrication shop completed their work accurately will the six meter long component sit properly okay production manager bill directs his colleagues with centimeter precision a small gap between the cab pump and body is desired it makes the enforcer more flexible on uneven roads but the design as a whole doesn't include much tolerance finally the body fits and is waiting for the next component to be installed this task is performed by foreman brock Rosendale his job is to mount the enforcers 3,000 liter water tank in the body if the tank swings uncontrolled into one of the body side panels it could be damaged Brock takes it slowly if all the dimensions are right it isn't a complicated task for him but care must be taken here too [Music] cradles tolerance is only about a half an inch bigger than the tank so this one with the walls being so close and as well Vince inside the walls it's pretty pretty precise that's why we go nice and slow with the crane so the body including the water tank has been successfully installed the fire truck is ready for the final and all-important assembly steps these include the application of the lettering and emblem of the future owners and North America Pierce's main sales territory a great deal of importance is attached to the visual elements a lot of time and attention to detail goes into this step the design shop creates all logos by hand the lettering is not just applied using normal paint but is embellished with real gold leaf only if the customer orders it of course [Music] the enforcer is still missing a crucial component the turntable ladder is built in the so called aerial shot the 33 meter long ladder is mounted on the pedestal of the torque box depending on the customer order a large work platform or remotely controlled nozzle is mounted at the tip new ladders are delivered to the aerial shop several times a week a supplier located around 100 kilometers away in Kewanee Wisconsin manufactures that turntable ladders all that arrives are the individual ladder segments however the workers have to run all the cabling and install them ready for deployment in terms of surface area the aerial shop is the largest shop in the entire factory jeremy Pahokee is responsible for final assembly of the delivered ladder elements his team runs the cables and control technology for each ladder Jeremy and his colleagues need a whole day for the work the turntable ladder is a complicated and important component of the enforcer the ladder elements mustn't pitch any cables Jeremy must also ensure that the ladder can run freely and has sufficient play Pearse guarantees its customers that the 33 meter ladder can be extended in under a minute it's very important that we test this ladder we run it in and out we check all experiences we have people watching all over the ladder everything most clear and we'll do this a couple of times and make sure everything is correct if not we will make the corrections and testing the ladder on the ground before it's mounted on the firetruck is important in order to detect any faults as early as possible because making corrections is very difficult once the turntable ladder is mounted on the truck Pearse offers a 20 year guarantee on its turntable ladders so everything is going very well with this one these are a very straightforward design very easy to put together for me there's not too many problems I run into with it Pierce apply six different ladder lengths and again customization is key the customer can also choose the color the control technology and what type of tip they want on their ladder the Pierce ladder can reach up to the 10th floor of a building it's made from high-strength steel this means it can support the high loads at the tip of the aerial the sturdy construction of a ladder makes it heavy at the same time the torque box structure transfers all aerial loads onto the outriggers the outriggers keep the truck in its proper position while operating the aerial device the enforcer fire truck is now ready for the final step installation of the ladder this task is performed by Steve auction well right now the most important part about all of this is to make sure that we don't twist the ladder when we pick it up under its own weight and that we keep our area safe make sure nobody's gonna be walking under it in case the cranes were to fail anyway Steve and his colleague Cody Dean hang the 33 meter long ladder from two cranes the installation begins despite the size of this component it requires millimeter precision to install successfully steve has to feed a thin anchor cable into the swivel anchor at a particular angle he has no devices to help him only the experienced and watchful eyes of his colleague Cody one doubt first the assembler lowers the turntable ladder until it's roughly in position then he starts making fine adjustments so that I can drop the swivel anchor into the Anchor Point on the swivel so I'm just trying to get the right angle between the front and the back so that I can start lowering it down it would be bad if we were to break something these parts are very expensive the electrician starts lowering the platform very slowly because it's a matter of millimeters colleague Cody tries to find the correct position the upper ladder platform has to fit onto the anchor pins