Brief about the Automotive Sector
The automotive industry is a significant sector globally, accounting for approximately 3% of the world's GDP. It is a key component of the global economy, involved in producing a wide range of vehicles, including cars, trucks, motorcycles, and buses. Major companies in the industry include:
- Toyota Motor Corporation (Japan)
- Volkswagen Group (Germany)
- General Motors (USA)
- Ford Motor Company (USA)
- Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Japan)
- BMW Group (Germany)
- Mercedes-Benz Group (Germany)
- Hyundai Motor Group (South Korea)
- Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Japan)
- Tesla, Inc. (USA)
These companies are involved in a range of activities, including vehicle production, research and development of new technologies (like electric and autonomous vehicles), and expanding into new markets worldwide.
The automotive sector holds a distinctive position within the industry. Given the fierce competition in this global field, balancing costs with evolving customer demands poses a considerable challenge. Therefore, achieving efficiency, performance, and an impressive facility presentation is essential for ensuring the company's survival and sustainability.
Maintaining performance regarding Quality, Productivity, and Safety becomes an inevitable objective for any automotive manufacturing company. Many techniques are implemented by industries as good manufacturing practices (GMP).
Good Practices Followed in the Automotive Sector
In a highly competitive and volatile market, these certifications and tools are essential for automotive companies to maintain sustainability. Most companies implement basic certifications such as ISO 9001 QMS, ISO 14001 EMS, ISO 45001 (OHSAS), and IATF 16949 (Automotive sector-specific QMS) as a part of the demand from their OEM customers.
In addition to certifications, there are many Lean manufacturing tools and methodologies to enhance operational efficiency, reduce waste, and continuously improve processes. These include tools such as Kaizen, 5S, Pokayoke, and Gemba, which are exercised in automotive sector companies regardless of size and turnover.
The focus on continuous improvement, waste reduction, and high quality helps companies stay competitive and supports long-term sustainability by reducing environmental impact and enhancing operational resilience.
Overall, these practices are integral to the automotive sector's success, enabling companies to adapt to changing market conditions, innovate, and deliver high-quality products while maintaining strong relationships with OEMs and customers.
Main Challenges in Implementing Good Practices in the Company
Many good initiatives are taken by individual companies to continuously improve operational performance, but only a few are successfully executed to produce robust results and long-term sustainable practices. Apart from budget constraints and technological issues, the main reasons behind the failure of initiatives are inadequate and incompetent human resources and poor teamwork.
The development of human resources and the establishment of a positive, high-performance culture are essential. Even with the best intentions and well-designed initiatives, the absence of competent, well-trained personnel and effective teamwork can lead to the failure of those initiatives. Here’s a deeper look into why this happens and how companies can overcome these challenges.
Inadequate & Incompetent Human Resources:
- Skills Gap
- Resistance to Change
- Training Gaps
Poor Teamwork:
- Lack of Collaboration
- Cultural Barriers
- Leadership Challenges
In order to match such performance-related requirements, the development of human resources in any automotive company is tough yet a main requisite. Inculcating a good culture within the entire team is a challenging endeavor.
Visual Management, a Proven Tool Offering Remarkable Results
Visual management is proven to be the simplest and most effective technique used to build such a culture. It is a globally accepted tool for elevating performance at a manufacturing facility. The concept is based on a "Visual Workplace." Studies state that "Visual memory is permanent and is 60,000 times better than auditory memory," and "65% of the population are visual learners." Any visual display acts as an “Effective Trainer available 24x7 at the workplace.” This makes visual management the best technique to inculcate a good culture and elevate the image of the company.
VisualMitra is an Indian company that has worked extensively on industry-specific challenges and developed visual management kits focused on developing a good culture in any company within the automotive sector supply chain.
