Industry 2.0 March 2010

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editorial Vol. 09 | Issue 08 | march 31, 2010

Managing Director: Dr Pramath raj sinha Printer & Publisher: Kanak Ghosh Editorial Group Editor: r Giridhar Assistant Editor: P K chatterjee Sub-Editor: reshmi menon dEsign Sr. Creative Director: Jayan K Narayanan Art Director: Binesh sreedharan Associate Art Director: anil VK Manager Design: chander shekhar Sr. Visualisers: Pc anoop, santosh Kushwaha Sr. Designers: Tr Prasanth & anil T Chief Designer: N V Baiju Photographer: Jiten Gandhi brand managEmEnt General Manager: Nabjeet Ganguli salEs & markEting VP Sales & Marketing: Naveen chand singh (09971794688) National Manager-Events & Special Projects: mahantesh Godi (09880436623) National Manager Online: Nitin Walia (09811772466) Assistant Brand Manager: arpita Ganguli GM South: Vinodh Kaliappan(09740714817) GM North: Pranav saran(09312685289) GM West: sachin N mhashilkar(09920348755) Coimbatore: D K Karthikeyan (09843024566) Kolkata: Jayanta Bhattacharya (09331829284) Production & logistics Sr. GM Operations: shivshankar m hiremath Production Executive: Vilas mhatre Logistics: mP singh, mohamed ansari, shashi shekhar singh officE addrEss Nine Dot Nine Interactive Pvt ltd c/o KPT house, Plot 41/13, sector 30 Vashi (Near sanpada railway station), Navi mumbai 400703 For any information, write to info@industry20.com For subscription details, write to subscribe@industry20.com For sales and advertising enquiries, write to advertise@industry20.com Printed and published by Kanak Ghosh for Nine Dot Nine Interactive Pvt ltd c/o KPT house, Plot 41/13, sector 30 Vashi (Near sanpada railway station) Navi mumbai 400703 Editor: anuradha Das mathur c/o KPT house, Plot 41/13, sector 30 Vashi (Near sanpada railway station) Navi mumbai 400703 Printed at silverpoint Press Pvt. ltd, D 107, TTc Industrial area, Nerul, Navi mumbai 400706.

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setting the

rIGhT ExpEctations

R Giridhar editor@industry20.com

o

ver the past few months, the manufacturing industry has been doing well. Factories are once again humming with activities, and the demand continues to be robust. however, as we move into the planning cycle for the next financial year, this cheer and optimism carries the real risk of excessive expectations. supporting this notion is a recent survey by the economist Intelligence unit (eIu), which says many executives think their performance targets are too ambitious—and do not adequately take into account the risk factors. more than three-quarters of senior executives feel that pressure from top management forces them to accept overly ambitious objectives. The main problem, according to the study, is that while those at the top set objectives, they seldom understand the full scope of the risks that influence whether the objectives are realised. This, in turn, impacts the ability of the organization to develop robust and flexible business plans that are needed for a fast-changing environment. “It is difficult to create realistic performance goals without incorporating knowledge from those closest to customers and suppliers,” observes Dan armstrong, senior editor at eIu, who directed the study. however, at the same time there is a genuine apprehension among executives that involving more people will make the planning process unwieldy—and ultimately unworkable.

industry 2.0

how can organisations balance risk with performance? one suggestion is to focus on processes, and then get the support of the top management. It is very important to integrate risk considerations into budgets and plans—and obtain the concurrence of the top management to ensure that there is no mismatch between performance targets and reality. The biggest benefit of integrating risk and performance is not improved accuracy of projections, but a better understanding and realization of the uncertainties faced by the business. once the right processes are in place, look at how activities can be automated. automation can facilitate a common understanding of goals, enforce standards and smoothen the workflow. A good process facilitated by automation ensures that everyone participates within a common framework, and the outcome incorporates the assumptions from all participants. Finally, focus on the areas where the payoff is greatest. In most industries, the focus is on high-level strategic planning and large capital expenditures. In manufacturing, this extends to the supply chain as well. This will help ensure that managers do not feel that performance goals are at odds with expectations. successfully integrating the management of risk and performance requires strong processes that reach deep into the organisation. are you prepared? Write in and let me know. n

- technology management for decision-makers | march 31, 2010

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contents in conversation

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ViVek Marwaha Marketing Director Siemens PLM Software India

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Dinesh Gupta President, Bry-Air

24 More Investment and Deals on the Cards Greater interest in the Indian logistics sector points to increased mergers and acquisitions.

supply chain & logistics 44 Protecting the Supply Chain against Uncertainties Strategic management of safety stocks can help companies cope with sudden increase in demand.

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48 Unlocking the Fortune Cookies

cover story

26 Aligning with Global Trends 3D CAD solutions enhance and speed the design process窶病nd can help realize substantial cost savings.

Cover Design: Anil T Picture courtesy: www.solidworks.com

38 Solving Quality through Better Design Accurate modeling and simulation of the real world reduces prototyping and minimizes re-work.

market dynamics 12 Manufacturing Growth is Robust

20 Creating a Demand Driven Organization

Indian manufacturers are gaining from new domestic orders.

By ensuring a good match between fluctuating market demand and supply, you can improve customer service窶病nd reduce costs.

13 Aerospace Manufacturing Growing need for manufacturing capacity will necessitate large investments and industry consolidation.

events 16 India SCM Conclave 2010 Over 200 supply chain and logistics professionals gathered to deliberate on ways of creating smart supply chains through better strategies, best practices, emerging technologies and innovative ideas.

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22 SolidworksWorld 2010 Cloud computing will give Solidworks users more power, greater flexibility and better collaboration tools.

23 Challenges in Warehouse Management Technological upgrades and scientific management of warehouses can reduce operational risks and boost profitability.

- technology management for decision-makers

By automating the supply chain, Escorts Agri Machinery Group succeeded in unlocking a substantial amount of cash.

information technology 51 Creating the Business Value through Transformation CIOs will be expected to deliver more value and services with less financial support.

management & strategy 53 The New Value at Stake in Regulation Executives in all sectors have to remain prepared to counter the effects of enormous regulatory pressures.

departments 01 Editorial 04 Industry Update 23 Advertiser Index 54 Product Update

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industry update BDP Forms Joint Venture in India

event update Chemspec India 2010

The exhibition will showcase a wide range of new products, technologies and services from the agrochemical, dyestuffs, biotechnology, water treatment, contract and toll manufacture, cosmetics and healthcare sectors.

Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon, Mumbai Tel: +91-22-24044477 E-mail: vijay@chemicalweekly.com Date: 15 april to Website: www.chemspecindia.com 16 april 2010

(L-R) Pavithran M Kallada , Managing Director, BDP International, Richard Bolte, President & CEO, BDP and Mike Andaloro, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, BDP International, during the launch of BDP joint venture in Mumbai.

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ogistics company BDP International has set up base in India through a joint venture company joining hands with Mumbai-based Unique Global Logistics.

The new venture, BDP Global Logistics India, will strengthen the presence of BDP International in the Indian market. BDP holds 65 per cent stake in the new venture, while the remaining 35 per cent is being held by Unique Global.

“We plan to achieve a $1 million growth target for 2010-11 with a 25 per cent year-on-year growth,” said Pavithran M Kallada, Managing Director, BDP International.

The company’s products will cater to the chemicals, life sciences, healthcare, retail, telecom and manufacturing industries, in

particular, the engineering sector.

The company also launched its new technology in India, BDP Smart vu, which is a vendor management tool that provides logistics managers with the visibility of each stage of an international purchase order.

“With Smart vu, importers can globally manage their upstream vendors and suppliers from one central site. The technology provides information on the status of purchase orders, including the critical initial stages,” said Mike Andaloro, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, BDP International.

Following India, the company is planning to make its foray into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a 50:50 joint venture with the Kanoo Group.

Fuji Sets up Own Subsidiary in India

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apan-based Fuji Electric Holding Company, has launched its 100 per cent subisidary operation in India, viz., Fuji Electric India (FEI).

Fuji Electric has been in the Indian market since 1988, when for the first time the organisation transferred technology for vacuum circuit breaker to an Indian company. FEI started out as a branch operation of Fuji Electric Asia Pacific, Singapore

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in 2007. FEI currently has three operating divisions namely; drives and controls; power semiconductors and instrumentation. The new 100 per cent owned subsidiary, Fuji Electric is also planning to explore newer opportunities in India in sectors such as electric traction systems, power generation, energy management and environmental protection, power semiconductors and medium voltage drives.

- technology management for decision-makers

Material Handling & Storage expo 2010

The event will display material handling and transportation equipment, storage equipment, containers and packaging equipment and communication equipment.

Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon, Mumbai Tel: +91-22-28398000 Date: E-mail: conventions@mtnl.net.in 6 May to Website: www.confairs.com 9 May 2010

Intermachinery India 2010

The exhibition will showcase machine tools, construction machinery, printing and packaging equipment, hydraulics and pneumatics systems and agriculture machinery and equipment, among others.

Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon, Mumbai Tel: +91-22-40376700 E-mail: info@worldexindia.com Date: Website: www.worldexindia.com 13 May 2010 to 15 May 2010

automotive engineering Show 2010

The event will display a wide range of manufacturing technologies, equipment, tools and methods of assembly for the automotive industry.

Venue: Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai Tel: +91-22-4020 1000 E-mail: info@focussedevents.com Date: Website: www.focussedevents.com 14 May to

17 May 2010

International Power transmission expo 2010

The event will display latest power transmission products and technologies.

Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon, Mumbai Tel: +91-80-25567028 Date: E-mail: info@virgo-comm.com 20 May to Website: www.virgo-comm.com

22 May 2010

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industry update McNally Bharat Bags SaIL Project

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Singh is hopeful that the manucNally Bharat Engineering has facturing industry will scale newer been awarded a project worth heights and will witness new trends Rs 245.42 crore from Steel such as rand development activity to Authority of India Limited (SAIL) for be enhanced for localization of critimaterial handling plants to handle coal, cal manufacturing processes; greater coke, sinter and Iron ore fines. use of CNC machines for The project comprises increasing productivity and inter plant transportation manufacturing quality and facilities (Package-092) at adoption of best practices in Rourkela steel plant, Orissa. the manufacturing processThe major equipment to be es through greater emphasis supplied as a part of the on operator training and turnkey project include belt skills development. and pipe conveyors, double He, however, noted that roll crushers, vibrating the manufacturing industry screen, vibrating feeder, steep angle conveyor and Srinivash Singh, MD, Mc- faced challenges as well payloader. The project Nally Bharat Engineering such as getting proper qualified manpower to manincludes complete civil and structural work, electrical, instrumenta- age expansion programmes. “We have instituted a Graduate engineering traintion and utilities. ing programme for the last four years to The company is optimistic that the meet the future requirement of trained economy is slowly making a turnaround manpower, today we face a shortage of and the current business scenario is quality managers in the middle level,” very much positive. Says Srinivash said Singh.

Singh, MD, McNally Bharat EngineerHe also observed that in order to ing, “The World Bank has predicted an compete globally with other low cost annual growth of 7.5 per cent for India. countries like China, India needs to reWe have an order backlog of Rs 3,500 duce financing costs especially for long crores, which should see us through lead term projects.

2010-11 as well.”

Punj Lloyd Launches Kuber

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unj Lloyd Group has launched a new pipelay vessel, Kuber, which is capable of laying pipelines in water depths of 150 m.

Besides India, Kuber is geared to operate in the oil and gas fields of Asia Pacific and Middle East.

The vessel includes equipment The new pipelay vessel is capable of laying pipelines from international suppliers, an in water depths of 150 m. air conditioned four storeyed acis provided with navigation systems, commodation block, which can house including DGPS, wind speed and direc290 personnel. Besides, the vessel tion indicators, underwater camera, has the capability to work at sea for draught sensor and SAT diving systems. extended periods.

Kuber also has a helipad and a The vessel has a large free deck ‘Huisman’ pedestal crane. with a load capacity of 12.5 T/m², and

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- technology management for decision-makers

Schneider Enters Renewable Energy Market

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chneider Electric India has made its foray into the renewable energy market with the launch of the Xantrex range of renewable energy products. Olivier Blum, Managing Director, Schneider Electric India, said, “The launch of Schneider Electric renewable energy solutions marks our entry into the expanding Indian renewable energy market.”

Schneider Electric, with Xantrex, will provide advanced power electronic products and systems for the renewable power market. The products include inverters and gateways to solar and wind plants that convert the direct current produced by clean generators such as photovoltaic panels or wind turbines into alternating current, which is required by electronic equipment and the electricity grid.

Schneider Electric’s Xantrex range of products, which have been launched in India, comprise change controllers, MPPT solar change controllers, solar invertors / chargers, grid tie inverters and off grid and hybrid inverter chargers.

electroMech to Distribute eX Range

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lectroMech has entered into a partnership with Stahl CraneSystems for distribution of the EX range of Stahl products in India.

Tushar Mehendale, Managing Director, ElectroMech, said “Through this tieup ElectroMech now introduces to the Indian market lifting solutions suitable for use in hazardous and explosionprone areas. The hoists and cranes are suitable for hazardous atmosphere for both gas (Zone 1 and Zone 2) as well as dust (Zone 21 and Zone 22).”

ElectroMech will be the exclusive India partner for Stahl CraneSystems for it’s EX range of products.

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industry update Mathworks Brings in Simulink PLC Coder

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he MathWorks has introduced Simulink PLC coder, which generates IEC 61131 structured text for programmable logic controller (PLC) and programmable automation controller (PAC) devices.

The new product enables modelbased design for manufacturing and power generation equipment controlled

by PLCs and PACs. The Simulink PLC coder helps engineers to automatically generate code for industrial control systems, including closed-loop and supervisory control applications. Automatic code generation, which is an integral part of modelbased design, helps eliminate errors associated with traditional hand coding and reduces overall development and validation time.

“Industrial automation is a competitive field as companies continuously seek ways to innovate and develop more complex mechatronic industrial systems,” says Tony Lennon, Manager, Industrial Automation and Machinery Industry, The MathWorks. “Model-based design with automatic code generation is the best way to design and validate

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Simulink PLC Coder helps generate structured text from user model that an IDE can deploy to user industrial control system. these complex systems that span electrical, mechanical and control system domains,” he adds.

The PLC coder generates source code in structured text format from Simulink models, Stateflow charts and embedded MATLAB code, and then uses an integrated development environment (IDE) from an industrial automation vendor to compile the code and run it on a PLC or PAC commonly used to control machinery.

The company is working with vendors such as Rockwell Automation and B&R, to help users integrate modelbased design with their industrial equipment development efforts.

SAP Launches New BI Solution

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AP has launched BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) OnDemand solution to meet a growing demand from companies of all sizes for softwareas-a-service (SaaS) business intelligence (BI) tools.

The solution includes capabilities that make it easy to tap into data online, get better insight into organization and securely share illustrative reports and dashboards with colleagues inside and outside the firewall.

The other features of the product include SAP BusinessObjects Explorer software, which is built for powerful data exploration and visualization capabilities; guide to product usage for people with no prior BI experience through the processes of accessing, exploring, visualizing and sharing data; the ability to access all on-demand and on-premise data—including SAP data and data from the Salesforce customer relationship management (CRM) application and an on-demand solution for creating ad-hoc reports, conducting what-if analyses and securely sharing this information inside or outside the company.

“Current market trends show strong demand for SaaS BI tools that are easy-touse and acquire, and IDC research expects the SaaS BI market to grow three times faster than the overall BI and analytics market over the next five years,” said Dan Vesset, Program Vice President, Business Analytics, IDC.

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CSR evolving as a Focused Strategy

- technology management for decision-makers

ompanies are realising reporting to be an essential tool for competitiveness,” said Ms Annapurna Vancheswaran, Convener, BCSD India and Director Sustainable Development Outreach, TERI, while giving her speech at the training and capacity building workshop held in Bangalore on ‘Corporate sustainability: Measuring & reporting’, organised by TERI-BCSD India, in association with Det Norske Veritas.

She said that for corporates it is a substance versus image driven exercise, where the focus must shift from viewing corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a damage control or a marketing exercise to a focused strategy with sustainable social value.

