WCOM (World Class Operations Management): Why You Need More Than Lean

Abstract

This book deals with World Class Operations Management (WCOM), detailing its principles, methods and organisation, and the results that this approach can bring about. Utilising real-world case studies illustrated by companies that have adopted this model (interviews with Saint-Gobain, L’Oréal, Tetra Pak, Bemis, and Bel Executives), it describes common patterns drawn from decades of hands-on experience, so as to present a theoretical approach together with the concrete application of its principles. WCOM, adopted by several multinational companies, is one of the more innovative management practises, as it integrates the best Continuous Improvement approaches (Lean, Total Productive Management, World Class Manufacturing) as well as the most innovative approaches in human dynamics like Change Leadership, Performance Behavior, Shingo Model, to name a few. Every book’s chapter has been authored by an expert in these different fields, thus revealing the synergy among the different practices, which is one of the distinguishing and successful aspects of WCOM. Maximising reader insights into the successful implementation of such an approach, and explaining not only its potentialities, but also its implementation dynamics, the critical points and the ways it can be integrated into different situations, this book is also about how to create a culture of excellence that is sustainable over a long period of time and delivers consistent (or ever-improving) results.