editorial Vol. 08 | Issue 12 | july 31, 2009
Managing Director: Dr Pramath Raj Sinha Printer & Publisher: Kanak Ghosh Editorial Group Editor: R Giridhar Assistant Editor: P K Chatterjee
Making the Journey to World Class
Correspondent: Satish Chavan Sub-Editor: Reshmi Menon Design Creative Head: Kabir Malkani Art Director: Rohit A Chandwaskar Chief Designer: N V Baiju Illustrators: Shrikrishna Patkar, Chaitanya Surpur Photographer: Jiten Gandhi Sales & Marketing VP Sales & Marketing: Naveen Chand Singh General Manager: Nabjeet Ganguli National Manager - Events & Special Projects: Mahantesh Godi Business Manager - Engagement Platforms: Arvind Ambo (09819904050) Assistant Brand Manager: Arpita Ganguli Co-ordinator Ad Sales: Aatish Mohite Bangalore: Sanjay Bhan (09341829285) Coimbatore: D K Karthikeyan (09843024566) Delhi: Pranav Saran (09312685289) Kolkata: Jayanta Bhattacharya (09331829284) Mumbai: Ganesh Lakshmanan (09819618498) 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: Sujay Nair C/o KPT House, Plot 41/13, Sector 30 Vashi (Near Sanpada Railway Station) Navi Mumbai 400703 Printed at Silverpoint Press Pvt. Ltd, Plot No. A-403, MIDC, TTC Industrial Area, Mhape, Navi Mumbai 400709.
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R Giridhar editor@industry20.com
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anufacturing has always been a diverse and competitive industry. However, a slew of free trade agreements have opened up hitherto protected sectors to global competition. Manufacturers are discovering that they can no longer take their customers and markets for granted, since the availability of alternate sources has dramatically increased. Quite naturally, there have been howls of protest from sections of the industry, and strident demands for protective duties in the domestic market. Alongside, there has been much hand wringing over the loss of assured export markets. But, deep down, all manufacturers realize that the economy has changed in a very fundamental way. The advent of global manufacturing has put everyone under constant pressure to deliver innovative products, reduce costs, and deliver rapid response to customer demand. Adaptability and innovation have become the new watchwords. Many manufacturers around the world have discovered that the only way to cope with the new, dynamic environment is to embark on the journey to World Class Manufacturing (WCM). WCM is a process-driven approach that focuses on improving operations, eliminating waste and creating lean organizations. While adoption of WCM often results in higher productivity, the real emphasis is on speeding total throughput—from order capture through delivery—while reduc-
industry 2.0
ing the dependence on inventory. The adoption of WCM often involves replacing sequential methods of performing work with concurrent techniques to compress time, and replacing functional and hierarchical divisions of duties by team-driven activities, reducing lead times, cutting operational costs, streamlining outsourcing, and improving business performance visibility. By using WCM, organisations hope to stay ahead of trends, and respond proactively to market opportunities and fluctuations. A recent study by industry analyst Frost & Sullivan indicates that interest in WCM among the Asian manufacturers has been growing over the years, and many are making significant progress. The findings from the research show that cost reduction is the most important priority for those who have embarked on the journey, followed by supply chain management and investment in new manufacturing equipment. Achieving high quality is another major zone of focus. This study should serve as a reality check for those who believe that protectionist measures will enable them survive the recession— and prosper thereafter. Many Indian companies are on their way to achieving their WCM goals—which will make them formidable competitors, not just in India also on the world stage. Unfortunately, we have thousands more who have to still get the message, or make a start. The time to start is now— else it may be too late. n
- technology management for decision-makers | july 31, 2009
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contents 22
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in conversation
48 Warren Wilson Senior Analyst Ovum
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52 Umashankar S. Vice President— Marketing, Four Soft
facilities & operations 38 Putting the Spin into Computational Fluid Dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics helps conduct as many what-if studies as desired.
40 Paradigm Shift to User Perspective in Plant Design Cover Design: Rohit A Chandwaskar
Any investment in the design front finds justification when the actual users realize its merits.
44 Faster Design of More Efficient Factories
A case study of how P&G used Tecnomatix to improve efficiency of its manufacturing operations.
cover story
16 Getting a Handle on Moving Materials A customised material handling solution can speed up the production cycle and cut overall manufacturing costs.
event report 14 Technology Solutions Enable Smart Manufacturing
A report on the Industry 2.0 event on ‘IT for Smart Manufacturing’.
materials & processes 22 Saving Cost through Modified Technology
An advanced oxy-fuel combustion technology for re-melting aluminium reduces energy consumption and emissions.
25 Buoyant Outlook for Stainless Steel
Despite the marginal drop in production of speciality steel the outlook remains optimistic.
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30 Austenitic Stainless Steels Can Cut Component Weights
Austenitic stainless steels’ properties are suitable for vehicle manufacturing.
management & strategy 32 Achieving Your Business Goals through Successful Negotiation Business negotiation is an art requiring a confident and patient approach.
33 Customer Driven Operational Excellence for Manufacturers
Total offer excellence looks at the value at customer experience level.
36 Win / Win Negotiations Have Become a Must-have
Implementation of win / win negotiations is the key to build long-term relationships.
- technology management for decision-makers
supply chain & logistics 45 Optimizing Fleet Management An optimal fleet management solution easily adapts to organization’s business environment.
information technology 50 Gain a Competitive Edge through Supply Chain Management Companies can leverage SCM to cultivate customer loyalty.
opinion 53 When the Going Gets Tough, Look at Indirect Spend It is crucial that organisations look everywhere possible to find cost savings.
departments 03 Editorial 06 Industry Update 51 Advertiser Index 56 Book Review 57 Product Update
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industry update Radio-Tech’s Wireless Technology Enhances Bearing Life
The wireless technology helps monitor the temperature of motor coach suspension tube bearings on trains.
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adio-Tech has developed a method of monitoring the temperature of motor coach suspension tube bearings on trains. The system is safeguarding Class 442 electric multiple units on the new Gatwick Express extension service operated by Southern Trains between Gatwick Airport and Brighton in the United Kingdom. While the bearings were demanding service prematuredly because of failure due to high temperature,
Southern Invited Radio-Tech to deploy their wireless technology to solve the problem. Major constraints on the project included shocks of up to 50 G; co-location adjacent to conductors carrying 2,000 A DC; grease nipples that challenged the mounting strapping; battery operation; the close proximity of the transmitting antenna at the pinion end to the massive gear assembly; a radio path through the train’s floor; and railway safety approvals. Radio-Tech used the same data logger as found in its rail temperature monitor, although in this case the logger was mounted in the guard’s room rather than trackside. The whole project was completed to schedule in four months. The system deployment is now near completion across the whole Class 442 Gatwick Express fleet. Temperature readings are recorded every 15 minutes, stored in the data logger and then uplifted every two hours to a remote data server. The data is exported to an external database and alarm signals are automatically dispatched should an excessive temperature be detected. n
Havells’ Showroom Displays Low Voltage Equipment
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avells India has recently opened an exclusive showroom, ‘Havells Galaxy’, at Gomti Nagar in Lucknow. Anil Gupta, joint managing director, Havells India, said, “The concept of Havells Galaxy, a one-stop shop is differently positioned from the retail format existing in the country.” According to the company, the new showroom will provide consumers a wide range of low voltage (LV) electrical equipment,
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including industrial switchgears, cables, fans, CFLs, lighting fixtures, crabtree switches and crabtree bathfittings. The company is planning to open more such showrooms by the end of this financial year. Presently, there are 26 such display centres spread across the country, including major cities such as New Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, Surat, Lucknow, Kanpur, Chennai, Kolkata, Baroda, Jaipur and Bokaro. n
- technology management for decision-makers
event update SME Expo – Logistics & Material Handling 2009
The event will showcase logistics and material handling equipment. Venue: Bombay Trade Centre, Goregaon Tel: +91-22-28763111 Date: Website: www.inis-enterprises.com 19 August to 21 August 2009
Transec India Expo
The event will display products and services related to the transport security sector. Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre,
Goregaon Tel: +91-22-28596084 E-mail: sshetty@servintonline.com Website: www.transecindia.com
Date: 7 September to 9 September 2009
Secure Exhibition
The event will showcase safety and security products and technology and services. Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre,
Goregaon Tel: +91-22-28596084 E-mail: info@servintonline.com Website: www.securexh.com
Date: 7 September to 9 September 2009
INMEX India
The event will showcase products and services covering the maritime spectrum. Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai Tel: +91-22-4020 3348 E-mail: satyam.chopra@informa.in Date: Website: www.inmexindia.com 24 September to
26 September 2009
LED Expo 2009
The event will display products and technology of LEDs and solid state lighting. Venue: Pragati Maidan, New Delhi Tel: +91-11-26445191 E-mail: info@theledexpo.com Date: Website: www.theledexpo.com 18 December to
20 December 2009
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industry update Water Jet Germany Supplies Cutting Machine to IDMC
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Water jet cutting uses high pressure water to cut softer materials like rubber/foam, and abrasive jets adds abrasives (garnet sand) to water to cut harder materials like steel, granite and titanium. The high pressure water is forced through a tiny orifice to concentrate high energy in a tiny area to cut. The high pressure pump developing a pressure of more than 4,100 bar can cut up to 300 mm of steel. The main advantages of the technology are it is a cold cutting process, the The machine will be used by IDMC in their plant at mechanism requires few Anand, Gujarat. secondary operations, the process causes no heat distortion IDMC, Gujarat. T Veerappan, chief or mechanical stresses and can regional manger, Indian Overseas cut with narrow kerfs and does not Bank, Chennai inaugurated the create any hazardous material. water jet cutting machine at the Water jet cutting is used for company’s unit in Sriperumbudur. stainless steel fabrication, floor The machine of the dimension 3m designs in marble / tiles, letter x 7m, weighing over 4000kg, will cutting in brass / stainless steel, be used by IDMC in their plant at cutting of bullet proof glass, alumiAnand, Gujarat. Veerappan said, num, titanium and composites for “There is a huge potential for water aircraft etc. n jet cutting machines in India.” ater Jet Germany, a Chennai-based company manufacturing and exporting water jet cutting machines, has supplied a water jet cutting machine to
HP’s Manufacturing Unit Rolls out One Millionth Product
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ewlett-Packard (HP) has manufactured the one millionth unit from its manufacturing facility in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. Setup with an initial investment of Rs 100 crore, the plant commenced operations in March 2007 and has an installed capacity of 5.7 mn units per year for manufacturing desktops, workstations and notebooks. According to company sources, the team took 25 months from its start to touch the one millionth unit. The production of the first 500,000 units were
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completed in 14 months and the remaining 500,000 units were completed in 11 months. Shalyn Lee, vice president, supply chain, personal systems group, HP Asia Pacific and Japan, said, “The HP facility at Pantnagar is a progression to the next level of hardware manufacturing for HP India.” Ravi Swaminathan, president, Personal Systems Group, HP India, said, “With favourable government policies, we see Uttarakhand emerging as a key manufacturing hub for the IT sector.” n
- technology management for decision-makers
Siemens PLM Offers New Tools
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iemens PLM Software has released a set of software tools, which are targeted to boost productivity for the manufacturing industry. The company has launched the latest versions of both Teamcenter software and Tecnomatix software, its comprehensive suite of digital manufacturing solutions. Teamcenter 8 provides each user with a way to easily access product information and collaborate from anywhere in the world. It includes new industry solutions for aerospace and defence, CPG, and medical devices. It delivers IT productivity with open service-oriented architecture (SOA) and support for IBM’s DB2 information manager and several other IBM middleware products. The Tecnomatix suite of digital manufacturing software solution is designed to help factories produce products with the least amount of resource, time and effort while maintaining the product quality. Tecnomatix 9 helps improve planning productivity with integrated planning solutions that supply access to the latest product data while supporting capture, standardization and re-use of qualified manufacturing best practices. n
Dow Corning Eases Purchase of Materials
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ow Corning has relaunched its online portal that helps customers purchase silicone-based products. The company’s Xiameter web-enabled business is expected to provide customers increased options in how they purchase essential raw materials. All standard silicone products manufactured by Dow Corning will be available under the Xiameter brand, besides through its distributors. The Xiameter business model allows customers to purchase standard silicones— ranging from rubber bases and compounds to dimethyl fluids, and emulsions to sealants and silanes. These materials are widely used as performance enhancers. n
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industry update Autodesk Moldflow Software Targets Injection Moulders
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utodesk has launched the latest release of its Moldflow software suite, Autodesk Moldflow 2010, for plastics injection moulding simulation and optimization. The new product makes use of the processing power of graphics processing unit (GPU) technology to solve complex computations. “We are focused on helping manufacturers reduce errors and
improve injection mould performance,” said Samir Hanna, vice president of digital factory and industrial design, Autodesk Manufacturing Industry Group. Designers and engineers can use Autodesk Moldflow software to balance structural integrity and aesthetics, when addressing challenges faced during design of consumer products, automotive interiors and high-end building products. n
3M India Adds Capacity for Corrosion Protection Products
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M India has increased the capacity of its recently inaugurated facility at Moraiya industrial estate in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. With an investment of Rs 27 crores, the company has increased the capacity of the facility threefold. The plant manufactures fusion
bonded epoxy powders. The ISO certified facility will manufacture products for 3M’s corrosion protection products division. The products will be supplied to the Indian market as well as key markets in the Gulf region, Africa and Europe, particularly for the oil and gas sector. n
FlowConnex Eases Remote Monitoring of Flow Waterjet Systems
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pressure and other critical system low International has parameters. The product provides introduced FlowConnex, the alerts to signal waterjet operators company’s next generation and management of waterjet of interconnectivity for machine and / or pump waterjet operations. conditions that could Using FlowConnex, shut down the waterjet operators, shop supermachine. The customvisors and managers ized alerts can be can see the status viewed via e-mail of their flow wateror any mobile device, jet systems on the FlowConnex helps such as a cell phone. FlowConnex dashboard minimize downtime. Besides, the unit also from the shop floor, in an links directly to Flow’s knowledge office or at an offsite location. database facilitating an easy and The dashboard displays waterquick resolution. The product helps jet machine productivity, machine minimize downtime. n utilization information, pump
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Lanxess Steps up R&D Plans
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pecialty chemicals group Lanxess AG is stepping up its research and development (R&D) activities, increasing its 2009 investment budget to around EUR 110 million, up 10 per cent from 2008, and expanding the number of staff. At the beginning of this year, the company also created an independent innovation group function for centralized coordination of its research and development activities. “Our aim is to translate all innovations and product enhancements into marketable products as quickly as possible,” said Werner Breuers, member of board of management, Lanxess. “We are planning to have 80 per cent of our current R&D projects ready for the market within two years.” In India Lanxess has a rubber chemicals technical centre in Thane, Mumbai. n
DHL Sets up Target for Carbon Efficiency
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HL has announced that it has set itself a target to improve carbon efficiency of its own as well as of the company’s subcontractors’ operations by 30 per cent by 2020. To achieve this goal, DHL launched the GOGREEN climate protection programme, which spans across all business divisions and region. As part of GOGREEN, DHL has undertaken measures such as re-fleeting, optimization of transport routes, increasing electricity obtained from renewable resources, alternative fuels, employee awareness and expansion of the GOGREEN shipping service. “With the GOGREEN shipping service, DHL is the first logistics company to offer its customers the option to offset the carbon emissions produced when shipping their parcels and goods,” said John Pearson, executive vice president, DHL Express Asia Pacific/EEMEA. The GOGREEN shipping service was first launched in 2007 and was rolled out in Asia Pacific in March 2008. n
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industry update Thermo Fisher Announces Acquisition
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hermo Fisher Scientific, a company designing, developing and manufacturing a wide range of centrifuges, rotors and accessories under the Thermo Scientific brand, has acquired FIBERLite Centrifuge, a supplier of carbon fibre centrifuge rotors. Following the acquisition, FIBERLite will be integrated into Thermo Fisher’s laboratory prod-
ucts and services segment. “We have been offering FIBERLite rotors as an alternative to aluminum and titanium rotors in our Thermo Scientific laboratory centrifuges for several years, and we have seen customer demand for the technology continue to grow,” said Marijn E Dekkers, president and chief executive officer, Thermo Fisher Scientific. n
KUKA Robotics Introduces Heavy Payload Industrial Robots
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UKA Robotics has launched new heavy payloads industrial robots, KR 1000 1300 titan PA and KR700 PA in India. The robots will address the potential demand from FMCG, logistics and food and beverage industry. The robots are capable of loading goods of 1300 kg and 700kg respectively. Palletizing robots are useful in loading and wrapping big and heavy goods. Raj Singh Rathee, managing direc-
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The robot will address the potential demand from FMCG, logistics and food and beverage industry. Palletizing robots are characterized by short cycle times and long reaches. The robots can be used to implement any customer-specific palletizing solution for a payload range from 40 kg to 1,300 kg. n
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ockwell Automation and Dassault Systemes SolidWorks have announced their plans to develop a joint mechatronic solution for machine builders. The solution would facilitate mechanical, electrical and controls design engineers to work together to analyze, optimize, simulate and select machine designs in a virtual design prior to committing to a final machine design. The solution is expected to provide machine builders increased machine value, improved machine sustainability and greater innovation agility. The solution allows designers to test various component selections and designs virtually, rather than building and testing multiple physical prototypes. “Many issues can arise during the initial design phase of a machine because there is a lack of collaboration and communication between mechanical and controls designers,” said John Prichard, product marketing manager for Kinetix, Rockwell Automation. “We are expanding our alliance with DS SolidWorks. The primary objective is to foster innovation while reducing costs and compressing the time it takes to design, develop and deliver reliable machines,” Prichard said. n
Toll-free Helpline for SMEs in Pipeline
he government of India is planning to launch a toll-free helpline for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which would offer assistance on issues like taxation, finance, laws, marketing and other relevant topics. This was disclosed by Dinesh Rai, secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Government of India, at a recently held conference. Rai also informed that there is a plan to run a National Skill and Development Centre (NSDC) to create a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in India.
