Since the first edition in 1992, more than 700 companies across Europe have participated in this practical training course.

The 5-day World Class Manufacturing training mission (WCM) provides an in-depth analysis of Japanese manufacturing methodology and is aimed exclusively at EU Executives and Managers with knowledge of WCM and an engineering background. It assists the participants to acquire a better understanding of TQC (Total Quality Control), TQM (Total Quality Management), TPM (Total Productive Maintenance), JIT (Just In Time), TIE (Total Industrial Engineering) practices and the current KAIZEN manufacturing methods (continuous improvement).

Many WCM-advanced Japanese manufacturing firms have enjoyed considerable success largely through their adoption, use and development of unique manufacturing principles. Japanese production methods offer the best practice in production, cost deployment, quality assurance and lean production.

The training course consists of lectures and workshops and European top decision-makers are able to visit some of the world’s most advanced Japanese factories to understand the real "Gemba" (the production site), to talk directly with their production managers, and to observe the effective implementation of manufacturing methods.

• How do you become a World Class Manufacturer?
• Do you need to learn more about the Japanese approach towards world-class manufacturing?
• How do you improve cost efficiency and manufacturing capabilities to increase performance?

Programme objectives

The purposes of the mission in Japan are:

- to discover the Japanese approach towards World-Class Manufacturing - to discern and learn how Japanese firms achieve superior production standards - to focus on the latest trends by visiting the top manufacturing plants in Japan - to visit the real "GEMBA" (i.e. production site in Japan) - to meet the industry leaders via exchanges with senior Japanese management authorities

In a nutshell, this course brings EU companies closer to WCM performance.

Participant profile

The candidate should have responsibility for implementing and helping shape or even lead the company's best practice strategy. The precise job title is not important. What is important is that the individual has an important strategic role and can influence how at least part of the company's quality / best practice / production system operates. The sector is unimportant - although all the visits in Japan will be to manufacturing sites, the themes covered are equally applicable in non-manufacturing industries.

You may have a job title such as Director; Manager, Operation & Logistics; Plant Manager, Quality Manager or Managing Director. But if you have the responsibilities over part of your company's best practice system, you are welcome to apply even if your job title is different.

Eligibility

The candidate:

• must be a citizen of an EU Member State or of a COSME partnering country;
• must work for a company that is > 50% EU or COSME partnering country owned;
• must work for a company that is an EU or COSME partnering country juridical person;
• must be supported by their employer;
• must be able to participate in the entire programme;
• must have a reasonable command of English;
• should be involved in changing production engineering methods /strategy and / or production control;
• should have previous experience in operations management and/or
• should have knowledge and practice of production methods of excellence.

Selection

In order to ensure a high degree of personal attention, the number of participants in each programme is limited. (The selection will only be based on information submitted before the deadline. No information arriving after the deadline will be considered)

The selection board will mainly look at a mix of biographical (responsibilities, education, experience, etc.) and strategic factors (is your company committed to a WCM programme, what is it trying to achieve and how your participation in the course will help this happen, etc.).

For more information see here