January 14, 2019 Industry Forum Blog In the typical launch phase of product life cycle the problems faced by most manufacturing companies lies not only in accelerating and maintaining sales after the launch but in reducing the costly development time before the launch. In an effort to improve timelines and effectiveness, a number of organisations are experimenting with different best practices in their NPI processes. Adopting best practices in product launch within supply chain provides confidence for the customer to partner on new programme developments and in turn provides growth opportunities for an organisation. Success of most product launches today is dependent on key resources within an organisation. These people come from cross functional team (sales, design and development engineering, manufacturing engineering, quality assurance and so on). To get the fundamentals right companies need to work on a standard approach for launch excellence and successful implementation would depend on the required skills existing in cross functional team Fig. 1: Industry forum NPI model for Launch excellence Industry Forum has developed a NPI model for Launch Excellence (Fig. 1) which can help organisations to achieve this desired performance. Product and technology roadmap element will help us to align our development efforts in organisation and efficiently manage product lifecycles while meeting customer needs. This element will play a key role in business strategy with definition of what new products or technology will contribute towards business growth targets Product costing and Portfolio analysis will help us match profitable solutions existing within our business with focussed Product Market Groups. This in turn will work as a good input for business development and help them to align bid opportunities with our commercial strengths in the business S&OP link with NPI will help us to manage resource and capacity balance while introducing new products in the business Key elements of stable foundation have a very close link to the business strategy NPI Process pillar will define a structure and a route map with cross functional roles and responsibilities to successfully complete a product introduction Project management pillar will help the governance of each individual product introduction going through an organisation Design Excellence pillar will help us in managing product risks and driving value throughout the product design and development process Manufacturing Process Design pillar will help us to pick the right and most efficient manufacturing solution driving right first time approach Product and Process Validation pillar will help us to validate customer requirements related to product and internal organisation requirements of a repeatable manufacturing process Supply chain readiness pillar will help us to support the supply chain during NPI and ensure their readiness to launch products right first time and On Time In Full to our organisation. Industry standards are valuable to keep each of the Process pillars elements intact and aligned As an output, implementation of this model has already proven to deliver Product Launch Excellence which can be measured by Product Launch Right First time, On Time in Full and at Target cost Industry Forum has launched a new course in 2019 which will help to build further understanding of launch excellence model in product lifecycle. For more details please click here or get in touch at [email protected]
January 14, 2019 Industry Forum Blog The current version of Global MMOG/LE (Version 4) was first released in 2014. In October 2017 a global team started to review the assessment with the objective to develop an updated version considering the constant evolutions in supply chain processes and technology. The newly created MMOG/LE Version 5 is now in its final stakeholder review activity. A group of global stakeholder s and users have been asked to provide feedback on the new version by January 25th 2019. Upon receipt of this feedback the content of the assessment can be finalised with the formal release scheduled to be within Q1 2019. Shortly after that SMMT Industry Forum will offer a range of training options covering both the new MMPG/LE Version 5 and the MMOG.np new IT platform used for assessment completion and communication between Customer and Supplier. Further details on the modifications to MMOG/LE and the creation of Version 5 can be found here: 190110 MMOGLE v5 Stakeholder_Review_Presentation If you would like to be part of the MMOG/LE stakeholder review process please email [email protected] Keep me updated on MMOG/LE Training!