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tor, KUKA Robotics (India), said, “With an improving economy and increased demand for goods, there is a huge potential for designing products to improve palletizing efficiency in Indian industry.”
Rockwell, Dassault Launch New Solution
july 31, 2009 | industry 2.0
Highlighting the plight of SMEs, Dinesh Agarwal, founder and CEO of IndiaMART. com, appealed to the government to minimize redtapism, encourage single-window clearance mechanisms, rationalize tax regimes and adopt a proactive strategy aimed at education and evangelism for SMEs. He also lamented the issue of technology providers trying to push highlypriced products and solutions to SMEs, which are beyond their budgets. “If SMEs are not provided with timely help, we will run the risk of a fall in exports and a resultant fall in GDP,” said Agarwal.
- technology management for decision-makers
Gurmukh Singh, head, business marketing, Intel, South Asia, advised the SME sector to be ready when exponential growth in India’s online reach would open up new opportunities. Ramraj Pai, director, SME ratings, CRISIL, also added that SMEs need to adopt a credibilitydriven approach, which would help them differentiate their businesses. Rajiv Sodhi, director, Emerging Geographies, Microsoft India, explained the power of information, communication and technology (ICT) for innovation and acceleration of business in time of recession. n
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event report
Technology Solutions Enable Smart Manufacturing
With the advent of new paradigms like lean, the manufacturing plant is becoming an increasingly important constituent of overall business success. At a recent Industry 2.0 event, experts debated and evaluated the need for, and benefits of, deploying new generation enterprise IT applications to support and enable the manufacturing organization.
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he manufacturing industry is no stranger to using modern technology. Whether it is using new materials, creating innovative processes, or developing better products, the manufacturing community has always been receptive to new thinking. The recent economic turmoil has only reinforced the view that manufacturers need to continuously focus on ways to add value, improve performance, cut costs—and increase profitability. Today, all manufacturers are striving to enhance productivity, improve quality, cut costs and lead times. But, they are realizing that this is not possible without using appropriate IT solutions. That’s because at every stage in the manufacturing process many people, machines, materials are involved—sometimes even outside the legal boundary of the organization. This makes it essential to enable and ensure proper data sharing and data exchange on real-time basis. Often, the lack of visibility and traceability can hinder decision-making and a reduction in competitiveness. “In today’s business environment, every organization feels the need for integrating the manufacturing pro-
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Sreenath Venkappiah, VP, Wipro Infotech; Prince Azariah, CIO, MRF; V. Subramaniam, CIO, Otis Elevator Company (India) and Ramesh Janarthanam, CIO, MIRC Electronics (Onida). (From L. to R.)
cesses with the non-manufacturing activities. Collaboration with suppliers, designers and customers has become absolutely important. The concept of lean manufacturing that originated in the factory space is now being adopted in the business environment,” observed V. Subramaniam, CIO of Otis Elevator, at a recent event titled “IT for Smart Manufacturing” that was organizaed by Industry 2.0 in Mumbai. Subramaniam was describing the demands of the new paradigms in manufacturing, how they impact manufacturing operations and the supporting IT solutions. Manufacturers are also increasingly becoming dependent on an eco-system of suppliers and vendors to run their business. While explaining how greater collaboration and more efficiency in the supply chain can be facilitated though the deployment of enterprise IT applications, Sreenath Venkappiah, vice president, Wipro said, “Today, the manufacturing processes are diversified. Thus, every enterprise has to remould itself into a real-time enterprise. While collaborative information management is essential in all enterprises, the implementation of industry-specific solu-
- technology management for decision-makers
tions is also critical.” He also stressed on the importance of enabling unified customer communication, and facilitating production planning through overall IT integration. Prince Azariah, CIO of MRF concurred with the view by saying, “Every manufacturing agency has its own challenges. In tyre industry, raw materials comprise almost 80 per cent of the cost of production. Thus, a small deviation in production planning directly impacts profitability. Since everything is interrelated, without IT support, perfect production planning is impossible.” Ramesh Janarthanam, CIO of MIRC Electronics pointed out, “PLM has enabled us to design and deliver the products in time, economically and absolutely without any bottleneck. We need to enable the rest of the system to deliver the components on time.” The expert panel also fielded questions from the audience, and some delegates also shared their own manufacturing experiences. The evening event concluded with the view that IT plays a crucial role in today’s manufacturing scenario, and has transitioned from being just an enabler to becoming an integral part of smart manufacturing. n
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cover story
Moving Materials Photo Courtesy: Armatic Engineering
Getting a Handle on
A customised material handling solution that is integrated intelligently into your production process can enhance the efficiency of the production process, and reduce inventories at both ends of the supply chain. by satish chavan
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- technology management for decision-makers
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equipment for various material handling functions, n effective material handling solution acceland leveraging IT (WMS and supply chain software), erates process velocity and adds value to to automate handling processes to expand visibility, your operations. Manufacturers across optimise productivity, and control costs. verticals are adopting best practices in handling materials by using modern equipment like automatically guided vehicles, automated cranes and Demand for Sophistication hoists, conveyor systems, and high bay warehouses. “More and more automation with many advanced On an automated assembly line, material handling features for various aspects of operation and mainequipment becomes critical as facilitator of the protenance is the order of the day, “ says R Murlinathan, duction system, which can otherwise be bogged down CEO of Scorpio Engineering, which offers various by material bottlenecks occuring at various stages of kinds of MHE solutions across manufacturing vertithe production process or the assembly line. cals. Some of the emerging demands on MHE “An intelligent usage of the right material hanfrom end users in process, discreet, and batch dling equipment (MHE) in a customised solution can manufacturing, include automated equipreduce process time in the production cycle from 60 ment, remote control and easier mainteto 70 per cent to 30 to 40 per cent,” advises AVR nance. And as machines get sophisticated, Murthy, CEO of Electromech, which makes cranes, users are demanding schematic hoists, and winches, for the shop floor. “The primary diagrams of the electricals used purpose of material movement on the shop floor is to within. Also, end-users want the provide an uninterrupted flow of material to, through, OEM to ensure efficient aftersales service, and and from the manufacturing processes,” agrees CM ready availability of original spare parts at short Nagraj, director of Right Engineers, which manufacnotice to keep the downtime at a minimum. tures various kinds of material handling trolleys and Commenting on the use of shopfloor trolwork stations. leys and carts, the Manufacturing DGM at A customised material handling solution can be auto component maker Minda Industries, created by using standardised sub-systems, which Hitesh Sharma says, “There’s a need for cusshould be high on reliability and low on maintenance tomised trolleys capable of load handling without and system downtime. In fact, a smart MHE solution any breakage during transport across the shop floor. can push lean initiatives like inventory control and This entails easy movement without sticky wheels just-in-time (JIT) movements on the production line. and noise.” In the case of rope hoists, “Safety is the Critical operations like stormain concern. The steel rope age, control, movement, and should not twist and entanSymptoms of Inefficient loading/unloading of materigle dangerously. The hoist Material Handling als, can be done by using the should be compact and easy appropriate handling equipto maintain with a minimum Back tracking in material-flow path ment, including the right downtime,” he adds. Built in hindrances to the flow support structure, auxiliary For EOT (Electrically Confusion at the loading dock and mobile equipment, and a Operated Trolley) cranes, range of devices to lift, hoist, end users are demanding Disorganized storage transport, move, or position remote control and automaExcess scrap materials. Choosing the cortion, and vertical frequency Excessive handling of individual pieces rect equipment is an integral drives. In the absence of Excessive manual effort part of the process planning, some of these features, some production, dispatch, and displant engineers have modfied Failure to use gravity tribution of the product. The their equipment innovatively. High indirect labor costs use of MHE underpins the “Our new CNC machine now Idle machines entire manufacturing process has a modified manipulator and smoothens the work flow. crane, which is pneumatiInefficient use of skilled labor The chosen equipment should cally driven. We don’t need a Material piled up on the floor align with the skills and the helper on it now, and there’s No standardization comfort level of the plant to substantial power saving ensure sucessfull implemendue to the pneumatic drive,“ Poor inventory control tation of a material handling says Vijay Vagrale, assistant Service areas not conveniently located solution. This involves two manager at the maintainRepetitive handling aspects; using the correct enance shop of KSB Pumps.
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industry 2.0
- technology management for decision-makers | july 31, 2009
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cover story
Efficient Handling of Dry Bulk Materials
Courtesy: Scorpio Engineering
Material flowsheet showing a configuration of equipments integrated into a bulk handling system. Each equipment can be used individually or as part of the total system.
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ry bulk materials are used in most manufacturing industries. Almost every product or raw material passes through a powder phase in its manufacturing cycle, which means that a large quantity of dry bulk materials is processed, handled, stored and conveyed on a daily basis. These powder bulk materials come in sizes ranging from sub-micron particles to pellets of 3 to 6 mm diameter. Their microscopic shape ranges from amorphous to crystalline, with many geometries in between. Also, their flow and electrostatic properties, and storage and handling properties, make selecting the appropriate handling method very critical.
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The following items are mainly considered while selecting a proper material handling system. l Low cost automation l Efficiency of handling l Reliability of equipment l Installed and operating costs l Clean operating environment l Suitability to handle the required materials l Best available technology and equipment Irrespective of the industry or the dry bulk material being handled, some basic functions are common to every manufacturing plant using dry bulk materials in its process cycle. These are:
- technology management for decision-makers
l Material receipt and storage l Material issue / withdrawal for
production
l Day storage and material processing
For efficient handling of bulk materials through each stage, there are a variety of equipments available. To ensure the materials’ passage along the production line, it is critical to interface between a series of equipments that perform various functions, which have to be interlinked as an independent system with its own controls and operational sequences. Here, the plant engineer has to consider the basic properties of the material handled, as given below: l Bulk density
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l l l l
Minimum / maximum particle size Particle properties Size distribution Environmental considerations like toxicity l Type of product (chemical, mineral, organic, inorganic, pharmaceutical, food based, agro-based etc.). A material properties chart must be made listing all chemical and mechanical properties of the material. Also, bulk density is not a constant figure. Each figure will be different and has to be related with material properties to the function performed. If the material is stored for a long time in storage silos, the stored bulk density for an air retaining product will be much higher than the density when it is freshly aerated. Therefore, silos need to be designed for the stored bulk density and not as per the poured or aerated bulk density. The next step is to determine the first operation in the bulk handling. This is invariably the receipt of the material from the supplier, which may be in a variety of small bags ranging in size from 50 kg to jumbo bags 2000 kg, in lined containers ranging from 25 to 30 ton in loose open bulk or in bulk tankers. The system for receipt and subsequent storage is directly dependent on the method by which the product arrives at the plant. The overall handling requirement of the bulk product has to be first determined on a flow sheet, which is best done in consultation with your process engineers. This flow sheet will identify the various stages the product has to pass through before it is converted. By studying this flow sheet, the plant engineer will have an idea of the total handling requirement. A planning document, which has the flow sheet integrated into the plant layout will enable proper selection of the overall handling system. The plant layout will determine the number of times the material has to be handled and whether any improvements can be made in reducing handling stages. The best option here would be to simply elevate the bulk material to the highest possible level and let gravity do the rest. This is easier said than done considering the cost of high buildings, and a variety of other processing requirements within the flow scheme of the bulk product. n
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A major problem in overhead cranes is the brake setting. Although electromagnetic systems are replacing thruster systems in braking, “There’s a need to also provide a remote mechanical brake release function to ensure that accidents don’t happen during a power failure,” cautions Amar Desai, head of manufacturing (Gears Division), at Walchandnagar Industries. For hoists and chain pulleys, “The failure is more with the chain links which need a preventive lock for safety. Also, maintaining them at a height is a major problem in terms of safety. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) should address this problem urgently,” says Vispi Contractor, head of manufacturing at Saint-Gobain Abrasives of Grindwell Norton. Among users of conveyor systems, the most critical demand is for control of the conveyor’s speed and a customised belt with a longer life span. Also, “The belt should be so designed that it does not scratch the product while in transit, and it should not shrink or expand during the winter or summer seasons,” says Sharma. Whatever be the scope of a material handling solution, the basic demand among end users is for an automated MHE system to increase productivity whilst making the most of scarce and valuable space on the shop floor. “We are noticing that the emerging demands of our end users are quicker and safer handling of equipment,” says Armin Mane, MD at Armatic Engineers, which makes specialised MHE like billet/bloom tongs, cactus and hydraulic tripod grabs, coil lifters, and tongs, to handle hot slabs with temperatures exceeding 1000OC, for the steel industry. There is also the basic demand for built-in reliability in material handling systems to ensure minium downtime.
Demand for Automation and Control
The most important technology trend emerging in overhead cranes is the use of remote control to operate them, instead of the earlier control using a trailing pendant. Also, now major OEMs assemble cranes calibrated to the needs of the end-user. To allow slow movement of the crane, “Variable frequency drives are replacing micro motion gear boxes,” says D S Kapadia, manager of the maintenance shop at KSB Pumps. Also, instead of a simple rail mount, most cranes now use automatic electrified monorails (AEMs), and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) have replaced simple relays. Murthy adds, “While frequency drives have become mandatory to avoid slippages, the new trend is of using close loop drives for lifting and setting by automatic controls to arrest any possible fall. Most heavy duty cranes have this feature now.” The other emerging technology trend is the track and montoring system now used in cranes to secure worker
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- technology management for decision-makers | july 31, 2009
19
cover story safety at the workplace, and ensure minimum down time. “In terms of new technology for MHE in the steel industry, there is an increasing demand for automated handling and reduced dependence on human labour,” says Mane of Armatic. Conveyor systems have been a mainstay in MHE for over 100 years. They have been used in manufacturing plants even before the forklift. Sophisticated configurations and controls have kept them on par with other state-of-the-art automated material handling systems. The range of their applications have made them relevant to small operations as well as in large scale manufacturing and distribution operations. In conveyor systems, apart from in process industries, there are new applications in engine assembly and body shops in discrete manufacturing, depending on individual needs of the production system. For batch manufacturing and process industries like chemicals, there are a wide range of conveyors available such as enclosed-track conveyors, heavyduty roller conveyors, tow-line conveyors, skid conveyors, gravity skate wheel conveyors, automated
roller conveyor, zero-pressure accumulating conveyors, flexible conveyors, and conveyor sortation systems. In belt driven conveyor systems, the trend is towards better speed control of the belts, which now have features like anti-static, fire and heat resistant, and are non-stick. The major mechanical modification here is the replacement of the metal chain with rubber belts on belt-skid conveyor systems, which are quieter, cleaner and need no lubrication. Also, they are low on maintenance. Fork lift trucks (FLTs) are the other major workhorse used on the shop floor to lift and shift loads. Commenting on emerging technology for FLTs, Josts Engineering’s head of business development, Kannan Vishvanath says, “Most FLTs are now battery operated, and there is a gradual shift from AC technology to DC technology.” The other trend in FLTs is diesel fluid coupling for dynamic as well as static operations. However, the most important trend in FLTs is of automated guided vehicles (AGVs). The vehicle is programmed to automatically drive to designated points and perform pre-programmed functions. Most
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AGVs are wire guided, while some use systems navigated by a wire embedded in the floor, or guided by a LASER or optical system. AGVs are best used for repetitive tasks and over extended distances. They are versatile and come in a variety of configurations. Another significant emerging trend is the use of automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) spilling over from the automotives sector to other sectors across all manufacturing industries. Also, now material handling systems are available with a LAN, which are platform-independent, and have a scalable set of components. Modern material handling systems also include automatic data capture (ADC) and electronic information processing. Workers in the plant and on the loading/unloading dock can be equipped with bar code scanners and radio frequency data communication (RFDC) terminals. All this data collected electronically is managed efficiently with a good Workshop Management System (WMS) to ensure lean manufacturing.
