Improving Operations Performance

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Chapter 1
Improving Operations Performance

with World Class Manufacturing Technique:
A Case in Automotive Industry
Fabio De Felice, Antonella Petrillo and

Stanislao Monfreda
Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
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1. Introduction
Global competition has caused fundamental changes in the competitive environment of

manufacturing industries. Firms must develop strategic objectives which, upon achieve‐
ment, result in a competitive advantage in the market place. However, for almost all manu‐
facturing industries, an increased productivity and better overall efficiency of the
production line are the most important goals. Most industries would like to find the formula
for the ultimate productivity improvement strategy. Industries often suffer from the lack of
a systematic and consistent methodology. In particular the manufacturing world has faced
many changes throughout the years and as a result, the manufacturing industry is constant‐
ly evolving in order to stay ahead of competition [1]. Innovation is a necessary process for
the continuous changes in order to contribute to the economic growth in the manufacturing
industry, especially to compete in the global market. In addition to innovation as a mode for
continued growth and change, there are many other vehicles for growth in the manufactur‐
ing industry [2], [3]. One in particular that has been gaining momentum is the idea of World
Class Manufacturing (WCM) developed by Richard J. Schonberger (in the 80s) who collected
several cases, experiences and testimonies of companies that had embarked on the path of
continuous “Kaizen” improvement for excellence in production, trying to give a systematic
conception to the various practices and methodologies examined. Some of the benefits of in‐
tegrating WCM include increased competitiveness, development of new and improved tech‐
nology and innovation, increased flexibility, increased communication between
management and production employees, and an increase in work quality and workforce
© 2015 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
2 Operations Management
empowerment. This work takes you to the journey of World Class Manufacturing System
(WCMS) adopted by the most important automotive Company located in Italy, the Fiat
Group Automobiles. World class can be defined as a tool used to search and allow a compa‐
ny to perform at a best-on-class level.
The aim of this work is to present establishments of the basic model of World Class Manu‐
facturing (WCM) quality management for the production system in the automotive industry
in order to make products of the highest quality eliminating losses in all the factory fields an
improvement of work standards.
The chapter is organized as follows: Section 2 introduces World Class Manufacturing and
illustrates literature review, mission and principles of WCM, Section 3 describes Tools for
WCM with particular attention on their features and on Key Performance and Key Activities
Indicators and Section 4 describes the research methodology through a real case study in the
largest Italian automotive company. To conclude, results and conclusions are provided.
2. Literature review
Manufacturers in many industries face worldwide competitive pressures. These manufac‐

turers must provide high-quality products with leading-edge performance capabilities to
survive, much less prosper. The automotive industry is no exception. There is intense pres‐
sure to produce high-performance at minimum-costs [4]. Companies attempting to adopt
WCM have developed a statement of corporate philosophy or mission to which operating
objectives are closely tied. A general perception is that when an organization is considered
as world-class, it is also considered as the best in the world. But recently, many organiza‐
tions claim that they are world-class manufacturers. Indeed we can define world class man‐
ufacturing as a different production processes and organizational strategies which all have
flexibility as their primary concern [5]. For example Womack et al. [6] defined a lead for
quantifying world class. Instead Oliver et al. [7] observed that to qualify as world class, a
plant had to demonstrate outstanding performance on both productivity and quality meas‐
ures. Summing up we can state that the term World-Class Manufacturing (WCM) means the
pursuance of best practices in manufacturing. On the other hand we would like to note that
one of the most important definition is due to Schonberger. He coined the term “World
Class Manufacturing” to cover the many techniques and technologies designed to enable a
company to match its best competitors [8].
When Schonberger first introduced the concept of “World Class Manufacturing”, the term
was seen to embrace the techniques and factors as listed in Figure 1. The substantial increase
in techniques can be related in part to the growing influence of the manufacturing philoso‐
phies and economic success of Japanese manufacturers from the 1960s onwards. What is
particularly interesting from a review of the literature is that while there is a degree of over‐
lap in some of the techniques, it is clear that relative to the elements that were seen as consti‐
tuting WCM in 1986, the term has evolved considerably.
Improving Operations Performance with World Class Manufacturing Technique: A Case in Automotive Industry 3
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Figure 1. The growth of techniques associated with the WCM concept
Figure 2. WCM Model by Schonberger

