• January 31, 2020
  • Faber Infinite

Strengthening Operational Excellence With 4X4 Approach In Foundry

The foundry industry is considered as one of the main factors influencing the development of the world economy. The advancement gained during the last few years in foundry engineering has contributed to further development of foundry. The last decade brought noteworthy changes in the world map of the supreme casting producers. Moreover, the globalization of the economy is observed as a chance for the Indian foundries, as India currently stands as the second-largest destination for foundries just after China. The foundry sector in the country is projected to witness an annual growth of 13-14 percent as per The Economic Times. As the world is witnessing a lot of talks regarding operational excellence in the foundry industry, we bring to you the 4X4 Approach – covering essential elements which have a direct impact on the efficiency and profitability. The 4 crucial elements in the 4X4 approach for foundry operational excellence can be described as below Assign the right Man (person) with the right attitude for the right job Appropriate Machine Performance for the job, both in capacity and capabilities Having the right Material Velocity Standardized work Methods Although India is the second-largest foundry destination after China, the capacity utilization of Indian foundry units, however, has seen a gradual decline from the level of over 70 percent early this decade to 40-45 percent recently, according to the Metal world. So, where are the loopholes? Yes EXACTLY, the loopholes lie in 4 Ms of Foundry industry. Constant efforts to increase productivity, improve quality and control resources (labor, energy, costs) remain the top priorities of the foundry industry for decades. Achieving these, however, means keeping aware of ongoing changes across the industry, and ensuring operations align with the trends shaping the future. Considering this 4X4 approach and working on it diligently, any organization can reach the stature of being world-class. Let us not get overwhelmed by all different tools, concepts, and philosophies rampant in the industry; but organizations that keep these fundamental axioms in mind, shall prosper and progress. Faber Infinite Consulting can help your organization to strengthen with the 4X4 approach to improve profitability and reducing costs. For the detailed article, contact us at publishing@faberinfinite.com

  • January 24, 2020
  • Faber Infinite

Continuous Improvement tools for Operational Excellence

Did you know, one of the major medical device manufacturers was able to reduce lead time from 19 hours to 3 hours just by implementing continuous improvement tools? One of the major medical device manufacturers was facing problems like long lead times, production of the batch in the lot, final device inspection time, increasing customers complaints about poor service, increasing employee overtime to complete the tasks, poor process flow, a large amount of Work-In-Process inventory, and organizational culture issues. After addressing all these issues, the top management came to a conclusion to deploy continuous improvement tools across the organization. The organization began with an event like a training program about the tools. All the employees of the organization were explained about standardization, process flow improvement tools, visual control, and much more. Since it was a five-day event, the employees were trained and equipped for the transformation journey. In a short time, the organization began implementing the tools. All the employees of the entire organization were a part of this journey.   Continuous Improvement through Operational Excellence In a short period of time, the organization started to see the results. By implementing the continuous improvement tools, the lead time was reduced from 19 hours to 3 hours, work in process inventory reduce from 21 lots to 1 lot, throughput was increased from 6 lots per shift to 18 lots per shift, visual controls were installed in the machines to enable the final device inspection team to stay on track with their schedule Apart from this, the organization also took the initiative of measuring quality work-life of its employees via a survey. This too showed the results of improvement. Customer satisfaction was also increased.  Hence, as you can see, implementing continuous improvement tools, doesn’t only help with tangible benefits but also with intangible benefits such as employee as well as customer satisfaction which is at the end the ultimate goal of any organization. So, have you started implementing continuous improvement tools?

  • August 30, 2019
  • Faber Infinite

Operational Excellence – A Road-map to Organizational Success.

