New Delhi, Aug 16: It was a rare peep into Duracell India's state-of-the-art plant at Nakrola in Gurgaon (Haryana). Rare, because it was for the first time that gates of Duracell India plant were flung open to TQM practitioners from companies.The visit was part of the itinerary the TQM Study Mission to the Northern Region, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), New Delhi. Between August 9-13, delegates from various manufacturing companies visited Shriram Pistons & Rings Ltd, Timex Watches Ltd, Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd, Samtel Colour Ltd and Duracell (India) Pvt Ltd. The delegates represented the following companies: Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd, Tiruchirappalli; Carrier Aircon Ltd, Gurgaon; Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd, New Delhi; J K Industries Ltd, New Delhi; Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai; Mahindra & Mahindra, Mumbai; Mother Dairy, Delhi; National Aluminium Company; and Shriram Pistons & Rings Ltd, Ghaziabad.
At first glance what impressed the delegates was Duracell'sworld-class manufacturing environment that provided for minimal noise, total airconditioning, and a very high per capita space availability. ``In the last eight months, the product made in India has been the best among all Duracell companies worldwide,'' says Manish Prasad, technical manager, Duracell (India) Ltd.
Now Duracell's internal target is to bring the overall rejection rate of two per cent at the Indian plant down to the benchmark of the US and Brazil-based plants, where the rejection rate is around 0.5 per cent. The company claims that the current rejection level is relatively high because its manufacturing facilities are a mix of old and new machinery. Another task at the Indian plant is to remain relevant. ``If the product becomes obsolete, we become obsolete,'' says Prasad. To keep on its toes, Duracell has set itself a stretch target: five per cent improvement in the performance of products every year.
Says Prasad: ``This shakes up the entire organisation and impacts everything from thesourcing of raw materials and equipment to management directions and work practices.''
If the plant is anything to go by, the challenge has been seized by Duracell India in earnest. ``We began by providing right environment: the hardware aspect, lots of per capita space, and recruiting the best in the industry with a strike rate of 1 in 1,000,'' says Prasad. Subsequently, Duracell India introduced kaizen-as skills of observation are enhanced under kaizen-and adopted Duracell's global practice of X'Cell in conjunction with Motorola's Quality Review System. This broadly constitutes Duracell India's TQM thrust where the focus is on continuously improving quality and productivity, while bringing costs down.
A continuous improvement programme through team work, X'Cell is Duracell's branded systematic approach to enhance product and process quality. A organisation-sponsored, cross-functional and cross-hierarchical team, consisting of six to eight members, runs the X'Cell programme. The team's task is to solveproblems and find solutions through a structured problem solving methodology. It has seven steps:
Identify problem area: In the first phase, the focus is on understanding who are the customers and what are their needs. Here, the team identifies key indicators, measures of excellence and also ways to measure the problem. Logic: to improve it's essential to measure a problem.
Assess the current situation: After quantifying a problem, a target is set for problem solving.
Root cause analysis: The team uses structured techniques like cause-effect diagrams and Pareto analysis to arrive at the root cause of the problem.
Ways to improve: Seek countermeasures to make practical working solutions. Here cost-benefit analysis, strategy implementation, action plan and responsibility allocation are undertaken.
Monitor the results: The results are verified against set targets, and the team continuously tracks whether it is meeting targets or not. If it's short of the target,countermeasures are undertaken.
Standardisation: Here a method is put in place by which the team achieves a resolution to the problem and makes sure that the problem doesn't reoccur. It may entail a change in documents, work standards, and drawing; and training in favour of further specialisation.
Making the future plan: After celebrating the landmarks that have been achived, the X'Cell team reconvenes for the next problem.Under the X'Cell concept the team is supported by the management unlike in Quality Circles where teams are self-sponsored. Says Prasad: ``Working in a team is not easy. Every team member has got his own views and perceptions. X'Cell allows the team to form a structured way of getting everybody onto the common platform so that there is a minimal communication gap.''
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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