Our World Class Manufacturing journey started two years ago in EMEA, and after the successful results achieved in Poprad, Wrocław and Cassinetta, we are happy to share that this May our plants in Radomsko (Dishwashing), Melano (Cooking) and Wrocław (Refrigeration) successfully passed the World Class Manufacturing audit, carried out by external certified auditors from the WCM Association.
World Class Manufacturing is a process-driven approach that sets one of the global manufacturing industry’s highest standards for integrated management of manufacturing plants and processes. It is a pillar-structured system based on continuous improvement and designed to eliminate waste and loss from the production process by identifying objectives such as zero injuries, zero defects, zero breakdowns and zero waste. The main parameters for determining world-class manufacturers are quality, cost-effectiveness, flexibility and innovation. To certify improvements, a system of periodical audits is used to evaluate a selection of WCM pillars, forming an overall score for each plant that is the basis for three levels of excellence: Gold (80 points), Silver (60 points) and Bronze (50 points).
The Radomsko site manufactures dishwashers and washing machines. On May 16th-17th the dishwashing factory performed the WCM audit with a final score of 20 points, the best score in the EMEA Region after the first WCM audit so far.
“This audit represents the first important milestone in the ambitious transformation we want to carry out at the Radomsko site. It was an opportunity for everybody to put their acquired knowledge to the test, to show all the work done and finally understand that “it is possible”! Ad maiora…”, Dina Lombardi, Radomsko Site Leader.
After a complete transformation starting in 2015, Melano is now one of the biggest factories in the centre of Italy and Whirlpool EMEA’s hub for cooktops. On May 22nd – 23rd Melano underwent the first WCM Audit in its history. The audit was completed with a final score of 18 points.
“The implementation of the WCM methodology in Melano is crucial in order to guarantee the long term competitiveness of our EMEA Cooktop operating platform. I would really like to thank our team for having demonstrated an impressive resilience and sense of ownership after two years of massive footprint-related activities to deliver a remarkable result in our first WCM Audit.” commented Federico Rosales, Melano Site Leader.
The Wrocław site consists of two factories: Refrigeration and Cooking. The Refrigeration plant started its WCM journey at the end of 2016, and on May 24th-25th 2018 it passed the second WCM audit with a final score of 33 points.
“The second audit in Wrocław was very important for us because it gave us the exact measure of where we are in our magnificent journey of learning and transformation. We are “flying”. There is still a long and challenging way to go but, as in every important journey in life, this moment made us stronger and more aware of the limits to be overcome.” said Fabio Pommella, Wrocław Site Leader.