• Interested in applying ? Download the application form:

October 2008 session: Word version / Acrobat version

Acrobat version to be faxed to +32 2 282 0045 or Word version to be mailed to Céline Godart at c.godart@eu-japan.euu

• If you wish to receive a previous mission report, please contact us.
• For the below information in PDF printed version, please click here.

The candidate should be European Manager or Executive such as:
- Division director or industrial director;
- Manager and executive Operation & Logistics;
- Plant manager, director of Quality and Excellence;
- Managing director in manufacturing companies.

The candidate:
- must be citizen of an EU Member State;
- must work for an organisation that is >50% EU-owned thereof;;
- must be supported by the employer
- must be able to participate in the entire programme;
- must have a reasonable command of English;
- should be involved in changing production engineering methods /strategy and / or production control;
- should have approximately 10 years’ experience in operations management and/or
- should have advanced knowledge and practice of production methods of excellence.

The purpose of the pre-departure briefing and visit in Europe is:
- to learn about manufacturing practices in a non-Japanese business culture;
- to establish team roles for study mission visits;
- to act as the first visit of the programme and thereby start the learning process.

The purposes of the mission in Japan are:
- to discover the Japanese approach towards World-Class Manufacturing;
- to discern and learn how Japanese firms achieve superior production standards;
- to focus on the latest trends by visiting the top manufacturing plants in Japan;
- to visit the real "GEMBA" (i.e. production site in Japan);
- to meet the industry leaders via exchanges with senior Japanese management authorities.

In a nutshell, this course brings EU companies closer to WCM performance.

Study block I:
Lectures, seminars & panel discussions, presented by experts from Japanese industry covering subjects such as:

- Lead-Time Reduction through Streamlined Flows of Information and Products;
- Policy Deployment, HR Management and Best Practice for Staff Motivation;
- Continuous Improvement of Customer Service Supported by WCM;
- Lean Thinking and WCM Approach in Japan;
- TQC, TQM, TPM, JIT and TIE;
- Attractive Quality Creation;
- Levelled Production System;
- Variable-Product Variable-Quantity Production to meet Demand Fluctuation;
- Synchronized Production System (from order to delivery);
- Flexible Manufacturing Implemented by QCD;
- Improvement of Overall Manufacturing Capability.

Study block II:
Visits to companies - preparation for company visits and post-visit reviews. The sectors of activity of the companies to be visited include, among others:

- Chemical products and plastics;
- Machinery;
- Steel products;
- Automobile industry.

The EU advisor is Dr. Richard Keegan - Enterprise Ireland, a specialist in the fields of World Class Business and Benchmarking. He has focused on adapting these concepts for SMEs, working closely with a large number of SMEs helping them to implement improvement actions. An author of several books on the topics, he is a lecturer at Trinity College. He has led the DG Enterprise & Industry Benchmarking Initiative and the European Benchmarking Forum and Network, for the European Commission.

(*) The precise content of the programme and its schedule are currently being determined and are subject to modification. A detailed timetable will be available upon request.

The EU-Japan Centre covers all costs directly related to the programme (i.e. lectures and seminars, group study trips, including travel outside Tokyo). It will also cover transport and hotel costs for the pre-departure meeting in Europe. Participant’s companies will be expected to pay for travel costs to and from Japan as well as living expenses in Japan including accommodation.

For information, living expenses during the course in Japan are estimated at more or less € 1000/week.