HPM - Manufaturing of high performance. Fourth International Round

High performance manufacturing (HPM) is an integrated set of processes designed to achieve a sustainable global competitive advantage through the continuous improvement of manufacturing capacity. HPM defends the need to integrate more production management, human resources management and the organisation’s characteristics in order to achieve a higher degree of global competitiveness through production management.

There are numerous Advanced Practices of Production (PAP) (JIT/Lean, MRP, TQM, AMT, ICT, TPM, SCM TOC, etc.). Many consultants and managers recommend introducing each new practice that has proven successful in other companies which seek high performance. However, the result is often not as good as expected because many industrial plants do not previously creates a “foundation” correctly to build high performance with PAP. A mutual adaptation from the PAP-plant should take place according to the context (size, industry, country, etc.).

This is why the HPM Project goals are to:

• Establish relations between PAP and the performance of plants.
• Develop a global database of the functioning of High Performance Plants (PAR) and Standard Performance (PRE). The database will be used to diagnose the participating plants’ state:
  • Relate some PAP with performance in PAR and PRE.
  • Compare PAR and PRE.
  • Conduct longitudinal studies.
  • Knowledge transfer to plants.
  • Set up an observatory of production/operations.