Concrete illustration of the SecureChange Manifesto — major industrial group
Context
A historic automotive manufacturer with tens of thousands of employees, and multiple production sites in France and internationally.
A strong industrial culture, shaped by:
- Product quality,
- Respect for craftsmanship and expertise,
- Highly process-driven organization,
- Strongly unionized governance.
The company faces a double challenge:
- Massive technological transformation (electric vehicles, connected cars, AI),
- Cultural shift (integrating more agility, attracting new digital talent).
The tipping point
The executive committee launches a major industrial and digital transformation program:
- Implementation of value stream-based production lines,
- Creation of agile and autonomous mini-factories,
- Accelerating product development and local decision-making,
- Development of connected and electric vehicles,
- Integration of AI into industrial processes,
- New, more cross-functional management practices.
Resistance
Among managers:
- Feeling disqualified, unclear about their new role within autonomous mini-factories.
Among internal control bodies:
- Tendency to add layers of procedures in an attempt to maintain control over final product quality.
Among unions:
- Concerns about the impact of new technologies on industrial employment.
- Fear of losing core craftsmanship and expertise.
The choice: securing the transformation with SecureChange
Clarifying what we want to preserve (Compass 1)
Co-constructed with leadership, union representatives, industrial management, and transformation teams.
The chosen invariants:
- Industrial mastery,
- Preservation and transmission of expertise,
- Workplace safety and ergonomics,
- Coherence of quality processes,
- Respect for social dialogue,
- Capacity to innovate without destabilizing production.
Building simple points of vigilance (Compass 2)
For industrial mastery:
- Shared indicators on industrial performance and product quality.
For expertise transmission:
- Tracking of knowledge transfer programs and mentorship initiatives.
For safety and ergonomics:
- Maintenance of safety and ergonomics standards within autonomous mini-factories.
For developing new competencies:
- Tracking of competency development to support integration of new technologies (AI, electric vehicles, agile practices).
For social dialogue:
- Systematic involvement of employee representatives in transformation governance committees.
For quality coherence:
- Reduction of excessive centralized procedural control → adoption of integrated, locally managed quality controls.
Positioning leadership as guardians (Compass 3)
Front-line managers become guardians of:
- Safety and ergonomics standards,
- Development of new competencies (AI, electric, agility),
- Coherence of value streams.
The executive committee and industrial leadership remain guardians of overall coherence between innovation and industrial culture.
A “coherence guardians” committee is established, including leadership, business representatives, and social dialogue representatives.
Continuous reevaluation (Compasses 4 and 5)
- Points of vigilance are reviewed at each transformation governance meeting (quarterly).
- Invariants are reviewed annually in a joint workshop with all key stakeholders.
Results after 24 months
- Creation of an autonomous entity within a production site, dedicated to a key technological component of future vehicles.
- Progressive reduction of dependencies between production teams.
- Clarification of managerial roles within value streams.
- Maintenance of quality and safety standards.
- Adoption of new practices on the ground (local agility, faster decision-making, cross-functional collaboration).
- Improved social dialogue around transformation projects.
- New training pathways to support the evolution of industrial roles.
Testimonial
“In an industry like ours, change cannot succeed if it goes against the company’s culture.
Thanks to SecureChange, we were able to build a shared framework that secures transformation while respecting our identity.”
— Industrial Director of the group
Conclusion
This automotive manufacturer case demonstrates how an approach like SecureChange can guide deep transformation in complex industrial and social environments, without weakening the foundational strengths of the organization.
Note to the reader
This case study illustrates the general approach presented in the Secure Change Manifesto.
It does not include all the observable, measurable criteria and governance mechanisms, which are detailed in the SecureChange Principles.
To learn more, we invite you to visit the Secure Change Principles page.
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