Proud to Deliver

ISSUE 3 - JULY 2015

A newsletter for employees within Group Trucks Operations, Logistics services Americas

Building Our Safety Culture

PETERS TAKE

We had no lost time accidents during April

and big part of May; very good! Safety is
one of our key priorities; we all want to
get home in good shape after a day of
work! Some of our sites deserve special
applause: Toronto (3,000+ days without
accidents) and Toluca (2,000+)!

Safety is a Volvo Group Core Value and we strive to protect human health
and wellbeing. Our ultimate goal is zero accidents with our products. Four
of our Distribution Centers show that a safety-minded culture leads to a
safe work environment.
Within The Volvo Group, Safety is regarded as a
Core Value. Volvo founders stated that Safety is
and must be the basic principle in all design work.
The ultimate goal is zero accidents with Volvo
Group products. This vision of zero accidents
guides product development. The Volvo Group
is committed to work hard to prevent accidents,
but also is aware that most accidents involve
factors that are out of our control. Therefore, the
Volvo Group cooperates with users, authorities,
scientists, and other factors in society who want to
create a safer world.
Logistics Services Americas is well on its way
to achieving this ultimate safety goal with zero
lost time accidents in during the month of April.
There are four Distribution Centers that deserve
special recognition: Toronto, Toluca, Dallas, and
Jacksonville.
DC Toronto has exceeded 3,140 days without
accidents. When our colleagues were asked what
safety means to them, it was agreed that, Safety
means going home at the end of the day. We
feel that safety is the most important process we
have, enabling every employee to walk out of the
facility at the end of every shift and providing us
with security and stability. Volvo ingrains safety
into each individual by providing the training,
tools, and equipment necessary to maintain a safe

work environment. In Toronto, everyone has

the mindset that safety is number one and is
everyones responsibility to uphold.
2,516 days have been achieved without lost
time accidents at DC Toluca. Paola Ramirez,
an outbound warehouse assistant, says,
Warehouse personnel has improved in different
areas, there is daily reinforcement on keeping
the warehouse clean and safe, through visual
aids and people engaged in 5S activities.
Jacksonville DC team members have
successfully worked over 1,000 days without a
recordable incident or reportable lost time work
day. The leaders in Jacksonville explain that it
is important to Integrate Safety Culture, Health
and Environment with team-based leadership
organizational models, in identifying potential
hazards and preventing incidents.
The DC in Dallas has reached over 1,000
days without a lost time accident and is looking
forward to their continued safety journey.
A safety-minded culture leads to a safe work
environment. Accidents are preventable based
on the culture of safety. People are our
biggest asset and Logistics Services is
committed to keeping our employees safe.

You will read more about the Continuous

Improvement Program winners in this
edition. Personally, I believe we need to
see more implemented improvement
ideas in North America. The pace in South
America, on the other hand, is fantastic.
Please join me in welcoming many new
colleagues in Byhalia; good job done in the
recruitment area! Preparations for the big
move (VTNA from Columbus to Byhalia)
are ongoing and, at the moment of writing,
the process has started. Special thanks
to all the people who are supporting the
Byhalia team making this move a success,
either on site or remotely! Without you, it
wouldnt be impossible.
After a couple of difficult weeks in Brazil,
the strike is over and we have started
production again in our Curitiba DC. We
will now work away the backlog to get
ready in time for the move into the new
facilities.
The challenges are big and the changes
are major, impacting almost everybody
in our organization and beyond. We are
in the middle of it now! Focus and good
cooperation are the success factors to
make it happen. I count on all of you!
Happy reading!

ISSUE 3 - JULY 2015

The health and safety of our employees is part of our safety

core value, and as such, should always be considered first in
all decisions that can affect our employees.
Providing a safe and healthy work environment is essential to our business
success and in line with the basic values and ethical standards expressed in
the Volvo Way and our Code of Conduct. For this reason, we shall actively
work to protect and promote the physical, psychological, safety, health,
and wellbeing of our employees. The Volvo Group Health & Safety Policy
is directed to all employees, managers, contractors and visitors within the
Volvo Group.

>> Prevention and promotion

approaches
Our vision is that accidents, incidents, injuries,
near misses, work-related illnesses and unsafe
acts and conditions are preventable. Therefore,
we shall:
Proactively and responsibly comply with all local
health and safety related laws and requirements.
Establish efficient safety, health and wellbeing
guidelines and work procedures that, when seen
as valuable to our employees and the Group, will
exceed the standards required by law.
Inform, educate, and monitor the knowledge of
potential risks and duty to comply with company
policy of all employees, and visitors.
Openly and proactively involve employees
in the design and continuous improvement
of guidelines, work procedures and support
systems aimed at promoting physical and mental
wellbeing.
Guide and support employees in making
health-promoting everyday lifestyle choices.
Keep up to date with the latest findings and
best practices on health and safety issues,
and strive to include applicable findings in all
improvement initiatives.

