The steel industry is a key player in the world economy, contributing significantly to employment, production, and revenue generation. To remain competitive in the current business environment, steel companies must adopt measures that enhance their productivity.  

The industry is characterized by a diverse range of products and production methods, with different types of steel alloys tailored to specific applications. Steel products are used in construction, automotive manufacturing, consumer goods, energy production, and many other industries. 

This blog focuses on the enhancement of productivity improvement in the steel industry. The initial analysis by Faber Infinite team identified several improvement points in the steel industry, including: 

• Optimization scope in manpower allocation 

• High Mean Time to Repair 
• Low Mean Time Between Failure 
• Lack of Adherence to designed process & systems 
• Maintenance and data management practices 
• Spares management at planning & execution level 

• Establishment of Daily Work Management (DWM) practices 
• Implementation of load balancing for equipment 

To address these improvement points, the experts at Faber infinite also adopt exclusive and highly effective techniques to boost productivity in iron and steel industries – a few of them listed below 

8 Effective techniques to Boost Productivity

• Conducting Time & Motion Study for different types of equipment  
• Calculation of Manpower utilization for total manpower across all departments 

• Rebalancing deployed manpower for various user departments according to their utilization 
• Total equipment requirement calculations for user departments in both current production and full production scenarios  
• Identification of scope of equipment use in combined capacity, and work distribution in common equipment in different departments 
• Establishing standards for corrective, preventive and breakdown maintenance activities 
• Identifying Non-Value Activities in maintenance work and processes 

• Estimation of maintenance manpower requirements for corrective, preventive and breakdown maintenance was calculated 

Based on the analysis and approach, the following phase-wise improvement recommendations were rolled out for manpower optimization 

• Phase 1: Improve utilization of available manpower by implementing daily work management practices, including planning and scheduling of activities, tracking and monitoring progress, and taking corrective actions as necessary. 
• Phase 2: Redeploy manpower from non-value-added activities to value-added activities by improving maintenance processes, including implementing a proactive maintenance strategy, using condition-based monitoring, and implementing preventive maintenance practices. 
• Phase 3: Optimize the use of available manpower by implementing load balancing for equipment and introducing cross-training programs to enhance the versatility of employees. 
• Phase 4: Introduce automation and technology to eliminate manual processes and reduce the need for manpower, including implementing robotics, using artificial intelligence to optimize processes, and implementing smart maintenance systems. 
• Conclusion 

The accelerated productivity improvement in the steel industry is critical to remain competitive and achieve sustainable growth. The approach adopted by Faber Infinite team, which involves conducting time and motion study for manpower, conducting work study and improving manpower productivity, provides a roadmap for achieving this objective.