EM Jul Aug 2011

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Jul/Aug 2011

Th e tr ade m aga z in e fo r

e f f i c i e n t m a n u fa c t u r i n g Manufacturing success

Managing the lean workflow p. 22

EM - Interview Pavel Hajman President, Asia-Pacific Seco Tools

(p. 32)

Round-table

▶ Redefining automotive machining p. 26 Focus

▶ Automotive manufacturing p. 44 p. 94 Test & Measurement

Machining centres

An alternative to check fixtures | 50 |

Automation & control

Setting the alignment | 60 |

Right ‘sizing’ control architecture | 76 |

The power pack for deep grooves Deep grooves in a single infeed, now that sounds like saving energy.

That is just what the latest introductions to our grooving range will do.

Available in different widths, these inserts form and narrow the chips so they don ‘t get stuck in the groove, saving you valuable time on stoppages and reprogramming.

Put power in your grooving, contact a yellow coat.

www.sandvik.coromant.com

Editorial

Delving into global technology

A

ccess to new technologies is no longer an elective. Technologies are changing so rapidly, that a machine tool working today will lose its productivity (competitive) advantage within 3 to 5 years time span. At a time when the order books are full and production in many parts of the world is running at full tilt, each and every innovation that contributes to increased manufacturing efficiency is more than welcome. That’s where exhibitions like EMO are playing a pivotal role in the manufacturing industry across the globe. Companies with an appetite for new technologies have found EMO as a very apt place not only to gain access to the European market but also to keep track of what is happening in the manufacturing world – see the innovations, understand the new technologies and applications, and study the new market trends.

“At a time when the order books are full and production in many parts of the world is running at full tilt, each and every innovation that contributes to increased manufacturing efficiency is more than welcome”

The largest machine tool show in the world, EMO has been considered as a ‘mecca’ for manufacturers from around the world. Across the full spectrum of technologies from simple machines to complex manufacturing systems presented in the show, customers can compare the products, solution competence and innovative potential of the various suppliers, and choose what best suits their requirements. This is true with regards to the fact that technologies can merge and also be substituted for each other. Thus providing a comprehensive overview making it indispensable for all users. According to Dr Detlev Elsinghorst, General Commissioner of EMO-Hannover, 2011 will go down, as one of its biggest events ever in the 30-year history and it will top the previous event in terms of size, diversity, and international flair.

As for India, Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) has taken up the challenge to promote Indian companies in the international market, as a profitable and reliable long-term partner, with capacity for high value-addition in terms of design and manufacturing, backed by ethical commercial practices. EMO-Hannover 2011 will have an active presence of Indian machine tool companies (24 participants) demonstrating these qualities.

EM too will have an active participation in EMO-Hannover 2011, and will be working closely with IMTMA in its endeavour to promote Indian machine tool companies. With this, we will showcase the strength of the Indian industry in the fair and bring home the stories on the fair activities. Turn to the preview article on EMO in this issue for more details.

Wish you a great business success at EMO-Hannover 2011!

Shekhar Jitkar Publisher & Chief Editor shekhar.jitkar@publish-industry.net

For subscription log on to: www. efficientmanufacturing.in

Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

Di s t r i but or sWant ed Tol l Fr ee:18001028456 Enqui r yi ndi a@f ar o. c om

Vi s i tMi cr os i t e

Gl obalSal esOf f i ces: Aust r al i a▪Br azi l▪Chi na▪Fr ance▪Ger many▪I ndi a▪I t al y▪J apan▪Mal aysi a▪Mexi co▪Net her l ands▪Phi l i ppi nes▪Pol and Por t ugal▪Si ngapor e▪Spai n▪Sout hKor ea▪Swi t zer l and▪Thai l and▪Tur key▪Uni t edKi ngdom ▪USA ▪Vi et nam

Contents

|6|

Managing the lean workflow

| 22 |

Unfolding multifold opportunities

MarkEt

| 44 |

Management

12 News

18 SMEs need to be competitive Interview with John Fox VP, Marketing, Siemens PLM

26 Redefining the multiplier effect Stirring of ideas by industry veterans on automotive machining and how it continues to contribute to the growth of the machine tool industry

20 “We are keen on being innovative…”

Interview with V Nagesh MD, Cosmos Impex (India) Pvt Ltd

Events

94 More than just machine tools A preview on EMO-Hannover show

Management

Cover Story

22 Managing the lean workflow Read why manufacturing companies are focusing on lean operations as key to competitiveness in today’s global competition

Working globally, developing locally

Round-Table

32 Working globally, developing locally Interview with Pavel Hajman, President, AsiaPacific & Senior VP, Business Development, Seco Tools 34 Engineering the future An account of the success story of DMG/Mori Seiki India 36 Highlighting key HR trends Read about the key HR trends in the manufacturing sector in India 40 Lean performance measures Know the various performance metrics used by companies nowadays to gauge productivity

| 32 |

focus

AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING

44 Unfolding multifold opportunities A sneak-peak into the Indian automotive industry and galore opportunities for automation and enterprise solution providers

Special Feature Test & Measurement 50 An alternative to check fixtures Read how the limitations of check fixtures have turned the companies towards other solutions like combining modular tooling with portable coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) 56 Future of test & measurement in India An interesting read on the major trends that are slated to drive the test and measurement industry in the subcontinent

|7|

Future of test & measurement in India

| 56 |

Engineering the future

| 34 |

TechnOLOGY

Machining centres

60 Setting the alignment A detailed study on the latest trends and facets of machining centres

Conditioning monitoring & maintenance

64 Keeping power plants online Case study on monitoring and diagnostics and how online monitoring systems are especially necessary in power production plants

Automation & robotics

68 Utmost precision for plastic components An application story on the unbeatable accuracy of Kuka robots for the injection moulding of plastic parts

Cutting tools

70 Turning stainless steel An overview on machining strategies to machine stainless steel in order to get productivity and process quality

NEW PRODUCTS

Automation & control

76 Right ‘sizing’ control architecture Read on how machine builders can rightsize a control architecture effortlessly to scale from small to large and from single- to multidisciplined applications to meet end user‘s needs

Manufacturing IT

82 Breaking down barriers Get to know how product lifecycle management (PLM) is a key component of GPD

Material handling

86 Buyer’s guide for overhead cranes An in-depth read on selection of electric overhead traveling cranes and suitable applications

Supply chain management

90 Transiting effectively An insight into the innovative support strategy adopted by defence sector

98 Fiber laser, Bluetooth technology, Openarchitecture CAE solution, Milemate Box and bearing 100 Blast turning, Oil-free compressor, Yoke bearing, Shot blasting machine 102 Indexable drills, Airless Y-monorails, 3D design and engineering software, NTX 1000

COLUMNS 03 Editorial 06 Contents 104 Highlights - Next issue 104 Company index

±

CMYK

±

Machine modernization / Retrofit

Sinumerik Retrofit A new lease of life for your machine tool Siemens provides retrofit solutions for your machines and its components like drives, motors and of course the proven Sinumerik controls. So both, your machine and your business, get a new lease of life.

• Increased productivity by reducing the standstill and downtimes and through faster cycles when machining complex parts • Higher quality through improved accuracy, simple operations and programming • Assured supply of spare parts over a long period of time For more details mail to : machinetool.india@siemens.com www.siemens.com/sinumerik

±

s

CMYK

±

Answers for industry.

Beyond Blast technology uses low-pressure conditions to offer high-pressure performance TM

Through-channel coolant, delivered at the cutting edge, results in twice the tool life of standard inserts

Delivers superior performance on Titanium and high-temperature alloys, using either high- or low-pressure coolant systems

Effective thermal management results in reduced cutting temperatures, improved lubricity, superior chip control, and longer tool life

More than just the right tool — the ultimate solution. That’s Beyond Blast.

TM

That’s Different Thinking.

At Kennametal, innovation follows vision. Our revolutionary products are inspired by asking “what if?”

The solutions that follow — like our Beyond Blast through-coolant inserts — deliver remarkable results in the world’s most demanding machining environments.

TM

A cutting-edge insert that delivers coolant precisely at the cutting edge. Now that’s Different Thinking.

That’s Kennametal.

To learn more about your productivity gains using Beyond Blast technology, call 91 80 2839 4321 or visit www.kennametal.com.

TM

©2010 Kennametal Inc. l All rights reserved. l A-10-02451

| 12 |

market news

New manufacturing policy

Femco expanding horizons

■ The Government gave an in-

■ Far East Machinery Co Ltd

principle nod to a draft policy to significantly enhance the share of manufacturing in GDP and generate substantial employment in the country, while reducing the compliance burden on industry. The policy aims to raise the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per cent by 2025 from 1516 per cent at present, and generate 100 million jobs in manufacturing by 2025.

The creation of national manufacturing and investment zones as mega investment regions, equipped with worldclass infrastructure, has been proposed as a major policy instrument. The Prime Minister observed that the proposed measures would reduce the compliance burden on industry,

The policy encourages access by Indian companies to foreign know-how and develops indigenous technology through fiscal incentives and subsidies

an official statement said. It was also decided that the policy has to be formulated by adequately taking care of environment and labour concerns. The policy also lays emphasis on creating a manufacturing industry promotion board, to ensure coordination between Central and State Government.

Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in

> more @ click | EM00422

(Femco), headquartered in Taiwan, is a multi-divisional steel manufacturing company operating in diversified commercial industries. In January 2011, Femco incorporated Femco India (Fatty Tuna India Pvt Ltd) at Pune whose main purpose is to sell and distribute a full line of CNC machine tools including CNC horizontal lathes, CNC vertical lathes, CNC horizontal boring mills, CNC vertical machining centres, and CNC wheel turning machines. To answer to the needs of the Indian market, Femco India is in the process of creating a state-of-the-art technology centre in Pune. It will be operational in the beginning of 2012, and will include a training centre, a warehouse,

Femco distributes a full line of CNC machine tools

and spare parts management.

Femco India also provides comprehensive sales, after sales service, and application support to customers in India.

From installing a new machine, supporting customer’s existing machines when issues arise, to providing spare parts, their qualified service engineers go on-site to support and fix the problems.

Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in

> more @ click | EM00423

Increase in global machine tool demand ■ There will be an increase of

Image courtesy: DMG

9.4 per cent annually through 2014, in global demand for machine tool products, with market valued at $121 billion, paced by demand from China, India, and other developing nations, according to a new study – World Machine Tools from an industry marketresearch firm - The Fredonia Group. The study defines the market to include metalcutting machine tools, metalforming machine tools, and machine tool accessories. While the developing world will lead the expansion in the metalcutting machine tool segment, growth in North America will be ‘respectable’ only because 2009 was such a dismal year for the US market. Gains in Japan and Western Europe

The global market for metal-cutting machine tools is seen expanding

will lag the global average by considerable factors, the study predicts. “Although the industrial machinery and equipment market will continue to account for the largest share of demand in 2014, the transportation sector will post the strongest gains,” according to The Freedonia Group. Demand will also be enhanced by the commercial aircraft production industry.

In addition, gains in the electronic equipment market will benefit from increasing per capita incomes in developing countries that will allow consumers to buy electronic products. The global market for metal-cutting machine tools is seen expanding 8.6 per cent annually to $61 billion through 2014. The increase will be abetted by recoveries in key end-use markets in the

developed world. Metal cutting tools will continue to account for a majority of the total machine tools market through 2014, Freedonia contends, and world demand for metalforming machine tools will increase 8.3 per cent annually to $23 billion through 2014.

Freedonia Group forecasts the global market for machine tool accessories will increase 11.6 per cent annually to $37 billion through 2014 - the fastest rate of growth expected in any of the major machine tool market segments. “Newer metalcutting and metal-forming tools last longer and need less frequent replacement reducing their growth potential,“ the researchers stated Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in

> more @ click | EM00424

Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

| 14 |

market news

Forbes makes it to top 50

Muratec strengthens its presence in India

■ Forbes

■ Muratec, a Japan-based

11th position among Marshall has been ranked 11 the 471 companies in the top 25 ‘Best which participated Workplaces‘ in India in the survey across for the year 2011 all sections in the based on a survey Industry.