IHP Motor Market to experience Higher Growth

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nfrastructure development and investment boom in heavy industries to boost the growth of the Indian integral horse power motors market, says a Frost & Sullivan study.

With increased government focus on infrastructure and urban development projects, the integral horse power (IHP) motors market in India is likely to witness sustainable growth in the future. As per a new analysis conducted

by Frost & Sullivan, titled, ‘Indian Integral Horse Power Motors Market’, the market earned revenues of over Rs 36,000 million in 2008, and is expected to reach Rs 107,540.3 million in 2015.

“Deregulation in the exploration and production industry and the various greenfield/ brownfield oil refining projects is expected to propel the demand for motors,” said Virein Kumar Yadlapalli, Industry Analyst, Frost & Sullivan.

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industry update Bharat Forge, NtPC Lay Foundation Stone for Solapur Plant

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Envisaged over a land mass of 100 acres, the new facility will include manufacturing, fabrication, assembly and testing facilities for the product lines and also field services. The plant will manufacture products to support thermal, hydro and nuclear power sectors besides oil and gas, petrochemicals, steel and mining industries in the proposed manufacturing facility. Its main focus would be to offer a complete package solution for power and other industries in India and beyond.

Sushilkumar Shinde, Union Minister of Power, laid the Sushilkumar Shinde, Union Minister of Power, lighting the lamp at the Bhoomipujan and foundation stone lay- foundation stone.

Shinde said, “The growing ing ceremony of Bharat Forge-NTPC Energy Systems. demand for power can only be met by ramping up indigenous manufacThe JV set up by the two organizaturing capacities and by infusing supetions aims at serving primarily the rior technology in generation, transmispower sector (thermal, hydro and sion and distribution. It is heartening nuclear) with its technology-intensive to see two Indian firms joining hands product range having wider application to address challenges in India’s march across other sectors like oil and gas, towards Power for All”. petrochemicals, steel and mining. harat Forge-NTPC Energy Systems, a joint venture (JV) between Bharat Forge and NTPC, recently laid the foundation stone of their joint venture manufacturing facility at Solapur in Maharashtra.

Mahindra & Mahindra Sets up Chakan Facility

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ahindra & Mahindra recently inaugurated its new auto manufacturing plant at Chakan in Maharashtra. The plant was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan.

The project involves a phased investment of about Rs 5,000 crore. The plant will have an installed capacity of three lakh vehicles and would eventually be scaled up to meet global demand and standards. Mahindra Chakan will manufacture Mahindra’s range of products from the 0.75 tonne Maxximo to the 49 tonne Mahindra Navistar truck. The company’s new SUV and Pik-Up range and product line for the US market will also be manufactured at this facility.

“It gives me great pride to see one of India’s largest auto plants set up in

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Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan lights the traditional lamp at the inauguration of Chakan plant.

Chakan. It will not only provide an impetus to industrial growth in the region but will also present significant employment opportunities to local residents,” said Ashok Chavan, Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

- technology management for decision-makers

Solar Source, HHV Form JV

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anada-based reneweable energy company, Solar Source Corp (SSC), has established a joint venture with Bangalore-based Hind High Vacuum Company (HHV) to build Canada’s first amorphous silicon solar panel manufacturing plant based on technology & equipment developed

by HHV. The facility, to be set up by SSC’s wholly owned subsidiary, Solar Source PEI, will be located in summer side, Prince Edward Island (PEI) near the eastern seaboard of Canada. The proposed annual capacity of the plant is expected to be 120 MW. The plant will be built in four phases, with phase one slated to reach 30 MW of capacity.

The unit will make panels for the building—integrated, ground-mount and commercial rooftop markets.

Sujana Metal Offers New Product

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ujana Metal Products Limited (SMPL), manufacturer of longsteel products, has launched a new product, viz., hot-dip galvanised steel in ready-to-use form for the construction industry.

This is believed to be the first time that pre-galvanised, ready-cut-andbend Thermo Mechanically Treated (TMT) sections are offered in India, customized for end-user. Normally, this is a secondary process that the customer undertakes after procuring the basic long-steel sections.

R K Birla, Managing Director, SMPL, said, “According to studies, hot-dip galvanizing proves more cost-effective over the long-term to provide corrosion protection for reinforcing steel.”

Galvanized reinforcing steel is bare reinforcing steel coated with a protective layer of zinc metal.

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market dynamics

Increasing New Business

Results in Rising Employment Though Indian manufacturers are gaining from domestic new orders, business is flowing in from overseas too. Consequently, manufacturing firms are reacting by increasing their buying activity, and adding staff.

HSBC India Manufacturing PMI: A historical overview

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he seasonally adjusted HSBC Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed for the third month running in February. At 58.5, up from 57.6 at the start of Q1, the index pointed to a considerable improvement in operating conditions faced by Indian manufacturers.

Underpinning the latest rise in the headline index were faster increases in new orders, output and employment.

Overall new business received

by Indian manufacturers rose sharply in February. Data indicated that the increase was the most marked for a year-and-a-half, and primarily supported by strong gains in domestic new orders.

Although, growth of incoming new work from abroad moderated on the month, it remained strong and above its pre-crisis trend. Better global economic conditions, successful advertising campaigns and good company reputations—all contributed to the latest expansion, accord-

march 31, 2010 | industry 2.0

ing to respondents. Production levels were raised substantially to accommodate the increase in new work.

Manufacturers had to use part of their existing holdings of finished goods to meet sales levels in February. Consequently, postproduction holdings fell slightly.

Meanwhile, pre-production inventories continued to expand, as firms reacted to market demand and raised their buying activity.

Raw material purchases rose at a considerable pace that was the fastest for two years.

Despite stronger demand for inputs, vendors managed to reduce their delivery times, albeit only marginally. The index tracking trends in average supplier performance has registered close to the neutral level of 50.0 for a year, suggesting that lead times have been largely unchanged over this period.

As workloads mounted in February, Indian manufacturers noted a slight build up of outstanding business. To meet production requirements and ease pressures on capacity, companies took on new staff at a moderate pace that was the most pronounced for nineteen months.

Input price inflation remained sharp during the latest survey period, with panellists reporting greater fuel and raw material costs. Higher prices for metals were particularly commented on by several firms. However, the

- technology management for decision-makers

rate of increase eased on January’s series peak.

Charge inflation slowed to a modest pace in Feb from the previous month’s one-and-a-half year high, which respondents linked to greater competitive pressures.

Commenting on the survey, Robert Prior-Wandesforde, Sr. Asian Economist at HSBC said, “Having wobbled slightly towards the end of last year, India’s manufacturing PMI has now shown three consecutive improvements, hitting levels last seen in mid2008. At 58.5, the headline index is consistent with on-going double digit gains in industrial production, which in turn is likely to mean that spare capacity is being eaten into rapidly.

Although the output prices balance surprisingly dropped back in February (while remaining consistent with price gains) there is more and more evidence of emerging supply-side constraints in labour and product markets. The breakdown of the PMI, for example, indicates that the balance of companies are now hiring again and at an historically robust rate. In our view, it is time to start unwinding the monetary stimulus, and we would be very surprised if the RBI were not to raise policy rates at the 20 April meeting.”

“While new export orders grew less strongly in February than January, this did not prevent the overall new orders series from hitting a high in the current upturn. The same was also true of output growth, which has rarely shown such strength since the series began in April 2005,” continued Robert. n

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market dynamics

Attracting Investments

Through Market Consolidation

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The growing need for hightech manufacturing in the aerospace sector will necessitate enormous investments. These will come in only if the currently fragmented nature of the sector is transformed.

Picture Courtesy: www.photos.com

he effect of the recession and the path to recovery is different across the aerospace manufacturing supply chain. The original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are not affected as much the tier I & II manufacturers, and had shown lesser volatility in terms of fall in reported revenue because most of the orders of the OEMs are longterm in nature.

However, the same cannot be said on the cash position of the OEMs as payment was deferred due to the credit crunch. 2010 promises to be better in terms of larger orders for the OEMs and a better cash cycle for them.

According to Frost & Sullivan’s (F&Ss) Asia Pacific Consultant of Aerospace & Defense Practice, Soumyajyoti Basu, the effect on the tier I & II suppliers, and small parts manufacturers for the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) houses however would continue adversely going into 2010. There has been a huge inventory built up with the airlines and the MROs due to deferred maintenance activities of the aircrafts by the airlines.

Basu continues, “This would mean there would be less demand of small parts and equipments in the year 2010. F&S expects this market to continue with negative growth in the year 2010.”

“However, manufacturing in the military aircraft segment is not affected as much as the civil aircraft segment. The long-term bet on commercial aviation means that growth in the coming years would be higher in order to do the catch up,” he says.

F&S believes that the commercial aviation manufacturing sector

will grow at a slightly higher rate 5.5 per cent compared to military aviation manufacturing—at around 5.2 per cent, in the next ten years. Engine manufacturing will continue to be the main thrust sector.

In terms of industry specifics, aerospace manufacturing will get more high-tech in the coming years. This would require more investments in the sector. In order for the market to look profitable for potential investors, there has to be a huge amount of consolidation in the market. At present, there are a large number of small scale manufacturers.

“Once the market is consolidated, the manufacturers will be able to reach economies of scale and thus, reduce their costs in providing this high technology manufacturing solutions. It is a foregone conclusion that the next generation aircraft systems will be more electrical, less pneumatic, less mechanical and less hydraulics,” says the consultant.

In terms of operation of the manufacturers, as manufactur-

ing cost is heading high, cost structures will need to be reexamined to face stronger competition. Competition drives the industry to strategically re-align their business model to be able to sustain in the long-term.

According to Basu, “Lean manufacturing has already become more important for most OEMs with right sizing of their operations. A lot of them have adopted Six Sigma, Kanban, Kaizen, JIT, Performance Based Logistics etc., to reduce cost of operations and increase efficiencies.”

“Many OEMs integrators such as Airbus and Boeing are in the process of shifting their production facility to low labour cost countries in Asia Pacific. They are also actively seeking ways to reduce manufacturing costs by outsourcing more ‘design to build’ packages rather than just ‘build to print’ to tier 1 OEMs. This has led to tier 1 OEMs to be responsible for the maintenance programmes for assemblies and parts that they design and manufacture,” he continues.

While other industries are cutting down manpower, need for that in the Asia Pacific aerospace manufacturing industry is going up, due to expansion and shortage of skilled labour.

“Investments in training are also a good opportunity in this sector,” Basu adds. n

industry 2.0

- technology management for decision-makers | march 31, 2010

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event report

IndIa SCM

ConClave 2010 Stimulates New Thinking Organized by Industry 2.0, the annual event for Supply Chain (SC) & Logistics professionals saw dynamic and knowledgeable industry experts discussing smart supply chain strategies that can be adopted by organizations to enhance operational performance and quality, attaining higher levels of customer service, enhancing productivity and minimizing waste. The event featured more than twenty individuals who examined contemporary thinking about supply chain strategy, best practices, emerging technologies and innovative ideas.

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ndustry 2.0 India SCM Conclave found an august gathering of Supply Chain (SC) & Logistics professionals from various quarters of the Indian industry. More than 250 top-liners connected to Indian SC & Logistics industry assembled in the venue, where simultaneously three parallel tracks focusing

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on SC Strategy, Technology and Services & Infrastructure ran on to elucidate the attending practitioners on the ways to develop smart SCs.

Keynote session

The day began with a combined inaugural session, in which P Gupta, Partner, McKinsey &

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Company, delivered his keynote address on Using SCM as a Secret Weapon for Competitive Advantages. The next speaker R Ramkrishnan, VP & Global Practice Head, Wipro Consulting Services, focused on the aspects of Mergers & Acquisitions in the industry.

In the next three parallel sessions, several speakers from the

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Prashant Gupta Partner, McKinsey & Co, delivered the keynote speech on Making Supply Chain a Weapon for Competitive Advantage.

Ankur Modi Head—Planning, Logistics & Outsourcing, Hindustan Unilever, spoke on Supply Chain Visibility.

SC & Logistics sector delivered their road-show talks on various emerging issues in the industry and their solutions.

Sukumar Narasimhan Sr VP SME Cell Supply Chain, Reliance Industries, spoke on Future Focused Supply Chains.

SC Strategy session

SS Varma, VP-SCM & Procurement, Tata Chemicals, delivered his presentation on Creating a Collaborative Supply Network. A Modi, Head - Planning, Logistics & Outsouring, Hindustan Unilever, talked on the importance of Creating SC Visibility. NV Chandramouli, Head of Demand & SC (AMEA), DSM Anti-Infectives Asia Pacific, drew attention on SC Performance Metrics. S Handu, Director, Intl. Purchasing Offices, Tyco Electronics, explained the relation between Finance & SC. V Sarabhai, VP Logistics & Customer Operations, Cadbury, stressed on the importance of Building a Customer-centric SC. MD of Miebach Consulting, B Ramasubramanian delivered his presentation on Developing Demand Driven SC.

SC Technology session

S Narasimhan, Sr. VP SME Cell SC, Reliance Industries, explained the importance of designing Future Focused SCs. A Mukherjee, Head SC, Spencer’s Retail & Group CIO, RPG, talked on Using Track & Trace Technologies in SC. S Kulkarni, MD, Owens Corning

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India, brought in an explanatory view on Green SCs.

SC Services & Infrastructure session

V Mehrotra, Director, CHEP, drew attention on the Recent Developments and Advances in Logistics Infrastructure. H Madhusoodhanan, WebSphere Commerce Product Manager-India, IBM, explained the needs and ways for Seamlessly Connecting Suppliers.

V Bhansali, Director, Copperspiral RFID and KM Giridhara, Sr. Mgr. Productivity Services, BHEL, discussed recent Trends, Technologies and Options in Moving Goods and Materials.

SC Best Practices session

S Prasad, Functional Leader SC Consulting and Expertise Services, Dow Chemicals, spoke on Improving & Optimizing SCs. K Sthanpati, GM, India SCM, Timken and AV Bhargava Sr. Practice Partner, Functional Excellence,

Amit Mukherjee Head of Supply Chain—Spenser Retail; Group CIO—RPG, focused on Track & Trace Technologies in the Supply Chain.

Wipro talked on Risk Management in SC. S Ramakrishna, Partner, Grant Thornton discussed the ways to manage a Tax Efficient SC.

SC Next Practices session

M DragonLead, iLOG SC Mgt., IBM Websphere Software Asia Pacific put light on Improving & Optimizing SC. G Rout, Head Logistics Sol., Essar Steel Business Group, discussed the ways to build a Green SC. N Medh, Director–SCM, Dr. Reddy’s Lab

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event report

Vivek Sarbhai VP Logistics & Customer Operations, Cadbury, threw light on Building a Customercentric Supply Chain.

Sanjay Handu Director - International Purchasing Offices, Tyco Electronics, elaborated on Finance & the Supply Chain.

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communicated the idea of Applying Theory of Constraints in SC.

Concluding sessions

The concluding session in the evening hosted a talk on Coping with Complexity in the SC, by S Nagarkar, Sr. GM—Manufacturing, Godrej & Boyce, and another presentation on Using the Right Technologies & IT Solutions for SC, by R Mehta, Executive President (Logistics), Grasim Industries. Later in an interactive discussion, three panelists—D Baliga, A Kawoor (Head Logistics & Customer Ops, Marico) and A Modi fielded the questions from the audience.

The Logistics 2.0 Supply Chain Leadership Awards were distributed in a grand ceremonial manner at the end of the festive day, which turned out to be one of the major attractions of the day drawing a crowd of over 250 SC & Logistics professionals at a time.

Totally 44 Winners trophies were given to 24 categories of industries one each from the large sector and the other from the corresponding SME category. That apart certificates were presented for the Runners up positions in each category.

Leather & Leather Goods, Machine Tools and on Metallic Mineral Products Sectors were treated in SME category

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Sanjeeva S. Prasad Functional Leader SC Consulting and Expertise Services, Dow Chemicals, delivered a talk on Improving & Optimizing SCs.

Satish Kulkarni Managing Director, Owen Corning India, gave an insight on Supply Chain Sustainability.

only. Also, the Petroleum Products sector was treated in Large category only.

