The fourth Lean in Europe visit took place on 9 May 2014 at Audi S.A. / N.V. Brussels plant, Belgium. 24 engineers from 20 different companies located in 14 EU Member-States and operating in sectors such as automotive, postal services, electronics, machinery and textiles attended this visit.

The factory tour through the body shop and assembly line gave the participants the chance to experience the production of the Audi A1 up close. From the manufacturing of the wheel arches, through connecting the engine/transmission system to the body, to the final quality check – the visitor route provided a look behind the scenes of modern car making.

Audi’s representatives shared their own experience on Lean and best practices and explained the Audi Production System. During the debriefing time, ideas, opinions and suggestions were shared between all the participants providing the host company with useful feedback and new ideas for the participants to implement in their own companies.

Agenda:

10:00 Welcome & Introduction of company

10:25 Bodyshop visit

11:20 Quality boar

12:00 Video presentation of the paint shop (not possible to visit for safety reason)

12:10 Presentation on stable production measures

12:30 Presentation of Audi's concept and logistics

12:50 Presentation of Audi's workers training / qualification programme

13:00 Assembly line visit

13:30 Lunch 

14:10 Q&A and Debriefing led by Prof. Richard Keegan (Enterprise Ireland and Trinity College, Dublin), EU‑Japan Centre's Lean/Best Practice advisor.

16:00 Departure by coach to Brussels International airport (BRU)