Forbes conducted by the Marshall was also Great Place to Rati Forbes, Director, recognised as the Work Institute. The Forbes Marshall 2nd best company in Institute is a pioneer the manufacturing in studying and recognising & production industry and also great places to work across the ranked as the 2nd best company globe. The study conducted in employee participation in annually, is in its eighth year CSR activities. This is the third and has a presence in across time Forbes Marshall is ranked 40 countries around the globe among India‘s top 25 ‘Best covering over one million Workplaces‘. They were also employees. It is one of the listed among the top 25 in oldest, most comprehensive 2005 and 2008. A noteworthy and respected workplace study best practice, that the study in the world. Forbes Marshall, mentions, is the value digression the only Pune-based company council and its activities. to make it to the top 50 list for Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in the country, was awarded the > more @ click | EM00425

company is strengthening its presence in India through its associate company – Meiban Engineering Technologies.

With the inauguration of the latest tech centre in Bangalore, Muratec is eyeing a larger share of the Indian market A V Srinivasan – CEO, Meiban Engineering for turnkey projects Technologies Pvt Ltd, Yosuke Murata – Vice President, Murata Machinery Ltd, Japan, Koichi Ibara – Consul for manufacturing and head of the consulate of Japan, Bangalore, Akira automobile and sheet Maeda – MD, Machine Tool Division, Murata metal components. Machinery Ltd, Japan The tech centre acts as a demo centre and will help CEO, Meiban Engineering Meiban in providing better Technologies Pvt Ltd, said, “we quality sale support. Currently are glad to be part of Muratec Muratec‘s sales turnover is and with the addition of tech slightly above `30 crore in India centre in Bangalore, we hope to and with the additional set up, achieve better heights.” aims to achieve `125 crore in Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in 4 years time. A V Srinivasan, > more @ click | EM00426

n-GEn Automation bags distributorship Customising steel products in Middle East ■ n-GEn

Automation, Pune has been appointed as specialty distributors for SKF mechatronic product range.

The mechatronics product range covers linear motion guides and rails, ball screws, roller screw, actuators, linear bearings etc. With the legacy of SKF’s rich expertise, these products have already earned an excellent reputation and global acceptance in market for their accuracy, precision and repeatability.

Distributorship of SKF mechatronic division has added some more pride to n-Gen Automation, which has more than 500 domestic as well as international customers. SKF, which has become synonymous with bearings in the market and has now forayed into

■ Endeavouring to expand its

Sunil Chrungu, GM, SBU, SKF India inaugurating the exclusive SKF Mechatronics office

mechatronics business recently in India. Having achieved major milestones for accuracy and precision in Europe and United States since long, SKF along with n-GEn Automation is determined to make SKF the first word for mechatronics in India as well.

Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in

> more @ click | EM00427

global footprint, Essar Steel Processing and Distribution - ESPD, part of Essar Steel, announced the commissioning of a service centre facility that will cater to the needs of customers in Middle East and neighbouring regions. This is the third facility after the one in the UK for the European region and one in Indonesia that caters to the East Asian market.

With this, ESPD has ramped up its international service centre capacity to one million ton per annum. Commenting on this facility, Vikram Amin, Executive Director (Sales & Marketing) said, “Middle East is a natural market for us since we are located on the west coast of India. The facility at Dubai is part of our distribution

The facility comprises three state - of- theart hot rolled cut-to-length, HR slitter & CR & GI combination (slitting & cut-to-length) line

strategy to enhance our reach to customers and improve our customer centricity, reliability of delivery and this supports us in becoming the steel maker of choice for large and small customers.” The facility has a processing capacity of 250,000 tons per annum.

Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in

> more @ click | EM00428

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| 16 |

market news

Expanding in India

Solar photovoltaics gaining impetus

■ GKN Driveline is continuing

■ Within the next 10 years, solar

its rapid growth in India with the groundbreaking of a new manufacturing facility for CVJ systems and trans axle solution in Pune. This `130 crore (£ 18 million) factory will employ more than 200 people and is strategically located within 30 kilometres of a number of GKN Driveline customers including Fiat, Volkswagen, General Motors, Tata and Renault. When fully operation in August 2012, the new 8000 sq mt facility will have an annual production capacity of more than 600,000 CVJ systems. It is planned for the new facility to also manufacture differentials from GKN Driveline‘s trans axle solutions product range. “This new facility positions GKN

Marc Vuarchex, MD, GKN Driveline Asia Pacific & Ravindra Ojha, MD, GKN Driveline India

Driveline strongly to meet the continued rapid growth of India‘s automotive industry. It is the next step in our mission to remain close and accessible to our customers in west India,“ said Marc Vuarchex, Managing Director, GKN Driveline Asia Pacific.“ Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in

> more @ click | EM00429

photovoltaic (PV) systems have the potential to be the most economical form of generating electricity, even compared to traditional fossil fuels, say solar energy experts from IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional association. To achieve this cost parity, the global industry must continue to improve the efficiency of solar PV cell technologies and create economies of scale to further decrease manufacturing costs. IEEE has several initiatives to encourage these advancements. “Solar PV will be a game changer,” said James Prendergast, IEEE Senior Member and IEEE Executive Director. “No other alternative source has the same potential. As the cost of

By 2050, it is expected that solar PV will provide 11% of global electricity production, corresponding to 3,000 gigawatts of cumulative installed capacity

electricity from solar continues to decrease compared to traditional energy sources we will see tremendous market adoption, and I suspect it will be a growth limited only by supply. I fundamentally believe that solar PV will become one of the key elements of the solution to our near- and longterm energy challenges.”

Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in

> more @ click | EM00430

Software internationalisation

Swiss made precision

■ The

■ Swiss Made Precision is a

times are long gone when users would accept an English language version.

The magic words for the export-driven machine tool industry are: software internationalisation. Under the motto of ‘More than machine tools’, successful machine tool manufacturers offer appropriate capabilities in this regard. “People around the world are only interested in one language: ‘the language of success’ is how DCC GmbH from Hannover greets visitors to its website as a pointer to its specialised services. The firm from Lower Saxony has long since realised that there’s a lot more involved when it comes to internationalising products. Just translating the operator menus, for

example, or the technical documentation is not enough.

What customers really want is software internationalisation, something that is meanwhile being addressed by a dedicated working group at the VDMA (German Engineering Federation).

“Our software development people work with a network of translators from the countries concerned”, explains Sven Just, Technical Managing Director, DCC. Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in

> more @ click | EM00431

common platform showcasing five leading companies from within this sector. The companies conducted a series of seminars in Delhi (June 27, 2011), Pune (June 29, 2011) and Chennai (July 1, 2011) presenting the customers with the opportunity to expose themselves to the latest technology Switzerland has to offer in this niche sector.

In addition, participants had the opportunity to interact with high-level Swiss representatives of ‘Swiss Made Precision’ through oneon-one individual meetings.

Companies that participated were Fritz Studer AG, Winterthur Schleiftechnik AG, Blaser Swisslube, HommelEtamic, Erowa AG. The seminar

An exclusive one-to-one discussion between the customers and the companies from the Swiss Group successfully held interest of a strong group of more than 250 engineers across India on topics such as grinding technology, factors involved in the grinding process, use of proper tools and consumables to achieve higher productivity as well as better surface finish and quality.

Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in

> more @ click | EM00432

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Download the PDF file from www.efficientmanufacturing.in

| 18 |

market interview

SMEs need to be competitive John Fox, VP, Marketing, Siemens PLM, orients on the manifold advantages of synchronous technology, to Soumi Mitra, post global launch of Solid Edge ST4. Read on the interview excerpts…

■ How would you define the event, where we launched ST4, ■ How can the additional ■ How will the users be role of Velocity portfolio for Siemens in India?

India is an important market for us and we are targeting for growth as more Indian SMBs expand their participation as suppliers in global markets.

Our products – out-of-the-box software tools that help SMB manufacturers develop better products more efficiently are well suited for manufacturers in India, offering an easy entry point into product lifecycle management (PLM) and a fast return-on-investment. From a marketing perspective we have realised how important it is for us to raise the visibility of the four individual products in the portfolio: Solid Edge, our 3D CAD system, Femap, for CAE, Teamcenter Express, and CAM Express. These are great product brands which in the past have sometimes been obscured by the ‘Velocity Series’ moniker.

■

In terms of understanding the requirements of the customers and responding to the same promptly, how does Solid Edge ST4 has an edge over the others?

Our last two Solid Edge product releases – Solid Edge ST3 in October 2010 and now, ST4 – have contained enhancements that address literally thousands of customer requests. We take pride in our ability to continuously interact with our customers and feed their input into the product. For example – at our recent global user group

we held numerous roundtable discussions, each focusing on a different area of functionality, where users could sit down with our product managers and provide their input for future releases.

■

How do you perceive the role of Solid Edge in the SME market globally, especially in India?

Solid Edge is the best CAD system for SME manufacturers,

features of ST 4 contribute towards reducing engineering costs?

On the synchronous technology side, Solid Edge ST4 accelerates machine design by eliminating pre-planning, eliminating model regeneration, and improving imported 2D and 3D data re-use. All these translate directly into reduced time, development and engineering change costs. In addition, Solid Edge is the first mainstream

“It’s imperative for Indian SMEs to be competitive in terms of time-tomarket, cost, quality and innovation” John Fox and with synchronous technology it has a distinct advantage over its competitors. This represents the next big leap in productivity. It enables a new way of designing that dramatically speeds up the process of creating and editing designs and makes it easy to quickly edit and reuse imported 3D designs. What used to take days can now be accomplished in hours, or less.

Countries with emerging manufacturing sectors, like India, need access to the best tools and innovations like these in order to compete in the global market. It’s imperative for Indian SMEs to be competitive in terms of time-to-market, cost, quality and innovation.

3D CAD system to employ the lightweight JT data format in assembly design; expanding the designers’ ability to work in a multi-CAD environment. ST4 includes enhanced third-party translators and 3D PDF creation, which means designers, can now collaborate more effectively with customers and suppliers.

And finally, we recognise that drawings are the key deliverable and a key cost driver for many companies, and we continue to focus on reducing drawing production time. New features in ST4 like improved part lists, dimension display control, and text boxes with bullets and numbering accelerate the creation of drawings and reduce engineering costs.

benefitted more in terms of machine design?

Solid Edge functionality in machine design has always been strong, and we’ve made it even better in ST4. Some examples include a new automated ‘live sections’ capability that enables designers to more easily and quickly create and edit revolved parts, new 3D modeling relationships to facilitate the centering, offsetting and editing of native or imported geometry, and new 3D assembly relationships to automatically position parts in an assembly to avoid part interference.

■

Please brief us how Solid Edge ST4 enhances sheetmetal capabilities to improve finite element mesh reliability across very complicated parts.

Designers can now create and use mid-surfaces of sheet metal models during a part or assembly simulation. A new capability to unite surface and solid bodies improves finite element mesh reliability across very complicated parts and makes it easier to simulate real-world scenarios. Also, new options to refine and control meshing, such as the ability to control the minimum number of elements on an edge as well as maximum elements on small faces lets users increase detail, resulting in more accurate results.

■

Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in

> more @ click | EM00433

Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

Download the PDF file from www.efficientmanufacturing.in

| 20 |

market interview

“We are keen on being innovative…”

V Nagesh, Managing Director, Cosmos Impex (India) Pvt Ltd, takes pride in elaborating the philosophy of the company and the innovative initiatives of its team members. In the course of interview with EM, he details about the recent collaboration and joint ventures of the company and its expansion plans. Read on the interview excerpts…

■ Has

bagging the FIE Foundation Award in IMTEX 2011 brought about difference on the innovation front?

Such prestigious awards provide motivation to our team. We have a team with an experience of more than two decades and is passionate about developing newer innovative concepts.

We have already designed and delivered more than 10 special purpose machines to some of our prestigious customers in the first year itself. These machines are very innovative in design and meet accuracy requirements. We are keen on being innovative and enthusiastic in understanding all about metal cutting and machine tools.

■ With

the increase in demand in machine tools how do you manage to cope with the pace?

It is difficult to get the bought out items, and key components delivered on time under the pressure of increased demand.

To cater to our customers’ needs and be a partner in their new developments, we have made huge investment in the inventory of machine tools to give a shorter delivery time, to be part of their expansion process.

■ How

do you walk the company’s philosophy – ‘your

partner in progress’?

We are in capital goods machinery and deliver the best value to our clients for their investment. We walk on the philosophy of providing value for the money invested.

Team Cosmos is building its market shares with not only various product mix, but also with customer back-up

all our business associates from Taiwan also believe and support our philosophy –‘Your partner in progress’.