Penetration among SMEs
According to Murthy, “The penetration of MHE in India’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector is very low. Except in the auto components sector where penetration of MHE is as high as 80 to 90 per cent, penetration in the rest of the SME sector is as low as 60 per cent.” Major inhibitors to MHE penetration among SMEs in the unorganized sector are; high capital costs of MHE, a lack of adequate space to install systems on their shopfloor, and the availability of cheap manual labour as an alternative (especially in the case of FLTs). The few SMEs that use handling equipment rent it from MHE service and equipment providers. The trend of hiring equipment among SMEs is most visible in FLTs. “The biggest market for service providers is dominated by the increasing use of FLTs among Indian SMEs. Demand for FLTs is rising by 20 to 30 per cent annually,” says Visvanath. “The MHE market in India will likely have a CAGR of 30 per cent over the next 2 to 3 years,” agrees Murthy. Apart from rising use among SMEs, most of this demand for MHE is expected to be fuelled by the infrastructure and power sector. The growing sophistication in technology has upgraded material handling systems, allowing companies to fine tune their manufacturing processes. According to OEM suppliers of MHE, requests for individualized equipment are becoming the norm among customers. This is because only a complete alignment of the material handling system and its skilled operators, with the production process, can ensure a smooth operation of the Manufacturing Executiion System (MES) to reap benefits of low inventories and shorter production cycle times. n
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materials & processes
Saving Cost through
Modified Technology
An advanced oxy-fuel combustion technology for re-melting aluminium significantly reduces energy consumption and emissions. This process has led to improved heat transfer and longer residence time, while maintaining the same process temperatures as with air combustion. by vishve bandhu mahendra and thomas weber
T
he oxy-fuel combustion technology developed by Jupiter Oxygen Corporation (JOC), USA, is a patented process for combustion of fossil fuels with pure oxygen, while excluding air using an untempered (flame is not cooled by air or recirculated gases) high flame temperature. For aluminium recycling furnaces including rotary furnaces, existing furnace materials can be used and the same melting temperatures are maintained.
Misconceptions and Concerns
The key to success lies in controlling the heat transfer, and not in regulating the flame
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temperature. Flame temperature is a result of mixing fuel and an oxidizer source, while heat transfer is a desired engineering result. The area of heat transfer helps realize fuel savings. In addition, the proper process control allows the system to operate favourably. Aluminium industry concerns revolve around three areas— costs, oxidation of metal and destruction of refractory material from high flame temperature. Costs—Concerning costs, it is recommended to have an oxygen source on-site. Oxidation of Metal—There has been no increase in oxidation of the metal within the furnaces using the techniques developed. The technology implements a near stoichiometric combustion approach, carefully controlling the levels of excess oxygen in the furnace to limit the formation of oxides in the metal. Also, the approach avoids turbulent mixing of hot gases and metal surfaces. Destruction of Refractory Material—Refractory materials in aluminium furnaces commonly degrade at around 1649˚C at the high end. It was undesirable to upgrade or replace the common refractory material used in the existing furnaces. It has been determined that no refractory life issues have arisen. There are several factors which contribute to this. First is the dependence on radiant heat transfer rather than convection to the metal bath. By evenly distributing the heat according to surface area line of sight, both the bath and refractory walls are more evenly heated with no flame impinge-
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ment on the metal or walls. In addition, the reverb effect of deflecting hot gases around the furnace is unnecessary due to the low gas volumes and dependence on radiant heat instead of convective. The observed effect was less temperature differential in the corners, roof and walls of the furnaces. This also prevented scale buildup in the furnaces.
Equipment Requirements
The process has been successfully installed in new build furnaces and retrofitted to existing furnaces. Existing furnace retrofits have included box-type reverb (without side wells), holding and rotary furnaces. The refractory materials in the furnaces were not changed or altered for the retrofit applications. The combustion systems include several burners specifically designed for oxy-only firing with certain flame characteristics, including shape and length designed around furnace geometry. The combustion system controls include specific components, which have been proven for precision and durability in the environments of re-melting. The operator control stations are tailored to specific plant criteria, including very high level of supervisory control, if desired. The oxygen systems use piping and parts meeting the oxygen use specifications for cleanliness, while the oxygen supply can be from liquid (tank), pipeline and on site generation.
Furnace and Combustion
An oxy-fuel furnace is fed with a carbon-based fuel, such as
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materials & processes
Natural gas oxy-fuel Flame
24
natural gas, in a near stoichiometric proportion with oxygen. The oxygen / natural gas proportions in the present melting and holding furnaces are set at 2.36:1. This stoichiometry provides complete combustion of the fuel, thus resulting in less CO, NOx and other noxious off-gas emissions. In addition, the controlled oxygen proportions also reduce the amount of oxides present in the molten aluminium. This, in turn, provides a higher quality final aluminium product, and less processing to remove these undesirable oxide contaminants. Accurate control of the ratio of oxygen to fuel assures complete burn of the fuel. Oxides in aluminium come from two major sources: (a) the combustion process and (b) oxides that reside in the aluminium. The process takes into consideration both of these sources of oxides, and reduces or eliminates their impact on the final aluminium product. First, the JOC process reduces oxides that could form as a result of the oxygen fed for the combustion of the fuel. This is achieved by tightly controlling oxygen feed to only that necessary by stoichiometric proportion for complete combustion of the fuel. The present process takes into consideration the second sources of oxides (that reside in the aluminium), and removes these oxides by the degassing and filtering processes.
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The benefits are two-fold - less byproduct in the form of dross and quality of the finished product is greatly enhanced. The furnace used for the application includes four oxy-fuel burners. They are installed on a side wall of the furnace opposite to the doors. Heat is input to the furnace by the burners. Due to the high luminosity the principal mode of heat transfer to the furnace is radiation, with some convective heat transfer. Because of the high flame temperatures, the oxy-fuel combustion system provides efficient radiative heat transfer. The combustion system provides a number of advantages over known and presently used combustion systems. The oxyfuel burners operate at a much higher temperature than conventional furnaces. Thus, there is an observed increase in the heat available for melt. Fuel savings is attributed to three principal factors. First, the increased heat of the combustion system permits complete burn of all fuel without excess oxygen. Second, the combustion system operates within a radiative (or radiant) heat transfer zone, with some heat transfer by conduction. The system is designed to take advantage of the radiant heat transfer within the furnaces to transfer heat effectively to the metal baths. Third, because there is no nitrogen in the combustion process, the amount of gas flowing through the furnaces is low. Thus, an increased residence time of the hot gases permits the release of a larger proportion of energy (in the form of heat) prior to exhaust from the furnaces. Typical exhaust gas volume is a fraction of that of conventional furnaces. Since there is about 80 per cent less gases (essentially the nitrogen component of air) in an oxy-fueled furnace, combustion efficiency is greatly increased.
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The present combustion system also provides for increased production. When installed as part of a melting furnace, the melting capacity or throughput of the furnace will be increased. This again is attributed to the rapid and effective heat transfer in the furnace. As new metal is introduced into the furnace, the combustion system responds rapidly to provide heat to melt the feed metal and to maintain the heat (temperature) of the molten metal in the pool at the set point temperature.
Results
JOC’s US licensee monitors its fuel usage on a per day, per pound per furnace basis. They melt aluminium during casting operations with a fuel input of 1,744.378 to 2,093.254 KJ/ KG melted. The range is due to not utilizing the full melt rates of the individual furnaces at different cast production widths. In addition, the technology was retrofitted to the holding furnace where no melting takes place. The results showed that the fuel usage for the furnace in a hold mode was cut in half. When reviewing yearly data, which includes periods of non-production (no melting or casting), the average usage of fuel for all melted pounds was 1083 BTUs per pound. This oxy-fuel technology has been in every day use since 1998. The JOC energy efficient combustion process has allowed the aluminium company to operate at a substantially lower cost due to a dramatic fuel decrease, i.e., natural gas fuel reduction up to 73 per cent, oil fuel usage reduction up to 68 per cent, equivalent reduction of CO2 due to fuel savings and virtually zero NOx. n Vishve Bandhu Mahendra is president of ENCON Thermal Engineers, Indian partner of JOC. Thomas Weber is vice president of Jupiter Oxygen Corporation, USA.
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materials & processes
Buoyant
Outlook
for Stainless Steel
Although steel makers have cut production of mild steel, volumes in speciality steel have been kept intact to attract niche consumers. Also, despite the marginal drop in production of speciality steel the outlook remains optimistic. www.industry20.com
D
emand for steel has taken a massive hit from the economic downturn, and major global steel makers are announcing production cuts. However, the specialty steel segment seems to be an exception and is fast gaining significance with major producers focused on expanding their product mix. Wider profit margins is causing a shift towards production of speciality steel among major producers. Stainless steel weighs heaviest in the specialty steel basket of major producers.
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Although globally this segment has taken a major hit, Indian steel makers have been able to dodge the consequences. This has been possible mainly due to diverse consuming sectors and different growth dynamics. The global scenario is dismal, where stainless steel production saw a dip of 6.9 per cent in 2008, reaching 25.9 million tons (mt), as per data released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF). Apart from the seasonal factors, volatile raw materials prices and the current slow-
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25
materials & processes This growth will likely be fuelled by rapid growth in sectors like transportation, railways, architecture, and kitchen appliances. Also, the metro rail project is expected to push domestic consumption of stainless steel further.
Stainless Steel Per Capita Consumption in kgs
Changing Product Mix
Source: Valeinco, World Stainless Steel Statistics, ISSDA.
down have curbed overall production. In 2008, overall stainless steel production in Asia, (sans China), declined by 10.3 per cent to 8.1 mt. Demand from China has been fuelling growth in stainless steel production across the globe, which also saw a slump of 3.6 per cent to 6.9 mt. Altough industry sources have termed the global situation depressing, but the domestic industry is upbeat about the future. The kitchen appliance industry, a major consumer of stainless steel in India has been the least affected. Demand from this sector has insulated stainless steel production substantially. The product basket in India consists of both, long as well as flat products. India produces a total of 1.4 mt of flat products, of which 1.1 mt is consumed domestically, only a marginal quantity of 0.3 lakh tons is exported. Around 700,000 to 800,000 tons of stain-
less steel flat product is produced by the unorganised sector in India. In case of long products, the figure stands at 400,000 tons, of which 70 per cent is exported and the rest is sold domestically. However, it is the export market which has been severely impacted due to the global recession. Jindal Stainless, a major stainless steel producer used to export 55 per cent of its production. But the figure is expected to reach just 30 per cent this year. Although the international market is likely to remain flat in the near future, the domestic market is expected to pick up. India’s per capita consumption is nowhere near its global peers, and that leaves ample room for growth. As per available figures, the per capita consumption in India is still low at 1.1 kg to 1.2 kg, against 20 kg to 30 kg per capita globally. However, this is expected to rise to 2 kg per person very soon.
Over the past few years, the stainless steel market has seen major changes in the type of stainless steel produced. The sharp hike in nickel prices during 2006-07 forced the industry away from high chromium-nickel grades (300 series) to low nickel (200 series) or nickel-free grades (400 series). As a result, chromium stainless steels and chromiummanganese grades have become increasingly important. Also, kitchenware has fuelled primary consumption of the 200 series in India, which is locally known as ‘bartan quality’ steel. Currently, 80 per cent of the total stainless steel produced in India is of 200 series, 15 per cent is of the 300 series and the balance volume is 400 series. At present, the 400 series is gaining popularity across the world. In keeping with the growing popularity for this particular grade Indian steel makers are hopeful that India will soon shift to this particular grade. Traditional consuming sectors like construction and infrastructure are showing depressed demand globally. However, India has been able to identify new points of consumption, such as stainless steel LPG cylinders. The Indian Railways is another big consumer, with plenty of stainless steel freight wagons and
Estimated Market Share of Stainless Grades, 2008 (as % of total) Grade Category
Series
Quarter 1
Quarter 2
Quarter 3
Quarter 4
Total 2008
Chromium-nickel (CrNi)
300
63.2
60.7
Chromium-nickel (CrNi)
400
26.3
27.8
59
57.9
60.5
30.2
28.6
28.1
Chromium-manganese (CrMn)
200
10.5
11.5
10.8
13.5
11.4 Source: ISSF
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- technology management for decision-makers
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railway coaches scheduled for production in the next five years. The other big consumer is the transportation sector. Revamping of city buses and tourist buses will generate new demand for steel. Going further, the domestic stainless steel industry also plans to use stainless steel to produce value added products like pipes and tubes. Incubating infrastructure projects in India will also boost consumption of stainless steel, such as the expansion plan of airports and developing a total of 90 airports in the next seven to eight years. The Delhi and Mumbai airports are being refurbished where new terminals are coming up. However, kitchen appliances will continue to be a major consumer, and is likely to remain so in the coming years. Analysts feel that consumers who shifted to substitutes when nickel prices were at historic highs will revert to stainless steel, thanks to a
substantial drop in nickel prices. This will have a positive impact on stainless steel consumption.
Prices
Since stainless steel prices are affected by nickel prices, they have been highly volatile in the past few years. When nickel prices were soaring, they reached astronomical levels. Now that nickel prices are softening, stainless steel prices have come dowm in tandem. Soaring nickel prices have left stainless steel producers with little choice but to look for alternate inputs, they have zeroed in on nickel ferro alloys, a cheap alternative to nickel. Along with this, many stainless steel makers also started shifting their focus from high nickel containing stainless steel to relatively lesser nickel containing stainless steel grades. In many ways, 2008 was an exceptional year for the stainless steel industry. It began with the stainless steel market recovering
from the collapse seen in 2007. During the first three months or so, the deterioration in market sentiment was accelerated by the decline in the nickel price, which persuaded customers, especially distributors, to postpone their purchases. The global financial crisis hit the stainless steel market hard. Compared to 2007, apparent consumption of stainless steel in 2008 is estimated to have decreased by 4 per cent in Europe and by 6 per cent globally. The transaction price for stainless steel averaged euro 2,801 per ton in 2008, 27 per cent lower than in the previous year because of the much higher nickel price in 2007. Overall, 2008 was nowhere close to its previous year in terms of gloominess. According to the data available with CRU, worldwide stainless steel flat products consumption declined by 5.9 per cent in 2008 to a level of 17.9 million tons. The data avail-
Average Stainless Steel Price
Source: mjunction
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27
materials & processes Stainless Steel Raw Materials Price Movement ($ per ton)
Source: mjunction
able with Outokumpu, a global stainless steel player, shows— the benchmark average annual German cold rolled 304 base price (cru) declined 9 per cent (y-o-y) from euro 1,304 per ton in 2007 to euro 1,185 euro per ton in 2008. From a level of euro 1,125 per ton at the end of 2007, monthly base prices increased to euro 1,275 per ton in June 2008 due to good demand during first half of the year. The cold rolled 304 transaction price decreased by 27 per cent (y-o-y) to euro 2,801 per ton, down from euro 3,828 per ton in 2007.
Drop in Raw Material Prices
One of the primary reasons that caused the drop in demand was the sharp fall in raw materials price. After a continious price rise for over six years, average nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) declined in 2008. The monthly price was on an increasing trend during the first three months of
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2008, but then posted declines throughout the remaining months of the year. Nickel stocks held in LME warehouses ended the year at 78,000 tons, up 63 per cent (y-o-y). Nickel production and refining capacity increased during 2008. However, a drop in demand has curtailed production on a year-on-year basis. The imbalance of capacity and demand has caused many nickel producers to implement temporary or permanent production cutbacks during the year. The trend was similar for other raw materials, including high carbon ferro chrome and ferro manganese. According to price information available with Outokumpu, average annual ferro chrome contract prices rose by 93 per cent in 2008 to 1.76 US cents per pound, following a 26 per cent increase in 2007. Quarterly contract prices (agreed between South African producers and European consumers) were on a continual rise from the second
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quarter of 2006 to the third quarter of 2008, rising 1.42 US cents per pound, or 225 per cent over the period. Growing demand from stainless steel producers have firmed up ferro-chrome prices. Prices increased even more during the first half of 2008, when production of ferrochrome in South Africa was curtailed as a result of energy supply shortages, noted a report of Outokumpu. Global consumption of ferrochrome declined by 9 per cent in 2008, with supply decreasing by around 5 per cent, as per CRU data.