January 14, 2019 Articles, Industry Forum Blog, Insights, Supply Chain Development Supply Chain Training We offer a range of courses from basic introductions to advanced certifications covering all aspects of Supply Chain Management. Whether it’s physical logistics, a broad understanding of Supply Chain theory of inventory management or professional globally recognised certification, we have a course to suit you. For more detail take a look at our Supply Chain training courses or contact us today to discuss your individual needs. Supply Chain Consulting Areas The Supply Chain is so vast, it can often feel overwhelming. Industry Forum’s expert consultants have experience in successful and profitable change projects. Remove the worry and deliver results to be proud of with the support and guidance of our team. We also understand that there are times when you simply need an extra pair of hands. Our consultants can support you in a flexible manner to meet the needs of your business without tying you into lengthy recruitment processes. Benchmarking How well does your business perform compared to your competitors or leaders in other sectors? Benchmarking areas in supply chain can include: Goods In/ Goods Out Processing Warehousing and Distribution Supply Chain Management Procurement/ Purchasing Cost to Serve Analysis We calculate the true cost of buying, handling, storing and moving the products as separate elements of your supply chain, rather than the traditional accounting method of the blanket distribution of costs. This allows you to understand the true costs of supplying your customers and identifies areas for improvement and profit enhancement. Physical Supply Chain Reviews – Warehousing and Distribution Process Improvement: We analyse your processes and workflows to identify strengths, weaknesses and gaps. Warehouse Layout: We review your current layout and process flows and develop and design more efficient warehouse layouts to increase productivity and improve your supply. Systems and IT: Are legacy systems holding you back? Are your team reliant on excel spreadsheets and paper based solutions? If you don’t think you’re getting the most from your current system, or feel the time has come to invest to support growth, one of our advisors can review its performance and help to negotiate and implement an improved offering from your provider. Network Design and Warehouse Moves: Our team can model your future requirements, support you through: Evaluation and remodelling of your current operation Design and build or sourcing new warehousing Negotiating leasing of existing warehousing Managing the exit from your current premises Logistics and Transport The cost of logistics and transport is too often overlooked as a ‘necessity’ without real understanding of the performance, effectiveness and structure behind the operation. Our experts can help you to identify and manage the elements of your logistics and transport operation in order to optimise your solution and improve both service and profit. One of our team will manage any tender and contracting process from beginning to end, ensuring a smooth transition and clarity throughout. Forecasting, Demand and Inventory Management Poor forecasts, poor inventory management, and unsuitable demand planning processes could be costing you significantly; tying up capital and eroding your bottom line profit. We can help you to understand the root causes of the issues within your planning function and identify ways to resolve them. Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) Sales and Operations Planning brings together Sales, Operations, Finance and Senior Management to ensure the heart of the business is aligned to the strategic direction of the Board. A fully integrated S&OP that allows for collaboration within the business in a structured and controlled way can be difficult to achieve, but not impossible. Our wealth of experience will ensure your S&OP process is right for you. With a focus on a simple, achievable process which delivers instead of a regimented process drowning in theory that does nothing to enhance your performance. Good S&OP doesn’t need to be complicated. We can design, implement and restructure your S&OP process and deliver internal training to ensure your team continue to make it work. Product Lifecycle Management Our unique approach includes a combined process review and improvement project along with tailored training to your team to ensure all future new product launches run smoothly. Managing end of life product to maximise sales whilst minimise remaining obsolete stock within your business is all part of our lifecycle management review. Supply Chain Systems Implementation From design, selection, right through to installation and transfer from legacy systems the potential for failure is enormous. It’s unlikely that the business will regularly do a system change – so why not let us support you? We regularly support businesses through systems implementation in: WMS, Automation in the warehouse, Forecasting and Demand planning systems, ERP systems, EDI systems, Operational Planning System as well as end to end financial management systems. Let us manage the implementation project so that your people can focus on what you hired them to do. At the end of the project, we can train and support your staff to ease the transition.
December 11, 2018 Industry Forum Blog Although the current Excel based MMOG/LE tool has served the industry well over the past decade, Odette has now developed a modern browser based application called MMOG.np (new platform) to take its place. MMOG/LE users from both sides of the Atlantic have been involved in the development and testing of this new platform to ensure that it meets not only the current needs but also the ‘wish lists’ of both customers and suppliers in the automotive supply chain. We’ve developed an introduction to the MMOG new platform, which can be viewed here: If you’d like to be kept up to date with new developments about this, please sign up to our MMOG update service here.
