Scania annual report 2003

PRODUCTION
Investments for increased capacity
Scania develops and manufactures
major heavy vehicle components –
engines, cabs, gearboxes, axles and
frames – under its own auspices.
This gives Scania control of quality
and cost levels in development and
production.
Scania has a global production system in
which all its production units in the world
are integrated. As a result, customers
enjoy faster, more reliable deliveries, while
Scania gains flexibility and greater
efficiency.
This is possible because today Scania
manufactures identical parts and components
at all production units. Due to
Scania’s global quality and environmental
standards, as well as its shared production
system, it is of no significance to the customer
where Scania vehicles and components
are manufactured. A Scania is
always a Scania.
During 2003 Scania’s production volume
in Latin America rose, since local
markets continued to recover as deliveries
to other parts of the world rose. Today
nearly half the company’s production of
vehicles and components in Brazil and
Argentina is exported to markets outside
Latin America.
Capacity increase in Zwolle
At the same time, it is important to have
enough assembly capacity near customers
to be capable of responding quickly
to increased demand. Scania’s investment
at its assembly in Zwolle, the Netherlands
increased the technical capacity of
truck assembly lines there by more than
50 percent. Together with concentration of
component production to fewer locations,
this will enable Scania to respond quickly
to a rapid, strong growth in volume.
Coordination of trucks and buses
The restructuring of the bus and coach
operations means that Scania is using the
similarities between bus and truck chassis
and benefits from existing synergies.
Shared components is the basis for this
coordination.
To take advantage of these synergies
between buses and trucks, during 2002
Scania initiated closer coordination of development,
procurement, manufacturing
and marketing in Södertälje. This helped
cut costs and improved competitiveness
of Scania’s bus and coach operations. The
restructuring of these operations will continue
during 2004, when the wholly-owned
bus bodybuilding company Omni will concentrate
its bodybuilding operations in
S upsk, Poland.
Preparations for new products
During 2003 Scania prepared its production
units for the new truck range. Development
lines for training and assembly
verification were built in chassis assembly,
where employees from Södertälje, Zwolle
and Angers were trained alongside regular
production. Similar development and training
lines were built for engine,
transmission and cab production.
Flexibility
Since the heavy truck market varies both
seasonally and over longer economic
cycles, flexibility is of great importance in
production. The flexibility of the Scania
Production System (SPS), as well as the
global production system, also makes it
possible to respond more smoothly to
both short- and long-term changes in
volume.
More efficient suppliers with the
Scania Production System
By sharing its experience, Scania helps suppliers
to become more efficient in such fields as logistics,
elimination of waste and quality improvements.
This collaboration, which uses the working
methods of the Scania Production System as
a model, improves the competitiveness of both
Scania and its suppliers.
The Swedish-based company Swenox AB develops
and manufactures complete exhaust and
aftertreatment systems for the heavy vehicle industry
in Europe. Competition is keen, and to
increase its production, Swenox initiated an organised
partnership with Scania in order to use
Scania’s working methods and tools.
Over the past year, the company has conducted
training courses and formed pilot teams for
improvement efforts.
“During the spring of 2003, we began the
task of building up a new production line for
Scania silencers. We received very valuable help
from Scania in doing so,” explains Sten
Fredholm, Managing Director of Swenox.
To date, improvement efforts have provided a
complete analysis of “losses” in the affected production
segments. Changeover times in the company’s
pilot areas have been reduced by half, and
productivity has climbed on those production
lines that work on the basis of the Scania Production
System.
“We are also seeing very good quality and
delivery trends. In our most important product
for Scania, the main silencer, we now have
zero faults and 100 percent delivery precision,”
Mr Fredholm continues.
The target of continued improvement work
at Swenox is that during 2004, all employees
should belong to an improvement team.
ANNUAL REPORT 2003 30