Lately, we have signed two manufacturing agreements with our Taiwan partners. Talks for couple of collaborations are also in the pipeline. We have strong back-up from world’s renowned CNC machine tool

“It is difficult to get the bought out items, and key components delivered on time under the pressure of increased demand” V Nagesh support system, which is the key support in capital goods.

The well-established sales and service network comprising 11 branch offices covering all potential industrial areas has played a pivotal role in the rapid growth of business. A committed team of over 250 employees in Cosmos group is always ready to take up challenges to deliver enhanced value to the customers.

■ Is there any specific reason for all your manufacturing partners being from Taiwan till date?

Cosmos team works on its core values and basic principles blended with emotions. And

manufactures like FFG FEELER group & YOUJI group to cater to most of the requirements of our customers.

■ Which industry sectors do you cater to the most?

We have a wide range of machine tools and metal cutting solutions for the enduser industry. Our product range includes: vertical & horizontal machining centres, turning centres, vertical turning lathes, double column machining centres, large CNC boring & milling machines, large floor boring machines, heavy duty flatbed lathes, range of 5-axis machines, CNC EDMs & wirecut EDMs, surface

& cylindrical grinding machines and special purpose machines.

We cater to diverse industry segments like pumps & valves, motors and generators, automotive components, steel plant, wind mill & turbine manufacturers, gear box & earth moving equipment, die & moulds, defence equipment, infrastructure & shipping, aerospace, industrial machinery, and implants & medical equipment manufacturers.

■ Please

share with us the company’s current manufacturing expansion plans.

Around five years ago we ventured jointly with Goldensun GSA, from Taiwan, and today we are the only manufacturer in India for hydraulic turrets. In 2010, we started a NC & CNC surface grinding manufacturing setup at Vadodara, which is a state-of-the-art design innovation centre based on European technology. We have recently signed a MOU with a worldclass machine tool manufacturer for setting up a full production facility in India by mid-2012. And have also inked a production tie-up agreement for manufacturing high-tech products in India by 2015.

■

Further information at www.efficientmanufacturing.in

> more @ click | EM00434

Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

| 22 |

cover story management

Download the PDF file from www.efficientmanufacturing.in

Managing the lean workflow

In previous iterations of supply chain evolution, excellence came from lean-inflenced or demand-driven planning. However, with chaos or ‘chronic uncertainty’ emerging as the dominant operational environment factor, this approach is no longer likely to result in competitive differentiation and the next generation of supply chain excellence will depend on chaos-tolerant business processes.

■ Souma Das

M

Souma Das VP - Sales and Managing Director Infor, India souma.das@infor.com

any manufacturing and distribution companies have rightly focused on lean operations and thinking as key to competitiveness in today’s global markets.

Cost reduction, waste elimination, shortened lead-times, improved quality and demand-driven production all contribute to the success of industry leaders across the spectrum and around the globe. One prime characteristic of lean operations, however, is

the elimination of traditional ‘buffers’ that protect a manufacturer from disruptions caused by late receipts of parts and materials, equipment breakdowns, quality rejects, insufficient lead-times (promises within lead-time, engineering changes after production has started) changing demand, and other everyday challenges. In today’s increasingly unpredictable environment, this lack of buffer places additional stress on the plant and supply chain in their struggle Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

| 23 | to satisfy customer demands. Planning and the included simulation, collaboration, and communication functions are critical tools for detecting impending or developing change, determining the projected impact of the change (before it affects operations), identifying the best strategy for responding to the change, and implementing that strategy not only in the plant but through the entire supply chain.

In pursuit of excellence Manufacturers continually strive to become better – improving quality, reducing costs, increasing flexibility and agility, looking for ways to improve customer service.

This imperative has led to a stream of developments in information systems (MRP, MRP II, ERP, SCM, SRM, CRM and many more) as well as a continuing evolution in operational strategies from just-in-time to TQM, Six Sigma, Kanban, and other lean approaches. Today, however, the manufacturing world is characterised by uncertainty. The dramatic swings in the cost of oil and all related petroleum-based materials are just one example of many.

Critical raw materials are suddenly in short supply as weather patterns disrupt fragile supply chains. Wildly fluctuating exchange rates change the economics of imported materials and the demand for exported products. Stresses in the banking arena influence the availability of funds and credit as well as interest rates and stock values. Civil unrest changes the availability of materials and the nature of demand in certain areas of the world. Any disruption caused by, say, a labour dispute or a warehouse fire, ripples through the supply chain causing havoc across entire industries around the globe.

Lean operations, by their very nature, reduce or eliminate the usual buffers that manufacturers build into their operations to overcome expected volatility. Extra inventory (often called ‘safety stock’), padded leadtimes, generous lot sizing, and ‘shrinkage’ allowances all contribute to an ability to continue operations when the inevitable but unwelcome disruption occurs. Each of these buffers increases inventory, which is an undesirable commodity in a tightly managed, efficient (lean) environment. It is important, however, for companies to understand what impact changes have on Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

operations, plans and competitiveness; and proactively prepare themselves to thrive and grow in this new reality. Effective and dynamic planning is more critical in a lean environment where there is much less room for errors or surprises. The lean enterprise and supply chain are a veritable ballet of coordinated activities designed to minimise ‘waste’ – defined as anything that does not add value. Lean enterprises do not operate solely on mechanical methods like Kanban.

Even in the leanest of plants, there is still a need for computer systems to manage customer orders and billing/collections, purchasing and supplier management, accounting and finance, engineering, and even materials and planning. The good news is that these systems are also the key to keeping the lean plant operating in a chaotic world.

Demand disturbances Lean enterprises are ‘demand driven’ meaning that, at least in theory, nothing happens until there is a customer order (demand). As soon as there is demand, all activities are tied to that demand in a ‘pull’ execution strategy – materials are pulled into and through the plant to make the product and ship it out. In reality, everything must be prepared in advance to be able to respond to the demand signal and that takes planning.

Inherent in that planning process is some kind of forecast. Based on the forecast and plan, production facilities are set up, materials and components are staged, and everything is ready to respond quickly.

When the demand hits and the products are produced, replenishment activities pull replacements into line ready for the next demand. When demand changes, or does not fit the forecast, the otherwise smooth execution no longer meets demand exactly and the intricate arrangement of production and material flow is now out of sync. The most effective preventive strategy is early detection and quick adjustment to minimise waste and assure product availability.

First off, the forecast must be as accurate as possible and carefully monitored. This is best done through working closely with key customers using collaboration technologies built into modern planning suites. Then monitor the forecast and use business intelligence applications to help

Effective and dynamic planning is more critical in a lean environment

detect trends and changes. Next, advanced demand planning applications offer simulation capabilities to let one try various ‘what-if ’ scenarios to identify the impact of changes and formulate the best response strategy. Finally, lock in the revised plan and let the system communicate the necessary changes through the plant and down the entire supply chain.

Supply snafus It happens to all of us - A key supplier fails to meet a delivery date; a transportation foul-up delays shipment; a key material is suddenly in short supply; a lot fails inspection and is not usable; if there isn’t enough extra inventory to cover the problem, production will be interrupted, etc. Early detection and quick response, and fixing the problem once and for all, are the keys to resolving these kinds of problems. But preparation can help minimise the damage. Most lean enterprises have established close working relationships with suppliers – pretty much a necessity for getting the kind of service necessary to be successful with lean. Working closely within those relationships to avoid the kind of disruptions listed above is the first step.

Despite one’s (joint) best efforts, sometimes problems cannot be avoided. In those cases, the planning system can help quickly identify the impact of the shortage and how one might be able to redeploy production resources in the interim. Also, one may have contingencies built into the plan (alternate suppliers, substitute parts) that could be activated on short notice. It’s good to have thought these things through in advance so that one is prepared to move quickly to resolve the problem.

| 24 |

cover story management

Production perturbation In a conventional (non-flow) plant, production control and capacity planning applications provide the tools to schedule and manage the flow of work through the plant. When that flow is interrupted because of schedule changes (change in demand, late order change, late engineering change), material or part shortages, or because of production problems (machine breakdowns, unscheduled maintenance, personnel issues, etc), the scheduling system will react immediately to adjust to the changed conditions. Once the scheduler is made aware of the change in production status, the impact on job completions can be seen immediately. If there are possible work-arounds (alternate work centres that can complete the operations, outside vendors to off-load the work to) that impact can be simulated to get new estimates of completion and shipments. In any case, the system can tell when work will be completed under the new situation so one could alert customers, if necessary.

In addition, schedules can and should be adjusted for all other resources in the plant to keep them productive while the problem is being rectified. In a flow shop, it’s not so easy to adjust to disruptions. In some cases, it may be possible to change the product mix to work around changes in demand or supply but generally changeover has a considerable cost and unplanned changeovers should be avoided if at all possible. In most cases, then, it is best to attack supply and equipment problems directly, in order to get the process back on-line as quickly as possible. Once again, preparation is the key. If there are alternate suppliers or substitute materials, now is the time to activate them – the planning system can show the impact of the disturbance and simulate recovery alternatives so one can choose the best approach. It is also of critical importance to utilise enterprise asset management and maintenance management systems to proactively avoid equipment breakdowns and unplanned outages. For production problems, options are limited.

When a line is down, it’s down. The system can show the impact on projected customer shipments and, if it is a feeder line that’s down, immediately identify the products, customers and shipments that will be

affected and by how much. Simulation of potential failures can help one be better prepared by clearly identifying the impact and helping one choose compensatory strategies to result in the best customer service and minimum overall cost.

Design dilemmas Late order and late engineering changes – those that occur after the start of production – are a difficult but unavoidable fact of life for many manufacturers. There are two strategies that can help here – prevention and effective change control.

Enhanced engineering processes might help avoid ‘late’ changes by shortening the engineering process and improving quality of initial release. Integrated engineering control and release applications manage documents, specifications and workflow.

They enhance the ability to coordinate with other departments – procurement, production, finance, and customer service – to improve the manufacturability and appropriateness of the design, and manage the release process so that all areas of the business are on board with the release of the product or change. Collaboration enhancements help include customers and suppliers in the design and development processes to exploit their expertise and capabilities as well. If it is a change to an existing product or an item already in production, the integrated tools can help assess the impact of the change and assist in determining the best break-in point to minimise waste, scrap, and obsolescence.

In cases where there is a change after production has started, the important thing is to put the change into place as quickly and effectively as possible. Effectively, in this instance, means full coordination with all affected departments and resources, careful consideration of the impact of the change, management of the change implementation process for minimum waste and disruption, and good communication so that all parties are on board with the change as it goes into effect. It should be obvious that integrated information management systems are essential for accomplishing a smooth engineering change implementation.

The workflow function manages the communication and coordination as well as the updating of files and schedules. The

Factory team lean flow

integration supports impact analysis and planning.

Quality quandaries Regardless of varying demands, supply disruptions, production problems, or all of the aforementioned challenges, quality is and will remain a basic requirement for all manufacturers in all industries. Although modern management theory dictates that quality should be designed in and built-in rather than added on through inspection and old-fashioned QC, it is imperative to measure, monitor and, in most cases, document quality through all stages of the product lifecycle. Integrated quality applications help get this important job done with minimal impact on production and operations. In the context of variation and uncertainty, solid quality processes and quality management can help reduce surprises – more reliability of incoming parts and materials (fewer rejects through working closely with suppliers to ensure quality), fewer production disruptions (early detection of control issues, often before bad products are produced or production must be disrupted), and reduced rework and rejects on completed products.

Recognising change & assessing the impact As with most things, the earlier a problem or situation is recognised, the easier it is to fix and the impact will be minimised. It is far better to identify a potential future shortage than to find out the supply is exhausted when the part is needed. Preventive action is nearly always less expensive and less disruptive than corrective action.

Therefore, it is important to always know what is happening within the plant, and Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

| 25 | as much as possible, up and down the supply chain.

Identifying or predicting a change in demand at the outset can prevent a lot of unsold product or shortages later on.

Further, demand changes have a profound impact on production schedules and the need for parts and materials, so early detection of a change in the trend is a signal to adjust all production and procurement plans to accommodate the change. But not just blindly and mechanically – one of the defining characteristics of a lean operation is level production, so any change in plans to accommodate demand changes should be carefully considered in light of the demand of most efficient production.

Early detection affords the luxury of time to assess the potential impact of the change. In many cases, a quick adjustment will avoid the majority of the disruption and difficulty.