Demand Outlook
The year 2009 promises to be a challenging year for the stainless steel sector, though long-term prospects continue to remain bright. Over the next two years, development of global infrastructure will receive huge impetus, and stainless steel will continue to play an important role. n Courtesy: Steel Insights, mjunction Services Ltd.
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materials & processes
Austenitic Stainless Steels Can
Cut Component Weights formed or deformed—can replace carbon steel, saving weight without compromising the properties needed to protect occupants in a crash. With gasoline prices on a roller coaster ride, and demand growing for hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles that cut greenhouse gas emissions, North American carmakers appear eager to change course. A stainless steel component is undergoing test.
In addition to reducing the weight of individual components by 20 per cent, austenitic stainless steels have other properties that make them ideal for vehicle manufacturing. The first prototype of stainless steel car is expected next year. by dean jobb
“A
ny customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants,” automotive pioneer Henry Ford once famously quipped. “—so long as it is black.” Likewise, today’s vehicle manufacturers could be soon producing cars and trucks with any frame the customer wants, so long as it contains plenty of stainless steel (SS). A consortium of European carmakers and SS manufacturers has spent three years testing SSs for use in door pillars and other structural components of vehicle frame. The results show that stainless—particularly nickelcontaining-austenitic grades which gain strength as they are
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SS in Car Making
“Weight costs money, it costs efficiency, and it costs fuel; it’s as simple as that,” says Roland Gustafsson, manager of the consortium’s research project known as Next Generation Vehicle (NGV). “Every kilo you can lose results in savings over the life of the car. When you have lower weight, you can redesign other systems in the car. It’s a beneficial spiral: you can reduce the engine size, you can reduce the gearbox.” The NGV project was launched in 2005 by nine companies that provided research and test facilities, and brought together more than 150 engineers, scientists and software developers to explore ways to add stainless components to cars. Audi, BMW, Fiat, DaimlerChrysler, Saab Automobiles and Volvo Car joined forces with Outokumpu, ThyssenKrupp and ArcelorMittal Stainless Europe (Ugine & ALZ). The partners have so far invested 5 million euros in the project, on top of donating research time and facilities, says Gustafsson. The results of the program were unveiled in late 2007 at the International Motor Show convention in Frankfurt, Germany. Four
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grades of stainless were tested to determine their suitability in car-making based on mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and their ability to be formed, machined and joined to other materials. Three were austenitic steels: 1.4376 (S20100), 1.4318 (S30153) and 1.4310 (S30100); the fourth, 1.4162 (S32101), was a duplex. “The goal was to show the world it’s possible to use SS for this type of application,” notes Eric Sörqvist, manager of research and development for Outokumpu Automotive, a division of Finnish SS producer Outokumpu. Results for all four grades were excellent.
Advantages of SS
“The SS lends itself well to making complicated components or components that require high localized strength levels,” he says. “We know SS can’t replace all materials, but in certain spots and in certain applications, yes, there are advantages.” One major advantage is weight. The NGV project confirmed that replacing sections of vehicle frames with stainless can trim as much as 20 per cent off the weight of the component. Gustafsson, whose full-time position is head of Volvo Technology Corporation in Gothenburg, Sweden, says it’s crucial that there be compensation for all the additional weight coming in with the next generation of vehicles. As the industry switches to building hybrid cars, the weight savings achieved with SS compensates for the added weight of the electric motor and batteries that provide the second power source.
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Cars of any desired frame will be a reality soon with plenty of nickel SS.
Austenitic Grades
The austenitic grades, in particular, are well-suited to car manufacturing. They become stronger as they are hydro-formed or cold-rolled into the shape of components, and this strength is necessary to meet crash-safety standards. As well, the production processes create less scrap, saving material and reducing costs. The NGV project showed that stainless can be welded to the carbon steels now used in car frames; as a result, carmakers can continue to use traditional metals while adding stainless where it works best. The grades tested are readily joinable with basically all other types of steels, says Sörqvist, adding that adhesives and waxes are used to prevent corrosion from developing at the joints.
Software Programs
Project engineers used nickel-containing SS to build parts of a door post (known as a B-pillar) for a Volvo S40, confirming that the material can be formed and joined with conventional steels and is capable of withstanding crash testing. But Sörqvist says the project’s most remark-
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able breakthrough may be the development of software programs that simulate all stages of production, taking metal through each step of forming and welding. The programs enable engineers to see how substituting grades and fabrication processes can improve the finished part. “Without the software, it wasn’t really possible to simulate this in a proper way, taking into consideration the deformation hardening and the way that happens,” he says. “It’s a big step forward,” enabling carmakers and other manufacturers to determine the best materials and applications without having to build and test parts that won’t make the grade. “It’s important for the use of austenitic materials in any kind of application.” As for automobiles, both Sörqvist and Gustafsson say— the lighter weight of SSs and the fact that austenitic grades can be made stronger during forming mean it is now possible to design vehicles from the ground up, as it were. The next stage is to produce a prototype of a complete vehicle frame using SS components. Toward that end, the NGV project is seeking North American carmakers as partners. Gustafsson says—General Motors, which is struggling to cope with the global economic crisis and increased demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, has expressed interest. “Our goal is to expand the Next Generation Vehicle project to North America,” he adds. “I would love to be at the Detroit Motor Show in 2010 to show a complete vehicle structure made of these materials.” n Courtesy: Nickel Institute (http://www.nickelinstitute.org)
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- technology management for decision-makers | july 31, 2009
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management & strategy
Achieving Your Business Goals through Successful Negotiation Business negotiation is an art, which requires a confident and patient approach. Whatever be the direction of the ongoing discussion, a skilled negotiator shouldn’t fire the last shot too early. by nazir daud
W
hen trying to achieve your business goals, being skilled in negotiation can work strongly in your favour. Whether you would like to win a new contract to drive revenue for your business; work with a supplier to reduce your costs and increase your margins; or work with a problem customer to overcome potential legal ramifications; you can be sure that being a dextrous negotiator will work in your favour.
Clearly Define Your Goals
When you are entering negotiation on behalf of your business, make sure you understand exactly what you would like to achieve, and also how important each part is. When you know this, it’s far easier to be able to make concessions in the less important areas should the need arise. You should ensure that all key decision makers on your side agree on the importance of each material point before the negotiations begin.
Know Their Goals
Start to think about what the other party would like to achieve, and what their core focus is. When you comprehend this, you will be in a far better position to make offers that they will seriously consider. Far too often in negotiation, negotiators are far too focused on
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their business goals to consider how and when they could offer sweet advantages to the other party to clinch the deal.
Think outside the Box
During the difficult stage of the process, using lateral thinking can work well in your favour. To give an example of out-of-thebox thinking, let’s imagine that a marketing business is negotiating with another business over how much they are willing to pay for the provision of IT services. The companies cannot agree on a price, and they are stuck in deadlock. The IT services firm is about to lose a large contract. What if the IT services company decided to start using the marketing business as their agency instead of their current one? The marketing agency will pick up a new customer, and then in turn the IT firm can charge them a higher price for their services.
Keep Cool
When either party makes it clear that they have to succeed with negotiation, and the other
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party doesn’t, then one has a clear advantage. You should never appear to be too desperate to get a deal done, or this may give the other party a much stronger hand.
What if ?
If you feel the other party needs a deal more than you, then you may wish to use the tactic of explaining what will happen when negotiations do not go ahead successfully. Different negotiators will use different approaches during this stage in the negotiation. Some people will try to be threatening, and may mention legal ramifications (if applicable) or the detrimental effect this will have on the other party’s business if things don’t go through; others will try to coyly suggest that they may have to walk away. Whatever approach you decide to take during the negotiation process, make sure you don’t play this tactic too early. n Nazir Daud is the CEO of CityLocal. (http://www.citylocal.co.uk/, http://www.citylocal.co.uk/businessfranchise/ and http://www.citylocal.ie/)
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management & strategy
Imaging: Shrikrishna Patkar
Customer Driven Operational Excellence for Manufacturers Total Offer Excellence (TOE) looks at value at the customerexperience level, and derives the concept of offer excellence that serves as a guidepost for OEMs, fulfillment channel partners and supply chain partners—to design their respective product and service elements and to create an offer that ensures customer delight. by vaitheeswaran s and vijai kumar b
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onventional wisdom has it that manufacturers of packaged and industrial component goods develop strong internal procedures to adhere to industry standards—to develop a given product around which the manufacturing system itself is designed. The product is designed for a customer base that is expecting standard goods mass-produced efficiently at least cost.
The Offer
Customers today are aware that recent technological changes make it possible for them to be catered to as distinct segments,
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and even individuals for whom a unique ‘offer’ rather than a standard product can be designed. The offer is at the customer experience level and is built up of a personalized or tiered delivery service, a functionality to add discrete components developed by a class of innovators available on demand. Support services to ensure the offer experience is maintained in addition to the infrastructure of the core product. For example, on a single automobile chassis, it is possible for a manufacturer to offer a choice of engines (frugal diesels, smooth petrol, sporty hi-octane’s, eco-friendly CNG), suspension types, steering and
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management & strategy trim, creating potentially 50 different types of vehicles from a single base. The concept of an offer goes beyond the plant assembly and showroom fit-out. Achieving offer excellence requires a focus on time to money—activating the brand and launching the product across different markets, partnering with different channels (specialized sales and service across segments from institutional to service providers like rental agencies) and alignment of the upstream supply chain. Mass-customization can be made truly profitable. For example: the usage pattern and customer feedback from the most experimenting customers of a car rental chain can be used to predict what suspension, body, and trim settings are likely to be popular with high net worth and
Manufacturers need to move the needle from operations excellence to Total Offer Excellence to remain truly customer-driven. executive customers. This information, if shared up the supply chain, can help dealers stock up on the right configuration across the country to beat competition and drive sales. Similarly, the flexibility of the supply chain to ensure capacity can be quickly ramped up to build any variant as well as quickly switch to a particular variant as demand fluctuates, enables dealers to make the right offer quickly. While manufacturers are taking the first steps towards TOE, the services industry— where a significant component of the value is delivered as an experience, has taken the concept
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forward and has made service more personal and customized with every passing year. The most evolved form is seen in developed markets, where it enhances the value of commodities and standard products. The offshore BPO industry that delivers services to many manufacturers across North America, Europe, and Australia, offer a few interesting practices that manufacturers in India can study, to create their own TOE.
Alternate Service Delivery Models—Moving from Transactions to Transformation
Creation of new products and services requires high upfront investment, and long gestation periods. Hence, the number of offers is few and tend to be big bets. A bet which comes from results in a mass-produced product which recovers the investment in a few years in an era where the product lifecycle has been shrinking steadily. In the transformational BPO model, a partnership is created consisting of large OEMs (e.g. SAP), and value-enhancing application products created by innovative start-ups, domain experts in different markets, and proficient transaction processors, to create a platform that is modular, scalable, best-in-class, and continuously upgrades itself to create new products and services.
Making Money from Information—Analytics and Business Intelligence for Decision Making
TOE is achieved through a very strong customer and end-user focus in the services sector. Extensive qualitative and quantitative data is captured about the customer and Ux (user experience) to understand user satisfaction, advocacy, and repeat purchase patterns.
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In addition, new ways of using existing products to create value are also tracked and data shared with all supply chain partners. This data is mined using advanced data warehousing techniques to generate information. Business intelligence tools analyze this information to detect trends and patterns that will help understand customer behaviour and create patterns and segmentation. This pattern and segmentation analysis can be used to create offers that can serve as a competitive differentiation to drive additional sales as well as protect a premium price positioning.
Delivering Services as Processes
A customized service is in fact built on the bedrock of welldefined and standardized processes. While process thinking is all-pervasive in the plant assembly, there is not as much predictability in the way a service activity like sales, product service, or customer relations, is handled and managed in manufacturing. In the eyes of most customers, the service is more tangible and real than the core product itself and hence, a bad or unpredictable service delivery can result in customer churn. BPO service providers are a part of numerous core processes that are customer facing—inside sales, product support, and sales ordering. Each of these services has a human element and also the need for predictability and industrialization. These services are broken up into discrete well-defined processes that span departments, are well-defined, and show a high degree of automation and have embedded solutions. It is thus possible to continuously measure, monitor, and benchmark process performance to ensure service delivery is world-class.
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Alternate Commercial and Collaboration Models
Payment models for product and service creation at each stage of the manufacturing supply chain tend to emphasize transparency at the input stage. For example, a tooling shop is paid by an OEM for cost of raw materials, wastage, labour and margins. Very few OEMs are able to make the investment to share best practices among vendors to drive down costs and wastage, instead preferring to focus on pressing vendor margins down to reduce spend. At times of economic crisis, this poses significant supply chain risk and also discourages collaboration and innovation in the long run. The services business has rightly focused on the customer experience to emphasize the output focus. In the BPO world, many customers today pay for what they consume from suppliers (utility pricing) or even, what benefits accrue from the services delivered by suppliers(outcome based pricing).
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A good example for ‘utility pricing’ is the ‘transaction pricing’ model for back-office transactions. Sales volumes fluctuate throughout the year, peaking seasonally or at period-ends. BPO providers offer outsourcing contracts to manufacturers that ensure business as usual is catered to with an efficient core staffing force, peaks and dips in sales volumes are forecasted for in advance and handled through innovative staff provisioning (part-time and temp staff, shared services model to average out peaks and troughs across customers), as well as technology (platform-based BPO to automate order processing). In fact, the average cost of processing per order actually comes down during an order peak. For example, a collections agency is sold a portfolio of bad loans by a bank or auto finance company in a factor model. The collections agency works on a model based on its assessment of outstanding that can be recov-
ered. Or, the portfolio is merely serviced and the agency may be paid a low base amount plus a fee for every outstanding that is successfully brought out of delinquent stage. This is called outcome-based pricing.
Conclusion
Manufacturers need to move the needle in their respective industries from operations excellence to Total Offer Excellence (TOE) to remain truly customerdriven. The offshore BPO industry that has grown over the last decade in India has learnt extensively from manufacturing practices to deliver operations excellence on the BPO shop floor. It has also evolved rapidly with service industries in developed economies, and has developed various models to realize the customer dream of Total Offer Excellence (TOE). n Vaitheeswaran S heads the Manufacturing IBU in Infosys BPO. Vijai Kumar B leads the transformation office in Infosys BPO.
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Win/Win
Negotiations Have Become a Must Have
Imaging: Chaitanya Surpur
management & strategy
Although too simple to intellectualize, implementation of win/win—an attempt focusing on meeting each party’s interests during a negotiation, is often difficult. However, this is the key to build long-term relationships. by linda swindling
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in/win negotiations used to be a goal to achieve. Now, they are a necessity. Current times actually demand a win/win approach if you want a durable agreement.
Offerings Have Expanded Not Retracted
You have more and more parties to choose to partner with. If one party doesn’t worry about your interests, you usually have the ability to choose another who does. Choices have expanded on so many levels. Now, if an agreement doesn’t meet the needs and wants of each of the parties, you need to
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just pick up a phone or surf the Internet for someone else to fill the requirement.
Look at sales training. Scripts are out. Formulaic procedures to show benefits and push standardized offerings have been replaced by consultative selling. Consultative selling focuses on customized requirements and meeting individual needs.
gently fight against it. They don’t share information. They compete instead of attempting to solve the problem. They don’t make the first offer and they posture a position that is unrealistic. This attempt to conquer or a win/lose approach no longer works if you want to build long-term relationships. Applying force, going to someone’s superior and attempting to just deal with decision makers does not fit in the current professional environment.
Forcing Agreements Doesn’t Work for the Long Haul
Win/win Agreements Are More Durable
The Market Is Demanding Customized Solutions
So many people say they understand the need for win/win but then dili-
- technology management for decision-makers
Remember what win/win stands for: it is an attempt for all the parties
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involved to get a better agreement for all by collaborating to meet each party’s interests. If the other party feels like its interests are represented or they made a bad deal, they may try to sabotage it or look for your non-compliance. People are far more likely to support something they created. While win/win is an easy concept to intellectualize, it can be difficult to actually implement. It may be up to you to remind everyone involved about the shared reasons you have to participate in the agreement or venture. You may need to help the others achieve their results before ensuring you receive yours. In the end, you want an agreement people will support, have loyalty around and encourage.