In the words of S Ramakrishnan, Chief Manager, Sourcing & Logistics, Reliance Retail, “The programme was fantastic. We need more such programmes concentrating on the prospective of the SCs. Instead of focusing much on the SC functions, if such events bring out more facts

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on new developments and share those, I think the participants are truly benefitted, if delegates from both ends—manufacturing companies as well as the service providers (3PLs)—are present.”

CJ Simon, GM, Marketing, Refnol Resins & Chemicals said, “Definitely such kind of gatherings of the professionals from the industry are required at this transforming phase of the Indian Logistics Industry. The event created a very good opportunity among the SC professionals to discuss the emerging issues, and find out the possible solutions.”

Sunil Bharadwaj, Sr. Mgr., NITCO, Tiles Division, opined, “It was a very wonderfully conducted programme, considering the plethora of topics covered in this.

Overall the response has been very good. It presented a good op-

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Supply Chain Leader 2010 Award Winners: (L-R) SVS Shetty, Anjani Portland Cement; Mohammad Feroz, Xomox Sanmar; Ambar Patel, Shilp Gravures; ARK Sastri, Paradeep Phosphates; Sudarshan V Acharya, United Spirits; Vanita Kumar, Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals; Mahavir Tewari, Sudhir Gensets; Shiam Jain, Accurate Transformers; Anand Purohit, Transpek-Silox Industry and Shyam Latkar, Sona Koyo Steering Systems.

Swapneel Nagarkar, Sr. GM – Manufacturing, Godrej & Boyce, discussed the topic of Coping with Complexity in the Supply Chain.

Rajeev Mehta, Executive President (Logistics), Grasim Industries, spoke on Selecting the Right IT Solutions.

portunity to network with people from my industry. It was a very well-spent day.”

TU Shenava, CMD, Industrial Tubes Manufacturers, said, “ I found the deliberations were very up to date, contemporary and useful. The bright ideas, especially from Reliance, and one of the panel members, were very innovative. It was really interesting to note the thought, ‘There is no readymade challenge. Keep continuously looking for...’ Again, I liked the thought as someone said, ‘We have one billion opportunities, not one billion problems. Reliance is just 30 years old, and you know what it is today...’ So, there is a distinction between traditional management

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and leadership quality – this was very clearly brought out through the sessions.”

KM Parekh, Sr. Engineer (Sales), Xomox Sanmar, conveyed, “Our company is a manufacturing comany. Through this programme, we have come to know about various complexities and intricacies of the SCs in other sectors. Several concepts, which we learnt through presentations and interactions with others today, may be implemented in our company. That way we are really benefitted by this conclave.”

Anand Purohit, Dy Manager— Materials, Transpek-Silox told, “The whole-day programme was highly interactive and knowledgesharing. It is a good experience.

The last session was especially good. The Grasim fellow’s (R Mehta) presentation was very nice. Overall, the concept behind the programme was fantastic.

Hospitality was amazing.”

Nitesh Kumar, Sr. Manager – Purchase & Prod. Planning, Cachet Pharmaceuticals, remarked, “I have seen the best organized forum on SC here today. Many things discussed here, are related to my activities. I will definitely implement them in my sphere of activities.” n

industry 2.0

The presentations made at the India SCM Conclave 2010 are available for download on the Industry 2.0 web site.

Register today, for free.

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event report

Creating a Demand Driven Organization

One mantra of survival in a competitive business world is to eliminate excess inventory and run a lean manufacturing organization. However, effectively coping with sudden increases in demand without losing revenue is a major challenge for lean supply chain. Adopting a scientific method to accurately predict demand and balance supply operations can help companies win in the market.

Debasish Bhattacharjee Sales Manager for Supply Chain Planning with Oracle

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n today’s highly competitive environment, manufacturers no longer find it easy to deliver exactly what customers need—and at the exact time when they need it. Despite all the talk about concepts like just-intime, they usually see a pile up of inventories and products—or shortfall and stock-outs.

The first, that is, inventory pile-ups, cause scarce working capital to be unproductively locked up. In some industries like FMCG, pharma, food consumer, garments and electronics – high inventories also expose the manufacturer to the very real risk of obsolescence, expiry and writeoffs. And with finance costs being so high, any reduction in inventory holding—and a shortening of the order-to-cash cycle would be very welcome.

Many instances when demand suddenly booms, the manufacturing operations are unable to cope. One reason for this kind of mismatch is – for a long time manufacturers have planned their

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Ravi Janakiraman Solution Architect with Wipro operations based on factory capacity and asset utilization—rather than market signals. Another is that demand forecasting is not a very organized or scientific process within organizations. But, the end result is that such shortfalls result in the organization being unable to capitalize fully on the revenue opportunity.

However, nowadays companies are taking a different approach.

They are allowing customer demand to drive supply chain planning and execution. This new system is called the Demand-Driven Supply Chain (DDSC). Companies that have adopted DDSC are better able to deliver the right goods, at the right time, in the right place. Of course, application of IT is smoothening the way.

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Oracle Demantra’s demanddriven supply chain planning solutions focus on the basic needs of organizations, by providing them a platform to enhance their demand and supply chain processes. It takes care of creation, planning and fulfillment of demand, from promotion management to inventory replenishment, and from unconstrained demand forecast to collaborative sales and operations planning.

But how does it practically help the manufacturers maintaining the real-time balance between demand and supply? In a recent event organized by Industry 2.0, Debasish Bhattacharjee, Sales Manager for Supply Chain Planning with Oracle and Ravi Janakiraman, Solution Architect with Wipro demonstrated that to a few representatives from the industry in a very simple way through their lively presentations.

According to the attendee industry representatives, the event clearly focused on the Oracle Demantra’s best-in-class features of demand management, sales & operations planning, and trade promotions management capabilities. Demantra has a sound ability to enable predictive trade planning and optimization and real-time sale and operations planning.

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event report

SolidWorks Sees a Future in the Cloud

A web-based bridge will connect SolidWorks to Dassault’s Enovia V6 (a collaboration platform) to simplify the communication and management of design changes. SolidWorks PLM will also be enhanced with visual cues, versioning and commenting features.

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Solidworks CEO Jeff Ray demonstrates new kinds of interfaces and visualization techniques.

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Bernard Charles, CEO of Dassault Systemes, explains how collaboration can facilitate product design.

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Three dimensional printers on show at the event exhibit advanced output capabilities.

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n today’s economic environment, design engineers and managers are under great pressure to create new products, which can be rapidly brought to the market—at lower costs and in a sustainable fashion. This trend has propelled the growing adoption of CAD tools not just in the design community, but also in the manufacturing eco-system. With CAD software evolving to offer greater realism and better emulation of real world characteristics, there is also a growing need for better sharing of information and enhanced collaboration amongst all participants in the manufacturing chain. Added to this is the need to

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2 accommodate new user interfaces and manage compliances.

At the SolidworksWorld 2010 event in Anaheim in early February, CEO Jeff Ray told more than 5,000 Solidworks software users that they could soon expect to use a platform independent version of the software through cloud computing, to manipulate their designs with touch and 3D interfaces, and find intuitive functionality built into the software. Ray also promised a more integrated collaboration environment within Solidworks—and the ability to use CPU constrained devices like cellphones to view, review designs.

Demonstrating live some of these new capabilities, Bernard Charles, the CEO of Dassault Systemes (the parent company of Solidworks, which also sells advanced engineering solutions like Catia, Delmia, Simulia and Enovia) used a mobile phone to merge a 3D digital model of an electric car with a photo of the Solidworks engineering team.

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While providing more information on the roadmap for Solidworks products, Ray said that the focus for the company was to enhance software performance and reliability, and make it more productive for the designer. According to Ray, the new cloudbased version of Solidworks will not just provide a better performance for computer intensive jobs (like analysis, rendering, and simulation, for example), but also reduce the frustration that accompanies software installs and updates, speed and reliability.

Ray said, “Our aim is to offer the Solidworks solution as a utility—and enhance its availability and affordability. The economic proposition of the cloud is very compelling. We think it will open up countless new doors for our solutions.” However, he hastened to add, “We will give users both options—desktop and cloud.”

Addressing concerns about security of data on the cloud, Bruce Hallway, Director of Product Definition for Solidworks, indicated that the company has plans to offer cloud services over both self-owned infrastructure as well as public clouds. “The cloud will improve both internal and external security,” he opined.

During the event, the SolidWorks’ engineering team demonstrated new dynamic modelling and editing capabilities for parts, assemblies and multi-body designs. This functionality, in combination with more re-usable templates and ‘intelligent’ objects that exhibit lifelike behaviour, are expected to significantly enhance modelling speed and improve designer productivity. To support greater sustainability in design, Solidworks is also bringing an extensive materials database (from PE International) and a ‘find similar’ search to enable designers quickly investigate alternatives that are greener and better.

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event report

Modern Warehousing Practices Can Make a Big Difference Better design of storage facilities, use of advanced material handling equipment, implementation of IT systems, and using third-party service providers can help modernize warehouse operations--and even save money. technologies. The end result is that warehouses are often sub-standard and suboptimal, when compared to international standards.

A recent Industry 2.0-Spear Logistics event in Pune examined the challengUday Palsule, Director, Spear Logistics, es of operating warehouses. discusses how an efficient service provider The event looked at how orhelped a large manufacturing company reganizations can improve their engineer its warehouse operations. bottom lines through better management of their warehouse arehousing accounts for almost 20 percent assets using systems, technology and innovation. of the country’s The keynote speaker at the domestic logistics event was Sukant Padhy, Head industry. And with the growth in the economy, the demand for ware- of Supply Chain Management at Cummins India. His talk focused housing is expected to increase on how organizations can achieve substantially. However, even while improved bottom lines through warehousing is a key part of supmodern warehouse design and imply chain activity, it has rarely proved management of storage fareceived the attention it needs. cilities. As an experienced supply Storage and warehouse facilichain professional, Padhy shared ties in many organizations are just his views on proper warehouse sheds for storing materials. Little practices, and measuring the attention is paid to either proper performance of warehouse operastorage or organization, and even tions. Captain Uday Palsule, Direcless to scientific management of tor at Spear Logistics explained to the facility and use of advanced

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the audience of supply chain and manufacturing professionals how a contract logistics service provider helped a large manufacturing company re-engineer its warehouse operations and obtain substantial financial benefits.

The evening event ended with an animated discussion moderated by R Giridhar, Group Editor at 9.9 Media. The theme of the discussion was “Challenges in Warehouse Management and the Solutions,” where the participants focused on ideas, solutions and technologies that are being used in warehouse operations to improve efficiency, save money and gain a competitive edge in the market.

Participating in the discussion were Prashant Bhatmule, Deputy General Manager—Purchase, Tata Auto Plastic Systems; Viswanathan Mahadevan, Head—Purchase, Thyssenkrupp Industries India; Rajashekar Reddy, Supply Chain Manager—Flows, L’Oreal India; Jitentra Mangle, Head-Operations, Cummins India; and Uday Palsule, Director, Spear Logistics.

Advertiser index DHL ......................................................................................... 3

Pramet Tools .........................................................................11

Elecon ..................................................................................... 5

Premium Energy Transmission .............................................. 7

Frost & Sullivan ....................................................................25

Power Build ................................................. Inside Back Cover

Haas Automation........................................ Inside Front Cover

Supply Chain Leadership Council ....................................... 21

Havell’s ................................................................................... 9

TaeguTec .................................................................Back Cover

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event report

Logistics Industry Anticipates More Investments and Acquisitions Top logistics and private equity CEOs congregated at a Supply Chain Leadership Council event in Mumbai to discuss the future of private equity investments in India’s logistics sector, and the imminent M&A wave that is expected to visit this sector.

(L-R) Gautam Dembla, Director (Operations)— Spear Logistics, Ajit Jangle, Managing Director—Toll Global Logistics, Prasad Gadkari, Principal—IDFE PE, Puneet Agarwal, Director—Delhi Assam Roadways, Rahul Shah, Partner & Director (Investments)—Aditya Birla Private Equity, Sankalpa Bhattcharjya, Associate Director— KPMG.

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he November 2009 USD 26 billion all cash acquisition of Texas based rail road company Burlington Northern Santa Fe by arguably the world’s most famous and successful investor Warren Buffet fixed the wandering investors’ eyes on to the ‘next big thing’—logistics. “Transportation is fundamental. And there’s lots of money to be made,” Buffet had said after the acquisition. With almost 600 reported deals representing more than $79 billion in aggregate transaction value since 2005, the transportation industry has seen significant PE, M&A transaction activity. According to Preqin, a consultancy for alternative investments, about 258 PE firms, or about five per cent of firms globally, are targeting investments in logistics.

Nobody doubts that the deal activity has picked up significantly in India since last year

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and is expected to edge higher towards the end of this year. According to VCCircle, in January this year, there were as many as 29 domestic deals in India worth $2,303 million compared to 14 transactions worth $589 million in January 2009. Telecom, logistics and banking, and finance and insurance were the most targeted sectors for investments. “It will probably not touch 2007 levels but certainly approach it,” said Manish Saigal, Executive Director & Head— Transportation & Logistics, KPMG India, at the summit.

The logistics sector is highly fragmented with few players controlling more than 10 per cent of the markets. For instance, CH Robinson, the biggest player in the $120 billion third-party logistics (3PL) market with revenue of $8.59 billion in 2008, has less than 6 per cent of the market.

The lessons of the last few quar-

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ters have taught sector participants the world across and in India that it is not sinful to sell.

In fact, often and increasingly so, that might be the only way out to survive or salvage value in their battered businesses.

In his speech at the conference, Manish commented, “Deal activity in logistics had not been significantly hit by the slowdown in 2009 over 2008, though ticket sizes had dipped from an average of USD 46m to USD 27m. A strong bounce back in M&A is expected in the current fiscal.”

Ashit Desai, Executive Director, AllCargo Global, explained, “Acquisitions are a critical part of AllCargo’s growth strategy.” He predicted that the industry is on the verge of a consolidation wave and that is a great news for all stakeholders involved.

Ajit Jangle, Managing Director of Toll Global Logistics (India), informed that Toll is keen to acquire multiple logistics companies in India, provided the fit and price is right.

Vishal Sharma, MD & CEO of Tuscan Ventures, said that the investment models will increasingly lean towards performance based valuations and structures that will give funds several options to cut losses at every stage of an investment.

He also mentioned that new models of investing where mechanisms will be in place in the hands of the investors to be able to manage risks and execution will evolve. Accordingly, funds may actively have to help incubating companies with professionals in attractive areas where investment opportunities are not available.

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Picture Courtesy: www.shapeways.com

cover story

Aligning the

Design

ProCess With Global Trends Three-dimensional computer aided design (3D CAD) tools enhance and speed the design process--and can help realize substantial cost savings. By accurately modeling and simulating real world constraints and interactions, designers are now able to reduce prototyping, minimize rework and make better use of materials. by p. k. chatterjee

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octor Robison, a friend from the University of Glasgow introduced James Watt to the concept of steam engines in 1759. They at that time concluded that such a machine could be used for propulsion of carriages. Watt got a handon opportunity to repair a Newcomen steam engine in 1763. Through several prototyping with different plans and experiments, finally, Watt’s improved steam engine powered the industrial revolution in 1769. Imagine the amount of time devoted, patience exercised and energy delivered for each and every intermediate prototype, to bring in the commercial viability.

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An exciting example of rapid design

When a team of Cambridge University engineering students decided to develop a solar-powered car, sometime in March 2009 that they would race across Australia in the fall of the year, they had a limited amount of time to design, prototype and test their vehicle. However, the Cambridge University Eco Racing Team (CUER) used SolidWorks’ 3D CAD and Dassault Systèmes’ Abaqus Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to develop the car, and successfully enjoyed the maiden test-drive at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre on August 15.

Charlie Watt, a fourth year graduate student and CUER Team Leader says, “When you think about it, this is just one big optimization problem to solve.

The solar panels we use generate only about one kilowatt of power, which is what a hair dryer uses.

SolidWorks and Abaqus helped us find the best aerodynamic design to reduce rolling resistance, drag, and overall weight—so we could wring the best performance from the battery.”

The team used SolidWorks software to model the chassis with an eye toward slimming down the profile, to reduce the drag coefficient while maximizing the solar panels’ sun exposure. They explored a variety of shapes to find the fastest solution, while eliminating potentially costly errors such as part interference out of the design before prototyping began.

