Volvo Construction Equipment Asheville Plant Tours

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0.2 day(s)

About This Event:

Tour a western North Carolina leader in quality improvement, productivity, and performance. Volvo Construction Equipment Asheville Plant has taken a very methodical approach to building an integrated lean system that pulls together resources in all areas with the goal of supporting efficiency and quality in our manufacturing process. In 2001 Volvo started the journey by introducing 5S. Today the company is 5S + 1 and is recognized as the benchmark within Volvo Construction Equipment.

The Asheville Plant also implemented Juran Quality Tools for Problem Solving as part of its Operational Excellence strategy. The desire is to provide employees with a tool kit of problem solving methods that get to the root cause of both internal and external quality problems. In 2005 Lean /Six Sigma training was conducted for 60 employees, thus raising the skill level of these individuals who will lead improvement projects.

Teaming efforts were reintroduced to the Asheville facility in 2004 as part of Volvo’s Operational Development process. The teaming process seeks to apply the Lean/Sigma approach in cross-functional groups across all the facility. Teams are asked to identify areas of improvement for Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Environmental Care or Employee Morale (SQDCEM).

Topics Covered Include:

Tour the Volvo plant in Asheville on 2nd Wednesdays.

Date	Time
October 14, 2009	9:30am - 12noon
November 11, 2009	9:30am - 12noon
December 9, 2009	9:30am - 12noon

The tour is available on a pre-registration / pre-approval basis. Please register with Ms. Jean James at 828-251-6155 ext 221 or jean_james@ncsu.edu.

Volvo reserves the right to refuse tours to individuals who may be employed in a competing industry. IES will try to arrange an alternate tour for these businesses.

Additional Information:

Directions
From Greensboro:
I-40 West to Asheville
To I-26 East. Take Exit 37 (Long Shoals Exit) - Former Exit #6
Turn left at exit ramp and go through 5 lights. This is intersection of Hendersonville Road
Turn right at light and entrance to Volvo Plant is on right just past the next light. You will see a piece of construction equipment on the entrance bank.

From Charlotte (I-26 Westbound)
Take I-85 South towards Gastonia
Merge onto I-26 west via exit 70 toward Asheville
From 1-26 take exit 40 (exit right) towards Asheville Regional Airport / Arden
At the red light turn right onto NC 280 / Airport Road.
Follow NC 280 for approximately 2 miles until it intersects with HWY 25 / Hendersonville Road.
At the red light turn left onto HWY 25 / Hendersonville Road.
Go to the 4th red light (approximately 1 ½ miles) to the plant entrance on the left. You will see our sign and some equipment displayed at the road.
When you enter the drive follow the signs at the guard house. (You will enter to the left of the guard house using the gate closest to the building.)
You must stop and register with the guard before you will be allowed to enter the facility. The guard will give you instructions for parking and registering at the front desk

Required safety procedures for the plant tour
Safety glasses
No open-toe shoes
Volvo can supply safety glasses for individuals who do not have their own.