MART April 2017

Volume 13 Issue 10 APRIL 2017 `150

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W O N

URARINT O YCONST empowering engineering excellence

#TOC APPLICATION IN

THE ENGINEERING

RESOLVING

THE GRAPPLE

GUARANTEE

FOR SUCCESS

TOC@TALENT

MANAGEMENT

TOC WITH

AI

Overambition A malice to Indian Manufacturing www.martupdate.com INDIA 1 AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH RAVI GILANI OF GOLDRATT

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I S YO U R P RO B L E M A

Volume 13 4Issue 10 4April 2017 Annual Subscription `1800 4Member INS

P RO B L E M Hi Readers,

Publisher & Managing Editor

Hari Shanker

hari@martinfotech.in

What are the problems do you face in business?

hiya@martnifotech.in

I am sure you have got your notepad ready, and now have started writing the answers. This is not the first time you are thinking about eliminating this problem, but the issue is that it comes back again and again. Now as a matter of fact these problems trouble us a lot, and whatever solutions we implement fail due to different reasons. The remedy cannot be done without the cooperation of other stake holders in the business- may be the employees, colleagues, and what stops us always is that they come out with justifications. Really!!!

CEO & Associate Editor

Hiya Chakrabarti Executive Director

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General Manager Sales

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Lead Response

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Correspondent

Arnab Mondal

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Creative Assistant

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MART Editorial Advisory Board Manoj Kabre

Dr. U Chandrasekhar

Vice President Indo MIM Pvt Ltd

Pro Vice Chancellor Vel Tech University

Saravjit Singh

Harish Pant

Quality Consultant & Trainer

Managing Director Hampson Aerospace

P S Satish

Venkitachalam V

Consultant & Trainer, SIS

Director EFENP Automation

MART Editorial Council 4A S Shetty, Chief Executive, Sedvik Industries 4Laxmikant Bhakre, Director, Deven Infotech 4S M Dangi, Marketing Consultant 4Surendra Kumar, Chief Executive, Pitech Services 4J R Mahajan, Industry Consultant 4Rajesh Angadi, IT & IETS

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Mr. Ravi Gilani who brought Theorgy of Constraints (TOC) in India defers with the above said “problems” seen by people, and these problems cannot be considered as a “problem”. It is like people living with fat belly and cry of being not in shape and health. People who find fat belly as a problem get their solutions through exercise, dieting and they are living a healthy life. Same way, the people with real problems they find solutions! And for those real solutions, TOC plays a major role in bringing fortunes and turnarounds of several manufacturing companies in India.

Founded by Dr. Eliyahu Moshe Goldratt, the author of 1984 Fiction “The Goal”, Goldratt Consultants offers solutions for large number of companies to remove the hurdles in their business, and turnaround their fortunes.

TOC implementation in Indian companies started a bit late during 1998, but today the largest implementations of TOC are done in our country. With the proven leadership of Mr. Gilani, Goldratt turned around several sick companies in India from diversified industry sectors. A coach and preacher on the subject, we are featuring an interview with him as our lead coverstory this edition. Along with that, articles from TOC experts are included to make it a comprehensive read . Further we are planning to start a column from next six months, so that the companies interested in implementing TOC can get benefited.

‘TOC’ IMPLEMENTATION IN INDIAN COMPANIES STARTED A BIT LATE DURING 1998, BUT TODAY THE LARGEST IMPLEMENTATIONS OF TOC ARE DONE IN OUR COUNTRY.

In this edition we are featuring a special focus article on Indian Material Handling industry with interviews from Tushar Mehendale of Electromech Material Handling Systems, Chirag Bakshi of Hindustan Automation and a success story of Schmalz in India. We also include our regular columns on Talent Management, CSR, Manufacturing Excellence as well as Learning Curve. The 8th edition of Amtex 2017 exhibition is scheduled from 12th of this month, and we are proud to partner with the organizers to bring out with their show daily during the fair.

I am sure you noticed the change in MART with our #womanufacturing issue last month. We got several feedbacks from our readers as it being one of the best reviewed issues in our publishing journey. Taking cue from the market response we are planning our stories afresh, and next issue of MART is going to be more interesting a read.

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CONTENTS #C OV E RS TORY 10 Overambition A malice to Indian Manufacturing

16 Know the Constraint 18 Thinking in TOC way Guarantee for Success

20 TOC – An Application in the Engineering Group

22 Resolving the Grapple through TOC 24 TOC@Talent Management 28 Theory of Constraints with Artificial Intelligence

#c ol u mn 32 Challenges of Inventory Management ‘Root’ & ‘Causes’ of Inventory

36 Nurturing Demographic Dividend through CSR

#l E A rn in gc u rve 40 Exit the Taxidermist

#c u ttin ge dge 42 Sailing on the Crest of a Wave

#INDU S TRYFOC U S

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52 Steering 2 Pinnacle Chirag Bakshi

Business and Solution Development Head Hindustan Automation

56 Indian Construction Equipment Industry is on Recovery!

Tushar Mehendale

Managing Director, ElectroMech Material Handling Systems India Pvt Ltd

#C A SES TU DY

60

58

S u c c ess sto ry

Innovation Marks the Onset of Victory

Renishaw 3D Printing Technology Increases Land Rover BAR’s Performance

67 AMTEX 2017: Opportune Event, Opportunities Galore!

62 66 70 72

Innovations Event Report Announcement MART Update www.martupdate.com 9

#coverstory

RAVI

GILANI Founder & Managing Consultant Goldratt India

10 www.martupdate.com

OVERAMBITION A MALICE TO INDIAN MANUFACTURING Indian companies differ from their offshore counterparts in management operating style. Often the poor performance in productivity and sales is attributed to lack of efficiency of employees. However, in more cases than expected it is the policy that is at fault. Most of the companies practise performance measurement in parts (in fact, with wrong parameters and goal) and not a whole performance measurement system. Individual goals are not aligned with goal of the companies. Also, expansion of capacity and increase in sales without improving throughput and assessment of market demand result in cash constraints in the right areas.

A

s the last minute saviour, you worked and interacted with some of the major industries and businessmen in India. According to you, where India lacks its fundamental in doing business?

Frankly speaking, I do not find any basic fundamental difference in business management be it in India or abroad. Yes there are some differences between the operating styles but not fundamental.

Everywhere we find many top managers unwilling to ‘let go’; working on wrong parameters-volume (number of cars sold), market share, worker productivity, cost cutting specifically with regard to lower levels, spreading too thin etc.

How would you define the Indian organizations- risk takers or micro planners?

Once again we have both types of managers. Excellent risk takers as well as micro managers. I will not like to generalise. In fact, a top manager must have both the skills. The top manager must have the ability to view from

30,000 feet as well as the ability to roll out sleeves and dirty hands when required.

Top level management blames the workforce for lack of productivity and non-performance. How Theory Of Constraints (TOC) can bring change to this scenario?

I have totally contrarian views on this.

In almost every case I find that it is the policies as manifested in measurements as the prime cause of low productivity at the whole system level. First of all, most organisations do not have any whole system productivity measurement. Many times when I am asked to help improve worker productivity, I refuse point blank.

How about improving the productivity of leadership? But how shall we measure the productivity of CEO / MD / owner & their direct reports?

The practice of performance measurement through Key Result Areas (KRAs) is totally ineffective.

There is a fundamental flaw in this.

The common assumption is that the

system performance is the sum total of parts performance. This is absolutely WRONG. System performance is controlled by the performance of its weakest link-the constraint. And in 100% cases the constraint is a policy of the top management as reflected in its measurements. Ask the top managers of any company that has declared a loss after making profits.

“How have you done in your KRAs in the last year as compared to the previous period?”. Every manager claims that he / she has done better that before.

If all managers have improved their individual performances, how come the whole system (company) performance deteriorated? The root cause-the individual KRAs are not aligned with the overall goal measurement of the company.

TOC advocates increase in sales revenue and growth. Still it is not a preferred mode for many manufactures especially SMEs. Is it because of lack of awareness or ignorance?

First of all, TOC does not focus on www.martupdate.com 11

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increasing sales. It focuses on increasing throughput. Throughput is net sales less totally variable cost. Totally variable cost is that cost that the company will save if it produces and sells one unit less. In most cases increase in sales does increases throughput though not necessarily. One of my clients in consumer durable business, it was selling some products below its totally variable cost i.e. negative contribution!

Ostensibly this was being done to protect market share! Once TOC concepts were implemented, it doubled its profits with 6 months without adding any capital equipment or manpower. I was asked by one of the top decision maker-“We have not done any thing new. Then why our profits have doubled? My response was- Madam, there are two ways to become healthy.

One is to eat the right food, do some exercises, meditation etc. The other one is stop eating junk food! Stopping wrong things are far more important than doing right things! We had stopped selling negative throughput products. Sales actually went down but throughput and profits increased. Selling more could be a means to increase profits but sales growth by itself must NOT become the goal of the organisation.

In manufacturing industry what are the most common constraints that the organizations face and what are the reasons behind it?

First I would like to clarify the word ‘Constraint’. In the normal usage constraint is used for any obstacle that impedes the progress. In TOC constraint is used for the leverage point. This is 12 www.martupdate.com

A slight increase in strength of the weakest link will increase the strength of the whole chain immediately. In this context I find that most organisations do not have a common identified goal and its measurement. It is imperative the organisational goal and its measurement must be owned and not just agreed, and clearly articulated by the senior leadership team. Here I do find one cultural difference between organisation in India and outside India. In India we are rather shy of stating in unambiguous words that the goal of company is to make more and more money.

Somewhere our society looks down upon people and by corollary organisations that declare that they are in existence of making more and more money. Of course it is impossible for any organisation to make more and more money in the long term unless the organisation also takes care of all its stake holders-employees, customers, & suppliers.

There are two other areas that need attention. One is alignment of KRAs of all top managers with the Goal of organisation, and the second one is inadequate understanding of cause effect of action in one part of the organisation on an other part of the organisation. For example, how many companies can claim to have high On Time In Full (OTIF) delivery performance? Though most companies will claim that their own delivery performance is very good, but it is their supplier’s performance is rather poor.

One needs to remember that we are also suppliers for our customers.

Which CEO does not want to deliver on time? However most do not. Why? Raw material shortages, workmen absenteeism, inadequate capacity are the justifications given for poor delivery performance. Of course one does not have to be genius to find counter measures for overcoming these obstacles. Increased raw material inventories, additional manpower induction and adding more equipment should be able to do the job. All these cost money. Every owner/ CEO know

this. Often what they do not know, however, what will be the approximate increase in their sales volume, profits, and cash. In my experience improving OTIF significantly have resulted in sales increase of 30-35% in one year. For most manufacturing companies increasing sales by 30% doubles their profits. It is also another matter that in almost all cases, no additional increase in inventory / manpower / equipment is required for improving OTIF, Sales, Profits, and Cash.

Most of the Indians are fond of Jugaad works starting from education. Who should be held responsible for this?

The prime cause of this behavior is that one does not know how will our life be in high reliable performance environment. Assume that every one delivers what he / she promises.

Everything works the way it is supposed to work. I am not assuming uncertainty elimination altogether, just significant reduction in unreliability. Some where we have short changed ourselves by not demanding more from self and others.

For me one second late is too late. It is not that I was never late. Yes, I have been late 4 times for my meetings in the last 19 years as my assessment of traffic was way of the mark.

Cash crunch and the untimely delivery are what make Indian SMEs unreliable.

What is your advice on it to overcome these constraints?

Cash constraint and unreliable delivery performance are not same. Most SMEs do not deliver on time even though

"

"

In India we are rather shy of stating in unambiguous words that the Goal of company is to make more and more money.

that parameter that when it is improved even slightly, the whole system improves immediately. It is akin to the weakest link in a chain where the goal of the chain is to increase strength.

The decision makers of successful SMEs become overambitious and start expanding their business without taking into account that market demand need not always grow.

"

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"

My recipe for overcoming cash constraint is first for the decision makers to accept that they are facing cash constraint. The next step is to start monitoring cash flow instead of sales, market share, profit etc.

"

they have sufficient cash in hand, but organisations with cash constraint cannot deliver on time consistently.

First let me share my analysis of the prime reasons as to how organisations get into cash constraint in the first place. The decision makers of successful SMEs become overambitious and start expanding their business without taking into account that market demand need not always grow. More over they invest in new facilities, new products, new markets etc. without taking into account cash requirement and availability. This typically results in shrinking of working capital. In turn sales drop. Reduction in sales impacts profit and cash, and the vicious cycle starts. My recipe for overcoming cash constraint is first for the decision makers to accept that they are facing cash constraint. The next step is to start monitoring cash flow instead of sales, market share, profit etc. All actions must be decided keeping in mind the cash flow in the immediate short term.

What according to you, are the measures, which an SME could adopt in order to increase its sales turnover?

As shared earlier, sales increase is a means to increase the goal of the organisation – to make more and more money rather than the goal itself. Profit is gross contribution (throughput) less

14 www.martupdate.com

operating expenses. TOC recommends increasing throughput and controlling operating expenses. Throughput is controlled by the constraint of the organisation. Most organisations that follow TOC are typically able to increase their throughput by about 30-35% in one year with no or minimal increase in operating expenses. I do recommend measuring throughput, OTIF, and free cash flow weekly for quantum increase in making more money.

Doing a survey at top engineering institutes in India, we found TOC is not given its due importance in the curriculum. Being the advocate of TOC in India, do you believe the need of implementing it at the educational level?

Of course this is a must. Current way of managing systems is by breaking systems into subsystems, and then optimising sub systems whereas the fundamental belief of TOC is that optimising subsystems sub optimises whole system. TOC will become the main way of managing systems only when a certain number of organisations start acknowledging the contribution of TOC in their growth. Yes, it will take time. Max Planck, the father of quantum concept and noble prize winner in physics rued that any new scientific paradigm gets accepted only after 30-40 years because by then the old scientists are dead! I am more optimist than him.

I do believe that TOC will be taught in all major Indian engineering and business schools in my life time itself.

Since 1998, how has Goldratt India contributed to the success of organisations in India?

Though India was late starter in taking to TOC, today the largest number of TOC implementations are in India!

Goldratt India (earlier Time n Cash) has focussed in improving cash, profit, and sales for the manufacturing sector. It has collaborated with all sizes of organisations be it a very small organisation with a turnover of less than Rs. 10 crores as well as a very large organisation having sales of over Rs. 10,000 crores. In India TOC has been implemented across various sectors- steel, power, engineering, pharmaceuticals, consumer durables, packaging, electrical equipment, garments, textile, cement, retail, etc.

Ravi Gilani, Founder & Managing Consultant at Goldratt India possesses an extensive experience of 24 years in the consulting business. He is a Theory of Constraints International Certification Organization (TOCICO) certified expert and has also served as a member on the board of TOCICO from 2005-2008 and 2013-2016.

He is one of the most sought after consultant and has provided with his innovative ideas to Indian and transnational organisations such as L&T, Godrej & Boyce, Jindal Steel and Power, Alstom India, Dalmia Cement, OCL India, Eicher, Ringplus Aqua and many more to overcome the impediments in their growth.

Also an alumnus of IIT Delhi, Mr. Ravi Gilani holds a critical yet constructive view on grave issues like Indian economy, the initiative ‘Make in India’ and his core area of expertise, Organisational Management. His ideologies serve as a road map to the organisations that face pitfalls in their course of management.

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#COVERSTORY

Know Your Constraint Manufacturing is on its way to making a big part of Indian economy. A concrete support from the government and increasing interest in entrepreneurship has led the organisations to function with new zest. But as per the nature’s rule, no journey continues without impediments. Even a well established organisation is bound to face obstructions and that is when one can see Theory of Constranits(TOC) coming to rescue. ToC helps to strengthen the weakest element in the chain of an organisation, ensuring maximum throughput. Like an organisation, the constraint that ToC faces is that not many people are aware of it.

Nazia Ali nazia@martinfotech.in

Ever since human life has known its existence, the quest for a peaceful life has spawned in the daily routine. It is as mundane as waking up and brushing the dirt away. The want to have a seamless day is what more or less everybody seeks. As you embrace a set life for yourself, the credibility reduces with stacking “constraints”. The seam is likely to blur away once the constraint has been identified. A major part of the human population fails to “get it right”.

The universal fact that prevails like the spread oxygen around the globe is, constraints can be addressed only if you really want them to be addressed. A constant bellyaching about being in an abyss is the new way to seek attention. Does that sort your problem though? Our approach and attitude seeks attention but not solution.

Was driving the attention your purpose? Or was it to hack down the constraint and find Nirvana?

The conviction is no different

“

The condition is further aggravated when an organisation fails to

identify the core problem, the factor that has been affecting the company. To recognise the source of any constraint is of prime importance. A philosophy rendered by Eliyahu Goldratt in 1984, Theory of Constraints deals with overcoming the obstacles that lead to bottleneck or ruptured management. The theory aids to progressive movement of a system in an organization.

The idea is to corner the core problem, sidetracking the rest

People at the management level are usually enthusiastic.

While the implementation of TOC is usually done by specialists and consultants, the role of the promoters and higher managers is very critical, as they are the ones who will define the problem statements as well as identify key constraints. With numerous workshops and training, people at the management level are better placed than most others in the organisation to formulate and address bottlenecks that are current to a specific process, location or product.

Vineet Seth Managing Director (South Asia and Middle East), Mastercam 16 www.martupdate.com

for the professional world.

Consider the manufacturing industry for example. The ‘Make in India’ program is envisioned to make India a manufacturing powerhouse and repair its economy. While the initiative has taken a swing, there still is a very long way to go. The lack of skilled labour, advanced technology, management and knowledge has resulted in distorted system.

”

“

Evolving from the optimised production technology (OPT), Eliyahu Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints (TOC) evince the industries’ shift in focus from complex production programming methods to the simple, yet powerful management philosophies. Services contribute a significant share to a nation’s economic output. Even after three decades of introduction, TOC is largely unexploited by service firms. Services offer major room for improvement through applying TOC concepts and tools, and this will be the next frontier of competitive advantage for industrialists and researchers to explore.

