Qimpro consultants, the leading Indian quality management consulting firm that has pioneered quality improvement training in India, hosted the annual QualTech Prize instituted by its Qimpro College.

The event recognises cross-functional teams that have achieved extraordinary results in "improvement" and "innovation" projects, with results that have made their respective organisations very proud.

The QualTech Prize competition is open to a variety of methodologies, with an accent on achieving extraordinary results, both tangible and intangible in manufacturing, service, education, health care, and IT & ITeS categories.

The competition looks at quality improvement through the implementation of any of the structured methodologies like Six Sigma, Juran on Quality Improvement, Statistical Problem Solving, Kobetsu Kaizen, etc.

For innovation, the competition looks at achievements from the use of methodologies such as Design for Six Sigma, Quality Function Deployment, TRIZ, deBono Thinking, and Design of Experiments.

The prize covered categories in the areas of improvement and innovation, in both manufacturing and service.

A total of 15 presentations were made to the panel of judged, interspersed with question rounds after about four presentations, during which the presenters fielded questions from the audience as well as the judges.

The entries for the QualTech Prizes were evaluated by a panel, well known in their industries for their expertise and include:

• E A Kshirsagar, director, Tribune Corporate & Investment Advisory Services
• A Thirunavukkarasu, head, corporate HR, Sterlite Industries
• Dr Alka Mitra, general manager, training, QA and IE, Reliance Industries
• P Vijayan, vice president, HR, Mahindra Gesco Developers
• Vijay Jalan, chairman, Intercargo
• J Sridharan, head (CWCM Cell), Aditya Birla Management Corporation
• P R Telang, advisor, TQM, Mahindra and Mahindra
• P G Subramaniam, chief executive officer, ASAP Management Consultants
• Rahul Belwalkar, head, business processes, Reliance Life Insurance Company
  

Winners of the categories for the Qualtech 2007 were as follows:

Improvement

Hindalco Industries Ltd, Renukoot: Reduction in energy consumption

Case Study snapshot:
In their presentations, Narendra Singh Jodha, section head, carbon plant (technical)
Amit Bhardwaj, assistant manager, carbon plant (technical) from Hindalco Industries said that during problem identification, the team identified the area of electric energy consumption as one of the largest input costs to the cost of production of aluminium.

The team used benchmarking techniques to determine the gap for the cost associated with power consumption. Using a fishbone diagram, the team identified the factor with the highest impact on stub-to-carbon drop as the surface area of contact between the stub and the carbon anode.

For testing the theory, the team relied on implementation of the larger diameter stubs. The diameter of stub was increased from 130mm to 180mm, which was the maximum permissible stub size the carbon anode block could accommodate. Though this implementation subsequently reduced the voltage drop at the stub to carbon joint, it resulted in operational problems due to cracking of the butt.

Using cause and effect analysis, the team identified and reduced to permissible limits the operational issues resulting from butt crack. Final implementation saw the installation of stubs of 160mm diameters.

Benefits:

• Changeover in one potline resulted in annualised benefits of Rs97 lakhs per annum.
• Changeover in all 11 potlines will eventually yield a benefit of Rs12.14 crore per annum.
• Reduced operational issues on account of stub burn off and ring necking.
• Improved metal purity.
• Improved life of the copper bars and stubs.
• Improved manpower productivity.

Reliance Industries Ltd, Hazira - Reduction in finish consumption
Case Study snapshot:
Anup Kumar Das and Arup Kumar Mukherjee, senior managers from RIL's Hazira plant said that in the process of manufacturing polyester staple fibre (PSF), the Finish is applied at various stages to achieve productivity both at the plant and at downstream processes.

Their challenge was to reduce the Finish consumption, which had a direct impact on the cost and the environment, without impacting customer satisfaction by providing high level of Finish in the fibre.

Using the cause and effect matrix, and "why-why" analysis, the root cause was identified. Post several brainstorming sessions with cross-functional teams, the team implemented the optimal solution through the implementation of a recycling system in Drawmachine4, using it for a weeklong trial to obtain market feedback. The solution was then replicated across remaining machines.

Benefits:

• Effluent load has reduced to less than 950 m3 per day, despite the addition of capacity.
• Process ability related market complaints have reduced drastically.
• Tangible annual benefits include Rs1.75 crore via this implementation.
• Clean process with less handling of finish.
• Team culture enhancement.
• Improvement in personnel safety.
• House keeping improved
• Improved employee satisfaction.

Vardhman Spinning and General Millt Ltd, Ludhiana: Increase in productivity of yarn printing machine

Case Study snapshot:
According to Vandana Kapoor, assistant manager (R&D) and Rajpreet Singh Johal, assistant executive (production), the challenge for the team was to increase the productivity for Ludhiana-based Vardhaman Spinning and General Mills, from 210 kg / day to 324 kg / day.

The team mapped the "as-is" process using the SIPOC technique, followed by a root cause drill down and cross functional brain storming session.

Considering the availability of material required for implementing the remedies arrived at, the team made a "master implementation plan", which included provision to tackle resistance and cultural changes, sharing of technical merits with the workforce, and imparting training to workmen regarding new work-practices and their merits.

To sustain the gains from the project, a checklist for daily/fortnightly maintenance of the machines was maintained and monitored, in conjunction with checkpoints given to the machine operator to follow before starting the machine.

Benefits:

• Increase in production per day of 114 kg.
• Contribution of savings of a little over Rs20 lakh per annum.
• Reduction in the production cost by Rs5.09 per kg, totalling a further saving of just below Rs6 lakh per annum.
• Reduction in rejects by 4.7 per cent.
• Intangible benefits included an upgradation of the machine knowledge of the team, along with their confidence to solve complex problems, and the adoption of a data-based approach to problems, in addition to better interpersonal relationships.

Innovation
Sterlite Industries (India) Limited, Silvassa - Recovery of Nickel from Electrolyte Stream

Case study snapshot:

The area identified for the case was the continuous increase in nickel content of electrolyte, and subsequent rise in power consumption, which was increasing the cost of production said Sterlite's Vikram Patni, head, production, Sterlite Industries and Shivalo Verma, associate manager, production, in their presentation.

In the electro refining process that covers impure copper anodes to pure copper cathodes, impurities tend to build in the electrolyte over time. To keep these under check, various purification methods are used, each having its own cost implications and environmental challenges.

The ever-increasing contamination of nickel content in the electrolyte was causing excessive power consumption, a major constituent of the cost of production. This was proving to be a hurdle to the company's vision of being a best-in-class copper producer.

Benchmarking against global practices showed that refineries across the world used generation of impure nickel sulphate from the electrolyte using evaporators, the cost of which was almost prohibitive, in addition to the added problem of generation of black acid that was difficult to treat in a cost and environmentally friendly way.

The solution designed by the team included a two-step process of purification of the electrolyte, followed by precipitating the nickel to form nickel carbonate. For implementation, the solution was first established on a lab scale, to facilitate tweaking by the addition of filters, takes, etc., and within two months of arriving at the solution, the same was implemented at the plant level.

Benefits:

• Nickel content reduced, resulting in a reduction of power consumption by 12 units per MT, translating into savings of Rs72 lakh per annum.
  
• Ongoing reduction in nickel levels will ensure savings climb to Rs2 crore per annum.
• The nickel carbonate precipitated by the process has generated revenues of almost Rs5.4 crore per annum, subsidising the cost of production by almost 14 per cent.
  
• Total cost of production dropped by Rs381 per MT, and annualised savings at one unit reached Rs7.5 crore per annum. For all three units put together, the combines savings total Rs21 crore per annum.
• Successful completion re-emphasised the policy of a zero discharge unit.