Mumbai, Aug 22: A small group activity (SGA) case study of Godrej Soaps' Vikhroli factory on the reduction in consumption of HP Steam in the fat splitting plant reveals that the company has saved, on a recurring basis, an amount of Rs 47 lakh per annum.``This particular SGA was a critical one for the company, and perhaps the best in terms of the amount of savings considering that the average savings to the company from any SGA amounts to just about Rs 10 lakh per annum,'' says Godrej Soaps deputy general manager (TQM) William J Pinto. The Godrej Soaps group, along with subsidiary companies, has completed 175 SGAs till date.
The SGA was initiated at the Vikhroli factory to look into the problem of reducing HP Steam at the fat-splitting plant. The team hired to work on the SGA was cross-functional in nature, and consisted of 11 managers and officers from operations, maintenance, and instrumentation. The problem was taken up for investigation for two reasons:
Challenging the status-quo: Eventhough there was no real cause for concern regarding the amount of HP Steam which was earlier being utilised i.e 0.9 metric tonne (MT) for every metric tonne of fatty acid produced, it was felt that it would be beneficial to see whether less amount of HP Steam could be utilised to do the job. This was to be done without sacrificing the quality or quantity of fatty acid produced, the company pointed out.
Waste elimination: Even though the processes followed in the other factories, viz, Valia in Gujarat and Malanpur in Madhya Pradesh were different, and the plants state-of-the-art compared to the process used at the 20-year-old Vikhroli plant, the company felt that it merited investigation, at least from the point of view of waste elimination.
The SGA was thus kicked off in June 1997 and was completed by March 1998. After a series of brainstorming sessions, over 75 causes were identified and listed for the high steam consumption in the fat-splitting plant. The root causes that emerged were: highventing rate, leaky steam valves and leaky steam traps.
The team then identified counter-measures to correct these problems. The leaky steam valves and traps, which were resulting in unnecessary outgo of steam, were replaced, and a regular monitoring system put in place. Normally, valves and traps are supposed to let go on only condensed water. In the case of the Vikhroli plant, some amount of steam was also escaping through the valves and traps. The vent size was thus adjusted to suit optimal conditions to reduce the amount of steam ejected. A 33 per cent reduction in the amount of HP Steam utilised was thus achieved. The monetary gain, estimates the company: a recurring annual saving of around Rs 47 lakh.
Company sources said that the SGA under consideration was critical for the old plant which is based on obsolete technology, in order to retain the functional capabilities of the plant. In fact, had it not been for the SGA, this particular operation would have been shifted to Valia or Malanpur. Alongwith the notional gains, perhaps this was the most practical saving of all.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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