World Class Manufacturing - Explanation

                                              The source is a Fiat Presentation in 2005


The World Class Manufacturing, "WCM"

The World Class Manufacturing, "WCM" has its origins in the 80s, edited by Richard J. Schonberger, who collected dozens of cases, experiences and testimonies of companies that had embarked on the path of continuous improvement "Kaizen" for excellence in production, trying to give a systematic conceptual to the various practices and methodologies examined. these techniques have been known for some time , but through approach WCM, of Schonberger, we obtained a perfectly integrated together, with the highest organizational flexibility, capable of achieving a competitive company with high quality products at competitive prices, in line with the needs of the customer. The main model where the WCM system is inspired by the Toyota Production System (TPS), a method of organizing alternative to mass production based on the assembly line of Henry Ford. 's World Class Manufacturing is based on a few fundamental principles:

the involvement of people is the key to change;

the voice of the customer must come in all departments and offices;

all leaders must demand respect for the standards set;

methods should be applied with consistency and rigor;

all forms of waste (Muda) are not tolerable;

all faults must be made visible;

The World Class Manufacturing traditionally takes into account already known disciplines such as Total Industrial Engineering, Total Quality Control, Total Productive Maintenance, and Just In Time,  According to Fiat Group, "World Class Manufacturing (WCM)" is,

"A system of structured and integrated production that covers all the processes of the plant, the security environment, from maintenance to logistics and quality. The goal is to continuously improve production performance, seeking a progressive elimination of waste, in order to ensure product quality and maximum flexibility in responding to customer requests, through the involvement and motivation of the people working in the establishment." (Source: Fiat)

Fiat Group, has customized the WCM approach to their needs, calling, Prof. Hajime Yamashina Kyoto University, to redesign and implement the model through two lines of action:

ten pillars or other technical activities
ten pillars managerial

The pillars of technology or activities are structured improvement processes that must be present (Pillars), together with various tools (Tools). Together, they constitute the FIAT Production System. The pillars are technical:

Safety
Cost Deployment
Focused Improvement
Quality Control
Autonomous Activities
Professional Maintenance
Logistics / Customer Services
Early Equipment Management
People Development
Environment


The pillars managerial or management, are vice versa actions that must  be played by the central coordinator of Team WCM (WCM leader or plant manager). They  are aimed at promoting the commitment and responsibilities of the various managers assigned to specific pillars of activity  to carry out plans and projects through the dissemination of know-how.

The Managerial pillars are:

Commitment: "commitment, motivation and total involvement"
Management plans and objectives
Knowledge management
The culture-oriented retail

The growing sensitivity to issues of safety and energy has been transposed by Fiat Group, also in the methods of WCM, developing within the pillar Environment under a specific pillar called Energy, to stimulate the capacity of staff to identify and implement initiatives which will reduce waste and improve energy use. Achieving the different levels of performance at the Company is certified by external audits, carried out by a team chaired by representatives of the WCM Association. This audit system based on an indicator called IIM (Index Implementation Methodology), for a continuous internal benchmarking between the different entities by assigning symbolic medals, bronze, silver, gold and world class.

StudioBase thanks to the origin of some of its advisors from the world and Fiat, deep knowledge of the Toyota model and World Class Manufacturing is able to assist the Medium and Small Italian companies who wish to pursue efficiency through the introduction of global and / or part of these approaches.

http://www.studiobase.eu/world_class_manufacturing.html (Now not there)


Updated on 23 April 2020,
22 August 2012