Indian plastic and resin industry has a very high and developing trajectory over the past few years and has proved to be instrumental in the country’s improved GDP by reaching a total Market Capital of 1.7 lakh crores in 2016. With consumption of plastic increasing by a heavy margin of 16% annually, the manufacturing industry has a tremendous scope of expanding in this sector soon. The in-built capabilities of most segments of the industry coupled with inherent capacities have now also opened the doors of overseas markets for the Indian industries.
However, in growth with limited resources comes hardships which later results in degradation and hampers the overall growth. The plastic industry has also faced such catches in the recent times. Labor shortages have become a very common problem for manufacturing facilities nowadays involved in this sector. Both skilled and unskilled labor has become hard to find for the companies. This has led to more and more investments in technologies and up gradation of the machineries which has increased the cost of the production.
The profit margins of the companies have also reduced due to the fluctuating market prices of raw materials, rise in process of transportation, energy costs and reduced consumer discretionary spending. With the growing competitiveness in the industry caused by globalization, the task of mastering these challenges by the means of Operational Excellence and increasing and improving the productivity and production has become quintessential for the manufacturing leads and companies.
At Faber Infinite, we provide services to the companies to jump through these obstacles and achieve a smooth on-flow of the manufacturing processes. Through our sustainable programs, we have seen the manufacturer achieving quick productivity improvements. Also, the implementation of these drivers helped in eliminating inefficiency across all chains thus, resulting in reduced costs and improved quality services to the customers.
About Operational Excellence and what benefit can be achieved through it
Operational excellence (OE) or World Class Management (WCM) helps in efficiency improvement, overall equipment effectiveness and waste elimination. It can also be debated that Operational Excellence helps in achieving higher asset utilization. Operational excellence means adopting best practices, having a culture of continuous improvement, and utilizing the latest technologies in products and production methods.
Team Faber set on a journey with one of the companies involved in the manufacturing of plastics and resins and explored deeply hidden opportunities. After thorough analysis of the facility and records, we concluded that uniformity has to be brought in the system. Also, a monitoring system was established by the team members at the initial stages of the entire process to bring out the positives and negatives. The focus was shifted to OTIF (On Time in Full) delivery system as the facility failed to keep a proper track record of both supply and delivery schedule.
Manpower distribution according to the skills of an individual also plays a major role in bringing Operational Excellence and sustainable development. Also, it’s not always about going through theoretically. Proper Workplace management is also a key player in the game of high productivity and improved efficiency.
Once properly implemented, these factors will directly create an impact on the typical areas marked for improvements like labor productivity, yield improvement through waste reduction, inventory management, low cost automation, manpower optimization through productivity, reduction in change over times, and equipment and mould breakdown reduction.
Roadmap to the future
Operational Excellence has a very vast ground open in the current plastic manufacturing industry to cover and grow exponentially. The very first visible change will start to appear once the workspace is freed of dirt and dust.
We, at Faber Infinite provide services to the companies and looks over if the guidelines are followed religiously to achieve the desired goal – Operational Excellence and Sustainable Development. Results have been delivered by our modules, reducing the production/conversion cost by more than 30%.
Scooping of projects and processes and application of Six S aids and visual management techniques have proved themselves time and again and has improved communication system as well as reduced the variation in processes. The graph was maintained to stay in a linear position facing upward with the modules we applied at client location.
The Plastic and Resin industry is becoming more mature and competitive with the passage of time. With FDI in play now, the game has already reached a new level. Hence, achieving higher quality and productivity (a crucial part of Operational Excellence) is the key which will decide who is going to lead the race in the near future.
Written & Compiled by Faber Kishlay Krishna & Faber Mayuri Pandya