Charlie explains, “We were able to complete the design in a virtual environment without expending

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Picture Courtesy: www.cad-schroer.com

Will any company or individual gain any kind of commercial advantage in today’s competitive world after such a decade-long product design effort unless the product is the first of its kind or a completely new invention? The answer obviously is ‘no’. And fortunately, the modern technology has created the alternative virtual way to physical prototyping at each and every stage of development to understand the manufacturability, reliability and cost feasibility of the plan (for designing a new or improving an existing product) before initiating any physical modeling.

Moreover, today it is no longer just the combination of three different drawings on a paper-sheet or computer screen presenting a two-dimensional static combination of top, front and side views of a conceived product. Modern information technology (IT) has made it possible to translate the thought into a virtual (three-dimensional) product, which can be tested virtually for collecting all necessary data regarding validity of the product, manufacturing difficulties, user comfort, safety aspects, sustainability and so on. Also, incorporating customers’ thoughts or opinions in design of new or modified products is a prevailing practice these days.

any materials such as wood, aluminium or carbon fibre, which is a huge advantage with limited time and resources.”

Is it not quite evident from the real-life fact file evidence above—how fast the design was done taking care of electro-mechanical engineering, aerodynamic, economic, environmental, safety, reliability and sustainability factors!

A 3D CAD model provides a real world view.

The era of electronic design

The competitive scenario these days has been compelling companies worldwide to minimise their product design time—to the maximum possible extent, in order to deploy them (their products) in the market as fast as possible from the time they are conceived.

Thus, the era of manual design is a history now for the front-runner companies, and use of software (CAD) has been very essential in the design process.

Computer Aided Design (CAD) too has stepped into the advanced stage of 3D CAD, which creates complete (three-dimensional) visibility of the geometry of the products. Further, a design validation tool can help in predicting efficacy and flaws of the design even before making any physical prototype.

Another major contribution of IT in this field is providing facility for collaborative design through PLM. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) encompasses all aspects of the product lifecycle—starting from planning, designing and production through controlling, marketing and service. This is a tool that ultimately leads a manufacturing company to

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- technology management for decision-makers | march 31, 2010

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Q&A

increased sales revenue, reduced product unit cost and lesser administrative & clerical overhead. As Kumar Girish Ranjan, Deputy Manager at Hero Honda, puts it in brief, “PLM covers management of the whole lifecycle of a product starting from design to warranty.” Thus, the latest design tools are not just functional between the drawing board to the point of entering the door of prototype development centres, rather than that they take the user far beyond. Literally, the gamut of product design process is fast expanding—considering its role in raw material development, regulatory & environmental compliance management, ensuring safety & reliability, planning product recycling and retirement & disposal.

There are many software that are now being used by the companies worldwide for catching up with the fast-to-market race. Design (technical/engineering), as a whole, is a very vast topic, which includes design of any product or process (plant), may be from machine design to toy design, piping layout design to cable layout design or surgical knife design to truck design. Although, it appears that product design and process design are two very different things, the basic criteria in all types of designs are the same.

In the words of Somik Ghosh, (Chemical) Design Engineer at UOP IPL, “Each process has an input

Picture Courtesy: Darby Johnson, djohnson@beaupre.com

cover story

Named ‘Endeavour,’ the CUER team’s car has an aluminium spaceframe with a six square metre covering of highefficiency silicon cells, which capture energy from the sun.

Underneath, the car is an ultra-efficient electric vehicle, which designers believe could provide a model for future technological developments in ‘green living’. It can run at 60 mph on the same power as a hairdryer, meaning that it requires 50 per cent less power than a normal, petrolfuelled vehicle.

New PLM versions are coming on Web 2.0 Rafique Somani, Country Manager (India), PTC

Q: How is the capability of PLM software increasing day by day, as a business profit raiser for the manufacturing companies?

A: PLM is an enterprise software, which is designed to help an organization optimize its product development processes through the entire life-cycle of the prod-

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uct. Therefore, it enhances the efficiency and productivity of the enterprise. An example could be the processes around a new product development. PLM typically provides secure collaboration framework for all of the stake holders in an organisation involved in product development; including senior management, r&D, engineering and manufacturing, sales and marketing, finance etc. PLM is normally taken as a strategic initiative of the organization keeping in mind long-term profit objective and goals.

Q: How is its adoption rate among the Indian manufacturers?

A: Domestic opportunities are increasing in the field of manufacturing and global

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firms are looking at streamlining their operations. PLM adoption is increasing rapidly amongst all (large, mid and small scale) manufacturers in india – as companies are now looking at becoming more efficient with a view to capitalizing on both the growing domestic and global opportunities.

Q: To what extent does the pace of collaboration between different designers at different places through PLM depend on the Internet service capability?

A: Depending on the volume of data such as CAD models that has to be exchanged, the internet capability becomes a critical factor for efficient collaboration. it is always advised that you have high

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Availability of technology for design

Some of the leading vendors in India offering their products in product design (CAD) field are DassaultSystemes SolidWorks, Autodesk, PTC and SiemensPLM. Kumar informs that Catia, Unigraphics, Solid Edge, SolidWorks 3D CAD and Pro-E are the most commonly used software in India.

Parag Deshpande, associated with the design team of Biome Environmental says, “The software used mostly in the Indian design industry are 3Ds Max, Alias Studio, AutoCAD, CATIA V4/5, ProEngineer, IcemSurf. Some illustrators use Maya and Adobe Creative Suite.”

According to Somik, “As far as chemical engineering is concerned, there are many software

speed or broadband internet capability—whether in the intranet or on the extranet internet. Based on the volume of data that needs to be transferred in a collaborative environment, the high capability bandwidth is a critical factor.

When looking at a PLM investment, an organization has to take an overall view of its iT infrastructure including the PLM software, the hardware, the services and internet capability.

Q: What is your comment on the trend of installation cost of PLM software?

A: The overall cost of installation of PLM has come down drastically in last five years, as the software today is more configurable, easy to install and use. Hence, the overall cost of ownership including implementation, training and adoption has come down drastically.

Q: What are the areas where further researches are being conducted to make PLM software more user-friendly?

A: PLM is a continuously evolving indus-

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A plant design and project engineering software offers fast, flexible, large-scale layout design and assembly capabilities.

Picture Courtesy: www.cad-schroer.com

and output (product).... However, product design is generally re-modeling of the product itself—so as to make it better (in quality) for end users or making it further environment friendly, which involves research and development. Whereas plant or process design takes place just before a particular unit is put up, for example—a refinery. Engineers look at the input and output in detail, and design the required unit.

Any deviation or change in process or plant design (chemical) may affect the designed product too.”

available in the market globally. Almost all of them are used in India, especially in MNCs.” He finds software like ASPEN Plus, UNISIM, PRO/II, TGNET, FlareNet, CHEMCAD, PDS/PDMS and HiSys are very common here.

However, the scenario is quite different in small manufacturing companies. They are either still depending on the first generation digital design tool (in some cases traditional old manual method too), or outsourcing the design job to the specialist companies. Both are generally time consuming practices, and naturally kill the time-to-market efficiency (or pace). Unless there is a fixed design vendor for a

try from its inception in the mid 1990s, and what you see today could be considered to be like fourth generation or fifth generation software. so, if you look at it from an ease-of-use point of view, most of the companies are focusing on selling what we call out-of-the-box product without much customization. Which means that it is a standard product across any organization, so that it simplifies the process of gaining knowledge, and being able to use a standard PLM product in any organization. secondly, more easy to understand and use graphics user interface, weather it means giving a more MS Office look and feel, having intuitive drop down menus that are easier to use, having an on board wizard for help.

Thirdly, having a robust post sales support, whether in terms if web learning or training or hotline technical support or web-based technical support to help users if they need any understanding or help with the use of the software.

These are a few of the areas companies

industry 2.0

are looking at to make PLM more easier to use.

Q: What kind of enhancement or further facility inclusion can we see in PLM software in the near future?

A: From PTCs side, all of the ongoing evolution of the new versions coming out would be put into web 2.0 technology, which supports global product development. so, all of the software would be capable of working very robustly in the second generation internet era. Building in capabilities to leverage emerging trends like social Product Development to provide a more community look and feel or a community based product to further enhance collaboration and integration of users within the product development environment. some of the other emerging trends could be green product development, which PTC is a pioneer in. More robust integration with the various leading and powerful CAD tool versions and other enterprise solutions is on anvil.

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cover story

Q&A

manufacturing company, ascertaining the vendor’s capability, price negotiation, defining the job etc., take a considerable amount of time. Analogically, use of manual or old generation two-dimensional CAD software is very much like sending snail mail in the era of e-mail.

According to a note from KOMPAS Solutions, “The main disadvantage of the 2D design is unawareness of collision problems or some other errors before the model reaches the manufacturing... So, enterprises are often forced to accompany drawings with assemble-costly physical prototypes. Finally, errors in the drawings need be corrected on the already manufactured products that considerably slows the output, and increases (additional) costs. Flexible modeling opportunities and ability to edit full parametric model give serious advantages to 3D CAD systems that automatically update designs as changes are made.”

“2D modeling allows users to get just static documents, but with 3D—users are able to rotate and view the model from any point. It is easy to see the errors and inconsistencies in the project, and assess its conformity with the original intent, as well as to validate future assembly—how it collates for subsequent manufacture. As a result 3D modeling ac-

celerates design process, helps improving quality of construction and avoiding additional costs by fixing bugs at the designing stage,” adds the note.

3D CAD adoption scenario in India

Even not so new to the developed countries, 3D CAD application is still at its infancy in India, especially among the small manufacturers. One of the major reasons behind its less popularity is lack of awareness, then there is cost factor. However, as a 3D CAD system allows working in three axes (x,y, and z axes), perfect models of the product can be created with it.

As a whitepaper from Autodesk India community nicely explains, “3D is a real object or true depiction of real image. Though we may be viewing 3D image on plane paper or computer monitor (both flat 2D), our brain compares 3D image with its own archive of 3D real objects as seen by our eyes in past, and hence even not so good, a 3D image provides more information to our brain than a plain 2D drawing. In simple terms, understanding 3D is part of a natural process, whereas you need to get trained to understand 2D.” Although costlier, perhaps it will not be an exaggeration to say, that 3D’s best advantage over a 2D CAD system is that—it presents a real world view.

Sustainable design is now a practical reality Manoj Mehta, Country Manager - India and SAARC Operations, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation

Q: What does a manufacturer expect from a design software provider?

A: There are a number of expectations from product design software providers, primary among them being a way to minimise costs, while maximising efficiency. some of the other expectations include – the possibility of sharing data across vari-

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ous downstream user groups including customers, development partners and suppliers in a totally secure environment, the ability to reuse data and move effortlessly between 2D and 3D programs.

The current generation of affordable 3D CAD software provides important benefits that help eliminating obstacles, which otherwise extend design cycles and increase engineering and manufacturing costs. By resolving the common challenges of using 2D tools, solid modeling provides the productivity gains and quality improvements, which manufacturers need to succeed in competitive markets.

CAD data is basically a geometrical representation of an engineer’s imagina-

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tion, capturing the engineer’s creativity and design intent. With 2D drawings, engineers and manufacturing personnel have to interpret or visualize a flat 2D drawing as a 3D part or assembly. At times, interpreting 2D drawings results in misinterpretation of the engineer’s original design intent, leading to delays and rework. With solid modeling software, design intent is maintained and effectively communicated through the actual 3D representation of the part or assembly.

Q: How is the design automation market shaping up in India?

A: The growth and evolution of the design market in india is progressing at a very

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Picture Courtesy: www.solidworks.com

That apart, it is a quality control tool, as it allows to simulate and rectify faults in the computer itself, saving the time and cost of making faulty physical models. Also, it helps easy understanding and communication of the product to the customer, which boosts sales. A 3D CAD system can also provide all traditional views of plan, elevation and side, along with the isometric one, if required. Thus, use of 3D CAD systems enhances productivity of the organization. Parag feels, “3D CAD helps a lot, especially in the case of explaining and presenting a product to clients, investors and others. It is very easy even for a common man to understand a product in its virtual form.”

As new companies adopt 3D CAD systems, naturally the question arises—how to convert the old 2D designs into 3D format? There are many 3D modeling software that contain provisions for converting a 2D drawing into a 3D model, but it is a lengthy process. Also, there are software like T3D—2D to 3D Converter (UnityPro), Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended and many others that facilitate the process.

Besides, there are third party service providers, who offer 2D to 3D conversion services. They also offer to convert 3D solid models, in different file formats. In the words of Parag, “Conversion of 2D data into 3D

A 3D CAD software allows users to design better products at higher speed.

models is quite a time consuming process. A 2D car conversion project may go on for five to six months with 800 man-hours per week. So it is laborious as well as an expensive job.” Thus, outsourcing the conversion job allows companies to focus more on their respective core business, and often it reduces resource costs.

Growth of collaborative design process

Increasing competition, rising product complexity, multiple locations and need for different kinds of ex-

rapid pace. not only are the indian customers discerning about price, but also of features and usability. Also, they are very keen to have access to the most up to date software programs available. These requirements are not only limited to just the large manufacturing organizations, but also spreading to the sMe segment. engineers who design assemblies and sub-assemblies cannot assess fit and tolerance problems in 2D. Using a 2D layout drawing that shows product components, sub-assembly interfaces, and working envelopes, engineers are unable to fully visualize the 3D fit, interface, and function of assembly components. often, this results in fit and tolerance problems that go undetected until late in the design cycle, when they become more costly and time-consuming to correct. With solid modeling, an engineer can do that during the initial stage of design.

the market today is the priority on the sustainable design. People put thought into the impact of the product on the environment throughout its lifecycle.

Thus, more effort is being put at the design stage itself to nullify the ill effects on environment. sustainable design is now a practical reality—and a competitive advantage.

This is no longer something that is nice in theory but impractical in practice. From here on out, making more environmentally responsible products will be a built-in part of your design process. You will be able to take an incredibly comprehensive environmental view in a way that is equally simple to understand, apply and explain. envisaging this requirement among their customers Dassault systèmes solidWorks Corporation has launched solidWorks sustainability, which will give the required competitive edge.

Q: What is the present trend in the Indian market?

A: one of the most important trends in

Q: What are we going to see in the Indian product design market in 2010?

A: The challenges of the market are

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industry 2.0

going to result in a very demanding and discerning customer force.

We will see the demand for very efficient and effective product design software programs in a rapidly burgeoning market in india.

Today’s rapid advances in computer hardware and software technology create an ideal opportunity for manufacturers to migrate from 2D to 3D CAD. The basic steps for moving to 3D involve: l understanding how 3D can resolve many challenges in 2D l considering the critical issues for making a smooth transition to a solid modeling environment l evaluating 3D design tools thoroughly based on capability and need Q: What are you doing to make your products more affordable?

A: We are sensitive to the requirements of our customers, and to the various segments and markets that they play in. our pricing is tailored accordingly. it is affordable to everyone.

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Q&A

pertises are forcing global companies to look for collaborative design. However, the term is used generally in multiple senses: the word ‘collaboration’ may mean simple PC sharing (design) applications inside one premises or locally through internet, or it may be via web-based data sharing worldwide. Generally, companies, which genuinely need real-time (not only design) data sharing among many persons (including suppliers, vendors, even customers) through long distance, need PLM. However, for other 3D CAD designers (especially in small companies) a Product Data Management (PDM) software works well to keep the (huge volume of 3D model data) data safe. In fact, all PLM systems use some form of PDM as the underlying data foundation on which they operate.

According to Ravi Varadarajan, Technical Manager—India & SAARC, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp., “As more and more companies migrate from 2D to 3D CAD systems for their primary product development platform, PDM has become a virtual necessity for manufacturers. While the move to 3D produces many benefits including reduced cycle time, cost savings, quality improvements, and greater innovation 3D CAD systems also create a new set of data management challenges.”

“By becoming more productive with a 3D system, engineers are generating greater volumes of data.