”

Raveen Menon Doctoral Research Scholar, IITB-Monash Research Academy

of the issues and exploiting the constraint. TOC offers a set methodology to deal with the organizational hitches.

As suggested by Goldratt, the theory involves five step procedures to cure the trouble. These are: 1. Identify the system’s constraint(s).

2. Decide how to exploit the constraint(s).

3. Subordinate everything else to the above decision.

4. Elevate the constraint.

5. If, in any of the above steps, the constraint has been broken, go back to Step 1.

The aforementioned problem of being able to ascertain the core issue still sustains its position. TOC could be an effective measure against a constraint but unfortunately the management in the Indian industry is not even aware of such a theory. A solution can be implemented only when the organisations are aware of it. While the TOC is a familiar concept for big industries, SMEs and Start Ups are hardly aware of it. SMEs still concentrate on cheap labour and maximum returns. “Unfortunately, not many SMEs and start ups are completely aware of ToC and its applications. One of the

reasons for this is the smaller scale of operations as well as the amount of attention a promoter needs to pay to the overall business. While many SMEs may be using some or the other principles of TOC without calling it that, their application is rather unorthodox and prone to gaps and limitations due to lack of process maturity and complexity.

I believe that applying TOC at the SMEs will make them more profitable, reliable and less prone to slip-ups in production etc.” said Vineet Seth, Managing Director, Mastercam (South Asia and MiddleEast). The big and medium scale industries have had many benefits of implementing the theory.

Revival of the costs, delivery times, stock management and production are some of them. “By understanding the complete manufacturing process and looking at the entire ecosystem rather than individual bottle-necks, these companies have been able to solve complex problems by discreetly eliminating inefficiencies in the manufacturing process.

The benefits of this are that organisations have now built a knowledge pool that helps it respond quicker to external and internal changes, have brought about a scientific method to increase productivity while

reducing time-to-market, have increased the overall capability index of people and processes, increased reliability and quality” he added.

Exploring the constraints it is often seen that these industries face internal elements affect the system more than the external factors. According to past reports by SIDO some of the internal facets that resulted in morbidity were diversion of funds, taking up economically nonviable projects, time/cost overruns during the project implementation stage, inefficient management, strained labor relations, inappropriate technology and/or technical problems, and product obsolescence. A task as simple as planning the weekly schedule can lead to production lapse. More often than not, the problem lies in the attitude of the people.

In a hierarchy if a person at the highest level is unwilling to change his attitude and approach towards leading an organisation, it is likely that people at every level below him will either slow down or break down.

The question is how a system is expected to be changed for better if the leader himself goes by the rigid self-made postulates? How is it possible for an organisation to address

its issues if it doesn’t care for exploring every probable one of them?

Engineering is getting crowded but thankfully its evolution has not been hampered yet. The field still continues to grow, but when it comes to collaborative work where mismanagement, technical break down, and other hindrances are obvious obstructions, these engineers fail to mend the situation.

There are required a bunch of experts who can analyse the obstruction, its source and nature, and then take the necessary step to eliminate it. Although the engineering curriculums include TOC, their applications are not practiced by the Indian firms. They are hardly ready to talk about it. Reluctance towards even engaging in a conversation that deals with something that they are not aware of is pretty common.

The ignorance prevails until they fall in a dire need of help to fix the broken situations.

The ignorance costs them more than they can really afford. It is high time that our industries admitted the real issue of ignorance and made some way for enlightenment on grave aspects of running an organisation and talking to as many people as possible is the best way to go by. www.martupdate.com 17

#COVERSTORY

Thinking in TOC way Guarantee for Success Theory of Constraint (TOC) is the knowledge of understanding the constraint that is coming in way of what you wish to achieve. By this definition the moment you open the constraint you should see improvement in what you have been trying to achieve.

Pradeep Kumar pradeep.toc@gmail.com

Theory of Constraint (TOC) is the knowledge of understanding the constraint that is coming in way of what you wish to achieve. By this definition the moment you open the constraint you should see improvement in what you have been trying to achieve.

I started my journey of learning about TOC in 1990 when I joined P&G as GM manufacturing in India.

‘The Goal’ written by Dr. Goldratt had already become a compulsory reading for plant managers around the world in P&G and I was told

to read it too because plant managers were a part of my team. During the previous 5 years, P&G in USA had applied TOC thinking in their distribution operations of Soaps and Laundry business with unbelievable benefits in reduction of cash in working capital and improvement in product availability.

During my stay with P&G we were faced with a situation of over bullish demand projections in Laundry business in India. The production facility at Bhopal was unable to support it with their then current capability

and would have needed 24 million USD new investments.

I had been posted in Japan at that time and was asked to check if TOC thinking could be applied to release new capacity from the existing facility. During my visit to Bhopal plant we worked on the capacity diagram to check where was the Constraint.

Broadly it was a threepart system of ‘Material preparation’, ‘Mixing’ and ‘Packing’. ‘Mixing’capacity was lower than the other two operations. Thus ‘Mixing’ was identified as Constraint.

The design capacity was 350 units per month but never

they had achieved above 299 units. We also realized that the capacity of ‘Mixing’ was being wasted in many set ups as directed by the ‘Packing’ department based on the demand. Following the ‘5 focusing steps’ process of TOC thinking we knew that we should exploit all the available capacity of constraint and subordinate every other unit to the needs of constraint.

A policy decision was taken to make the master plan of production for ‘Mixing’ instead of ‘Packing’ that had much higher capacity.

With in 7 days of this policy

The capacity of a system is actually the capacity of its constraint resource.

18 www.martupdate.com

intervention we could realize a 15% improvement in production output rate! We were able to run the plant at design capacity soon after the policy change.

it starts shifting continuously whenever some part is temporarily down. End result is loss of capacity across the system and fire fighting for delivering the flow through it.

One of the basic tools of thinking in TOC way is ‘5 focusing steps’. These have been well described in the book ‘the Goal’ and also could be learnt from description at this link - http://www.tocinstitute. org/five-focusing-steps. html. These steps enable the organization to install POOGI viz. ‘Process Of On Going Improvement’ (a TOC term).

These steps are –

Companies will do very well by ensuring that their production process is not capacity balanced and has a well-defined constraint.

Generally the most expensive asset resource that would need substantial money to add further capacity is chosen as constraint.

Capacity of other stations is increased to ensure that the constraint is neither starved nor blocked. The capacity of a system is actually the capacity of its constraint resource. Seeking efficiency as a measure at non-constraint locations is counter-productive.

1. Identify the Constraint – least capacity section in production flow 2. Exploit the Constraint – avoid wasting the capacity of Constraint 3. Subordinate every thing else to needs of the Constraint 4. Elevate the Constraint – add more capacity at the constraint 5. Go back to step 1 Knowledge of TOC has continuously grown since the publication of ‘the Goal’ in 1985 and it reached a major milestone with ‘Goldratt Satellite Program’ in 1999 that announced how to apply TOC thinking across the whole organization. Over 200 books on TOC are now available and almost every bit of TOC knowledge is on the Internet.

Traditional management process in organizations is directing the leaders to ensure every resource is well utilized to avoid waste in the system. This is a good idea but has inherent problems.

It leads to capacity balancing in different parts of the system that in turn makes the constraint invisible because

The author Pradeep Kumar is Mentor, Coach and Consultant for CEOs and Business owners. He is MD of China Subsidiary of Arete Business Consultants and is a partner with HBC consulting in China. He uses Theory of Constraints (TOC) thinking to enable clients visualize the immense possibilities for themselves and their businesses. Pradeep has been in current role of mentoring and coaching since 2006.

Previously he was group COO of Singapore multinational TCL for 4 years. And prior to that his 12-year stint with P&G as Associate Director included experience in Japan for 9 years. Currently Pradeep lives in Shanghai and is an active Rotarian and Golfer. He received the top Rotary recognition of “Service Above Self” from Rotary International President in 2013.

#COVERSTORY

TOC – An Application in the Engineering Group TOC (Theory of Constraints) which has been thought of as an effective management tool to eradicate constraints or problems in industrial processes and organisational structure can be an effective within a small group as well. With an example the author shows how the application of TOC helped a group of architects/design engineers to weather off the constraints and achieves desired goals.

Ravi Raghavendra ravi.raghavendra2002@gmail.com

An organization wants to build a strategy which is a detailed plan.

A presenter wants to get a buy-in from the crowd in a conference.

A project leader wants to understand what is pulling their performance down.

An entrepreneur wants to start a new venture and wants to understand or structure how to go about it.

A family wants to resolve a conflict with their neighbours.

Did you know that in all these cases,

there was one thing in common that helped them to achieve their goals? It was Theory of Constraints (TOC).

Although TOC became popular more from the book “The Goal” by Mr. Eliyahu Goldratt, and was felt to be more for Manufacturing world, but the thinking processes that were developed by Mr. Goldratt and his team proved to be a powerful tool set which can be applied to varied situations.

To take you into the world of TOC and make it easier for all to understand, we will recount some of our own

It is important to subordinate everything else to fight the constraint 20 www.martupdate.com

experiences and bring out the necessary mechanism by the way of which you can experiment in your own personal situations or organization.

In one of the organizations that I was working for, we wanted to bring down our rework effort across the entire life cycle of a product. It is at this juncture that we used TOC Thinking processes (which are logical trees) to identify the deep-rooted problems leading to rework effort.

We created a task force team comprising of representatives from all the

"

departments (Marketing, Engineering, Production, Release) and started working on unearthing – undesirable effects leading to rework.

We had the entire team going through the exercise of building the current reality tree, which is a cause and effect tree, and requires that all the undesirable effects are connected by one or more causes. This led us to unearth a few deep-rooted problems which were due to conflicts. Conflicts arise because we want to have both the conflicting behaviours for us to succeed.

Given below is one of the key conflicts (and the constraint) that we identified.

Senior Architects/ Design Engineers need to provide time to the Engineering team to ensure they get the designs correct.

On the other hand, Senior Architects/ Design Engineers need to spend a lot of effort in getting the overall design in shape, for which they must be focusing on their work and support the Engineering team, where necessary.

This showed that there was a lot of stress on the Senior Architects/Design Engineers to provide time to both the requirements. Whenever the Senior

Architect/Design Engineer couldn’t provide the necessary inputs or review, the rest of the teams continued forth with the best of the assumptions that they could make, which led to rework at the production stage or whenever the reviews could happen.

To break this conflict, we got a team of Senior Design Engineers together, to surface the assumptions that the Senior Design Engineers were making, and some of the assumptions were quite insightful. One of the assumptions was to hold the control for the entire design due to a feeling of insecurity.

Surfacing this assumption and finding a solution to break this assumption led to a powerful solution. The way we broke it was by making the Senior Designers/ Engineers’ role as that of Leadership rather than ownership for the design, and protecting their interests with appropriate recognition and position in the organization. This led to change in behaviour of the Senior Architects/ Design Engineers towards the Design team, which in turn helped us to reduce the rework due to designs.

Staying on with this example, would like to show case how TOC’s five focusing steps (which is the key principle of TOC) helped us to achieve the rework reduction due to Designs.

Step 1: Identify the constraint – Using the Current reality tree we arrived at the time/availability of Senior Architects/ Design Engineers becoming the key constraint for rework reduction Step 2: Exploit the Constraint – Making the time of the Senior Architects/Design Engineers more critical and scheduling 4-5 hours of their time towards providing inputs and reviews Step 3: Subordinate everything else to needs of the Constraint –All the Design Engineers would organize their work around the time that they get with the Senior Architects/Design Engineers.

Step 4: Elevate the constraint – Worked towards making the Senior Architects/ Design Engineers as the Leaders (rather than owners of the overall design), which helped them to get more time and to coach the rest of the Design Engineers to improve on the designs, thereby reducing the reworks

substantially.

Step 5: Go back to Step 1 – It was time to search for the next constraint (that is yet another story !)

This was just one example of multitude of things that are possible using TOC’s principles and thinking processes.

Watch out for more practical applications and methods of how TOC can be used for your own/organizations benefits coming your way in the subsequent series.

These insights can be applied to any scale of organizations – from Starups, SMEs to big organizations Ravi Raghavendra is an entrepreneurial facilitator who makes organizations to rethink, and successfully identify their most impeding systemic constraint to achieve the most important goal.

He is an experienced consultant, driving strategic application of process excellence, methodologies in product realization, including a people-centered focus, to successfully remove systemic bottlenecks, and enable attainment of outcomes that sustain business growth (order to cash), enhance quality and improve profitability(remove wastes).

"

"

TOC became popular more from the book “The Goal” by Mr. Eliyahu Goldratt, and was felt to be more for Manufacturing world, but the thinking processes that were developed

by Mr. Goldratt and his team proved to be a powerful tool set which can be applied to varied situations.

In one of the organizations that I was working for, we wanted to bring down our rework effort across the entire life cycle of a product. It is at this juncture that we used TOC Thinking processes to identify the deep-rooted problems leading to rework effort.

"

www.martupdate.com 21

#COVERSTORY

Resolving the Grapple through TOC With growing number of industries and business firms, the diversity in the constraints is also growing. Some organisations find their way out of the pitfalls whereas some grapple with them. Theory of Constraints (TOC) as a reliable solution has benefited largely to these organisations. Walking us through the facts associated with the application of TOC and its prevalence, Mr. Satyashri Mohanty, Founder Director of Vector Consulting Group gives us real glimpses of the industry.

Satyashri Mohanty Founding Director, Vector Consulting Group

Satyashri Mohanty, is a certified TOC expert and the founding Director of Vector Consulting Group. He specializes in Operations and Project Management and has about 15 years of industry and consulting experience. Satyashri has introduced and popularized TOC in Project domain of Indian industry, in various complex environments - multi-project custom manufacturing; new plant construction; plant shutdown; and new product development.

How open is the manufacturing industry to adopting TOC?

eagerly open up to the idea of adopting TOC.

We have never come across a manufacturing organization which has chronic issues of delivery problems, typical month end rush, working capital problems, sales stagnation saying no to adopting TOC, particularly when they understand how TOC addresses these problems, specific to their environment.

Are Indian SMEs aware of TOC and its benefits? Considering the growth of Indian SMEs, is there a need to bring TOC into the picture to ensure their flourishing?

Ironically speaking, most of the companies in the manufacturing sector in India are still grappling with these issues. The problem is so chronic that many companies have given up on solving these problems and hence are not actively looking out for help.

However, when they listen to us they 22 www.martupdate.com

Almost every person in manufacturing has read the book ‘The Goal’ the iconic book introducing TOC. But what they do not understand fully is applicability to their environment. They need help in that translation. Without that translation, adoption will remain low.

The problem we face in the current scenario is that we do not have enough expertise available in the country to provide this translation. It’s true to

believe that we have lot of awareness about the concept but not enough indepth understanding.

Yes, we need TOC to bring about a change of narrative in Indian manufacturing sector as a whole – from just being a low cost destination to being place famous for agile manufacturing management practices.

What sorts of organisations have you been providing your services to?

We are partners to many of the very large Indian Corporates across sectors.

As market leaders in this space, we have taken a conscious call to deal mostly with big companies. We believe that, only when big brands announce results

using TOC, the adoption will be rapid across different type of organizations in a sector.

has to make it happen. The adoption in some sectors like Auto is very rapid.

Other sectors are slowly picking up.

How often the mindset of the people at top levels has emerged as the constraint in the functioning of an organisation?

Indian Start Ups have been mushrooming in large numbers lately and are struggling to keep the establishments alive. Has Vector catered to any of the Star Ups? Would you say Indian Start Ups are well aware of the possible constraints and ToC as a solution method?

Erroneous management paradigms are always an obstacle to next level of performance. For example, the way operations are conventionally managed, hides capacities and hence prevents proper exploitation of existing assets. Similarly, the way sales are conventionally managed and also prevents effective utilization of sales team which in turn limits the sales. Most organizations can sweat their current investments in assets and manpower, significantly more than what they think is possible.

In the coming years, what kind of impact TOC is likely to make on the manufacturing industry?

It can have a massive impact but one

The problem with most Start Ups is a misplaced starting business objective which revolves around valuation.

Frankly, it looks like a ponzi scheme where each investor believes that he can exit by selling it to a greater fool and make money. But like in every such scheme – it cannot go on forever.

Sadly, the days of heady valuation growth through irrational exuberance has gone. We are now back to basics and asking the fundamental question that should have been asked from day one - how does the proposed business earn profits with decent ROCE of around 20%, if not more. So, now people are

finding out that companies do not even have a compelling idea which provides a competitive edge. Unfortunately, discounting cannot be a competitive edge because it can be copied overnight.

We have been involved with some startups and as a first step; we force them to answer two existential questions which are 1. What problem are they solving for their customers?

2. And why do they think it is not easy to copy?

Answering these two questions forces the company to relook at business and bring about a focus on building unique capabilities to deliver a unique value to customer. Once a business is built around an idea which provides a competitive edge – then one can get rid of the faulty assumption that profits can only come with large scale. This allows one to sequence out investments in a rational way and makes business profitable while pursuing growth.

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#TALENTMANAGEMENT

TOC@Talent Management

Sanjeev Himachali sanjeev.himachali@gmail.com

Generally, TOC finds its application in organisational operations, production lines, finance, market etc. to identify and fix constraints or bottlenecks. Human resource and talent management is often left out of its realm. With two case studies, author Sanjeev Himachali, a Management Consultant, illustrates how TOC can yield excellent results in human resource and talent management.

The theory of constraints (TOC) is an overall management philosophy introduced by Eliyahu M. Goldratt in his 1984 book titled The Goal.