The Differences between Influence and Traditional Negotiations
Many professionals have to influence others internally to receive data, supporting materials, accounting information and implementation help. These internal departments or teams have many people who are requesting the same type of information or support. For example, a benefits plan represen-
tative may rely on a partner outside the company like a financial advisor or insurance broker to sell the plan to a client’s human resources professional. This same benefits plan representative may need marketing materials from the marketing department to support the sales arm and then different information to inform the client’s employees once the plan is selected. The representative may need to co-ordinate the efforts of the IT department and the client company’s technology department—to ensure the technical requirements are met. There may be a training arm for implementing the plan, customer service functions and, of course, billing to ensure payment. Most likely, that benefits representative is under a strict time frame and can only rely on good graces, past dealings, wit and an ability to influence to get those resources aligned correctly. Like the benefits representative, your success can depend on whether you can influence those people to process your requests first or at a high enough level of quality. You have no power over them and do not want to go around them if possible because you
must continue to work with them in the future. Another common need for influencing is when your company has a partner or partners who are part of your supply chain. Perhaps they are distributors or take your orders or provide your customer support or service the equipment you manufacture. Once again, you do not have control over these other organizations’ performance and they may have competing pulls on their time. However, it is imperative that you persuade and partner effectively to do your job. Influencing effectively may be the only way to enhance performance with these partners. Anytime you’re working together to promote each other or need to access shared resources you’ll see a need to influence. With the amount of people who are outsourcing services to other companies, locations and even countries, the need to improve persuasion and influencing skills has never been greater. n Linda Byars Swindling is an author, a television expert, a former employment attorney and a certified speaking professional. She is a recognized authority on negotiations, workplace issues and persuasive communication.
Product range: Heat Shrinkable Anti Tracking Tubing Heat Shrink Busbar Tubing Dual Wall Semi conducting/Insulation Heat Shrink Tubing High Shrink Ratio Heavy Wall Heat Shrink Tubing Heat Shrinkable Busbar Insulation Tape Heat Shrinkable Moulded Parts
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facilities & operations
Putting the Spin into Computational Fluid Dynamics Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a tool for studying rotating components. Using goalbased analysis technique, any engineer can now conduct as many what-if studies as desired to see the effects on the designed product. by ved narayan
Handle Deflection
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glance at disparate machines—such as pumps, table fans, axial fans for electronics cooling and hair dryers—shows that they all have one thing in common, viz., rotating components. Engineers, who design equipment with rotating components, need to analyze and understand the behaviour of those components, if they want to improve performance. For example, if the blades of a table fan are of the wrong shape, or if they are incorrectly orientated, the fan may generate little or no air. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) helps engineers study many of the issues involved in rotating component behaviour. It provides a way to save a great deal of time
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and money in obtaining the necessary information, and assists engineers in designing better quality rotating equipment. The use of CFD makes it possible to eliminate expensive physical prototypes, and find serious flaws much earlier in the design process. Several different approaches can be used to study flow in and around rotating equipment. In the majority of rotating machinery fluid flow analyses, engineers model the flow in a steady-state manner. The term steady state refers to a solution that does not vary with time. A very simplified approach, called Single Rotating Reference Frame, which assumes that the entire fluid domain or region rotates with the rotor or impel-
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ler, can be used to study the flow around the impeller blades. However, because this doesn’t consider any effects of the pump casing on the flow, it is insufficient for analyzing a full pump system. To study the whole flow pattern and see the effects of the stationary pump casing, baffles, and other internal parts, users need more comprehensive methods, such as Multiple Rotating Reference Frame or the Sliding Mesh approach. Using the popular Multiple Rotating Reference Frame, also a steady-state approach, the engineer assigns zero revolutions per minute (RPM) to non rotating components, called stators, and fixed RPMs to the rotating components, called rotors. With this method, users can consider more than one rotor, each rotating with a different RPM. The Sliding Mesh method is a transient approach that is useful for rotating flow problems requiring a time-accurate solution for computing the unsteady flow field. It requires a very large number
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of time steps to arrive at the transient solution, making the process time consuming as well as computationally demanding, and may turn out to be impractical on desktop computers. A comprehensive analysis program uses both the single and multiple rotating reference frame approaches—to solve rotating flow problems. Overall, the program employs configuration-based fluid flow analysis coupled to the 3D CAD assembly configurations to enable a wide variety of what-if scenarios. Every flow study either creates a new configuration or can link to an existing 3D CAD configuration. The software aims to solve the majority of possible rotating equipment problems, and to do so quickly. For the sake of speed, analysis does not use the transient approach. To represent the boundary of the analysis, the program automatically creates the fluid volume using the 3D CAD geometry, and indicates the fluid volume visually by drawing a box on the model. This fully automatic step saves the engineer a considerable amount of time, compared to the necessity with many other CFD programs to simplify the MCAD model and create the fluid volume manually. For example, to analyze a pump shown for head or volume flow, if the impeller rotates at 2000 RPM, the user would work with a pump assembly model in 3D CAD, accessing the analysis via a menu heading in the 3D CAD software, and follow these steps: l The user selects the set up capability from the menu in the analysis program and first chooses the configuration he wants for the analysis, as well as the unit system desired. l When the menu offers a choice of internal or external flow analysis, the engineer faces a number of choices. In the case
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of the pump, he selects internal rather than external flow analysis, and then activates rotating flow. Because this analysis studies flow behaviour not only around the impeller, but also inside the casing, the user needs to use the multiple rotating reference frame method and he selects local regions rather than global to launch that method. If he has any heat transfer to consider, he has the option of including it by turning on a flag indicating heat conduction in solids. l Next, the engineer selects the working fluid, which in this case is water. The program has a library of commonly used liquids and gases from which to choose, or the engineer can create his own library of frequently analyzed fluids. l In the final step in the set up environment, the user selects the resolution of results he wants on a scale from one to eight. The higher the number the more refined the mesh will be and the more accurate the results. l Using dialog boxes in the analysis software, the user then specifies a rotational speed for the rotating region. As mentioned above, the speed in this case is 2000 RPM. The engineer supplies a boundary condition that designates the pump casing walls as the stator, and applies environmental pressure boundary conditions at the inlet and outlet. The program enables goalbased analysis, so before running the analysis, the user chooses his
Pelican Case
goals, which, in this case, may include pressure drop between the inlet and outlet to determine head; volume flow rate at the inlet to determine the volume rate; and torque on the impeller to determine the pump efficiency. The analysis software automatically creates the mesh and iterates to a converged solution. The analysis provides information on the head and volume flow rate generated by the pump at 2000 RPM, and determines the efficiency of the pump. From that information and the needs of anticipated pump users, the user can conduct as many what-if studies as desired, analyze them, redesign the impeller blades, and select the best impeller blade design for maximum efficiency. Users and others can view the goals, and create a number of different plots for viewing results, along with an AVI showing the flow trajectory. Many other rotating flow applications exist in many industries. A few of them include jet engines, electronics cooling fans, marine engines and pumps, chemical blenders, and consumer products such as hair dryers. Users follow the same steps described here to analyze the pump, and as in that example, results can be used to refine and improve designs. n
Composite Beam
Ved Narayan is vice president of Asia Pacific Operations, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation.
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facilities & operations
Paradigm Shift to
User Perspective in Plant Design
Plant design has to be more useroriented. Any investment on the design front finds justification when the actual users realize its merits and derive maximum benefits through proper utilization of the created provisions. by prashant deshpande
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ndian industry is slowly shifting its paradigm from quantitative sufficiency to qualitative satisfaction, which was not prominent earlier. This has resulted in adoption of various technologies, like simulation techniques for virtual validations. Firstly, plant design activities are basically executed with various cross functional teams and not by an individual organization. This
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requires a lot of co-ordination and follow up activities. In brief, that’s what we call concurrent engineering. The journey of any assignment starts with the data to be collected for references relating to production, quality, costs, utilizations etc. This actually develops a constraint for having all the elements associated with the assignment to be on a single platform – which would also create a cross functional knowledge-based society resulting in better usage of capital investments.
Hurdles on the Way
Data collection happens to be a major aspect in any kind of project execution. As it’s very evident that Indian economy emphasizes more when it comes to capital investments, service providers
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need to change the perception of the investor and justify his investments. The investments need to happen right from vaulting the data to delivering the product to the customer. One of the most thought about word these days is ‘cost reduction’, which is very well achieved by hiring experts in ‘value engineering,’ even at the layout design stages. But it’s ironical that such investments and solutions provided by the vendor are not actually appreciated by the end users. For example, when a company invests in an ERP or an extended PLM application catering to its design as well as manufacturing, the decision made is worthy, but due to lack of technological updates at the lower level, it becomes difficult for the complete system to perform to its optimum level. This is a very serious issue. It needs to be addressed by providing a lot of customized solutions. Perceptions at the highest level need to be changed. They have to insist on – plant designs and their associated elements like PLM, ERP – when invested in, have to be in a form workers or supervisors can understand.
Need for a Common Platform
Next step in the journey is analysis of the data compiled, which would provide an insight as to whether the decisions made can be justified. This is with respect to the complete product masters, process flow diagrams,
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material handling systems, in-bound and out-bound logistics, space occupancies, stores (centralization or decentralization) etc. As tremendous amount of data needs to be considered, and cross functional teams work towards the objective, concurrency between all teams becomes very important. Some companies have understood the need of being on a common platform i.e., their departments and vendors. When we talk about analysis, one important technology we see these days is ‘digital manufacturing’ or ‘virtual validation’ techniques. These decisions are basically imposed by the management – but these thoughts are not explored for benefits. Rather if used it will reap lot of benefits since they identify bottlenecks in decided actions, optimize the scenario and check on various options, be it a layout decision or today’s schedule, whether it’s the batch size or workers allocations. There have been tools with major concerns of usage. There are certain codes and scripts that need to be mastered for their usage, where the new generation would be eager to use such tools but they lack practical experience. On the other hand, the experienced generation seldom use these because of their lack in application and coding experiences. So, the depth of usage of such tools is still not seen in India. Probably, service providers who also execute plant design and layout should indulge in such activities to build some value addition, as virtual validation is only a small part in the complete plant design.
Benefits of Virtual Technology
After looking at the usability of these tools, we should also focus on the loss of not using these technologies. Management responsible for these should not be the one to decide over such
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investments or requirements, the need should necessarily come from the user. That would be a real-time investment for gains and improvisations. Virtual technology identifies critical problems, which can be really solved or alternatives can be thought, whether in a green field or brown field opportunity.
The Major Challenge
Companies need to engage themselves in technologies, which would help them reduce costs, communize parts and reduce their part counts, identification of lighter and cheaper materials etc., which are basically called ‘Functional Analysis System Technique (FAST)’. This is a world of dynamic manufacturing, the schedules developed by ‘Advanced Production and Scheduling’ (APS) with reference to the demandsupply data changes dynamically. This is a major challenge faced by the manufacturing sector. So, by using virtual techniques, if such dynamics can be analyzed with respect to time, space, manpower and material – production will be hampered to a minimum extent. This results in better productivity. This could be a very useful technique for assisting companies to fight the current recession.
Coping with the Recession
The points stated earlier need to be pondered by CEOs in the small and medium businesses (SMB), where such awareness is more critical. Coping with the recession has really become a priority issue, which is being tackled through forced attritions, leaner negotiations etc. But, this really calls for maturity of the production system to handle the cycle for ‘quantitative sufficiency’ without compromising the ‘qualitative aspects’. This can boost production volumes and shorten the production cycle.
Conclusion
Newer technologies help in getting the product faster to the market, and also deal with rapid changes and replacements. Newer installations and projects have objectives like LEAN concepts, KANBAN, JIT (Junt-in-Time), maximum space utilization, future expansion accommodations etc., which are very correct. But the most important part is to invest in actually designing and validating the plant (designed) before installation. Service providers are also very skeptical about such assignments due to extended lead times in revenue recognitions. SMBs need to change their old principle of ‘cheaper, faster and better production to focus on the market,’ to ‘quicker delivery of innovative products.
It’s ironical that such investments and solutions provided by the vendor are not actually appreciated by the end users. There has been a drastic change in the market environment for SMBs in a big way. There are some ways to actually tackle these through ‘value egineering and virtual techniques’. These decisions need to be justified by return on investments (ROIs). We need to think beyond our industry capitals and move towards qualitative satisfaction as this is the future trend. Many industries are now moving towards India and China for their low cost advantages, this opens up doors for globalization, especially for SMBs. They need to be equipped with the required certifications and branding strategies. n Prashant Deshpande is chairman of Penta Designers and Engineers (http://www.indiamart.com/pentadesigners/).
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facilities & operations
Faster Design of More Efficient Factories A case study on how P&G used Tecnomatix to design more efficient factories and minimize production losses at its plants and improve the efficiency of its manufacturing operations.
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rocter & Gamble (P&G) has a strong global brand portfolio and multiple manufacturing facilties worldwide. It is leveraging Tecnomatix plant design and optimization solution to reduce production losses and improve operational efficiency. P&G engineers use the Tecnomatix FactoryCAD, FactoryFLOW and Plant Simulation applications, to enhance manufacturing processes at new and existing facilities. “The Tecnomatix applications work well together and let you visualize proposed factory layouts and determine quantitatively how they will perform,” says Brad Whitmore, technology head at P&G Global Computer Aided Engineering (CAE).
us to design and visualize different concepts for a proposed facility. FactoryCAD can present concepts in 3D - a huge improvement over conveying ideas with drawings,” says Whitmore. He explains that they used FactoryFLOW Efficient from Scratch as a screening tool to identify and select Prior to building new facilities, P&G layouts with the greatest potential used Tecnomatix FactoryCAD to create before performing a detailed analysis optimized layouts. “FactoryCAD allows with Plant Simulation. A 3D layout brings Snapshot the design to life for Business Challenges people who have trouble l Faster design interpreting 2D drawl More efficient factories ings. Whitmore says, Key to Success “We now get input from l 3D factory layouts everyone can understand people who might not l Fast, easy-to-prepare logistics simulations have given inputs earl Inhouse reliability algorithms integrated with plant lier.” He estimates that simulation about 20 design reviews l Standards based, lightweight CAD (JT) files are needed to fine-tune Results a plant layout. “This l Millions of dollars in global cost savings doesn’t slow the project l 33 per cent increase in utilization of factory space because we can update and material handling resources the FactoryCAD layout l 20-25 per cent savings in costs of moving materials with new inputs before l Greater confidence in new facility designs starting project execul Optimized material handling, logistics, and indirect tion. According to him, labour, across the organization review cycles happen
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much faster compared to earlier projects where FactoryCAD wasn’t used. The FactoryCAD layouts are converted into lightweight JT files that can be reviewed at your desk. This gives many advantages, including a smaller size compared to the original CAD model. JT files can be 10-20 per cent smaller than CAD files, where you no longer need CAD software to view the files. The files also help in the layout of manufacturing equipment in FactoryCAD. Objects—such as walls, windows, doors and building supports—can be modeled in FactoryCAD, and 3D equipment designed in other CAD systems can be imported as JT files into FactoryCAD. The result of using FactoryCAD, to help develop a new facility or revise an existing one, is greater confidence in the design. “We have a better idea what the final plan will look like—because we have already flown through it on the computer,” Whitmore notes, “We have more confidence in what will be built and look like, and operate before we’ve broken ground.” The use of FactoryCAD supports P&G’s organizational performance goals for new facilities in many ways. One aspect involves constructing the facility more efficiently by getting things right the first time and avoiding rework.
Improving Logistics
“We use Tecnomatix FactoryFLOW to compare plant and equipment layouts and how people, fork trucks, and materials flow along manufacturing lines,” Whitmore explains. “Although the teams can talk through different layouts only FactoryFLOW lets us match them up quantitatively,” he adds. FactoryFLOW was used as a screening tool to identify and select layouts with the greatest potential before performing a detailed analysis with Plant Simulation. P&G has saved millions of dollars globally. One project saw a 33-per cent increase in utilizating factory space, and 20 to 25-per cent savings in the cost savings. Overall, it has enabled P&G to design faster and efficient factories to optimize productivity. n
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supply chain & logistics
Optimizing
Fleet Management
An optimal fleet management solution meets the organization’s current requirements and easily adapts to its unique business environment. The solution also needs to have the flexibility to evolve as business requirements change. by sriram moorthy
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eading firms are turning to improve their vehicle management practices not only to cut costs but also to improve service delivery and customer satisfaction. In industries with time-sensitive orders effective planning is crucial. Without the right plan, dispatchers spend all day fighting fires and dealing with upset customers. This is all the more true with fleet management, where the management of vehicles can make or break the company’s profitability. A Fleet Management Solution (FMS), is an integrated transportation management system,
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which optimizes daily routing and scheduling of pickups and delivery for private and dedicated fleets. Through effective load balancing and stop assignment, fleet management ensures efficient capacity utilization, making it possible to serve more customers each day and potentially reducing the number of vehicles in operation. A sophisticated algorithm creates optimal routes based on operational, customer, and road network constraints, reducing drive time and trip distances while meeting customer service requirements. Fleet management tracking tools can help managers
keep track of their mobile assets and the activities of their employees at any point throughout the working day. By having access to this information the task of increasing efficiency is made that much easier.
