India is on the verge of major reforms and is self-assured to become the third-largest economy of the world by 2030. It offers the three most important D’s to the world Democracy, Demography and demand. Owing to the presence of the educated population, skilled labor and robust legal practices India is turning out to be a major destination for investment which is creating its stronghold.
The Indian engineering sector is of strategic importance to the economy owing to its intense integration with other industry segments. Engineering Industry is striving towards reducing cost without adversely affecting quality by controlling the amount of waste generated during production. The core idea is to create more value for customers with fewer resources. Industry is aiming for operational excellence as companies follow a range of strategies, including lean, automotive systems; they are also spending on R & D to improve operations.
Organization Success and Transformation through Operational Excellence
Operational Excellence (OE) is one of the cornerstones to Organizational Success and Transformation. OE ensures stability of following parameters – health of machines, continuous flow of material, short throughput time and excellent quality ratio; that determine the competitiveness of the organization success as well as decide customer satisfaction. Needless to say, customer is the king and it is essential to heighten his/ her satisfaction levels to delight stage to survive in the market.
Companies have been increasingly restructuring operations and implementing world class practices. The implementation of lean manufacturing practices has helped companies to cut cost and improve productivity. Engineering industry companies are also laying more emphasis on quality. They have extensively adopted the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach. Operational Excellence is fast becoming a norm rather than an exception associated with certain company or industry.
A typical lean implementation involves an initial value stream mapping (VSM) which defines the journey of improvement. Next there is the organizing of the house. This might involve flexible work systems and (especially) 5S (sorting, straightening, systematic cleaning, standardizing, and sustaining). Thereafter other specific tools can be rolled out – including standard work, single minute exchange of dies (SMED), total productivity maintenance (TPM), and mistake proofing (Jidoka). Further advancements might involve supply and demand, through just in time (JIT) pull systems and Heijunka (level scheduling).
A continuous improvement mindset is essential to reach the company’s goals. The focus of the industry should be on getting the right things to the right place at the right time in the right quantity to achieve perfect work flow, while minimizing waste and being flexible and able to change.
Success Story for Our clients:
Client is a world-leading provider of sustainable productivity solutions. Client serves customers in more than 180 countries with products and services focused on productivity, energy efficiency, safety and ergonomics. Client has leading positions in Compressor Technique, Industrial Technique, Mining and Rock Excavation Technique, Construction Techniques.The key objective was to improve the productivity by implementing flow management techniques.
Objective:
-Improve capacity from 2 units/ shift to 3 units/ shift
-Reduce the labor costs
-Eliminate non-value adding activities
-Reduce operator fatigue
-Increase manpower productivity
-Improve material flow
-Establish Standard Operating Procedures
-Recommend line improvements
Approach:
-Define standard times (fair days work) by conducting time and motion study for the ongoing process
-Consider all the factors such as environmental conditions, difficulties encountered, nature of task, as per ILO standards.
-Study all the wastes (Muda, Mura and Muri) in the process and find ways to eliminate them
-Apply lean tools such as line balancing, SMED, 5S and 2 Bin system to eliminate waste
-Work station design to eliminate operator fatigue
Result:
-Productivity improved from 2 compressors per shift to 3 compressors per shift
-Work content reduced by 40%
-Total labor cost reduced by 50%
-Productivity improved by 50%
-Designed total 10 work station layout as per ergonomic design
Written By: Faber Mayuri Pandya
