Highlights of some selected signature projects from 1998 to date — 23 definitive moments in the history of India’s engineering practices. 

A) RCM Implementation for a large Process Plant (Zinc):
Results at the end of two years engagement on RCM (Reliability Centred Maintenance) for a major Zinc Plant for reliability improvement of Roasters and Mills targetting a financial gain of around Rs 400 Crores.  2017 to 2019.
Achievements:

Preventing Production Loss:

1. In 2017 (at the start of the Project) = Rs 75 Crores lost due to 91 hours of unplanned stoppages.

2. At the end of 2018 (one year after start of the project): Rs 42 Crores lost due to 62 hours of unplanned stoppages

3. By the end of the Project (after two years of the project): Rs 15 Crores lost due to 18 hours of unplanned stoppages.

80% improvement over 2017 level of performance. 

Total savings = Rs 60 Crores in two years time. Plus other on-going benefits.

KEY benefits:

1. 69 days of extra production from the same system without any capital expenditure
2. MTBF of the Critical Systems increased by two times
3. Risk reduced by half
4. Dramatic reduction in Unplanned Downtime

B) Design and Setting up of Condition Based Maintenance & Reliability Improvement for a Polyester Firm 

•     Design of the System – toward process automation
•     Advanced Programs on Predictive, Problem Solving, Planning & Decision Making
•     Running of the pilot and handing over
•     Re-design of technical and organizational systems
•     Re-design of the purchasing mechanism
•     Joint audit of results.
•      Number of problems solved successfully > 250

Results 

1. Breakdowns reduced from 24 failures a month to 1 (one) failure a year.
2. The annual consumption of spares reduced by 50%
3. Productivity improved by 30%
4. Energy efficiency improved by 20%
5. Purchase lead time brought down from 45 days to 2 days
6. Profitability improved by 20%

C) Design and Setting up of Plant wide Reliability Improvement Program in a Cement Plant 

• Design of the Reliability Improvement System – through automation
• Analysis of failures, wastage, energy losses, delays
• Conducting training programs from Awareness Level to Advanced Level on Prediction, Problem Solving Planning and Decision Making
• Re-design of parts and components and design of machines
• Implementation of the program
• Joint audit of results
• Number of problems solved successfully > 500

Results

1. Machinery breakdowns reduced from 53 failures a year to 1 failure a year
2. Longest non-stop kiln run hours in India (180 days continuous)
3.  Maintenance cost reduced by 67%
4. Lubricant consumption reduced by 70%
5. Energy cost reduced by around 15%
6. Profitability increased by 15%

D) Plant Reliability Improvement & 6 Sigma for the largest Cement Plant in Asia 

• Analysis of failures, wastage, process delays, product problems
• Conducting a series of technical and managerial training programs (on prediction problem solving and decision making) from Awareness to Advanced level
• Re-design of machinery components
• Joint audit of results
• Number of problems solved successfully > 500

Results

1. Plant wide failures reduced from 350 failures a year to less than 16 failures a year
2. Maintenance cost reduction by 20%
3. Energy cost reduction by 10%

E) Profitability Improvement for a Gear Box Manufacturing Unit

• Assessment of the firm — technical and financial
• Assessment of processes
• Assessment of customer complaints
• Redesign of Products to improve profitability and reduce costs.
• Design of new layout of the plant
• Design of processes
• Conducted series of training programs from Awareness Level to Advanced Level in CBM, TPM, TQM (parts), 6 Sigma
• Joint audit of results.
• Number of problems solved successfully > 50

Results

1. They could now sell their gear boxes at 6% less price as compared to that of their competitors.
2. The manufacturing time for producing a gear box came down by 20%
3. Number of customer complaints dropped by 80%.
4. The market share of their gear boxes quickly jumped up from the rock bottom level of 18 to 20% to a healthy 50%.
5. Productivity, Performance and Profitability were improved and sustained over the following years till date.
6. Energy conservation, Material conservation and Sustainability were all achieved in one stroke.
7. Increase of Turnover from Rs 1 Cr a month to Rs 3 Crs a month

F) Overall Organizational Improvement for a Rubber Product manufacturing organization 

• Assessment of Company Financials
• Assessment of Product Portfolio
• Assessment of process and planning system
• Redesign of the production system
• Redesign of the planning process
• Redesign of the organizational structure
• Training programs at various levels from Awareness Level to Advanced Level
• Joint audit of results
• Number of problems solved > 150

Results 

1. Company turnover increased from Rs 8 Crs to Rs 150 Crs in five years without any major capital investment
2. Delay in delivery brought down from 725 days to 17 days
3. Profitability improved by over 50%

G) Safety Audits and Risk Assessment for all Oil Terminals and Depots of Eastern India for the largest Petrochemical Company in India 

• Safety Audit
• Risk Assessment through HAZOP Analysis and HAZAN study
• Total number of 36 units were covered.
• Joint audit of results

Result

1. One fire accident within 36 units in 5 years. Though this specific risk was exactly identified and predicted there was lack of management action to implement the recommendation in that unit.