These techniques have been known for a long time, but with Schonberger, a perfectly inte‐
grated and flexible system was obtained, capable of achieving company competitiveness
with products of high quality. The WCM model by Schonberger is illustrated here above in
Figure 2.
According to Fiat Group Automobiles, “World Class Manufacturing (WCM)” is: a struc‐
tured and integrated production system that encompasses 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 en‐
sure product quality and maximum flexibility in responding to customer requests, through
the involvement and motivation of the people working in the establishment.
The WCM program has been made by Prof. Hajime Yamashina from 2005 at the Fiat Group
Automobiles. The program is shown here below in Figure 3.
Figure 3. World Class Manufacturing in Fiat Group Automobiles
Fiat Group Automobiles has customized the WCM approach to their needs with Prof. Ha‐
jime Yamashina from Kyoto University (he is also member of the Royal Swedish Academy
and in particular he is RSA Member of Engineering Sciences), by redesigning and imple‐
menting the model through two lines of action: 10 technical pillars; 10 managerial pillars.
The definition proposed by Yamashina includes a manufacturing company that excels in ap‐
plied research, production engineering, improvement capability and detailed shop floor
knowledge, and integrates those components into a combined system. In fact, according to
Hajime Yamashina the most important thing continues to be the ability to change and quick‐
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ly [9]. WCM is developed in 7 steps for each pillar and the steps are identified in three phas‐
es: reactive, preventive and proactive. In figure 4 an example of a typical correlation between
steps and phases is shown, but this correlation could change for each different technical pil‐
lar; in fact each pillar could have a different relation to these phases. The approach of WCM
needs to start from a “model area” and then extend to the entire company. WCM “attacks”
the manufacturing area. WCM is based on a system of audits that give a score that allows to
get to the highest level. The highest level is represented by “the world class level”.
Figure 4. World Class Manufacturing steps
2.1. Mission and principles
The process to achieve “World Class Manufacturing” (WCM) has a number of philosophies
and elements that are common for all companies. Therefore, when applied to the manufac‐
turing field, TQM and WCM are synonymous. We would like to observe that customer
needs and expectations is a very important element in WCM. The manufacturing strategy
should be geared to support these needs. These could be dealing with certification, market
share, company growth, profitability or other global targets. The outcomes should be de‐
fined so that they are measurable and have a definite timetable. These are also a means of
defining employee responsibilities and making them feel involved. Employee education and
training is an essential element in a World Class Manufacturing Company. They must un‐
derstand the company's vision and mission and consequential priorities. As introduced in
World Class Manufacturing, well known disciplines such as: Total Quality Control; Total
Productive Maintenance; Total Industrial Engineering; Just In Time and Lean Manufactur‐
ing are taken into account. Thus, World Class Manufacturing is based on a few fundamental
principles:
• the involvement of people is the key to change;
• it is not just a project, but a new way of working,
• accident prevention is a non-derogated “value”;
• the customer's voice should reach all departments and offices;
• all leaders must demand respect for the standards set;
• methods should be applied with consistency and rigor;
• all forms of MUDA waste are not tolerable;
• all faults must be made visible;
• eliminate the cause and not treat the effect.
2.2. Pillars: Description and features
WCM foresees 10 technical pillars and 10 managerial pillars. The levels of accomplishment
in technical fields are indirectly affected by the level of accomplishment in administrative
fields. The pillar structure represents the “Temple of WCM” (Figure 5) and points out that,
to achieve the standard of excellence, a parallel development of all the pillars is necessary.
Each pillar focuses on a specific area of the production system using appropriate tools to
achieve excellence global.
Figure 5. Temple of WCM
Here below in Table 1 features for each technical pillars are illustrated.
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Technical Pillar Why Purpose
To reduce drastically the number of accidents.

SAF Continuous improvement To develop a culture of prevention.
Safety of safety To improve the ergonomics of the workplace.
To develop specific professional skills.
To identify scientifically and systematically the main items of loss

Analysis of the losses and in the system production-logistics business.
CD
costs (losses within the To quantify the potential economic benefits and expected.
Cost Deployment
costs) To address the resources and commitment to managerial tasks
with greatest potential.
To reduce drastically the most important losses present in the

Priorities of actions to
system manufacturing plant, eliminating inefficiencies.
FI management the loss
To eliminate non-value-added activities, in order to increase the
Focused Improvement identified by the cost
competitiveness of the cost of the product.
deployment
To develop specific professional skills of problem solving.
It is constituted by two pillars:

