Faster S.p.A. is a multinational company, global reference in quick-release hydraulic couplings. The headquarter of the company is located in Italy, in Rivolta d’Adda (CR). From 1961, the year of foundation, the company expanded its production opening new factories and enlarged the areas of application of its products thanks to a process of continuous innovation. This work born from the will of the company managers to constantly innovate and find cutting-edge solutions. They felt the necessity to become aware of the performances of a specific process inside the Rivolta d’Adda plant, i.e. the kits preparation, and increase its efficiency. First it was necessary to understand the main activities carried out in the factory and study the aforementioned process, then it was possible to focus on the most involved sectors, which is the warehouse and in particular on two zones on its sides: the internal and external preparation areas. The methodology pursued in this initial step was the proactive presence on field, in order to deeply understand the actual situation in terms of procedures followed and performances achieved. The direct observation and the dialog with workers and managers, filtered by a critical look, guided this phase of the work. More precisely, the purpose of the first core part of this project is to outline the working situation in the areas of interest, the external and internal kits preparation area. The analysis is focused on one typology of orders done by the workers that is the production one, called OPR in the company. The activities performed to fulfil this type of orders were considered nor productive nor ergonomic both from the mangers and the workers’ perspective and are highly time consuming. There was not a set of standard procedures that illustrated to the operators how to prepare the order kits, but each of them used his/her self-optimization procedure and the activity subdivision was informal. So, it was essential to provide a detailed description of the areas considered (the warehouse and the two preparation areas) and of the information flows before getting to the heart of data collection and data analysis. Starting from the current situation, it was necessary to do some researches in the field of job redesign techniques. For this purpose, an analysis of the scientific literature on this topic has been performed in the first place, in order to understand the most common methods, which resulted to be job enrichment, job enlargement and job rotations. These have been studied conceptually and empirically and have been found that a mix of them results to increase the efficacy in driving organization performance. Taking into account the topics well explained in the literature review chapter, it was possible to start a redesign of the current processes performed by the warehouse operators in the two areas under analysis. The second core part of this work is focused on the redesign of job procedures and layout. More precisely the topics under analysis regards the task subdivision, activities unpacking and lines dimensioning for what concern the task reorganization; the unification of the two areas primary and the introduction of a supermarket secondary are the focal points of a layout reconfiguration driven by the working process necessities. The main purpose of the latter is to favour the procedures’ change acceptance, improve employee morale, collaboration, and productivity. These renovations have been evaluated through a cost-benefit analysis and through the payback time. The last chapter of this work regards some possible further development that the company could consider for future improvements in addition to the aforementioned changes. In the current competitive environment, only those companies that can deliver products quickly and efficiently will have a true competitive edge and the supplementary solutions proposed could allow the company to pursue a continuous innovation approach.
Faster S.p.A. è una multinazionale leader nella produzione di innesti idraulici rapidi. La sede legale e operativa dell’azienda si trova a Rivolta d’Adda (CR). Dal 1961, l’anno di fondazione, l’azienda è notevolmente cresciuta aprendo nuovi stabilimenti e differenziando la propria produzione grazie ad un processo di innovazione continua. Questo lavoro di tesi nasce dalla volontà dei managers dell’azienda di innovare i processi e trovare soluzioni sempre all’avanguardia. In particolar modo, i responsabili volevano acquisire consapevolezza delle performance di uno dei principali processi in azienda, la preparazione dei kits di assemblaggio, e aumentarne l’efficienza. Per prima cosa è stato fondamentale studiare i processi aziendali, poi l’attenzione si è rivolta alle aree oggetto del progetto, il magazzino componenti e le due aree adiacenti, la zona di preparazione esterna e interna. La metodologia seguita nella prima fase del lavoro è stata caratterizzata dalla proattiva presenza in azienda, in modo da avere un quadro chiaro della situazione attuale in termini di procedure seguite e risultati raggiunti. L’osservazione diretta e il dialogo con gli operatori e i managers hanno guidato il lavoro svolto. Più precisamente la prima fase del progetto è stata dedicata alla definizione dell’attuale metodologia di lavoro nelle aree di interesse, la zona di preparazione esterna e interna. L’analisi si è focalizzata su una delle tipologie di ordini eseguite dagli operatori, la preparazione degli ordini di produzione. Tutte le attività necessarie alla preparazione dell’ordine erano percepite come non produttive e non ergonomiche sia dai managers che dagli operatori e comportavano un eccessivo tempo