How to become a world class manufacturing plant: operational efficiency, employee productivity and strong organizational culture in the competitive automotive industry

Abstract

The goal of the thesis was to design a simple, practical and relevant methodology to help improve and increase the performance of a manufacturing plant from the automotive industry. The thesis presents a short overview of the automotive industry on several levels in order to provide a complete setting upon the issues and importance of the companies which are part of this complex and very competitive supply chain. Some of the most important performance assets in automotive industry, as well as their strategic and operational implications are presented: the value chain approach for assessing competitive advantage and customer value is particularly highlighted, showing the necessary steps that should be taken in order to obtain highly effective processes and efficient results within the manufacturing activity of the plant. The thesis then emphasizes the current challenges and assets in automotive industry production that car manufacturers are facing and are trying to adapt to in order to gain a more competitive position on the globalized car market. The challenges of cultural differences and features of the Romanian work culture are equally important to understand a specific working environment. A consistent part of the main challenges related to managing production in automotive industry is also included and analyzed, as well as many practical issues related to operational effectiveness and to the fact that best results are only possible with the total implication and hard work of the best people to achieve operational performance, productivity and adding value capability. The thesis then shows hoe measuring the degree of value added activities within a company is a means for continuous improvement towards world class manufacturing (WCM): the effectiveness improvement chart (EIC) as a measuring tool of the performance state of the company, its progress and dynamics and its potential to grow further in the future. The last part of the PhD thesis is dedicated to formalizing the effectiveness of the systems thinking process and emphasizing the Macro approach, to achieve world class manufacturing competitiveness, and the Micro approach, to source organizational culture and operational effectiveness, as they both support the plant’s global approach to become a world class manufacturing plant.