AM Autonomous Maintenance. It is used to improve the overall
efficiency of the production system through maintenance policies
AA Continuous improvement through the conductors (equipment specialists).
Autonomous Activities of plant and workplace WO Workplace Organization. It is develops to determine an
improvement in the workplace, because often the materials and
equipment are degrade; in particular because in the process there
are many losses (MUDA)to remove.
To increase the efficiency of the machines using failure analysis

PM techniques.
Continuous improvement
Professional To facilitate the cooperation between conductors (equipment
of downtime and failures
Maintenance specialists) and maintainers (maintenance people) to reach zero
breakdowns.
To ensure quality products.

QC Continuous improvement
To reduce non-compliance.
Quality Control of customers’ needs
To increase the skills of the employees.
LOG To reduce significantly the levels of stocks.

Logistics & Customer Optimization of stocks To minimize the material handling, even with direct deliveries
Service from suppliers to the assembly line.
EEM
Early Equipment Optimization of To put in place new plants as scheduled.
Management installation time and costs To ensure a rapid start-up and stable.
EPM and optimization of To reduce the Life Cycle Cost (LCC).
Early Product features of new products To design systems easily maintained and inspected.
Management
Technical Pillar Why Purpose
To ensure, through a structured system of training, correct skills

Continuous improvement
PD and abilities for each workstation.
of the skills of employees
People Development To develop the roles of maintenance workers, technologists,
and workers
specialists such as major staff training.
ENV Continuous improvement To comply with the requirements and standards of environmental
Environment environmental management.
ENE management and reduce To develop an energy culture and to reduce the energy costs and
Energy energy waste losses.
Table 1. Description of pillars
As regards the ten Managerial Pillars there are: 1) Management Commitment; 2) Clarity of
Objectives; 3) Route map to WCM; 4) Allocation of Highly Qualified People to Model Areas;
5) Organization Commitment; 6) Competence of Organization towards Improvement; 7)
Time and Budget; 8)Detail Level; 9) Expansion Level and 10) Motivation of Operators
3. The main tools for World Class Manufacturing: Features and description
WCM requires all decisions to be made based on objective measured data and its analysis.
Therefore, all the traditional data analysis tools such as scatter diagrams, histograms and
checklists are used. Thus, from literature survey it is inferred that it is not possible to use the
specific single tool to achieve world-class performance and address all the manufacturing
components. It is inferred that to address all the components of the manufacturing system
the following tools are necessary (see Table 2):
Main Tools Description
It is a methodology for the description and the analysis of a loss

5G phenomenon (defects, failures malfunctions...). It based on the facts
and the use of the 5 senses
It is used by the list of possible factors (causes, sub-causes) that give

rise to the phenomenon. For the 4M the causes are grouped into 4
4M or 5M categories: Methods; Materials; Machines; Mans.
And for the 5M, there are the same 4M more the fifth that is the
environment.
It is used to achieve excellence through improvement of the workplace

5S in terms of order, organization and cleanliness. The technique is based
on: Seiri (separate and order); Seiton (arrange and organize); Seiso
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(clean); Seiketsu (standardized); Shitsuke (maintaining and

improving).
It is used to ensure a complete analysis of a problem on all its

5W + 1H fundamental aspects. The questions corresponding to the 5 W and 1 H
are: Who? What? Why? Where? When? How?
It is used to analyze the causes of a problem through a consecutive

series of questions. It is applied in failures analysis, analysis of
5 Whys
sporadic anomalies, analysis of chronic losses arising from specific
causes.
It is a sheet which, suitably completed, is applied on the machine, in

AM Tag
order to report any anomaly detected.
It is a sheet which, suitably completed, is used in order to report any

WO Tag
anomaly detected for Workplace Organization

PM Tag
anomaly detected for Professional Maintenance.
It is used for classifying the events that have an impact on safety such
Heinrich Pyramid as fatalities, serious, minor, medications, near-accidents, accidents,
dangerous conditions and unsafe practices over time.

SAF Tag
anomaly detected for Safety.
It is used to classify plants according their priorities of intervention in

Equipment ABC Prioritization
case of failure.
Are used for activities on Autonomous Maintenance, Workplace

Cleaning cycles
Organization and Professional Maintenance.

Inspection cycles
Are used for activities on Autonomous Maintenance and Professional

Maintenance cycles
Maintenance.