Need for Fleet Management Solutions
The primary objective of fleet management is; to control the overall cost of operating and maintaining the fleet of vehicles and equipment, to maintain them in a manner that extends their useful life, to control the growth in fleet size, to standardize fleet
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supply chain & logistics composition, and to accurately budget for maintenance and replacement costs. Major factors influencing an organisation’s decision to invest in a fleet management system are: l Ability to monitor vehicle and equipment use l Optimize workforce productivity l Strengthen workplace safety l Reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions l Ability to track and protect cargo (monitor security and temperature) l Improve customer service through timely reporting of asset location l Maximize fuel tax rebates l Red uce risk of theft and expedite recovery of stolen vehicles l Reduce or level rising insurance premiums Successful deployment of a fleet management solution can have a significant impact on the functioning of the organisation. The other benefits of automating fleet management include: a 26 per cent improvement in regulatory compliance, a 23 per cent increase in warranty recovery, a 15 per cent decrease in vehicle downtime, and a 15 per cent reduction in average travel time per job.
Features and Functionalities of FMSs l
Tracks vehicle movements throughout the day l Captures stop time and duration, and re-estimates time of arrival at next location l Alerts dispatchers to potentially late or missed deliveries l Monitors engine idling and performance of other major vehicle systems
Benefits of Deploying FMS Improvement in operator compliance
28%
Improvement in vehicle utilization
13%
Reduction in maintenance costs
11%
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l
Identifies instances of harsh braking, speeding, and other unsafe driving practices
An Overview of the Solution Architecture
Usually a fleet management system is enabled by a GPS (Global postioning System) or a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) assisted vehicle tracking system and application software hosted on the central server. A GPS enabled asset tracking device installed in the vehicle identifies its position using GPS and transmits it alongwith data from sensors installed in the vehicle via a GPRS link to the central server. The server includes a database which stores vehicle positions, sensor data, and messages. A fleet owner can view the position of the entire fleet on an active map via a standard web browser.
Passive, Real Time and Hybrid Solutions
Basically, fleet management falls into two categories, ‘real time’ or ‘passive’. Both these solutions will provide the organisation details pertaining to the vehicle’s speed, direction, stops, routes, location, and fuel consumption. Real time fleet management is the most popular form of GPS tracking as it updates the manager on what’s happening with the fleet at any given time. Most real time FMS solutions provide a real time update through SMS and emails. The main benefit of real time fleet management is that it provides data as it occurs. This helps the organisation to monitor usage of the fleet and find ways to increase fleet efficiency. For example, by monitoring vehicle idling it is possible to reduce its occurrence and cut down your fuel bills. Some companies have found that fuel bills have reduced by around 20 per cent just by monitoring the idling times of vehicles.
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In case of passive tracking, instead of getting real time updates the organisation gets an update at the end of a working day. A GPS recorder is fitted to all vehicles in the fleet to record all relevant data, which is downloaded to a main terminal at the end of the day. Though passive tracking does not provide real time information it helps an organisation collect data and helps in analysing how to increase efficiency. Hybrid solutions combine both, active and passive systems; if you want advanced management information available from passive solutions, plus the ability to locate a vehicle instantly. These systems are more cost effective as there is the choice of culling locational data at longer intervals and cutting on airtime costs, while allowing access to detailed locational data when it is uploaded on return to the base station.
Challenges for Fleet Management Solutions
Having an active GPS system: Accuracy of location data is important along with ease of using the technology. To this end GPS has emerged the key technology used in location finding for fleet management. l Providing real time updates: Providing real time GPS and passive GPS fleet tracking systems for fleet owners and dispatchers is the real challenge. l Making LP devices and userfriendly interfaces: End users are not necessarily tech savvy and have problems accessing websites. Also, there are concerns of load on the vehicle’s battery. l Providing map data at the desired scale: Accurate maps of National and State highways are available, but routes in rural India are yet to be mapped. This could pose challenges for detailed monitoring. l
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Developing stand-by back-up: GPRS connectivity in India is not reliable. The alternate option is using GSM, but that is expensive. l Developing ergonomic location of unit in fleet for effective use: The fleet solution hardware varies from a small unit (which is mounted under the dashboard) to high end models providing LCD display of maps, two way communication etc. Theft and damage during transit and aesthetics are other factors to be considered. l Providing pre-defined keys for sending messages: A safety feature to provide one-touch calling in case of an emergency. l Interfaces to support local language: Today, most solutions are in English, which might not be the best means of communication given that most drivers/vehicle operators are not conversant in English. The number of local dialects and regional languages is something with which most fleet management solution providers are grappling with. l Packaging intelligence in units using historical data: Current information and statistical models are used to improve performance, operating on a centralized server using historic data. Localised computing increases the complexity of the hardware unit to be placed on the vehicle. l
Emerging Technology
Fleet management has emerged as a new outsourced option for corporations cutting across industry verticals in India. Current trends point towards more players entering the fray. The fleet manager of 1985 bears little resemblance to that of 2009. The GPS powered fleet tracking system is a great step in direction of efficient and economical management l Environment issues: Fleet managers also need to address a company’s broader responsibilities, such as the environmental
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An overview of the Fleet Management Solution Architecture.
impact. Environmental issues continue to remain a major concern on the fleet management agenda. l Telematics: This is an upcoming trend within fleet management. Just as in other segments, niche technology plays a vital role here. As far as onboard technology goes, telematics is the biggest trend in fleet management. There is a lot of demand for this and many service providers offer such applications. l Longer life cycle: Most fleet management companies are trying to increase the lifespan of their vehicles, which are kept in service for longer than usual. This has underlined the importance of specifications for vehicles and their service aspects. l Automated data collection: This eliminates the time consuming task of manually completing mileage logs, trying to track down missing data, or verify hand written information. These advanced systems can help manage fuel consumption, velocity, load balancing and vehicle positioning. Once data collection of the fleet’s activity is automated, accurate reporting is easy, allowing effective management in a highly competitive environment. l Security and control: Another aspect that has not yet been
fully implemented by most fleet management companies is the security component. Advanced FMS have a security component that can control your vehicles when stationary. This gives you the ability to disable your vehicles if they are not in operation. This is particularly useful when vehicles are stolen or taken off course by rogue drivers. It also reduces the chance of lost or stolen goods.
An Essential Tool for Business
Fleet managers today need to be tactical while putting out fires daily. One way to ensure strategic planning is by setting metrics, which is a process to develop objective standards to measure how your fleet is doing relative to the goals set for it. The best way to managing a fleet of vehicles is by using vehicle trackers. Fleet management is a proven tool for any business operating a fleet of vehicles. The savings from using fleet management software, in terms of time and money, make it a necessity for any company that wishes to run itself more effectively. n Sriram Moorthy is head of Delivery & Analytics, ConnectM.
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information technology Warren Wilson Senior Analyst Ovum
“Sustainability Represents a Huge Market Opportunity” Ovum, a global consulting group, has recently released a report titled “Green Supply Chains: A Large but Daunting Opportunity”. The report examines the emerging market solutions that promote sustainability, and pinpoints that the supply chain management software have a key role to play in helping organizations meet their growing environmental responsibilities. Warren Wilson, senior analyst from the group talks to Reshmi Menon about the future of building a green supply chain. 48
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How would you describe the current status of environmental concern in building a green supply chain among companies? Many organizations are aware of and concerned about global warming due to man-made emissions of greenhouse gases. But few companies have attempted to achieve sustainability in their own operations. Some have succeeded in substantially reducing their environmental impacts, but almost none have achieved carbon neutrality. This is a very difficult challenge, and the tools required to address it are embryonic. Even assuming the will to act, the
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information required to measure carbon impact—the first step toward achieving sustainability—is not easily available. The standards to measure progress are not yet in place. Software vendors are beginning to develop sustainability solutions, but current offerings are far from mature. What’s your view on the prevailing scenario in the Asia Pacific market—particularly, India and China? Much of the Asia Pacific market, especially, India and China have quite understandably placed a higher priority on economic growth than on carbon emissions. But,
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as awareness of climate change grows, so does pressure for concerted global action. Governments, consumers and even investors are increasingly interested in achieving sustainability. It is difficult to say how quickly such pressures will reach a critical threshold where companies have to change their practices, but clearly the pressure is growing, not lessening.
at each step, then aggregated and analyzed—a process that won’t be feasible without a high degree of software-based automation. That’s part of the technical challenge. And the information, to be useful, must be based on common definitions and methodologies, which are not yet in place. Developing and implementing those standards and methodologies is part of the organizational challenge.
What’s the role of software in building green supply chains? Software—enterprise applications such as ERP, business intelligence et al—have a crucial role to play; speaking practically, green supply chains cannot be achieved without sophisticated software. Business operations are much more complex today than they were even 20 years ago. Many mid-sized businesses are global in their sourcing and distribution and rely on complex supply and distribution chains. Managing such systems is practically impossible without software; managing for sustainability adds new layers of complexity that will require even more sophistication in software–for example, to enable full life-cycle product carbon accounting.
Why’re companies hesitating to take up green initiatives? Regarding green supply-chain initiatives, today’s solutions are embryonic. It will take several years for them to mature. Organizations can push their software vendors to develop such solutions, and in the meantime they can undertake important but less-complicated initiatives such as energy conservation. Energy conservation saves money and reduces carbon emissions, and what’s not widely appreciated is that many conservation projects can pay for themselves relatively quickly—in 18 months or so. So organizations can undertake initiatives like these in the near term. While over the longer term, they have to address sustainability as part of their broader business strategies.
What according to you are the challenges faced by supply chain management software companies? Some of the challenges are technical, others are business or organizational challenges. Underlying both is complexity—the number of inputs that go into any given product. Even a simple bag of potato chips requires energy to fertilize and irrigate the potato fields; more energy to harvest, ship and process the potatoes; petrochemicals to make the plastic bags; more energy to ship the chips to stores; and still more to recycle the plastic bags. Information must be gathered
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How can software vendors turn this opportunity of going green into a highly successful one? The starting point is to recognize that sustainability, over the long term, represents a huge market opportunity. Almost every organization is going to have to address it in one way or another. Most organizations have little understanding of how to do that, so they’ll need advice and solutions. Who’s better to provide those than the enterprise application vendors and service providers who already serve as their trusted advisors in IT and business-
process strategy? So, enterprise application vendors should be looking at their strategic markets, and assessing what kinds of capabilities their customers will need. They must start building or partnering for such capabilities. The largest vendors are already doing this. How do you foresee the future growth of green supply chain management solutions worldwide? It will take some time for standard to be adopted; it will take more time for vendors to develop mature solutions. But incentives for them to do so—and for organizations to implement those solutions—will only increase. In all likelihood, customer adoption will follow the pattern that appears to be emerging in energy regulation—Europe first, then North America, then Asia Pacific.
Be alert for signals from regulators, consumers and investors that ‘green’ is becoming a priority.” What’s your message to the companies who plan to build a green supply chain, and also to the software vendors? Mature sustainability solutions aren’t yet available, but companies can reduce costs and environmental impact by focusing on energy conservation in the near term, and also begin to address sustainability in their longer-term IT and business strategies. They should press their software vendors for information about current capabilities and road maps, and be alert for signals from regulators, consumers and investors that ‘green’ is becoming a priority. n
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information technology
Gain a Competitive Edge through
Supply Chain Management To stay afloat in the ongoing recession, companies are lubricating their supply chain at both ends to cultivate customer loyalty and drive growth amidst tough competition by sushant dviwedy
S
upply chain management (SCM) is a frequently used phrase these days, as managers strive to improve their business performance. However, all too often the real meaning is lost. In his book on Supply Chain Management author Douglas M. Lambert reiterates that SCM is often treated as a synonym for logistics, and more recently a combination of purchasing and operations or the combination of purchasing, operations and logistics. However he states, in the modern context successful SCM requires cross functional integration within the firm and across the network of firms that comprise the supply chain. The challenge today is to discover how to successfully accomplish the integration. The current business challenges thrown up by the ongoing recession has highlighted the potential role SCM can play, which needs to be more effective so as to enable a manufacturing, or retail operation to better manage its supply chain and ultimately improve customer satisfaction while reducing overall costs.
Importance of SCM
Global competition has generated intense pressures on the supply chains of large manufacturers and retailers. Distribution channels and supply networks are becoming more complex in their
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effort to satisfy customers, who want goods faster and at ever lower cost. In such a difficult and competitive environment, profitability depends on: l Gaining visibility across increasingly dispersed manufacturing, supply, and distribution networks. l Reducing costs, inventories, and lead times by shifting the entire supply chain to a demand-pull rather than product-push orientation. l Rapidly complying with regulatory requirements and customer initiatives such as radio frequency identification (RFID). l Enhancing supply chain collaboration with suppliers to bring new products to the market faster and offer advanced services such as vendor-managed inventories (VMI) and warranty or after-sales support services. So how does SCM help in reducing costs and improving customer satisfaction levels? As competitive pressures in the market increase, SCM comes into focus—since it helps understand and provide tailored services to individual customers or segments on an ongo-
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ing basis, which helps increasing customer loyalty, and revenues and profits. In a time of shortening product life cycles, complex corporate joint ventures, and stringent requirements for customer service, it is necessary to consider the complete scope of SCM; ranging from raw material suppliers, through manufacturing processes in the factory, to stocking inventories for retail outlets for the finished product. A good SCM entails a concurrent effort to manage all the aspects of delivering products to customers. Invariably, IT has been leveraged to implement an effective SCM.
Improving Your SCM
In today’s global market and an ever-expanding universe of supply chain partners, most supply chains have to contend with: l Higher customer expectations and demands, including complete traceability and compliance with a multiplicity of regulatory requirements. l Global business, including more cost-efficient competitors putting pressure on prices.
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l
An accelerating race to introduce new products and respond to technological and market changes immediately. l Increasingly complex global supply chains that must be aligned and connected from a demand driven perspective. These factors create significant challenges to achieving profitability. The good news is that every challenge associated with SCM also represents an opportunity for astute business managers to seize an advantage over their competitors. Many manufacturing firms and retail chains are implementing strategies that include demanddriven supply chains focusing on increased real-time interaction, automated inventory replenishment, and increased manufacturing or logistics outsourcing. The successful implementation of such strategies can be greatly facilitated by an integrated business management technology that increases supply chain visibility, connects trade partners to speed interaction and collaboration, fosters greater efficiency, and provides the cross-organizational insight for confident decisions. Implementing an effective IT solution can help businesses achieve this and much more.
Increasing Supply Chain Visibility
By connecting the flow of goods and information through organizations and processes, and by making that information available to every-
one who needs it, an appropriate business management solution can: l Deliver information for faster, proactive decisions and can act at the most effective spot in the supply chain and the organizational level. l Facilitate the interaction between organizations and their often heterogeneous technologies l Provide all data for demand planning and automated replenishment; reducing inventories, costs, and cycle times; and complying with traceability requirements. l Experience shows that demanddriven supply chains depend on supply chain transparency to ensure complete order fulfillment and customer satisfaction.
Connectivity Speeds up Collaboration
An integrated business management solution can also provide tools to help link members of the supply chain, including customers, to foster more efficient communication and greater collaboration. IT standards and file-sharing systems make data easier to share between applications and companies, even those with disparate technologies or systems. Web-based portals can not only give trade partners access to data, but also provide self-service for routine tasks such as quotation requests, sales or purchase order generation and status, or invoicing.
Streamlining for Efficiency
When you have a technological solution that provides closer
integration and greater data accuracy, you can automate manual activities and eliminate redundant data entry throughout purchasing, warehouse, and logistics processes that cross organizations or are within a single company. The result can be fewer errors, lower costs, and reduced cycle times. An effective business management solution can also provide automated notifications to keep goods and data flowing smoothly and help ensure prompt actions on changes, delays, or unexpected events.