August 31, 2018 Industry Forum Blog, Resources General Information In 2005, the industry-specific standard Automotive SPICE®, derived from the new ISO 15504 International Standard (IS) for software process assessments, was published by the Special Interest Group Automotive. This mandatory method is consulted more and more as an objective process evaluation and for the process improvements resulting from it on the project and organisational level. Initial Situation The market demands for environmental-friendliness, safety, economic efficiency and user-friendliness require innovations with increasing complexity at shorter and shorter intervals. The shorter development periods connected to this and the increasing requirements on reliability make the improvement of the development processes indispensable. Scope of Automotive SPICE® In principle, automotive SPICE® has two dimensions: the process dimension and the process capability dimension. The processes in the process dimension are based on the ISO 12207 that has been extended and modified with automotive-specific additions. The process capability dimension corresponds to the six process capability levels as they are defined in the ISO 15504. An ISO 15504-compatible assessment model is available for conducting assessments. Process Capability Dimension The lowest level (Level 0) means that not all processes are carried out and therefore, certain important work products (plans, specifications, design documents, test descriptions etc.) do not exist. In Level 1, all important documents are available; in Level 2, everything is systematically planned and tracked; in Level 3, there are uniform guidelines for the complete organisation,and in Levels 4 and 5, the processes are statistically measured and optimised. Process Dimension This illustration lists the different processes that the ISO 15504 International Standard (IS) examines. Moreover, the processes that have been adjusted (A) and additionally newly implemented for Automotive SPICE® are marked (orange). The HIS scope as the minimum requirement of the processes to be examined in an assessment is highlighted in blue. Industry Forum’s SPICE® courses: intacs™ certified Provisional Assessor (Automotive SPICE®)(ID 910)(5 days) Need support? Purchase Volume
February 8, 2017 Industry Forum Blog Principles of Operations Management The APICS Principles of Operations Management is a complete education and training programme focused on providing delegates with a solid foundational knowledge in the field of supply chain and operations management. programme is designed to help new entrants to the field of operations management establish the knowledge necessary to excel in the fields of production and distribution management. Certified in Production and Inventory Management Since 1973 the CPIM program has educated more than 90,000 manufacturing professionals on essential terminology, concepts, and strategies related to demand management, procurement and supplier planning, material requirements planning, capacity requirements planning, sales and operations planning, master scheduling, performance measurements, supplier relationships, quality control and continuous improvement. Certified in Logistics, Transportation and Distribution The Certified in Logistics, Transportation and Distribution (CLTD) certification provides you with the information you need to meet today’s supply chain logistics challenges. Created by APICS with a team of subject matter experts, the CLTD designation covers a comprehensive body of knowledge that sets the global standard for best practices in logistics, transportation and distribution. Certified Supply Chain Professional The APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) Learning System is a comprehensive professional development and certification preparation program based on the APICS CSCP body of knowledge. It is designed for individuals and organisations looking to develop or enhance skills to create and execute a global supply chain management strategy that meets customer needs, reduces cost, and increases profits. Supply Chain Operations Reference Model The Supply Chain Operations Reference model (SCOR) is the leading end-to-end global supply chain framework used by the world’s leading organisations. The model uses predefined links between your business processes, your performance metrics, practices and people skills in a single structure. Why Choose Industry Forum? Industry Forum is an approved APICS Channel Partner offering a comprehensive range of Supply Chain training and consultancy services. Industry Forum helps major global manufacturers understand, optimise and improve both manufacturing capability and business performance. An integrated team of consultants and practitioners – all seasoned expert engineers with multi-sector manufacturing experience – Industry Forum brings together a world-class combination of improvement competency, insight, process and best practice. Spanning automotive, aerospace, construction, consumer appliance, electronics and food sectors, for over 20 years Industry Forum has planned and delivered some of the world’s most consistent and successful transformations for business-critical manufacturing operations. Our trainers are expert practitioners in Supply Chain Management with hands-on industrial experience and highly developed communication skills. They have a wealth of technical expertise and often provide on-site advice and coaching. During every course we will encourage collaboration and sharing of practical experiences, ensuring learning can be put into context and empowering delegates to apply their new skills successfully in their workplace as well as making sustainable improvements. APICS is the leading professional association for supply chain and operations management and the premier provider of research, education and certification programs that elevate supply chain excellence, innovation and resilience. APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) designations set the industry standard. With over 37,000 members and 287 international partners, APICS is transforming the way people do business, drive growth and reach global customers.