Did you know, one of the global diversified technology manufacturers and multi industrial leaders have been able to achieve 12% improvement in quality by implementing operational excellence practices. It helped them win the award for “Best Achievement of Operational Excellence” in the manufacturing sector. In this article, we will discuss about Operational Excellence is Road Map to Organizational Success. The global diversified technology manufacturer launched a manufacturing excellence strategy in 2013 to achieve the vision of becoming the world’s most operationally capable company. This strategy was based on the following 4 foundation parameters: Customer focus Zero tolerance for waste Stable production environment Organize around pull and other nine principles that offered a comprehensive model with clear roadmaps for employee engagement to drive manufacturing excellence and thus grow business via this new way of manufacturing. To enable the strategy, the organization brought in a web application for evaluating a baseline, establishing action plans and real-time reporting to measure the progress of their high performing teams which were accountable for the improvements on the shop floor. They also got in nine principle subject matter experts, enterprise support teams, and worked on the incentive structure. The customized manufacturing way of the organization was introduced in September 2014 to all the operations leaders across plants of 300+ business units of the company across the globe. After the initial deployment, the company went ahead with an accelerated phase in the year 2015 which focused on building manufacturing capabilities, implementing quick wins and removing waste in one model line to determine results and to drive adoption of the customized manufacturing system. Increase Manufacturing Excellence through Operational Excellence The plant that has made the highest progress by adopting this manufacturing system recorded a 22% reduction in safety recordable incidents, a 12% improvement in quality, 68% improvement in employee retention and almost a 3X increase in energy-saving projects. A near doubling of customer satisfaction for customers of plants that achieved Level 3 of manufacturing excellence maturity, as a result of improved product quality and on-time delivery, among other measures. Hence, as you can see, by implementing the operational excellence practices, the organization was able to achieve one of the biggest achievements by winning the award and being recognized as the Best Achievement of Operational Excellence in Manufacturing. So, as you can see, there are multiple benefits both tangible and intangible, that any organization can achieve by implementing operational excellence practices. So, have you started implementing Operational Excellence practices? Compiled by Faber Priyal & Faber Mayuri

  • May 31, 2019
  • Faber Infinite

Operational Excellence – Foundation for Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0, a transformation which is highly spoken about in today’s era, is about to happen in a very short period. Which is why being prepared for the transformation is a need of the hour. Every progressive organization and its members at all the levels need to be prepared for this next phase of the industrial revolution. The best way to prepare for it is by working on strong foundations of Operational Excellence. Industry 4.0 is definitely bound to roll out with a lot of changes and disruption. As this happens, the processes and equipment will need to be more operationally equipped to be able to support the way Industry 4.0 operates – which is why organizations need to gear up for establishing & strengthening Operational Excellence for successfully reaping benefits from Industry 4.0. Operational Excellence: Operational Excellence is the pursuit of conducting business in a manner that continuously improves the quality of goods and services, reduces costs, increases speed and enhances flexibility to achieve competitive superiority. From a core manufacturing point of view, there are three pillars of operational excellence; they are production planning & control, manufacturing execution and operational effectiveness of people, processes and assets. Tight coordination among these three pillars is required in order to achieve overall operational excellence. Now you might wonder how operational excellence is the foundation of Industry 4.0. Hence, to uncover this confusion, team Faber Infinite conducted a webinar on Operational Excellence – Foundation of Industry 4.0, which was attended by the top management of different organizations from engineering, pharmaceutical, textile, and much more. Glimpses of the webinar as mentioned below: Agenda of the webinar: Explain the foundations for Industry 4.0 for manufacturing organizations Highlight the essential ingredients to be prepared Demystify the ways and means to launch the journey to Industry 4.0 Clarify the results expected The webinar was conducted by Mr. Aakash M Borse – Founding Partner & Director – Faber Infinite Consulting. In this webinar, he covered the following: Making most of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Smart manufacturing Challenges of IIoT and Smart Manufacturing and how to overcome them The role of Operational Excellence, the potential of the IIoT, and how it enables smart manufacturing How Operational Excellence helps to achieve benefits like – lower costs, more efficiency, easier inventory management, lower payback time, enhanced productivity and much more. To know more about how this can be implemented and be beneficial for you, watch the webinar here: https://bit.ly/2JK/0FF2

  • May 24, 2019
  • Faber Infinite

Operational Excellence for World Class Manufacturing

Did you know, worlds eighth largest automaker an Italian-American organization was able to improve its productivity by 75% just by implementing Operational Excellence? The organization began using operations excellence and management in order to establish the basic world-class manufacturing to manufacture products of higher quality by eliminating losses and improve its work standard in all its factory fields. The organization defined the initiative with the intent to raise their performance and standards to the level of world-class manufacturing. The initiative included improvement of quality and maintenance, management of cost and logistics and much more. The main reason to begin with this initiative was to increase the productivity and the flexibility in an elementary technology unit of a mechanical subgroup in the organization’s assembly process at one of its plant with PDCA approach. With the help of the PDCA approach, 4 workstations were analyzed an in various sub-phases of the production process, 41 kinds of Non-Value Added Activity – NVAA (MUDA Analysis) were found. After the completion of MUDA analysis, the places where the solutions were applied were found to have a lean process. Faber helps organization to Improvement in Productivity by more than 75% Once, the organization completed the implementation, the results were found as; improvement in productivity by more than 75%. And also improvement in ergonomics by more than 85%, optimization of logistics flow, and much more. As you can see, operational excellence is helping organizations across the world find hidden opportunities towards becoming world class. The above-mentioned case is one such example of one of the fortune 500 companies, which is already renowned as the world best manufacturer. Hence what growth stage the organization is at, there will always be hidden opportunities for better and sustainable growth. Have you started working towards operational excellence of your organization? Compiled by Faber Priyal & Faber Mayuri 