H) Instituting Manufacturing Excellence for an international FMCG company

• Assessment of Product Design
• Assessment of Process
• Assessment of Machinery
• Redesign of Product
• Redesign of Machinery
• Joint audit of results
• Number of problems solved > 50

Result

1. Productivity increased from 60 products a minute to 80 products a minute
2. Wastage reduced from 8% to less than 1%
3. Quicker Return on Investment: Cost of building new machinery achieved at 1/10th the cost of new imported machinery
4. Vibration level of the machine reduced from 65 microns to less than 6 microns.
5. Energy consumption reduced by more than 15%
6. Better sealing of product.
7. Variation in product quantity reduced to almost zero
8. Customer complaint reduced to around zero.

I) Improving Yield and Quality in a Steel Plant 

• Quantified Assessment of the Problems of Yield and Quality
• Re-designing the system
• Assist in implementing changes
• Joint audit of results
• Number of problems solved > 15

Results

1. Yield improved from 92% to 99.7% and has continued to remain so for past 7 years (presently the International Benchmark)
2. Quality rejection of product decreased from 30% to less than 2%
3. System availability increased from 95% to 100%
4. Profitability increased by 6%

J) Design and Setting up of Plant wide Reliability improvement of a steel plant.

• Assessment of present reliability and failure rate
• Identification of systems and sub-systems that contribute to the overall unreliability
• Re-design of the the sub-systems
• Design and setting up of Condition Based Monitoring System
• Joint audit of results
• Number of problems solved successfully > 150

Result

1. Plant availability improved from 87% to 99%
2. Life of failure prone parts improved by three to ten times the previous life
3. Energy cost reduction by around 5%
4. Maintenance cost and effort reduced by 30%

K) Product Development in a Manufacturing Plant 

• Identification of existing products that need improvement
• Identification of new products that are to be developed as per customer requirement
• Assessment of customer complaints of existing products
• Designing and Development of the new products
• Joint audit of results

Result

1. 12 new patents obtained over a 3 year period
2. Average time taken for development of a new product was approximately 3 months
3. Increase in market share was by 10%
4. Profitability of new products was high

L) Improving Productivity in a Pipe Manufacturing Plant

• Assessment of present reliability and failure rates
• Identification of systems and sub-systems that contribute to the overall unreliability
• Re-design of the the sub-systems and solving problems
• Re-Design of the complex system
• Joint audit of results
• Number of problems solved successfully > 150

Result

1. Productivity improved from 200 pipes a day to more than 2000 pipes a day.
2. Quality improved from 20% rejection to around 5% rejection
3. Tonnage improved by 10 times
4. Production cost and effort reduced by 30%

M) Facilitating Reliability Improvement for India’s largest Power Company:

Results:

1. More than 600 engineers and managers trained and certified in various levels of Vibration Analysis and Streamlined RCM process
2. Surprise failures reduced to minimum
3. Plant load factor optimized

N) Root Cause Failure Analysis

O) Design of Factories

P) Design of Manufacturing Systems

Q) Design of Products and Equipment

R) Training and Education of Engineers on Vibration Analysis — Cat I to Cat IV

S) Training and Education of Managers on Reliability Engineering

T) Training and Education to students on Power of See and Design Mindset

U) Design of a Workers’ Training Program

General Points

• More than 1500 training programs were conducted
• More than 8000 engineers and managers and designers attended different workshops, training programs, public seminars or were associated with various live projects.
• Programs and consulting activities were also conducted in Saudi Arabia, Baharin, Qatar, Mauritius, United Kingdom.
• More than 10,000 problems have been solved over 34 years.
• Certification course on Vibration Analysis Level 1, 2 3 regularly conducted at NTPC for past 6 years.
• General nature of different program – Power of See, Design Mindset, Problem Solving, Condition Based Maintenance, Vibration Analysis, Reliability Improvement, Complex Systems, Design Thinking, Systems Thinking, Product Development, Supervisory Development  etc..
• Designed a three year course curriculum on Industrial Training of Workers based on Self Organized Learning Environment
• Designed an entire factory to improve production effectiveness,  efficiency and performance.

U) Launch of India’s first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Vibration Analysis of Machines in June 2017: supported and sponsored by NTPC.

Contact:
Dibyendu De
Director
Reliability Management Consultant Pvt Ltd.
dde@rgbwaves.com
Phone:  +91 9836466678