>> Commitment and participation by everyone

Leaders and staff shall work collaboratively and systematically to create a safe and healthy work
environment:
It is the responsibility of each member of management to enforce compliance with this policy, to
implement local health and safety guidelines and work procedures, and to respond promptly to
reported unsafe conditions and opportunities for improvement.
It is the responsibility of each employee to understand and act in accordance with this policy,
to comply with local health and safety guidelines and work procedures, and to promptly inform
management of any unsafe conditions or opportunities for improvement.
It is the responsibility of all employees to always act in ways that show consideration for their own,
and others, health and safety.

>> Excellence in implementation and execution

Continuous systematic improvement is essential for the creation and maintenance of a safe and
healthy work environment. The Volvo Group shall:
Design and operate our facilities in a manner that considers the safety, health and wellbeing of
our employees.
Establish health and safety improvement goals and monitor their progress.
Encourage employees to identify actual and potential unhealthy and unsafe conditions and take
action by bringing improvement recommendations to the attention of management for follow-up
until risks are reduced or eliminated.
Ensure that everyone follows the procedures established for the protection of our employees, and
visitors.
Provide adequate and competent resources and competencies for the implementation and
maintenance of this policy.

DC Curitiba Reduces CO2 Emissions

In late 2014, Traffic Operations at DC Curitiba
phased out the use of stackers (container forklifts)
due to the construction of new docks at the
warehouse for imported materials receiving.
This project was jointly developed by C&VA Logistics Engineering
and Material Handling in order to improve the logistics flow. This
consequently increased process productivity, eliminated a safety risk,
reduced energy consumption, and consequently CO2 emissions.
With the new process it was possible to eliminate the consumption
of diesel fuel, and a reduction of around 113 tons of CO2 emissions
per year.

This initiative reinforces our commitment to our core value of

environmental care, and aligns to lean principles within OD/VPS,
according to Marcos Santos, Traffic Operations Manager in South
America.

ISSUE 3 - JULY 2015

Employee engagement
Recently, employees across South
America demonstrated
they are
Proud to Deliver!

Our focus for 2015, Corporate Social Responsibility, and the Closing the
Gap tour stops in Sweden are some of the topics covered in the May
Strategy Update, where Mikael Bratt shares his view on current topics.
DC Brazil Service Center - Curitiba

Closing the Gap tour 2015 stops in

Powertrain Production sites Flen, Kping and
Skvde, Sweden.
There are a lot of things going on at the three
sites, even if they have different challenges, as
well as opportunities. At Flen, which specializes
in Remanufacturing, we can see major business
opportunities going forward. We need to work very
closely with our GTS colleagues to ensure that we
use these opportunities to serve our customers, as
well as contributing to the Volvo Groups results.
Our transmission plant at Kping has undergone
a tremendous transformation over the past years,
with hardly any machines in the same place as two
to three years ago. This has been done at the same
time as the site has delivered record volumes. The
engine plant at Skvde has also been upgraded in
most areas with new installations and a new layout
for the operations giving a better performance, at
the same time as volumes have been high. The
main observation from the visits has been the
engagement from all the people I met. There is
a major commitment to our deliveries and, at the
same time, a lot of engagement for the future
it was really inspiring.
Good work done at all three sites!
Closing the Gap seven months to go
We are now close to the finishing line and Im very
happy with progress as GTO continues to follow
the plan. When looking at the forecast for the rest
of the year, I have confidence in that we will deliver
what we have committed to in December 2015.
Keep up the momentum, dont lose sight of the
goal and work together.
Support the organization
We have gone through a large transformation
over the past few years, and are still in the final
phases at many sites. At the same time, we need
to take steps for the future making sure that
we capitalize on what has been implemented.
Leaders at all levels at GTO have a major
responsibility to support the organization and
individuals on this transformation journey. It needs
to be done pragmatically focusing on continuous

improvement and creating engagement in the

organization. GTOs Executive Management
Team (EMT) has spent a lot of time on the
VGAS result over the last couple of months. We
need to understand where the gaps are and we
are discussing how to address some of these
issues, like collaboration, engagement and trust,
and continue the dialogue around the VGAS
result.
CSR greater expectations from society
As a large international company, we have a
great responsibility to participate and support
our local communities and to work in line with
our Code of Conduct, in other words, working
with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We
work closely with the corporate function at AB
Volvo to develop road maps. At GTO, we are
looking at the specific needs, internally as well
as externally, in our local communities and we
will see more CSR activities going forward it is
a very important area.