  • April 26, 2019
  • Faber Infinite

Friday Fact – Delhi Metro completes before schedule with Operational Excellence tools

Did you know the Delhi Metro took only 7 years to complete when the estimated time for the project was 10 years? The population of Delhi, the capital of India was over 1 million in the year 1990. It was a need of the hour to have reliable public transportation in Delhi. The unmanageable traffic created a need for the comprehensive traffic and transportation study which highlighted the urgent need for a rail-based transit system. The system should comprise of a network of underground elevated and surface corridors to meet the traffic demand projected for 2021. To convert this dream into reality, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) was registered on 3rd May 1995 for the construction and operation of the railway. Not only the unmanageable traffic but also the pollution that was generated due to the vehicles was contributing to more than two-thirds of total atmospheric pollution. In the year 1995, when the project was undertaken by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC), they gave the target of completing the project within the time span of 10 years. There were a lot of challenges the project faced, such as technical complexity, the reason being it was the first time when the modern metro was being planned and executed in the country. The first phase of the metro began in the year 1998 which covered a length of 65 km at a cost of around INR 99 billion. The project which was targeted to get completed within the span 10 years, but it got completed within 7 years and 3 months which was 2 years and 9 months ahead of the schedule. The second phase was started in the year 2005 which covered a length of 124 km at a cost of around INR 240 billion for which the targeted time period was 5 years. But then the challenge of the Commonwealth Games which took place in the year 2010 in Delhi occurred due to which the project was given only 4 and half years to complete. And, to your surprise, the project was completed exactly on the day on which the inauguration of Commonwealth games happened in Delhi. Wonder how was that possible? The man behind the success of the project was Metro Man – Mr. E Sreedharan. He served as the Managing Director of Delhi Metro from 1995-2012. He is known for completing projects before target date and within the respective budget. He adopted a lean structure. He made each member in his team accountable for their roles and responsibilities. There was a project planning and control system in place which included daily monitoring of work progress, weekly reviews and audits. His team demonstrated fantastic teamwork and he used operational excellence tools like project planning and control, daily work management (DWM) and others which assured on or before time completion of project with no compromise on quality and considering the budget as well. As you can see, Delhi Metro is again an example of best operational excellence tools like project planning and control, DWM, etc. The public sector as well as working towards making the process smooth for on-time project delivery by using operational excellence tools. Have you started working towards on-time project delivery to accomplish operational excellence? Compiled by Faber Priyal

  • September 1, 2018
  • Faber Infinite

5 Myths of Operational Excellence

Operational excellence is a proven methodology to provide support to the organizational framework initiatives. The objective is to achieve continual improvement and sustainable development. However, many a times, when the topic operational excellence is discussed, many misunderstand it. They consider it as another gimmick that will only add to their costs without adding any kind of value to the product served to the customers. To be honest, these myths need to be broken for the method to flourish the market and thus help organizations in achieving optimum results. In this blog, we will be discussing some of the most common myths related to operational excellence. Operational excellence is just another corporate propaganda Many people believe that operational excellence is just another corporate propaganda that looks good on paper but fails to provide results both on organizational as well as on individual level. However, this thinking is completely baseless. The proof can be taken from companies like General Motors who is expected to save more than $3 billion and witness a 20 percent revenue by 2020 because of operational excellence and related tools and strategies. Operational excellence is the solution to any problem Many people also believe that operational excellence is a cure all for the problems occurring in their organization. It is important for the companies to start with realistic goals. Starting off with very high and unrealistic goals will ultimately hurt their confidence and can also produce unfavorable results. Operational excellence depends largely on where it is started and on the driving force that pushes it throughout the system. Operational excellence is a costly methodology Any quality improvement strategy comes with a cost and so does operational excellence. But it is important to note it as an investment rather than expense to the organization. Many companies who are largely benefitted with operational excellence are those who implemented it with a distinct thought process than just costs. Operational excellence is only for large and bigger companies It is a total myth that operational excellence is only for large companies and will only benefit the companies with bigger contracts and manpower. Operational excellence and the consequent benefits can be achieved by any company with hard work, motivation, commitment and right strategy. Bigger companies might gain publicity for their operational excellence programs, but in reality it can be applied by everyone. Operational excellence only focuses on cutting costs Operational excellence is much more than just cutting costs. It has been quite evident from the above facts that companies save a lot on their expenses as a result of operational excellence. Operational excellence is more inclined towards improving efficiency and productivity rather than just sticking to costs. To be successful, you must get all-in with operational excellence and its tools and techniques. Team Faber Infinite has helped 150+ of clients in various industries across geographies in successfully implementing operational excellence processes and benefitting from it. With our structured framework, we have helped many clients in achieving excellence and attaining continual improvement and sustainable development. For more information, contact us at consulting@faberinfinite.com Discover the truth behind 5 common myths of operational excellence. Don’t let misconceptions hold your business back. Fill out the form below to debunk the myths and unlock the path to operational excellence. Take action now and revolutionize your operations! Written & Compiled by Faber Kishlay & Faber Mayuri.

