Bombardier’s Toronto plant nabs 2013 AME lean award

Bombardier Aerospace’s Toronto facility, where it manufactures the Dash-8 twin-engine turboprop airliners and Global Express business jets, is the winner of a 2013 Manufacturing Excellence Award from the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME).

The award, presented by the not-for-profit organization that’s focused on continuous improvement and enterprise excellence, recognizes companies that are implementing lean manufacturing and management processes.

Bombardier’s Toronto plant sits on a 373-acre site with a 7,000-foot runway. AME’s assessment team was impressed by the use of improvement tools, especially Standardized Problem Solving, and an empowerment system. The Xcell program formally recognizes and awards employees for personally coming up with, and successfully implementing solutions to challenges that arise in their day-to-day work. AME says combining these processes drive continuous improvement and workforce engagement to the shop floor.

“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,” the AME said in a press release.

The Toronto site, which adopted its Achieving Excellence System in 2008, will receive the award at a ceremony during the 2013 AME “Excellence Inside” Conference on Oct. 22 in Toronto.

Other 2013 winners include: STIHL Inc., Virginia Beach, Va.; MillerCoors, Eden, N.C.; and IEC Electronics Corp., Albuquerque, N.M.