OREANDA-NEWS. April 21, 2010. The international conference on lean production was held at KAMAZ. Its main theme is “The development of suppliers on the basis of KAMAZ production system philosophy”. It is the third lean forum which KAMAZ organized together with the Chamber of Industry and Trade of Naberezhnye Chelny.

Both the members of KAMAZ and its guests delivered speeches at the conference. In particular, Ozawa Keisuke, Vice President of Toyota Engineering Corporation, made an emphasis on production visualization in his presentation of Toyota’s production system. Igor Medvedev, Chairman of Committee for Development of KAMAZ Production System paid attention to the integration of production systems in his report. Rishat Kaviev, Director of Purchasing and Logistics Department of OJSC KAMAZ presented the supplier relationship strategy on the basis of lean principles.

On the second day of the conference the groups of participants visited workshops organized at KAMAZ-Diesel, the automobile plant, ZF KAMA JV, and OOO KAMAZenergoremont. The round-table discussions were held in the forge plant and in the directorate.

Yury Klochkov, First Deputy Director General – CEO of OJSC KAMAZ, and Igor Medvedev, Chairman of Committee for Development of KAMAZ Production System met with journalists on the eve of the international conference on lean production. Yury Klochkov noted that the instruments of the Lean Production program were aimed at the more effective use of the company’s resources: more effective work and reduced costs. To his mind, under conditions of the continuing financial recession such a policy becomes more important increasing competitiveness of products of the enterprise. Yury Klochkov expressed his opinion that not only final output producers (e.g. KAMAZ), but also all other enterprises of the production string must follow principles and instruments of lean production including those used in Daimler. It was mentioned that KAMAZ would show preference to those suppliers whose production is built on the principles of lean production.

According to the view of foreign companies’ representatives – suppliers of OEM for KAMAZ vehicles, foreign colleagues can learn from the specialists of the Russian auto giant. As a result of implemented KAMAZ Production System 1.6 billion roubles were saved, the workers of OJSC KAMAZ made more suggestions for process optimization (for the last 4 years the number of them grew 32 times as much!), and shared their advanced experience with other domestic enterprises. According to Yury Klochkov, KAMAZ Production System enabled the company to start a number of larger projects – modernization of the logistics, purchasing, quality systems, as well as to achieve the stable operation of the assembly line.

Igor Medvedev noted that the notion of “lean production” comprised more than simple saving and was a necessary tool for continuous process optimization. The policy of lean production is also based on the wrokers’ initiatives taken into account, higher motivation of the company’s each worker and chances for them to fulfill their potential.

To date OJSC KAMAZ increases collaboration with Daimler, also in the field of mutual integration of KAMAZ Production System and its German analogue Truck Operating System. At present many specialists from KAMAZ are being trained in Germany, and in perspective it is planned to organize such training in Naberezhnye Chelny.