WCM Pillars: Description and Features

WCM foresees 10 technical pillars and 10 managerial pillars. The levels of accomplishment in technical fields are indirectly affected by the level of accomplishment in administrative fields.

The WCM pillars structure represents the “Temple of WCM” and points out that, to achieve the standard of excellence, a parallel development of all the pillars is necessary. Each pillar focuses on a specific area of the production system using appropriate tools to achieve excellence global.

Here below in Table 1.1 features for each WCM technical pillars are illustrated.

Table 1.1 Description of WCM pillars
Technical Pillar	Why	Purpose
SAF Safety	Continuous improvement of safety	To reduce drastically the number of accidents. To develop a culture of prevention. To improve the ergonomics of the workplace. To develop specific professional skills.
CD Cost Deployment	Analysis of the losses and costs (losses within the costs)	To identify scientifically and systematically the main items of loss in the system production-logistics business. To quantify the potential economic benefits and expected. To address the resources and commitment to managerial tasks with greatest potential.
FI Focused Improvement	Priorities of actions to management the loss identified by the cost deployment	To reduce drastically the most important losses present in the system manufacturing plant, eliminating inefficiencies. To eliminate non-value-added activities, in order to increase the competitiveness of the cost of the product. To develop specific professional skills of problem solving.
AA 　 Autonomous Activities	Continuous improvement of plant and workplace	It is constituted by two pillars: AM Autonomous Maintenance. It is used to improve the overall efficiency of the production system through maintenance policies through the conductors (equipment specialists). WO Workplace Organization. It is develops to determine an improvement in the workplace, because often the materials and equipment are degrade; in particular because in the process there are many losses (MUDA)to remove.
PM 　 Professional Maintenance	Continuous improvement of downtime and failures	To increase the efficiency of the machines using failure analysis techniques. To facilitate the cooperation between conductors (equipment specialists) and maintainers (maintenance people) to reach zero breakdowns.
QC Quality Control	Continuous improvement of customers’ needs	To ensure quality products. To reduce non-compliance. To increase the skills of the employees.
LOG 　 Logistics & Customer Service	Optimization of stocks	To reduce significantly the levels of stocks. To minimize the material handling, even with direct deliveries from suppliers to the assembly line.
EEM Early Equipment Management EPM Early Product Management	Optimization of installation time and costs and optimization of features of new products	To put in place new plants as scheduled. To ensure a rapid start-up and stable. To reduce the Life Cycle Cost (LCC). To design systems easily maintained and inspected.
PD People Development	Continuous improvement of the skills of employees and workers	To ensure, through a structured system of training, correct skills and abilities for each workstation. To develop the roles of maintenance workers, technologists, specialists such as major staff training.
ENV 　 Environment ENE 　 Energy	Continuous improvement environmental management and reduce energy waste	To comply with the requirements and standards of environmental management. To develop an energy culture and to reduce the energy costs and losses.