As explained in the book, constraints are usually external in nature, such as in Physical [Equipment, Material Shortage, Lack of People, Lack of Space], Policy [Government Regulations, Company Procedures, Union Contracts], Paradigm [Organizational beliefs and culture], and Market [when production capacity increases sales, etc.], therefore, once one identifies the bottleneck, it can be fixed as suggested by him, using FIVE 24 www.martupdate.com

focussing steps to identify and eliminate constraints – Identify the constraint, Exploit the constraint, Subordinate and synchronize to the constraint, Evaluate the performance of the constraint and Repeat the process. Consequently, the theory of constraints, as explained can be used to improve the efficiency of organizational operations, project management, supply-chain and logistics, high-speed automated production lines, marketing and sales, and finance and accounting.

Probably, Goldratt overlooked the human element. Even best of the

processes cannot work if employees are not skilled or competent or the right fit for the job or they are just not motivated enough to do the task. Theory of constraint works effectively well in Talent Management, such as performance management, recruitment, employee retention, etc.

In this book, “What got you here won’t take you there”, Marshall Goldsmith has explained how human habits, behaviors, and beliefs can be constraints and can limit their performance and growth. He highlighted 21 behavioral constraints, and good thing is that each of these

constraints can be eliminated through coaching using FIVE focusing steps as explained by Goldratt. In this article, I will be explaining how I am using TOC in Talent Management and helping leaders, managers and high potential employees in eliminating constraints that are limiting their individual and team performance.

Since 2007, I have been helping organizations, initially as a part of internal HR team and later as a Management Consultant, in improving performances of their employees and teams, more often, the performance of sales team. Earlier when I was working as a part of HR team in an organization, many times I used to get a recommendation from reporting managers to terminate the employment of a random employee based on poor performance. An investigation into the case would often suggest that what might appear like a cause of poor performance is not a cause to be considered at all. As a management consultant, it is my responsibility to find a right performance constraint, whether in an individual, or a team and sometimes in an organization and fix it, just like an automobile mechanic.

2. Unclear objectives and performance parameters 3. Inadequate communication within the organization 4. Poorly designed performance management system [KRA’s, Definition of Good Performance, Rewards, etc] 5. Lack of resources and authority to get things done 6. Poor and conflicting working conditions 7. Insufficient performance of coworkers on whom individual’s work depends 8. Inadequate performance of subordinates or managers

According to my experience, potential performance constraints are as follows:

In addition to the above mentioned, career aspirations of employees, their motives and motivations, poorly defined priorities and family life of employees also work as performance constraints [An employee going through a divorce and a fight over the custody of his children won’t be able to give 100% to his work]. As a Management Consultant, someone who is helping others to improve their performance, it becomes paramount for me to identify the performance bottleneck and eliminate it from the way, and restore the flow.

1. Poorly defined role – competency match [Job Description]

Khoury’s Performance Equation has summarized it beautifully –

Performance = [(D + A)/O]*Motivation Where, D = Degree of Quality and Direction [Knowing what to do, Objectives, Goal, Clear definition of Outstanding and Unacceptable Performance] A = Ability of an individual [Knowledge, Skills, Competencies, and Right fitment into the role] O = Obstacles/Opportunities [Lack of resources, Poor Processes, Lack of Authority, etc.]

M = Motivation [Career Path, Future, Family, etc.]

Which means a highly skilled and motivated person won’t be able to perform optimally if he doesn’t have properly defined parameters. Similarly, an employee working in an environment that drives performance and has right system and processes in place won’t be able to perform if he is not a right fit for the role or if he is not motivated enough.

For me, cases of “D” and “O” come under Consulting Assignments and “A” and “M” comes under Coaching Assignments.

Tools to Identify and recognize bottlenecks To find the bottleneck, whether it is

It is paramount to identify the performance bottleneck and eliminate it from the way, and restore the flow. www.martupdate.com 25

Action learning teams are frequently used to explore the roots of an issue or problem confronting an organization.

organizational level or at the team or an individual level, I use several tools, such as – Problem Specification, Present State / Desired State Technique, Process Mapping, Backward Process Mapping, Scenario Thinking, Fishbone Diagram, Systems Analysis, Psychometric Assessments and 360-degree feedback.

Let me explain these techniques in brief.

Problem Specification It helps in making an orderly first step of collecting specifics and appropriate data for defining a problem statement that clearly indicates the link between an undesirable “as is” situation and the desired “should be” situation.

Present State/Desired State Technique This technique helps us identify where we are and where we want to go so that an appropriate path can be found to reach the desired objective. It also helps us to know whether the solution goals (desired state) are consistent with our needs (present state).

Fishbone Diagram An Ishikawa Diagram, or the fishbone diagram, because of its unique shape, is a way to visually organize and examine all factors that may influence a given situation by identifying all possible causes that produce an effect.

Process Mapping This identifies and maps all crossfunctional processes, organizations metrics, and estimated processing time.

It ensures a systematic understanding of the “as is” situation and improvement 26 www.martupdate.com

process.

Backward Process Mapping BPM is a method of solving a problem by assuming and imagining that your problem is solved and then working backward. While conventional thinking urges us to think forward, one step at a time from a beginning point, the working backward method encourages us to move from an imaginary ideal solution and then think backward to the beginning point.

Scenario Thinking Action learning teams are frequently used to explore the roots of an issue or problem confronting an organization.

One of the tools often deployed in such situations, and which has applicability to case-based learning, is scenario thinking and planning. Unlike traditional forecasting methods, that attempt to predict trends and exert management control over uncertainty, scenario thinking and planning embraces uncertainty and engages in processes of prospective thinking about alternative possibilities. The purpose of scenarios, stories about the future, is not to produce predictions, or even necessarily to enhance planning, but to change the mindset of the people that develop and use them.

Systems Thinking – It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static “snapshots”.

Today, systems thinking is needed more than ever because we are becoming overwhelmed by complexity. Perhaps, for the first time in history, humankind

has the capacity to create far more information than anyone can absorb, to foster far greater interdependency than anyone can manage, and to accelerate change far faster than anyone’s ability to keep pace. Certainly, the scale of complexity is without precedent. Organizations are breaking down, despite individual brilliance and innovative products, because they are unable to pull their diverse functions and talents into a productive whole. The essence of Systems Thinking lies in a shift of mind – seeing interrelationships rather than linear cause-effect chains and seeing processes of change rather than snapshots.

Case Study When the case of Madhumita Sharma came to me in the last quarter of 2015 both she and her boss was frustrated with each other and the scenario was not only affecting the performance of Madhumita but that of the entire team. Madhumita was working with an automobile company as a Director – Client Management for just over a year. In the past, she had given a solid stellar performance in the company, such that in the previous 10 years of her association with the company, she already had THREE major promotions.

Earlier 2015, Madhumita went on a maternity leave with her first child.

The organization decided not to get a temporary replacement for her. Instead, her second-in-command was tasked to oversee her responsibility and report to the boss of Madhumita. All decisions were coming from Madumita’s boss.

Things worked out fine until Madhumita

came back.

For a year, before going on maternity leave, Madhumita enjoyed her freedom to make decisions and take the lead in all aspects of client management. But when she came back her boss decided that the dynamics when Madhumita was not around worked out so well that it should stay that way. She was asked to seek her boss’ decision for everything before she could make any move. That didn’t sit well with Madhumita and for the first time she felt totally not in control and that new set-up had affected her performance leading to frustration. She does not welcome the idea of getting her boss’ approval for every step of the new business she was brewing.

Analysis & Recommendation - In this case, for an outsider, the boss might appear like a probable bottleneck on way of otherwise outstanding performer Madhumita. However, that wasn’t the case. We did a 360-degree review for Madhumita and her boss conducted a psychometric assessment using Extended DISC and mapped workflow processes of Madhumita before taking maternity leave and after her return.

First of all, the personality of Madhumita and her boss were in conflict with each other.

Madhumita came across as a kind of leader who is driven to keep seeking bigger and better, and the act of exploration was central to her enjoyment of life. Her goal was to take in more and more. She had high energy levels, and along with that came a high need for excitement. Because of which,

she tends to be risk takers, and she doesn’t mind being under pressure.

In fact, she would view pressure as a positive thing. She didn’t like feeling constrained. In fact, she had a high need for freedom. She would tend to see a big, wide world of opportunity.

On the other hand, her boss came across as one among leaders who rely on a high degree of confidence.

Because over a period of he had trained himself to believe in his own abilities, he was slow to recognize the errors of his own ways. He lacked patience for any ideas that contradict him. His team used to view him as arrogant but he would brush that aside, assuming that others don’t understand the “real” state of affairs. He considered himself as “uncompromising” realist. He would rarely adjust his perceptions to make the world seem nicer. That’s why he was very clear in his mind that when Madhumita initially joined his team, he wanted things in a certain way and now since the work process changed in her absence, she must adjust to the new process and get going.

Neither does Madhumita wanted to leave her job nor does her boss wanted to lose a high-potential and high-performing employee. In her role, Madhumita was primarily responsible for generating new business and growing existing business across markets, customer base, and product sets. Finally, it was decided that Madhumita would involve her boss in all strategic decisions related to all new high-revenue clients.

They also agreed to a monthly meeting to review new prospects and business

challenges in new markets.

Last I heard that the then boss of Madhumita got promoted to the level of SVP and was transferred to London to lead organization’s business in Europe.

Conclusion Over the experience of last 10 years, I have found that TOC can be applied effectively in Talent Management.

Performance constraints are not always external in nature. Many times such constraints are internal to people. As Talent Management experts, it is our duty to identify and eliminate those constraints and help employees give their best in every situation. TOC can be used in recruitment processes, in performance management, in HR processes and policies as well as in talent retention. However, often we find, particularly in talent management, that though organizations and leaders spend time in identifying constraints that are hijacking the performance of their teams, they do nothing to eliminate those constraints and thereby live with the status quo.

Sanjeev Himachali is a Talent Management and Development professional with over a decade and a half years of experience in various facets of Human Resource Management across various industries, cultures, and geographies. He helps start-ups, smallsized and mid-sized organisations in identifying and developing potential and competencies of their employees.

TOC can be used in recruitment processes, in performance management, in HR processes and policies as well as in talent retention. www.martupdate.com 27

#ArtificialIntelligence

TOC with Artificial Intelligence

Rajesh Angadi rajeshangadi2013@gmail.com

Theory of Constraints (TOC) is one of the effective management theories that focus on identifying the constraints or bottlenecks in the process flow of a business and changing or restructuring the part to make it error-free and help the business achieve improved efficiency, throughput and profits. Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is transforming the concept of workforce, can also help the application of TOC in certain areas or processes to make it more effective.

The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is a management paradigm that views any manageable system as being limited in achieving more of its goals by a very small number of constraints. There is always at least one constraint, and TOC uses a focusing process to identify the constraint and restructure the rest of the organization around it.

The Theory of Constraints is an organizational change method that is focused on profit improvement. The essential concept of TOC is that every organization must have at least one constraint. A constraint is any factor that limits the organization from getting more of whatever it strives for, which is usually profit. The goal focuses on 28 www.martupdate.com

constraints as bottleneck processes in a job-shop manufacturing organization.

The underlying premise of the theory of constraints is that organizations can be measured and controlled by variations on three measures: throughput, operational expense, and inventory.

Inventory is all the money that the system has invested in purchasing things which it intends to sell.

Operational expense is all the money the system spends in order to turn inventory into throughput. Throughput is the rate at which the system generates money through sales. The Theory of Constraints defines a set of tools that change agents can use to manage constraints, thereby increasing profits.

Most businesses can be viewed as a linked set of processes that transform inputs into saleable outputs. Increasing throughput and/or decreasing inventory or operating expense should lead to the accomplishment of the firm’s goal: to make money now as well as in the future.

Anything that prevents a firm from reaching this goal is labeled as a constraint. Constraints may appear in the form of capacity, material, logistics, the market (demand), behavior, or even management policy. TOC thinking regards all progress toward the goal of making money as relating directly to management attention toward the constraint(s). The marginal value of

time at a constraint resource is said to be equal to the throughput rate of the product processed at the constraint, while the marginal value of time at a non-constraint resource is said to be negligible.

FIVE FOCUSING STEPS: The five focusing steps help systems to deal with constraints. These steps ensure improvement efforts remains on track towards system-level improvements.

TOC’s five focusing steps are: Step 1: Identify the system’s constraint(s).

Step 2: Decide how to exploit the system’s constraint(s).

Step 3: Subordinate everything else to the decisions made in Step 2.

Step 4: Elevate the system’s constraint(s) Step 5: If a constraint is broken in Step 4, go back to Step 1, but do not allow inertia to cause a new constraint.

The basic planning tool of Theory of

Constraints is the pre-requisite tree – sequence of intermediate objectives that must be implemented to ensure that the injection can be put into action.

These intermediate objectives are the detail of our tactics that support the strategy as per our design of the future.

So, in order to implement our example strategy to support our goal, we must implement two injections – they could be new ideas, new policies, whatever.

Injection 1 requires that 3 intermediate objectives be met first. Injection 2 requires just 1 intermediate objective.

All the intermediate objectives must be met in order for the strategy to proceed.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is intelligence exhibited by machines. The field of AI research defines itself as the study of “intelligent agents”. Intelligent agent is any device that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of success at some goal. The term “artificial intelligence” is applied when a machine mimics “cognitive” functions that humans associate with other human minds, such as “learning” and “problem solving”.

The central problems (or goals) of AI research include reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, natural language processing (communication), perception and the ability to move and manipulate objects.

The field was founded on the claim that human intelligence can be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it. This raises philosophical arguments about the nature of the mind and the ethics of creating artificial beings endowed with human-like intelligence, issues which have been explored by myth, fiction and philosophy. From the aspect of reducing the operational and capital expenditure (O/CAPEX) of MNOs, AI-based techniques can substantially diminish human involvement in operational tasks, and optimize network capacity, coverage, and Quality of Service (QoS) in HetNets, according to the advanced features discussed in Self-Organizing Networks (SONs).There’s so much amazing stuff that is arriving right now, but most of it is in the form of raw capability at this point. There are plenty of ways these things are working

www.martupdate.com 29

their way into Face book products right now, but there’s just so much more we need to do to get these techniques out in front of creative, visionary people to turn them into real products.

Right now, AI companies get gobbled up so fast they tend to have never launched anything. So, in the next 5 years, expect a lot of the things we’re talking about in the research community now to become more well-known and commoditized as techniques, and expect a whole new class of startups (and our teams) doing what they do best in finding ways to make life better with AI. Technology always puts existing jobs under strain.

This doesn’t immediately mean that human labor as a whole is under threat.

Generally, other professions grow to fill the loss, often creating more jobs than the ones that are lost. Right now we are seeing a confluence of robotics and artificial intelligence that seem to be placing threats to a large number of existing jobs. These pressures as I describe below are sufficiently sharp that the need for human work may be decreasing in aggregate and whether a.)

The people employed in the displaced jobs will be able to adapt to the new jobs and/or b.) There is even the need for full every adult to work 40 hours a week for 40 years of their lives.

The changes in the labor force that will happen during the working lifetime of existing workers are likely to be greater than any point in time. It’s important to remember that this is a multi-decade transition. It won’t be happening by 2018, but by 2038 — when a lot of the current workforce will still be working — the changes described below will likely

be happening.

Lean through Artificial Intelligence and Robotics AI and Robotics will decrease the demand for certain types of labor. To understand the impact, we have to both understand whether these technological advancements are evolutionary improvements or extinction events for certain jobs and how large the employment is in those jobs. The vision for what technology does is that each person will be able to do more per hour of work. That means that jobs which are primarily supporting the work of others will see declining employment.

Works that does not require creative work are much more likely to be automated.

I’ll divide the jobs into three sectors each making up a third.

• Stable or growing are positions which are going to benefit from upcoming technology or have already made the transition to being much more efficient.

• Transitional areas which are going to have sizable disruptions but will likely see continued good employment. These are skilled workers who will have to make significant changes to their work to leverage new tools that will make them more productive.

• The last segment is declining sectors where near-term technology is going to displace a lot of jobs.

When we’re talking about two thirds of the jobs in the country being impacted

with a full one third suffering significant declines, this has the possibility to be violent. All the categories of jobs will continue to exist, but the number of people employed in them may change.

Everyone will need to be learning how to leverage productivity in this new environment.

How the application of TOC can be aided with AI? Application of TOCs is like Lean Manufacturing, Smart Manufacturing, wastages reduction, pricing, demand forecast can be solved by AI technique.

AI’s technique like machine learning, deep learning, natural language programming can help us to solve these issues. For example, as part of Smart Manufacturing, Robots can be available on the shop floor. They will give us 100% accuracy, no errors, no wastages, no failure of jobs. Robots can be utilized in a manufacturing integration phases also. As a result, most of automated jobs will be taken over by robots due to which there will be unemployment situation in the worldwide. Hypothesis states that Next Gen will get only basic salary. This does not mean we should not use latest technology like Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence. We need to have balance between man and machine synergy to achieve Theory of Constraints’ Goal.

Rajesh Angadi completed his BE, MBA, PMP and is Hadoop Certified. With 22 years of Information Technology experience he worked on projects for Unisys, Intel, Satyam, Microsoft, Ford, Hartford, Compaq, and Princeton.

TOC is a management paradigm that views any manageable system as being limited in achieving more of its goals.

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#MANUFACTURINGEXCELLENCE

Challenges of Inventory Management & Root Causes of Inventory

Often SMEs in India are found lacking in proper awareness of the inventory management and its benefits. Identifying the root causes of excess or shortage of inventory manifested in three main areas - raw materials, work in progress and finished goods – and taking prompt actions are the ways for managing inventory and reaping its benefits.

P S Satish gotopssatish@gmail.com

In the last issue, we discussed on the categories of Inventory. Let us discuss further on inventory management.

Challenges of Inventory Management at SMEs Having understood benefits of Inventory Management to the company, we find many challenges to implement this especially in small and medium enterprises. Few of the challenges including their reasons can be listed as follows: • Benefits of Inventory Management not understood • Members are skilled enough to manage this • Feel good factor by Owner by looking at huge Inventory • Inventory is pledged as collateral for 32 www.martupdate.com

bank loan. This discourages to liquidate Inventory • Emotional reasons to dispose nonmoving, unused inventories like old machines • No proper accounting system including ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) package to know level of Inventory on real time basis • Lack of planning • Push by the customer to have inventory to overcome possible other deficiencies like delay or quality issues • Resource crunch like proper trays, accounting etc.