Leveraging Data for Insights
With accurate and integrated data, business managers can more easily measure and analyze the performance of supply and transportation partners and obtain data for volume purchasing and vendor negotiations. They can track key performance indicators, better manage capacity, and run ‘what-if’ scenarios for outsourcing or other strategic changes in their supply chain configuration. Understanding the true costs and profitability of products, processes, and relationships, can help you make strategic decisions with confidence. Vendors across the board have an array of business applications which are meant to streamline their supply chain, only the design of the supply chain will become a critical differentiator. n Sushant Dviwedy is director, Microsoft Business Solutions, India.
Advertiser Index
Power Build Ltd......................................................................... 13
Havell’s India Ltd..............................................Inside Front Cover
International Combustion......................................................... 21
Lapp India . ..................................................................................1
Pramet Tools.............................................................................. 23
Siemens India...............................................................................5
Sreelakshmi Traders................................................................. 31
Su-Kam.........................................................................................7
Rigil India..............................................................................35,37
Taitronics India.............................................................................9
TaeguTec India P Ltd .......................................Inside Back Cover
Elecon Engineering .................................................................. 11
Delta............................................................................. Back Cover
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Everest Blowers......................................................................... 15
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information technology technologies, with which the applications are built, makes the turn around time of new applications come down to a large extent. Workflow enablement has started proving its benefit when it comes to track and trace applications in supply chain management.
Umashankar S Vice President—Marketing, Four Soft
How would you describe the growth of software solutions in supply chain management (SCM) worldwide and especially in India? Two types of spending are happening in the SCM industry globally. One is the replacement market and another is the new sale market. The global majors that have already invested heavily in IT systems are replacing the systems with new technology ERP systems. In countries like India and China, with the boom witnessed in industrial
“See IT as an Investment Rather than an Expense” Four Soft, the supply chain and logistics technology solutions provider, has over 10 development centres worldwide to aid the delivery of global solutions with a regional flavour—to 300 customers with 50,000 plus users in across 120 countries. The company’s vice president (marketing), Umashankar S talks to Reshmi Menon about their success mantra and future plans. What’re the latest technological trends in supply chain software solutions? Web technology-centric applications are still not made available by many vendors. Hibernate and Spring
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activities in the last 10 years, coupled by their becoming global hubs in terms of logistics, many veteran companies that were operating without major IT systems are going in for big-bang adoption of ERP systems in one go. In addition, the MNC companies that are setting up shops or allying with partners in India are going for major IT investments now. What’re the challenges faced in the growth strategy of supply chain software solutions here in India? The first challenge is the change of mindset to see IT as an investment rather than an expense. Second is preparing the decision-makers for the quantum of money involved in acquiring the software and hardware required. The third one is their preparedness to adapt the business processes to some extent in accordance with global practices and the standard software. Today, the extent of standardization of busi-
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ness process, in the SCM industry in India is comparatively lower than their global counterparts. How can these challenges be overcome? The competition that exists today within the customers’ industry itself is addressing these challenges to a large extent. IT is no more a just competitive edge, but is a necessity for the SCM industry to cater to basic expectations of their customers, and so the mindsets are changing. Also, the new generation of leaders that are pro-IT are gradually taking up the leadership positions in this industry, and in general they are convinced on investment in to IT. Alliance/ partnership/ joint ventures/ becoming part of global network are also comprising the factors that are helping the Indian companies to go the IT way. How much cost benefit can be obtained from implementation of software solutions? It varies across companies depending on their size, spread of operations globally, if they are already IT enabled etc. In general, it is anywhere between five to twenty five per cent of the operating costs. Hasn’t this industry been affected by current economic recession? It definitely looks so from an outsider’s perspective. However, the recession has had its impacts on the IT budgets of customers—who are postponing buying decisions. We are convincing them that this is in fact the right time to spend time and energy in switching to newer and better systems. How do you foresee the future of supply chain software solutions in India? Unlike the rest of the world, here we find an increased interest fuelled by changes that are happening in the industry—in terms of consolidations, mergers, acquisitions, partnerships with global players etc. These throw up new opportunities for software solutions to be deployed. n
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opinion
When the
Going Gets Tough, Look at Indirect Spend
It is crucial that organizations look everywhere possible to find cost savings. One of the best places to look for value is indirect spend. by diana brown and kris colby
Spend Access
C
onsumer companies from retailers and restaurants to producers of packaged goods are facing an increasingly difficult economic environment—that shows no signs of improving anytime soon. Widespread commodity price increases, the credit crisis, and the global economic slowdown has combined to put a squeeze on both the top and bottom lines for all companies. Given this, it is crucial that organizations look everywhere possible to find cost savings. Smart spend professionals know that one of the best places to look for value is indirect spend. Yet indirect goods and services still
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receive a limited share of attention from resource-constrained sourcing and procurement organizations. Getting the most value out of indirect purchasing is not just a matter of running a couple online auctions or putting together an online catalog for office supplies. Instead, what delivers the kind of results that can impact overall company performance (and makes it worth knocking on your CFO’s door to get budget and report results) is a comprehensive approach that includes the three core activities of successful indirect spend management: 1. Spend Access 2. Sourcing Execution 3. Compliance Management
As a procurement executive, gaining access and visibility into spend is critical. Once key spend data has been collected, it can be cleansed and supported with category expertise (both internal and external) to identify and prioritize savings opportunities. However, getting your arms around indirect spend data is often the biggest challenge. Indirect spend in particular is dispersed across many functions, locations and roles. But with the right spend analytics tools, companies can overcome this challenge.
Sourcing Execution
Good sourcing requires a disciplined approach - from initial market and category assessment through contract negotiations and implementation. Driving the highest value for your organization requires a proven sourcing process, category expertise, and an electronic sourcing tool.
Proven Sourcing Process
World-class spend management organizations follow proven sourcing processes to improve project speed, quality, consis-
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opinion
tency and bottom-line impact. Organizations that are experts in strategic sourcing have outlined processes that begin with portfolio analysis to understand both business needs and market opportunities. The middle of the sourcing process is focused on project strategy development and project execution. The final step is focused on continuous improvement. Unfortunately, many organizations overlook this final step, a critical driver of ongoing value through supplier scorecarding, knowledge capture, and continuous market assessment. While having flexibility from one category to the next is important, modeling, adopting and using a standard process is core to repeatable success.
Category Expertise
Category knowledge is critical to project success. Market timing, overall economic conditions, and many other variables can impact the sourcing project outcome. It is important to understand the details required for pulling a sourcing package together for every category. There are many publications available for sourcing teams to make sure that they are prepared for a specific category with the most up-to-date information.
Electronic Sourcing Tool
While delivering the best value, it is important to incorporate non-price variables and com-
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plex scoring into your decision criteria. Most electronic sourcing tools include advanced capabilities that allow your purchasing team to optimize award scenarios based on all factors, both price and non-price variables. For example, the preference for a local vendor can be included when considering packaging awards.
Compliance, Demand Management
Effectively managing an organization’s indirect spend requires more than a one-time quick hit effort. Industry studies indicate that as much as 15 per cent of identified savings are lost without effective compliance management processes and tools in place to improve: l Rogue purchasing l Contract compliance l Purchase price variance l Demand management With the right process and technology-based solutions and sustained effort, organizations
can efficiently manage compliance and realize the savings they’ve negotiated. Spend management solutions, for instance can be used to highlight the variance in purchase price, overall contract compliance and rogue purchasing. These processes and tools provide the clarity needed to maximize realized savings. Spend management organizations also need to identify areas where demand management can help decrease costs. Demand management techniques vary by category and can include policy change, specification rationalization, straight quantity reduction, or perhaps outright elimination. All indirect spend categories should be assessed for demand management savings opportunities.
Make Indirect Spend a Success
For any effort to be successful, you need to incorporate core tenets of good spend management initiatives: Have a structured approach—We all know that “Build it and they will come”
1
Corporate Expenses l Loss prevention equipment
l Telecom
l Office supplies
l Fleet mgmt and maintenance
l Office furniture/equipment
l Inventory services
l PC/Workstation/Server
l Loss prevention
l Printers
l Records management
l Network equipment
l Relocation
l POS equipment
l Mystery Shopping Service
l LCD displays
l Roto Paper and Printing
l Software (customer/OTS
l Media
l Application support
l Ocean Freight
l Travel
l Corporate fleet vehicles
l Marketing
l Truckload and LTL
l Print
l Refrigerated truckload
l Legal
l Warehousing
l Audit services
l Tractors and Trailers
l Temporary Labour
l Freight Forwarding
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only works in corn fields. In the real world, you need a structured program with timelines, goals, roles and responsibilities. Formal program management and accountability are crucial to success. Provide adequate resources to run your program—Most indirect spend organizations have to manage many categories already, so consider team approaches, partnerships, and investing in required expertise and tools to be successful. Don’t underestimate the challenge of data—Spend data is not the end. You also need service levels and specifications. And as the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out.” Quality counts. Invest in tools that enable you to cleanse, analyze and clearly view your spend across categories, divisions and geographies. Communicate a lot—Pro grams with executive level support and strong communication have a significantly better chance at success, especially in indirect categories where substantial collaboration between groups is required. Don’t forget change management—Structured change management efforts are often the first thing to get dropped when the battle for scarce resources begins. Don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good— Despite the need for good data, some organizations have fallen into the trap of analysis paralysis, trying to get such a detailed picture of their indirect spend that they never get around to saving money. Sacred cows need to be slain—When times get tough, traditionally off-limits areas for spend management such as legal, marketing and logistics need to be looked at every bit as much as office supplies.
2 3
4 5 6
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Facilities and Maintenance l Lighting product and service
l Refrigerant
l Air Filters
l Contractor (General and sub)
l Balers
l Fixture installation/maintenance
l Construction materials
l Door maintenance
l Pallets and Jacks
l Janitorial
l Safety equipment
l Exterior maintenance
l Dock seals
l Lot cleaning
l Sweeper/Scrubber
l Pest control
l Totes
l Waste management
l Racking
l Register Tape
l Fire suppression equipment
l Bags
l Shelving
l Packaging materials
l Equipment
l Smallwares
l Fixtures
l Labels
l Mats and Mat service
l Food Service suppliers
l HVAC service
l Signage
l Equipment maintenance
l Uniforms
l Floor care
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Take the opportunity to make other changes— Best-in-class spend management organizations use the presence of a broad indirect initiative as an opportunity—to implement new processes such as supplier performance management, supply risk management, etc. Set goals and measure to measure them—While goals typically revolve around savings, they should also incorporate other metrics such as spend under management, supply risk, trained team members and business unit participation. Go big—There are enough data points on the real value of indirect spend management in retail / restaurant / CPG to know that it will likely work for your organization. Start with an ambitious program to get significant value more quickly.
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Conclusion
Given the economic headwinds that all companies in the consumer industries are facing, now, more than ever is the time for
spend management. Simply put, spend management is the fastest, most efficient way to create measurable and sustainable bottomline results. Control costs for direct materials where you can. But press hard on your indirect spend to drive value for your organization during these lean times. It’s one of the few areas where you can achieve a substantive impact on your company’s results without turning the company upside-down. The soft economy has made this an opportune time to go after many indirect categories, from logistics to corporate services to IT hardware. Executed properly, structured spend management can deliver 5-15 per cent savings on all categories addressed and a return-on-investment of greater than 10-to-1. In good economic times, such results are nice to achieve. In today’s economy, they are critical. n Diana Brown and Kris Colby are directors in Ariba’s Spend Management Services Practice.
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book
Separating the Men from the Boys by ranjani iyer mohanty
A
know-how author: ram charan crown business
(random house), 2007
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t a time when we are unsure whether the leaders really know what they are doing, along comes a book that seems to say: don’t be fooled by the smart-sounding, fast-talking, charismatic guy, but rather look deeper to see if he really knows his stuff. In his book Know-How: the 8 skills that separate people who perform from those who don’t, Ram Charan discusses the key business skills that successful CEOs must have. The author says, “In today’s environment of lightning fast change and transparency, leaders who lack substance get discovered sooner, but the damage they do in the meantime can be greater.” In Know-How, he dedicates one chapter to each of the eight key business skills that he feels CEOs must have: 1. To position and reposition their business such that customer demands are met and profits made. 2. To detect patterns in the external environment and prepare their business to handle those changes effectively. 3. To create and manage the social systems of their business so as to get the most from their employees, ensure a good working environment, and get the business results required 4. To judge who’s the best person for the best job; to select and develop good leaders. 5. To form a team that works well together towards shared goals. 6. To develop realistic but inspiring business goals. 7. To set priorities and allocate resources to meet the goals. 8. To respond positively and creatively to unexpected societal forces (e.g. environmental concerns, legal issues, public opinion). The book is peppered with examples of successful CEOs that Ram Charan has worked with over the years, such as Jack Welch and Jeff Imelt of GE, Bob Nardelli of Home Depot, and Rick Wagoner of GM, not to mention anecdotes of retail giants like
- technology management for decision-makers
Walmart, Target, and Blockbuster, and car companies like Honda and Toyota. Several comments can be levelled at this work. While Ram Charan claims that this book is based on research, it seems to be rather a distillation of his 45 years of experience with businesses, their leaders, and the changes they have gone through – but that does not detract from the value of the book in any way. And contrary to the billing on the book cover, Ram Charan does not offer us a ‘grand theory of leadership’, at least not a fully formulated one. He implies that the eight know-hows should be combined with the six personality traits and the three cognitive traits that he mentions to arrive at a full picture, but goes no further in putting it all together. After all, the eight knowhows mentioned here are each complex enough to be expanded out into a book in their own right. This book is aimed at CEOs—those with a tremendous amount of experience in steering a big enterprise. However, the book seems to change audiences abruptly at the end, finishing with a somewhat corny philosophical letter from godfather Ram Charan to a favourite nephew, summarizing the book and reminding the young man of all the things he should keep in mind on his road to becoming a successful future business leader. Management gurus have been around for some time. Their aim seems to be to turn an art into a science, to de-mystify the skills required to run a big successful business. And they continue to try. Ultimately, as Ram Charan himself implies, this book is not touting some bold discovery or a simple sexy idea: it’s about emphasising basic CEO skills. It’s not about the flash, but about the substance—and that, as always, sounds like a lot of hard work...n Ranjani Iyer Mohanty is a freelance business writer and editor, currently based in Delhi.
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product update Soldering System
B
eamworks has launched the Selectiva Xi, an in-line selective soldering system, designed for the mixed SMT and throughhole assembly industry. The system performs automatic and selective laser soldering of all types of through-hole components like connectors, large capacitors, odd-shaped electronic components. With Selectiva Xi, soldering is carried out from the bottom of the board, which eliminates the need to flip the board prior to the soldering process, allowing the user to incorporate the machine in the SMT line. The system has a very small footprint even while providing inline capability. The soldering system offers a close loop feature on its laser system, which allows laser soldering without concern for damage to boards or components. The inbuilt infrared (IR) sensors monitor solder joint temperature during soldering. The device offers control on size of solder fillers, and switches over from tin-lead to lead free in minutes. Sumitron Exports Tel: +91-11-41410631 E-mail: sumitron@vsnl.com Website: www.sumitron.com
Electronic Load Model
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rime Electronics has introduced a compact and rugged, feature packed electric load model EL 601 with overall size of 145 mm (W) X 250 mm (D) X 250 mm (H) and weight 7 kg. The model is designed for easy portability and saving space on test bench. The unit has a convenient handle provided on the top to carry it in the field. All control and display is provided on the front panel for ease of operation. Multiturn load adjustment pot makes it easy to precisely set the load. Separate voltage and current / power DPM meter gives continuous display of load voltage and current or power on front panel. Total load power (wattage) is displayed by simple slide of a switch. With all built-in protection such as over load, over voltage, over temperature and reserve input, the Model EL 601 is failure proof.
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With voltage range of 2 to 60 VDC, current range of 0 to 120Amp and power range of 600W, the new product acts as a convenient tool for testing of switching power supplies, SMPS units, DC power plants, DC-DC converter, solar charges, variable power supplies, telecom power supplies, medical power supplies, solar charge controllers, redundant power supplies, hot-swappable power supplies, multi output power supplies, battery charger, float cum boost chargers, DIN rail power supplies and other DC source such as fuel cells, batteries etc. It has application in R & D lab, production line testing, inward inspection department, repair and maintenance shop, field testing and sock testing of all types of DC sources.
