EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTION CAPACITY IMPROVEMENT OF A MACHINING AREA THROUGH WCM METHODOLOGY

Covid-19 has deeply modified the industrial environment: spaces have been re-thought, and relationship among people has changed, with the introduction of smart working and social distance protocols. One of the most important aspect big companies have to face in this particular historical moment is the reduction of losses and waste, focusing on costs reduction and profits increase. Furthermore, with the pandemic situation, an inexplicable increase in market demand has been registered, forcing companies to redesign their production systems. In this scenario, the application of the World Class Manufacturing methodology is fundamental to analyse the current state of the processes, the main causes of losses, and to decide the improvement actions to be performed. This thesis project is the result of a 6 months internship in FPT Industrial – Turin Driveline plant. It aims at studying the current state of an operative unit and at improving it using the Early Equipment Management pillar of WCM methodology. The first chapter is a brief description of CNH Industrial and FPT Industrial, with their history and main business areas. In the second chapter, a literature of the World Class Manufacturing methodology is provided, starting from the main continuous improvement tools that led to the creation of WCM, through the explanation of the pillars constituting the WCM structure. In the third chapter the current state of the engine gears unit area is analysed, starting from the main causes of losses affecting the plant and this technical area, explaining which are the main objectives of this thesis project. The fourth chapter presents the improvement actions performed to reach the expected goals, through the seven steps of the EEM pillar. In the last chapter, the final results and possible further improvement are shown.