• Even something is done, emphasis more on monitoring than real control.

Here again, measurement in absolute terms than linking to sales volume

• Focus on raw material inventory neglecting WIP (work in progress) and FG (finished goods) • Not root cause analysis for high inventory To make a beginning in Inventory Management, the SMEs can start by appreciating first on Inventory Management & starting with monitoring current level of inventory in relation to the business volume Root Causes for high Inventory In any manufacturing industry, Inventory manifests itself as – • Raw Material (RM) • Work in Progress(WIP) • Finished Goods(FG) For inventory reduction in these areas,

root causes should be identified and acted upon. Inventory at one stage may be because of issues in other areas. Considering over all inventory reduction as a company, all responsible persons in the area of RM, WIP and FG should work as a team. That means to say that inventory management is not a standalone responsibility but an integrated one.

• Kanban implementation for supplies

Finished Goods (FG)

Work in Progress(WIP)

All potential causes for increase of inventory in this area are depicted in the Figure 3.

All potential causes for increase of Inventory in this area are depicted in the Figure 2. It is a challenge to reduce inventory here as number of causes here are more than that in RM and FG. Many causes are also related to the design of process itself. Some actions to reduce inventory in this area are –

Let us look at the root causes in each of these areas of inventory and possible actions for the reduction of inventory.

Inventory finished goods includes that in the factory, warehouses, dealer points. Because of added value, excess inventory of finished goods has huge impact on company’s working capital.

Some actions to reduce inventory in this area are:

• Effective production planning and control

Raw Material (RM)

• Better forecasting of customer/market requirements

• Line balancing

All potential causes for increase of inventory in this area are depicted in the Figure 1.

• Close interaction with the customers

• Avoiding waiting between operations

• Periodic monitoring non-moving/slow moving items

Some actions to reduce inventory here are –

• Reduction of change over or set-up time

• Improved planning of material with Suppliers

• Reducing manufacturing cycle time

• Better credit arrangements with the customers

• Proper maintenance of the Equipment

• Optimizing the transportation methods

• Reducing the inspection and job approval time

• Improvement in quality • Monitoring of FGs lying with the customer

• Regular stock review • Monitoring non-moving inventories • Supplier lead-time reduction

• Improvement of quality by reduced rejections & rework

• Improve reliability of supplies

Volume Discount Buy

Top management role in Inventory Management

• Improving incoming material quality and availability

• Working closely with suppliers for better logistics

Purchase

• Monitoring of consumption pattern

Supplier poor quality

Early ordering

Excess Ordering

High Level of Import

More Lead Time Poor reliabilty

High MOQ

High Inventory

Lead-time More Poor Planning Drop in Customer schedule

PPC/Production

No review

Old Stocks

Inaccuracy

Lack of standardization

Stock review poor Poor MIS

Stores

RM

High saftey stock

BOM Design Changes

Engineering

All potential causes for increase of inventory in RM area are depicted in the Figure 1.

Figure 1 : Potential Causes for high raw material Inventory.

www.martupdate.com 33

Purchase /Stores Old

Quality Supplier

Poor

Stock

Quality & Leadtime

Inhouse

MIS

Quality

In between delay

Poor

Delay in

Planning

disposition

in inspection

Chargeover

Delay in

Time More

Service

Rigid Poor

of Machine

Lead-time

Production Disruptions

Maintenance

WIP

Long

Batch

Breakdown

Manpower Waiting

Parts

(SPM)

Performance

High Inventory

NPD

Manufacturing System

Machine

Shortage of

Imbalance in line

All potential causes for increase of Inventory in this area are depicted in the Figure 2.

Production

Figure 2 : Potential Causes for more Inventory in Woking in Progress.

Top management should regularly monitor inventory level in monthly reports and in management review meetings. They should push the team to achieve benchmark level of the industries. It is their responsibility to provide resources and training to the staff.

Instead of chasing on numbers, they

The author, P S Satish heads Saraswati Industrial Service. He has acquired B.E, M.Tech (IIT) and with 30 years of Industrial experience is serving engineering Industries in the area of capability development (purchase, quality & soft skills), consulting and mentoring. Focus is on overall improvement of company for 3C Competitiveness, Core-competency and Customer satisfaction.

should focus on specific actions taken on the root causes to see the result. It is their job to ensure that the goal conflicts between purchase, manufacture, marketing and finance are resolved and all work as a team for inventory management.

Decisions to write off non-moving inventories after ascertaining the reason should be executed fast.

Logistics

Production

High MOQ

Long Logistic Time Batch Type

Multiple Stock Points

Decision Delay on Quality No Proper review Old Stock

Poor MIS

All potential causes for increase of inventory in this area are depicted in the Figure 3.

Not monitoring

Customer delay in clearance

Variation in demand

Trading Lead Time More

Seasonal Sales

High Inventory FG

Processing w/o PO

High Safety Stock Wrong forecast

Spares

Obsolescence

Stores

Marketing

34 www.martupdate.com

Figure 3 : Potential Causes for more Inventory in Finished Goods.

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#CSR

Manoj Kabre manoj.k@indo-mim.com

Nurturing Demographic Dividend through CSR India is endowed with rich demographic dividend as young workforce forms the majority of its population. However, the majority of this young work force is found lacking in formal skill training for employment, which is a significant concern for the country’s actual human resource. Corporate houses have come up with their targeted initiatives to eradicate this gap and empower the country to leverage its rich demographic dividend.

India has entered a demographic dividend phase wherein the productive labor force forms the largest population segment. This phase is expected to last nearly 30 years.

This demographic dividend is both the biggest opportunity and also the biggest concern for our country. The opportunity is that India will have a surplus of 47 million workers by 2020, equal to the world’s shortfall. This young workforce will be a remarkable human capital asset for India.

The concern is that less than 3% of the total workforce in India has undergone formal skill training.

Impact of CSR contributions in enhancing the learning outcomes of children and in vocational training, have been significant.

There has been a structured focus by some companies in positioning their activities as a “CSR Brand” so as to have a unified understanding and positioning of the

activities across the organisation. It is very important for organisations to understand that their CSR portfolio not only embeds multiple types of activities but also improves the cohesiveness of such activities to build a “CSR Brand”. It needs to go beyond just writing a cheque for a CSR activity. This can only happen if the investments are promoted consistently over long periods of time, through a cross-functional engagement with the NGO implementing the initiative

It is very important for organisations to understand that their CSR portfolio not only embeds multiple types of activities but also improves the cohesiveness of such activities to build a “CSR Brand”.

36 www.martupdate.com

as well as the beneficiary. There has been an increasing focus towards encouraging organisations to engage CSR activities into their vision, identity, brand, and reputation. Based on societal expectations of stakeholders, organizations are now developing and improving their CSR programs and reflect these developments to their reputation mechanisms.

– small and large – the Boards and shareholders are increasingly demanding that outcomes from these investments need to be measured to understand if and how they positively impact the profitability of the firm.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities have the potential to create several distinct forms of value. Across various organisations

• Ajax – Fiori • Ritz-Carlton • Indo-MIM

Here are a few case studies being presented in this article:

Manoj Kabre, Vice President of Indo-MIM Pvt Ltd, has directed and headed the sales & marketing function for Asia and parts of Europe, spoke at various forums across the world for propagating the MIM technology.

His laudable work includes, Chairing – CSR Committee of RBWC, Founding of CaN Trust (NGO), working for needy children. He is also on advisory committee of ‘Your Philanthropy Story’ (YPS) which captures stories through interviews of heroes and the cause they are associated with.

Ajax-Fiori CSR Initiatives for improving learning outcomes of school children Karnataka has achieved a significant progress in terms of access and enrolment in Primary Education. Nearly 98% of the population has been provided schools within 1km distance.

With over 50,000 schools, the number has increased by nearly 25% in the last 10-12 years.

The recent ASER assessment data of all Indian states submitted by Pratham states that only 40 % of the children studying in V class in rural government schools in India can read level 2 (class II) texts and only 20% of them can do division. In Karnataka, only 50% of children in class V standard can reveal II (Class II) Kannada text, while less than 20% of them can do division. Now the challenge is to shift focus from access and enrolment to improve the learning outcomes of the school children.

Here are the few CSR initiatives of AjaxFiori Engineering (I) Pvt. Ltd to improve the learning outcomes of school children.

Facilities: According to District Information System for Education (DISE), 27,000 of the 75,489 schools in Karnataka had three or fewer classrooms. As part of their commitment to improve infrastructural facilities of schools, the Company has donated two and one classroom buildings for Govt. Primary School, Bashettihally, Doddaballapur and Government High School, Bashettihally, Doddaballapur respectively. They donated eighty student desks to Jawahar Navodaya, Doddaballapur which caters to financially disadvantaged meritorious student. Also twenty student desks have been donated to Government Primary School, Bashettihally to provide better infrastructural facilities for

the students.

Quality of Teaching: The International Centre for Peace & Development has found that poorly qualified teachers, very high student-teacher ratio, inadequate teaching materials and outmoded teaching methods result in low quality of education that often imparts little or no real learning. In support of quality education to financially disadvantaged children, the Company has sponsored Information, Communication & Technology (ICT) Lab for Swamy Vivekananda Kannada School, Doddaballapur.

The ICT lab has 15 Computers, 2 TVs and a UPS. The PCs and TVs are preloaded with Tejas Foundation’s animated, voice enabled digital Science and Math content.

Vivekananda School is a government-aided school in Doddaballapur, where more than 800 children are studying from class 1 to 10 and lacked computer lab facilities. The ICT lab has given students of Vivekananda School an access to experimental learning in the areas of Science, Maths and Information Technology. Teachers and students of Vivekananda School were given hands-on training on the use of Tejas Foundation’s digital Science & Maths content. Ajax Fiori also supported Government Primary School Bashettihally by donating computers and printer.

Ajax-Fiori Engineering (I) Pvt. Ltd to improve the learning outcomes of school children.

Twenty student desks have been donated to Government Primary School, Bashettihally to provide better infrastructural facilities for the students.

Scholarship Support: In support of education to meritorious but financially disadvantaged children, Ajax-Fiori provides scholarship support to students from underprivileged family background who are in the risk of drop out from the school.

Company: Ajax-Fiori Engineering (I) Pvt.Ltd Contact: Pramod Kumar K S, Senior Executive-CSR Email: Pramodkumar.ks@ajax-fiori.com

In support of quality education to financially disadvantaged children, the Company has sponsored Information, Communication & Technology (ICT) Lab for Swamy Vivekananda Kannada School, Doddaballapur. www.martupdate.com 37

The Ritz - Carlton: Inspiring Life’s most Meaningful Journeys This company is known for service excellence and for “Inspiring Life’s Most Meaningful Journeys.” The company’s corporate social responsibility program, Community Footprints, empowers employees to “Serve With Purpose” by focusing volunteer efforts in three areas: hunger and poverty relief, environmental responsibility, and child well-being. In 2009, the company launched a global youth engagement program, Succeed Through Service, to inspire underprivileged youth to imagine futures not previously envisioned. Succeed Through Service brings students into hotels, and sends employees into classrooms, teaching career exploration, life- skills and civic responsibility.

In Bangalore, The Ritz-Carlton partners with Dream a Dream, a local non-governmental organization, to implement Succeed Through Service. To ensure relevance, The RitzCarlton and Dream a Dream have customized the program to provide skills that young adults need to thrive and forge a better future in their community. At the same time,

the program harnesses the unique skills and competencies of The Ritz-Carlton employees to scale and deepen impact.

In addition to modules based around careers in hospitality, corporate volunteers have taught ninth and tenth grade students life-skills lessons focused on topics like eating healthy and working in teams. To enhance their critical thinking skills, students participated in a “Brainstorming to Innovate” activity where they had the opportunity to collaborate in teams to address an issue facing their community. The students identified the top issues for concern as: pollution, water shortage, waste, and energy conservation. At the end of the brainstorming session, each group presented their team’s solution to the class.

“Succeed Through Service allows us to connect with bright young minds in our community. While we work towards enhancing the well- being and career prospects of these students, our Ladies

Employees in Bangalore volunteered over 200 hours mentoring students as part of Succeed Through Service and Gentlemen always come back with an enriching experience that teaches us the true value of exposure and education,” said Pooja Bailey, Learning Manager and Community Footprints Team Leader at The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore. In 2016, employees in Bangalore volunteered over 200 hours mentoring students as part of Succeed Through Service.

Contact: Pooja Bailey, Community Footprints Team Leader Email: pooja.bailey@ritzcarlton.com

Indo MIM takes a step towards Structural Learning Passion and Speed are the two wheels of the Chariot that drives Indo-MIM. The analogy of chariot to Indo-MIM, is to define its team-work and discipline. Amidst the space of Metal Injection Molding technology that is used for manufacturing complex-shaped steel and stainless steel parts for diverse applications for customers spread across 52 countries, Indo-MIM has developed a worldclass set-up through structured learning and system implementation.

Indo-MIM has been facilitating speaker sessions of industry leaders at Govt. Junior (First Grade) College Hoskote for PG students.

This is the next step after having done some infrastructure support for renovating the college, to enhance its buildings and classrooms. The students from this college lack vision and clarity of thought on goal setting. Such qualities can be better learnt through benchmarking and setting of an example, as well as through role models.

With two plants at Hoskote and Doddaballapur, the HR team of Indo-MIM, which drives the CSR activities, has taken specific initiatives to contribute to the educational institutions to significantly address the learning of soft-skills like leadership qualities and behavioural skills.

Regular visits to schools have been made by the employees of the organization to do mentoring of the children. Further, there are routine visits of the school children to the company to enable them get a first hand understanding of the way a manufacturing organization works. They are made to eat in the company canteen that enables them to learn through observation.

To enable this activity, speakers from the industry and educational field, across Whitefield, have been brought to the college on Saturdays, who interact with the students and mentor them. This initiative has been aptly named “Parivarthan”. Indo-MIM takes initiative of connecting the college authorities with the appropriate speaker, and then pursues them to plan / run the session.

Each speaker, owing to his/ her expertise and field of working, uses a diverse style of talk, which gives a very good holistic flavor of learning to the students. Three sessions of this kind have been conducted in the past three months.

Contact: Venkat P, Deputy General Manager – HR , Indo MIM, Bengaluru Email: venkat.p@indo-mim.com 38 www.martupdate.com

Regular visits to schools have been made by the employees of the organization to do mentoring of the children.

Indo-MIM has taken specific initiatives to contribute to the educational institutions to significantly address the learning of soft-skills.

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www.martupdate.com 39

#lurningcurve

Exit the Taxidermist The ages old practice of Taxidermy- stuffing dead animals or animal head with other materials – is present metaphorically in society and individuals. As we cease to be the person we are emotionally and personality wise, we become filled with artificialities by our surroundings or by ourselves, resulting in mental unrest and agony. Right approach by himself and proper expert guidance can help in ceasing to be a subject of taxidermy or practising it to others or to himself.

Anthony Aravind anthony88ctyf@gmail.com

‘Taxidermy’, is an unfamiliar concept in India, at least in the 21st century; and for once we can take pride in a souvenir we don’t practice anymore. Taxidermy is the art of stuffing dead animals. Ancient India practiced taxidermy during King’s rule and the British regime. Visit a palace if you will, and you will be surrounded by stuffed animals and animal heads of all shapes and sizes. Appreciatively what was practiced by the Kings as their hunting souvenir has faded into history.

There are two versions of Taxidermy – first, the practice of stuffing dead animals and second, the practice of illegally killing animals to stuff them.

Either way it is cruel and against the law of nature.

Are you wondering why this unwonted history of taxidermy in an engineering

field of profession? Well, you are about to be knocked out by the hardest truth – We’re all taxidermists (individuals who practice the art of taxidermy), and surprisingly we haven’t stopped at being taxidermists; we have gone one step further in being the subject of taxidermy as well. What? How? Why? I don’t get it!!! It can’t be!!! It’s not right!!! How can he say that I’m a taxidermist? It’s alright if you’re asking yourself these questions right now.

Hear me out as I present to you a case that I dealt with a few weeks ago.

Raj (name changed), was in his early thirties, he was a cheerful and an eccentric person, he was passionate about people, he loved helping others and found joy in the littlest of things,

and suddenly he began to have episodes whereby he flared up, he got furious and completely out of control, and he felt low and depressed very easily. He was a creative and a youthful guy but no one could tell why he behaved the way he did. These episodes of manic behaviour and depression eventually increased and it was discovered that Raj had a very hurtful and difficult childhood. All through his growth and developmental stages he was forced to be a subject of fun and mockery as he was dark, scrawny, and had a thick tongue – thus he spoke a little different from others. He was also a victim of sexual abuse at the age of 7and that killed him emotionally. His emotional demise opened wide the doors of susceptibility, hence it was that much easier for people (relatives, friends

Ancient India practiced taxidermy during King’s rule and the British regime.

40 www.martupdate.com

It is not uncommon to be emotionally dead, so do not stuff yourself with comforting lies and mendacious substitutes suggested by people around you.

and strangers) to stuff him with lies, such as, denial and depravity of sexual abuse, being unworthy of respect and honour, undeserving friendships and relationships, potent- to only be an object of mockery, and worst of all, that he was only half a man who couldn’t stand his ground.

Eventually as he grew up, he began to stuff himself with comedy, wit and aloofness to suppress his depression, hatred and agony. It was the exact reason why people knew him as just another funny guy. Emotional death paved the way for the society to stuff him all it could, and as years passed by, he learnt to stuff himself and now, he is nothing more than Taxidermy – still and emotionless. His associates like to use him only for his comical sense and dispose him. Now his life is utterly interspersed, and as for Raj, he was first turned into TAXIDERMY and then he became a TAXIDERMIST to himself.

Take a good look at yourself - both outside and inside, what do you see?