Absent the ability to make the adjustment quickly, simulation and planning systems can identify the costs – money, production schedules, and/or customer service – that will result from the disruption.

Finding proper response

Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

Implementing the response

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Plans are good but they must be executed.

The final step is to complete the actions outlined above and monitor the results.

Because plans and simulations are part of the same system that manages the process, passing of new instructions to all affected parties becomes quick and easy – and all departments are tied in and coordinated. It is important to monitor all activities during and after the response is implemented to ensure that, everything is proceeding as planned, the response is the right one, and production objectives (and customer service) are being achieved.

Also, the cause of disruption merits continued monitoring to confirm that the change occurred as predicted, is continuing, and has not mutated even more than anticipated. It is a continuing process, and changes continue to disrupt the best laid plans.

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Summary It is essential that companies first understand the impact external changes have on their operations, plans and competitiveness, and then proactively prepare themselves to thrive and grow in this new reality. Manufacturers, therefore, must be prepared to recognise impending change as early as possible, assess the potential impact, determine optimum strategy for dealing with the change, and implement that strategy in the most effective way possible. The key to that four-step operating philosophy can be found in broad-based, integrated information management systems like Infor ERP SL. While it is important to have lean operations – it is now also important that manufacturing operations and the supply chain are flexible and prepared to react to change. Together, this lean, flexible, and efficient operation will allow a facility to continue to reduce operational costs, increase cash flow, increase company value whether public and private, and most importantly, grow the business on a global basis.

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Sometimes the proper corrective action is obvious – if demand is turning down, reduce production and procurement. If demand is moving up, do the opposite. But it’s not always that simple. Sometimes supplies are limited or production cannot be increased enough. Or it might not be desirable to simply reduce production for various reasons. In those situations, it is extremely helpful to be able to conduct simulations – ‘what if ’ analyses – to model the result of various actions. Planning applications can model an entire supply chain and complete ‘what-if ’ analyses that can be shared with suppliers so that all participants are prepared for likely scenarios. Contingency plans with suppliers (and an organisation’s own production facilities) make it easier and quicker to make the necessary adjustments.

Simulation lets you try out any number of alternative strategies and determine which keeps production flowing smoothly with minimum extra costs (expediting, premium freight, overtime, etc). You can specify the relative importance of each factor and ‘trade them off ’ to find the solution that is most acceptable.

| 25 |

| 26 |

Round -Table M a r k e t

Redefining the multiplier effect

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Automotive machining having stood out for eons on account of its high degree of development has indeed come a long way in India - from being largely dependent on the automotive design and component industry. With automakers picking up pace and coming up with novel engineering solutions today, we intended to find out how the Indian automotive machining industry seems to be faring‌ ■Indira Rao

T

he automotive industry in India is one of the largest in the world and one of the fastest growing globally. India manufactures over 17.5 million vehicles (including 2 and 4 wheeled) and exports about 2.33 million every year. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, annual car sales are projected to increase up to 5 million vehicles by 2015 and more than 9 million by 2020. What with the automotive industry believed to have a multiplier effect on the industrial growth in India, and

with statistics as such to prove its growth it will hardly come as a surprise then to say that the industry would significantly contribute to the growth of the machine tool industry too. Today with trends in automotive machining processes having taken a long-anticipated turn towards flexibility with CNC machine tools and the kinds of cutting tools required, and with smaller lighter cars becoming a rage in these times of ever increasing fuel prices, automotive machining has indeed come of age and faces challenges never

encountered before. Industry veterans A P Arya, Managing Director, TAL Manufacturing Solutions Ltd; Ramisetti Sridhar, Managing Director, DMG/Mori Seiki India Machines and Services Pvt Ltd; D D Mulherkar, Vice President (Machine Tool Div), Premier Ltd; Terrence Miranda, Managing Director, Haas Automation India Pvt Ltd; Sudhir Patankar, GM, Yamazaki Mazak India Pvt Ltd and A V Srinivasan, CEO, Meiban Engineering Technologies Pvt Ltd, opine on the general expectations of automotive manufacturing Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

| 27 | industry from machine tool builders and chalk the way ahead for a better future.

Multi-functionality & flexibility The CNC machines offered by leading machine tool manufactures today are based on the concepts of process integration. The machines therefore are highly multitasking and flexible in nature. With the innovative technologies used in machine construction and software features used, they are able to perform a lot many operations in the same machine which would earlier need separate workstations. Agreeing, Sridhar says, “the multi-axis machines like turn & mills, mill & turns and 5-axis HMCs and VMCs in many combinations are able to perform besides turning and milling type operations, additional operations like gear cutting, surface / profile generation, and some amount of forming operations like burnishing and thread rolling in the same machine. Such multitasking machines from worldclass brands are well-designed and performing the additional functions with increasing degree of productivity and accuracy, almost like the dedicated machines for these operations. For the automobile manufacturers this offers a great opportunity to select the manufacturing setups where the component process has lesser steps, and offers advantages of reduction in space, manpower, loading/ unloading time, material handling, inventory, development lead time, etc. while improving the accuracy of the component. The flexibility built into such setups enables the manufacturers to handle any future changes in the products, technology or even the application itself.”

Defining the key factor, Srinivasan avers, “the battle of material, machine & tool is always on - be it the constant development in metallurgical composition of material to enhance the performance of the automobile, challenge the machines or the cutting tools for machinability. The efficiency of the cutting tool depends on the efficiency of the machine and vice versa. The key factor on machining the metal is material removal rate and cycle time without compromising on quality & productivity. These factors call for a variety of machines - light, medium, heavy duty machines. Faster controls drives and Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

“The automotive industry is always a continuously evolving platform of understanding & adopting the upcoming machining standard needs” A P Arya, Managing Director, TAL Manufacturing Solutions Ltd “Manufacturing of each component on an appropriate size and appropriate technology machine is the key to optimum solution for this sector” Ramisetti Sridhar, Managing Director, DMG/Mori Seiki India Machines and Services Pvt Ltd

automatic handling systems are required to reduce the idle time.”

“The innovations and evolutions in the automotive machining processes have also been driven continuously, by the costs (and hence the time) reduction needs, along with the tightening emission norms. This has forced machine tool designers to not only focus on flexibility within the same function (such as milling), but also to combine a number of different functional operations, such as turning, threading, even assembly, marking and inspection, etc. Many of these multifunctional operations have been possible through the degree of flexibility, and the number of axes, built into the machine tool.

Automotive machining requirements are moving upwards, towards high productivity and still consistent accuracy, thus helping to achieve lesser cycle times. The new CNC machines are able to ensure uptime of machine availability (high MTBF) and minimum time to repair (through modular replacement).

The challenges of low cost per component are also facilitated by higher cutting tool parameters (like high cutting speeds, and depth of cut and the feeds rates, etc).

These high-speed machining centres, coupled with flexible tooling devices, or automated work handling and component seating devices in fixtures along with the tool management units and the adaptive controls have helped in delivering the multi-functionality feature (like grinding, honing, gear cutting and measurements in

single jobsetting) with good quality and consistency”, explains Arya.

Meeting expectations As stated above, with the automotive machining industry being largely technology-driven, innovations and cost effective solutions are the norms that drive the industry these days. The key high level expectations of the automotive industry, from machine tool builders, are to provide time, cost, flexibility and consistent quality, advantages. “These expectations have to be delivered for continuously tightening EURO/BS or other emission standards on a regular 2-3 year cycle basis. Hence, the automotive industry is always a continuously evolving platform of understanding & adopting the upcoming machining standard needs, to find out the machine tool and the support system to deliver the same, as early as possible. They look forward to the machine tools builders for upgrading/retrofitment/re-tooling of the existing machines to the extent possible and alternatively deliver the new solutions within a short span of time. The machine tool builders take up the challenge of carrying out the required modifications, matching with their tight schedules,” asserts Arya.

Miranda and Patankar explain how they go about meeting expectations of customers in their respective organisations. “As market dynamics and technological advances necessitate frequent design changes,

| 28 |

Round -Table M a r k e t

“Automotive manufacturing in the near future is poised for a revolution and will be the main driving force for innovation in the machine tool industry” D D Mulherkar, Vice President (Machine Tool Div), Premier Ltd

“As market dynamics and technological advances necessitate frequent design changes, flexibility in an automotive machine shop is the key” Terrence Miranda, Managing Director, Haas Automation India Pvt Ltd

flexibility in an automotive machine shop is the key. Similarly, due to high volumes involved, the use of automation is increasing. Automotive customers in India are keenly aware of this and look at today’s CNC machine tools to provide flexibility and affordable automation for parts online loading / unloading or transfer. The Haas value proposition of providing a wide range of high performance, quality products easily automated via barfeeders, pallet changers or robot loading systems and backed by a strong HFO network providing service and parts support within 24 hours at an economical price, is designed to do exactly this,” elucidates Miranda.

In order to achieve lower cost per piece, quality and productivity, continuous innovations in the field of concept and design are taken-up as a compulsory company policy at Mazak. “‘Simple is best’ is what the process and machine designers in Mazak work on. Working backwards from what is required on the component to designing the basic needs on a flexible machine forms the back bone of this research. It needs to also dovetail with the product design and process through concurrent engineering. This is the basis of arriving at a simple innovative design which can effectively cater to the ever lowering demand of cost per piece,” exclaims Patankar.

Manufacturing solutions Almost every machine tool builder today

proposes to offer turnkey machining solutions with high-performance automation to increase productivity, improve bottomline and realise just-in-time and lean manufacturing goals, supported by enhanced machine performance. How then does the automotive industry look at these offerings while selecting a particular machining solution or a machine tool vendor? Says Mulherkar, “the main consideration that the auto industry considers is a very basic, nevertheless, an important one - It has to be a long term partnership and win–win situation for both parties. Explaining further, Sridhar asserts, “turnkey solutions and automation need a lot of expertise as well as customised work for each application.

Therefore, presence of well-equipped tech centre in India is considered essential by the customers as well as machine tool builders for providing turnkey solutions.

DMG / Mori Seiki has recently opened its worldclass Technology Centre to meet customer expectations. Further, some built-in features of automation in the machine itself and features which facilitate interfacing of third party automation help in very convenient and seamless integration. The buyers from automotive industry are becoming aware of this, and are selecting machines based on this.”

Lighter, smaller, cheaper The small car segment is in the limelight for not only low-priced transportation

but also environmental concerns such as emissions and fuel consumption standards, which are the need of the hour. Developing small cars certainly enlists some challenges for manufacturers in terms of machining components as well as making them at a low cost. As Patankar avers, “even though the cars are becoming smaller and cheaper the accuracy that it demands has become stiffer. Machine accuracy plays an important role but further critical understanding of the component strength is essential to be able to maintain the component accuracies after machining.

It means, lighter the component the lesser strength it has to withstand high cutting forces and lesser are the chances that the finished component will be able to sustain accuracy. Engineering skill lies in understanding how the machine, fixture, tool, cutting parameters and environment play their part in this component machining.”

Eliminating myths, Srinivasan points out that lighter & smaller cars do not mean smaller parts. “The cars would have either two cylinder or three cylinder engines whereby the number of parts may get reduced as compared with four cylinder engines. Since these smaller cars are less powerful the power train components will also be less. This coupled with low cost of the car poses a challenge to the manufacturers to come up with creative solutions.” Answering how to deal with such a challenge, Sridhar explicates, “manufacturing of each component on an appropriate size and appropriate technology machine is the key to optimum solution for this sector. Machine tools builders with large product range can provide this. The machining of components is also shifting from the car maker to their suppliers and in many cases to the machine shops of casting manufacturers. Up-gradation of the equipment and technology levels in these small and medium machine shops is a challenge that is being addressed at present. These shops are also investing in high quality machine tools of reputed makes to meet this challenge”. Seconding the same, Arya confirms, “small car component machining is in many ways common with all high volume repetitive component processing systems. The machines, as well as support systems for Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

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| 30 |

Round -Table M a r k e t “Machine accuracy plays an important role but further critical understanding of the component strength is essential to be able to maintain the component accuracies after machining” Sudhir Patankar, GM, Yamazaki Mazak India Pvt Ltd “The battle of material, machine & tool is always on - be it the constant development in metallurgical composition of material, challenging the machines or the cutting tools for machinability” A V Srinivasan, CEO, Meiban Engineering Technologies Pvt Ltd

tool supply line are drastically different,” points out Arya.“Given the high volumes repeatability and the output rates enable the auto supply chain to become quite refined, matured and efficient. The auto supply chain is available closer to the operational geography, with maximum localisation. This has resulted in realisation of JIT, FIFO and the logistic efficiencies.

