IMPLEMENTATION OF WORLD CLASS MANUFACTURING

CONCEPTS IN LOCAL INDUSTRY: A CASE IN AHSB BERSEKUTU

SDN. BHD COMPANY
Muhammed Fadhlan, Muhammad Haziq
Mechanical Engineering(Manufacturing), UiTM Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
ABSTRACT
WCM is an international standard of proven methods and tools for an organization to achieve the international
standard for quality. This paper will attempt to identify the implementation of the WCM tools by the AHSB
Bersekutu Sdn. Bhd Company and measure its effectiveness. The method to identify the WCM tools is to
observe the daily workings of the company during the internship process and attempt to find as many similarities
to the WCM tools. The 3 WCM tools practicesed in the company is JIT,5S and TQM.

INTRODUCTION

the government and private sector with the scope

area around Selangor. The company are likely
provide a service type of work and the work
structure are basically customer driven structure.
The company provide a service to the customer
when the customer need the services, and for each
services the material uses and services provided can
be different according to type of the service needed.
The company was not the manufacturing company
but it is engineering based company and the
company has implement some of the world-class
manufacturing tools in the services.

World-class manufacturing is the tools of

implementing the efficient ways to perform a job or
process in industries. The tools has many
methodology with the intention to satisfy the
customer need at any cost. Some of the world class
manufacturing method are 5S, just in time, kaizen,
lean production and many more. The adoption and
implementation of world-class manufacturing give
many benefit to the industries such as cost
reduction, quality improvement, and competitive
challenge between industries [2]. World-class
manufacturing concept also can improve the
employer and worker relationship through
communication and empowerment [1].
In this study, we have study and analyze the
implementation of the world-class manufacturing
on the company, and each of the method of worldclass manufacturing tools used was discussed. The
industry chosen was the electrical engineering
company, AHSB Bersekutu Sdn. Bhd. The
company provide the electrical service maintenance
and domestic electrical wiring services such as
home and office wiring services. The study discuss
on the company implementation on some of the
world-class manufacturing philosophy when
providing the service to the customer.
AHSB Bersekutu Sdn. Bhd is one of the
electrical engineering company that was founded by
Mr Azman Bin Mohamad Basorawi in 1998. The
company main focused are in electrical service and
maintenance, and the company mostly work with
1

WCM TOOLS/METHOD IMPLEMENTED

it will be returned to its original place. All the

procedure can then be implemented on other
departments.

JIT
JIT is a method to reduce the inventory by
only ordering goods as they are needed. By doing
this the inventory cost is reduced and any problem
relating to inventory is avoided. In manufacturing
this method is one of the ways to achieve a fully
efficient and succesfull system, by targeting the
source of the problem; inventory. However
implementation of such method requires good
supplier relationship as the whole production
depends on their ability to deliver on time.

CASE STUDY
JIT
The company have two types of inventory,
important items and unimportant items. The
important items are always available in the
storehouse of the company. The unimportant items
are those one time use item for specific projects,
those are not stored in the storehouse instead they
are ordered the day before the project. The
important items for examples are light bulbs,
electrical wiring set, lighting setup and PVC casing
for wires.
This is a practical example of JIT as the
unimportant items are not in inventory but instead
are ordered only when needed. Due to the nature of
them being used only once, we do not need to store
them.
Meanwhile the important item are always
in stock as the job will always have a need for
them. With the inventory we could make sure no
order time is needed as the item are always within
hands reach. For a simple job as maintanence there
would be no need to wait for the item to arrive as it
can be acquired from the inventory on the spot.
This removes the problem of shortage. The items in
the inventory will always be restocked if their count
is low. This is a form of KANBAN where the
inventory is flagged when low, thus restocking
them.

TQM
Total Quality Management is another
philosophy that outlines success by satisfying the
customers needs. The total part in its name
makes it a philosophy that everyone in the company
must practice in order to achieve a full system
effect. The customer centric approach to quality has
all the processes in the production line, now matter
how small their role, looks towards one goal;
satisfying the customer. Any work that does not add
value will need to be avoided. Value by TQM
definition is any work that adds a feature that the
customer is willing to pay for. The focus on
customer is appropriate with Demings First
Principle Constancy of Purpose where the success
for a company, it is required for the individuals of
that body to have the same purpose.
5S
Another quality tool commonly used in the
industry or any place with common sense is 5S. The
Ss are Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardized and
Systemize in those order. The 5s is a set of routine
that helps in cleaning the workspace and makes the
work more efficient by sorting and throwing out the
unnecessary items. In short it helps maintain the
workspace so that work may occur smoothly
without any hiccups.

