World Class Manufacturing at Various Global Companies

Multiple global companies have embraced World Class Manufacturing (WCM) across all their operations (production, service, warehousing, logistics, etc.) to drive excellence and engagement and achieve Operational Excellence.  Below are a few examples that will help you see what's possible.  

As you go through it, look out for and explore any of the links in green text to understand other related resources.

World Class Manufacturing at Tarkett

• World Class Manufacturing (WCM): Inspired by Lean manufacturing from the automotive industry, WCM at Tarkett aims at eliminating waste and enhancing value for customers globally.
• Comprehensive Improvement: WCM covers safety, customer service, quality, environment, and cost, utilizing a structured and progressive approach.
• People Development: Central to WCM's success is the development of individuals, focusing on knowledge acquisition and transfer, fostering a culture of problem-solving and business benefit.
• Achievements: Notable successes include a substantial decrease in accidents by 4.5 times over five years, consistent 97% on-time delivery, and savings amounting to at least 2.5% of manufacturing costs.
• Operations Leader Program: This initiative focuses on empowering managers to lead and develop teams, incorporating new talents and succession planning to drive change within the organization. Initial feedback from the pilot program has been highly positive, indicating potential for significant progress in the WCM journey.

Source:

World Class Manufacturing at Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation, a leading kitchen and laundry appliance company, has embraced World Class Manufacturing (WCM) across all its production facilities to drive innovation in products and manufacturing processes.

• The goal of WCM at Whirlpool is to become a global benchmark for manufacturing excellence, delivering top-quality products while ensuring customer satisfaction, safety, and efficiency.
• WCM emphasizes achieving "zero" across various aspects, including zero safety incidents, zero quality defects, zero waste, zero accidents, and zero stock, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• The methodology has led to a significant cultural change, with employees adopting a mindset of continuous improvement and taking ownership of their work and the quality of products.

WCM focuses on people, safety, and empowering employees, resulting in improved safety culture, increased motivation, and the growth of employees both personally and professionally, ultimately enhancing the consumer experience.

Sources:

https://www.whirlpoolcorp.com/wcm-new-world-manufacturing/

World Class Manufacturing at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

• World Class Manufacturing (WCM): Aims for global excellence in manufacturing processes.
• Importance of Methods and Standards: Emphasizes the need for proper methods, standardization, and systematic approaches to improve quality and performance.
• Implementation Journey: Initiated with Fiat in Venice, expanded across plants and divisions, covering over 30 plants in NAFTA.
• Impact on Efficiency and Market Launches: WCM shortened market launch timelines and facilitated consistent problem-solving across regions.
• Integration and Systematic Approach: Integrating technology, standards, and systematic approaches yielded faster, more effective improvements across diverse manufacturing settings.

World Class Manufacturing Program at Unilever 

• Unilever's approach evolved from the traditional add-on method (of the improvement methods: TPM, Lean, and Six Sigma) to an integrated WCM program.
• They transitioned from the old-style TPM as the foundation, to a balanced approach integrating Lean and Six Sigma from the outset.
  • Application of TPM was particularly popular in the food industry due to its focus on productivity.
  • Combined TPM with 5S methodology for structured and clean workstations.
  • They identified local optimization as a risk of TPM and the need for Lean techniques to improve logistics.  They transitioned from stable production lines to Lean techniques for increasing flow and reducing stocks.
  • They introduced Six Sigma to pursue constant quality and reduce process variation.

• Unilever's journey from TPM to the traditional WCM, highlighting milestones and challenges.
  • Transitioned towards a more integrated and strategic approach with the introduction of Yamashima's WCM program.
  • WCM new style focusing on technical pillars and human factors.
  • Introduction of organizational pillars emphasizing management engagement and clear goals.
  • They started a Cost Deployment Process to select improvement projects based on expected profits.
    • They use matrices to identify, analyze, and prioritize losses and improvement opportunities.

Source:  https://www.business-improvement.eu/worldclass/Unilever_World_Class_Manufacturing_Yamashima2.php

Course Forward:

• Learn more about WCM in this blog article that gathers the best resources in one place. 
  • What is WCM (World Class Manufacturing) - Pillars and Structure Overview.  Link: https://www.beltcourse.com/blog/world-class-manufacturing-wcm-explained-in-detail