In addition, 3D files contain a variety of references, associations and interrelationships, which link them to other files, such as parts, drawings, bills of materials (BOMs) multiple configurations, assemblies, NC programming and documentation. That is why engineers must have a reliable system for managing, preserving and safeguarding these links. When numerous revisions are the norm, different engineers will work within assemblies, or more than one person will collaborate on a design,” opines Ravi.

He also adds, “By its very nature, 3D CAD increases the volume and complexity of product design data, and requires a capable PDM application to prevent data corruption, file overwriting, lost file associations and costly data errors. A PDM system can also help product developers automate workflow processes and boost productivity, resulting in faster product time-to-market, shorter development cycles, reduced development costs, and better product designs.”

However, ambitious small companies who need real time interaction with progressively increasing number of vendors, customers and others may opt for implementing PLM in phases. As a future look-

Design is a ticket to long-term growth Hrridaysh Deshpande, Director and Principal Associate, Innoastra

Q: Are we giving adequate importance to the field of poduct design in India?

A: Product design, i would say is completely ignored in india. if at all it is used, then it is used for imitation. There are some honourable exceptions, but generally the scene is pathetic. Companies, businesses, do not take help from product designers.

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Q: What should be done to design right products to attract the Indian community and of course to capture the global market?

A: obviously people choose from whatever is available. They have no option to like what is best amongst the rest. incidentally, the Japanese products look good, function well, thus became an obvious choice. The Chinese have been smart in trading simple products, which make life easier for a lot of people. indian design community is no lesser than anyone else, lest someone give them an opportunity. indian manufacturers are looking at the success of other international players—try and imitate. At the end of the day, an imitation cannot match the original. Hence,

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the key lies more with the sensitization of the manufacturers than questioning the abilities of indian designers.

Q: What should be done to popularise digital design tools to small Indian companies, who still follow the traditional method of drawing?

A: i do not agree that indian designers do not use digital tools. Also, in the design process, there is a great importance to the hand skills in addition to the computer skills. They are both complementary to each other. indian design institutions also have incorporated the digital tools without fuss. so, overall there is no lack of competency that is seen as far as digital tool usage by indian designers is concerned.

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ing statement, it can be said that in the coming days each and every company will need PLM. But, it is a fact that as on date, many Indian companies are yet to utilize the full advantage of PLM. Kumar points out, “Indian companies are still taking advantage of PLM to a very little extent.”

Although, even having several constraints, many Indian companies have been able to draw attention with their innovative products (design) in the international market. It is a fact, still in many areas, our designers fail to maintain the global standard through their designs. India is a global automobile manufacturing hub, yet how many automobiles are completely designed here? It is well known that most of the multinationals conducting manufacturing activities here are following the designs supplied by their parent organizations abroad. So, the designs used by them are mostly being imported from foreign countries.

According to Kumar, “Indian automobile companies are very week in design, they are not able to design products like our overseas partners are doing.” To explain why so? He says, “Our designers are recruited with wrong backgrounds, they have either

A fiber optic assembly system showing full machine with guarding on left and close-up of tooling on right.

Picture Courtesy: www.solidworks.com

Areas requiring attention

no or very less exposure to actual product lifecycle.

Again costing is another major problem, Indian designs are oriented on cost only, which makes them compromise with the product quality.”

While talking from the process or plant design angle, Somik says, “Improvement is a continuous process. Most Indian companies neglect safety in design stage, they need to focus more and more on that. International standards like ASME/ API/ TEMA guidelines should be followed sincerely. “ As majority of our manufacturing organizations are falling under SME category, due to several reasons like—lack of awareness of importance and scope of design as a critical business determiner, real shortage of fund for spending on Q: Do you feel that digital design tools are not affordable for design tools, sometimes penny wise many Indian small manufacturers? pound foolish attitude etc., right A: Again, i disagree. The software costs have come down conplanning of the product lifecycle is siderably. There are a lot of software solutions, which focus on often missing in our designs. The asthe needs of small and medium businesses. Companies need to pects of manufacturability, usability, understand what they need. once they understand it, they would supply-chain feasibility, compliance choose the right sized tools that would also cost adequately. with government policies and international regulations are neglected in Q: Do we need to teach designing from the school level itself, many cases. just to initiate a taste for good products?

Readers may ask at this point— A: i fully agree that we need to teach design from the school then how are the companies survivlevel itself. once the importance and utility is understood at the ing? We should not forget that we early age, it would be easier for these children to appreciate have a big market in our country itdesign when they grow up. Product design is just another branch self. The moment we look at the globof ‘design’. At the school level you need to teach ‘design’. speal arena of much tougher competicific branches of design is specialty issue, and has to be dealt in tion, we realize our shortcomings in professional courses. the areas, such as—safety, reliability, aesthetics, ergonomics, considQ: What is your suggestion to the Indian product designers? eration of production economy and A: i would desist from making any suggestion to indian product feasibility, alternative material sedesigners. i would rather use the space to suggest indian lection and so on. Ask yourself, how businesses and manufacturers to embrace design. After all commany Indian brands of electronics panies who use design are more successful than those who do products, wrist watches, cellphones not. At the beginning it might seem as a cost, but finally, it is an are being exported in the developed investment, which is a ticket to long term growth and increased countries? Even inside the country, competitiveness.

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cover story because of higher consumer awareness, gradually many of our top line products of protected regime are losing ground.

Shift of paradigm and emerging trends

Q&A

Of late, mainly because of the efforts of the 3D vendors coupled by the endeavours of the established designers, the field of design is truly gaining importance. Indian academia too has a participation in this. Product and process design may need engineering knowledge to a great extent, however, having a great deal of engineering knowledge not necessarily means, a person can be a good designer. Many Indian institutes are now offering specialized courses on design. Also, the software vendors have created several knowledge centres for learning the ‘how-tos’ of design (including in-depth technical aspects).

In case of product design, more stringent focus is being put on safety, reliability and legal compliance.

Aesthetics is gaining popularity, as dressing the products is absolutely essential to compete in the international market. Also, ergonomics, raw material economy, logistics compatibility, manufacturability,

partial or total recycling potential and safe disposal methods are now being thought at the design stage itself. Yet another feature is product versatility. Indian designers are now more focused on creating multiple utilities through single product. However, the foci have to move to the bottom of the pyramid.

Most of the design field good practices are still like proverbs to the small industries.

Development of a taste for better design along with exposure to the contemporary worldwide scenario enrich the design capability of any designer. In India too, mainly because of the vast development of the IT industry, the designers now get good opportunity to come across products designed in developed countries, which is uplifting their capabilities.

Inclination towards designing customer-oriented products is quite prominent these days. Once again here, big companies are utilizing IT (analytics) to a great extent. However, small companies are still sticking to the traditional fill-up-the-form technique in some or other way. They need to align themselves with the global practices to design or remodel their products faster.

Catching the spirit of a coming age is important Asutosh Shah, Managing Director, Duravit India

Q: How do you assess customers’ choices to design your bathroom (ceramic) products to suit their tastes?

A: Although, we had applied some professional market research methods, at the end we found that what worked best for us was—listen carefully and open your eyes widely. Thus, we pay very careful attention to how our clients, all over the world, react on the products we offer—as well as our competitors launch.

You have to try hard to understand what

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their needs are. Our success affirms this method. We will continue to evaluate professionally the information that is available, and draft our own conclusions.

Contextually, participation in international fairs plays an important role. They crerate a platform for open communication with traders, architects, planners as well as end consumers, all over the world.

When finally selecting a new designer, style plays a crucial role. each member of the Duravit design family represents a very independent style—and this is important in order to be able to satisfy the different tastes of our customers.

Q: How do you select designers?

A: Further, we select designers who do not stop at honing and optimising existing products, rather he/she is interested in looking for real innovations. This requires designers to be able to pick up the exist-

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ing knowledge, and use that as a basis for thinking and acting in a completely new relationship pattern. since this gives them a greater qualification for approaching bathroom developments, it is also preferred that each Duravit designer bears an architectural background, as does norman Foster (a British architect).

Q: Do the customers influence the design of your new products or you influence them through your latest designs?

A: The focuses of our new developments are always people. Products must bring real advantages to their users, and should not just pretend to be value added. We at Duravit understand our products as—a promise of convenience, genuine pleasure and more quality of life.

By visual and physical impulses, we try to appeal on their mood and their feelings.

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More exposure is necessary for our designers. It is never true that we do not have good designers in the country. However, there has to come a radical change in the minds of the company managements.

Good software have to be purchased, at least the design staff should be allowed to use them on payas-you-use basis, which many vendors are allowing through their web-based services.

How should awareness about the latest design tools and techniques grow among our designers?

Somik feels, “They will have to attend more international symposiums on design, meet more customers and lead designers across the globe. Tie-ups with international partners may be fruitful in some cases.”

He also suggests, in order to come out with worldclass products, managements should keep an open mind, and not compromise quality considering cost.

Follow up of all international codes is mandatory.

“A good designer should always keep on observing around and keep learning and/or understanding the opportunities for better design of products. Recycling and Reuse of resources for making greener

We want our users to feel good. They shall experience deep physical and mental relaxation as an antidote to stress, tension, noise and pressure of their everyday lives—in an overall atmosphere that invites them to luxuriate in intimate and relaxed surroundings.

At the same time, successful design is characterised by the fact that it captures the spirit of a coming age. shapes, which represented unique innovations when first introduced by Duravit, have become classics today—that are an essential part of the bathroom world.

What we want is to communicate with the customer, and make them understand that today’s bathroom products take the idea of Living Bathrooms to a new level. With communication habits changing so rapidly, it is more important than ever to make sure that your message stands out positively from the crowd. successful brand communication creates longings, inspires the imagination and stimulates demands. But, it also provides information to dealers and consumers, all the time being dependable, up-to-date and rapidly available.

The emotionally photographic language that Duravit has developed over the years

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Picture Courtesy: www.npowersoftware.com

Roadshow for the future

A 3D CAD model is like a real object or true depiction of a real product. products can be a good philosophy for smart designers,” says Parag. According to him, “Product design was a nascent field in India till a few years back, but now it has become a serious profession even for many youngsters. Indian designers have started understanding the global trends of design, and are giving better products. They are now focusing on the users’ demand-based products, and actually meeting the users’ needs, which is the best way to design better products.”

with creatives, photographers, interior designers and stylists plays a decisive role in this respect. Many customers use the Duravit photo motif for their own communication activities—the sympathetic depiction of life in the bathroom is a hit throughout the world—by showing overall atmospheres that invite their users to luxuriate in intimate and relaxed surroundings. To sum up—from our point of view, it is rather a successful interplay than a one-way street.

Q: How does information technology (IT) help you designing innovative products?

A: Duravit firmly believes in innovations. even in times of the economic crisis, the company did not reduce the pace of development, instead even stepped it up. in all design and manufacturing processes, iT plays an important role in Duravit. For example, we have—iT based quality management systems, iT archived standard processes as well as an iT based process description defining for new models. A special focus lies on Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM).

To sum up, our product portfolio includes several thousand design items,

industry 2.0

and the number is increasing with each new product and every new series. The design and developing process of all the items requires a huge number of prototypes, all designed in 3D variations. CAD and CAM tools help Duravit manage more effectively the prototyping processes of its comprehensive collection of sanitaryware ceramics, bathroom furniture, accessories, shower trays and bath tubs, as well as whirl and well being systems.

As bathroom design is enhanced more and more with innovative technology, iT will become even more important. Latest product innovations combine these areas of expertise. Wellness products such as pool systems feature a set of colored LeDs that can be programmed to produce a splash of varying hues for a more atmospheric effect. LeD strip lights illuminate the rear glass wall of the sauna inipi from below, transforming it into an atmospheric light wall. The electronic control of the architec urinal combines innovative sensor technology with intelligent flushing technology, and thus provides water-saving programmes for different applications for everything— ranging from domestic households to football stadiums.

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cover story

“Virtual Design Through

3D CAD is the Only Way” Siemens PLM Software offers an extensive array of design solutions for the manufacturing community. In a tèteà-tète with Industry 2.0, Vivek Marwaha, Marketing Director for the company provides an update on the use and adoption of 3D CAD solutions in the country. by p k chatterjee

Q: What are the elemental differences between product design and process design?

A: The fundamental differences between product and process design is locked in the meaning of the individual words. Product design, essentially refers to the product’s features, functionality and aesthetics. It defines a product’s characteristics in terms of its appearance, materials and ability to perform a particular function effectively, reliably and economically. It typically would take into consideration the available materials, manufacturing facilities, know-how and economic resources of the manufacturer.

Process design (in the context of product design and manufacturing) refers to the sequence of steps involved in producing the product, and the flow of the product through the process, taking into account the pre-requisites and the resources required. It is useful for seeing the totality of the operation and for identifying potential problem areas.

Both product and process design affect product quality, product cost, and customer satisfaction. If the product is not well designed, or if the manufacturing

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Vivek Marwaha, Marketing Director, Siemens PLM Software, India process is not true to the product design, the quality of the product is bound to suffer. A company can have a highly innovative design for its product, but if it has not determined how to make the product in a cost effective way, the product will stay a design forever.

Q: How does a standard process designing software take care of changes as regard to climatic conditions, physical characteristics of the operators?

A: A manufacturing process design software like Tecnomatix from Siemens PLM Software can help create detailed, intelligent factory models in a simulated environment. Through a solution for plant design and optimization, it gives manufacturers 3D parametric-based smart objects to layout efficient factories faster.

Utilizing 3D for factory layout

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also increases their ability to find design flaws during the planning process and not on the factory floor.

Material flow, handling, logistics and indirect labour can all be optimized using material flow analysis and discrete event simulation.

Even material storage needs and part packaging information can be used.

Physical characteristics of operators can also be incorporated in simulation models and processes optimized to account for the same. Tecnomatix human performance helps organizations improve the ergonomics of product designs, manufacturing tasks and maintenance operations. Human Simulation contains a biomechanically accurate digital human that users can insert into virtual environments and assign tasks to analyze behaviour. This tells engineers what they can see and reach, how comfortable they are, why they are getting hurt, when they are getting tired.

Q: How is the acceptance level of the virtual designing improving among the Indian SMEs? A: In today’s fiercely competitive world, it is imperative for Indian SMEs to be competitive—in terms of time-to-market, cost, quality and innovation. Today, demanding customers are increasingly pushing requirements for faster turnaround times on quotes, orders and design/support of unique products. The need for a higher quality/cost ratio is mak-

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ing it difficult for Indian SMEs to keep product development costs low while improving the quality.

Virtual design through 3D CAD tools is the only way that Indian SMEs can hope to address these challenges. It is a necessity that Indian SMEs cannot afford to overlook. They are realizing this reality, thus the acceptance level is rising fast.

Q: Is the price factor a major issue in deploying 3D CAD systems in India?

A: Yes, cost of ownership is always one of the important considerations impacting the rate of adoption of a technology. Cost of ownership includes not only the price of the software, but also the cost of implementation, training and effective usage of the software.

In order to address the challenge imposed on account of ‘cost of ownership,’ Siemens PLM Software launched the Velocity Series—a portfolio of products (CAD, CAM, CAE and PDM) providing a digital design environment that fosters innovation through the implementation of pre-configured processes based on the industry’s best practices, which allow for rapid deployment at a fraction of the cost. Midsized manufacturers can leverage the power of Velocity Series to transform their process of innovation while maintaining a low total cost of ownership; and all Velocity Series products are completely scalable to the full range of Siemens PLM Software’s enterpriselevel PLM portfolio.

Q: How are you planning to increase reach in the SME sector?

A: Having recognized the potential that this segment of market offers, and its characteristic requirements, we introduced a specially packaged and priced portfolio of products to address

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their requirements. Called the Velocity portfolio, the solution helps SMEs by—speeding products to market by providing access to a complete range of robust PLM applications previously not available to mid-sized manufacturers, providing pre-configured best practices in digital product design—CAE and data management to streamline implementation and maximize effectiveness, assisting customers who are trying to grow from 2D to 3D design process, but do not have sufficient resources, knowledge or experience to do so, delivering standard set of scalable, integrated applications from a common vendor streamline support and assuring ongoing data integrity.

