“Bronze” level of World Class Manufacturing Association for the Anagni site, thanks to the Leonardo Production System programme

28 March 2024

The World Class Manufacturing (WCM) Association awards the Leonardo site in Anagni (Frosinone), with the "Bronze" level, for the improvement of production processes and programmes, achieved through digital transformation and continuous attention to safety and the professional development of people. It is a recognition for the four years in which all site workers have put their utmost effort into implementing the Leonardo Production System (LPS) programme.

The Leonardo Production System programme was born in the spring of 2019, with the aim of optimising the efficiency and productivity of Leonardo's industrial sites, through a systemic approach oriented towards continuous improvement in the process and programme management and the achievement of increasingly higher levels of quality and safety. This evolution required a rethink of the entire product lifecycle - movements, stocks, controls, maintenance, supply chain management, up to the design and modeling of operational processes - while simultaneously increasing quality, safety and sustainability of production performance. Moreover, it has favoured a change of pace in the involvement of all workers, making them an integral and active part of the ongoing process, also through professional retraining in line with the development towards a factory 4.0 model.

A path that first led to Leonardo's entry into the World Class Manufacturing Association in 2022 and then, this year, to the conquest of the Bronze Award, among the prizes awarded every year to the factories that have made the best progress in the WCM methodology.

WCM is the evolution and integration of methodologies and logics aimed at optimising production methods developed since the 1950s, including Lean Manufacturing, JIT (Just in Time), QRM (Quick Response Manufacturing) and TPM (Total Productive Maintenance). To these WCM adds the careful evaluation of losses and waste for the purpose of coherently prioritised and targeted planning (Cost Deployment). The activities of the teams involved in WCM are oriented towards carrying out Kaizen projects aimed at eliminating losses and their causes, so as to achieve satisfaction among customers and stakeholders and, in general, to ensure a reduction in company costs.

The World Class Manufacturing Association is a non-profit organisation of different manufacturing companies that was founded to promote the development and implementation of best manufacturing practices; it also helps to increase the competitiveness of the production system for the benefit of participating companies, their production sites and end customers. The WCM Association encourages the exchange of knowledge between its various member companies, acting as guarantor in identifying auditors to actively support the programme's development, and granting “WCM Awards” to the best sites. 

During the award ceremony, the World Class Manufacturing Association plaque was presented by Antonio Liotti, Chief People and Organization Officer of Leonardo to Oreste Cafasso, Head of CoE Blades Composite & Rotor Heads of Leonardo Helicopters,  in the presence of Manlio Cuccaro, Chief Procurement, Services & Operations Officer of Leonardo, Fabio Barsotti, EVP Manufacturing & Programme Management of Leonardo and head of the LPS programme, and Alessandro Baricci, SVP Industrial Operations of Leonardo Helicopters.

The impact of the programme - in the specific case on the Anagni site, which mainly produces components intended for the assembly lines of all Leonardo's helicopters - has translated into tangible numbers: approximately 75% of people involved, with over 2,600 hours of training, 60 operational construction sites started that have generated over 600 projects and 350 improvement proposals.
 

Award ceremony


Over the last two years, the Anagni (Frosinone) site has worked constantly to improve all aspects related to safety, and the objective of zero accidents is now a consolidated reality in almost all areas, thanks to the active involvement of the operators and the collaboration with suppliers.

A notable result was also obtained in terms of management of the production machines, with a reduction in maintenance costs of 30% in just 3 years. This success is mainly attributable to the almost zero (-90%) of losses due to failure.

Labour-intensive work areas have seen a 30% improvement in productivity through the redesign of internal and external logistics flows, as well as the implementation of low-cost automation systems to optimise operations. A +25% was also recorded in the efficiency of machines and production systems, thanks to the crucial role of people and their skills.

Finally, further significant milestones were achieved in product quality, which increased by 35%. At the same time, the plant has demonstrated a notable commitment to reducing energy waste and environmental impacts, exceeding in advance the company sustainability objectives set for 2025.
 

Anagni site