Most of the auto companies are focusing only on final assembly, testing & dispatch as their main in-house activity. In view of the above, they expect short delivery times, and similar efficiencies from machine tool builders also.”

Future outlook the same, should be capable of running on a continuous (even 24 x 7) basis, with uptimes exceeding 97 per cent. Input component accuracy at raw part stage is enabled through die-casting or forging, etc, to facilitate faster load/unload/machining cycles. The repetitive small components production is amenable to simple automation, dedicated solutions with optimum speeds and other parameters to ensure cost-effective setup. The product design and process features are optimised to support easy manufacturability.

With small car market picking up in India, the small parts machining will surely migrate towards integrated high performance machines.”

Tech trends With demand increasing on a continual basis, running high volume jobs is no simple task. Higher volume needs faster machines and also depends on the volume of output of auto industries. “Two wheelers are already produced in high volume in India and four wheelers are going towards high volume trend. This calls for reliable continuous production on 24/7 basis; high productivity with low running cost will be the key in future. This may be achieved through reduction in cycle time etc. Each type of components of auto industry requires different technology and machine configurations,” elucidates Srinivasan.

Talking about the software part of technology, Mulherkar emphasises, “the

use of software technology in machine tools has been revolutionary. A human being is considered to have infinitely expanding capabilities and today machine tool development is considering this as a benchmark. The multi-axes machines with advanced electronics and hydraulics is further supported by new types of cutting tool materials, treatments, coatings and complex tool geometry. This enables machining of very complex jobs with reduced cycle time. Automation and transfer technology further improves and streamlines the output.”

Efficient supply chain Obviously, with higher demands come the pressure on timely delivery and maintaining an effective supply chain.

We asked how machine tool builders seek to minimise/deal with the pressure.

Miranda avers, “we believe that the key to meeting these demands is to maintain stringent control over the manufacturing process through substantial in-house manufacturing of all key components and sourcing from reputed global vendors.”

It is true that in the growing market conditions, the machine tool suppliers are under tremendous pressure to meet up the time lines. Both the in-house, as well as supply chain capacities & efficiencies play a crucial role, in mitigating this pressure. “However, the situation and the operating norms of an automobile industry supply chain and the machine

The automotive industry is the biggest buyer of machine tools and systems and hence promotes competition from the global suppliers for various solutions.

Their buying capabilities provide big opportunities and also pose the associated challenges for the machine tool suppliers to develop effective and reliable solutions, that not just offer the lowest acquisition cost but the best life time costs, including consumption of cutting tools, power, maintenance etc. with this background the future of the machine tool industry indeed looks bullish. Agrees Miranda, “with annual two wheeler sales at over 9 million in 2010 and annual automotive car sales at over 3.7 million in 2010 and projected to grow annually in double digits as living standards rise steadily, the outlook certainly looks bright for automotive manufacturing in India in the future.”

Indicating a new face of manufacturing, Patankar avers, “we are moving to the world of Cyber manufacturing today.

Mazak has already successfully achieved this feat and one can witness it in any of our 9 manufacturing plants worldwide.” On a concluding note, Mulherkar professes, “the Indian automotive manufacturing is set to acquire a very respectable and competitive leadership position in the global market place. Automotive manufacturing in the near future is poised for a revolution and will be the main driving force for innovation in the machine tool industry.”

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| 32 |

management interview

Working globally, developing locally

Pavel Hajman, President, Asia-Pacific & Senior VP, Business Development, Seco Tools, sheds light on his strategies to make the Indian business competitive in the global arena and provides insights into how Seco is doing its bit for a sustainable future, in this discussion with Shekhar Jitkar and Indira Rao. Excerpts…

■

How do you look at the progress of Seco Tools in India so far, especially before and now after the downturn?

After the economic meltdown in 2009, the Indian market is taking shape again. In the short and medium term with an estimated GDP above 8 per cent, we expect the demand to be mainly driven by a strong domestic market and increasing usage of India as an outsourcing platform. Main sectors that are pushing these trends are energy, aerospace, automotive and infrastructure.

Our company like many others had a small slowdown in the sales development both locally and globally during the recession. We lost about

30 per cent of our sales revenue but managed to keep a 6 per cent EBIT operating ratio in 2009. I believe ours was the only company in our business which managed to achieve this.

By mid-2009, we started to see a recovery initiated in Asia and in 2010 managed to grow by 27 per cent in Swedish currency and improve our profit up to 19 per cent EBIT. Our sales in 2010 were ` 45 billion worldwide.

■

How much does the Indian subsidiary contribute to Seco Tools’ global business? What are the targets next?

In the global perspective, India does not rank in the top 5 as yet, but it’s in the top 10. However,

in the Asia-Pacific region, India ranks second after China. Our targets for the Indian business are very ambitious. We plan to double our sales in four years and also more than triple our manufacturing output for the group. According to me, the time is not very far when India will rank 4 or 5 globally for our business and the scenario then will be the US, Germany, China and India.

■

Tell us about your shortterm and long-term expansion plans for India.

Our growth strategy in India is driven by expansion in the domestic market and development of our domestic

organisation. The challenge is to be able to serve our Indian customers in the best possible way, be it with timely deliveries, daily technical presence or as a support for our customers nationwide and as a total solution provider of complicated manufacturing systems and processes. With India being our third biggest insert factory in the world, we are planning to ramp up this facility. Our initial aim is to triple it from end of 2010 to 2014 and then probably in the years after 2014, double it again. With this tripling and doubling, we aim to make the Indian factory one of the biggest in the world. We also have a custom tooling factory Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

| 33 | in India, along with nine others worldwide. In the strategic period of 2010-2014, we plan to invest ` 2 to ` 2.5 billion in manufacturing in India. We also plan to double our sales in the coming 3-4 years in India.

We are supporting this with investment in manufacturing as well as in machining and human resources, thus in tune with our role as an important global supplier for the Seco Group.

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How different are the market development strategies of Seco Tools for India and China?

‘Deliver faster’ is today’s mantra all over the globe be it cost, time, resources or efforts. Especially in developing economies like India and China, everything seems to be the ‘requirement of yesterday’.

Some of the similarities we see between China and India are that both are very large and growing markets. With the rise of these economies, it has led to the start and expansion of the Indian and Chinese multinational companies. Also, the same basic segments are driving the development in both the countries - a strong focus on automotive and power generation in the short-term and an emerging aerospace sector in the long-term. Having said that, it is imperative to note that we see the growth potential to be much more in India than in China.

India’s development has been fuelled by domestic demand whereas China’s comes from exports. We have no doubt that in the next 10-15 years to come, India will grow tremendously.

Engineers are really competent and skilled, which spells good, for anybody who wants to make an investment in India.

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How does Seco Tools ensure better flexibility for its customers, in terms of available tools and lower Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

inventory needs?

Seco Tools’s strategy is based on customer closeness with good technical support, solutions ability, reliability and faster deliveries. All together, this aims at improving our customers machining by higher productivity, lower costs and better quality. Seco has about 25000 standard products for all machining applications in milling, turning and holemaking. In addition to this, we have high technical ability to develop and produce special products, both tools and inserts, adapted to specific customer needs related to materials and operations process. Only in the

can receive their products promptly.

In addition to our normal ordering service through our subsidiaries’ order desk, we also offer an order process via internet, through the Seco Online Store and this enables our customers 24x7 access to our stock availability and placing of orders.

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What are the major trends that impact raw material prices? How does Seco Tools cope up with the price trends globally?

Tungsten/wolfram is a rare mineral mainly sourced from China with limited availability.

“According to me, the time is not very far when India will rank 4 or 5 globally for our business and the scenario then will be the US, Germany, China and India” Pavel Hajman Asia-Pacific region do we have three custom tooling units available for regional production - in China with focus on PCD automotive tools; in Korea with focus on milling tools and in India with focus on high-tech tools and inserts for auto, energy and heavy duty applications. Our third cornerstone is our logistics capability. We have four global distribution centres, one each in Europe and USA, one Asian distribution centre in Singapore covering the whole Asia-Pacific region except for China which is covered by its own China distribution centre. Within the Asia-Pacific region, we are able to take orders on a daily basis and are able to deliver directly to customers within 24 hours.

We have a high availability from stock of more than 95 per cent ensuring that customers

Besides being used for cutting tools it is also used in the electronics and wear parts industry which all together in the economic upturn is driving the demand. The price has more than doubled in one year’s time and is continuing to increase. We are, of course, taking this into account as well as the increased and high inflation rate while deciding on price increase. So far, we have been very moderate in our price increases but might soon be forced to revise this approach. We are also focusing more on recycling where we have an effective process for purchasing used cutting tools from our customers. Moreover, we also work with productivity improvements in all areas of our organisation to offset the impact from increased raw material prices.

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What is Seco Tools’ approach towards environment and improving its customers’ environmental performance?

Seco Tools has been globally certified according to the ISO 14001 environmental management system since 2006 incorporating some 25 main facilities worldwide. Looking specifically on the environmental management, the overall objectives for the Seco Tools Group is to actively participate in a process for sustainable development. Environmental activities in 2010 were steered by five environmental goals: more efficient energy usage, reduction in volume of waste, reducing the environmental impact from chemicals, increasing the share of recycled raw materials, and reducing environmental impact from transport. Our aim is to reduce the energy usage by 25 per cent over a 10-year period. We have another target of reducing the volume of waste by 2 per cent on an annual basis over a long period of time. Actively working in recycling, we are buying back carbide scrap from our customers, helping them improve their environmental performance. We have a longterm goal of where we want 60 per cent of our sales to report back in terms of scrap. Already in the first 6 months of this year, we have managed to buy 60 tonne of scrap globally from our customers. We are also working towards reducing fuel emission through transport hence we have dedicated warehouses for each of our primary markets. We also provide tools wherein one does not have to use coolants. Our tools last longer, so there is minimal waste.

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Company profile ma n ag e m e n t

Engineering the future

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Having established its credentials all over the globe, DMG/Mori Seiki has entered the Indian market to provide long-term solutions in areas ranging from technology to management. Backed by a strong service network, the company is all set to make its mark in giving a fillip to the Indian engineering industry.

■ Indira Rao

M

Indira Rao Subeditor-cum-Correspondent indira.rao@publish-industry.net

achine tools are products that are run continuously for ten or twenty years. This means that machine tool manufacturers have to build very close partnerships with their customers, more so than in any other industry. What makes this task interesting is when two companies try instead of one.

This is exactly what DMG/Mori Seiki did.

With a goal to build a stable network that can provide uniform high-quality services all over the world, and to strengthen the engineering power that equips them to solve customer problems, Gildemeister (parent of sales organisation DMG) and Mori Seiki combined their activities in India. In terms of machine sharing, both sell Gildemeister’s Shanghai-produced

Ecoline machines - fitted with different control options, depending on the market.

Indeed, they are sold under three brandings – DMG, Mori Seiki and DMG/Mori Seiki.

Role of DMG/Mori Seiki India The CNC machines offered by leading machine tool manufactures today are based on the concepts of process integration. The machines therefore are highly multitasking and flexible in nature. Both DMG and Mori Seiki are the trendsetters for turning and milling technology. With the combined expertise of being global players they introduced new machines and standards for the industry. “The clear benefit for our customers will always be in the focus of our Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

| 35 | activities. We do not want to come across as a company that gives out cheap products.

Our products are competent and in tune with the demands of the industry. DMG / Mori Seiki India offers its customers the most extensive product range in premium machine tools, and supports it with R&D, application solutions, service and education to match, as part of our 360° support,” informes Hanno Elbracheter, CEO, DMG Asia. Interestingly, the truth in the above statement can be seen from the recent success that the company has attained with the opening of its tech centre in Bangalore. “The establishment of the tech centre in Bangalore eliminates the necessity to send components to Germany or Japan for job trials, thus saving considerable amount of time and money.

We also offer different training modules at the tech centre for our customers,” avers R Sridhar, Managing Director, DMG/Mori Seiki India Machines and Services Pvt Ltd. The company, having offices in Bangalore, Pune, Delhi and Ahmedabad boasts of total employee strength of 103 in India.

