On a new course: Alstom a Success Story by Staufen.AG
Can 13 trains really be built in only 18 months? However, the company also faces challenges. China’s two largest state-run train manufacturers merged to form a megacorporation, putting pressure on Alstom’s profitability. Among other things, this affects the Salzgitter site, where some 2,500 people work, which is why Alstom turned to Staufen for support in 2015. The consultants’ task was to help them keep optimizing. The core of their approach: transparent shop floor management. Time was of the essence, because a major project from Deutsche Bahn, the German railway system, came rolling in. Alstom Salzgitter had to complete 13 entire trains within a mere eighteen months, and they had to comply with many detailed specifications. This project was a major challenge given the complexities of the rail technology sector and its demanding regulatory environment. There was no time for errors: their new shop floor management method had to work seamlessly from the outset.
Can 13 trains really be built in only 18 months?
However, the company also faces challenges. China’s two largest
state-run train manufacturers merged to form a megacorporation,
putting pressure on Alstom’s profitability. Among other
things, this affects the Salzgitter site, where some 2,500 people
work, which is why Alstom turned to Staufen for support in 2015.
The consultants’ task was to help them keep optimizing. The core
of their approach: transparent shop floor management. Time
was of the essence, because a major project from Deutsche Bahn,
the German railway system, came rolling in. Alstom Salzgitter had
to complete 13 entire trains within a mere eighteen months, and
they had to comply with many detailed specifications. This project
was a major challenge given the complexities of the rail technology
sector and its demanding regulatory environment. There was
no time for errors: their new shop floor management method
had to work seamlessly from the outset.
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Employees as the engines<br />
of change<br />
APPROACH<br />
Employees were integrated into the process from the outset to<br />
ensure that the entire workforce was on board.<br />
A 30-member project team led the way and set a good example.<br />
Working together, the group successfully demonstrated for<br />
the first time what the current state of communications was in<br />
Salzgitter and how it needed to change. The members of staff<br />
came up with the slogan, “I’m on board,” publicized it on site and<br />
motivated the other teams. More and more employees became<br />
involved and contributed ideas about how to make shop floor<br />
management more efficient.<br />
The project team rolled out shop floor management with four<br />
pilot projects, strategically positioned in critical areas: development,<br />
construction, production and supply chain. <strong>Alstom</strong> and<br />
<strong>Staufen</strong> introduced open and regular communication between<br />
team members and the departments in these areas, generated<br />
central figures and values for daily tasks and long-term targets,<br />
and created well-coordinated decision-making processes. Everywhere<br />
they turned, the <strong>new</strong>ly trained staff could see for themselves<br />
how their work proceeded calmly and expediently, thanks<br />
to clear guidelines, transparent key process indicators and <strong>new</strong>ly<br />
defined escalation hierarchies.<br />
4 STAUFEN. | ALSTOM
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