The other new development is that of HD3D technology—an open and intuitive visual environment to help global product development teams unlock the value of PLM information, and significantly enhance their ability to make efficient and effective product decisions. The introduction of HD3D in NX (a leading integrated CAD, CAM, CAE, offering) is part of Siemens PLM Software’s comprehensive approach to visual analytics. HD3D

Q: What are the advancements on anvil for 2010 in the design software field?

A: We are extremely excited about introduction and incorporation of a couple of path breaking technologies in our 3D CAD offerings. The first one, Synchronous Technology is the PLM industry’s first-ever history-free, featurebased modeling technology that provides users with up to 100 times faster design experience than ever before. Synchronous Technology allows one to interact with any geometry without being confined by how the model was originally constructed.

The technology combines the best of constraint driven techniques with direct modeling in a technology—that will cut new product development and introduction cost by 50 per cent, and provide millions of dollars in product development productivity gains. Technology advancements result in the first-ever design solution, which simultaneously synchronizes geometry and rules through a decision-making inference engine that accelerates innovation.

making it difficult for

Need for a higher quality/cost ratio is SMEs to keep product development costs low while improving quality.

is a visually-rich environment for working with virtually any type of PLM data.

The implementation of HD3D in NX will enable users to visually interrogate and evaluate a product design based on any type of data—such as release status, weight thresholds, material type and delivery status. HD3D expands the power of CAD and PDM to visually deliver the information companies need to understand, collaborate and make decisions in today’s globally distributed and heterogeneous product development environments. HD3D provides a simple and intuitive way to collect, collate and present product information, where it can be immediately applied in critical decision-making.

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Issues Solving

Using

Picture Courtesy: www.solidworks.com

Improved Design Techniques

uality issues, re-work, warranty problems and consistency in manufacturing are challenges faced by the industry irrespective of whether it is a limited volume or mass production.

This affects profitability, sustainability and above all customer trust. In order to become world-class organizations in manufacturing, Indian companies need to cut down on rejections, improve product consistency and re-invest

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in ways and means to augment technology as a part of the continuous improvement processes.

Importance of drawings

Every department in a company, associated with product development, namely, design, manufacturing, quality, purchase, service, vendor development, needs to access and interpret drawings. An error in the drawing affects the organization as a whole, in terms of time, resources and cost. It is important that

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Poor quality in assembly build and performance significantly impacts profitability.

Achieving acceptable quality often depends on the drawings that define design specifications.

GD&T drawings developed according to ASME Y14.5/ ISO standards and ensured for correctness and completeness is the first step to better quality. Assigning least cost tolerances, and predicting assembly build and performance is the next step towards developing a foolproof quality regime. This is done through Tolerance Stack Up Analysis. by natarajan r

the drawings are correct and complete in all aspects of dimensioning and tolerancing, leaving no ambiguity in interpretation by cross-functional teams.

Problems faced by manufacturing and inspection are often a result of drawings that are incomplete – in terms of dimensions and, more importantly tolerances. In spite of investing in expensive machines to maintain critical tolerances and having top-ofthe-line inspection systems, if the tolerances are not addressing assembly build and performance requirements, rejections and unsatisfactory customer experiences are inevitable.

It is important that the design engineers need to allocate functional tolerances to ensure assembly build and consistent performance. Needless to say, what goes on the drawing affects the profitability of the business directly.

Fig. 1

Tolerance allocation—cost implications

Normally, tolerances are allocated at part level based on past experience, guideline values provided by handbooks and, sometimes, ‘gut feel.’ Rarely tolerances are provided based on assembly implications, build, functional requirements, process capability (Cp, Cpk) and above all cost. A quality problem will, in most cases, result in overall tightening of tolerances, more inspection dimensions and increased checks at more stages and frequencies. A direct result of this is increased cost, lesser profitability and more rejections. It is important, therefore, to allocate tolerances according to fit, form and functional requirements. This is possible by incorporating Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) and Tolerance Stack Up Analysis as a part of the design process.

GD&T: assurances and benefits

Drawing standards have gained importance with the evolution of GD&T practices. ANSI Y14.5 (1994) has gained worldwide acceptance and is a forerunner to the ISO standard. Many manufacturing companies are adopting Y14.5 on account of savings in cost, time and effort.

Let us take the following example to assess the advantages.

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Fig. 2

The drawing shown in Fig. 1, draws more questions than answers provided. Here are a few: 1. What is to be located and measured, hole axis from edge or edge from hole axis?

2. How is the part to be set up for manufacture and inspection?

3. Why is the tolerance zone for the location of hole axis rectangular, when the hole shape it is projecting is circular?

4. What about the mating part? How to ensure assembly all the time?

GD&T approach uses a four-step process keeping assembly and function in perspective.

1. Identification of origins of reference and directions for location and measurement (Datums) 2. Assignment of nominal (ideal) dimensions for part features 3. Definition of tolerance zones for features 4. Dynamic interaction of tolerance zones to maximize tolerances Though the size tolerance is lesser in the mating pin, as shown in Fig. 2, as compared to the internal feature of size in Fig. 1, there is no assurance that all

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Fig. 1: Conventional drawing approach Fig. 2: Conventional drawing approach—Mating part

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39

cover story

Fig.3

Fig.6

Fig.4

Fig. 3: Drawing approach based on GD&T Fig. 4: Area analysis of GD&T and plus/ minus tolerance zones Fig. 5: Mating part GD&T – Assuring assembly Fig. 6: Colour coded tolerance conflict evaluation Fig. 7: Colour coded tolerance conflict resolution Fig. 8: Leveraging 3D annotations with DimXpert in SolidWorks

40

Fig.7

Fig.5

mating parts would assemble as desired. The feature of size (Level 1 control—diameter) as well as the location (Level 4 control—position) together influence assembly.

Converting of the stated drawings to GD&T standard ensures assembly and reflects real-world conditions, while maximizing tolerances.

As shown in Fig. 4, if we look at the area of the proposed tolerance zone, per GD&T, vis-a-vis conventional approach, increase in tolerance zone is evident. Bonus tolerance is available as the feature of size departs from MMC towards LMC due to the modifier (M). If the pin confines to the virtual boundary of Ø 24.48, then assembly is assured. One of the mating part dimensions that ensures assembly is shown in Fig. 5.

The values used in tolerances of size and locations in the mating parts are only an example, to demonstrate the efficacy and versatility of GD&T in terms of the following benefits:

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Fig.8

Apportioning tolerances according to process capability l Assembly always happens l More tolerance than conventional method at lesser cost It is important to note that the drawings need to be correct and complete in tolerance definition to avoid ambiguity and mis-interpretation (that more often than necessary result in re-work and cost burden). Contemporary design software such as SolidWorks, using DimXpert, ensure both correctness and completeness of drawings are assured acl

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cording to ANSI Y 14.5 standard, as shown in Fig. 6.

Predicting assembly build using Tolerance Stacks

Worst case tolerance stack up analysis Variable Name

Description Screw Thread Length Washer Thickness Length of Inner Bearing Cap Bearing Width (Thickness) Spacer Thickness Rotor Length Spacer Thickness Bearing Width (Thickness) Pulley Casting Thickness Shaft Length Tapped Hole Depth on Shaft Gap

GD&T is incomplete without incorporating Tolerance Stack studies as a part of tolerance definition and allocation at part level. Assembly build and performance criteria are addressed by Tolerance Stack Up Analysis. Let us take the example of an electric motor as shown in Fig. 9. Tolerance variations at part level will affect assembly and performance and efficiency.

Tolerance Stack up Analysis can be performed in 1-D, 2-D and full 3-D to study the dynamic interactions of the tolerance zones.

Section view of a motor with dimensional layout is provided in Fig.11. As first step, we need to ascertain what the gap variation would be for the allocated dimensions at the part level. This is called Roll-Up Analysis. To proceed further, it is important to identify the 1-D chain of dimensions affecting the assembly build objective. The dimensions are shown in Fig. 12.

A B C D E F G H I J K

Mean Fixed/ Sensitivity Dimension Variable 37.5 5 7.5 35 10 115 10 35 32.5 227.5 20 5

-1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 -1 1

Fixed Fixed Variable Fixed Variable Variable Variable Fixed Variable Variable Variable

±Equal Bilateral Tolerance 0.3 0.05 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.25 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.2 2.5

Stack Analysis Table can be generated, as above, to calculate Stack up by Worst Case Method (WC).

The Tolerances Stack Up calculation involves definition of Node-Tree based on Dimensions influencing assembly build, as shown in Fig. 13.

Sub-nodes are used for parts having multiple feature dimensions influencing assembly build. Roll-Up Analysis, per SigmundWorks, predicts a gap of 5 ±2.5mm. These are called the Control Limits, based on the part dimensions provided. Specification Limits, as required by the assembly build, are 5±1mm.

Statistical report of PPM with processes following normal distribution is given as in Fig. 14. Sensitivity analysis of the dimensional tolerances influencing assembly build is reported as shown in Fig. 15.

It is important to note that the Sensitivity Analysis gives a deep insight into the functional dimensions that affect assembly build. This is beneficial in two ways, namely:

Fig.9

Fig. 9: Cut section view of an electric motor assembly Fig. 10: SolidWorks CAD model of motor assembly

Fig.10

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Fig. 11: Motor section drawing with linear dimensional layout

Fig.11

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- technology management for decision-makers | march 31, 2010

41

cover story Roll-down Calculation Description Screw Thread Length Washer Thickness Length of Inner Bearing Cap Bearing Width (Thickness) Spacer Thickness Rotor Length Spacer Thickness Bearing Width (Thickness) Pulley Casting Thickness Shaft Length Tapped Hole Depth on Shaft Gap

Variable Name

Mean Dimension

A B C D E F G H I J K

37.5 5 7.5 35 10 115 10 35 32.5 227.5 20 5

Sensitivity

Fixed/ Variable

±Equal Bilateral Tolerance

Roll-Down Tolerances to meet Build Objective

-1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 -1 1

Fixed Fixed Variable Fixed Variable Variable Variable Fixed Variable Variable Variable

0.3 0.05 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.25 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.2 2.5

0.3 0.05 0.008 0.3 0.008 0.008 0.008 0.3 0.008 0.004 0.004 0.998

Fig.15

Fig.12

Fig. 12: Gap definition with the influencing dimension layout

In the current study, we need to arrive at part dimensional tolerances that would achieve 5 ± 1mm, while working within the constraints that bearings, washers and screws are standard catalogue items having specified limits of sizes.

Arriving at individual dimensional tolerances based on specified assembly build objective is called Roll-Down Analysis. Specifying the stated limits of sizes as fixed, per table, a Roll-Down Calculation is performed by specifying build objective as 5 ± 1mm.

Fig.13

Fig.14

Fig. 13: Node-Tree definition using SigmundWorks in Solidworks Fig. 14: Roll-up statistical report using SigmundWorks Fig. 15: Sensitivity report for contributing dimensions using SigmundWorks

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Remarks

l Objective choice for the user to allocate tolerances based on least cost and process capability while maximizing tolerances l Identification of processes in manufacturing that need to be inspected when the process goes out of control to ensure process correction

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In this example, allocated tolerances are not meeting the build objective. This would result in over 23 per cent rejections that will result in increased cost and re-work. While imposing constraints on tolerances of bought-out items, the tolerances are equally distributed between contributing dimensions in the absence of process capability and cost constraints.

This example is just to demonstrate the efficacy of Tolerance Analysis in achieving build objectives. The analysis is for Worst-Case, wherein the process has liberty to approach extreme limits of sizes usually resulting in stringent tolerance specifications.

Natarajan R is the Director of EGS Computers India.

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manufacturing technology How would you describe the growth of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) industry in India?

At present, the HVAC industry accounts for Rs 20,000 to 25,000 crore in India, and it is estimated that this size will double every four years. The global demand for HVAC systems will grow 5.1 per cent annually through 2010. The Asia-pacific region will outpace the world average, led by China and India. The other developing countries of Asia and Africa/MidEast will also have strong gains in the market. The southern region of India is growing at a rate of 35 to 40 per cent per annum. The industry is slated to grow at the same pace for the next decade.

Has strict environmental norms increased implementation of environment-friendly solutions?

Indian companies have taken stricter environmental norms in a very positive manner. In any case, it is a win-win situtation with companies becoming more energy efficient.

How would you compare the Indian scenario with the worldwide growth?

The Indian HVAC industry is quickly aligning itself with the developments taking place worldwide. I feel it (Indian HVAC industry) will become a major force in the world in the next decade.

How did the global recession affect this industry?

The slowdown has mainly hit the commercial side of this industry, and did not curb the industrial growth, particularly the food and the pharmaceutical sector. To give you a scenario, for Bry-Air the key customers are pharmaceuticals and food processing units. With India becoming the global hub for pharma outsourcing, more and more research and manufactur-

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“The Ideal Solution Is to Educate the Market�

Bry-Air, a Pahwa group company, specializes in providing solutions for moisture and humidity control for general industry, and reliable auxiliaries for plastics. Operating in a framework of environment and energy, it has plants located in India, Malaysia, China, Brazil and USA. Dinesh Gupta, President, Bry-Air, in an interview with Reshmi Menon focuses on the present status of this industry, its growth potential and future prospects. ing units are being set up. At any pharma unit, a dehumidification machine is at the heart of it.

Also, more and more food processing units are increasingly adopting such technologies to maintain right humidity while processing and packaging any food item.

What are the challenges in this industry?

The industry in which we operate offers solutions to a niche segment. The challenge lies in establishing the concept amongst the target audience. People are unaware about the process of dehumidification across different industries in India, and that becomes a major roadblock in its growth.

Keeping the current scenario in mind, when companies are creating products that meet global standards, the ideal solution is to educate the market, create awareness of problems caused by humidity and then offer the product as a solution. This will not only spread awareness, but also initiate growth in this sector.

Why are Indian companies less proactive in adopting eco-friendly solutions?

I think lack of education in this area is one of the major reasons.

Also, it has been witnessed that

Dinesh Gupta, President, Bry-Air often companies are reluctant to incur additional expenses for turning their units green.

However, this is changing fast and companies are looking at going green in a positive manner.

How do you foresee the future of this industry?

I think, this industry holds a bright future. With new manufacturing units opening up, there will be a rise in demand for such products, and increasing awareness about such technology will reap good profits in future. n

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supply chain & logistics

Supply Chain Protecting the

Against Uncertainties

by debojyoti ray chaudhuri

E

veryone who has been even remotely associated with a manufacturing setup in the supply chain field would have surely come across the term ‘Safety Stocks’.

Though, we all know something about it, there is a lot left to be understood. Over the last couple of decades, we have seen a dramatic shift in the thought process of supply chain executives, and this is amply evident from the importance that is assigned to

44

march 31, 2010 | industry 2.0

Picture Courtesy: www.photos.com

Strategic management of of safety stocks in a ‘make-to-stock’ manufacturing environment can help companies coping with sudden increase in demand.

However, the decision to keep and manage safety stocks has to be based on an accurate analysis of the risks and benefits.

Maintaining safety stocks is one of the often used ways to meet sudden demands. correctly evaluate the safety stock levels desired. Executives now fully understand that safety stocks cannot be a panacea, however, the search for an optimum safety stock level still remains elusive.

Come to think of it, the concept of safety stocks closely resembles

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the idea of modern insurance.

Like insurance, safety stock brings to mind a connotation of cushion against uncertainties.

You can very well be protected against all ‘known’ uncertainties, however, that would always come at a cost. The safer you would like

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to be, the more you need to pay.

But, as in case of insurance the basic question that needs to be answered is whether safety stocks are actually needed to be maintained in a given scenario. The first fundamental aspect of safety stock evaluation that I would like to highlight is—safety stock may not be required for everything that is involved in getting bought, manufactured and sold.

Let us imagine the operations flow of a typical manufacturing firm right from scratch. The firm receives raw materials, which are converted to make finished goods, which in turn are sold to customers. The manufacturing process leads to creation of many intermediates or assemblies; and on the other hand the finished goods (FGs) do not necessarily go directly to the customer. In the process, it should be noted that the safety stock can be maintained at four distinct levels: l Raw materials l Intermediates l FGs at factories l FGs at storage locations prior to delivery to customers

The schematic diagram shows a typical flow of materials in a manufacturing organization operating in MTS environment. MTS stands for ‘Make to Stock’ manufacturing environment. It is used to describe a manufacturing environment where the company prefers to keep ready stock of the material that can be directly sold out to consumers. Many FMCG companies fall in this category.

