* Academy’s mobile
unit will bring classes directly to the plants * Former motorsports trailer
repurposed to expand World Class Manufacturing knowledge * Cutting-edge tools used to teach key WCM
concepts * Kokomo, Ind., first stop on
tour
Chrysler Group’s
award-winning World Class Manufacturing (WCM) Academy now has wheels and is
hitting the road.
In an effort to bring the innovative training academy and
the WCM methodology to more employees, Chrysler Group has created a mobile unit
from a refurbished former motorsports trailer. Over a three month period, the
trailer was converted into a state-of-the art rolling classroom that will
travel to the Company’s U.S. and Canadian manufacturing facilities to expand
WCM knowledge and broaden implementation of its processes. Chrysler Group’s
four Kokomo, Ind., facilities were the first to fully utilize the mobile unit
with a full series of classes during the week of Nov. 18, 2013.
“Now we can bring the academy directly to the plants,” said Wendy Santure, Training and Development
Lead, Chrysler Group’s WCM Academy and Mobile Unit Lead. “This mobile
unit will allow us to have an immediate effect on the plants by delivering key
concepts and methods in a quick, concentrated way. By expanding WCM knowledge
deeper into the plants, we can ensure all employees are using the methodology.”
First implemented by Fiat in 2006 and introduced to Chrysler
Group as part of the alliance between the two companies in June 2009, WCM is a
methodology that focuses on reducing waste, increasing productivity, and
improving quality and safety in a systematic and organized way. WCM engages the
workforce to provide and implement suggestions on how to improve their jobs and
their plants. WCM has become the driving force behind the improvements in all
of Chrysler Group’s manufacturing plants with four facilities achieving Bronze
status, a significant milestone in the WCM process, in 2012.
While the Academy’s mobile unit is on site, students will
use cutting-edge tools like iPads, smart TVs and interactive teaching methods
to learn about WCM methodology. Courses will initially focus on establishing
and reinforcing WCM basics, such as understanding the 10 technical pillars that
form the system’s foundation, how to write a quick kaizen (a suggestion for
improvement) and how to create sketches, which are an important component of an
effective kaizen.
Students who attend the mobile unit’s courses will
participate in three rotations. During the rotations, 42 students will take
classes inside the unit, as well as underneath a canopy attached to the
trailer. A minimum of three academy staff members, including trainers and
facilitators, will travel with the unit on each trip.
“By coming to the plants, we can increase the number of
Chrysler Group employees who can call themselves ‘students of the academy,’”
said Santure. “The benefits of increasing WCM know-how are countless, and
the mobile unit enables us to bring WCM knowledge to those who may not be able
to travel to the academy on a regular basis.”
In addition to the standard academy courses, future plans
for the mobile unit include training in specialized topics and hosting
validation events, the final step of verifying that lessons learned at the
Academy have been applied properly to a plant project.
The WCM Academy opened its doors in January 2012 and
occupies about 25,000-square-feet of the UAW-Chrysler Technology Training
Center in Warren, Mich. The Academy was created to accelerate WCM
implementation by combining classroom and laboratory sessions, with the
emphasis on hands-on exercises in problem solving. With a mission to transfer
WCM “know-how,” the Academy trained more than 3,400 workers from across the
Company’s North American manufacturing facilities in its first year, far
exceeding its goals. Those participating in Academy classes apply their
learnings and begin making improvements as soon as they return to their plants,
delivering real and measurable benefits for the Company.
In May, the WCM Academy received top honors in the 2013
Manufacturing Leadership 100 (ML100) Awards, being named a High Achiever in the
New Workforce category. The High Achiever award recognized the Company for
receiving the highest score in the category, which identifies companies that
involve education and training, knowledge management and transfer, and
collaboration with educational institutions as integral to the advancement of
manufacturing.
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