The Fiat Group's
Melfi factory, which builds the key Grande Punto model
range, has just become the carmaker's first plant in Italy
to be awarded "Silver Level" certification for its adherence
to World Class Manufacturing (WCM) standards.
The Fiat Group has
adopted WCM, an international methodology for the
organisation of the manufacturing cycle, to manage its
plants in accordance with the best standards worldwide. The
WCM improvement process is comprised of three intermediate
levels – Bronze, Silver, Gold – and one, final, World Class
Level.
The Fiat Group
Automobiles plant in Melfi, in Southern Italy, which
received Bronze level certification in 2007, is the first
plant in Italy to receive Silver Level certification from
the WCM audit Commission, chaired by Prof. Hajime Yamashina.
The Melfi plant is home to Fiat Group Automobiles' biggest
selling model, the Fiat Grande Punto, and now the sole
production centre in Europe with a second line at Turin's
Mirafiori plant being phased out. Emphasising the importance
that Fiat attaches to Melfi, a week-and-a-half ago the Fiat
Group, in a mid-term industrial production plan, confirmed
that the mid-life facelift version of the current Grande
Punto range (known at Punto EVO) which will be built at the
plant alongside the current model. The current generation
Grande Punto will be then repositioned as a
lower-specification entry-level B-segment model once Punto
EVO production gets underway.
"This important
award is the result of the widespread and constant effort of
our people in the rigorous application of WCM principles and
methods, which resulted in improvements in logistics and
quality and significant cost reductions," said Fiat in a
press release. "This achievement rewards Fiat Group’s hard
work in the last few years to make its manufacturing
structure increasingly efficient and flexible, and gain a
competitive edge over the best in class," the statement
added.