Control cycles
FMEA-Failure Mode and Effect Analysis It is used to prevent the potential failure modes.
Kanban It is a tag used for programming and production scheduling.
It is a daily process, the purpose of which goes beyond simple

Kaizen
productivity improvement. It is also a process that, when done
(Quick, Standard, Major, Advanced)
correctly, humanizes the workplace, eliminates overly hard work.
It is used to perform the video recording of the transactions in order to

Two Videocamera Method
optimize them.
MURI Analysis Ergonomic analysis of workstations.
MURA Analysis Analysis of irregular operations.
MUDA Analysis Analysis of losses.
It is a graphical used to detail the actual physical flow and distances

Spaghetti Chart
involved in a work process.
Analysis of work operations in the area that favors the handling in

Golden Zone & Strike zone Analysis
order to minimize movement to reduce fatigue.
It is a technique that allows a simple and effective focus in a short time

OPL (One Point Lesson)
on the object of the training.
SOP (Standard Operation Procedure) Standard procedure for work.
JES (Job Elementary Sheet) Sheet of elementary education.
It is a set of signals that facilitates the work and communication within

Visual Aid
the company.
It is a prevention technique in order to avoid possible human errors in

Poka Yoke
performance of any productive activity.
It is an interview in 4 questions to test the level of training on the

TWTTP (The way to teach people)
operation to be performed.
It is a technique for the investigation of events of interest, in particular

HERCA (Human Error Root Cause Analysis) accidents, which examines what happened researching why it
happened.
RJA (Reconditional Judgment Action

Analysis of judgment, recognition and action phases at work.
Analysis)
Analysis of the process or of the equipment (machine) through five

5Q 0D (Five Questions to Zero Defects)
questions to have zero defect.
It is a techniques enables designers to determine simultaneously the

DOE individual and interactive effects of many factors that could affect the
output results in any design.
It is a collection of statistical models, and their associated procedures,

ANOVA in which the observed variance in a particular variable is partitioned
into components attributable to different sources of variation.
It is used for restore, maintain and improve operational standards of

PPA (Processing Point Analysis)
work by ensuring zero defects.
It is a set of matrices which shows the correlations between the

QA Matrix (Matrix Quality Assurance)
anomalies of the product and the phases of the production system.
It is a tool used to define and maintain the operating conditions of the

QM Matrix (Matrix Maintenance Quality)
machines which ensure performance of the desired quality.
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QA Network quality assurance network It is used to ensure the quality of the process by eliminating rework.
QuOA quality operation analysis Preventive analysis of the work steps to ensure the quality.
It is a set of techniques to perform operations of development, set-up,

SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die)
with a duration < 10 minutes.
Rhythmic operation analysis Analysis of the dispersion during the work cycle.
Analysis used to evaluate the efficiency of movement and optimize

Motion Economic Method
them.
It allows to highlight the waste of a process business, helping to

represent the current flow of materials and information that, in
Value Stream Map
relation to a specific product, through the value stream between
customer and suppliers.
Classification of materials according to tree families A – B - C and

Material Matrix
subgroups.
It is a tool for quality improvement, which allows compare two pairs

of lists of items to highlight the correlations between a list, and the two
X Matrix
adjacent lists. X matrix to relate defect mode, phenomenon, equipment
section and quality components.
Table 2. Main Tools and description
3.1. Key Performance Indices and Key Activity Indicators
In World Class Manufacturing the focus is on continuous improvement. As organizations

adopt world class manufacturing, they need new methods of performance measurement to
check their continuous improvement. Traditional performance measurement systems are
not valid for the measurement of world class manufacturing practices as they are based on
outdated traditional cost management systems, lagging metrics, not related to corporate
strategy, inflexible, expensive and contradict continuous improvement [10]. To know the
world class performance, measurement is important because “if you can’t measure it, you can’t
manage it and thus you can’t improve upon it”.
Here below in Table 3 is shown a brief report on different indices and indicators defined by
several authors in order to “measure” WCM.
However, some authors [15; 16] proposed only productivity as a measure of manufacturing
performance. Kennerley and Neely [17] identified the need for a method that could be used
for the development of measures able to span diverse industry groups. From this point of
view we would like to note that it is necessary to develop a more systematic approach in
order to improve a project and process. In particular, in WCM we can use two types of indi‐
cators: Key Performance Indicator (KPI) and Key Activity Indicator (KAI). KPI represents a
result of project improvement, e.g. sales, profit, labor productivity, equipment performance
Authors
Kodali et al. Wee and Quazi Digalwar and Metri

