FPT Industrial has announced it has achieved the bronze level in the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) program for enhancements it has made to its facility in Argentina.
The South American country is an important market for the off-highway engine manufacturer, where it is the lead supplier of engines for tractors and combine harvesters and powers one in four construction machines sold there.
To maintain its leadership in the region, the company has introduced significant improvements to its Córdoba manufacturing plant in accordance with the standards set by WCM.
Covering an area of some 20,000m², the Industrial plant produces the Cursor and NEF engine families for on-road, off-road, marine and power generation segments. The plant opened in 2011.
“The improvements were in the areas of Autonomous Maintenance/Work Place Organization, Clarity of Objectives and Route Map to WCM, leading us to the Bronze Level designation” said Juan Jose Tesio, plant manager at the FPT Industrial Córdoba site.
“It is thanks to all employees’ dedication and professionalism that we reached this significant medal.”
WCM explained
The World Class Manufacturing program is a pillar-structured system based on continuous improvement, designed to eliminate waste and loss from the production process.
WCM is an integrated model for managing all the elements of an organization, focused on improving the efficiency of all its technical and organizational components with the aim of maximizing market competitiveness.
The WCM system is structured to encompass the most effective manufacturing methodologies, including Total Quality Control (TQC), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Total Industrial Engineering (TIE), and Just In Time (JIT).
To certify improvements, periodic third-party audits evaluate all of the WCM pillars, forming an overall score for each plant that is the basis for three achievement levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold.
Interested in powertrain developments? Philip Scarth, head of basic technologies, FPT Powertrain Technologies, will present a paper titled ‘Advanced model-based development – an approach to deal with future powertrain needs‘ at the forthcoming Industrial Vehicle Powertrain Technology conference, which takes place during iVT Expo, 13-14 February, Cologne, Germany.