A few observations can be made from the diagram.

Other than single product companies (like cement), most organizations deal with a limited number of raw materials giving rise to a multitude of finished products.

Also, if we look at the scenario from a supply chain perspective, it is necessary to see an identical product as totally different SKUs, when they are assigned to different locations. For an example, the same red Barbie doll is a distinct SKU when it is present at the factory vis-à-vis at the dealers’ locations.

Bill of material (BOM) for a standard product ‘A’ POS 1

POS 2

POS 3

POS 4

POS 5

A1 to A6 B F

G J

K

C

D

E1

H

I

E2

L

E3

Product A is made from three components, namely, B, C and D. Component B itself is made up of F and G. J and K in turn makes component G. Similarly, individual components of C and D are respectively H and I. Component I is made from L. E1 to E6 are various options, which give rise to various types of product A.

E4 E5 E6

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Most organizations deal with a limited number of raw materials giving rise to a multitude of finished products.

This leads us to two very important questions that need to be answered while dealing with safety stocks. For a given product line: l how do we decide if it is beneficial to maintain safety stocks? l having decided, at what level should the safety stock be maintained?

Let us attempt to answer both the questions in perspective. To begin with, we shall examine the bill of material (BOM) for a standard product (say) ‘A’. As shown in the figure (BOM), product A is made from three components, namely, B, C and D. Component B itself is made up of F and G. J and K in turn makes component G. Similarly, individual components of C and D are also shown in the figure as H and I. E1 to E6 are various options, which give rise to various types of product A. For example, product A could be available in different colours— which can be designated from A1 to A6. Once the product is made at the factory, it is allocated to various locations, which gives rise to Point of Sales (POS) locations (POS 1 to POS 5 in the figure).

Going through BOM, leads us to another very interesting question—where does one actually start from to evaluate safety stocks. As, an example,

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Schematic material flow for a manufacturing organization

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45

supply chain & logistics

Common replenishment model

an unanticipated increase in sale of notebooks, when its neighbouring shop does not open one day. Maintaining safety stocks is one of the most often used (and probably the easiest) way to meet such surprises. A company may well decide not to maintain safety stocks for a particular item, if the cost of investment in safety stock far exceeds the expected benefits.

Typically, companies look for certain aspects to decide where safety stocks should be maintained. Refer the BOM (figure), product A is available in 6 variants in 5 different point of sales (POSs). This means there are 30 possible product-locations

safety stock for SKU A6 need to be maintained at POS 4, we can have safety stocks at all levels right from point of sale location till individual raw materials and components that make up A6. At this point, let us revisit the classical re-order point model. In a classical re-order model, we see a constant rate of consumption coupled with a constant lead time for replenishment. Since we do not see this idealism in a real life situation, it therefore warrants that there needs to be mechanism to ensure continuity of business process to cope up with the inconsistencies of real life situations.

For example, a shop selling school stationery suddenly faces

to maintain safety stocks. Let us now build a hypothetical case to principally understand how to evaluate safety stocks in a given scenario.

The table (POS) gives the POS data for all variants of product A through weeks 1 till 30 (all weeks are not shown, as those are not essential for explaining the concept). For simplicity, let us assume average replenishment period of product A is one week.

The actual replenishment period can vary between three days to eleven days. We now calculate the safety stocks using a standard formula given below: {Z*SQRT(Avg. Lead Time * Standard Deviation of Demand^2 + Avg. Demand^2 * Standard Deviation of Lead Time^2)} Where, Z = Service Factor (often evaluated At 95 per cent).

SQRT stands for Square Root.

The value of Z at 95 per cent is 1.64 based on standard service level tables (freely available across books and websites).

The above data is used to arrive at a safety stock estimate for all variants of product A at different POSs. Three cases are highlighted (in yellow) specifically in the POS data table. We notice that in all three highlighted cases, the safety stock that is calculated using the formula suggests a

POS data for product ‘A’ along with safety stock calculations Product Service Location factor combination A1-POS 1 A1-POS 2 A1-POS 3 A1-POS 4 A1-POS 5 A2-POS 1 . . .

A6-POS 5

46

AverAv Lead age unit time price (weeks)

1.64 1.64 1.64 1.64 1.64 1.64 . . .

1.64

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10 10 10 10 10 15 . . .

25

1 1 1 1 1 1 . . .

1

Demand per week 1

2

till

30

11 7 70 43 103 58 . . .

1

16 18 53 53 101 41 . . .

1

-----------------------------------------

19 6 43 49 115 49 . . .

0

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Average Demand 15 13 57 46 110 49 . . .

2

Std Dev CoefStd Dev Safety of de- ficient of of lead Stock mand variation time 3.50 9.34 10.28 30.97 7.07 11.34 . . .

1.39

0.23 0.72 0.18 0.67 0.06 0.23 . . .

0.61

0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 . . .

0.35

10 17 37 57 65 34 . . .

3

NOD 4.6 9.1 4.5 8.7 4.1 4.9 . . .

9.1

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higher average ‘number of days’ [NOD] with respect to average consumption figures. It is worthwhile to note all three cases show a relatively higher coefficient of variation (which is the standard deviation divided by the mean).

‘Mean’ and ‘Average Demand’ indicate the same in the table.

Companies should individually review such cases keeping an internal threshold for co-efficient of variation (Cv) values and decide for themselves the amount of safety stock that they would finally like to maintain. My personal experience suggests 0.4 to be a fair value to keep this threshold value for Cv. The overall NOD of the safety stock will however be calculated considering the unit price of the individual products. As it is seen, a company at this stage can very well decide not to maintain safety stocks for a particular SKU, if the cost of maintaining safety stocks are very high compared to the total cost of lost sales.

Having done the above, it brings us to two more critical questions. How far within the chain shall we maintain safety stocks? Is it necessary to maintain safety stocks at all levels right from raw materials to finished goods at factory levels or warehouses? Though, a classical MRP view would not have necessitated keeping safety stocks at all levels, companies do keep safety stocks at certain levels to ensure smooth continuity of production. This is especially the case when the downtime cost of machinery is very high and there are many outof-control factors in arranging raw materials. In such cases, companies can repeat the same procedure that is shown in the table, and arrive at optimum safety stocks that should be maintained at different levels.

Let us now examine a slightly different approach to look at safety stocks and their relationship

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with the overall business strategy of the company. A company in an MTS environment can choose either to be responsive in meeting the customers’ needs or be efficient. Both these cases reflect a clear policy orientation on how a company will typically look at safety stocks within its purview.

The above figure gives a diagrammatic representation between the two approaches described earlier. The red line will typically reflect the average safety stock maintained for a company (in MTS environment) with a responsive focus. Such companies will typically keep a higher proportion of safety stocks as finished goods compared to raw materials. This strategy enables companies to be highly responsive to fluctuating customer demands. Companies will also generally charge higher margins for such products.

On the other hand, companies with focus on efficiency would tend to keep a higher proportion of safety stock inventory in the form of raw materials compared to finished goods. This also gives such companies the advantage of quickly adapting to changing customer preferences. However, even

if we discuss companies having a uniform focus as responsive or efficient, companies would rather tend to have a balanced approach and formulate their strategies based on particular product line—rather than on an overall company-wide level.

Having looked at various facets at arriving safety stocks, it is wise to remember that companies need to re-look at their respective models after a specified period of time. This will help them to evaluate if safety stocks are serving the desired purpose.

Also, there may be certain new additions in the product line, which could be evaluated.

Over and above, it should always be remembered that safety stocks are maintained to serve a particular purpose. They are a cushion against uncertainties.

Though, it is always good to have a cushion, it also comes with its own cost. The outlook should always be to keep a reasonable amount of safety stock, which benefits the performance of the company in the long-run. n

Depiction of average NOD for safety stocks at different stages

Debojyoti Ray Chaudhuri, CPIM, is the Assistant Manager, Supply Chain, Kansai Nerolac Paints.

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47

supply chain & logistics

Unlocking the

Fortune Cookie

A serious disconnect between production and demand led to high raw material and finished goods inventories at Escorts Agri Machinery Group. By automating the supply chain, the organization has achieved substantial unlocking of cash, and better integration of demand and supply factors. by geetaj channana

offices and 800 dealers across the country.

During the recession, the biggest of companies were forced to relook at their processes and change them where required to unlock working capital. Escorts was no different.

The challenge

Sheetal Oswal Head—Materials, has been able to reduce the material planning cycle from 11 to 7 days while reducing raw material inventories by 40 per cent.

48

W

hen you think of a tractor in India, one of the first names that come to your mind is Escorts. Established in 1960, Escorts Agri Machinery Group is one of the oldest and largest agricultural equipment manufacturing companies in the country. It has revenues of over Rs 2000 crore and has over 6500 employees.

The supply chain of the company includes more than 6000 part-supplier combinations with more than 350 suppliers, 33 sales

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When the company first decided to go for a full fledged supply chain automation, the company’s system was plagued with inefficiencies. This included a supply chain that was based on assumptions and gut feel, which resulted in huge accumulation of inventories, both on the raw material side as well as the finished goods side. They were producing the wrong model of tractors at the wrong time with high lead times to market.

A lot of cash was locked in inventories, but for a while no-one seemed to mind. When recession set in, it became essential to unlock this capital to keep the wheels of the business in motion.

Things that were a norm were suddenly being looked upon as huge bottlenecks in running the business.

In October 2008, the management at Escorts decided to change the way the company was conducting its business. Along

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with other strategic reforms, the company decided to automate its supply chain and unlock working capital from inventories.

It was a challenging task.

Escorts had a huge supplier network, with many offices across the country and a large workforce that had become habituated to working with long lead times and inefficiencies. “Our biggest challenge was to have 150 territory managers and 800 dealers, spread in 32 offices, reach an agreement between themselves on the forecasts they made,” says Aswin Jaikanth, Head of Sales, Escorts AMG. “There was no visibility on demand from the market and thus production was not tuned to what was needed. This resulted in raw materials stocks piling up as well as an increase in the inventory of finished goods,” says Vipin Kumar, Head IT, Escorts AMG. “The production was driven by shortage lists, gut feel and manual adjustment,” adds Sheetal Oswal, Head, Materials of the company.

Solution

The first thing that the management did was to get a buy-in from all the stake holders and make them a part of the supply chain implementation.

A team of 12 people was formed to ensure that the rollout of this project happened without speed-bumps. This team included top managers from materials, sourcing, production, marketing, sales, technology and operations.

They were supported by the team from i2 Technologies, a supply chain software solution provider, which set up the supply chain system for the company.

The company was already using i2 for generating supplier schedules. However, the software was only partially implemented and so users were accessing

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only some of the features of the application.

The earlier system was based on the assumptions of territory managers and production planners who used their experience to make a fortnightly plan. The formula worked pretty well when the company had a small footprint, but, as the company grew, it was difficult for a small team to remember each and every detail pertaining to 150 territory managers working with 800 dealers based in 32 offices across the country.

To begin with, the sales and marketing teams decided to create a process whereby they could do the forecasting of tractor sales in a more scientific manner and in a way that both territory managers and dealers agreed upon.

“Mismatch of inventory can cause loss of up to 4-5 per cent of sales if you don’t have the right stock at the right dealership at the right time,” says Jaikanth.

The management decided to go for i2 after evaluating various options and giving consideration to their comfort level with the current implementation in the

Shailendra Agarwal Chief of Operations has been able to optimise his processes and improve productivity in the system by 6-8 per cent.

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organisation. But before the system was implemented, the IT team had another monster to tackle—connectivity. “We had to roll out an MPLS backbone based network in 32 area offices and seven regional offices. Training of resources and partners was the other challenge that had to be overcome,” says Kumar.

With the IT system in place and all the stakeholders on the same plane, Escorts AMG started the year-long journey of implementing the supply chain tool.

Though there were arguments and differences of opinions, the employee and management buyin ensured that every argument was constructive. All the business units and technology teams worked together for about a year to implement it. “We started the implementation in October 2008 and completed it by December 2009,” says Kumar.

Benefits

The benefits were immediate.

With the implementation of the software, the organisation was able to substantially reduce its stock of raw materials and finished goods inventories. “The savings from reduced raw material inventory costs alone have been over 500 per cent of the total cost of implementation of the i2 project. We are able to forecast production in a much better manner,” says Sangeet Oswal, Head Materials, Escorts AMG. “The planning time has also been reduced by 40 per cent,” he adds.

“The savings were not on the raw materials side alone. Even more cash was unlocked from the finished goods inventory, which accounts for a huge amount of working capital in the industry.

“We were able to unlock 10001200 tractors from our finished goods inventory while giving better service to our dealers and customers,” says Ashok

Anantraman, Head Marketing, Escorts Agri.

With each tractor costing approximately Rs 400,000, the value of the inventory unlocked, achieved over a period of 12-18 months, was about Rs. 400 million. The amount was significant considering that many companies at that time were raking in huge losses.

The benefits have not just been monetary. The change in process has led to a reduction of the planning cycle from 15 to 7 days. There is a lot more sense of discipline in the organisation and the stake holders. From a total absence of forecasting culture, “the system has brought about a culture where 150 territory managers and 800 dealers arrive at a consensus on the sales forecasts,” says Jaikanth. “We now have lower inventory costs, but that doesn’t mean we are losing on sales. The customer satisfaction levels have also gone up several notches. The quality of tractors is also better since they are reaching the customer fresh from the oven,” adds Anantraman.

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Vipin Kumar Head—Information Services, rolled out an extensive IT infrastructure at 32 offices across the country to ensure that the implementation went ahead smoothly.

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49

supply chain & logistics

Driving Efficiencies Q: What were the biggest challenges faced by the organisation that prompted you to go for a new SCM implementation?

A: There were many daunting challenges before Escorts AMG, which necessitated a close look into our supply chain. A strong need was felt to optimise the efficiency of management of cash—which was locked due to high inventory and finished goods, well beyond the acceptable norms.

One of our key challenges was to align our production to market needs, and thus operate with a minimum level of finished goods and raw materials. To make this happen, we needed clear visibility into the market demand in terms of model mix and volumes. That would help us to align backwards our material requirement to the suppliers, correct our inventory, and meet the demands of the market in time.

A major challenge was to change our processes and mindsets. I am happy to note that we have succeeded in this.

Q: What business process changes were needed to get this going?

A: Firstly, we took a conscious decision to operate with minimum inventory and produce strictly as per market need. This required our suppliers to have clear visibility into our material requirements over the next couple of months.

Rohtash Mal, CEO & ED, Escorts Agri Machinery Group A lot of effort went into vendor coordination and creating a process to get the desired material at the right time without facing the problem of stock out or excess inventory.

Secondly, to get visibility into the market, our complete sales team had to work very closely with dealers to generate the correct demand. It required a major effort to mature this process and train our field staff on the software functionality.

We had to gear up our IT infrastructure in a big way—to connect all the sales offices spread across the country with our central IT hub. A major infrastructure rollout was done at each of the sales offices.

While increasing customer satisfaction, “the system has also helped us increase employee productivity by 6-8 per cent,” adds Shailesh Agarwal, Chief of Operation, Escorts Agri.

Shortcomings

As happens with all big implementations, the solution’s performance has been less than satisfactory on a few fronts.

“Forecasting is still being polished and it will take four to five more iterations before it is perfected. Nevertheless, we are

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Q: How do you think a solution of this kind can help in improving top/ bottom line performance?

A: It helps in many ways. We were able to unlock a lot of cash, which was blocked due to higher raw material and finished goods inventories. The SCM solution helped us in producing the right product mix and making it available on time to increase customer satisfaction. There is a marked improvement in the overall efficiency of our supply chain, which is reflected in reduced inventories, and a very cohesive functioning with our suppliers and dealers.

Q: What key benefits has your organisation derived from this project?

A: There are many tangible and non tangible benefits. The tangible ones are reduced inventory carrying cost, availability of the right product at the right time, increased efficiency of operations, a high level of cohesiveness with suppliers and dealers. As far as the non tangibles are concerned, clearly it is about making various cross functional teams work better together, bringing in external agencies like dealers and vendors into the internal processes, and more importantly a cultural shift towards meeting consumer goals in terms of on-time performance and satisfaction.

certainly getting there. Also, we need to work more to customise the system to fit our needs,” says Jaikanth.