  • January 22, 2018
  • Faber Infinite

Operational Excellence Checklist 2018

2017 has come to an end and we have set foot in 2018. We believe that Operational Excellence shall be the key to sustainable productivity and continual development even in 2018. It manifests the entire process through integrated performance across revenue, cost and risk. In this note, we want to put across key points that shall bind the beads in a single string in case of Operational Excellence in this new year. Below is the much-talked checklist for Operational Excellence. Value Adding Ratio – Measure of Costs Cost is far most one of the major concerns of the manufacturers. It plays a major role in determining the Operational Excellence of the entire system. Keeping a better track of costs by closing monitoring the VAR is the key. VAR which is the function of non-value adding activities and value-adding activities can be improved by eliminating inefficiencies or wastes in the process. Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ) – Quality Measure In this cut-throat competition, quality is something which is order qualifier and cannot be neglected. However, quality should be built in the process instead of reworking. Keeping a close track of the cost of poor quality will help improve processes and its throughput by drawing more sensitivity towards the same. Cost of Poor quality is any cost that the company will incur if the quality of the product or service is not perfect. This will further lead to unhappy customers. CoPQ leads to: Identifying and quantifying quality cost Effective use of resources Robust measurement system Breakthrough improvements On Time – In Full – Error Free (OTIFEF) Delivery Ratio A checklist of Operational Excellence cannot be completed without delivery parameters. Timeliness is like an ace in the deck of cards when it comes to operational excellence. It can be achieved through an efficient system and right metrics. On Time In Full Error Free Delivery ratio is one of the key measurement metrics. This ratio measures how the client gets what they want at the right time, in right quantities and error free. To reach a high level of OTIFEF delivery ratio all the functions in the supply chain must work at their finest levels. It must be noted that it is a function of three aspects time, quantity and transactional errors. We shall discuss it in details in next articles. Value Added Per Employee – Manpower Productivity Productivity is the ultimate result one wants to achieve through operational excellence. Hence, it has got be on the checklist. Higher productivity is what motivates the workforce as well as encourages the clients to put more trust in you. Moreover, operational excellence along with high productivity leads to continual improvement culture in any organization. It would be good to translate manpower productivity to value addition ‘cos that is something determines the impact on bottom line, a key for any business. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) – Measure of equipment health Equipment is the fuel of the manufacturing industry. Hence, a regular and precise tracking of the equipment and measuring Overall Equipment Effectiveness can help in planning the entire production routine and improving performance, thus, gaining operational excellence. OEE is an effective tool to benchmark, analyze, and improve the equipment health. It is a function of availability, performance and quality. Structured implementation of OEE improvement practices can lead to remarkably visible results like improved machine availability, reduced maintenance efforts and better awareness of equipment health across all team members. Near Misses – Safety Measure Safety is one of the most underestimated factors. As stated in Heinrich’s Law: that for every accident that causes a major injury, there were 29 accidents that caused minor injuries and 300 near misses that caused no injuries. Every organization should have a system to measure near misses to further act upon the same and creating safe workplaces. Team Faber Infinite via its Organizational Transformation Framework has helped organizations across industries and geographies to create sustainable measurement systems leading to improved productivity, quality, costs, delivery, safety and most important employee morale. We hope that the above-mentioned checkpoints would help you to achieve higher degrees of success in your operational excellence journey in the year 2018 and you craft better growth opportunities. Written & Compiled By Faber Kishlay Krishna & Faber Mayuri Pandya

  • November 29, 2017
  • Faber Infinite

Operational Excellence in Plastic Industry- Need of the Hour!

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