Bentley Motors

Miguel Ocana

Miguel Ocana is a Senior Manager with a proficiency in manufacturing operations and possesses extensive knowledge in the application of continuous improvement techniques in recognised industry production systems. With several years of experience working in cultures across the globe, he is capable of managing development projects in a multidisciplinary environment.

As a leader in the manufacturing industry, how have you and others dealt with the challenges that came with the pandemic and in developing manufacturing strategies in general?

The challenges had started even before COVID. In the UK, there was Brexit, which made a huge impact on the industry followed by COVID. When we had recovered from the worst of COVID, the Ukraine war began. Therefore, it is a constant influence that is having a major impact on everything we do in manufacturing. This is also being amplified by the cost of energy, the energy crisis, which comes largely from the Ukraine war, but then the cost is filtering down to all the communities. Everything is more expensive than it used to be, which impacts planning in terms of budgeting the financials making it no longer valid. It is also important to mention that we’re going through this almost once-in-a-lifetime situation where we are transitioning from combustion engines, petrol engines and diesel engines to electric cars. This electrification of the industry is happening at the same time as all these other factors which is very challenging on all accounts.

What are the measures that you have in place to tackle the price rise challenges affecting the automobile manufacturing industry right now?

For a company like us, the biggest advantage is that we are a part of a large group like the Volkswagen Group which gives us access to very good purchase networks and good connections and purchase power. We leverage them, the potential and the connection within our group to ensure that we can access the best possible price and the best possible deals for us. Moreover, the planning process is also updated frequently so that the lessons of the recent crisis are incorporated into our planning as much as possible. Therefore, instead of planning for just one scenario, we anticipate the worse and do a degree plan to see how would we cope if this unknown scenario would come. This leads to very good risk management and helps in identifying the risks that will come to put countermeasures for them.

"The unique relationship between those who create the cars and those who drive them has helped create an enthralling story unlike any other "

Could you share some of the key factors that you employ to ensure the success of a project?

In the Volkswagen Group, we follow a structured planning approach that has been developed over time. We have defined gateways to go through the project and identify the critical paths and ensure that the issue is resolved. At the end of the day, it is about having a detailed plan to measure against defined objectives and deliverables. Every stage of the project is outlined and measured, and we act quickly to correct any deviations before we move on to the next deliverable.

We would like to learn more about your latest project that you have been working on and how you have used technology and process to make it a success?

Our CEO announced that we as a company will be fully electric by 2030 which is going to be a major transformation for Bentley. Also, we’ll invest around 2.5 billion dollars internally. Our dream factory is one of the key elements we are reinventing to ensure we can deliver all-electric Bentleys in the future. Also, from a company perspective, we are planning to be carbon neutral. Though our site is already carbon neutral, we want the whole supply chain, and the manufacturing to be carbon neutral by the end of the decade. Therefore, this dream factory concept is a big opportunity and a challenge at the same time because the making of electric cars is different from how ICE cars or internal combustion engines are made. Additionally, we want to have a facility where customer interaction and customer collaboration are taken to the next level. Our goal is to harness the power of digital tools, which is one of the key changes occurring in the industry. We are planning to apply that to our new factory- things like the digital twin, where you can replicate your factory totally in the data world, do more simulation and assess changes in a much more efficient way. Bentley cars are known for their craftsmanship, the unique finishing that can only be achieved with a human touch and we work to maintain that level of authenticity and craftsmanship. While maintaining the level of automation and the use of digital tools, we want to be leaner, more efficient, and more sustainable, and maintain our customers’ expectations of craftsmanship at the same time. We already have lots of robots in our factory, and now we have Cobots which need to be done in a targeted way. It is going to take Bentley to the next century. From the paint shop to the final assembly, we will upgrade everything to industry-leading standards.

Going forward, are there any particular innovations in manufacturing strategies that you would like to apply in your organization or that have caught your attention?

The digital transformation and the use of virtual reality on the cell floor are already mentioned. However, additive manufacturing or 3D printing is going to transform the industry, not just in automotive, but across industries. Everybody knows 3D printing and there is already a high level of adoption. At Bentley, we already use additive manufacturing a lot and we have an internal facility that is capable of printing more than 10,000 components per year. We only use it for things like prototype parts or tooling required for the assembly of the cars. We use it for a fifth feasibility assessment and emergency maintenance repairs. We see a big opportunity in additive manufacturing as we want to enhance the customer personalization options that we offer in the future. We provide a massive catalogue of options so that our customers can choose from and personalize their cars. To be more specific, we foresee more potential in metal additive manufacturing, it has a lot of capabilities like in-house polymer printing. However, we have plans to focus on metals in the next few years and see if we can harness all the potential to use them.

Do you have any piece of advice that you would like to share with the industry leaders such as yourself in the manufacturing space?

While it may be a challenging time, there are lots of opportunities in it. Now that the unexpected things keep happening, we just need to embrace them. As mentioned above, we need to try to cater for it in the planning process. Therefore while making plans ensure that we are accounting for various scenarios that have already happened and are yet to happen in the future. Scenario planning and constant revisiting of the plans is the only way that a company, irrespective of its size, can remain competitive and take advantage of the opportunities that are coming. It is important to embrace this scenario planning at the same time to update with the latest technologies like additive manufacturing or digital data transformation. The use of these technologies can lead to new solutions to challenges that were previously unsolvable.