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FAQ - What are the basic principles behind World Class Manufacturing?

World Class Manufacturing defined:

"World Class Manufacturing is the recognition of an organisation as a benchmark by its industry sector and, for some aspects, by other industry sectors. World Class organisations consistently deliver exceptional performance, frequently in excess of expectations. The final essential characteristic of a World Class organisation is that it is continuously improving its performance"

There are 3 principles behind World Class Manufacturing.

1. The first is what is known as Just in Time or Lean Manufacturing, the step by step elimination of waste. Waste in this sense is defined as any activity that adds cost but not value to the end product such as excess production, stock, idle work in progress, unnecessary movement and scrap.
2. The second is total quality, a culture of intolerance to defects both in the processes and also information such as bills of material and stock records. Total quality is often these days called Six Sigma which uses total quality and lean manufacturing techniques to attempt to reduce rejects to 3.4 or less per million parts produced.
3. The final principle is the principle of total preventative maintenance where, whenever practical, a preventative maintenance programme means that unplanned stoppages due to equipment failure are minimised

I hoped this answer was useful. A more detailed explanation of this and other manufacturing planning and control questions can be found in the book on Business Excellence. Click here for more details.