Bombardier Aerospace receives 2013 AME Manufacturing Excellence Award

Bombardier Aerospace is the recipient of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence’s 2013 Manufacturing Excellence Award. The Toronto facility was recognized at a ceremony during the 2013 AME “Excellence Inside” Conference, taking place this week in Toronto.

“Recognizing organizations that are implementing Lean manufacturing and management processes is one of the highlights of our conference,” said Paul Kuchuris, AME president. “It allows us to highlight businesses that [are] improving their bottom lines and customer experiences with the best practices they gain through our outreach programs.”

When evaluating Bombardier’s Toronto Site, the AME assessment team was impressed by the use of improvement tools, especially with regards to the organization’s approach to Standardized Problem Solving and an empowerment system called Xcell. Combined, these processes drive continuous improvement and engagement by the workforce down to the shop-floor level. Equally impressive to the team was the level of accountability at Bombardier’s Toronto Site and an understanding that the entire organization must change to meet evolving demands and new visions.

Bombardier’s Toronto Site researches, designs, manufactures and sells commercial and business aircraft. The site also provides field support. The 373-acre facility includes a 7,000-foot runway, 1.2 million square feet of manufacturing space and employs approximately 4,000 people. The Toronto site began a cultural and physical transformation to improve productivity and the customer experience by adopting the Achieving Excellence System in 2008.

The AME Manufacturing Excellence Award recognizes manufacturing plants that have demonstrated excellence in manufacturing and business. The primary focus of the award is to acknowledge continuous improvement, best practices, creativity and innovation. This award supports AME’s mission “to inspire a commitment to enterprise excellence through experiential learning by bringing people together to share, learn and grow.”

The 2013 class of Manufacturing Excellence Award winners also includes: STIHL Incorporated of Virginia Beach, Va.; MillerCoors of Eden, N.C.; and IEC Electronics Corp. of Albuquerque, N.M.