Surprisingly or not, you are going to witness Taxidermy, a Taxidermist or both.

There is a good reason for my extensive and elaborate focus on the PERSON of who you are more than the ENGINEER you’ve become. And the reason is (your name) the PERSON is incomparably significant, potential, superior and influential than (your name) the ENGINEER that you’ve become. Who you are defines not just what you have become; it defines every possibility of who you can be. Transform who you are and you can transform anything you set your heart on. But before that, what are the lies and the artificialities that has been stuffed in your relationship, your friendship, your family, your marriage, your business, your workmanship, your

purpose, your destiny, and much more.

All these lies and all these artificialities has created mental unrest and emotional instability in you, and it is the reason for your broken relationships, your emotional discord, your unproductivity at your workplace, your failures and for all those needless arguments, meaningless anger and frustrations, and wasteful disappointments.

The only way out of all these problems is to exit the taxidermist in you. It is not uncommon to be emotionally dead, so do not stuff yourself with comforting lies and mendacious substitutes suggested by people around you. So how to exit the taxidermist in you?

• Accept: As aforementioned, it is not uncommon to be emotionally dead, every single person has lived through this phase of life. Don’t ever deny your state of emotional being, because ‘denial seeks false temporal replacements rather than cure’. Simply accept the fact that you are emotionally dead and your acceptance will set you on the path to recovery and healing.

• Communicate: Expecting the ‘Automated Recovery Procedure’ to kick in? Let me remind you –you’re not a Machine, you are a Human Being and you need help. You have to understand that you can never do this alone and you need the help of your trusted friends and associates. It is a basic etiquette that if you need help, you need to ask. A good and necessary communication is a failsafe for any situation.

• Respond: When in a hurtful and undesirable situation, it is instinctive to impulsively react, but what is needed is an appropriate response. There is a remarkable difference between reacting

and responding. Reacting to a situation will result in chaotic and uncontrolled turn of events, so kindly take time, think through and thereby fittingly respond to your situation.

• Reach Out: Home remedy works to an extent but it wouldn’t be the desired, problem-specific and effective solution to any situation. Trained professionals exist in any and every field of work and life. Help is available and it is just a phone call away. Reach out, don’t ever get into the ‘I can handle myself’ zone, it is the most dangerous zone you can ever be or live in.

An emotionally healthy YOU is the best anyone will want and can have. An ENGINEER without a PERSONA is like a termite infected tree – decayed, useless and soon to be lifeless.

We are made humans and not taxidermies. I want you to remember three DON’Ts: 1. Don’t make a Taxidermy out of yourself.

2. Don’t let anyone make a Taxidermy out of you 3. Don’t make a Taxidermy out of the weak and susceptible ones.

“EXIT THE TAXIDERMIST IN YOU” The author Anthony Aravind A is a Counselling Psychologist and a Content Writer based in Bangalore, and specialized in Organizational Behaviour, Marriage and Family Therapy. He is passionate about people, their thought process and their behaviour. He collaborates and brings in his creativity as a professional Musician, knowledge and discernment as a Counselling Psychologist, and radical world view as a Photographer in all his articles. www.martupdate.com 41

#Cuttingedge

Sailing on the Crest of a Wave

Curiosity killed the cat...or did it? The world of science and technology today is a proof that mere knowledge does not suffice. One needs to ask questions about possibilities to achieve the unbelievable.

Ramya Ramakrishnan editor@martinfotech.in

Science has never failed to amaze and intrude us. Throughout centuries science and scientists have backed the human race by presenting us with theories that

has defined our very existence and the societies system of functioning.

Be it the Newton’s law of gravitation or the time travel theory, it all started with

a curiosity, an idea and lots of research.

In this edition, we have brought to you certain research and study that holds the capacity to bring to light the Prima facie of a new world.

New Nickel Polymers set to Bring a Change In a major breakthrough that could provide fundamental improvements in the performance of computer science, the researchers from the University of Bristol led by scientist Ian Manners along with colleagues from oxford university have come up with an extraordinary research.

The new polymers created by building Nickel or Nickelocene units into the structure are readily accessible, easily handled and soluble magnetic polymer.

We are also available with the option of creating or destroying these polymers with changes in the temperature.

42 www.martupdate.com

In the recent decades the major focus has been on polymers and plastics featuring metal atoms in their structure which have found applications in the self-healing materials, photovoltaic technology and information storage.

Metallocenes or Metal Sandwiches have been incorporated into polymeric materials mostly using iron. The research has however created a polymer with Nickel or Nickelocene units that are

built into the structure affording a bright green highly magnetic material.

Materials that have cooperative magnetic properties are insoluble or difficult to process, which makes this nickel based polymers a rare example of readily accessible, easily handled, soluble magnetic polymer, claims the study’s first author, Rebecca Musgrave.

Changes in the temperature can create or destroy the dynamic magnetic polymer through a process called “Depolymerisation”. The scientist are certain of more positive outcome in case of further exploration that can be used in data storage application which is a key to current computer storage technology.

Artificial Materials with Electrical Properties Developed Researchers at Aalto University have manufactured artificial material with electronic properties. The research was able to create atomic lattices with a pre-determined electrical response.

Using scanning tunnelling microscope the researchers were able to arrange vacancies in a single layer of chlorine supported on copper crystal.

Dr. Robert Drost who carries out experiments at Aalto University explains that the correspondence of the atomic structure and its electrical properties is what exactly happens in real materials too, but the only difference being that here we have a full control on the structure we could target any electronic property and implement it experimentally.

The approach is not limited to chlorine system selected by scientist but can be extended to many well understood systems in surface and nanoscience.

They could even be adopted in

mesoscopic systems such as quantum dots, which are controlled through lithographic process.

To demonstrate their complete control, the scientist used their atomic assembly methods and created two real life structure inspired by fundamental model science that displayed exotic electronic properties.

The academy research Fellow, TeemuOjanen at Aalto University stated that this is a chance to test ideas and experiments that could prove many fascinating theoretical proposals that don’t exist in real materials.

The possibilities of arranging atoms on a sample can bring the dream of designer quantum materials one step closer to reality and by arranging the atoms in a lattice; it has become possible to engineer the electronic properties of the material through atomic structure.

By carrying out multiple experiments at the Aalto University, researchers has developed engineered atoms that displayed electronic properties that can be completely controlled and structured by the scientists. This has kindled the hope of designer quantum dots and its realisation.

Bridging the Gaps of Technology The new innovation can change one’s point for view towards technology. A tablet that can be conveniently folded into the size of a smartphone or a technology that can sense your body’s vital signs and looks like an artificial skin that can be worn by anybody easily.

Researchers at British Columbia develop a highly sensitive sensor made of highly conducive that is capable of detecting different types of touch. IT is believed that this new technology can change the nature of human and robotic interaction.

It is combination sensors that detect pressure such as the one in iPHone’s 3D touch, Samsung’s AirView that detects different type’s fingerprints and the foldable, transparent and stretchable sensors.

The device is designed in a way that uses highly conducive gel which is sandwiched between layers of silicon that is capable in detecting different types of touch. It can detect tapping and swiping even when it is stretched, folded or bent.

The current prototype measures 5 cm x 5 cm as mentioned in a recent paper in science advances. The sensor can be transformed into the size of a room easily due to its inexpensive, widely available material including the gel and the silicon in a mere cost of few dollars per square meter.

The sensors can be put up on walls, floors over surfaces that required to be converted into stretchable touch screens. The cheap manufacturing costs make it easier to be embedded in cost-effective wearables like health monitors. It can also be integrated in robotic skins making human robotic interactions safer defying the current scenario where machines and humans are kept in separate environment due to possibilities of injury to human. www.martupdate.com 43

#industryfocus

Connected, Automated Future of Materials Handling Material handling & storage system in an industrial process is often called ‘inevitable evil’. Evil, as it apparently adds no value to the materials handled, yet ‘inevitable’ as industrial process cannot do without it. However, the actual benefits which the industrial process reaps from proper material handling system are improved throughput, increased profits. A league of disruptive technologies that are making paradigm transformation in a number of industrial processes will also make steady entry into the materials handling and storage system, changing or complementing the existing system for better and faster supply chain.

Arnab Mondal arnab@martinfotech.in

Material handling and storage system play a crucial role in distribution, manufacturing and warehousing process.

Effective material handling and storage system is the secret weapon of the logistics system for a business that gives control of throughput and profitability hence improves the bottom line of the business.

Material handling system has become a new, complex, and rapidly evolving science. For moving materials in and out of warehouse many types of equipment and system are in use, depending on the type of products and volume to be handled. The handling of material in warehouse is restricted to unitized forms, which require smaller size equipment. However, for bulk handling of material at logistics nodes such as shipyards, ports and airports 44 www.martupdate.com

different type of equipment is used.

The efficiency of Materials Handling equipment adds to the performance level of the whole materials handling and storage system. The warehouse, wherein the material handling equipment is in use, is more sensitive to labor productivity than the manufacturing center as material handling is more labor intensive. There is a scope for reducing labor and enhancing productivity by emerging technology in material handling. A good material handling system will enhance the speed and throughput of material movement through the supply chain.

Principles of Materials Handling Although there are definite

rules that can be followed when designing an effective materials handling systems, the following basic principles are followed: Planning Principle: Total materials handling system should be the result of a deliberate plan where the needs, performance objectives, and functional specification of the proposed methods are completely defined at the outset.

Standardization Principle: Materials handling methods, equipment, controls and software should be standardized within the limits of achieving overall performance objectives and without sacrificing needed flexibility, modularity, and throughput.

Work Principle: Materials handling work (defined as material flow multiplied by the distance moved) should be minimized without sacrificing productivity or the level of service required of the operation.

Ergonomic Principle: Human capabilities and limitations must be recognized and respected in the design of Material Handling tasks and equipment to ensure safe and effective operations.

Unit Load Principle: Unit loads shall be appropriately sized and configured in a way that achieves the material flow and inventory objectives at each stage in the supply

chain.

Space Utilization Principle: Effective and efficient use must be made of all available (cubic) space .

System Flow Principle: Material movement and storage activities should be fully integrated to form a coordinated, operational system which spans receiving, inspection, storage, production, assembly, packaging, unitizing, order selection, shipping, and transportation, and the handling of returns.

Automation Principle: Materials handling operations should be mechanized and/or automated where feasible to improve operational efficiency, increase responsiveness, improve consistency and predictability, decrease operating costs, and to eliminate repetitive or potentially unsafe manual labor.

Environmental Principle: Environmental impact and energy consumption should be considered as criteria when designing or selecting alternative equipment and materials handling system.

Life Cycle Cost Principle:

A thorough economic analysis should account for the entire life cycle of all materials handling equipment and resulting systems.

Material Handling Equipment Categories The different types of Materials Handling equipment can be classified into the following major categories: Transport Equipment: Equipment used to move material from one location to another (e.g., between workplaces, between a loading dock and a storage area, etc.). The major subcategories of transport equipment are conveyors, cranes, and industrial trucks. Material can also be transported manually using no equipment.

Positioning Equipment: Equipment used to handle material at a single location (e.g., to feed and/or manipulate materials so that are in the correct position for subsequent handling, machining, transport, or storage). Unlike transport equipment, positioning equipment is usually used for handling at a single workplace. Material can also be positioned manually using no equipment.

Unit Load Formation Equipment: Equipment used to restrict materials so that they maintain their integrity when handled a single load during transport and for storage. If materials are self-restraining (e.g., a single part or interlocking parts), then they can be formed into a unit load with no equipment.

Storage Equipment: Equipment used for holding or buffering materials over a period of time. Some storage equipment may include the transport of materials (e.g., the S/R machines of an AS/ RS, or storage carousels). If materials are block stacked directly on the floor, then no storage equipment is required.

Identification and Control Equipment: Equipment used to collect and communicate the information that is used to coordinate the flow of materials within a facility and between a facility and its suppliers and customers. The identification of materials and associated control can be performed manually with no specialized equipment.

Growth of Material Handling Sector

A report by Transparency Market Research (TMR) states that the global market for bulk material handling products and technologies is likely to increase at a CAGR of 1.30% during the period from 2016- 2024 and touch US$65.74 billion by the end of the forecast period.

According to the report, among the main geographical segments of the worldwide bulk material handling products and technologies market, Europe is expected to continue at the top position over the period of forecast.

India is one of the major proponents in Asia Pacific region, which is also exhibiting considerable scope for the future growth of the market for bulk material handling products and technologies, China, and Japan being the other two major countries. The Asia pacific bulk material handling products and technologies market is heavily driven by China, which is also one of the most prominent domestic markets across the world.

The ongoing expansion in the China market points towards a thriving future for the overall market in Asia Pacific.

India has a few favorable factors that will ensure the continuing growth of the material handling sector. ‘Make in India’ programme focusing on

Materials handling equipment ranges from unitized equipment for short distance movement in workshop to heavy equipment for bulk materials handling outside the workshop www.martupdate.com 45

Development projects in infrastructure and construction along special focus on sectors such manufacturing, automotive will create growth in demand for materials handling equipment in India

growth of manufacturing sector, automotive sector, power sector etc. apart from infrastructure and construction development make India an extremely attractive destination for global as well domestic players in Material Handling.

India is emerging one of the best global investment options. And as long as industrial investments continue to be made, the demand for capital goods such as material handling systems will grow. Another report “Materials Handling Equipment Market 2014 – 2025 by Research and Markets agency states that the global material handling equipment market is expected to reach US$ 41.1 billion by 2025. The rise in manufacturing activities in the automotive, pharmaceutical, chemical, and food & beverage industries is forecast to spur demand in the report.

Also, the growing concerns for workplace safety are expected to remain a key driver.

The growth of global materials handling equipment market over the forecast period is accredited to the use of technologically advanced products, such as hydraulic components which are incorporated into this equipment. Furthermore,

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the integration of telematics solutions and tracking sensors into these products is expected to gain traction in the near future, thereby fueling the equipment sales. The rising espousal of automated storage and retrieval systems is expected to further catapult the equipment market growth over the next nine years.

Automated storage and retrieval systems segment is projected to exhibit a significant growth at a CAGR of over 6.9% during 2016- 2025. This growth is attributed to the surging espousal of automated equipment in warehouses and manufacturing centers, the report says.

So, talking about material handling next-gen technologies in the near future, many of the disruptive technologies will make their way into shop floors, warehouses and distribution centers. Big data, Internet of Things, mobility, the techsavvy millennial generation, advanced robotics, autonomous vehicles, and alternative energy sources are all going to influence how products move through the supply chain.

These technologies and trends will play an increasingly important role in the continual effort to drive costs out of the supply

chain and increase the speed and predictability of product movement.

These technologies are already finding their way into business applications in a number of industries that will serve as development laboratories and proving grounds for the next generation of material handling technology. The automotive industry, with its work on driverless vehicles, will certainly have a significant influence on material handling. But a number of other industries— agriculture, aviation, medical, consumer products and the military—are also adopting disruptive technologies in ways that can serve as a model for material handling applications.

The following sections explore the some technology trends that may have the biggest impact on the future of Material Handling system.

Big Data & Analytics One of the most common definitions of “Big Data” is data that exceeds the processing capacity of conventional database systems. Increasingly this definition is being broadened to describe efforts to capture data that is not currently being captured, consolidate it with other data, and analyze

and use it to achieve specific objectives. In the context of Material Handling and warehouse management, Big Data includes the processes required to aggregate, inspect, clean, transform, and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making.

With the continuing digitization of information and processes, the application of Big Data and the Analytics and modeling it enables, has become a powerful trend.

This is a revolution that metrics-driven supply chain executives should embrace.

One reason for the lag in the warehouse management is that managers are concerned about the complexity of collecting and analyzing data from disparate sources. Data security, privacy, integrity, and integration into existing business systems are major barriers to the rapid advancement of Big Data analysis in warehousing and distribution. Another issue is that data is only useful when it is integrated into daily management processes.

This often requires special training to ensure employees are maximizing the datadriven decision-making opportunities.

Internet of Things

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While a contributor to the big data trend, the Internet of Things is distinct in that it represents direct machine-tomachine communication and coordination, while big data generally encompasses data from a variety of sources that are consolidated for human analysis.

In the materials handling system, the Internet of Things will support communication and coordination across conveyors, automated storage and retrieval systems, forklifts, and other systems to enable new levels of visibility and automation.

It would take all the disparate systems and equipment— conveyors, robots, automated storage and retrieval systems, automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), forklifts, battery charging stations, dock equipment, pick carts, voice picking systems, lighting, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems—and tightly couple them to warehouse control, labor, transportation, order, and customer management systems. Such a connected Material Handling system would allow supply chain and warehouse managers to reach new levels of workflow optimization, operational efficiency, and predictability, all while providing real-time visibility into operations and predictive analytics.

In the case of the materials handling system, forklifts are already doing much of the data collection.

Forklifts today are equipped with wireless connectivity, data storage, and sensors that allow them to collect information from their own internal systems as well as from their environment, and then transmit this data to management systems.

With the cost of sensors going down and the amount of processing power embedded in forklifts continuing to increase, the forklift, which is the only device in the warehouse that travels to every location in the facility, will be in a position to expand on its current functionality. In addition to moving product, it will become a mobile information technology hub that collects and processes data from products, operators, the environment, and other material handling systems to support unparalleled visibility into warehouse operations as well as increased automation.

Mobile Technology Mobile technologies are already replacing fixedmounted terminals in law enforcement, agriculture, and aviation; they are just starting to be used in warehouses and distribution

The new generation of collaborative robots will complement the manual workforce bringing greater speed and accuracy.

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centers by managers and other personnel who don’t want to be deskbound but still need to deliver reports and information.

Technicians who service forklifts and automated material handling equipment are also using them for fast, convenient access to information on troubleshooting, repairs, and work orders.

As material handling operations increase their use of analytics and automation, mobile technology will emerge as the primary platform for displaying data.

Developers of process and workflow management systems have already adopted a “mobile first” approach to developing applications. Experts believe this will quickly move to a “mobile only” development philosophy as traditional, fullscreen desktop displays are no longer considered useful.

