Lean six sigma as a common business language and an enabler of high performance by Kaizen Institute

Helping Tata Chemicals establish Lean Six Sigma as a common business language and an enabler of high performance Narrator: Tata Chemicals is a 2 billion dollar international business. The company’s wide range of products—from water purifiers and food additives to crop seeds and bio-fuels—helps billions of people meet their everyday needs. Since its founding in 1939, the company has grown to become the second-largest producer of soda ash in the world and is a leading player in the crop nutrients and crop protection markets. Tata Chemicals is also India’s leading provider of branded iodized salt and has been recognized as India’s number one food brand for more than five years. Accenture: Sandeep Biswas

TCL: M Ravindranath

TCL: Anand Sodha

Chemical companies operate in a complex business environment. Competitive threats… increasing regulations… growing concerns over climate change and sustainability... and the need to tap new markets all call for new ways of creating value for their stakeholders. To succeed, companies need to work faster and smarter than ever before. Lean Six Sigma deployment at Tata Chemicals is a great example of achieving execution excellence through simplicity, speed and discipline

Continuous improvement culture is not new to TCL. We have been doing systematic process improvements for over a decade now. However, over the years, we have grown through acquisitions. Our need for a consistent method of managing and improving our processes had become ever more important. What we needed was a continuous improvement program that would enable operational excellence and, at the same time, introduce a common business language across our global operations. For us, the answer was Lean Six Sigma. We believed that this business management strategy would help us improve our processes and decisionmaking. We were hopeful that it would be the best logical extension of our previous improvement program leading to development of our future leaders.

To get going with Lean Six Sigma, we knew we needed to partner with a consultant who really knew how to apply the methodology, had global experience and deep process skills, and could train us to build a continuous improvement capability in-house. That partner was Accenture.

Accenture: Vishwajit Joshi

TCL: Anand Sodha

TCL: Bharat Bhushan Khatpalia

From the beginning, Tata Chemicals wanted to put in place what many companies implementing Lean Six Sigma fail to do: A clear vision statement for the Lean Six Sigma program and a well-defined set of success measures. So our first step was to help Tata Chemicals executives create a vision for the program that would guide the training and implementation.

Once we decided what we wanted to accomplish, we moved to training. With Accenture’s help, we trained nearly 500 of our professionals across our four main locations. Each group of participants was taught a specific set of skills needed to optimize what Lean Six Sigma offered. Executive Leaders, for example, learned how to empower their teams. And our Black Belts learned how to apply the LSS (full form required) methodology to carry out specific improvement projects. All Accenture trainings were based on simulations, games, interactive exercises, teach-backs and exit tests and helped our employees refine their analytical and execution skills

Accenture: Vishwajit Joshi

TCL: Satyajit Roy

TCL: PM Patel

Tata Chemicals has demonstrated what is possible when a company is focused and committed to Lean Six Sigma. In just 9 months, the company was able to train 500 of its employees and complete improvement projects that, together, produced savings of 4.6 million dollars.

Right from its commissioning, the monohydrate dense ash plant has been operating at lower than its design capacity. We wanted to significantly increase the utilization of our plant. After preparing a detailed value stream map, we found issues with our Measurement system. We standardized loss booking definitions and introduced periodic GRR studies. In the analyze phase we found root causes for FBD and lump crusher jamming and achieved quick wins through design change and MOC change. In the Improve phase, we optimized parameters like light ash bin temperature and steam pressure. After introducing the visual controls and control charts for process parameters, we not only achieved highest one-day production but also managed a 20% higher average daily production… consistently. Doing the VSM myself and GRR have been great learnings for me personally.

Since the demand for salt is very high in the market, we had to increase the throughput from our salt plant. Data analysis revealed seasonal variations, process losses & mechanical losses as the biggest loss contributors. We addressed these problems through specific process improvements and set up of controls. Recirculation of settling overflow and mixing with weak Brine during the Monsoon season was a quick win while the regression analysis showed 50# steam and, 20# steam as two critical process parameters which needed to be optimized. The results were significant. Our annual throughput has increased by 9000MT. I enjoyed working with the data during regression analysis and I also feel that LSS has changed the way we view, understand and work with data

When it came to putting our training to use, we worked with Accenture to identify and prioritize improvement projects based on the business impact and efforts required. We launched 25 projects in Wave I that tackled a wide range of issues—from cost reduction to capacity utilization.

TCL: Suresh Patel

TCL: Hitendra Padh

Accenture: Vishwajit Joshi

We were not able to achieve the targeted cement throughput due to lower OEE of the cement mill section. Our analysis revealed that the Cement Mill, Clinker Weigh feeder, Mill Bucket elevator and Air Separator were the major contributors to unplanned down time – the biggest problem in the first place. We implemented over 90 jobs during the plant shutdown for bucket elevator replacement. Then we also implemented qualifier logic to prevent faulty tripping of the mill, optimized process parameters like separator rpm and % opening of damper. We strived for efficient planned maintenance activities using SAP. These efforts have resulted in improving OEE by 8% resulting in increased throughput of 5000 MT per month

Daily we handle tons of raw material and fuel which leads to very high material handling cost. Our aim in Lean Six Sigma project was to reduce the material and fuel handling cost by 10% We started with a detailed VSM and Spaghetti diagram which greatly revealed the amount of excessive handling we used to do. We identified a quick win in form of using un-stacked material for charging. Then we streamlined the planning process between plant and suppliers. The supply is now controlled depending on the consumption pattern and silo levels, This has also helped us to improve our housekeeping at MHY and created more space for un-stacking material. The changes are implemented in SAP ensuring sustenance and 8% reduction achieved in raw material and fuel handling cost. Other thing is – even after my transfer to other department, the improved process and systems are still followed - truly the change has institutionalized!

Such savings are just the beginning. Currently, Accenture is helping Tata Chemicals deploy another 100 improvement projects globally in areas such as marketing, operations, supply chain, finance and human resources. The potential cost savings of those initiatives is expected to be 15 million dollars over the next 18 months.

TCL: M. Ravindranath Lean Six Sigma has given us the capability to apply process improvements in every sphere of work. Accenture’s focus on results and flexibility in delivery has helped us tremendously in bringing about the change we desired and in helping us make Lean Six Sigma a way of life.

Narrator: We are pleased to be on this journey with Tata Chemicals. It’s always rewarding to work with companies that not only recognize the need for change, but are also prepared to take decisive action. Its Tata Chemicals’ willingness to change that has always distinguished the company from its peers. And it is the company’s commitment to continuous improvement that will enable it to cross new and exciting milestones in the journey to high performance. We are proud to continue partnering with TCL on every step of that journey.