The present and future of the LPS programme

08 November 2022

The results achieved and the goals set by the Leonardo Production System illustrated during a meeting with plant managers and heads of operations.

How do you make a factory more productive while improving industrial processes and reducing risks for workers? Three years after the launch of the Leonardo Production System (LPS) programme, which has the precise aim of optimising the efficiency and productivity of industrial sites, the plant managers involved and the heads of operations of the various industrial sectors came together at the Cascina Costa offices in Samarate to discuss the work carried out so far and to gather ideas and proposals for the future.

“In these three years we have focused very much on the application of the programme's specific method and on the training undertaken in the various plants”, said Fabio Barsotti, Manufacturing and Programme Management Optimisation Director, underlining the importance of an approach aimed at continuous improvement in the management of processes in order to ensure ever-increasing levels of quality and safety: “The introduction of these new operating rules should not be regarded as, and indeed is not, an increased burden on the work of plant managers. On the contrary, since the LPS system was introduced, the approach to management has changed radically and in a positive way, freeing up time, energy and resources.”

The foundations of the LPS programme lie in WCM - World Class Manufacturing, a structured and integrated production methodology aimed at perfecting production performance and then putting it into practice, with the goal of ensuring product quality and satisfying customer expectations. The aim is to strike a balance between traditional activities and the digitisation of production and quality control processes, moving towards the final model of the so-called factory 4.0.

“Who is the plant manager?, continued Barsotti. “He is the manager with one particular objective above all others on behalf of the company: to produce. Particularly at Leonardo, where high-value products are developed, it is fundamentally important to complete the cycle and to carry production to its conclusion. But a plant that produces things is also required to achieve quality, cost reductions, safety and sustainability. All goals pursued by the LPS programme, with which we are aligned at all levels”.

The new system has a threefold objective: to reduce the waste that exists in the current production process; to involve all workers within a given plant, giving them responsibility and making them an integral and active part of the process; and to increase safety in the workplace.  And it has yielded impressive results: in the 18 Leonardo plants at which the LPS has been implemented, landmarks in excellence have been achieved - for example at the Anagni, Cascina Costa, Cameri, Venegono and Foggia sites, among others - with the launch of over 8,000 improvement projects and the involvement of more than 2,000 people. “Our objective is to have as many as 19 sites involved in the course of this year”, the Director recalled, “while maintaining our approach that places people at the centre of gravity in advancing the programme”.

“Producing quality, respecting deliveries, complying with sustainability requirements while increasing levels of safety: all these are elements of value that go beyond numerical results and are absolutely fundamental”, concluded Barsotti.