The ABS Management System in action
The Alcoa Business System, or ABS, is an integrated set of principles and tools used to manage Alcoa businesses. The three overarching principles of ABS are:
Make to Use,
Eliminate Waste, and
People Linchpin the System.
Make to Use
The Make to Use principle begins with Alcoa customers and is based on the ideal of:
- Single-piece production
- On demand
- Defect free
- At the lowest possible cost
- Made safely
The principle is based on customer usage, as opposed to making to inventory.
Eliminate Waste
The Eliminate Waste principle is our drive toward the ideal of exposing and solving problems, when and where they occur, to continuously improve the cost, quality and speed of all our manufacturing and business processes.
People Linchpin the System
This third principle is the drive to create the people environment, engaging all our associates in identifying and solving the problems linked to our transition from "make to inventory" to "make to use" and the continuous improvements in costs, quality, and speed.
ABS and Cost Savings
Founded on the principle of continuous improvement, ABS helps generate significant efficiency gains and substantial savings.
ABS and EHS
The systematic ABS approach complements those used in other areas, such as environment, health, and safety (EHS). Several of Alcoa Canada’s facilities combine ABS methods and tools with other approaches, such as the ISO 14001 standards, to create an integrated approach that generates excellent results.
