Industry Forum Autumn 2011 Newsletter
Japan Best Practice Visit November/December 2011
Learn from the best in Lean production!
Following the devastating events in Japan earlier this year, which lead to the cancellation of the planned Japan Best Practice visit, we are pleased to announce that we will be hosting a Japan Best Practice visit at the end of November 2011. It is testament to the Japanese economy that after such devastating events the country is nearly back to economic stability and is able to welcome us into their manufacturing plants.
The Japan Best Practice Visit programme allows delegates to experience first-hand what the best Japanese companies are doing and how they are achieving their international reputation for leaders in Quality, Cost and Delivery performance.
The programme will take place between 25th November 2011 and 3rd December 2011. Places are limited to 20 delegates per programme and typically would be aimed at Vice Presidents, Directors and Senior Managers.
If you would like more information on the programme please visit the Industry Forum website www.industryforum.co.uk or contact Jenna Porch by telephone on +44(0)121 717 6614 or email jenna.porch@industryforum.co.uk
Jaguar Land Rover
World Class Manufacturing Programme
Over the past 7 months Industry Forum has been engaged in delivering the Jaguar Land Rover World Class Manufacturing Programme in Halewood. Based around a Level 2 apprenticeship, this programme incorporates cultural awareness, literacy and numeracy key skills, a technical certificate in business improvement and national vocational qualification in business improvement techniques.
In partnership with PERA and Training 2000, over 1400 learners being taught by Industry Forum Engineers in subjects such as:
- Health & Safety
- Effective team working
- Workplace organisation
- Continuous improvement techniques
- Visual management
- Problem solving
We are delighted to have achieved an external exam pass rate of 98.4% and due to the overwhelming success of the Programme there are currently active discussions ongoing with the National Apprenticeship Service to run similar programmes across the country.
Industry Forum Learning Centre
Industry Forum has recently opened a modern Learning Centre at its offices in Birmingham. The Learning Centre comprises of three suites and four breakout rooms. Situated in the heart of England, close to major road, rail and air networks, the dedicated Learning Centre hosts a wide range of Industry Forum’s open courses covering topics such as:
- ISO/TS16949: 2009
- Other Global Management Systems (such as ISO14001)
- Core Tools
- Lean Transformation
- Total Productive Maintenance
For more information on the courses available or to enquire about hiring suites please visit www.industryforum.co.uk or e-mail learningcentre@industryforum.co.uk
VDA 6.3 Process Audit
SMMT have been appointed by VDA QMC in Germany to deliver approved VDA 6.3 Process Auditor training and qualification modules.
Developed by the German automotive industry VDA 6.3 defines a process based audit standard for evaluating and improving controls in a manufacturing organisation’s processes. Revised in 2010, the standard was comprehensively restructured to reflect the changes to ISO9001 and customer specific requirements in the automotive industry.
For more information on the full range of courses available visit www.industryforum.co.uk or contact Niall Kealey on +44 (0)121 717 6645 or email oversight@industryforum.co.uk
BMW Value Added Production System (VPS)
Since January 2010 SMMT Industry Forum has been working in partnership with BMW Group, initially within their Hams Hall plantdelivering improvements through its Business Improvement Techniques programme.
In March 2011, the first groups from MINI Plant Oxford took part in the underpinning knowledge training and have just completed their first of 3 projects which are showing encouraging results. May 2011 saw the engagement of a further 12 team members from Oxford and 12 team members from Swindon, there are a further 24 learners starting the programme in September.
The programme requires teams of 6 to work on 3 separate projects over a 6 – 9 month period. Improvement evidence is then assessed against the performance criteria of the National Vocational Qualification.
Within the teams, one person will complete a level 3 qualification which requires them to show evidence of leading the team throughout the projects and following a structured approach to the application of Continuous Improvement tools.
To date 57 learners have successfully completed the qualification within the BMW Plant Hams Hall. There are a further 71 learners now completing the programme across the MINI production triangle who are due to complete before December 2011.
Projects include increasing Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), improving right first time, downtime reduction and reducing touches and moves to improve the flow of product through key processes. All projects are aligned to the business’s key performance indicators in order to measure the improvements achieved.
The successes of the programme to date can be attributed to aligning the performance requirements of the nationally recognised qualification to BMW Group’s VPS initiative (Value added Production System), this alongside the constant commitment of the management team to improve has ensured success. The programme has provided the team members with a structured approach to problem solving and how to conduct improvement activities on a regular basis.
Meet the Team…TPM Assessor
Name: Stuart Veitch
Job Title: TPM Assessor
I was one of the first wave of engineers to be recruited by Industry Forum in 1999.
Prior to joining Industry Forum I worked for two divisions of the IMI group, IMI Titanium and IMI Yorkshire Copper Tube, where I gained a thorough understanding of good manufacturing practices. Upon joining Industry Forum, I went through a very structured training programme, under the guidance of a Japanese Master Engineer. This gave me an excellent understanding of the practical application of a wide range of lean manufacturing tools and techniques.
In 2007, following SMMT IF appointment as an Assessment Agency of the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance, I was selected to be trained as a JIPM TPM award Assessor.
After a very intensive training programme, including classroom and on site deployment activities and examinations, I was qualified as a JIPM Assistant Assessor. This allowed me to attend award assessments, and build up my understanding of the award criteria and conduct of an assessment.
The award process is a two-step assessment, with stage 1 typically undertaken in May and June, and stage 2 in November December.
JIPM award assessments are typically a one day on site visits with two assessors. In the first part of the day the organisation management team present how they have implemented TPM and give a summary of the benefits gained. Each pillar leader then gives a summary of the activities undertaken in implementing TPM and the results achieved.
This is then followed by 10-12 shop floor presentations demonstrating the practical deployment of TPM.
At the end of an assessment the JIPM assessors discuss their findings and conclusion and then feedback to the organisation management team.
After the two stage assessments are completed all JIPM assessors meet to moderate assessments undertaken and make final decisions on granting an award.
After attending a number of assessments and preparing comprehensive reports for JIPM review, I was qualified as a JIPM assessor, one of the first to be qualified outside Japan.
I am now qualified to undertake TPM assessment together with a lead assessor from Japan.
The process to become qualified was a very big challenge but a great learning experience. It is a great way to see how organisations adopt the principles of “true TPM”. It has become clearly evident that the only way to achieve success is to involve everybody in the organisation in the TPM implementation.
Now I want to take on the challenge to achieve TPM Lead Assessor status and continue to learn more about the effective deployment of TPM.
TPM Seminar 22nd November 2011
Created by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a structured approach to deploy a comprehensive set of tools and techniques in order to eliminate losses across a whole organisation. TPM involves the capabilities of the whole workforce to ensure effective and sustainable improvements are implemented.
Industry Forum will be hosting a TPM Seminar on 22nd November at Jaguar Land Rover Visitors Centre. The seminar will give an overview on the structure of the TPM model, compare TPM to Lean Manufacturing, and include case studies from companies who have implemented TPM.
Limited number of places are available at £75 + VAT per delegate inclusive of refreshments and lunch.
If you would like more information or would like to book please e-mail courses@industryforum.co.uk or call Jenna Porch on +44 (0)121 717 6614