Internal / external motivation and dialogue

Good supplier relations are essential. "It is Renault's responsibility to produce an accurate set of specifications concerning the creation of specific parts," said Andre Laine. "The message to our suppliers must be as clear as possible. If there is an error, the responsibility may be shared. It's our job to give the proper instructions right at the start. The relationship with a supplier must be seen as a partnership." The goal is to comply with the specifications while keeping costs down and limited rejection rates. A perfect knowledge of the supplier and a good definition of the product are key elements in the quest for quality. Certain parts are created via a shared development process between Renault and its suppliers. This process was implemented for the mass production process, and is slowly gaining a foothold in the Renault F1 Team.

In order to work with the most competitive partners, indicators are used to assess the performance of each technical partner. This data is of vital importance in mass production: parts received from outside suppliers will be assembled onto hundreds of thousands of cars, and they must not exhibit the slightest defect. In terms of F1 activity, although Enstone produces nearly 80% of the parts that make up an F1 chassis, Viry-Chatillon sub-contracts nearly all of the elements used in building its V8 engines. Here again, being able to count on reliable suppliers (compliance with specifications in terms of physical properties of the parts, costs, deadlines, etc.) is a determining factor.

Creating the best product is also a matter of internal awareness. Every member of the organization needs to feel useful and empowered. On this point, Flavio Briatore is quite clear. "The team's results are not down to a single individual. A team has a heart, and when its members understand their goals, and when they are in the right structure, they work efficiently," he continued. "What you need to provide are clear guidelines. Managers explain why decisions have been made, and then ensure that decisions are rapidly implemented so that progress can be made without losing time. The driver is the last link in this chain because he or she interprets and represents everyone's work out on the track." Within the Renault F1 Team, communication comes thick and fast. It's an obsession, because imperfections are most often the result of a lack of dialogue.

Employee motivation is also a factor that Renault takes very seriously. "It can really make the difference," added Yann Vincent. The F1 programme is supported by the vast majority of our staff and our partners. Such a high-level competitive programme galvanizes in-house energies, whether in the production plants or the engineering centres, we are all proud to work for Renault, and we give it our all." Another key factor is the quality of the dialogue. On the F1 project, the osmosis that must take place between the Viry-Chatillon and Enstone bases - not to mention the intervention of the Technocentre - is a matter of transparency. When it comes to mass production vehicles, bringing all design activities under one roof at the Guyancourt site increases fluidity. "Procedures have also been put in place so that even the smallest interesting idea reaches management level and can be taken into account."


The need for projects to be competitive, or how to make reasonable investments

Achieving quality is a matter of optimizing costs within the range set out in the specifications. Investment must be optimized without compromising the project, and this is true for both Formula 1 and mass production. It cannot be either too tight or too generous. The F1 budget is defined at the start of the season, and cannot be extended once the season has started, no matter how tough the competition is. For mass production, the volume of vehicles produced means that the right balance must be struck between reliability and cost. Given the scale of production, even a single cent per unit quickly takes on large proportions.

During the design, manufacturing and operational phases, budget expenditure is closely watched. "Success does not depend on the size of the budget," explained Arnaud Boulanger, referring to the F1 programme, "but on how efficiently resources are spent."

previous page | go to page 6