MM DIM&R - Curitiba

DC Peru - Lima

LS Staff - Curitiba

Mikael Bratt
Executive Vice President
Group Trucks Operations

RLO TNO - Curitiba

DC Transport Product - Curitiba

ISSUE 3 - JULY 2015

FACTS

Within OUR Region

COLUMBUS, oH
81% of fast-moving parts have
been transferred from Columbus to
Byhalia. Re-warehousing has now
begun to make Columbus the new
slow-moving CDC.

tORONTO, CANADA
The Toronto DC has now achieved
3,140 days without a lost time
accident!

rENO, NV
The Reno DC recently worked with
Llewellyn Technologies to have an Arc
Flash Study performed on their site. They
concluded the site was at minimal risk of
an Arc Flash and that no electrical work
would be required to ensure the safety of
the employees.

bALTIMORE, mD
Baltimore was able to pilot a
later cut-off time for the Mack
brand in March and introduce
the same on June 1 for the
Volvo brand, have a successful
ISO audit, and process the
PRISCMA related Volvo stock
up inbound and outbound
orders as required.

dALLAS, tX

byhalia, ms
As of June 1, Byhalia officially became the
operating CDC for Volvo Trucks North
America.

rADFORD, va
Radford recently had a Kaizen event with the Cab
Packaging Department and OD/VPS to discuss
improvements and secure Cab Door quality.

DC Spotlight:
Greensboro, nc

Logistics Operations Americas recently

held a Business Controllers Conference
in Greensboro, NC. Day 1 and 2 started
off with guest speakers, who provided
valuable North and South American
Market Updates. Day 3 kicked off
with Benefit/Cost Ratio Training and
expectations and viewpoints on What
is a Business Controller and The Lean
Business Controller. Despite the busy
schedule, the Business Control team
also took the opportunity to explore
the left side of their brains by partaking
in a team building activity of painting
at a local design studio.

CHICAGO, IL
For the first time, the Chicago
DC has broken into five
digits for average amount of
outbound lines shipped daily.
Current average for 2015 is
10,236 lines per day.

TOLUCA, MEXICO
The Toluca DC fire drill was
performed with Volvo Bus safety
team assistance. The results were
good with positive participation from
the office and warehouse personnel.

lIMA, PERU
DC Peru has identified several
initiatives to improve processes
in the warehouse based on ideas
submitted from the Continuous
Improvement Program

SANTIAGO, CHILE
DC Chile has reached the
year best APQI rates in
its history, reaching 297!
The index YTD is 440,
with a local target of 650.

JACKSONVILLE, fl
DC Jacksonville recently
celebrated 1,000 Safety
Days without a recordable
accident.

curitiba, brazil
DC Brazils Service
Center Velox Team
averaged 96% of
Argus Class 0 cases
with First Public
Activity
answered
within one hour
during in the last
three months.

BUENOS AIRES, aRGENTINA

Due to the good performance in
sales of spare parts in Argentina, an
investment for the installation of
racks for pallets was approved on
expanding the warehouses racking
capacity by 900m2.

ISSUE 3 - JULY 2015

Telephony Changes for North America

PRISCMA UPDATE
Priscma Go Live status:
Systems are open.
>> Byhalia is now the main Central
Warehouse for Volvo Trucks NA
>> As of June 1, 2015, the
facility is operational as a
warehouse for Volvo Trucks
Penta has been operational in
since November 2014)

As part of Corporate Process & ITs global efforts to streamline services

and reduce costs, a new telephony solution called IPT (for Internet Protocol
Telephony) will be implemented this summer to use the Volvo network to
make and receive phone calls from a desk phone.
If youre a desk phone user, you will be able to
keep your phone number, but will be assigned
a new device. A technician will take care of the
installation of your new desk phone, but if you
were using specific shortcuts and a personalized
directory, youll have to set it back due to some
documentation.
We will also be able to provide Lync Softphone
numbers with local area codes to some sites,
which had to use the 336 Greensboro area code.
This means that some users will be assigned

new phone numbers with their sites local area

code. As a reminder, the Lync Softphone service
extends the Lync functionality, meaning that
you can call and answer calls from any phone
number inside and outside the Volvo Group.

Byhalia
Central
(Volvo
Byhalia

>> During June, we will have a major

move of fast moving parts from
Columbus to Byhalia
>> The next step in Priscma
implementations is to take on the
operation of fast moving VCE parts in
Byhalia (Later this year)

Lastly, well also take this opportunity to reduce

the volumes of telephony subscriptions in
the U.S., targeting first the desk phones and
sometimes the Softphones. Employees who are
affected will be notified via email several weeks
prior to their phones being removed.