Indices/Indicators Utzig [14]
[11] [12] [13]
Broad management/Worker involvement +
Competitive advantage +
Cost/Price + + +
Customer relations/Service + +
Cycle time +
Engineering change notices +
Facility control +
Flexibility + + +
Global competitiveness +
Green product/Process design + +
Innovation and Technology +
Inventory + +
Machine hours per part +
Measurement and information management. +
Morale +
Plant/Equipment/Tooling reliability +
Problem support +
Productivity + +
Quality + + +
Safety + +
Speed/Lead Time + +
Supplier management +
Top management commitment + +
Total involvement of employees +
Training +
Table 3. Main indices/indicators defined by different authors

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rate, product quality rate, Mean Time to Failure (MTBF) and Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)
[18, 19]. KAI represents a process to achieve a purpose of project improvement, e.g. a total
number of training cycles for employees who tackle performance improvement projects, a
total number of employees who pass a public certification examination and an accumulative
number of Kaizen cases [20]. A KAI & KPI overview applied step by step is seen in Figure 6.
Figure 6. A KAI & KPI overview applied step by step
4. Industrial case study
The aim of this work is to present establishments of the basic model of World Class Manu‐
facturing (WCM) quality management for the production system at Fiat Group Automobiles
in order to make products of the highest quality eliminating losses in all the factory fields an
improvement of work standards. In fact, World Class Manufacturing is a manufacturing
system defined by 6 International companies including Fiat Group Automobiles with the in‐
tent to raise their performances and standards to World Class level with the cooperation of
leading European and Japanese experts and this includes all the plant processes including
quality, maintenance, cost management and logistics etc. from a universal point of view.
Thus, automotive manufacturing requires the ability to manage the product and its associat‐
ed information across the entire fabricator. Systems must extend beyond their traditional
role of product tracking to actively manage the product and its processing. This requires co‐
ordinating the information flow between process equipment and higher level systems, sup‐
porting both manual and automatic interfaces. A case study methodology was used to
collect detailed information on division and plant strategic objectives, performance meas‐
urement systems, and performance measurement system linkages. The result of this re‐
search was to develop principles on strategic objectives, performance measurement systems
and performance measurement system linkages for improved organizational coordination.
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between division and plant per‐
formance measurement systems designed to support the firm’s strategic objectives and to
improve organizational coordination. We will focus our attention on the Cost Deployment
Pillar, Autonomous Activities/Workplace Organization Pillar and Logistics/Customers Serv‐
ice Pillar.
4.1. Company background
Fiat Group Automobiles is an automotive-focused industrial group engaged in designing,

manufacturing and selling cars for the mass market under the Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Fiat
Professional and Abarth brands and luxury cars under the Ferrari and Maserati brands. It
also operates in the components sector through Magneti Marelli, Teksid and Fiat Powertrain
and in the production systems sector through Comau. Fiat operates in Europe, North and
South America, and Asia. Its headquarters is in Turin, Italy and employs over 137,801 peo‐
ple [21]. Its 2008 revenues were almost € 59 billion, 3.4% of which were invested in R&D.
Fiat’s Research Center (CRF) can be appropriately defined as the “innovation engine” of the
Fiat Group, as it is responsible for the applied research and technology development activi‐
ties of all its controlled companies [22]. The group Fiat has a diversified business portfolio,
which shields it against demand fluctuations in certain product categories and also enables
it to benefit from opportunities available in various divisions.
4.2. Statement of the problem and methodology
The aim of the project is to increase the flexibility and productivity in an ETU (Elementary
Technology Unit) of Mechanical Subgroups in a part of the FGA’s assembling process in the
Cassino Plant through the conventional Plan-Do-Check-Act approach using the WCM meth‐
odology:
- PLAN - Costs Analysis and Losses Analysis starting from Cost Deployment (CD) for the
manufacturing process using the items and tools of Workplace Organization (WO) and for
the handling process the Logistic and Customer Services (LOG) applications.
• DO - Analysis of the non-value-added Activities; analysis of re-balancing line and analysis

of re-balancing of work activities in accordance with the analysis of the logistics flows using
the material matrix and the flows matrix. Study and realization of prototypes to improve
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workstation ergonomics and to ensure minimum material handling; Application of