With mobile technology, warehouse managers will have access to a wealth of data, including equipment status and performance reports, wherever they may be. With more warehouses operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, this will allow managers to track performance and respond to problems around the clock.

Other warehouse personnel will encounter mobile technology through their interface with equipment such as forklifts and automated storage and retrieval systems. Wearable technology, such as “smart glasses,” is being integrated with warehouse management systems to enable handsfree mobility for workers using visualization and voice recognition to receive instructions for completing tasks.

Tech-Savvy Workforce The prevalence of mobile technology in everyday life is making the workforce in warehouses and distribution centers comfortable and familiar with technology.

The generation entering the workforce now will expect the equipment they operate to provide an experience that is similar to their engagement with technology in their cars or with their smart phones. While not a “technology trend” in the true sense of that phrase, the changes that will occur in the material handling workforce in the next 10 years. Mobile technology qualifies as a disruptive trend because this generation of workers has been so deeply influenced by technology.

The generation of people born during the 1980s

With global automotive majors making progress on and driverless and automated vehicles, time is not too far for materials handling system to use fleet of autonomous AGVs like autonomous forklifts in near future.

and early 1990s has been called “millennials,” “echo boomers,” “the Internet generation,” and “iGen.” They will bring into the workforce traits that will shape their use of technology, including confidence, tech-savviness, the ability to multitask, and the expectation of immediate gratification.

Both management techniques and material handling equipment must adapt to this new generation of workers. In general, information needs to be presented in a more graphical format, and organizations should look for opportunities to use social sharing and gamification to keep workers engaged and motivated. Gamification is the application of typical elements of game playing to other areas of activity to encourage engagement or modify behavior.

Such applications could find their way into warehouses and distribution centers.

Order picking solutions are already moving from text-based information delivery to more graphical displays of product identity and location, which can improve productivity. Adding gamification and social sharing to these platforms may drive even greater

improvements in the future.

Advanced Robotics The technologies discussed to this point have been focused primarily on making the material handling and storage workforce—from senior managers to forklift operators to order pickers— more productive. The next two trends, Advanced Robotics and autonomous vehicles, automate manual tasks.

Robotic equipment has been used in material handling for some time. But a new generation of advanced robots incorporates enhanced levels of sensing capabilities and algorithms that allow them to better sense their environment and make decisions based on changes in that environment.

Material handling tasks typically have been too variable to make them good candidates for robotics.

Unlike manufacturing, where products move down an assembly line and can be precisely positioned for each operation, products in a warehouse typically are of different sizes and shapes and may not be positioned in exactly the same way or location each time they are handled. New visionsensing technologies are enabling robots to adjust to these variations, allowing,

for example, mixed-case palletizing and depalletizing to become commonplace.

As robots get smarter, more refined, and safer, they will increasingly be used to handle some of the routine yet variable tasks being performed by humans today in warehouses.

In addition, the recent collaborative robots, which work in shared spaces with humans, will accelerate technological advancements and bring forward new applications for robots in warehousing and distribution, including working alongside humans picking and boxing items. As in manufacturing, the use of robots in material handling will free humans from performing routine tasks and bring greater speed and accuracy to repetitive tasks, supporting the ultimate goal of reducing material handling costs.

Autonomous Vehicles While sometimes used synonymously, there is an important distinction between driverless and autonomous vehicles in the warehouse. Autonomous vehicles are driverless, but not all driverless vehicles are autonomous. Autonomous vehicles are capable of making decisions in response to their environment.

Driverless vehicles, such as automatic guided vehicles

(AGVs), are controlled from outside the vehicle or are limited to a programmed path.

The AGVs used in warehouses today typically follow preplanned routes and cannot navigate around obstacles. When obstacles are encountered, an AGV simply stops in its tracks.

Human intervention is required to remove the obstacle and restart the AGV. To be truly autonomous, AGVs need decision-making capability that allows them to perform tasks with a high degree of freedom from external control. When encountering obstacles, for example, they should be able to reroute themselves to complete the task at hand without human assistance.

Enabling AGVs to do that will require advances in current technology. Of the disruptive technologies discussed in this article, autonomous vehicles may be the furthest from playing a significant role in warehouse operations because of the challenges that still exist in terms of sensor capability and vehicle intelligence.

Yet much is happening outside of the material handling industry that is driving the technology forward. In the automotive industry, General Motors, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, www.martupdate.com 49

and Nissan are testing autonomous concept cars, and Google’s driverless car has logged more than 700,000 road miles. Not too long ago driverless automobiles were thought to be in the distant future; manufacturers now expect commercialization by 2020.

With autonomous vehicles potentially on the road within the next six years, autonomous forklifts cannot be too far behind. In the meantime, just as auto manufacturers have tapped into their research on driverless vehicles to bring new collision-avoidance systems to market, forklift manufacturers have introduced semi-autonomous capabilities that work with operators to increase productivity. As technology develops and matures, these semi-autonomous vehicles will evolve into fully autonomous vehicles that will create additional opportunities for productivity improvements and cost reduction.

New Energy Sources Opportunities to reduce warehouse energy costs will emerge in at least three areas. On the facility level, lighting can represent a significant amount of the total electricity cost for warehouses and distribution centers. Skylights and occupancy-sensing “smart” lighting solutions, including low-energy

lighting, are becoming more commonplace in warehouses and distribution centers. The large, flat rooftop surfaces typical of warehouses and distribution centers are ideal locations for solar panels that can be used to supplement power requirements.

Within the warehouse, improvements in the energy efficiency of forklifts and automated storage and retrieval systems continue with new forms of power regeneration and new approaches to monitoring and balancing performance and energy usage.

The third opportunity is in the fuel source for warehouse vehicles. The lead-acid batteries that power forklifts have served the industry fairly well. They are emissions-free, relatively inexpensive, and provide adequate run times in many applications. But they do have their limitations.

Lead-acid batteries must be changed every six to eight hours, which can be disruptive in multi-shift operations, particularly during busy periods. In addition, they require charge times of up to eight hours followed by eight hours of cool-down time. This requires companies to have extra batteries and dedicated space for battery storage that must be ventilated. Finally, lead-acid batteries require periodic maintenance to maximize their useful life.

That may require full-time

Gamification is a graphical format with typical elements game which can be successfully used in material handling system for encouraging workers to engage with the process in an for greater results.

50 www.martupdate.com

staffing of the charging station.

Two energy sources have emerged as potential alternatives to lead-acid batteries: hydrogen fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries.

Hydrogen fuel cells have been piloted in a number of large warehouses globally and some of those early adopters are now transitioning from government-sponsored trials to full site conversions.

The technology as applied to forklifts is still relatively immature but has shown some promise in addressing the issues with lead-acid batteries. Fuel cells can be refueled in as little as three or four minutes and do not require a dedicated battery room.

Lithium-ion batteries are generally more efficient than lead-acid batteries, can be very quickly “opportunity charged” during lift truck operators’ breaks without adversely affecting battery life, and have longer run times. Additionally, lithiumion batteries do not emit gas during charging and therefore do not require special battery rooms.

The lighter weight of lithium-ion batteries when compared with lead-acid batteries is touted as an advantage in automobiles and airplanes; however, this is actually a disadvantage in many forklifts, where the battery’s weight is needed to provide stability during lifting, turning, braking, and other operations. To meet battery weight requirements, lift

truck fleets often must add extra weight to vehicles that are equipped with lithium-ion batteries. That extra weight can take away energy-storage volume from the battery and, in some cases, may eliminate lithium-ion’s advantage of higher energy-storage capability. This technology is still expensive relative to lead-acid batteries, but early adopters are conducting pilot studies to better understand the benefits of the technology for their specific applications and whether those benefits could outweigh the cost differential.

Looking Ahead Each of these disruptive technology trends discussed in this article will ultimately work with and complement the existing Material Handling system to offer greater visibility and control over material handling operations.

In a decade’s time, the intelligence designed into material handling equipment will grow exponentially, as will connectivity between systems and their environment. Techsavvy workers will operate intelligent machines, working alongside robots and autonomous forklifts in highly automated operations.

Every activity will leave a digital footprint that will be consolidated, aggregated, and analyzed to drive continuous improvement.

The result will be materials handling and storage system that are more efficient, more reliable, and more cost effective.

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#industryfocus

Steering 2 Pinnacle

Chirag Bakshi

Business and Solution Development Head Hindustan Automation

L

egacy speaks a great deal for humans. But to continue the legacy with one’s all heart is one’s choice and determination. The inborn drive to dedicate his life to the inherited prestige and devotion to the industry and it’s people was certainly experienced

by Mr. Chirag Bakshi, Business and Solution Development Head, Hindustan Automation. An extremely proud son and a technocrat at heart decided to take up the challenge of living up to the credibility that his father brought through Hindustan Automation, cherish and nurture the heritage that he willfully accepted. In a conversation with MART, he talks about the successful journey of Hindustan Automation and his strife to take it to greater heights.

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Could you tell us about your association with Hindustan Automation?

I completed my B Tech in Mechanical engineering from D Y Patil, Pune in 2002 post which I got firsthand experience by working with my father for 5 years. My first big break was working with Kuehne Nagel which is a German company. I worked there as Pan India Vertical Head for Oil and Gas for 5 years and rejoined my family business in 2012.

During my tenure at Kuehne Nagel, I got the opportunity to travel on PAN INDIA basis & interact with all global heads located in Singapore / USA / GERMANY which was a great exposure for me to cater service to global accounts based in INDIA. I got an experience on corporate work culture and networking which helped me to groom myself as a professional. The added advantage was the exposure to global manufacturing processes, which slowly got implemented in Hindustan Automation.

How would you trace the growth of Hindustan Automation since its inception?

My father started Hindustan Automation with a space area of 500 square meters in Chinchwad gaon. It was later shifted to the current base at Thergaon where we have four manufacturing units with

an area of 5000 square meters and now we are in the process of procuring a land of 15000 square meters for our further operations. We recently bought a plan in Chakan.

Our manpower has grown to be of 40 people in strength today and we plan to increase our strength soon. Our product offerings which started from a single product, VBF has now expanded be more than 50 different products that are well customized to meet the specific requirement of the customers.

Apart from Indian market, Hindustan automation exports its products overseas mainly to the Middle Eastern countries, Saudi and Dubai being the major markets.

What drove Colonel Bakshi to establish Hindustan Automation post his service to Indian Army?

My father, Col. Ram Swarup Bakshi after his retirement, founded Hindustan Automation in 1998. He acquired his bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from CME, Dapodi and a PG from MCME, Secunderabad. He has always remained an engineer at heart along with being a dedicated Army person. He joined Indian Army’s core engineering group in 1972 as Captain, and served the country until 1996

where he retired as Colonel at Southern Command. During his service period in army he was part of 4 wars, and battalion head of Srinlanka Operation IPKF. He was involved in all strategical and technical decisions of this operation based in Colombo. He was also the hardcore member of Technical Expertise who executed a joint operation with Russia, where Indian Government procured a lot of defence equipments.

For his services he was awarded Ati Visishta Seva Medal and a lot of other recognitions.

Soon after his retirement he joined Sortimet as Plant Head in Pune and worked there for two years. While his course at Sortiment, he discovered that the customers had vivid demands and their needs could be fulfilled in a better way. With a vision to give ‘service’ a whole new meaning, he decided to address the grievances of the customers, providing them a satisfactory service, he established Hindustan automation at the age of 58. Later the Indian Government awarded Udyog Ratan Award and Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award for his entrepreneur and industrial efforts.

The Legacy that your father has bestowed upon you, how challenging and encouraging is it for you?

I am the youngest in the family. My elder

Col. R S Bakshi (Retd), Founder of Hindustan Automation with his son, Chirag Bakshi and team. www.martupdate.com 53

Flat belt conveyors, inclined conveyors, spiral conveyors are some of the offerings by Hindustan Automation www.hindustanautomation.com

Robotic equipments and hydraulics lifts are Hindustan Automtion’s latest innovations www.hindustanautomation.com

brother, who has also served the Indian Army, now works as the Plant Head at Thermax. So the legacy has continuously been galvanized by our family. I started my career at Kuehne Nagel where I encountered with a slew of opportunities to have a successful career but I was really driven by my father’s vision and dream to expand Hindustan Automation and serve the industry in the best of the ways.

To live up to the standards that my father had set was extremely challenging but inspiring as well. His values and ideologies are the impetus that one would look for to prosper in his life.

This legacy is the drive and a matter of pride for me. Certainly it is not easy to maintain the hard work my father left back for me. The day before his demise he called a production meeting and imparted his guidance, made important decisions, that kind of a stalwart soul he was. That very commitment is the basic drive that runs Hindustan Automation. I highly admire my father’s principles and so have adopted it in my practice. Even after his demise his desk still remains where it was, the attachment is the nudge we all will always need to take Hindustan automation to another level.

I feel it is my duty to take Hindustan Automation to the pinnacle of success, the dream that my father has always had for all of us at Hindustan Automation.

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Could you tell us about the range of products Hindustan Automation offers and the sectors it caters to?

Hindustan Automation started with offering VBF 20 years ago and today it offers more than 50 innovative products to the customers. We have customized solutions to suit our customer’s needs. Major new products that we have included are all types of flat belt conveyors, inclined conveyors, spiral conveyor, dockleveller, truck loader, scissor lifts, hydraulic equipments, VRC – good lifts, Robotic equipments and SPMs. Robotic equipments and hydraulics lifts are our latest innovations, which got excellent response and reviews from our customers.

We believe that our passion for innovation is of prime importance and that is what has kept encouraging us to innovate and expand. Apart from Indian manufacturers, China is a major competitor but we have taken the challenge head and are trying to develop products as import substitute Making in India, and invested a large amount of funds there which is turning out be quite successful. We are working with a lot of Tier 1 manufacturers in India and giving them solutions for material handling and assembly automation. Our solutions are helping our customers to reduce cost and improve the quality and productivity.

We are leaders in Material Handling Equipments, Automation solutions for warehousing, assembly plants and OEMs, catering to all verticals – automobile, pharma, high-tech (high engineering), food processing, bearing industries and warehousing.

We export equipments like Automation vertical reciprocal conveyor lifts (goods lifts and vibratory bowl feeders for customized applications to Middle Eastern regions like Saudi and Dubai. We are expecting to expand our export to African countries as well.

What are your further growth plans, where do you see Hindustan Automations to be by the year 2020?

We are planning to expand our global imprint which is now in Middle East which will expand to African Countries.

We are also looking for collaborations with overseas players who are looking to expand in India including productions as well as sales. We are working on Pan India and have a strong customer base in North and South Indian markets. Being in the West we have the geographical advantage, and by 2020 we will be covering the Eastern market which is a hub of traditional manufacturers. We look forward to inducting more skilled engineers, upgrade our manufacturing facilities, and move more towards customer oriented solutions.

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G-17, Bharat Industrial Estate, T. J. Road, Sewree (W), Mumbai - 400 015. INDIA. Sales Direct : 022 - 24156638 Tel.: 022-24124540, 24181649 Fax : 022-24149659 Email : kusam_meco@vsnl.net Website : www.kusamelectrical.com

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#industryfocus

Indian Construction Equipment Industry is on Recovery!

Government has planned for unprecedented growth in infrastructure, construction and manufacturing in the country.

Materials Handling will be critical in implementing such growth plans. Reason, why Indian Materials Handling is expected to witness huge growth in coming years. ElectroMech, being the leader in this segment, is all geared up to cater to this growing Indian market.

Tushar Mehendale Managing Director, ElectroMech Material Handling Systems India Pvt Ltd

Mr. Tushar Mehendale, Managing Director, ElectroMech, completed BE (Mechanical Engineering) from Government College of Engineering, Pune (COEP). Following his graduation from COEP, Mr. Mehendale went on to acquire a MS degree from University of Wisconsin, USA in Manufacturing Systems, Engineering & Engineering Management.

He took over the management responsibility of ElectroMech in January 2000 at the age of 24 after the sudden demise of his father Mr. Vinayak Mehendale.

He has guided ElectroMech to become the leader in its area of expertise.

He has been responsible for setting up the largest crane manufacturing facility in the country spread over an area of 10,000 sq meters at Pirangut, near Pune.

What is the total size of material handling system market in India? What kind of market share do you enjoy?

Industrial cranes segment is highly fragmented. Per our estimates, the industrial crane market in India is approximately to the tune of INR 1500 crores per annum. This market size has shrunk slightly in the past couple of years due to a slowdown in the Indian economy. While we are not out of the woods yet, growth can be seen at a later stage.

Roughly 40 per cent of the total crane

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industry in India is dominated by the top 10 manufacturers in the organized sector. The remaining market shares comprises of more than 300 small crane companies.

• Gantry Cranes

Please elaborate the whole array of material handling products and solutions offered by ElectroMech.

• Electric Chain Hoists

Electromech has an expansive array of offerings in the Material Handling Systems including • Overhead cranes - Single Girder & Double Girder

• Explosion Protected Hoists and Cranes • Electric Wire Rope Hoists

• Stacker Cranes • Customized Material Handling Equipment For manufacturing industries, our crane solutions comprise of single / double girder overhead cranes, jib cranes, wall travelling cranes, gantry cranes, semi

gantry cranes.

For Infrastructure projects, we can supply heavy duty gantry cranes, Tunnel Mucking Systems and Tower cranes.

For warehousing industry, we have innovative stacker cranes.

Besides offering Material Handling Solutions, ElectroMech also focuses on efficient crane servicing to ensure zero down time of cranes through its subsidiary, Cranedge. Cranedge is the only company in India dedicated to Crane Service. We have several customers across industry sectors like Automotive, Steel, Power, General Manufacturing, Infrastructure, shipbuilding, construction and warehousing.

What are the major consumer segments of ElectroMech? What are the areas that you are focusing on currently?