Tech centre The DMG/Mori Seiki team in India services and supports the entire product range of DMG and Mori Seiki from the new tech centre in Bangalore. Spread across an area of 8,000 sq mt, the tech center is equipped with a showroom where around 21 machines from DMG and Mori Seiki products range are displayed. Live cutting demonstrations in the form of workshops, seminars and trainings take place in the tech center. “Keeping the customer’s demands in mind, when it comes to providing turnkey solutions, the tech center facilitates a unique way wherein both the company and the customers are involved in a process to configure customised technology packages. We also have a spare part warehouse at the centre that ensures reduction in spare part delivery time,” avows Sridhar. Any machine if used properly will run the course of its cycle. The proper usage and benefits of a machine can be availed only by understanding its nuances thoroughly for which one has to undergo training.

“The first concern of a customer before buying a machine is to see the machine Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

“We do not want to come across as a company that gives out cheap products. Our products are competent and in tune with the demands of the industry. ” Hanno Elbrachter, CEO, DMG Asia

“Automotive is one of the big industries we cater to and successfully meet the challenges of delivery pressure and an efficient supply chain” R Sridhar, Managing Director, DMG/Mori Seiki India Machines and Services Pvt Ltd

and the way it functions. This is addressed by the tech center as the customer will now be able to check a variety of machines in the DMG / Mori Seiki product range, cut components and also make test cuts before even placing an order for the machine,” explains Elbrachter. Furthermore, this tech centre also allows the services team to understand the needs of a customer better.

“This is because the tech centre provides our team with the facility to assimilate the customer’s problem on the machines and provide a desired solution to him. This would help the services team to function in a more efficient way,” he adds.

Used machine scheme While the services team is doing its bit to serve the customer resourcefully, the sales team is trying to lure this fastidious Indian customer. The used machine scheme, which has been globally successful has also been doing very well in the ever price sensitive market of India too. Elucidating what the scheme is all about, Sridhar says, “with over 250 machines in stock, we meet both the technical as well as financial requirements. We provide factory reconditioned originals directly from the manufacturer and customers get the benefit from our extensive range of demo machines used for training purposes. We offer the machines with a warranty of at least 3 months after commissioning and these machines are extensively function tested and meet geometric tolerances. So quality with precision is guaranteed.”

Efficiency personified The automotive manufacturing industry today, particularly in India is trying to achieve two objectives simultaneously – improvement of quality levels to global standards, and being able to offer it at world’s lowest costs. Agreeing, Sridhar says, “naturally it expects to get the machine tools of high accuracy levels, productivity, reliability, flexibility and it wants these at the price which can compete with any low cost solution also. Automotive is one of the big industries we cater to and successfully meet the challenges of delivery pressure and an efficient supply chain through a close association and real sense of partnership and commitment with our suppliers. With the production levels being high, DMG / Mori Seiki successfully follows the path of in-house manufacturing of critical parts like ball screws, curvic couplings, spindles, feedback scales, etc.”

The company expects to touch a turnover of 50 Million Euro by selling 400 machines in 2011. With DMG/Mori Seiki in India contributing to 4 per cent of the global turnover, the company has big plans going forward. “Having a manufacturing facility in India is definitely on the cards and will see light soon. However, our primary goal is to increase our reach in India by opening offices that would help our sales network function efficiently. In the short run, we aim to open up technology centres in Pune and Delhi too,” concludes Elbrachter.

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| 36 |

M anagement S t r at e g i e s

Highlighting key HR trends

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With increase in investments in the manufacturing sector in India, the demand for talent is mounting. Most organisations look for trained manpower at all levels of operations and in today’s context, the demand-supply gap is on the rise. Though technical manpower by volume is higher in India, it’s employability that is a question for many organisations. ■Kamal Karanth

S

ng

Kamal Karanth Managing Director Kelly Services India info@kellyservices.co.in

tandards of employability vary from organisation to organisation and these standards are only increasing.

The other factor that is determining the hiring patterns is the location of operations as the investments are evenly spread in the various industrial belts. With this, hiring may not be the bigger task but retention is and hence organisations are not just looking at the best fitment in terms of skill set but the longevity of the employee. Longevity is being determined by attractiveness of the location and also proximity to the place where the employee belongs. Attrition is bound to rise as the opportunities are growing and hence only a financial lure will

not suffice. Several organisations are hiring good talent from competition and are giving those opportunities to get trained overseas thus using it as a hiring strategy. This is not something that the manufacturing sector was doing in the past. Though the intent of manufacturing companies is to train fresh graduates, the situation demands that they have ready to work workforce.

Manufacturing sector in India The manufacturing sector in India is sweeping back in the national economic space. India is witnessing a wave of intensification in this sector. The current Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

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M anagement S t r at e g i e s

India has the fifth largest power generation capacity in the world with an installed capacity of 152 GW

been able to deliver. India has the fifth largest generation capacity in the world with an installed capacity of 152 GW as on 30 September 2009, which is about four per cent of global power generation. The Indian government has set ambitious goals in the 11th plan for power sector in order to provide availability of over 1000 units of per capita electricity by year 2012, owing to which the power sector is poised for significant expansion.

Hiring trends surge in the sector is extremely promising as new manufacturing opportunities are slated to be more skill intensive. India has figured among the top ten manufacturers of the world in 2010 in the International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2011, published by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

India is among the most competitive manufacturers of auto components in the world and is also becoming a global hub for research and development (R&D) and thus increasing jobs in the specific sector. India provides trained manpower at competitive costs making India a favoured global manufacturing hub. According to ACMA, the auto-component sector needs US$ 1.5 billion of new investments every year for the next eight years.

India’s domestic demand for oil and gas is on the rise. As per the Ministry of Petroleum, demand for oil and gas is likely to increase from 186.54 million tons of oil equivalent (mmtoe) in 2009-10 to 233.58 mmtoe in 2011-12. Investments and acquisitions have been seen in some of the largest manufacturing companies in India – viz. Indian Oil Corporation, Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL), The Ruias of Essar Group, Stateowned gas firm GAIL India, Energy major Reliance Industries, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) , Templeton Strategic Emerging Markets Fund, Indian state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp, etc, which have promised hikes in the hiring scenario in the manufacturing sector.

The power sector in India has witnessed a few success stories in the last 4-5 years; the road that lies ahead of us is dotted with innumerable challenges that result from the gaps that exist between what’s planned versus what the power sector has

India will be witnessing increase in jobs in the mining & construction sector by 46 per cent and in the manufacturing sector by 44 per cent in the first quarter of the year 2011 .The strongest hiring is reported by transportation & utilities – 24 per cent. Hiring of freshers and people with specialised skills will be seen more in the coming years. There will be a high demand for experienced professionals to manage operations in the manufacturing sector. As per industry experts, Indian manufacturers are now more positive about growth in business activities to bring considerable profits. According to research, close to 30 lakh jobs across levels will be created this year and by 2015. Working population in the manufacturing sector is predicted to grow by 2.8 crore. Growth is driven by overall increase in demand, especially in power and will focus on new sectors for employment like defense manufacturing.

HR firms have largely shifted their focus on the manufacturing sector from past few years. Impetus and encouragement received by the government has also helped enhance the sector. All industries, except textiles, are expected to increase their employment levels in the year ahead. Export demand continues to weigh on textiles, but other sectors will be net hirers due to an expected increase in demand.

Manpower shortage in the power sector Shortage of talent in the construction sector has been a long term problem and is likely to continue to push up project costs and risks. Flow of talent into construction and power sector has been gradually drying up as candidates have sought an alternative – and often more lucrative – career options.

The Government, which is the biggest buyer of the capital projects, has also not done enough to address this challenge; also the education system is often not delivering the required number of specialists across project management, engineering, estimating, surveying and contract management.

Facing a desperate game of catch up, the industry needs a genuine collaboration between project owners, contractors and governments to attract more school leavers and graduates.

Remuneration Companies should invest time and money to conduct programs such as internships and apprenticeships that reach out to specific individuals already considering manufacturing careers. Hiring is going to be on an uphill with manufacturing being one of the hottest sectors due to the increase in green field projects and also expansion of existing units for increased output. Salary hikes will be of an average between 9 – 12 per cent. The manufacturing sector has a stronger foothold on the market following the economic depression. The average salary increase in manufacturing industries like automobile, consumer goods, engineering and construction has witnessed 13 per cent year on year and this trend is expected to continue. The maximum increase of salary was witnessed in the junior level management followed by the mid-level management. This has led to high talent movement and attrition.

Latest HR trends The manufacturing sector will witness growth in jobs and changes in hiring trends. Hiring fresher’s and people with specialised skills would be more. About 90,000 jobs would be created in the manufacturing sector. Apart from using regular channels to recruit, companies are also starting to hire Alumni networks to rehire former employees. There is handsome increase of wages and bonuses for the shop-floor people. Going forward, there seems to be a trend more towards contract than permanent employment on the shop-floor level.

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M anagement S t r at e g i e s

Lean performance measures

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In a typical B2C business, where customer needs variety, often production is at logger heads with planning and marketing. If the issue is drilled down further, we find that the performance measure for a production head is the productivity, which is usually a measure set since eons. Companies in order to sustain have to go beyond the drawing board and focus on their performance metrics.

■ M Hariharan

“A

ng

M Hariharan Director Savoir Faire Management Services hari@sfccostmanagement.com

ny thing less than 10,000 labels production order is unviable!” – This is the normal reaction of a production head if the order size is lower than the minimum order quantity he perceives to be viable. In an archetypal industry, often productivity is used as a measure.

Nothing is wrong with the measure; after all productivity as a measure is being used since time immemorial. However, in the zeal for improving productivity one ends

up creating larger batches. This focus on larger batch leads to all the seven mudas Taichi Ohno identified over production, inventory, defects, waiting-transportation, movement and rework.

The four Ps To quote Jim Womack, lean is an alignment of purpose + process + people; Purpose = solving customer problem while provider prospers – the right Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

M anagement S t r at e g i e s

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of scale as a concept is applicable when we take a decision on creating capacity and not when we utilise capacity. This concept is applicable when we are in sellers market with a narrow range of products or are in commodities. It has everything to do with ‘sales’ and not with ‘production’. To fructify economy of scale we are expected to sell what we produce. But with a performance measure like cost per unit, we end up motivating line managers to do wrong things. Cost per unit is a target which is easier to achieve by increasing the denominator.

Our performance measures focus on targets; but what is critical is the target condition

Target and target condition

value Process = 3 primary value streams of production, consumption and provision and, many support processes, some involving customers – best method and least waste People = engaging everyone touching every value stream to operate and improve it steadily (kaizen) and dramatically (kaikaku) – The highest sense of accomplishment and satisfaction for the people For an initiative to sustain, it must cease to be an initiative. It should be linked to the line function and become part of their routine. One-off initiatives attempted by companies do not go beyond the drawing board, because they could not sustain the interest of the stake holders, who have their own line functions to be focused on. Rather, they have to focus on their performance metrics.

of complaints, first pass ratio, no. of black belts All the three measures are common, but financial measures normally get more importance than the other two. Lean initiatives majorly are done in production, procurement and other support services.

These are the typical expense centres. The most popular expense centre measure is ‘cost per unit’ – measured by dividing the total cost of the department by the actual volume of output. Cost per unit is the most dangerous performance measure one can think of. This measure is absolutely appropriate in a commodity industry where the constraint is internal.

However, if the constraint is outside or if there is a mismatch of capacities within the organisation or when we deal with multiple products, this measure is (to quote Dr Goldratt) ‘Public enemy no. 1 for productivity’.

Our performance measures focus on targets; but what is critical is the target condition. For example – cost per unit (CPU) is a target. To reduce the CPU, we need to decrease the numerator, i.e. cost.

To reduce the CPU, we need to utilise the capacity fully to achieve the sales. If a production head has to reduce the CPU, he refuses to change over to a newer lot as this will result in lower denominator and hence higher CPU. This is the danger of the targets we use. Let us focus on the positive target conditions to achieve the target of lower CPU. Reducing the setup time, start up losses, breakdown, defects, speed losses, idling and minor delays (six big losses – TPM) are the positive target conditions to achieve a target of lower CPU. Minimising the six big losses release capacity – and if and only if the released capacity is used for producing and selling what is required by the customer, we can achieve the target of lower CPU. Many a time performance measures focus on targets like these and fail to address the target conditions.

