Improving manufacturing effectiveness through implementation of stall-built system in chiller shop at Thermax Ltd: Pune.

Abstract

Thermax is a leading engineering industry with energy and environment as its core areas of operation. It is on a fast tract of growth, dominating the domestic market for most of its products and is having a focus to expand its operations to make a dent in the global market. Over the years the company has been improving continuously on product & service quality, delivery and costs. However, looking at the international benchmarking there is still more scope to improve and become a truly world class manufacturer. To bring about a breakthrough improvement in manufacturing systems, the company has decided to go for introducing 'stall-built' (cellular) systems of manufacturing and assembly.The main objective of this project is to * bring the concept into reality1, to reorganise the manufacturing set-up, to implement the stall-built concept and to facilitate the process of bringing a change in the mindset and in the operating systems. To smoothen the process of change, it was necessary to communicate - the concept, its benefits and the subsequent changes required in the system as well as to seek suggestions and feedback and ensure participation of every employee. This was done as a first step towards implementation. The shopfloor layout was modified, workplaces were redesigned and stalls were established with reallocation of resources. The workplace organisation was done to bring in more visual control and to minimise non-value-adding activities. Within a span of two months, it has been possible to start the implementation process by reorganising the physical resources and establishing the stalls. People on the shopfloor have already seen the benefits and have been a constant source of encouragement to pursue the change process. The total implementation of the concept in terms of achieving 100% dedication of resources should be done in a phased manner. This will also ensure that critical issues such as productivity linked incentives will be handled effectively.This project has clearly given the direction for the future. Stall-built system is going to be the key strategy for manufacturing at Thermax. The company has to ensure that the implementation is carried out in a strategic and professional framework to be in a position to exploit the economical and humanistic advantages of stall-built system.