TQM
After the job is done for the day the site
manager reports the daily activity to the boss where
any material shortage and other problems are
notified. The special thing about this organization is
that the boss empower the employees as any
problem arising will be handled fully by the
employees. The suggestion of fellow employees are
highly valued and everyone has a speak in the
problem solving process. No idea is left behind. A
simple inspection is done after every project to
check wheter the work is up to quality. For
example, a power outlet is checked for its
functionality via a lightbulb test.

The implementation of 5S is usually embedded in

the work schedule of the workers; for example, at
the start of each morning, it is compulsory for each
employee to clean up. The labeling of items and
tools make the work of categorising and sorting
them easier. With labels every time an item is used
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For the maintanence work, there will be a

before and after report for feedback and
communication purposes. The report prior to
maintanence is to inform the maintanence crew of
the damaged parts in need of repairs. The report
after maintanence is to document the work process
so any claims afterwards would proceed smoothly

Example of the processes are; there is a

daily report to determine the maintainence job
required be performed on that day or within the
week. If the maintanence need to be done on that
day, the workers will work according to the report,
what type of maintanence, what type of material
needed and the location of the job. If the material
are in stock the crew will proceed with the
maintanence and if there is a shortage in the
inventory, then the workers need to order or directly
buy the items. The worker will do the maintanence
and do an inspection afterwards to ensure the
maintanence is performed well. The worker will
then write a short report on the maintanence job
detailing the type of maintanence, the quatity of
inventory used, and the job status; either done or
work in progress. The excess material and tools are
then sorted and returned to their respective places.
Another type of work done is house wiring
project, where the site manager will discuss with
the boss and the home owner about the project and
how it will turn out, the outcome of the project. A
meeting will be held between all the worker on the
site and the site manager and boss to discuss about
the process and the material needed for the whole
project. Based on the discussion, the material and
the project progress will be list down as the
projects guideline.
For the items in the inventory that is short on
numbers will be ordered a week or two before the
project starts. For each day, the workers will report
to the boss on the work progress, the work that has
been done and the problems faced. Based on the
report a discussion will be made with all of the
workers to find a solution.

Figure : The prior maintanence form issued to

inform a maintanence job
5S
Inventory is never in clutter as a clean
inventory would enable for easier job, less time
spend to find the materials needed. The cleaning job
is done monthly, once a month, but if there is no job
at hand, no project and maintanence work for the
day, the cleaning and sorting process is done. Items
in the inventory is documented every time there is a
withdrawal and storage of items. The office
workspace is also required to be clean daily because
there are many important documents stored there.

After the project has been completed, an inspection

will be carried out to ensure project meets with the
customers needs and satisfaction.

Figure : Inventory Space

Figure : Inspection Process
Example of the implementation of the WCM
Tools

DISCUSSION BENEFITS
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JIT

Lower time required for maintainence

Lower the stopage time for material
shortage
Inventory can be controlled and less waste
For electrical appliance some of them are
fragile so by implementing JIT the
inventory can be controlled and prevent
broken items
Reduce the ordering cost by ordering in
bulk.

TQM
Easy for management to handle the
documentation for every project
Empowerment of the employee so that
every problem is solved together.
Project postmortem can be easily done.
Worker and site manager can share
knowledge and discuss ideas on how to
solve the problems and finish the project
on time

Reduce waste due to unused material

Reduce defect from occuring due to
unsorted inventory
Reduce inventory and document misplace
The work is done faster as the worker can
easily retrieve the items without searching
for too long
Inventory can easily be stocked as the item
shortage can be easily identified.

CONCLUSION
The rapid changing of the world wide
industrial environment have become the game
changer of the manufacturing method and process
between the industries. Each industries compete
with each other to show their capability and
efficiency to attract the customer. Nowadays the
world-class manufacturing tools has become the
important tools and widely recognized by the
industries because the tools not only help the
company to build the quality but also cover many
aspect such the relationship between worker and
management. Just in time, 5S and total quality
management are some of the world-class
manufacturing tool that can be used for many
organization event does not related to the
manufacturing field. The implementation of the
tools by the AHSB Bersekutu Sdn. Bhd Company
has shown many advantages can be gain from the
tools and it help the company in many ways
especially the company working effectiveness.

5s