Performance metrics

Myth of economy of scale

From financial to operational control

No performance metric is satisfactory for ever. Normally there are three types of performance metrics used by companies financial measures - ROCE, EVA, GP ratio, cost per unit, budget vs. actual, sales, asset turnover non-financial quantitative measures - yield ratio, MTTR, MTBF, setup time reduction targets, machine up time, OEE qualitative measures - strike rate, no.

We have also learnt that economies of scale refer to the cost advantages that a business obtains due to expansion. These are factors that cause a producer’s average cost per unit to fall as the scale of output is increase. So the simplest way to reduce cost is to increase production so that cost per unit is spread over a larger volume.

We apply it verbatim in the shop floor by motivating the line managers to produce more even if there is no market. Economy

As in balanced score card, financial measures are ultimate lag effects. So the performance metrics have to focus more on the operational measures for the line managers. We normally find detailed budgeting, capturing of actual cost and variance analysis taking most of the time of the costing department (to analyse) and the operations (to record). But if the processes are well under control, there is no significant need for maintaining and

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can remove wasteful transactions only when we know the processes are under control and consistent. To do otherwise would be to risk the financial control of the business; and we will never compromise financial control.

Key themes by Maskell & Baggaley Companies in order to sustain have to focus on performance metrics

measuring detailed records stage wise.

When on the path of lean journey, the need for detailed tracking and performance metrics based on the above measurements tend to get redundant. However, old habits die hard and we keep making our attempts to improve, but our performance metrics lag behind. Attempts are being made by academia and practitioners to improve on this, and this has inturn led to the emergence of lean accounting practices. Thanks to the efforts taken up by practitioners, lean accounting concepts got a bit of standardised shape post the Lean Accounting Summit in September 2005.

Subsequently Brian Maskell and Bruce Baggaley wrote a book called Practical Lean Accounting which attempted to articulate the practices of lean accounting.

Lean accounting – key themes

Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

creating financial control directly from operational control a single control system that stems from operational control if the company’s processes are essentially out of control, then detailed tracking can bring these feral processes to order lean thinking is systematically and continuously applied, processes gradually come under control, and it is no longer necessary to track all the steps in the process in great detail as zero inventory is achieved, cash and accrual basis of accounting merges, simplifying the year end closing waste Lean manufacturing practices as they mature, need their corresponding performance metrics also to fall in line.

These metrics need to have the following features: focuses on the value stream is simple and easy to use provides usable value stream performance measures eliminates the need for transactions and overhead calculations is clearly understandable to anyone has value stream as the key cost object

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Conclusion People behave in the way their performance is measured. Any attempt to improve is not sustainable so long as the performance metrics are modified to take care of the changed scenario. This is applicable to any department or function of an organisation. Most of the times, selling price is not determined by customer value or competition or cost; it is driven by the pressures for the salesman to fulfill his target.

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w w w. af m . es

Maskell and Baggaley observed that though accounting transactions and processes are wasteful, they do serve a purpose. If the company’s processes are essentially out of control, then detailed tracking can bring these feral processes to order. In reality, most traditional companies lack significant control within their processes, requiring detailed, transaction-based tracking.

But as the methods of lean thinking are systematically and continuously applied to the company’s processes, they gradually come under control, and it is no longer necessary to track all the steps in the process in great detail.

As we move away from traditional, transaction-based cost accounting, inventory control, and production control processes, we need another way to make sure the processes are under control. We

■ eliminate the need for transactions by

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A u t o m o t i v e Ma n u f a c t u r i n g f o c u s

Unfolding multifold opportunities

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With the country’s automotive industry providing excellent opportunities for technology solution providers, it must leverage the advantages of digital manufacturing, which helps reduce time-to-market; launch innovative products by adapting to customer demand; reduce the iterative processes among numerous functional groups and across collaborative enterprises which in turn will enable India to emerge as a major automotive hub. ■ Rajabahadur V Arcot, Sarang Wadyalkar

Rajabahadur V Arcot Director, South and South-East Asia ARC Advisory Group raja@arcweb.com

Sarang Wadyalkar Analyst & Consultant ARC Advisory Group swadyalkar@arcweb.com

D

riven by global and domestic demand, the automotive industry in India witnessed rapid expansion in recent years. In 2010, India’s automotive market grew by 29 per cent, spurring expansion of the auto components industry. Industry analysts expect the growth trend to continue and, by 2016, the production of passenger and commercial vehicles in India could reach 4.9 million units. In terms of car production, in 2010, India ranked seventh in the world at 2.81 million units. Although relatively small, the luxury car segment in India has also seen a phenomenal 70 per cent growth. Large domestic and global players comprise India’s automotive industry.

The industry boasts of a broad portfolio: passenger vehicles; multi-utility vehicles; sports utility vehicles; commercial vehicles, trucks, and buses; tractors, earthmoving, and construction equipment; and both two and three wheelers. The entry of foreign automobile manufacturers such as BMW, Ford, Daimler Chrysler, General Motors, Mercedes Benz, Renault, and Toyota is transforming the landscape of the country’s automotive and auto components industries. These companies see India not only as a demand centric market, but also as a cost-effective base for parts sourcing.

Some of the world’s top automakers now use India as their manufacturing base for exporting cars to other parts of the world.

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A u t o m o t i v e Ma n u f a c t u r i n g f o c u s

India is seeing significant automotive R&D activities

India is also seeing significant automotive R&D activities: Bosch, Daimler Chrysler, GM, Johnson Controls, Suzuki, and such others have set up development centres in India. Tier 1 companies such as Bosch, Cummins, Delphi, Denso, and Visteon have operations in India. Many domestic automobile and auto component companies have won the prestigious Deming award for quality improvement. Many possess ISO 9000, ISO 14001, and TS certifications (mandatory to supply to Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors). In addition, as the low cost producer of aluminum and steel, India can provide auto components suppliers with an additional competitive edge. As a result, the country is emerging as a global auto manufacturing hub with the right chemistry.

Automotive industry ecosystem A growing domestic automotive market, the presence of strong domestic and global players with manufacturing and engineering facilities, and other factors contribute to the emergence of the automotive industry ecosystem in India.

Indian automakers, such as Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, have the potential to emerge as world majors.

While domestic market understanding and long-standing symbiotic relationships with homegrown component suppliers are the strengths of domestic players, improving productivity and operational Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

Digital manufacturing in the automotive sector has tangible benefits

efficiency to achieve sustainable growth are their challenges. On the other hand, global automakers will have to develop new strategies suited to the domestic market in India and build supply chain networks to compete with homegrown suppliers. Global suppliers’ challenges also include developing relationships with the local component vendors. Success of the emerging automotive industry ecosystem will depend on how well the participant companies design, engineer, source, make, and distribute products, and manage their assets. Shortening design and engineering cycle times is critical to reduce manufacturing costs, which essentially means reduced iterative actions necessary to design, manufacture, and deliver products to consumers. As auto companies in India prepare to cater to both the domestic and foreign markets, they need to optimise business processes across the enterprise by using real-time collaboration systems. This will help them manage multiple facilities to handle demand supply challenges.

Manufacturers will need to leverage digital manufacturing technologies, third-party product engineering services, product lifecycle management solutions, and collaborative production management (CPM/MES) systems.

Increase in investments Manufacturing companies must have stateof-the-art plant-floor automation systems

and integrate them with enterprise and other decision-support systems. State-ofthe-art factory automation, supply chain management, operational management, and product lifecycle management systems and solutions will help resolve corporate issues, such as reducing manufacturing costs, enabling visibility across operations, and responding rapidly to fluctuating demand. At the same time, manufacturers need to ensure efficiency improvement and compliance with quality and safety standards. Investments in manufacturing IT and factory automation can help manufacturers to operate their multiple facilities within and outside India successfully by integrating various business functions, such as R&D, planning & scheduling, sales and after-sales services, and new product introductions.

Manufacturing companies must leverage technology that fosters collaboration among partners, creates electronically driven workflows, and permits them to focus on their core competencies. This requires tightly integrated, enterprisewide collaboration across functions, such as production, supply chain coordination with partners, and sales & service. Manufacturers must also focus on order fulfillment. They need to plan, track, document, and bring into focus information about operational processes.

Real-time feedback about the inventory and order fulfillment will help achieve ontime delivery. Challenge lies in effective Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

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A u t o m o t i v e Ma n u f a c t u r i n g f o c u s

Digital manufacturing and innovation

manufacturing execution. Efficient order fulfillment needs appropriate action to be taken in a timely manner and the extended supply chain exacerbates the challenge.

Collaborative production management, which ties various applications, such as ERP, FA/PLC, SCADA/HMI, MES/CPM, CRM, SRM, SCM, PLM, and others into a single integrated seamless system, fits the bill.

Manufacturers will need to continuously address the entire design-operate maintain cycle to discover newer ways to delight customers and gain competitiveness. There is a constant need to channel investments into systems and solutions and adopt best global industry practices to achieve higher levels of operational performance.

Capitalising on trends With today’s business environment rewarding innovation, agility, and the ability to respond to customers’ demand, most often companies focus on the operations in achieving demand fulfillment. However, today’s business environment demands that their focus must include design, engineering, and development. It is necessary for manufacturing companies to hasten new product introductions and efficiently improve collaboration across functions, such as design, engineering, development, and production operations. This is the

entry point for digital manufacturing.

Digital manufacturing refers to the set of digital modeling and simulation tools, applications, and platforms used to represent production systems. Digital manufacturing tools provide virtual models to help speed and optimise the production system’s mechanical design, layout, throughput, physical behaviours, and interaction with humans.

There is also a need to extend digital manufacturing systems into the realm of real-time operations. Once in operation, virtual reference models, if available, could help users identify performance deviations, optimise processes, diagnose problems, train operators, plan and model maintenance activity, and achieve continuous improvement.

Advantage digital manufacturing Digital manufacturing in the automotive sector has tangible benefits as it supports the entire process lifecycle from concept to production. In the design phase, models are developed, and then used for concept and design validation and optimisation.

In this phase, virtual commissioning may be employed to validate the connections, control actions, operator behaviours and safety, product fit and movement throughout the production system, and such others. Physical, controls, wiring, or

other problems may be diagnosed for the first time in the simulated environment, which is usually more cost effective and quicker than finding problems in physical production systems. Virtual simulations of production systems could provide the means to identify performance deviations and test potential remedies. They could help optimise production and drive continuous improvement. They could model planned maintenance activities to minimise disruptions to production. By modeling the changes, they could speed innovation where new products require modifying production equipment. In addition, they could provide an effective means of training operators. 3D simulation tools have enabled users to validate and optimise design for individual robotic work cells, specific machine tools, and standalone production equipment. For example, automotive production engineers have been able to create virtual robots for body-in-white welding work cells where they could simulate and validate the mechanics of the robot alone with the kinematic controls.

Last word India’s automotive industry is growing. So far, domestic OEMs have grown mainly because of escalating domestic demand, while globally established OEMs have leveraged technology to be successful. With the country becoming a global automotive hub, the industry participants will begin to leverage technology solutions to gain competitive advantage. India’s automotive industry provides excellent opportunities for technology solution providers.

Automakers, in collaboration with domestic components suppliers, will soon emerge as large collaborative enterprises - functionally and geographically spread.

They need to synchronise business processes and use uniform data across organisational boundaries on a time critical basis.

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special feature T E S T & M E A S U R E M E N T

An alternative to check fixtures Download the PDF file from www.efficientmanufacturing.in

Given the critical nature of the final products the automotive and aerospace industries build, all parts and sub-components need to be free of defects.

However, manufacturers need to keep their costs down and efficiency up in order to remain competitive in the marketplace. In order to do this they need to find suitable alternatives to parts, which though being a good choice have their snags.

■ Rob Sanville

T

Rob Sanville Director for Total Quality (Americas) FARO Technologies Inc amrita.gokhale@faro.com

he conflicting objectives of keeping costs low and yet being efficient has allowed ‘check fixtures’ to become prevalent in the automotive, aerospace and other industries. Simply put, a check fixture is a device that, when fixed in place, allows production parts to be inspected by comparing the part to the geometry and features of the fixture.

This is done by providing a nest for the part or conversely, the fixture will nest in the part. The concept behind this is that if the part and check fixture fit together the part is ‘good’. These fixtures, used in conjunction with hand tools to take any additional required measurements, have long provided a balance between part integrity and the need to keep costs down

on the manufacturing floor. Nevertheless, check fixtures have several drawbacks.

Upfront time and expense While check fixtures allow quality specialists to measure parts relatively quickly, getting them to measure personnel in the first place is a challenge. First, an engineer must take the print and other data for the product being built and analyse it.

