BestPractice Onsite  -  MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH

The Tognum subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH supplies diesel engines and complete propulsion systems for ships, heavy land and rail vehicles, industrial applications und decentralized power-generating systems. 

The range of products covering diesel engines from 20 kW to 9,100 kW and gas turbines is one of the most modern and comprehensive in the sector. To control and monitor its engines and propulsion systems the company develops and manufactures its own tailor-made electronic systems.

> more information on the website of MTU Friedrichshafen

Guiding principles of manufacturing at MTU-Friedrichshafen:

• We exploit the full potential of processes and technologies to continuously improve our productivity
• We establish reliable and robust processes and supply components of the highest quality
• We continuously improve our logistics processes and achieve a high degree of delivery reliability combined with low inventories and minimum cycle times
• We encourage and motivate our employees to reach our common goals
• We react to changing market and marginal conditions, deploying a high level of adaptiveness
• We are a learning organisation and we continuously strive to improve
  
  

Only those ready to change will persist!

Only robust and adaptive factories will persist in a turbulent industrial environment. Therefore, and in accordance with our guiding principles, we started as early as in the middle of the 1990's to adapt manufacturing to these new challenges. After optimising the level of vertical integration with a focus on technologically challenging components we divided the factory into segments.

The introduction of methods such as Kaizen, TPM, TQM, 5S has initiated the systematic elimination of waste from our manufacturing process. Backed by a continuous improvement process and standardised, robust processes we persistently follow our path to excel in creating added value.

To prevent this transformation process from getting stuck in one-time effects and flashes in the pan we developed and implemented a value creation system containing all required elements and serving as a guideline for our senior management and our employees.

The success of the transformation process depends on many elements all of which have one common factor: man. When all those involved can be convinced of the need for such transformation, then our employees' motivation, qualification and performance, together with the methods applied, will yield the desired success.