per la loro esecuzione. È emersa l’assenza di procedure standard: ciascuno dei magazzinieri utilizzava la procedura ritenuta da lui ottimale; inoltre la suddivisione delle attività era informale. Come supporto al progetto è stata condotta una scrupolosa ricerca nell’ambito delle tecniche di riorganizzazione del lavoro. Un’analisi scientifica della letteratura ha messo in luce le principali metodologie di riorganizzazione, che sono: job enrichment, job enlargement and job rotations. Questi concetti sono stati studiati concettualmente e empiricamente e i risultati ottenuti mostrano che una combinazione di questi aumenta la produttività. La seconda parte del lavoro è stata dedicata alla riprogettazione delle procedure di lavoro e del layout. Più precisamente la suddivisione dei compiti e il dimensionamento delle linee di preparazione sono i perni intorno a cui gravita la riorganizzazione del lavoro; l’unificazione delle due aree e l’introduzione del supermarket sono i punti focali della riprogettazione del layout. Tutti i cambiamenti sono stati valutati attraverso un’analisi costi benefici e attraverso il payback time per valutare la convenienza dell’investimento. L’ultimo capitolo si concentra sui possibili sviluppi futuri che Faster può considerare per incrementare ulteriormente le proprie performance. Nell’attuale contesto competitivo solo quelle aziende in grado di rispondere velocemente ai mutamenti del mercato sono in grado di costruire un reale vantaggio competitivo.
Introduction of standard procedures as driver for the productivity increase : the case of Faster S.p.A.
BONETTI, ARIANNA;CINELLI, GIADA
2016/2017
Abstract
Faster S.p.A. is a multinational company, global reference in quick-release hydraulic couplings. The headquarter of the company is located in Italy, in Rivolta d’Adda (CR). From 1961, the year of foundation, the company expanded its production opening new factories and enlarged the areas of application of its products thanks to a process of continuous innovation. This work born from the will of the company managers to constantly innovate and find cutting-edge solutions. They felt the necessity to become aware of the performances of a specific process inside the Rivolta d’Adda plant, i.e. the kits preparation, and increase its efficiency. First it was necessary to understand the main activities carried out in the factory and study the aforementioned process, then it was possible to focus on the most involved sectors, which is the warehouse and in particular on two zones on its sides: the internal and external preparation areas. The methodology pursued in this initial step was the proactive presence on field, in order to deeply understand the actual situation in terms of procedures followed and performances achieved. The direct observation and the dialog with workers and managers, filtered by a critical look, guided this phase of the work. More precisely, the purpose of the first core part of this project is to outline the working situation in the areas of interest, the external and internal kits preparation area. The analysis is focused on one typology of orders done by the workers that is the production one, called OPR in the company. The activities performed to fulfil this type of orders were considered nor productive nor ergonomic both from the mangers and the workers’ perspective and are highly time consuming. There was not a set of standard procedures that illustrated to the operators how to prepare the order kits, but each of them used his/her self-optimization procedure and the activity subdivision was informal. So, it was essential to provide a detailed description of the areas considered (the warehouse and the two preparation areas) and of the information flows before getting to the heart of data collection and data analysis. Starting from the current situation, it was necessary to do some researches in the field of job redesign techniques. For this purpose, an analysis of the scientific literature on this topic has been performed in the first place, in order to understand the most common methods, which resulted to be job enrichment, job enlargement and job rotations. These have been studied conceptually and empirically and have been found that a mix of them results to increase the efficacy in driving organization performance. Taking into account the topics well explained in the literature review chapter, it was possible to start a redesign of the current processes performed by the warehouse operators in the two areas under analysis. The second core part of this work is focused on the redesign of job procedures and layout. More precisely the topics under analysis regards the task subdivision, activities unpacking and lines dimensioning for what concern the task reorganization; the unification of the two areas primary and the introduction of a supermarket secondary are the focal points of a layout reconfiguration driven by the working process necessities. The main purpose of the latter is to favour the procedures’ change acceptance, improve employee morale, collaboration, and productivity. These renovations have been evaluated through a cost-benefit analysis and through the payback time. The last chapter of this work regards some possible further development that the company could consider for future improvements in addition to the aforementioned changes. In the current competitive environment, only those companies that can deliver products quickly and efficiently will have a true competitive edge and the supplementary solutions proposed could allow the company to pursue a continuous innovation approach.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/137148