September 30, 2016 Industry Forum Blog Autonomous Maintenance, Coca-Cola Beverages, JIPM, JIPM award, Panasonic, Policy Deployment, Tetra Pak, Total Productive Maintenance, TPM What do we have to do to make sure our investment in TPM pays off? How can we ensure we reap the promised business benefits? We can’t give you a magic wand that ensures instant results. But we can share with you these three vital activities practised by JIPM award winning companies, such as Coca-Cola Beverages, Panasonic and Tetra Pak. You will notice a common denominator for all three; time. TPM is not something that can be implemented overnight. Organisations take five years and more to even become eligible for the first level of awards. The good news is that it doesn’t take that long for the performance benefits to start accruing. The sooner you start your pilot activities the sooner you can see a difference and improve your bottom line. 1. Obtain commitment from the very top It’s no coincidence that the very first step on the 12 step journey is called “Declaration by management”. The senior management team must first understand the reasons their company is embarking on this journey. And then they must communicate their intention to the entire workforce. We have seen how companies who don’t start here take much longer to get results. Even the best efforts prove difficult to sustain and at worst the programme just fizzles out. 2. Integrate TPM activities into your company’s policy and strategy Companies that are serious about using TPM to continuously improve their business performance, integrate it into their existing Policy Deployment plans. In fact this is the focus of the work in step 4 of the 12 step journey. Think of it as a two pronged approach to support achievement of: Daily performance targets derived from customer requirements. Stretch goals derived from the annual policies. Treating TPM as a set of activities additional to your short term or long term targets, dooms them to being side lined when the going gets tough. You may have already experienced this scenario. You put a lot of time and effort into training your production associates in Autonomous Maintenance (AM). Once the production plan is complete the teams stop and move onto their AM work. Initially output and quality improve and unplanned downtime is reducing. AM works! Then one Friday you haven’t met the plan, so you keep manufacturing. Maybe your order book is increasing or you had a particularly unusual and lengthy breakdown. What we find is that if this happens regularly, the benefits of the TPM programme become forgotten and production output at all costs is the priority. The TPM activities cease over time, morale decreases and people become resistant to new initiatives. Instead of treating TPM as a set of bolt on activities, integrate it. Specifically target use of the tools to prevent that breakdown happening again and to increase capacity over time. The tools need to become part of daily working, not something scheduled for the end of the week. This applies at the shop floor as much as it does the boardroom. 3. Include every single person in the organisation In a previous blog we learned that the main aim of TPM is to achieve zero losses. These losses can occur in every function and at every level within your business. So to root out every loss you need to involve people from every function and at every level. When only a proportion of the workforce are involved we always find losses and, of course, the costs associated with them. If you want to find out more about the future of TPM, it’s integration with Industry 4.0 and how it can help your organisation reduce costs and improve quality then make sure book your place at Industry Forum’s TPM seminar. This one-day event will allow you to learn from world-class, award winning manufacturers alongside speakers from the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance. If you want to speak to a member of the team to find out more about TPM and how Industry Forum can support your TPM implementation give us a call on +44 (0)121 717 6600 complete our enquiry form or email us at [email protected]
September 22, 2016 Industry Forum Blog cloud based technology, Computerised Maintenance Management System, Connected factories, digital factories, fourth industrial revolution, Internet of Things, predictive maintenance, preventative maintenance, vibration analysis The connected factory drums up images of fully automated, high tech, integrated plant with barely a human in sight. That doesn’t quite chime with scenes of people walking round plants and plugging hand held devices into various pieces of equipment. So, what is the future of CBM (Condition Based Monitoring or Maintenance) in our digital factories? Will we still need to stand beside our plant and plug in portable vibration analysis kit? Or take thermographic images with hand held cameras? Let’s start with the need for CBM. Will there still be a need for Condition Based Monitoring? Our factories of the future will still contain equipment that moves or is powered electrically. This means certain components will be subject to wear and if left to run without intervention, will eventually breakdown. CBM is one strand of predictive maintenance. It typically uses