WCM (World Class Manufacturing)-September mission

• Discover the Japanese approach towards World-Class Manufacturing
• Learn how Japanese firms achieve superior production standards
• Focus on the latest trends by visiting the top manufacturing plants in Japan
• Visit the real “GEMBA” (i.e. production site in Japan)
• Meet senior Japanese industry leaders

Since the first edition in 1992, more than 700 participants from across all EU Member states have participated in this practical training course.

The 5-day World Class Manufacturing training mission provides an in-depth analysis of Japanese manufacturing methodology and is aimed exclusively at EU managers with knowledge of WCM and an engineering background. It assists the participants to acquire a better understanding of TQC (Total Quality Control), TQM (Total Quality Management), TPM (Total Productive Maintenance), JIT (Just In Time), TIE (Total Industrial Engineering) practices and the current KAIZEN manufacturing methods (continuous improvement).

The training course consists of lectures, workshops and visits to some of the world’s most advanced Japanese factories in order to understand the real “Gemba” (production site), talk directly with their production managers and observe the effective implementation of manufacturing methods.

This course will give its participants a detailed understanding of current Japanese approaches that they can adapt to help their companies lean journeys.

PARTICIPANT PROFILE

Ideal participants have an important strategic role in shaping the company’s best practice strategy or can influence the company’s management of quality control / best practice / production systems (e.g. Director, Manager, Operation & Logistics, Plant Manager, Quality Manager or Managing Director etc).

The sector of activity is unimportant since the themes covered are equally applicable in non-manufacturing industries.

ELIGIBILITY

The candidate must:

• be a citizen of an EU Member State or of a COSME partnering country;
• work for a company that is > 50% EU or COSME partnering country owned;
• work for a company that is an EU or COSME partnering country juridical person;
• be supported by their employer;
• be able to participate in the entire programme;
• have a good command of English;
• be a manager involved in changing production engineering methods /strategy and / or production control, or have previous experience in operations management or have knowledge and practice of production methods of excellence.

SELECTION

The main criteria for selection are:

• the professional & educational background of the candidate;
• the strategy of the participant’s company regarding WCM implementation.

In order to ensure a high degree of personal attention, the number of participants in each programme is limited to 25.

PROGRAMME DESIGN & CONTENT

Study block I: lectures, seminars & panel discussions, presented by experts from Japanese industry covering subjects such as:

• Lead-Time Reduction through Streamlined Flows of Information and Products
• Policy Deployment, HR Management and Best Practice for Staff Motivation
• Continuous Improvement of Customer Service Supported by WCM
• Lean Thinking and WCM Approach in Japan
• TQC, TQM, TPM, JIT and TIE
• Attractive Quality Creation
• Levelled Production System
• Variable-Product Variable
• -Quantity Production to meet Demand Fluctuation
• Synchronized Production System (from order to delivery)
• Flexible Manufacturing Implemented by QCD
• Improvement of Overall Manufacturing Capability.

Study block II: visits to companies – preparation for company visits and post-visit reviews.

The sectors of activity of the companies to be visited include, among others:

• Chemical products and plastics
• Machinery
• Steel products
• Automobile industry

The EU advisor is Prof. Richard Keegan – Enterprise Ireland, a specialist in the fields of World Class Business and Benchmarking. He has focused on adapting these concepts for SMEs, working closely with a large number of SMEs helping them to implement improvement actions. An author of several books on the topics, he is a lecturer at Trinity College. He has led the DG Enterprise & Industry Benchmarking Initiative and the European Benchmarking Forum and Network, for the European Commission.

PARTICIPATION FEE – GRANT – GUARANTEE – CANCELLATION

The EU-Japan Centre covers all costs directly related to the mission (i.e. lectures and seminars, group study trips, including travel outside Tokyo).

The participants’ companies must cover travel costs to/from Japan, accommodation and any other costs not covered directly by the EU-Japan Centre (living expenses).

SMEs (*):

Participation is free. On top, SMEs benefit from a €600 grant.

SMEs must pay a 100% refundable deposit of €1,000 to guarantee the place on the course. Failure to do so by the deadline set by the Centre may result in the offer of the place being withdrawn.

The deposit will be refunded within 8 weeks after the course, minus any unpaid bills, provided that the participant attends the entire course (absences during the course may lead to deductions amounting to 120 EUR/day) and submits any and all reports the Centre asks him/her to make.

If, for whatever reason, a participant cannot take up his / her confirmed place, the deposit may NOT be refunded.

Non-SMEs (*):

Non-SMEs must pay a non-refundable contribution of €1,000 towards the costs incurred by the EU-Japan Centre in relation to the company’s participation. Failure to do so by the deadline set by the Centre may result in the offer of the place being withdrawn.

If, for whatever reason, a participant cannot take up his / her confirmed place, the contribution may NOT be refunded.

(*): SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) are companies meeting the standard European Commission criteria for an SME which have applied successfully for a scholarship. Other companies are large companies or SMEs that fail to apply successfully for a scholarship.