countermeasures found in the production process and logistics (handling).
- CHECK – Analysis of results in order to verify productivity improvement, ergonomic im‐
provement (WO) and the optimization of the internal handling (in the plant) and external
logistics flows (LOG). Check of the losses reduction according to Cost Deployment (CD).
- ACT - Extension of the methodology and other cases.
Here below is a description of the Statement of the Problem and methodology.
4.2.1. PLAN: Costs analysis and losses analysis (CD) for the manufacturing process (WO) and for the
handling process (LOG)
In this first part (PLAN) were analyzed the losses in the assembly process area so as to or‐
ganize the activities to reduce the losses identified in the second part of the analysis (DO).
Object of the study was the Mechanical Subgroups ETU - Elementary Technology Unit (in a
part of the Cassino Plant Assembly Shop). The aim of this analysis was to identify a pro‐
gram allowing to generate savings policies based on Cost Deployment:
• Identify relationships between cost factors, processes generating costs and various types of
waste and losses;
• Find relationships between waste and losses and their reductions.

In fact, in general a production system is characterized by several waste and losses (MUDA),
such as:
• Non-value-added activities;
• Low balancing levels;
• Handling losses;
• Delay in material procurement;
• Defects;
• Troubleshooting Machines;
• Setup;
• Breakdown.
It is important to give a measure of all the losses identified in process examination. The data
collection is therefore the “key element” for the development of activities of Cost Deploy‐
ment. Here below in Figure 7 an example of losses identified from CD from the Assembly
Shop is shown and in Figure 8 is shown an example of CD data collection regarding NVAA
(Non-Value-Added Activities) for WO (for this case study we excluded check and rework
losses) in the Mechanical Subgroups area. Finally Figure 9 shows Analysis of losses Cost De‐
ployment.
Figure 7. Analysis of losses Cost Deployment – Stratification of NVAA losses for Mechanical Subgroups ETU - Ele‐
mentary Technology Unit (figure highlights the most critical workstation)
Figure 8. Analysis of losses Cost Deployment – Pareto Analysis NVAA Mechanical Subgroups ETU - Elementary Tech‐
nology Unit
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Figure 9. Analysis of losses Cost Deployment – Pareto Analysis Line Balancing Losses or Insaturation on Mechanical
Subgroups ETU - Elementary Technology Unit
4.2.2. DO - Analysis of non-value-added activities, of the re-balancing line and analysis of re-balancing
of work activities
According to figure 9 and figure 10 were analyzed the losses regarding NVAA and Insatura‐
tion. In fact were analyzed all 4 critical workstations (because they have the worst losses)
and were identified 41 types of non-value-added activities (walking, waiting, turning, pick‐
ing....) in the various sub-phases of the production process. In Table 4 is shown some exam‐
ples of non-value-added activities analyzed (MUDA Analysis).
Some examples of standard tools used to analyze NVAA reduction (MUDA Analysis) for
the 4 workstations are shown here below in Figures 10, 11 and 12) job stratification (VAA -
Value Added Activities; NVAA – Non-Value-Added Activities; LBL - Low Balancing Level;
EAWS - European Assembly Work Sheet – Ergonomy); 2) Spaghetti Chart and 3) Kaizen
Standard.
N° Losses identified Solution Non-value-added activities identified
Pick picking list for

1 Complete hub sequencing To pick
sequencing
2 Pick the box for sequencing Complete hub sequencing To pick
Select sheets for the

3 Unification of the sheets from 3 to 1 To select
different model
Pick sheets for the different

4 Unification of the sheets from 3 to 1 To pick
process
5 Pick identification sheet Unification of the sheets from 3 to 1 To pick
Go to the printer to pick up

6 Print sticker To walk
sticker
7 Pick identification hub label Digital label with barcode To pick

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Throw liner nameplate into

8 Print labels directly onto sheet unified To trow
the waste container
Pick equipment for reading

9 Automatic reading To pick
labels coupling
Combination of manual
10 Automatic combination To check
pallet
11 Use of a single box Enabling a second workstation To walk
12 Pick hub Pick subgroup (hub+ damper To pick
Use of electrical equipment

13 New air equipment without keyboard To arrange
through keyboard
Use of air equipment

14 New air equipment without keyboard To wait
through keyboard
Transport empty box hub

15 sequencing to put the full Complete hub sequencing To transport
box
Walk to the line side to pick

