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Mr. Vicini, you’ve been working behind the
scenes at Dallara for many years now: tell
us a little about the role of your
departments.
"We take care of the non-productive
activities that contribute to the smooth
running of the company; we are responsible
for purchasing, controlling and distributing
the various materials and components, and
despatching the finished product to our
customers, in accordance with the agreed
delivery dates. The most difficult part of our
job is managing priorities that are modified
on a daily basis".
How many people work with you? And
what are their professional qualifications?
Have your departments expanded over
recent years?
"There are about fifteen of us. All the
departments have grown over recent years,
because the number and complexity of our
products has increased. We have people that
have learned on the job, specialised
technicians, and we have recently hired two
engineers: extensive understanding of
process analysis techniques is increasingly
important as it helps us to optimise our
work flow".
What are the most important qualities for
an operations manager in a frenetic world
like motor racing?
"Reliability, flexibility and precision in
everything you do".
Can you describe the typical series of
operations used to process a part?
"Almost all materials are subjected to a
series of phases, both internal and external
(processing, treatment, assembly): for
example, if the item is produced internally,
the purchasing department sources the raw
materials, which is checked and labelled as
it enters the warehouse. It is then allocated
to the production department where it is
used to manufacture the component, which
is then transferred to the quality control
department for the final checks and laser
marking; at this point the part is returned to
the warehouse for labelling and allocation".
How short is the period between the
moment a part is manufactured and the
moment it is used?
"Very short. We often receive an order for a
part in the morning and have it ready by the
evening of the same day: this means a race
against time to locate the raw materials,
manufacture the part, assemble and
despatch it. We are often required to
produce results in a very short space of time.
Costs are like dust: they accumulate on
anything that doesn’t move. For years we
have been using the phrases just in time and
lean production, and applying these
concepts to the way we run the warehouse".
How is the Dallara warehouse managed?
"The way we operate is not based on just in
time, but on sales forecasts. It is important
to keep stocks to a minimum, but it is
equally important that the parts are always
available when they are required. Every day
thousands of warehouse transactions take
place, and everything is documented down
to the last detail, each passage is carefully
controlled, and this means that the
Andrea
Vicini