Word Class Manufacturing (WCM)

World Class Manufacturing (WCM for short) is a method of improving a management system by striving for the best level of quality and operational excellence while reducing manufacturing costs. WCM combines tools, methods and concepts that aim to achieve the world’s best position in a given industry. This is why so many companies choose to implement World Class Manufacturing, seeing it as an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. Implementing all pillars of WCM means becoming a leader in the industry and being one of the best companies in this given industry sector.

World Class Manufacturing main assumptions

• Zero waste – eliminating all sources of waste occurring in processes across the enterprise.
• Zero accidents – eliminate workplace accidents by removing the causes of accidents.
• Zero defects/faults/shortages – prevention of defects, faults and shortages by optimizing production planning and product manufacturing.
• Zero breakdowns – make full use of the availability of machinery and equipment.

The above assumptions can be achieved only with the involvement of all members of the organization, especially top management. These assumptions are achieved through the systematic implementation of small improvements and the implantation of appropriate methods and tools. An example of implemented solutions may be: visualization and standardization of work, 5S, Kanban, or SMED.

Methods used in WCM

World Class Manufacturing is based on four concepts:

1. Total Quality Control (TQC) / Total Quality Management (TQM)

It is a management concept that aims to make the organization successful and meet customer expectations with the involvement of all employees.

2. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

It is a system for managing a machine park. The goal of TPM is to reduce the number of failures, defects, accidents and shortages resulting from machine operation. TPM focuses on maximizing the productivity of machines and equipment. Read more about Total Productive Maintenance here.

3. Total Industrial Engineering (TIE)

The concept is concerned with comprehensive industrial management. The goal of TIE is to achieve maximum productivity while reducing “muda”, “muri” and “mura”.

4. Lean manufacturing (LM) i Just in Time (JiT)

The basic principles of Lean manufacturing and Just in Time concepts are the elimination of waste (“muda”) and the timely delivery of components necessary for production.

World Class Manufacturing pillars

The World Class Manufacturing method is based on the implementation of two types of pillars: technical and managerial. It is extremely important for these pillars to work together. Management pillars are a set of guidelines supporting the implementation of technical pillars. They cannot be implemented independently. Each of the technical pillars is a set of guidelines, which are divided into so-called “steps” written in the form of goals. Each pillar has seven of them. The level of implementation of each pillar is assessed on the basis of the level of implementation of the “steps”. The assessment is performed by auditors (internal or external) and points are given to each of the pillars. When the points are added together, we get a score that represents the level of advancement of WCM implementation in a given organization.

10 technical pillars of World Class Manufacturing

1. Safety – Hygiene & Working Environment
2. Cost Deployment
3. Focus Improvement
4. Autonomous Activities and Workplace Organization
5. Professional Maintenance
6. Quality Control
7. Logistics and Customer Service
8. Early Product Management & Early Equipment Management
9. People Development
10. Environment Management

Assessment of the progress level of WCM implementation

The assessment of the WCM implementation level is based on the Index Implementation Methodology (IIM). Each pillar is rated on a scale from 0 to 10. The higher the score, the better the level of WCM implementation.

Medals are conventionally awarded, which visualize, so to speak, the success of the “implementation”. Depending on the IMM index value obtained, they are awarded:

• World Class Manufacturing level – this is the highest level of WCM implementation, awarded if the company scores above 85 points.
• Gold medal – awarded when a company scores above 70 points.
• Silver medal – awarded for scoring above 60 points.
• Bronze medal – awarded to companies with more than 50 points.

World Class Manufacturing is the result of observation and desire to spread good practices applied by the best Japanese companies. Implementation of all WCM pillars guarantees success and prestige in the international arena.