REMAN INSIGHT FROM
MASSIMO CAPPI - QUALITY DIRECTOR FOR REMAN PARTS
PROCESS OF LAUNCHING A NEW REMAN PRODUCT
What are the daily tasks and role of the Reman quality manager?
My everyday watchwords for growing the business are continuous improvement and problem solving. And I try to lead
my team to act and work on them. I make no difference between new components and Reman ones when it comes to how I monitor and solve issues on a daily basis. I use the exact same quality procedures for Reman as for new parts. How, you ask? Well, when I get a complaint about a Reman component, I start by asking for the component back. I analyse the component together with our FPT Industrial experts here, who are also experts on the new components. If the component is one from our suppliers, together with the supplier we develop a solution.
How do you launch a new Reman product?
First, the marketing department develops a business case to understand the opportunity in terms of sales. Then, I give initial input to the supplier so that he can design and propose a remanufacturing process for the component, that I then have to validate by suggesting changes to bring it into line with our standards for new products. During this phase, we analyse the written process, and we already start to say what’s good what’s not, what we have to change or implement. Later, we start the development phase: the supplier applies the process we agreed on, and, after that, we do an audit again to check if the supplier is in line with the written process. Once everything is validated, we do a final audit, following a component from the core reception to the final Reman product ready to be shipped to the dealer. When we arrive at the end of the process, we test the product on the test bench specific to this component: we test the component, but also if the end of line can find an issue
on the component. To verify that, I take the part that was validated, I intentionally put a mistake on it, and I go to the end of line to test it to understand if the test is capable to intercept the issue. In parallel we test the finished Reman component either on a test bench or on a machine with teardown to ensure it works perfectly. It’s only after this audit, if it’s been validated, that we can start production. All our suppliers have to test the performance the components that are shipped to the customer.
My everyday watchwords for growing the business are continuous improvement and problem solving. And I try to lead
my team to act and work on them. I make no difference between new components and Reman ones when it comes to how I monitor and solve issues on a daily basis. I use the exact same quality procedures for Reman as for new parts. How, you ask? Well, when I get a complaint about a Reman component, I start by asking for the component back. I analyse the component together with our FPT Industrial experts here, who are also experts on the new components. If the component is one from our suppliers, together with the supplier we develop a solution.
How do you launch a new Reman product?
First, the marketing department develops a business case to understand the opportunity in terms of sales. Then, I give initial input to the supplier so that he can design and propose a remanufacturing process for the component, that I then have to validate by suggesting changes to bring it into line with our standards for new products. During this phase, we analyse the written process, and we already start to say what’s good what’s not, what we have to change or implement. Later, we start the development phase: the supplier applies the process we agreed on, and, after that, we do an audit again to check if the supplier is in line with the written process. Once everything is validated, we do a final audit, following a component from the core reception to the final Reman product ready to be shipped to the dealer. When we arrive at the end of the process, we test the product on the test bench specific to this component: we test the component, but also if the end of line can find an issue
on the component. To verify that, I take the part that was validated, I intentionally put a mistake on it, and I go to the end of line to test it to understand if the test is capable to intercept the issue. In parallel we test the finished Reman component either on a test bench or on a machine with teardown to ensure it works perfectly. It’s only after this audit, if it’s been validated, that we can start production. All our suppliers have to test the performance the components that are shipped to the customer.
What are the main strengths of FPT Reman compared to the competition?
Recently, I analysed four different types of engine and two gearboxes from different Reman competitors. I analysed the products to
see if they were produced in a better way than ours or not, and how their performance is. The activity starts with the installation of the engines in the test cell. We analyse the performance. After that, we proceed to completely dismantle the components to check what the competitor used to produce his engine. We can say that, at the moment, we, as FPT, are the best producers of Reman engines because we are the only ones who develop the engines at the origin. Who knows better than us how to remanufacture our own products? If I have produced and developed the original new engine, when I have to remanufacture it, I know everything about it.
The competitor has no access to this information. For instance, if during the life of the engine, we made some modifications to improve its quality, I can apply this knowledge when I remanufacture the engine. If an engine has been produced for ten years and over those years one component has been modified to improve the quality, when I remanufacture it, I automatically put the new component on. For that reason, I may say that sometimes the Reman is even better than the new because on a Reman, we apply all the knowledge we have from the beginning.
So why should a customer buy the Reman? Because the quality of the Reman is completely in line with the specifications of the new, sometimes even better, and is monitored day-to-day. We trust our engines’ quality so much that they are guaranteed for two years.
What lies in store for Reman in the future?
Sustainability is the only thing we can do. Nowadays, our everyday lives are affected a lot by environmentalism and sustainability. Reman is in step with this trend. It is the perfect answer to reducing pollution and lowering the consumption of components and raw materials as the existing core is at the heart of the remanufacturing process. At the same time, significant investments are helping us optimise processes using new technologies. Reman must grow more and more in the future. This is my vision, and I am more than convinced by it.
Recently, I analysed four different types of engine and two gearboxes from different Reman competitors. I analysed the products to
see if they were produced in a better way than ours or not, and how their performance is. The activity starts with the installation of the engines in the test cell. We analyse the performance. After that, we proceed to completely dismantle the components to check what the competitor used to produce his engine. We can say that, at the moment, we, as FPT, are the best producers of Reman engines because we are the only ones who develop the engines at the origin. Who knows better than us how to remanufacture our own products? If I have produced and developed the original new engine, when I have to remanufacture it, I know everything about it.
The competitor has no access to this information. For instance, if during the life of the engine, we made some modifications to improve its quality, I can apply this knowledge when I remanufacture the engine. If an engine has been produced for ten years and over those years one component has been modified to improve the quality, when I remanufacture it, I automatically put the new component on. For that reason, I may say that sometimes the Reman is even better than the new because on a Reman, we apply all the knowledge we have from the beginning.
So why should a customer buy the Reman? Because the quality of the Reman is completely in line with the specifications of the new, sometimes even better, and is monitored day-to-day. We trust our engines’ quality so much that they are guaranteed for two years.
What lies in store for Reman in the future?
Sustainability is the only thing we can do. Nowadays, our everyday lives are affected a lot by environmentalism and sustainability. Reman is in step with this trend. It is the perfect answer to reducing pollution and lowering the consumption of components and raw materials as the existing core is at the heart of the remanufacturing process. At the same time, significant investments are helping us optimise processes using new technologies. Reman must grow more and more in the future. This is my vision, and I am more than convinced by it.
Massimo Cappi
Quality Director for heavy engines and remanufactured parts at FPT Industrial.Starting at FPT Industrial in 1986, Massimo moved from mechanical design computing to mechanical engineering and then quality.
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