equipment based diagnostics to monitor and diagnose conditions of both moving and static equipment. You may already use, or be familiar with, techniques such as vibration analysis, tribology, thermography or acoustic analysis. When the condition being monitored reaches a determined level a repair or replacement is carried out. Compared to preventative maintenance time based interventions, CBM allows you to get the most life possible out of your components. So unless we invent materials that will never wear out, we will still have a need for CBM techniques. The next question is what will those techniques be? Will Condition Based Monitoring change? History suggests it will. CBM techniques have actually been around longer than we may think. But as our equipment has developed so have the techniques we use to monitor it. The first industrial revolution bought us steam locomotives and with it the CBM technique of wheel tapping. Wheeltappers were employed to walk along the train and tap each wheel with a long-handled hammer. A wheel with flaws or cracks doesn’t make the same ring as an undamaged one! Now at the start of the fourth industrial revolution, steam has been replaced by diesel and electric, the wheel design has changed and wheeltappers have been replaced by ultrasonic testing. (Except on a few eastern European railways!) So what’s next? The falling cost and size of sensors, coupled with developments in wireless technology, is making it more realistic for sensors to be permanently located. Look how different this wireless vibration analysis sensor is to the hand held device pictured earlier. Permanently mounted sensors mean a greater amount of data is collected, which results in a more detailed and accurate analysis. Initially this data has been analysed by software in plant based PC’s. However the growth in cloud based technologies and the Internet of Things is now enabling analysis of extremely large volumes of data across multiple plants. So we are now entering an era of data driven CBM where a whole host of predictive analytics packages are available. And cost is not the barrier it once was. You can start small with just a few sensors and scale over time by adding more. Data can be monitored live in house as well as sent direct for remote analysis. Information on the best time for interventions to prevent failures and minimise downtime is returned to the plant. In short, maintenance teams can use the enhanced analytical capability provided by the new technologies to boost the power of CBM and their Computerised Maintenance Management Systems. You could argue that CBM will become more relevant in our digital factories as we strive to improve output and efficiency, meet changing customer demands and increasing our profit margins. Industry Forum’s one-day seminar: TPM Towards 2025 and Integration with Industry 4.0 features a packed programme of keynote speakers from world-class award winning manufacturers and includes the topic of TPM in the Connected Factory.
September 16, 2016 Industry Forum Blog Arcelor Mittal, Early Management pillar, Health and Environment pillar, JIPM, lean, Milliken, Safety, sustainable continuous improvement, Tetra Pak, Toyota Production System, Unilever, Volvo If you want your company to succeed over the long term you must; operate safely, make a profit and achieve customer satisfaction. For companies like Tetra Pak, Milliken, Arcelor Mittal, Unilever and Volvo, TPM has become their corporate approach to sustainable continuous improvement. This blog briefly describes how TPM achieves those goals and what makes it different from other improvement frameworks. Achieving your business goals The main aim of TPM is to achieve zero losses. This means zero accidents, zero defects and zero breakdowns. 1. Operating safely. As well as having a specific set of activities, called the Safety, Health and Environment pillar, devoted to achieving zero accidents, the principles for preventing accidents are ingrained in every single TPM activity and resulting operating process. Zero accidents are possible and in some fields yield added benefits. Many companies in the chemical industry who practise TPM are rewarded with reduced insurance premiums! 2. Making a profit. Each of the 8 pillars of TPM concentrates on eliminating losses and their associated costs. Sustainably reducing costs, not just reducing capacity, results in increased profit. It’s not unusual to achieve 30% reduction in manufacturing costs, 50% reduction in inventories and improvement in Overall Equipment Performance of 150-200%. Losses are not just pursued in manufacturing, but across all the functions of your business and throughout the supply chain. 