The materials planning staff also have some gripes. “Changes in the design of products call for changes in the product parts, but this mapping is yet to be factored in the system,” says B.D. Mathur, Head Sourcing.

“The planning for spares is also a bit difficult, since it has to be done using historic data. We are still not fully prepared to handle spikes in demand,” says Kumar.

- technology management for decision-makers

The way forward

New modules that would enhance the usage of the system are in the works. “The next step is integrating the suppliers in the system by building a two-way communication with them by using a supplier portal,” says Kumar. “For any organisation, the customer is the focus. For us, the tractors should be available at the right time, in the right number, with the right model, in the right quality and at the correct location. This implementation is a big step in achieving this goal,” says Agarwal. n

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information technology

Creating True Business Value

Through Transformation Use innovative techniques to overcome budget limitations. by gyana ranjan swain

T

he global economic meltdown in the last six quarters resulted in all round cost cuttings, shrinking of expenditures, freezing of new investments and compelled enterprises across industries to give second thoughts to any kind of expansion. Among all the departments in an enterprise, the IT department was the worst hit as it is still being considered as a cost centre. However, in no

way did the economic downturn reduce the expectations from the business houses in terms of productivity and profit.

Though, the severity of the recessionary impact in India is less than the US or other developed markets, experts opine that it did slow down the pace of growth if not completely paralyse it. Enterprises do recognise that availability of funds is a challenge, and that funds obtained are first deployed for core business activities. Barring some industries, IT investment falls under the category of ‘discretionary investments’ in most verticals.

“The biggest challenge for any IT organisation today is to be considered as a critical enabler of business, and a driver of profit rather than the currently held perceptions of technology being a support function and a cost centre,” says Govind Singh, DirectorIT of Levi Strauss India, a global apparel brand.

What Is in store in 2010?

the biggest challenge for any It organization today is to be considered as a critical enabler of business and a driver of profit.”

GovinD SinGh DIreCtOr-It, LeVI StrauSS & CO, InDIa

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According to a Gartner-EXP Worldwide Survey of Global Chief Information Officers (CIOs), the IT budgets are expected to see a marginal rise of 1.3 per cent compared to 2009, which saw IT budgets falling by 8.1 per cent.

This means CIOs are set for a very difficult time ahead, and will be expected to deliver more with less. “Our topmost priority is to deliver maximum output without hampering the budget,” says Sanjay Rao, CIO of SRF Ltd. “CIOs see 2010 as an opportunity to accelerate the transition of IT from a support function to a strategic contributor focused

CIOs are transitioning from merely managing resources to taking responsibility for managing results.”

Marc McDonalD VP, Gartner eXP GrOuP

on innovation and competitive advantages,” Marc McDonald, VP of Gartner EXP group, said in a press statement.

The survey also mentions that business process improvement and reducing enterprise costs are top two business priorities for the CIOs, while virtualisation and cloud-computing emerged as the top two technology priorities.

However, not all CIOs feel capex allocation is a challenge.

They are of the opinion that if the investments required can justify the benefits, then organizations would not hesitate to do.

“Like any other organization, we, too, face budgetary constraints. Having said that I’d say that the budgetary constraints never stop us from investing in projects where we see business value,” says Singh.

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- technology management for decision-makers | march 31, 2010

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information technology He says a CIO needs to convince the business guys about the ROI and its business value in order to get budgets sanctioned.

Innovation is the key

We are considering an It Portfolio management approach wherein we are classifying the returns as strategic, informational and operational returns.”

Pravin Savant CtO, LOWe InDIa

Budgets or no budgets you cannot play around with your bottom-line. Enterprises are pitted with this challenge all the time.

And in most cases it is expected that in times of crisis, technology will come as a saviour. CIOs are expected to use IT as an enabler rather than see it as just a business support function. Expectations are shifting from a focus on greater cost-cutting efficiencies to achieving better results based on enterprise and IT productivity. These productivity gains will come from collaborative and innovative solutions that take advantage of the new light-weight, services-based social media technologies, including virtualisation, cloud computing and Web 2.0.

“While technologies are transitioning from ‘heavy’ owner-operated solutions to a ‘lighter-weight’ services model, the CIOs are, in turn, changing the role of IT from simply managing resources to taking responsibility for managing results,” says McDonald.

Also, the tough times in the past have taught many a lesson to CIOs and they have started prioritising the most essential tech-

nology requirements. “We are considering an IT Portfolio management approach wherein we are classifying returns as strategic (higher risk/higher returns), informational and operational (low risk /moderate) returns,” says Pravin Savant, CTO, Lowe India.

Also, technologies that CIOs are prioritising in 2010—can be implemented fast without significant upfront expense. Instead of investments in technologies that will require millions of dollars to get millions in benefits, investments are being made in technologies where the upfront investments can be measured in thousands of dollars. However, Savant says that any innovation which might contribute to the business in some way might stand a chance of acceptance.

“We have a robust IT infrastructure, and we do not need any investment in near future; however, even if we consider some investment, our decision will solely be based on its long term benefits,” says Rao. Technologies like virtualisation, cloud and Web 2.0 are new tools to CIOs as these enable companies to get out from under a heavy investment model that limits IT’s agility and flexibility. CIOs see 2010 as an opportunity to accelerate the transition of IT from being a support function to being a strategic contributor to business. n

FORM IV Statement about ownership and other particulars about newspaper INDUSTRY 2.0 TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT FOR DECISION MAKERS to be published in the first issue every year after the last day of February 1.

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YES (b) If foreigner, the country of origin] NOT APPLICABLE Address KPT House, 41/13, Sector 30. Vashi, Navi Mumbai 400 703 4.

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I, Kanak Ghosh, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

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Date: March 2010

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Signature of Publisher

- technology management for decision-makers

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management & strategy

T

he expanding role of governments in the marketplace has become a hot topic in many executive suites around the world.

But how much value is actually at stake from state intervention in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008? The answer, according to our analysis, is close to $800 billion a year of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) worldwide—on top of around $2.8 trillion on the table before the crisis.

Regulation’s impact varies by industry: half of the new value at stake is in banking and insurance, 15 per cent in the automotive industry, and the remaining 35 per cent scattered among other sectors. In banking and insurance, the crisis has added close to $400 billion to the industry EBITDA affected by government intervention and regulation, for a total of $970 billion. This means that two-thirds of the sector’s profits are now at stake.

The New Value At Stake in Regulation Global economic slowdown inviting more governments’ intervention on all business sectors necessiated imposition of several regulations, which put their profits at stake. An attempt was made for measuring the degree of such regulations in several industries. by robin nuttall and sergio sandoval

The huge regulatory impact of the crisis in just a few sectors doesn’t mean that executives in other ones can relax. Telcos, transport and logistics companies, energy providers, retailers, pharma companies, and health care providers have long been subject to extensive government intervention. These industries continue to represent most of the regulatory value at stake around the world. Indeed, with a

total of some $3.6 trillion a year on the table, an effective strategy for engaging government clearly has a place on the agendas of most CEOs. n Robin Nuttall is a Principal in McKinsey’s London office, and Sergio Sandoval is a Consultant in the Brussels office. This article was first published in January 2010 on The McKinsey Quarterly Web site, www. mckinseyquarterly.com. Copyright © 2010 McKinsey & Company. All rights reserved.

Reprinted by permission.

Value at Stake from Regulation

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- technology management for decision-makers | march 31, 2010

53

product update Drill & Tap Machine

H

Air Compressor The product is equipped with a 20-pocket, servodriven tool changer that swaps tools in 0.8 seconds. High-speed 2400 ipm rapids combine with 1G acceleration rates to shorten cycle times and reduce non-cutting time.

The product also includes a 45-gallon flood coolant system, with options for a programmable coolant nozzle and through-spindle coolant systems.

aas Automation has launched DT-1, a compact, high-speed drill and tap machine with full milling capabilities.

The machine features a 20” x 16” x 15.5” work cube and 26” x 15” T-slot table.

A BT-30 taper spindle spins to 15,000 rpm and allows tapping at speeds to 5000 rpm. The spindle is coupled directly to the motor for smooth operation and thermal stability. A 15-hp vector drive system provides 46 ft-lb (peak) of cutting torque for milling and boring operations.

Haas Automation India Tel: +91-22-66098830 Website: www.haascnc.com

in place from either side to increase customer productivity. Its design helps improve turnaround time for routine maintenance and prevent curtailed production due to extended downtime.

Ingersoll Rand Tel: +91-11-45251296 Website: www.ingersollrand.com

L

L

enox has launched cycle HD water soluble oil for use in a variety of metal cutting applications. The new product is formulated with an advanced extreme pressure additive that delivers moderate to heavy-duty machining of ferrous and nonferrous metals.

The fluid is suitable in sawing, drilling, milling, tapping and turning applications. The oil is versatile and is suitable for cutting carbon, stainless tool and mild steels,

nickel alloys, as well as aluminium and non-ferrous materials.

Lenox Tel: +1-413-5253961 Website: www.lenoxtools.com

Compactor

K

omar Industries has launched the new ‘Auger Pak’, an enclosed compactor with a tightly sealed processing chamber that provides a clean path for wet and dry waste directly to the receiver section.

The electro-mechanically driven auger screw shreds and compacts waste with more than 56,000 lbs of force. It is capable of shredding standard wood pallets along with wet waste.

The unit’s continuous forward action prevents drag-back waste accumulation, helps save up to 200 per cent in energy costs and also reduces processing time.

The Auger Pak is suited for generators of large amounts of liquid, semi-liquid and solid waste, including hospitals, shopping malls, supermarkets, food processors, schools, large restaurants, prisons, hotels/casinos, and other institutions.

Komar Industries Tel: +1-614-8362366 E-mail: info@komarindustries.com Website: www.komarindustries.com

march 31, 2010 | industry 2.0

ngersoll Rand has introduced a new model in the Centac C-series range, the ‘C1000’ centrifugal compressor. The new product is available in a variety of configurations with a capacity ranging from 4500-7500 cfm (127-212 m³/min).

The air compressor includes over 50 design improvements for amplifying plant productivity at minimal maintenance.

The product includes a premium modeling software used for creating aerodynamic components.

The compressor’s transverse mounted coolers can be cleaned

Isostatic Press

Metal Cutting Oil

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I

- technology management for decision-makers

ake City Heat Treating has launched a new hot isostatic press with ASME safety certification. The new press offers both the advantages of high pressure and high speed quench rates approximating that of vacuum cooling systems.

Reaching temperatures of 2,285°F and pressures up to 30,000 PSI, the press offers a load capacity of 18.5” in diameter, 56” in length and 800 lbs.

The other features of the product include an advanced uniform rapid cooling capability that reduces the processing time for each HIP cycle, increasing throughput and lowering cost. Rapid cooling rates are 175-200 degrees per minute with 750-800 lb load.

Lake City Heat Treating Tel: +1-574-2699484 E-mail: lcht@lakecityheattreating.com Website: www.lakecityheattreating.com

Cutting Tool

M

ilwaukee Electric Tool has launched a new Hackzall M18 cordless one-handed recip saw. The onehanded design of the tool gives users the ability to make clean, accurate cuts while working overhead and in tight spaces.

The product also features a dual gear anti-vibration system, which helps achieve a low vibration level. The saw includes a powerful motor, which delivers 0 to 3,000 strokes per minute and a 3/4” stroke length, which helps it rapidly cut through a wide range of material such as wood, metal and PVC.

The product acts as an all-purpose cutting tool.

The 2625-20 is compatible with both the M18 XC high capacity Lithium-ion battery and the M18 compact Lithium-ion battery.

Besides, the Quik-Lok blade clamp provides fast, tool-free blade changes for Sawzall blades and Hackzall blades.

Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp Tel: +1-800-7293878 Website: www.milwaukeetools.com

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product update GC-MS System

Vibration Amplifier

M

eggitt Sensing Systems has introduced Endevco model 6634C, a microprocessor-based vibration amplifier.

The new product is designed to condition and display rotating machinery data. The unit offers simultaneous outputs such as broadband, acceleration, velocity and displacement.

The product accepts inputs from a single-ended, differential piezoelectric or Isotron (IEPE-type) accelerometer, velocity coil or remote charge converter. The front panel keyboard or optional RS232 computer interface enables programming. Besides, units also

have an optional sixpole filter, which may be programmed from the front panel.

The product is capable of storing up to ten setups and these can also be recalled from the non-volatile memory, while two TTLcompatible latched alarm outputs provide both warning and alert functions.

The product is suitable for use in turbine and generator health monitoring and aerospace engine test cell applications.

Meggitt Tel: +44-0-1202-597597 E-mail: marketing@meggitt.com Website: www.meggitt.com

Acrylic Adhesive

P

res-On has launched a new free film acrylic adhesive, FFVSA-5 for original equipment manufacturers, who require quick adhesion of materials during assembly, including difficult to attach woods, foams, fabric, painted surfaces, and plastics.

The product includes features such as adhesion properties and holding power, environmental resistance and ageing properties. The adhesive measures 0.005 inch thick and does not cause unsightly gaps between materials in the assembled product.

The adhesive is available in lengths of 180 yards for longer production runs, as well as widths of 3/16-inch to 54 inches.

PRES-ON Tel: +1-800-3237467 E-mail: sales@pres-on.com Website: www.pres-on.com

Multi-function Machine

G

leason has launched the new Agilus 180TH multi-functional machine, which performs turning, drilling, milling, hobbing and chamfering/deburring operations in a single set up for all types of shaftand disc-type cylindrical gears up to 180 mm in diameter and with shaft lengths up to 500 mm.

The product is capable to perform, in a single setup, complete machining of a wide range of shaft- and disc-type

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cylindrical gears.The unit is equipped with a highspeed tool turret for locating fixed or driven tools for the complete range of turning, drilling and milling operations as well as the workpiece loading and unloading function via active grippers on the turret.

The Gleason Works Tel: +1-585-4731000 E-mail: sales@gleason.com Website: www.gleason.com

- technology management for decision-makers

T

hermo Fisher Scientific has launched the new ISQ single quadrupole gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS) system with a non-venting full-source removal capability. The new product features the ExtractaBrite ion source and offers simplified operation and maximum uptime for uninterrupted productivity across routine GC-MS applications including forensics, toxicology, food safety and environmental.

The unit is a robust and rugged system that provides high-throughput sample analyses and 24/7

operation. The new ExtractaBrite removable ion source helps provide maximum uptime and productivity by extending the length of time between required source maintenance.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Tel: +1-781-6221000 Website: www.thermofisher.com

Manometer

E

Instruments has launched a new manometer, viz., the MP120, which is compact, rugged and suitable for any HVAC Professional.

The new product is a sensitive and accurate instrument. Besides pressure measurements, the unit also includes air velocity via a pitot tube.

The manometer also features a large ice blue backlit LCD display, which facilitates reading in either light or dark environments.

The other features of the product comprise built-in calculation for velocity, up to 8000 FPM air velocity range, 0.1 resolution, accuracy of ± (1% rdg. + 0.2 mbar), pressure at kPa, inWg, mbra, mmHg, PSI, m/s, fpm, Km/h and air velocity - FPM, m/s, Km/h. The dimensions of the product are 5” x 2.5” x 1.25”.

E Instruments International Tel: +1-215-7501212 Webiste: www.e-inst.com

Metal Measurement Unit

M

icro-Epsilon has launched a redesigned measurement system for metal strip. The new system for thickness and profile inspection provides a large measuring gap of 190 mm.

The product measures corrugated and vibrating metal strips and uses profile sensors for measuring on various different strip materials.

The unit enables thickness measurements to an accuracy of 0.01 mm and is suitable for process stabilisation, quality assurance and documentation. The use of a high-tech light barrier facilitates edge detection for warped strips.

The use of optical measuring techniques help the system being completely wear-free and operates free of emissions. The measuring system for thickness and profile inspection can be used for strip up to 4m wide and thicknesses between approximately 1 mm and 12 mm.

Micro-Epsilon Tel: +44-151-3556070 E-mail: info@micro-epsilon.co.uk Website: www.micro-epsilon.co.uk

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