16 Complete hub sequencing To walk
damper
Remove the small parts to

17 Complete hub sequencing To pick
pair with damper
Transport empty box

18 damper sequencing to put Complete damper sequencing To transport
the full box
Pick the hub and put on the

19 Pick subgroup (hub+ damper) To pick
line
Select the work program for

20 Select the work program To select
the next workstation
Use a single workstation after the

Press the feed button for the
21 sequencing of the subgroup in order to To push
damper
press a button once
Use a single workstation after the

Wait for the translational sequencing of the subgroup and match
22 To wait
motion of the pallet processing activities during the
translation of the pallet
Table 4. MUDA Analysis - NVAA

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Figure 10. Details of the 4 workstations
Figure 11. Spaghetti Chart Example

Figure 12. Standard Kaizen analysis Example
Figure 13 shows the initial scenario analyzed to identify problems and weaknesses.
Figure 13. Details of the 4 workstations

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Figure 14. Material matrix example
At this point was assumed the new flow of the complete damper (corner) = damper + com‐
plete hub sequencing according to the material matrix considering losses relating to han‐
dling (material matrix classification – see figure 14). The material matrix classifies the
commodities (number of drawings) in three main groups: A (bulky, multi-variations, expen‐
sive), B (normal) and C (small parts) and subgroups (a mixture of group A: bulky and multi-
variations or bulky and expensive etc.). For each of these groups was filled out the flow
matrix that defines the correct flow associated: JIS (and different levels), JIT (and different
levels) and indirect (and different levels). After identifying the correct flow, in the JIS case,
was built a prototype of the box (bin) to feed the line that would ensure the right number of
parts to optimize logistic handling. However, the new box (bin) for this new mechanical
subgroup must feed the line in a comfortable and ergonomic manner for the worker in the
workstation, for this reason was simulated the solution before the realization of the box (bin)
(see figure 15).
At the end of the Muda analysis (NVAA analysis) were applied all the solutions found to
have a lean process (the internal target is to achieve 25% of average NVAA losses) and was
reorganized the line through a new line balancing level (rebalancing) to achieve 5% of the
average line balancing losses (internal target). Another important aspect was the logistics
flows analysis (see figure 16) considering advanced warehouses (Figure 17). The simulation
scenario was defined using trucks from the Cassino plant warehouses that also feed other
commodities to achieve high levels of saturation to minimize handling losses.
At the end of the handling analysis (flow, stock level…) thanks to this new “lean” organiza‐
tion of material matrix was used the correct line feed from the Just In Sequence warehouse.
It was reduced the internal warehouse (stock level), the space used for sequencing (square
metres), the indirect manpower used to feed the sequencing area and we obtained zero fork‐
Figure 15. Simulation of an ergonomic workstation
Figure 16. Initial logistic flows
lifts on the shopfloor because we used the ro-ro (roll in - roll out) system. Figure 18 shows
the final scenario in which we have 1 operator instead of 4 operators.
4.2.3. Check – Analysis of results to verify productivity and ergonomic improvement and optimization
of logistics flows
In detail the main results and savings can be summarized as follows:

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/54450
Figure 17. Logistic flows considering advanced warehouses
Figure 18. Details of the final workstation
• Productivity improvement +75% (Figure 19) direct labour;

• Ergonomics improvement +85% (Figure 20) according to the rest factor;
• Optimization of logistic flows (Figure 21) according to the flow matrix.
Figure 19. Productivity optimization
Figure 20. Ergonomics improvement

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/54450
Figure 21. Optimization of logistic flows
4.2.4. Act - Extension of the methodology and other cases

Future developments include the extension of the methodology to the entire plant. Here be‐
low in Table 5 we can see the activities and status adopted. to achieve the results shown in
the “check”. We used traditional tools and methodology for the analysis and new tools to
simulate the sceneries on the line and for the logistic problems we involved other resources
outside the plant (ELASIS and CRF - FIAT Research Center, Fiat Central Department and
Public Universities).
ACTIVITIES TOOL STATUS
NVAA Std analysis +

NVAA Reduction
NVAA Database +
Balance line +
LBL Reduction
Check Saturation (Flexim Software/Plant simulation) +
Jack Software +
Ergonomics Improvement
Excel Human Model +
Value stream map +