3. Achieving customer satisfaction. As well as meeting the customer’s quality, cost and delivery expectations, TPM addresses the total product life cycle. Activities for pre-empting losses not only in design and manufacture but for the customer during use and at end of life disposal are examined in the Early Management pillar. What makes it different? I can almost hear you shouting, “Hang on – I can do all that with lean, or the Toyota Production System”. And yes, you could achieve very similar results if you rigorously pursue the elimination of all waste. In fact there are huge areas of overlap in the application, tools and techniques used in the approaches. However, here are TPM’s distinguishing features. It’s all presented in one organised framework Every single recommended step to successfully deploy TPM is detailed in the JIPM 12 steps. As you can see it takes you from preparing your company for the journey, through the ordered deployment of the 8 pillars, to attaining regular application. The level of detail in each of the 12 steps, and within each pillar, can initially seem off-putting. But this detail addresses many of the problems encountered if the lean tools and techniques are applied in an ad-hoc manner. Senior management buy in Inclusion of middle managers Sustainability of results Provision of adequate resources Clear direction and link to company strategy Clear structures, roles and responsibilities for every employee The goal of zero losses From the outset, the goal is zero losses, as opposed to lean approaches that focus on closing the gap between actual and desired performance. This results in a subtle difference in approach. To achieve zero condition you need to: Transition from a data driven reactive approach to close the gap, to a proactive approach that prevents losses from happening in the first place. Support your activities with detailed understanding of what causes all forms of loss and a very detailed understanding of each of your processes. If you stick with the 12 step plan and follow the structure of each pillar, you will be guided through the layers of complexity. It does take years of dedication to approach zero losses, but those who have persevered are reaping the rewards. If you want to find out more about the future of TPM, it’s integration with Industry 4.0 and how it can help your organisation reduce costs and improve quality then make sure book your place at Industry Forum’s TPM seminar event. The one-day event will allow you to learn from world-class, award winning manufacturers alongside speakers from the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance. See full event flyer here If you want to speak to a member of the team to find out more about TPM and how Industry Forum can support your TPM implementation give us a call on +44 (0)121 717 6600 complete our enquiry form or email us at [email protected]
August 24, 2016 Industry Forum Blog 16949, Automtive Quality Management Standards, Global automotive sector standard, iatf, iatf 16949:2016, iso, iso/ts16949, iso/ts16949:2009, ts16949 One of the most widely used global quality management standards in the automotive sector has been rewritten. So if you’re one of the 65,000 ISO/TS 16949:2009 certificate holders or 2,000 qualified auditors, here is what you need to know up front. What has changed? 1. The standard has a new name – IATF 16949:2016. This supersedes and replaces ISO/TS 16949:2009. So it has evolved from a technical specification to a global automotive sector standard. Although it will continue to be closely aligned with ISO standards, the new document is now managed solely by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF). This means that the IATF can update the standard on a more regular basis, ensuring it stays relevant to the sector’s needs. In fact this version has incorporated extensive feedback from a range of stakeholders, including Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers, certification bodies and auditors. This ensures it is tailored exactly to the industry’s requirements. 2. The standard has a new structure. The rewrite follows the new high level structure used for all ISO management system standards. In addition to the 10 standard sections, the IATF have included an Automotive Annexe. The idea is to provide sources of information that you can consider as you refine your management systems. Important dates 3. IATF 16949:2016 will be available to purchase from 1st October 2016. You will be able to buy a full copy from one of the 5 IATF National Association members. Details for each IATF Oversight Office can be found on their website. 4. To support the new standard, IATF will release the “Rules for achieving and maintaining IATF recognition” on 1st November 2016. 5. If you currently have a certificate to ISO/TS 16949:2009, it will no longer be valid after 14th September 2018. 6. You can still have your first certification to ISO/TS 16949:2009 until 1st October 2017. However your certificate will only be valid until 14th September 2018. Transition 7. You can transition to the new standard at your regularly scheduled surveillance or recertification audit. However, this must be done by 14th September 2018 at the latest. After this date you will no longer be certified as ISO will withdraw ISO/TS 16949:2009. All the transition details can be found in the IATF 16949 Transition Strategy document. (Click on the Revision Workgroup News tab.) In the meantime all Certification Body Auditors will have to go through a requalification process in order for them to be able to certify organisations to the new standard. You can find out more on 6th September by signing up for our FREE webinar, hosted by Rob Brown, the SMMT IATF Oversight Manager. This will be a great opportunity to understand and seek clarification on the timescales for release and details around the transition process.