of the swivel module I pick up the front well the installation fail at this last critical point it's a matter of millimeters things go better the second time around but the connector cable is causing problems no runs with these spacers I can never see though come on down a little bit and then the breakthrough the ladder cable is inserted into the right connection of the swivel module of the torque box twenty minutes later the ladder sits majestically atop the enforcer I mean we had a little bit of an issue trying to I up the swivel anchor to the swivel but everything went really well the team still has to make the cable connections and securely bolt the ladder in place but then the enforcer truck is finished custom-made according to customers wishes it is a very nice challenge it is great to be a part of doing something a little different every day we designing it to the customers having the right framework for this certain truck and making sure that we meet what the customer is looking for before the enforcer is delivered to the customer its first put through its paces the company has its own proving grounds for this purpose in this building engineering manager Dan Reiter tests the enforcers pump he runs it for two hours at full power an unbelievable 5,600 liters of water flows through the connection pipes each minute this is the volume each pump must deliver when fighting a fire and keep doing so for many years to come but stop running raid will start looking into it if we got something not hooked up right is there a fault with the palm something not plumb correctly so we start doing some investigating to see why it's why it's not pumping correctly the water that's pumped through the system doesn't go to waste but is recirculated sensors detect any irregularities in the pumping operation but everything runs smoothly with the enforcer today a momentous occasion the firetruck is about to leave the factory grounds for the very first time one of the most important features of this fire truck is the special axle suspension system it's designed to enable the emergency services to reach their destination quicker because it allows for cornering at higher speeds today's driver is David Hutchins he drives the enforcer around Appleton for a test drive [Music] then he heads for the closed-off testing area here an obstacle course of bumps and potholes await the tech for does it deliver the promise suspension travel of 25 centimeters the expensive axle system fully meets expectations the second important test is passed for the final task tester David connects the enforcer to a water supplying the pump starts up the outriggers of the torque box extent it's now time for the turntable ladder and the remotely controlled nozzle at its tip David controls the ladder as it would be during a real emergency from the control panel on the turntable it should take less than 60 seconds to completely extend the ladder are all the cables properly secured everything must function perfectly so it performs when it matters the ladder extends smoothly during this test David and his colleague maneuver the ladder into position for the final test the pump is running the water flowing David sprays water out of the remote-controlled nozzle across varying settings and we don't have any leaks ladder it's working good the long turntable ladder works perfectly at all configurations and exhibits no defects the colleagues from the aerial shop have done their job well a new fire truck has passed its third and final test and will shortly be delivered to the customer the enforcer is finished according to plan and performs well in every test it took roughly three months to build and the new truck from Appleton will be delivered to another group of brave firefighters and can expect to be saving lives in service for the next 25 years [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 2,951,247

Rating: 4.8058238 out of 5

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), 4k, documentary 4k, 4k documentary, uhd documentary, engineering, german engineering, engineering documentary, high tech documentary, mega manufacturing, industrial machinery, Fire Truck Manufacturer, fire truck documentary, manufacturing fire trucks, truck manufacturing, Pierce, Pierce documentary, extreme engineering, extreme engineering - topic

Id: marn0gET8Qc

Length: 48min 14sec (2894 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 20 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

If you ever get a chance to go up there for any part in the truck specing and building process you should take it.

It’s like a once in a life time trip. Expensive food And drink paid for, JLTVs, all kinds of apparatus, different odd things in each spec and a better understanding of how trucks work and why things are the way they are.

[u/[deleted]]

Love driving by pierce and seeing the new engines lined up. Our department just picked up an 89 tender/engine that still runs like a champ.

[u/ColdYellowGatorade]

Our department has 3 engines from 2005 still going strong. We are a volunteer company who was lucky enough to buy all three identical Pierces at one time. Apparently the newer Pierces are just junk which is why we are going towards a refurb instead of buying new. Not sure if that’s what anyone else has heard.