Optimization of logistics flow
Check Saturation Flexim/Plant simulation +
Table 5. Activities and status
5. Conclusions
A key industrial policy conclusion is that intelligently designed selective policies can be ef‐
fective in developing production systems. Intelligent industrial policies need to be shaped to
respond to contingent factors which are specific to a sector, period and country. Fundamen‐
tally, it is not a question of whether these selective policies work, but under what circum‐
stances they work.
From this point of view, World Class Manufacturing is a “key” concept. This is the reason
why the concept constituting “World Class Manufacturing” has received considerable atten‐
tion in academic literature, even though it has been developed principally in relation to the
needs of larger scale manufacturing organisations. Regards our case study we can conclude
that WCM allows to reduce losses and optimize logistics flows. Thus, the main results can
be summarized as follows:
1. greater efficiency because the inner product is cheaper because it is possible to use external
warehouses or suppliers - outsourcing - specialized and more cost-effective for the
company;
2. greater flexibility because it is possible to work more models (in Cassino with these logical
sequencing and kitting there are 4 different model brands on the same assembly line: Alfa
Romeo Giulietta, Chrysler, Lancia Delta and Fiat Bravo;
3. no space constraint (in this example we get only 1 container already sequenced line side)
Definitely the new process and the internal flows are very lean and efficient. In this case
study it was implemented a servo system using Low Cost Automation. This system ensures
only one picking point in order to have only one container at the side of the production line.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. - Cassino Plant, to
the Plant Manager and his staff and other partner and organizations who gave us the possibility
to carry out the necessary research and use their data for the research project “Infrastructures
of advanced logistics for the lines with high flexibility” showed in tiny part, and briefly in this
case study.
Author details
Fabio De Felice1, Antonella Petrillo1* and Stanislao Monfreda2
*Address all correspondence to: [email protected]
1 University of Cassino, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Cassino, Italy
2 Fiat Group Automobiles EMEA WCM Cassino Plant Coordinator, Cassino, Italy
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/54450
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Global competition has caused fundamental changes in the competitive environment of

Manufacturers in many industries face worldwide competitive pressures. These manufac‐

Figure 1. The growth of techniques associated with the WCM concept

Figure 2. WCM Model by Schonberger

Figure 3. World Class Manufacturing in Fiat Group Automobiles

Figure 4. World Class Manufacturing steps

2.1. Mission and principles

• it is not just a project, but a new way of working,

• accident prevention is a non-derogated “value”;

• the customer's voice should reach all departments and offices;

• all leaders must demand respect for the standards set;

• methods should be applied with consistency and rigor;

• all forms of MUDA waste are not tolerable;

• all faults must be made visible;

• eliminate the cause and not treat the effect.

2.2. Pillars: Description and features

Figure 5. Temple of WCM

Technical Pillar Why Purpose

To reduce drastically the number of accidents.

To identify scientifically and systematically the main items of loss

To reduce drastically the most important losses present in the

It is constituted by two pillars:

To increase the efficiency of the machines using failure analysis

To ensure quality products.

LOG To reduce significantly the levels of stocks.

Technical Pillar Why Purpose

To ensure, through a structured system of training, correct skills

Table 1. Description of pillars

Main Tools Description

It is a methodology for the description and the analysis of a loss

It is used by the list of possible factors (causes, sub-causes) that give

It is used to achieve excellence through improvement of the workplace

Main Tools Description

(clean); Seiketsu (standardized); Shitsuke (maintaining and

It is used to ensure a complete analysis of a problem on all its

It is used to analyze the causes of a problem through a consecutive

It is a sheet which, suitably completed, is applied on the machine, in

It is a sheet which, suitably completed, is used in order to report any

It is a sheet which, suitably completed, is used in order to report any

It is a sheet which, suitably completed, is used in order to report any

It is used to classify plants according their priorities of intervention in

Are used for activities on Autonomous Maintenance, Workplace

Are used for activities on Autonomous Maintenance, Workplace

Are used for activities on Autonomous Maintenance and Professional

Are used for activities on Autonomous Maintenance, Workplace

Kanban It is a tag used for programming and production scheduling.

It is a daily process, the purpose of which goes beyond simple

It is used to perform the video recording of the transactions in order to

Main Tools Description

MURI Analysis Ergonomic analysis of workstations.

MURA Analysis Analysis of irregular operations.

MUDA Analysis Analysis of losses.