Continuous Improvement Winners: May 2015

First place
Keith Larmi LD, Greensboro
Current Issue: Volvo is spending
approximately
$600,000
per
year distributing a special type of
packaging for the Powertrain Plant
in Hagerstown, MD. Furthermore,
the distribution and customs duties
can be improved if LS manages
the inventory and adds the special
packaging to our container bank.
The potential savings are $374,000
annually.
Outcome: The improvement idea was implemented and
took effect on April 29, 2015. Savings for the remainder
of 2015 are $163,000. Beyond 2015, savings will
be $254,000 annually. To achieve the total savings,
a business case must be made to purchase additional
packaging. This will be completed as a separate activity.

>> Second Place

Celio Cunha CDC Curitiba
Current Issue: CICS system doesnt have a pokayoke. If the system has a weight and
the invoice has another weight, the system allows the process to move forward, amd
the process will stop in customs, generating a higher lead time and cost in the process.
Suggested Improvement: A pokayoke implemented in the system to block the
process and advise the responsible, making possible to fix the difference before the
process arrive in customs.

>> Third Place

Anthony Vacaro Transport Products, Macungie
Current Issue: Lack of CNG Pony Tanks at the Mack Plant.
Suggested Improvement: As opposed to Iron Tiger employees pulling tanks off
random trucks in the yard, the Iron Tiger yard personnel will move all tanks removed
during the decking process to the exit lot on a daily basis.

ISSUE 3 - JULY 2015

Ideas around the WORLD - Hosakote, India

Meet The Management Team

Meet Gabriel Acua, Director
of OD/VPS & Quality. Gabe has
been with the company for eight
years!

Ideas around the world features improvement ideas from various locations within Group Trucks
Operations around the world

During 2015, C&VA, India has identified their Strategic Focus Areas
through deployment of OD/VPS one concept methodology by bringing all
management team and leaders together for an Alignment Day to secure the
shared view and align to achieve their Operative Direction.
Where?

Cab & Vehicle Assembly Plant in Hosakote, India

What was the challenge?

Strategic Focus for 2015 was initially discussed

and proposed by the Management Team and later
it was presented to the leaders in groups on two
different outbound workshops.
During the outbound workshops, leaders from
different functions got an opportunity to discuss
the focus area for 2015 (Quality and Production
Precision), but all the leaders werent able to
achieve a common perspective and shared view
since the workshops were conducted separately
for functions (Group 1 - Engineering & Logistics,
Group 2 Production and Quality).

How did you solve this?

An Alignment Day was organized by C&VA, India

Management Team to bring all leaders together
to have the shared view on the target levels and
actions to achieve the identified targets in those
focused areas. It also helped the leaders to
develop the strategic reasoning within their teams.
This one-day event gained more confidence for the
team to further cascade the focus areas for 2015
in the co-workers seminar.

What was the result?

Leaders of all functions participated in

the Alignment Day, which brought clear
understanding and acceptance on the Strategic
Focus Area 2015. This approach brought
clarity in the reasoning behind the focus areas
and created a platform for co-workers seminar
preparation.

How did you come up with the

idea?

This idea was proposed by the Management

Team and the need was realized during the two
day workshop conducted separately, which
brought alignment and shared view.

What have you learned?

Alignment of all members is highly essential

at all levels to bring the shared view, which
improves the involvement and contribution by all
employees.

questions for Gabe:

What do you value most in life?
My wife Emma and my three children
Carlos, Emma Sofia, and Gabriel III. They
really keep me going no matter how hard
the situation in life is.

As a child, what did you want to

be when you grew up?
I always thought I wanted to become a
doctor, but in middle school, I became
fascinated with the mechanical aspect
of how things work. From that point on, I
focused my studies on the engineering
field.

If you could visit any place in

the world, where would it be?
A place I always have dreamed of visiting
is Spain, specifically Barcelona. I think it is
a city rich in culture, history and beautiful
architectural buildings. Also, I think Spanish
food is really good, so thats on my bucket
list and hope to make it happen soon.

What was the best advice

youve ever been given?
I have received a lot of advice in my life,
but one piece really stayed with me that
came from my father. I was a bit afraid and
insecure about a job interview when I was
a teenager, I asked my dad for advice and
he said, Be yourself and you will be fine.

What is your favorite thing

about working at Volvo Group?
A NEWSLETTER FROM GROUP TRUCKS OPERATIONS
Editorial Staff:

David Reese
david.reese@volvo.com
Simone Galperin simone.galperin@volvo.com
Hannah Nipper hannah.nipper@volvo.com
Proud to Deliver is Published Monthly on VIOLIN and in print. For internal use only.

The people are what continuously motivate

me to come to work with a smile. Business
can be up or down at any given time, but I
truly believe people are what makes us a
great company.