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That’s why Bolzoni Auramo adopted the Lean Manufacturing System

Always move forward with ideas and people: this is the path we follow in Bolzoni Auramo.
In a continuously evolving world, to be prepared to changes and to surf challenges is every company goal. Bolzoni Auramo, as several excellent organizations world wide, found the way to quality improvement in the adoption of the Lean Manufacturing System.

With seven production sites situated in Europe, America and Asia, Bolzoni Auramo is strongly focused in organization and production improvements. We asked Roberto Brusamonti, Bolzoni SpA OEM’s Production Manager and responsible of the Lean Manufacturing System implementation inside the Bolzoni Group, to share his experience.

Roberto Brusamonti is not tired to run around the Bolzoni Group manufacturing plants to share the lean vision and methods with Colleagues all over the world. He has been working in Bolzoni for 25 years and he is responsible for the Lean Manufacturing implementation process inside Bolzoni since 2010, when Roberto Scotti, CEO of the Bolzoni Group first embraced the Lean Manufacturing philosophy to make the company more competitive. Through consultants executive coaching and mentoring, as a waterfall first in Italy, second in Germany, in P.R.C., in the US and in all other group production plants, Roberto is carrying out dedicated lean manufacturing workshops.

Mr. Brusamonti, tell us about this project. How does this system help Bolzoni?
‘’Continuous improvement through waste reduction and production processes optimization are not a question of chance. This system helps us to be a growing company, even in hard times, and through market crisis.

Lean philosophy is at the production and logistics basis, giving guidelines for the interaction with customers and suppliers. In facts, the lean methodology brings quality and efficiency improvements through the whole management chain.

We only focus on what is needed, systematically reducing wastes, and this increases the customer perceived value in term of quality, delivery and cost performance. We don’t have a magic wand, but the awareness that we need to improve day by day. To become preferred supplier doesn’t happen by chance.’’

Does Bolzoni have a lean recipe?
‘’The majority of people involved in manufacturing processes know about Lean methodologies: 5S, Value Stream Mapping, SMED, KANBAN, one-piece-flow, zero defect principle.

We start from the actual situation analysis, the processes mapping, we choose the field we want to improve and put down a plan of activities and the implementation to each of them.’’ Isn’t it simple as ABC? ‘’In Bolzoni we focus on what the true value to customer is: the value is an action, a process the customer accepts to pay for: all the rest is waste.’’

What does ‘’lean oriented’’ mean? How do you involve workers? How do you ensure the values are aligned internally and externally?
‘’One of the Lean System Principles is ‘’create and transfer of knowledge’’, and this is why, to optimize efficiency, we are implementing it in all Bolzoni Group manufacturing plants.

‘’We ask for the engagement of all the people inside the company. We believe this cultural change creates advantages for everybody’’. In Bolzoni we feel it is strategic to transfer knowledge and involve workers, through periodic meetings, showing obtained results and sharing new projects.’’ To keep everybody involved and lean oriented we practice workshops inside our production plants world wide. Through team work sustainment we get to the final result. Improvement triggers improvement.’’

Mr. Brusamonti, can you tell us about some success stories you achieved in the Bolzoni Group manufacturing plants?
‘’Since 2011, thanks to external consultations, the integral sideshifters assembly line process has been optimized, continuously improving along the last 8 years, with a result of 40% productivity improvement.

‘’Another remarkable result I can mention has been obtained in the fork painting area: efficiency has been improved thanks to the strong reduction of varnish consumption. The overspray has been put under inspection and some actions have been undertaken: redefining the system parameters, though keeping customer expected quality. The result has been great: the varnish consumption has been reduced by 22% during 2018. We spared enough varnish to paint the size of six football fields. Figures matter: 381 kg less of solvent emissions into the atmosphere and 3.060 kg of special waste not produced.

In Shanghai, during a workshop carried out in 2019, the integral attachments assembly line waste has been analyzed and the motion time has been reduced by 60%. Achieved result? Each worker walks 2 km less a day.’’