ElectroMech’s products find use across industries that involve discrete material handling. This enables our clients to be spread across critical industry sectors like Oil and Gas, Power, Railways, Infrastructure, Heavy Engineering, Manufacturing, Ship Building, Steel Industry, Tunnel/Shaft Mucking, Renewable Energies, and Warehousing.

There’s been a focus on the development of infrastructure, manufacturing, power projects etc. which are the major consumers of material handling equipment. As a leader in the material handling system, particularly the largest heavy duty overhead crane manufacturer in the country, what kind of growth in demand ElectroMech has experienced so far?

The Indian construction equipment industry is on a revival after a four-year

gap and sources estimate it to grow to US$ 5 billion by FY 2019-20 from its current size of US$ 2.8 billion/ about US$3 billion.

Per sources, revenues are estimated to rise at a CAGR of 2.34 per cent between FY 07-20, owing to the rapid infrastructure development undertaken by the Government of India. The Union Budget 2017-2018 has an outlay of US$ 58.90 billion for the Indian Infrastructure Sector. This, coupled with the Governments’ smart city budget allocation of about US$ 9 billion, Material Handling will be critical in implementing these initiatives.

ElectroMech is buoyant with this upward industry trend and expects a continued growth. ElectroMech is the largest player in the crane market in terms of volumes and value and is geared for the uptrend and revival.

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#SUCCESSSTORY

Innovation Marks the Onset of Victory

Schmalz is a global leader in vacuum technology and solutions. Based in Germany the company caters to its customers worldwide with a number of facilities and sales offices present in 16 countries. In India, the company has been present in vacuum components manufacturing for automotive sector since 1999. Continuous focus on innovation, in-depth knowledge of the market and customer requirements and commitment to provide best service to its customers are the factor that have helped Schamalz to become the trusted market leader that it is today. Present in three locations across the country in Delhi, Chennai and Pune, Schmalz inaugurated its new facility at the Pune location, aiming to enhance its products and service verticals.

Being known for its exquisite services, Schmalz makes sure that its customers are satisfied with the company. With the new space, Schmalz aims at bringing the latest technology to India, aiding to its growth. The market share of Schmalz in the Indian automotive sector is that of 65 per cent making it one of the leading companies in the field of vacuum technology.

The main reason behind setting up of this facility in India is the high demand of the customers. Schmalz had a humble dream of serving people internationally with very few employees to work and serve to. But what followed is something that can be described as a success story indeed. It’s said that successful people aren’t those who performs different things but are they, who perform things differently. So, goes the success of Schmalz.

Headquartered in Glatten (Black Forest, Germany), Schmalz is into vacuum 58 www.martupdate.com

technology for automation. The company employs more than 1,100 people worldwide and has locations in additional 16 countries. The company has had its own location in India since 1999 and along with the establishment of its new facility in Pune, the company aims at increasing its employee count by 10 to 20 per cent in the present figure of 115 employees, working in all three facilities in India.

The inaugurated center will be supporting as a manufacturing unit to Schmalz. As per Andreas Beutel, the Managing Director responsible for worldwide production, it is important for a company to have its own branches in key international markets and hence, the expansion plans of Schmalz led to establishment of the Pune facility.

A new facility established in Pune, is an addition to the existing Service Centers in India that are located in Delhi and Chennai. The facility offers

an additional surface area of around 1,600 square meters – more than double the surface area of the existing building. The production unit of the branch has already been developed and further advancement is being carried out. The inauguration was attended by dignitaries like Minister of Economic Affairs of Baden-Württemberg, Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, the Minister of Transport Winfried Hermann, and numerous deputies of the state parliament, State Minister Klaus-Peter Murawski, and further members of a 70-strong business delegation.

They have not only succeeded in gaining a foothold here but exist as a very successful company. With 18 years of experience in the Indian market, they are capitalizing on it with thorough knowledge of the market, the customers, their requirements and they are onsite and can respond quickly.

The driving force that works behind this

Mr. Andreas Beutel, Managing Director, J Schmalz GmbH, Mr Philip J Mani, Managing Director, Schmalz India Pvt Ltd and Mr. Wolfgang Schmalz, Managing Director, J Schmalz GmbH

steady growth over the past few years is the progressive automation that runs in the industry and the connected need for handling of solutions efficiently. They promote innovative vacuum technology in the entire country along with their own sales offices at Pune, Chennai and Delhi. At the same point, they manufacture different goods on-site, like vacuum suction pads for automation.

There are various thrilling upgradations at Pune, revolving around the topic of ‘Smart City’ which they observe with a keen interest.

Schmalz recently came up with a new business area for the upliftment and production of new storage solutions and soon they dream of bringing up points of cooperation in this vicinity.

In addition, they have acquired lot of knowledge about neighboring

events and the local market, which helps them in important decision as how to expand their reign further in the market. As a result, they have planned to double the production area, packaging, warehousing to bring about the best set up in the near future. And now the foreign based companies take an important troll in the global manufacturing connections of Schmalz.

Schmalz India has turned out to be an indispensable partner. The industry which is cited the most with ratings of 4.0 is not just an outstanding cover but a fact of glory which makes their work much easier.

Schmalz has its own principles of sustainable business management and they have function keeping in mind the factors like environment, economy and social aspects and pushing it in

the queue across the world around 16 companies which are situated abroad, specifically in the manufacturing of few points like developing international know-how and employee welfare which have become some integral part of the business.

Nevertheless, Schmalz has successfully created a uniform bonding and understanding out of their daily network and communication, which distinguishes them from their competitors in the market. They stretch their helping hands towards their customers with efficient and reliable solutions. Their habit of being unconventional makes the company difficult to copy and provides them with indispensable pace in the competition, thus making Schmalz one of the leading brand across the globe.

Schmalz has successfully created a uniform bonding and understanding out of their daily network and communication, which distinguishes them from their competitors in the market.

The driving force that works behind the steady growth of Schmalz over the past few years is the progressive automation that runs in the industry and the connected need for handling of solutions efficiently. www.martupdate.com 59

#CASESTUDY

Renishaw 3D Printing Technology Increases Land Rover BAR’s Performance

Samina Khalid

Samina.Khalid@renishaw.com

Like many other cutting edge technologies – artificial intelligence, big data analytics – additive manufacturing (3D printing) has been incorporated into daily use at Land Rover BAR with the help of the team’s Technical Innovation Group (TIG). In this case, TIG partner Renishaw, a global metrology firm which manufactures metal additive manufacturing machines, as well as working with the more familiar 3D printing in plastics for its own prototyping.

TIG project manager, George Sykes of PA Consulting commented, “We use 3D printing at three different levels within the team. The simplest level is as a prototyping and visualisation tool. We manufacture a large number of custom parts and 3D printing allows us to make full size prototypes in-house before we commit to a design.”

The 3D printer sits in the Land Rover BAR design office, and with little more than the click of a mouse will create a plastic version of almost anything the designers plan to create.

60 www.martupdate.com

“The prototyping process is really useful when we are trying to develop something,” said Land Rover BAR’s Chief Technology Officer, Andy Claughton. “It allows us to get our hands on it, put it in place on the boat or link it up with other parts of the system and see potential issues and refine the design before we commit to the production of the final piece.”

The team has its own, fully equipped traditional machine shop, and it has an extensive composites team. Between them, these facilities can make almost

anything, but if the final part can be 3D printed then that’s the option that will be used. One of the big advantages in the system is that the cost can be significantly reduced.

An example is the end cap for the boat’s bowsprit. This is a complex shape, designed to reduce the aerodynamic drag. It was ideal for 3D printing in plastic because there was no load involved, and a single item was required.

In years gone by this would have been built in carbon fibre to the finish and standard of a piece of custom furniture,

and at great expense thanks to the time and skill of those involved. Now, once the design has been developed it can be produced in a handful of hours for a few pounds.

“But the top level of our 3D printing programme is the metal additive manufacturing supplied by Renishaw,” continued Sykes. “The manufacture of custom parts in metal is the cutting edge of this technology.”

The components are manufactured from paper thin layers (typically 0.05 mm) of fine metallic powder (cornflour consistency). The system works in an argon inert atmosphere – similar to that inside a light bulb; heat can be applied to melt the metal powder without it burning; or reacting with oxygen or impurities found in air. The heat is applied using a laser beam – this is directed using software controlled mirrors, and focused to accurately weld the areas required to create the part.

One of the earliest components the Land Rover BAR team created using this technology was a custom sheave case for the pulley in the daggerboard lift line. There was a high compressive load involved and it needed good resistance to wear; so metal was the ideal choice.

All high strength metals have a higher density (weight per volume) than carbon fibre, so to keep weight down the final design was hollow. It would have been very difficult to make this part any other

way than additive manufacturing.

“The potential of additive manufacturing in terms of saving weight and improving efficiency is tremendous,” explained Andy Claughton. “For example, we took a long hard look at our hydraulics system. Before 3D printing came along all the parts in this system would have been manufactured by taking metal away from a solid block. The shapes that you can create with this method are limited, so the design is limited and so too is the efficiency.

“Hydraulic fluid doesn’t take kindly to going around hard corners for instance, and there is a loss of power when it has to do so. With traditional techniques this might be the only way you can manufacture the part, but with additive manufacturing you can build it with smooth rounded corners that significantly improves efficiency in the fluid transfers involved.

“In addition to the improvements in efficiency, we can now build it much more lightly as we are only adding material specifically where it is needed. In the past, the geometry of manufacture on a lathe or other cutting tool meant that some material couldn’t be removed and we would have to carry around the excess weight. No longer.”

Renishaw has manufactured several parts for the hydraulics, and while the team are reluctant to reveal too much

design detail, it has said that weight in a new AM manifold design was reduced by 60%, with an increase in performance efficiency of better than 20%.

David Ewing, Product Marketing Engineer at Renishaw’s Additive Manufacturing Products Division, commented, “Our involvement with Land Rover BAR is also helping to raise the bar in additive manufacturing. It’s a complex manufacturing option and there are considerations both in component design and process expertise. The best applications are ones which use the minimum amount of material to achieve the design requirements, offer a functional benefit in service and have been designed with the manufacturing method in mind. Our work on hydraulic parts for the team is a perfect example.”

“Renishaw is at the top of this particular game and they have really helped us out with their facilities. This is one technology that’s here to stay and its role within our build processes will only increase in the future,” concluded Andy Claughton.

For further information on Renishaw metal additive manufacturing, please see www.renishaw.com/additive For more information on Land Rover BAR Technical Innovation Group, please see: http://land-rover-bar.americascup.com/ en/technical-innovation-group.html

Renishaw has manufactured several parts for the hydraulics, and while the team are reluctant to reveal too much design detail, it has said that weight in a new AM manifold design was reduced by 60%, with an increase in performance efficiency of better than 20%. www.martupdate.com 61

#INNOVATIONS

Lubrication-Free Igus Linear Axes from the 3D Printer: Custom Made, Delivered Quickly Linear components made of Tribo-SLS material allow special shapes to be produced in just 48 hours. The motion plastics specialist igus takes a completely new approach to drive technology: the SLTI3 lead screw unit offers customers the highest degree of variability in the design of their individual linear axis. Made possible by 3D printed carriage and shaft end supports. This means that lubricant-free and maintenance-free lead screw units can be implemented cost-effectively and very quickly according to customer requirements.

Lubrication-free and maintenancefree linear axes from igus are already the core components of many moving applications, both in the automotive and in the packaging machine. Among them is the low-profile drylin SLT series, which has a drive system with ballbearing, laterally arranged lead screws with trapezoidal or high helix thread and is suitable for both motor and manual operation.

The drylin SLTI3 lead screw unit now supplements this type series with a very flexible system. For this purpose the number of components has been significantly reduced so that the lead screw unit can be assembled in seconds.

Customer-specific stroke lengths are also possible, as is the use of trapezoidal or high helix threads according to

requirements. Entirely new degrees of freedom in design are promised by the first complete linear carriage from the 3D printer as well as printed shaft end supports, which are manufactured in the laser sintering process.

Self lubricated and low wear: iglidur I3 The 3D print is ideally suited to realise individual wishes down to the smallest detail. The customer not only receives his custom-made lead screw unit in a very short time, but can also implement own ideas for profiles, stroke lengths or fastening options. The iglidur I3 material is used in the drylin SLTI3 lead screw unit, the SLS material from igus for selective laser sintering, with which the most complex shapes can be precisely manufactured. The process

Printed as desired, quickly at the customer: Lubricant-free linear carriage and shaft end supports made of abrasion-resistant iglidur I3.

62 www.martupdate.com

also endows the components with high strength, which require no more support structures with subsequent reworking.

Extensive tests conducted on the large 2,750-square-metre floor area of the igus test laboratory with counterparts made from different materials have shown that iglidur I3 is at least three times more abrasion resistant compared to conventional SLS materials, both in the pivoting, rotating and linear motion.

The igus 3D printing service enables an efficient production of single pieces or small batches.

For more details write to Vinayak Shetty, Product Manager - drylinÂŽ, igus (India) Private Limited, Cell: +91-9341136381 Email: vinayak@igus.in Web: www.igus.in

4th EDITION

SUPPORTED BY

2017

Ministries of Commerce & Industry; Coal, Mines Skill Development & Entrepreneurship New and Renewable Energy Defence Production*, Steel* Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises* GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

INDIA MANUFACTURING SHOW It’s time for ‘Make in India’ (Concurrent with 3 days Conference)

30 October - 1 November, 2017

Indian Space Research Organisation

BIEC, Bengaluru, India

AEROSPACE & DEFENCE ENGINEERING

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

AUTO & COMPONENTS

AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS

METALLURGY & MINING

INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

Expected Participation 250 400 20 EXHIBITORS

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TO AVAIL ISCOUNT EARLY BIRD D ENT STALL & GET PROMIN BOOK BY APRIL 21, 2017

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COUNTRIES

Industry Partners

All India Association of Industries

BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce

Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry

Official Media Partner

ORGANISERS

India China Economic and Cultural Council

Indian Foundry Organisation

India China Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Solar Energy Society of India

SME Chamber of India

Media Partners

EXPO ORGANISER

CONTACT For Conference: IMS FOUNDATION Telefax: +91-80-2665 1234 / 4171 6085 Email: info@imsfoundation.in

d

Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises

For Exhibition: TAFCON PROJECTS (INDIA) PVT. LTD. Tel: +91-11-4985 7777 (50 Lines) Email: ims2017@tafcon.com

#INNOVATIONS

The art of piecing together – VERO E Compact With an objective of providing a value-centric product to the growing Indian manufacturing sector, lately SCHUNK Intec India Pvt Ltd introduced its latest Quick change Pallet System that promises return on investment (ROI) in less than three months.

Today’s market dynamics demand shorter product life cycles making it imperative for the manufacturing companies to invest in flexible systems and have the bandwidth to cope up with changing machining requirements.

Identifying this need of the hour SCHUNK; one of the pioneers in gripping systems and clamping technology since last 70 years came out with its new offering - “VERO-E compact GSE”. Tailored especially for the Indian machine tool sector, it is a modular quick-change pallet system, which is suited for extremely fast resetting of workpieces, clamping devices and other equipment on 3, 4 and 5-axis machining centres.

Director, Satish Sadasivan, SCHUNK Intec India emphasized that the new VERO-E compact Zero point clamping technology is not a catalogue product and is mainly made to suit the requirements of the Indian machine tool builders. He added, “We are closely working with Indian machine tool manufacturers and intend to serve them better through quick changeovers on the machines they currently use. With this we plan to expand our presence in India.”

Aligned to needs

Optimization is the key

Elaborating in this context, Managing

Moreover, by reducing the retooling

Quick change pallet systems have enormous capacity. “Now we have a system that is not only perfectly aligned but also feature and approximately two and a half times clamping force of machine belt.”

times up to 90 percent, the system facilitates in providing optimal utilization of the machine capacity. Setting up the workpieces outside the machine in parallel to the processing time minimizes downtimes enormously contributing to cost savings. The set-up time ensures higher machine running times and better production from batch size 1.

From the cost saving point of view, the VERO-E-compact GSE system is useful for producing small batch quantities and comprehensive range of workpieces.

Its Turbo integration feature helps to pull-down force thereby increasing 300 percent for optimal utilization of the machine’s performance.

Reliability matters Creating a master trend, this system is known for setting great production

VERO-E-compact GSE system is useful for producing small batch quantities and comprehensive range of workpieces

Its Turbo integration feature helps to pull-down force thereby increasing 300 percent for optimal utilization of the machine’s performance

64 www.martupdate.com

We are proud to build a support mechanism with a backup plan, in the case of any technical issues or break down, within the warranty period. Fit and forget is the mantra behind any SCHUNK products Satish Sadasivan Managing Director, SCHUNK Intec India Pvt Ltd

variability. In recent scenario, when most of the machines and technology come with a less shelf life, these solutions guarantee a larger life span and process reliability. To add on, the system is moulded with a base body and all functional components like clamping pins and slides that are made of hardened stainless steel, blending forth modules that are completely maintenance-free and hermetically sealed against dirt, chips, and coolant.

monoBLOCK series has a machine concept for every sector and every component produced is an impressive masterpiece. According to Mr. Satish Sadasivan – Managing Director, SCHUNK Intec India Pvt Ltd, DMG MORI offers very high-end machines and SCHUNK takes pride in working together to bring out a revolution in the machine industry with its products.

All pneumatic modules can be operated with a system pressure of 6 bars, without adhering on additional pressure intensifiers. The machines allow positioning via short taper, allowing easy connecting interface with a repeat accuracy of 0.005 mm. Its rigid clamping operation helps to avoid vibration and is equipped with a self-retained locking system. For safety and security reasons, the system operates on one consistent clamping pin size for all VERO-E compact GSE-modules and hence avoids danger, confusion or incorrect operation.