From this, a design model for the part itself is created. The sample part is reviewed and approved. Detailed prints of the check fixture are then made. This requires an engineer’s time and is usually a complex process. Care must be taken to design the fixture so that it withstands damage or Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

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special feature T E S T & M E A S U R E M E N T

Articulating arms

deformity while being used to measure the part. The fixture must also allow for easy and quick mounting and removal of the inspected part. Once the fixture design is reviewed and approved, it is built. It is crucial that any errors be found before the fixture is released to the floor to prevent bad parts from being approved or good parts from being deemed unacceptable. This requirement means a long and extensive inspection process for the fixture is needed before it is released to the factory floor. If a mistake is found during this inspection, typically the engineering change order (ECO) process begins and there is lost time for redesign and correction of the fixture, scheduling issues with other departments, and finally, re-inspection of the fixture. Meanwhile, production is severely impacted because they do not have the proper inspection tools required to get parts into finished goods. Final upfront expenses are typically anywhere from $40,000 – $140,000 to design and build a check fixture with potential costs being even higher if the part is large, complex, or needs to be reworked before final release to the factory. As a rule of thumb, many companies budget $100,000 for the average check fixture that can fit comfortably on a table top and does not have too many complexities built into it.

Qualitative vs quantitative results Once the check fixture is released to the manufacturing floor, it is ready to be used.

Hand-held 3D laser scanners

This generally means that qualitative data is gathered from the inspection process in the form of either a ‘go’ (the part is ‘good’) or ‘no-go’ (the part is bad). It is possible to get some quantitative information from a traditional check fixture, but this tends to require even more upfront costs to build smaller fixtures that are then used to measure feature forms and positions when the part is nested within the larger check fixture. This difficulty in getting quantitative data is not ideal for modern manufacturing companies that aim to run lean manufacturing and/or have robust Six Sigma programs in place. These programs prefer to monitor individual part attributes and characteristics quantitatively so that statistical and trends analyses are possible and manufacturing processes can be adjusted before parts fall out of specification. In many cases, there is a further goal to keep as many built part features and dimensional values centered at or near the nominal target value as possible. After a company spends approximately $100,000 for a check fixture, which is only able to provide qualitative data, the last thing they want to do is build more of them. However, this is precisely what happens when a new part is introduced. This is because check fixtures, which are designed to nest within a specific part, are themselves unique. The implication then is that for every new part added, a separate check fixture needs to be designed and fabricated. This raises costs significantly.

Space constraints and maintenance costs Once a program is completed, or if an interruption occurs in the production of a particular part, check fixtures must be stored for further use, and sometimes, for an indefinite period of time. For instance, some government programs require the manufacturer to store fixtures for at least seven years after a program reaches its ‘end of life’. Other programs mandate that check fixtures not be thrown away until permission is given to do so. This could mean the fixture needs to be labeled and stored properly for ten or more years. In a typical job shop, this often means hundreds or even thousands of sq ft devoted to storing check fixtures. This presents logistical challenges because the fixtures need to be cataloged properly so that they can be found quickly if they are ever needed again. Also, special care must be taken to protect them from both mechanical and environmental damage. It is not unusual for a company to allocate a significant 4 per cent of the fixture’s original cost to storing and maintaining it every year.

A better option Given the expense and limitations of check fixtures and the large time investment required to produce and maintain them, it is not surprising that some companies have turned to the Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

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special feature T E S T & M E A S U R E M E N T

A set of modular tooling large enough to hold tabletop sized parts requires small investment

latest technology to help them eliminate check fixtures from their processes. The solution that many of them have found is combining modular tooling with portable coordinate measuring machines (CMMs).

Used to build holding fixtures, modular tooling can consist of a base plate with tapped holes set up in a grid pattern that allows screws, standoffs, clamps and other holding and fastening items to be attached to it. In other versions, plates with parallel rows of T-slots are used to position the part which is then held by self-wedging tension clamps or some other similar method.

These items can be fastened in an almost unlimited number of different ways in order to hold thousands of different parts.

A set of modular tooling large enough to hold tabletop sized parts typically requires a relatively small upfront investment of about $5,000 or less. While this provides a convenient way to hold parts, the modular tooling does not provide a lot of additional value to the manufacturer without a better measurement method. It only simplifies matters by providing an easier and more efficient holding method. Check fixtures still need to be built, verified, maintained and stored in the same fashion as before.

To get rid of the fixtures themselves, portable CMMs are crucial.

Portable CMMs come in many forms, the most common of which are articulating arms, laser trackers and hand-held 3D laser scanners. The choice of which technology to use is dependent upon the parts being measured and the information needed. The costs to

A check fixture allows production parts to be inspected by comparing the part to the geometry and features of the fixture

purchase, install and shakedown these solutions can range from as low as $20,000 up to approximately $150,000 depending on the individual manufacturer’s needs.

To a large extent, the startup costs are a function of the part size; the larger the part, the higher the startup costs. This is analogous to the costs associated with check fixtures themselves. In general, the larger the manufactured part, the larger the required check fixture and the more the check fixture costs. This means that in almost all cases, the modular tooling and portable CMM solution will pay for itself as it eliminates the requirement to build the first check fixture if the CMM solution was not in place.

Laser trackers Laser trackers measure the position of a spherical probe, but unlike an arm, the probe is not connected directly to the laser tracker. This probe, commonly known as a spherically mounted retro-reflector (SMR), is usually handheld or mounted on the end of a machine tool or robot. The horizontal and vertical angles to the probe are determined using precision angular encoders attached to the mechanical axis of a gimbaled beam steering mechanism.

Using the two angle measurements and distance determined by the laser, the laser tracker can report the coordinate location of the probe to extremely high accuracy levels. In addition, the laser tracker can follow or track the target as it moves in real time. This unique feature, coupled with the

laser tracker’s ability to measure points up to 1,000 times per second, enables the user to digitise data on complex surfaces and measure the location of moving objects.

A 3D laser scanner mounts on the end of an articulating arm and projects a laser line on the part to be inspected. Through standard triangulation methods, threedimensional locations can be determined.

By employing a typical laptop or desktop computer, enough data is captured to allow software to create a 3D model of the part which can then be compared directly to the CAD model of the part.

Conclusion By utilising modular tooling fixtures and portable CMMs, manufacturers can eliminate the need for many or all check fixtures in their factories. The solution pays for itself as soon as a check fixture that would normally need to be built is no longer required. In addition, the modular tooling and portable CMM solution eliminates the need for storage, maintenance and rework costs for check fixtures not currently in use.

However, and perhaps most important of all, the portable CMM solution yields actionable, quantifiable data that manufacturers can use in a Six Sigma and/or lean manufacturing environment to improve their products and become more profitable.

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special feature t e s t & m e a s u r e m e n t

Future of test & measurement in India

Image Courtesy: Testo

Download the PDF file from www.efficientmanufacturing.in

Growth in the Indian test and measurement market has been driven by the global demand. A Frost & Sullivan research shows that the domestic demand has also risen over the past 18 months, to make the test and measurement market realise opportunities from every sector. This article talks about the major trends that are set to drive the test and measurement industry in India. â– Aravind Seshagiri

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Aravind Seshagiri Business Unit Leader - Measurement & Instrumentation Frost & Sullivan, South Asia & Middle East caroline.lewis@frost.com

ostly evident in countries like India and China, reverse brain drain as a concept implies a massive reversal of highly-educated and skilled workers back to their homeland.

This trend will also see proliferation of the non-resident population filling up CXO jobs. Also, salaries and benefits in these developing countries will eventually outstrip the Western world. Many Europeans and Americans will then seek jobs in such countries in the future. India will strengthen its position as a hot-spot for strategic low-cost sourcing, while developed economies will witness growth from valueadded services such as test & measurement and instrumentation. The middle-class income group will have the greatest impact

on products and services and the biggest purchasing power, as compared to other classes.

Smart clouds — the next trend in cloud computing The next paradigm shift in cloud computing will be the advent of smart clouds. These flexible customised clouds can address a particular business (or personal) need for a specific period of time and can be integrated with the existing on-premise IT infrastructure base — seamlessly and securely. This new cloud momentum is expected to throw open new business models leading to a confluence of new technological applications and opportunities for Jul/Aug 2011 | EM

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special feature t e s t & m e a s u r e m e n t software vendors. The need for smart cloud compatible test and monitoring equipment is expected to increase exponentially by 2020 because of the following reasons: Financial services and retail services will all be using Clouds for either in store or online shopping. It is crucial to ensure that the services operate flawlessly because of the time criticality of the money transactions. A network delay of couple of minutes will result in trillions in lost revenues for banks and financial institutions.

The reason for companies to switch to Cloud was attributed to significant infrastructure and energy cost savings.

Because of that, it will be required for test equipment to be as ‘green’ as possible in terms of recyclability and energy consumption.

There will be an increased demand for more intuitive virtual test and monitoring tools to test the smart cloud T here will be embedded testing tools offered to go with the telecommunications equipment Monitoring applications will be primarily intuitive, real-time passive ones that will pinpoint and fix the network impairments immediately in a mater of seconds

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Robots Robotic technology, combined with artificial intelligence, will assist humans in manufacturing, space, military, civil security, and transportation sectors.

Additionally, robotics will soon enter the realm of personal relationships acting as a slave, companion, and perhaps even a decision maker in the near future.

Wireless intelligence Wireless technology enabled by advancements in cellular networks, satellite networks, RFID, Wi-Fi, and WiMax, will lead to IT infrastructure and other services to be 80 per cent wireless on a single, integrated platform by 2020.

With real-time video surveillance, virtual monitoring; and secure, high-speed, wireless data networking, this intelligence will be managed by a central server, which

commands different emergency services to detect, react, prepare, respond, and even predict events. Around 10 billion devices will be connected by broadband in 2020 with innovative applications in healthcare, business, education, and entertainment sectors. Evolving artificial intelligence (AI) and broadband technologies will lead to sophistication of major applications resulting in virtual companies, business conferences, defence simulation, virtual classroom, and even virtual space tours to name a few.

Pr oj e c t e d M a r ke t S i z e f o r Te s t & M e a s u r e m e nt i n 2 013 INR (million)

CAGR (%) (2010–2013)

General Purpose Test Equipment Market

9500.00

12.0

Fibre Optic Test Equipment Market

800.00

9.0

Wireless Communication Test Equipment Market

860.02

26.0

Lab Analytical Instrumentation Market

25400.00

24.8

Future global power generation By 2020, nearly half of the world‘s electricity will be produced in emerging regions.

The shifting regional and fuel balance will see renewable and nuclear energy increasing to 36 per cent in 2020 of the total power generation.

Factory of the future Fully-automated factories are now approaching reality. Sophisticated machines, intelligent robots infused with future technologies will soon allow a plethora of machinery to rapidly manufacture and fabricate products on-demand, without any human intervention. The entire production line will be configured with artificial intelligence, allowing direct access and control to different machinery in the manufacturing process.

Software-defined instrumentation To address the trends, several test and measurement vendors have taken up software-defined instrumentation, which is a significant trend in test and measurement.

The end users, who are engineers, are using software-defined instrumentation to achieve different levels of performance and lower costs by applying the latest technological advancements such as multicore processing and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in their test systems to meet the demands of new wireless and protocol tests. The Frost & Sullivan research shows that software-defined instruments, also known as virtual instruments, consist of modular hardware and user-defined software. This gives engineers the ability

and flexibility to combine standard and user-defined measurements with custom data processing using common hardware components. This important feature has become extremely critical, as electronic devices such as next-generation devices, like smart phones including 3G and 4G, adopt different communications standards.

Software-defined instrumentation can enable an engineer to quickly configure and reconfigure their measurement algorithms in the software to meet testing requirements. Frost & Sullivan observes that the open, modular architecture of software-defined instruments, such as those in PXI, have proven beneficial to a wide range of industries. As a result, PXI revenue in measurement and automation is expected to grow at CAGR of 17.6 per cent through 2014. The performance delivered by the PXI platform has successfully addressed areas such as RF applications in radar testing, mobile phone testing, and other wireless applications that were previously impossible to address with other instrumentation techniques.

Conclusion With all of the above trends and development and approach setting in, the test and measurement market in India is all set to boom. There are areas of interest for every player in the market, and the global as well as domestic demand for test, measurement, and instrumentation is set to grow significantly in coming years.

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