Power Supply System
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orous Materials has developed a fuel cell porometer, which provides fully automated throughpore analysis including pore-throat diameter, pore size distribution, mean flow pore diameter, and liquid and gas permeability. The porometer can be used to simulate a number of operating conditions, to measure the effects of compressive stress, temperature and layered structure on a sample.
wagelok has announced the expansion of the language capabilities of its welding system M200 power supply. The product offers ease of use, portability, and 200 amp capability, and weighs less than 50 lbs (23 kg). The system features built-in multi-language capability. Russian and Swedish have been added to the power supply’s original languages - English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese (simplified and traditional). A high-resolution, 12.1 inch (307 mm) colour industrial touch screen gives users a simple, intuitive pathway to enter weld programs. Users can choose from one of three forms to enter weld programs, including automatic weld schedule programming. The product’s automatic shield gas control (patent pending) simplifies set up of shielding gas, requiring no use of a separate flow meter. The universal voltage input (100 to 230 V) requires a cord/plug change to accommodate an input voltage. The power system works with all currently available Swagelok weld heads. This includes four USB ports, Ethernet port, USB device (output) port, VGA output, and serial port. All gas and electrical connections, plus the integral, high-speed thermal printer are easily accessed from the unit’s side panels. The power supply meets a variety of certifications, including CE, CSA and CCC.
Porous Materials Tel: +1-800-8255764 E-mail: info@pmiapp.com Website: www.pmiapp.com
Swagelok India Tel: +91-22-66625984 E-mail: info@Bombay.swagelok.com Website: www.swagelok.com
Prime Electronics Tel: +91-79-23287527 E-mail: info@prime-electronic-load.com Website: www.prime-electronic-load.com
Fuel Cell Porometer
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Smoke Detector
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ire Fighting Enterprises (FFE) has launched a new multi head FireRay 5000 multi beam smoke detector. The new product allows up to four beam detectors to be installed as one system, with only one control unit for all four heads. The multi head features of the standard FireRay 5000, including automatic, motorised alignment and optimization – and now up to four beam heads can be spaced out or oriented to cover unorthodox-shaped areas. Each beam will be used to cover a distance less than the maximum 100 m, requiring the use of multiple heads for efficient area coverage. The beam detector is certified by the LPCB (UK), UL (USA), CNTC (China), ULC (Canada), NF (France), VdS (Germany), BOSEC (Belgium), SBSC (Sweden) and, recently, KFI (South Korea). Fire Fighting Enterprises Tel: +44-(0)-845-4024242 E-mail: sales@ffeuk.com Website: www.ffeuk.com
industry 2.0
- technology management for decision-makers | july 31, 2009
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product update Narrow Belt Conveyor
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GW-Ermanco has developed a narrow belt conveyor (NBC) that accumulates products to provide contact accumulation with no linepressure. This zero-pressure contact accumulation is precise, consistent, and gentle. Empty boxes are dense-packed with just a light touch of box to box. NBC curves accumulate in the same manner as straight beds. The belt-driven live-roller conveyor is configurable into zero-pressure contact accumulation, non-contact accumulation and transportation conveyor – using all the same frame and drive components. The use of common components along with modular design, pre-wiring, and pre-plumbing reduce the cost of the equipment, installation and ownership. TGW-Ermanco Tel: +1-231-7984547 E-mail: info@tgw-ermanco.com Website: www.tgw-ermanco.com
3D Printing System
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bjet Geometries has launched the Connex350, a 3D printing system that jets multiple model materials simultaneously. The machine offers the ability to print parts and assemblies made of multiple materials, with different mechanical or physical properties, all in a single build. Connex350 also helps fabricate digital materials on the fly, enabling users to create composite materials that have preset combinations of mechanical properties. Based on Objet’s PolyJet Matrix technology, the 3D printing system simultaneously
prints two FullCure model materials, and can create an extensive range of digital materials. It can also print a single material from any of the original seven FullCure model materials. By printing with digital materials, the Connex350 allows users to print parts with specific Shore A values to match the values of the intended production materials. Parts produced on the Connex350 have smooth and durable surfaces, with fine details and a good surface finish. It helps product high quality output and multi-material printing capabilities.
The model has a current rating of 5A and a burden less than 0.3 VA with a rated frequency of 50/60 Hz. The material used for the contacts is of silver alloy that follows the ‘change-over’ contact arrangement. The contact rating is 5 A, 250V AC. It has a longterm electrical life of 100,000 operations. The operating time for this relay is 10 milliseconds maximum. The dimensions are 96 X 96 mm with the approximate weight of 1 kilogram. It is panel mounted and the front panel complies with the standard of DIN.
Objet Geometries Tel: +972-8-9314314 E-mail: info@objet.com Website: www.objet.com
Image Sensor
Digital Relay
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Power Engineering offers model, MK 1000A, a product manufactured by Mikro, Malaysia. The product is combined over a current and earth fault relay. The digital relay is microprocessor-based, and has four characteristic curves of normal inverse, long-time inverse, and extremely inverse curves. The unit has both low set and high set settings for both over current and earth fault. A local display of all the measured and set values as well as fault recording is enabled.
Vertical Can Single Filer
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leetwoodGoldcoWyard, a producer and supplier of advanced conveyance technology and product handling equipment, has launched its new AMBEC dual plenum converging rail vertical can single filer. This technologically advanced unit single files empty, non-bright, vertical cans at speeds up to 3600 CPM and beyond. The key benefits of the vertical can single filer include high-speed can filing of nonbright vertical cans, reduced power consumption, no changeparts required, adjustable for various cans and can heights, rail design allows down cans to be ejected, and less susceptible to can damage because cans are single filed upright at lower pressures. The unit can be used by any can maker looking to achieve high speeds. FleetwoodGoldcoWyard Tel: +1-630-7596800 E-mail: sales@fgwa.com Website: www.fgwa.com
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E Power Engineering Tel: +91-44-24337598 E-mail: epower@airtelmail.in Website: www.epowerengineering.net
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anner Engineering has launched a compact, self-contained image sensor with touch-screen controls to solve inspection applications on the factory floor. The iVu Series TG image sensor operates without a PC. The sensor features a touch-screen
with an intuitive interface for easy configuration of inspection parameters. The product can be used for label inspection, part presence detection and orientation, date/lot code verification, vial cap inspection, injection moulding and packaging verification, drilled hole inspection, feeder bowl inspection and electronic marking verification. The iVu includes three inspection tools in one package, viz., a match sensor that compares a part to a reference, an area sensor that detects presence or absence of a feature, and an area sensor that adjusts for motion. It can be used in pharmaceutical, automotive, food and beverage, packaging, metal stamping, plastics and electronics industries. The device is set up in four steps, viz., installation and connection of the sensor, selection of inspection type, acquisition of a good image, and setting the inspection parameters. All information is displayed on the 320 X 240 pixel, 68.5 mm LCD screen. The multilingual interface allows users to select operation in English and other languages. The sensor’s robust housing is rated to IP67 for operation in harsh industrial environments. Banner Engineering India Tel: +91-20-66405624 E-mail: india@bannerengineering.com Website: www.bannerengineering.co.in
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Skid Steer Tine Grapple
Transfer Cars
orksaver has introduced ETG series skid steer tine grapple for use on skid steers and tractor front loaders, with the universal attaching system. These new tine grapples are used for raking, piling and loading brush and other materials while leaving dirt behind. Two models are available, namely, the 5-ft. ETG-5 with 7 tines and the 6-ft. ETG-6 with 8 tines. The upper grapple design of the products provides clamping force to hold material securely, featuring greaseable pivot points for long service life and a shield plate to protect the hydraulic cylinder. The models offer wide forward visibility for control in close quarters and easy access to skid steer seat.
pecialty Equipment has launched a new line of transfer cars, designed to receive and discharge pallets, and other heavy loads. The rugged transfer cars are built in a variety of sizes and capacities for 1,000 to 10,000 lb. payloads. This is suited for short or long distance delivery or multi-level loading and unloading. The transfer cars are built for reliable, lowmaintenance, 24/7 operations, with welded structural steel construction - assembled and tested to meet OSHA and CSA safety standards. Surface conveyors will be powered rollers, wire mesh belt, or multi-strand chain conveyors, depending on the application. Personnel safety bumpers, festoon power supply, V-grooved wheels and urethane wheels are some of the options available.
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Worksaver Tel: +1-217-3245973 E-mail: sales@worksaver.com Website: www.worksaver.com
Portable Tester
K
oehler Instrument has redesigned its salt in crude apparatus that measures salt concentration, conductance, temperature of crude oil samples and pH of aqueous samples. The updated model incorporates an easier to use front panel that allows for effortless operation and easy navigation. The newly designed shape enables increased functionality. An easy to read alpha numeric-display can show four user defined parameters simultaneously. The tester is portable for field or laboratory testing for up to 8 hours of continuous operation. Functional improvements include data upload via Windows 2000/XP/Vista based software. The analyzer has 24Kb RAM dedicated to data storage (about 500 test results) and complete data storage is only limited by the hard drive of the external PC. The new apparatus is available with universal voltage and comes with multiple power adaptors allowing it to operate in a wide range of destinations. With a built-in self-calibration feature, the user can adjust for any drift without having to reenter standard temperature curves. The new salt in crude apparatus conforms to ASTM D3230 test specifications. Koehler Instrument Company Tel: +1-631-5893800 E-mail: info@koehlerinstrument.com Website: www.koehlerinstrument.com
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S
Inkcups Now Tel: +1-978-6468980 E-mail: info@inkcups.com Website: www.inkcups.com
Centrifuge Tube Rack
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Specialty Equipment Tel: +1-713-4671818 E-mail: info@specialtyequipment.com Website: www.specialtyequipment.com
Ink Dispenser
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ink and the other for fine control, which allows dispensing at 0.1 gram accuracy. The easily removable nozzles are designed to minimize dripping. Self-sealing wiper pads prevent nozzle clogging and drying. With the automatic mixing feature, users can set mixing to one to two minutes, which helps maintain ink at the correct viscosity. The turntable has positive lock and rotates in either direction to save time and effort. A heavy duty digital scale (+/0.1 gram) is included.
ow Corporation has launched the tabletop Harmony ink dispenser, a compact and reliable manual dispenser for colour matching process. The hermetically sealable, solvent resistant canisters hold up to 2.5 litres of ink or thinner. The 12 canister model can conveniently accommodate a twelve colour mixing system and facilitate mixing of PMS colours. The 16 canister model allows adding a combination of thinners or opaque colours. The Harmony ink dispenser has two graduated pumps, one for coarse control over the
ynalab has launched a centrifuge tube rack and box with cover, which protects samples from dust and frost. This is made up of tough polycarbonate with transparent hinged removable PC cover. The device includes two PC racks with alpha numeric grid for 15 ml and 50 ml tubes. It holds 20 x 15 ml tubes or 12 x 50 ml tubes. Draining holes in bottom allow usage in water bath. It is compact and stackable and easy to transport safely. Dynalab Tel: +1-585-3342060 E-mail: labinfo@dyna-labware.com Website: www.dynalabcorp.com
End Brush
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eiler Corporation has launched a new end brush with a nickel-plated cup. This brush is suitable for situations where low melting point metals (such as zinc-plating commonly used on end brushes) are prohibited. Because of its high melting point, this newly designed end brush conforms to the military specifications for nuclear applications. The new stem mounted end brush with nickel-plating is ideal for weld preparation and cleaning; cleaning and finishing recessed areas or ID’s; and die, mould and tool cleaning and polishing. Crimped wire (solid end) brushes are available in ½ inch, ¾ inch and 1 inch diameters with trim lengths ranging from 7/8 inch to 1-1/8 inch. Knot wire (hollow end) brushes are available in ¾ inch and 1-1/8 inch with a 7/8 inch trim length. Weiler Corporation Tel: +1-800-8359999 E-mail: info@weilercorp.com Website: www.weilercorp.com
industry 2.0
- technology management for decision-makers | july 31, 2009
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product update Nutriwrap
G
ujarat Foils Limited (GFL) has launched two new brands—Nutriwrap and Nutripack to be introduced in the retail and the FMCG sector. Nutriwrap is an embossed aluminium consumer household foil. Strategic technology has been used to make the embossed aluminium foil for house hold purpose which makes the foil durability. It is available in different sizes catering to the necessity of every household and commercial needs. Nutriwrap is available in value pack for household need in 225m and 300m width. Nutripack has also been launched to penetrate the commercial segment of the aluminium foil with products like Casserole, Oven Cups. Gujarat Foils Tel: +91-22-24812000 E-mail: info@gujaratfoils.com Website: www.gujaratfoils.com
Testing Kit
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alintest has launched a new SA1100 testing kit, which uses a new system to simplify the heavy metal testing process. A disposable electrode has been developed, which can quickly and accurately detect the presence and concentration of potentially harmful heavy metals such as lead, copper
and cadmium in a variety of sample types. The new technology developed by Palintest helps carry out thorough testing on-site and in less than 60 seconds for most samples, and three minutes for drinking water. Lead can be tested for in paint, dust, air and soil; both lead and copper in drinking water; and cadmium and lead in ceramic leachates. The testing process is simple for the whole range of test parameters, with on-screen prompts and a menu-driven program displayed on the LCD. Palintest Tel: +44-0191-4910808 E-mail: sales@palintest.com Website: www.palintest.com
Hyplex Hybrid Pump
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low International has introduced the HyPlex Hybrid pump, a high-pressure direct drive pump, rated at 60,000 psi. The pump features PAC-V technology and provides automatic pressure control. The product uses cone aperture technology to automatically maintain a true pressure signal, regardless of the orifice size or pressure setting. The unit allows users to switch between orifice sizes without having to change anything on the pump to accommodate the increased or decreased water flow. Flow International Tel: +1-253-8503500 E-mail: info@flowcorp.com Website: www.flowcorp.com
Multipurpose Saw Blades
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he LS Starrett Company has introduced a line of multi-purpose band saw blades named Versatix MP, featuring an exclusive new tooth design that is ideal for interrupted cutting applications in structural steels, tubes and small solids. The new design efficiently dissipates heat during cutting to substantially minimize tooth breakage, and maximize saw blade life. Starrett Versatix MP Blades feature triple-tempered M-42 cobalt high speed steel teeth, electron-beam welded to a fatigue-resistant alloy steel backing strip. Versatix blades up to 1 inch utilize patented Starrett bi-metal unique technology, an exclusive bonding process that provides stronger, longer-lasting and faster cutting blades. The new line includes a wide range of sizes and thicknesses from ¾” x .035” (19mm x .90mm) to 2 5/8” x .063” (67.5mm x 0.62mm), in a complete selection of variable, positive-rake pitches from 2-3 to 6-10P. Versatix is also available in coil lengths including 150’ for 1 ½” & 2” (45m for 41mm & 54.5mm) sizes and 250’ for ¾” to 1 ¼” (76m for 19mm to 34mm) sizes, and welded-to-length on 2 5/8” x .063” (67.5mm x 0.62mm) blades. The LS Starrett Company Tel: +1-978-2493551 Website: www.starrett.com
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Turning Center
M
iyano Machinery has introduced the new GN-3200 ultra-precision turning center. With its 0.1µm (4 millionths) input tolerance, the machine is ideal for high-precision hard turning of small components that are traditionally finished on a grinding machine. The GN-3200 has a maximum turning diameter of 45mm (1.77”) and maximum turning length of 50mm (1.97”). It features a heat-symmetric machine frame and bed, wing type headstock and separate coolant tank so that thermal distortion will not occur, and heat generated by machining is not transmitted to the machine body. Miyano Machinery Tel: +1-630-7664141 Website: www.miyano-usa.com
Combustible Gas Transmitter
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cott has launched the Freedom 6000 IR Combustible gas transmitter, which uses infrared (IR) technology to detect combustible gases and rapidly alert users to potentially unsafe atmospheric conditions. It combines reliability with a scalable system, reducing total cost of ownership while providing the ability to evolve with emerging technology. The Freedom 6000 IR combustible gas transmitter is a modular system, wih field replaceable sensors and electronic boards. An upgraded user interface makes trend data collection and analysis and troubleshooting easier in the field. The miniature IR sensor module is fully encapsulated, eliminating optics cleaning and the possibility of contaminants negatively impacting system performancee. The ability to upgrade to improved sensor technologies eliminates the need to replace a unit. The system is ideal for the petrochemical, and oil and gas applications, both upstream and downstream, and the general industrial market. Scott Health & Safety Tel: +1-800-2477257 E-mail: scottmarketing.scotths.us@tycoint.com Website: www.scotthealthsafety.com
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