Trend Conference Lean Management 2016 also in Košice
On February 4 the weekly magazine Trend in cooperation with the CEIT Company organized - for the first time in Košice - the Trend Conference Lean Management 2016, subtitled “Lean companies are more fit”. The event was attended by leading companies, mainly from Eastern Europe, among them also U. S. Steel Košice.
Lean Management is not new in Slovakia; it is helping several companies to increase their performance to nearly world level. However, it is not easy to apply lean production and processes; the implementation is also accompanied by difficulties. The Conference made it possible to become familiar with the approaches at specific companies: what situation they have found themselves in, which challenges they have addressed, what preceded their decision, their choice from several options, the obstacles they have faced and the results they have ultimately achieved, and it also outlined the way forward towards Industry 4.0.
The representatives from the companies CEIT, Whirlpool, Embraco Slovakia, Osram, Faurecia Leather Košice, Kiekert-CS, SWEP Slovakia, Bukóza Holding, Tomra Sorting Solutions, RIGHT POWER, and U. S. Steel Košice also shared their know-how. Experience with the use of the Lean Six Sigma tools in practice and in the process of our Company transformation was presented by Marián Halušťok, Head of Department for Process and Technology Excellence Projects.
Vice President Operations Marcel Novosad also took part in the Conference, and among other things he was mainly interested in the paper presented by Miloš Bugan, General Manager of the CEIT Group, entitled "Lean in the Industry 4.0 Concept" as well as in the paper presented by Michal Major, General Manager of Whirlpool, entitled "Back to the Roots & Digital Factory". In their speeches they outlined the trend for the future not only for Lean Management, the fourth industrial revolution or, as it is now popularly called, Industry 4.0. This revolution is based on use of the cyber physical system and SMART solutions. The statements "Product manufactured based just on in-time on-line entered real production requirements," "Self-organized integrated production linked to functional supplier-customer chain,” or "Flexible decision-making based on on-line status” are not only wishes but are also becoming reality. As underlined by several presenters, Industry 4.0 is not only about the application of new smart solutions, but it also requires one key component, "peopleware", i.e. people designing the products, making decisions on the rules and parameters of production and logistics. Integration of new production methods, use of new materials and new smart tools will also require brand-new skills.
If you are interested in the topic of the fourth industrial revolution, you can find links to interesting articles and materials in the directory Industry 4.0.