“All our products are synonymous with good quality and speak for its performance. We are proud to build a support mechanism with a backup plan, in the case of any technical issues or break down, within the warranty period. Fit and forget is the mantra behind any SCHUNK products,” shared Satish Sadasivan - Managing Director of SCHUNK Intec India. Validating this point, General Manager – Metal Products Power Transfer Technology, Mersen India Pvt Ltd, B N Chandrashekharaiah, mentioned, “We provide Earth Return Current Units (ERCU) to Bangalore Metro. While working on such a prestigious project, downtime is the last thing we can think of. In such scenario, SCHUNK’s gripping system does wonders. Additionally, SCHUNK provides good after sales service.”

Serving one and all Widely acknowledged by myriad industry sectors for its specialty in offering room even to the smallest machine tables, the company’s stationary clamping systems ensure the micron-precise link between the machine table and the workpiece.

Whether pneumatic, hydraulic, manual or magnetic, SCHUNK is well-equipped to provide tailored fitting solutions to customers from wide-ranging industry sectors.

The working of “VEROE compact” was deftly displayed on DMG MORI’s state-of-the-art technology “DMU 65 monoBLOCK,” to its customers. The

Customer-centric

Alternately, Titan Industries Ltd began the use of SCHUNK’s product eight years ago. Since then the company has installed SCHUNK’s systems on most of its machines. “These products give excellent ROI. Within six months we can see the benefits. In other words, it is a worth investment,” noted Senior Engineer, Titan Industries Ltd, Venkat Subramanian.

Director, Abhiyant Technologies Pvt Ltd, Nagaraja BC also finds SCHUNK’s products impressive. He further added, “We strongly recommend SCHUNK products to our customers, with batch production requirements.” Agreeing to the same, Senior Manager, Production, Ace Multi Axes Systems Ltd said, “SCHUNK’s technology as well as service is very good. We have been using their products since almost a decade. We have already provided our requirements and placed order for the latest Vero-E compact Cut from the company.”

Expansion plans - Roadmap In order to further strengthen relationship with customers and educate them on the company’s products, SCHUNK plans to put forward a training program. It will enable customers to use the company’s products efficiently.

Another assurance that the company gives is to deliver proper machining of workpieces, ensuring the longevity of the products.

Superior Clamping and Gripping SCHUNK is a competence leader for gripping systems and clamping technology. More than 2,700 employees in 8 plants and 30 directly owned subsidiaries ensure an intensive market presence. With more than 11,000 standard components SCHUNK offers the world’s largest assortment of gripping systems and clamping technology from one source. Since 2012, Goalkeeper legend Jens Lehmann is brand ambassador for safe, precise gripping and holding.

For more details Tel: 080-40538999 Email: info@in.schunk.com Web: www.in.schunk.com

#FAIRMART

AMTEX 2017: Opportune Event, Opportunities Galore!

AMTEX, the international exhibition for the machine tool sector, is all set to host world class exhibitors, visitors from 12- 15 April 2017 at Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC), Mumbai. The exhibition is an ideal platform to showcase new age product range and technological advancements from machine tools sector and auto components sector.

This leading event focuses on major end user industries such as Automotive, Power and Electrical Equipment, Textile Machinery and Consumer Goods. The exhibitor profile of AMTEX is spread across the areas of sheet metal, tooling, forming and many other sectors of manufacturing.

presence of over 217 exhibitors, 47 international exhibitors and footfall of over 15,000 trade visitors, the AMTEX 2017 promises to be a mega event for machine tool sector. Overwhelming participation is expected from countries such as China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan among other.

Over the years, consumer industries looking for cost effective machine tools and other allied products and technologies, and machine tools manufacturers looking for high potential buyers have flocked to this highly sought-after trade show.

Maharashtra, a prominent state in the western part of the country, is ranked amongst the most industrialised states of India with a large base of OEMs, and is one largest consumption centers of machine tools in India. AMTEX 2017 is positioned to facilitate the future potential of this western region, helping international players tap the production and consumption hotspot of western India.

AMTEX has not only revolutionized Indian machine tool sector but has made impact on the machine tool sector in the South East Asian region with focus on most advanced products and technologies.

The exhibition has completed 11 successful editions, the last one being held at the Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 8-11 July 2016. After hosting a series of successful editions to tap the machine tools hub of North India, the organizers are bringing in the opportunity to explore the potential that the western region of the country has to offer.

Exploring West After making its successful debut in Mumbai in 2015, AMTEX 2017 – in the 12th edition – is back to the financial capital more vigorously which is a significant machine tool manufacturing hub in the country. With expected 66 www.martupdate.com

Organised by Reed Triune Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd., the AMTEX 2017 is ably supported by All India Association of Industries, SME Chamber of India Mumbai, Nashik Industries & Manufacturing Association.

Touted as one of the finest platforms for developing and sharing ideas and business prospects, AMTEX 2017, will feature exclusive programmes such as Networking Sessions, Business Matchmaking and Live Product Demonstration.

Growth Scenario According to estimates, the global market for machine tools is projected to reach $140.5 billion by 2020. India, 14th largest producer and 10th largest consumer of machine tool globally,

is expected to achieve a sizable share of this growth as government programmes such as ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’ have escalated the growth manufacturing industry and enhanced the production capacity of Indian SMEs. Indian machine tools market is forecast to grow by 13 per cent by 2020.

According to the Frost & Sullivan, the demand for machine tools is all set to see a 15 per cent growth in 2017.

Driving Factors Among major growing consumer segments, particularly the growth of automotive sector in India which accounts for almost 40 per cent of machine tools consumption is a key driver of momentum in the machine tools sector in the country. With supportive infrastructure, rising market demand and conducive polices India is fast becoming investment option for major global automotive players like Ford, Isuzu, Suzuki, Honda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and an automotive manufacturing hub for South East Asian region.

Also, there has been a growing need for adoption of CNC-based machine tools in the end user industries for higher accuracy and precision in the production process of late. Non-CNC based machines consume more time and energy, and are prone to wear and tear within short period which affects the end product quality. This shifting focus toward CNC-based machines is also expected to drive the technological advancements of machine tools sector.

Be a Part of India's Leading Exhibition of Machine Tools

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17 Date: 28 - 31 JULY, 2017 PRAGATI MAIDAN, NEW DELHI

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International Participation Country Pavilions, Exhibitors, & Visitors

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Turkey

Taiwan

Korea

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USA

Germany

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Government of India Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises

Spain

Italy

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#FAIRMART

AMTEX 2017: Empowering ‘Make in India’ through Exploring West!

Following AMTEX 2015 at BEC, the next edition of the event, AMTEX 2017 is ushering in as a platform with enormous scope and opportunities for the machine tool industry. The event is a complete package, facilitating with innovative range of machine tools from globally renowned brands, international exposure and systematic business deals.

Cyril Periera Managing Director, Reed Triune Exhibitors

In conversation with MART, Cyril Periera, Managing Director of Reed Triune Exhibitors spoke about the role of AMTEX in the machine tool industry and his expectations from the latest edition of AMTEX

Please tell us about the role AMTEX has played over the years for the overall growth of Indian machine tool industry at large and individual participating companies.

Faro Technologies.

The machine tool industry in India and across the globe has been growing strongly since the year 2006, and such development needs a stage such as AMTEX.

The Gardner research ranks India as 10th largest machine tool consumer in the world, and as the 13th largest machine tool manufacturer in the world. The production of the machine tool industry has amounted to INR 4727 crores as of 2015-2016, and the consumption is at INR 1076 crores during the same period.

AMTEX since its inception has presented itself as a platform dedicated to the display of the technological innovation in the engineering and machine tool sector, encouraging industrial leaders from across the globe to meet and build business opportunities and relationships.

The last edition of AMTEX had seen that the 63% of the business visitors who attend the exhibition are interested in purchasing. And this is exactly what the Exhibitors have found in the past, and thus we have a lot of companies that continue to participate with us because of the value that they have found; companies such as- Sahajan and Laser Technology Ltd, Onward Technologies Ltd, Ravik Engineers and 68 www.martupdate.com

What is the current size of the Indian machine tool market? How is it poised to grow in the future?

It is found that India imports 58% of the machine tools out of the total amount of machine tools it requires for domestic consumption. This means that there is shortage of machine tool manufacturing companies in the country. But this is expected to change due to the encouragement from the government through its ‘Make in India’ campaign.

And AMTEX looks to support the government in this move by providing a readymade market place for the industry to launch and build their brand, and conduct their business.

What are the challenges that the

Indian machine tools manufacturers are facing currently? What kind of technological support AMTEX provides to Indian SMEs to become advanced and competent as per international standards?

The challenges currently faced by the Indian tool manufacturers include effect of demonetization on investment opportunities and poor infrastructure in the country.

AMTEX, as stated earlier is in full support of the governments ‘Make in India’ campaign, and believes in encouraging more and more companies to be a part of this program. And in order to make this campaign a success the AMTEX team supports the Industry with- launch of knowledge paper on relevant issues/ topics of the industry, newsletters with case studies from well established companies, conducting networking sessions and conference programs, providing a platform for knowledge sharing and building business partnerships.

After its first edition in Mumbai in 2015, AMTEX is back again this time.

What are the driving factors for bringing AMTEX to the western part?

What more can exhibitors and visitors expect from this edition at the BEC from its last edition?

best of our ability. And thus we have introduced the Business Matchmaking Program, which is a platform dedicated to fixing assured meetings between the Exhibitors and Visitors.

India. And with the introduction of the Business Matchmaking Program, we are expecting to see a lot of meetings happening between the Exhibitors and Visitors of the show.

We see very high potential in the Maharashtra region as it covers a broad range of industrial products that includes industrial machinery and machine tools. Nearly 35% per cent of the country’s output of automobiles value is manufactured in Maharashtra.

What are going to be the highlights of AMTEX 2017?

Could you please mention some of the major participating companies in AMTEX 2017? Which are the industries that AMTEX 2017 will specially focus on?

Maharashtra has been one of the biggest expediters in the growth of machine tool industry in India and will continue to be the hub of industrial advancement in the coming years, and we want to encourage investment in this region and thus we are back to Mumbai. So we are getting our experience of successfully dominating the manufacturing market in northern India and to capture the market in Western India.

After our experience in Mumbai in 2015, we are better organized this time to benefit the participants to the

Highlights of the Exhibition: • International participation from China and Taiwan • Business Matchmaking Program, in order to have assured meetings between Exhibitors and qualified visitors • Display of products of Sheet Metal, Tooling, Forming, and much more from the manufacturing sector What are your expectations from this edition in terms of exhibitors and visitors?

In this edition we have attracted a lot of new companies from the Maharashtra and Gujarat edition to exhibit their innovation at AMTEX. We have also created an incredible amount of interest among our visitor targeted groups, especially in the Western region of

The major participating companies of AMTEX 2017 are: Sahajan and Laser Technologies Limited, Onward Technologies/Mastercam, Ravik Engineers, Keyence, Faro Business Technologies, Werner Finley, Han’s Laser Technology Industry Group, Surya Machine Tools, Simhope Industrial Co., Ltd., Kinematics.

We have usually found that most of the Visitors of AMTEX are from the sectors of Automobile & Auto components, Electrical & Electronic goods, and Process Plant & Machinery. This year we are looking at receiving participation from industries such as- Aerospace, Defence, and Plastics processing, apart from the usual sectors.

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www.kainsindia.com www.martupdate.com 69

#Announcement

Red Lion Launches Highly Scalable Graphite Edge Controller

Red Lion Controls, the global experts in communication, today announced the new Graphite Edge Controller.

The Graphite Edge Controller is ideal for process and factory automation customers who require a rugged industrial controller with wide operating temperatures to control and monitor machinery in harsh environments.

“The Graphite Edge Controller is an important product to round out Red Lion’s rugged Graphite platform,” said Paul Bunnell, product management director for automation products at Red Lion Controls.

Red Lion’s Graphite Edge Controller includes Crimson 3.0 software featuring Crimson Control, providing customers with the ability to interconnect devices using over 300 industrial protocols and use IEC 61131 programming languages

New AC TRMS Clamp Meter launched by KUSAM-MECO

“KUSAM-MECO” Launches the High Voltage Detector

“KUSAM-MECO” has recently introduced Model KM-076 is a new AC True RMS Clamp Meter.

600A AC True RMS Clamp meter has 3 rotation indications, backlight functions, MAX/MIN/ AVG recording mode with unique AmpTip™ function. This unique feature allows users to keep the cable at the top end of the Clamp Meter & get accurate measurements whereas in other meters, the current cable has to be at the centre of the clamp to get the best accuracy.

“KUSAM-MECO” has introduced the High Voltage Detector Model 276HD, which detects the presence of voltage in AC lines. An insulation rod permits checking of high tension circuits at safe distance for Voltage.

The clamp meter has VFD-V & Hz function specially designed for variable frequency drives which can measure TRMS 600A AC Current upto 400Hz frequency, TRMS AC voltage 600V upto 60Hz frequency, DC 600 Volts with capacitance upto 2500 µF, Frequency, Continuity, Resistance, Temperature upto 400ºC / 752ºF.

This High Voltage detector is also available for voltage detection in low tension circuits.

The equipment, whether in stretched state, is available for voltage detection in high tension circuit. It can be used for voltage detection in low tension circuits by holding the nameplate portion of the detecting head.

Easy to recognize indication with intermittent lighting in red of a high intensity light-emitting diode and intermittent audible sound of an electronic buzzer are readily recognizable at a full daylight, noisy location.

Lowmaintenance Electronic Drives for Intralogistics Systems

NORD DRIVE SYSTEMS has developed user-friendly, lowmaintenance electronic drives for intralogistics systems.

The new frequency inverter and motor starter models for distributed installations are especially easy to deploy and operate. Coded plug-in connectors ensure comfortable handling throughout a system’s lifetime, from the initial installation, to maintenance, to eventual replacement.

The devices provide very flexible mechanical and feature customization options that can all be configured to individual requirements: interface ports, manual switches, and a range of functions that even include closed-loop control and sequential control managed by an integrated PLC.

The Graphite Edge Controller can be easily scaled for large applications using Red Lion Graphite Expansion Racks. The expansion racks allow up to 25 additional modules to be added to an Edge Controller.

With TRMS Clamp meter we can measure DCµA current which has a special feature of Non-contact EF detection with Crest peakRMS hold & data hold facility.

It has the highest safety levels having transient protection upto 6 KV lighting surge and meets the requirements for CAT III 600V & CAT IV 300V AC & DC.

It has a water proof detecting head, being tightly enclosed, is free from any trouble due to dust, dirt & water.

Model 276HD High voltage Detector’s working voltage range for 3kV ~ 24kV & Low voltage range is 80kV ~ 600kV AC. Its frequency range is 50Hz / 60HZ.

Distributed drives must execute commands from a higher-level central control system with absolute reliability. In many scenarios, however, operating staff and service technicians may also require optional direct access to individual drives or drive axes on location. Such access enables them to quickly resolve small problems like a jammed conveyor belt.

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.Visit: www.kusamelectrical.com

Visit: www.kusamelectrical.com

Visit: www.nord.com

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HARTING expands capacity in Sibiu, Romania HARTING RO Automotive in Sibiu.

At present, electric and electronic industrial plug connectors, power cables for e-mobility, communications and hybrid plug connectors, and current sensors for industry and rail are manufactured in the assembly shops which are equipped with the latest machinery, plant and tools, before being shipped to customers worldwide, mainly in the transport, automation, medical technology and wind energy, engineering and robotics sectors.

HARTING Technology Group, one of the world’s leading providers of industrial connection technology has recently revealed its production facility in Sibiu, Romania which is a large-scale expansion of the production plant. In the presence of Sibiu’s mayor, Astrid Cora Fodor, and members of the Harting family business, Managing Director Wolfgang Talmon-Gros handed the plant and its management over to his successor, Laurentiu Nedelea.

Philip Harting, HARTING CEO said that the expansion of production in Sibiu and the construction of the new building is a testimony to outstanding levels of growth. The capacities have expanded because of the steadily rising demands and innovative products and solutions.

The total area of HARTING Romania Manufacturing SCS has increased by nearly 7,000 square metres to about 12,000. Last autumn, the group’s automotive industry business was hived off and concentrated at the new

HARTING Group is the biggest foreign production facility with around 600 employees in both businesses in Sibiu and a plant in the neighbouring small town of Agnita, Romania. Since 2008, HARTING Romania Manufacturing is one of the four founding companies of the Romanian-German Association has almost doubled its turnover for Dual System Training in Sibiu.

At the end of 2002, HARTING with their partner company began production, in the centre of Sibiu. In mid-2007, they started own production plant for connectivity and networks products in Sibiu.

KOLLMORGEN to showcase the AKD2G Servo Amplifier and PCMM Motion Controller KOLLMORGEN is a leading provider of integrated automation and drive systems will exhibit the AKD2G servo amplifier and PCMM motion controller at Hannover Messe from 24 to 28 April 2017 at the ETG user organization stand in Hall 9, Stand D18.

KOLLMORGEN uses EtherCAT as the system bus for the second generation of AKD2G servo amplifier and highperformance communication with EtherCAT also plays a vital role for the new PCMM motion controller. Both devices will be exhibited at 72 www.martupdate.com

the joint ETG stand.

Machinery and plant manufacturers have a real advantage when safety technology communication is incorporated into the machine’s existing real-time communications. The second generation of KOLLMORGEN AKD2G servo amplifier uses FSoE - the EtherCAT safety protocol - for safe communication.

Since safety and motion both run over the same cable, the need for additional secure wiring together with EA safety modules to control the safe motion functions has

been eliminated.

The AKD2G is particularly remarkable for safe brake control (SBC) and the integrated safe brake test

(SBT), KOLLMORGEN provides an important safety function, for, as an example, the vertical axes on the controller side.

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GETTING THE JOB DONE. TOGETHER

Dormer and Pramet have joined forces. Together, we offer a comprehensive range of indexable and rotary cutting tools. Our real offer, though, is about much more.

Yes, our products are consistently high quality, easily available and come with the advice and guidance you

www.dormerpramet.com

have the right to expect. But we also believe in taking time to build a clear understanding of your business needs. This not only ensures we give you exactly the support you need, but helps build trust – the foundation for all true partnerships. That’s how we get the job done. Simply Reliable.

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