CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT SYSTEM

28.
Quality assurance is a vital requirement of continuous
improvement,especially in the shipbuilding industry. Steel products for this industry
requireapproval by shipping classification societies, such as Lloyds Register of
Shipping.This independent body carries out its own assessment of the test
programme toensure that materials meet full requirements for the shipping
industry. Without thisapproval, Corus would be unable to use its materials for this
type of job.
29.
By meeting the higher specification, Corus gained Lloyds Register
approvalfor the new steel plate it developed for the Royal Navy. This approval
means thatCorus can offer these high quality steels to other customers. This
expands it'scustomer base. Its investment in CI systems, research and development
and the useof its employees' knowledge have provided Corus with a
distinctcompetitive
advantage
Conclusion
30.
In a competitive industry, businesses need to use all the resources they
have,including skills and knowledge. Continuous improvement at Corus provides
aprocess in which everybody can play a part in moving the business forward.
Workingin teams enables employees to share their ideas and expertise. Using the
expertiseof staff helps the business to develop. It also empowers individuals to take
onresponsibility
and
provides
them
with
increased
job
satisfaction.
31.
New product development may involve risk, such as investing time,
resourcesand money in new technologies. However, it also creates business
opportunities.Continuous improvement has helped Corus to meet the Royal Navy's
increasinglysophisticated requirements for high specification steel products.
However, in meetingthese needs, it has also opened up other business
opportunities. By winning thiscontract, Corus is now able to make this higher-grade
steel available as part of itsproduct portfolio. As a long-term strategy, it will help the
business to outperform it'scompetitors and increase its market share. It aims to
improve operational demandsto fulfill customer expectations and out-perform
competitors. However to enhance itsperformance further, the following is
recommended:
•
Cost reduction can be achieved by recycling steel.
•
Recycling does not affect quality and also preserves natural resource.
•
Efficient SCM would immensely help due long-term orders.
•
Using Value chain analysis, identify areas in which value can be added or
costs reduced.
•
Created key targets for managing and reducing emissions.
•
Seek new ways of reducing the amount of energy used in its
manufacturing and recycling operations.
•
Give high priority to risk management in order to reduce the number of
accidents at work
AT
CORUS
Introduction

Corus is a steel manufacturing company and is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, partof the
giant Indian conglomerate. Corus focuses on meeting the needs of itsworldwide
customers and providing innovative solutions. It manufactures, processesand
distributes steel and aluminium products worldwide.
2.Corus has steel manufacturing facilities in Scunthorpe, Teesside, Scotlandand
France. The key markets include construction, energy and renewables,engineering
and machinery, mining and earthmoving equipment, shipbuilding,fastenings and rail.
The principle of manufacturing at Scunthorpe covers 2,000 acresand employs 5,500
people. The site consumes 6.5 million tonnes of iron ore and 2million tonnes of coal
each year to produce 4.3 million tonnes of steel products.
The production process
3.Modern steel production is a large-scale operation dealing in huge quantities
of materials and products. The process of steel plate production has several stages:
•Receipt of pre-cut steel slabs from the steel plant
•Reheating of slabs
•Rolling to achieve required dimension and mechanical properties
•Initial inspection for surface or quality defects
•Cutting to order size
•Marking with unique identities
•Cold levelling to agreed flatness standard
•Final inspection
•Loading and despatch to customer
4.Producing large volumes helps to drive down the costs of running huge
andexpensive steel plant. Overall, this results in steel being a relatively
inexpensiveproduct. In a major building project, such as a shopping complex, the cost
of thesteel can be as little as 5% of the overall cost of the project, because of these
issues,Corus needs to differentiate its business from its competitors in order to
continue to grow.
5.Corus business strategy is to produce quality steel to satisfy customer
requirements, focusing on delivering products at the right time in order to
secureprofitable business. A key challenge is to meet the increasing demands for
moresteel, at increasing levels of quality and to comply with more demanding
deliveryrequirements. It would be straightforward to meet these challenges using
brand-newfacilities. However, a new ‘greenfield site’ steel mill could cost more than
£300 millionto build. Corus therefore needs to make process efficiencies and quality
and deliveryimprovements with its existing manufacturing plant. This presents
challenges whenolder facilities are not well structured to use modern manufacturing
techniques and processes.
Continuous improvement
6.Continuous Improvement is often referred to by the Japanese word ‘Kaizen’.Kaizen
means ‘change for the better’ and covers all processes in an organization.These
include engineering, IT, financial, commercial and customer serviceprocesses, as
well as manufacturing. Continuous improvement involves makingcontinual small
improvements to a process rather than big changes at irregularintervals. This
requires close monitoring and control, changes to the uses
ofmanpower, machinery, methods, materials and money to improve
business efficiency.
7.Continuous Improvement starts with management and under their leadershipworks
down through the organization. The underlying theme is that everyone isresponsible
and has a part to play in making improvements. All employees mustwork together to
identify the steps needed to improve working practices. Planningmeetings help
teams to focus on satisfying customer needs. Visual managementtechniques, such
as flow charts and wall charts make clear what resources are necessary and who is
responsible for each part in the process.
Reducing waste
8.There are seven main areas of waste for any business:
•Transportation – moving materials or products about
•Inventory – keeping too much or the wrong stock
•Motion – people moving or travelling excessively
•Waiting times – allowing products to wait for processing
•Overproduction – making too much
•Over processing – doing too many processes during manufacture
•Defects – errors or flaws in the product causing rework or needing to be
scrapped
9.Production processes that minimise waste are referred to as ‘lean production’.In
these processes, the aim is to use less of everything, for example, space,materials
or time. Corus has adopted the concept of ‘flow’. This means that theproducts are
‘pulled’ through the process according to customer demand. All parts ofthe
production process, from the supply of raw steel (slab) to the finished steel plate,are
carefully planned. Scheduling for each element of the process ensures
thatbottlenecks are kept to a minimum. Each process is paced (known as‘takt’ time)
tocontrol the amount of product in each stage of the process. This ensures
thatprocesses operate smoothly without overload or delay and keep the desired
outputand quality. Tonnage was the traditional key measure of productivity for corus.
Foremployees to work to a smooth paced process needed a significant culture
change. 
Implementing a continuous improvement culture
10.A CI culture means that everyone can put forward ideas and have a say inhow
processes can change for the better. CI needs teamwork. In corus, a CImanager
coordinates the process. 40 CI chosen workforce received training tofacilitate
improvements. CCI has put together a ‘toolbox’ of techniques, which the 
2

coaches use with managers, employees and operators. These help everyone
understand where and how they can improve their work.
11.
Corus has set out a 5-year vision improvement plan, which will help in
theprocess of developing a CI culture for the business. Everyone in the organisation
hasto understand and actively support the plan. Workshops for all employees
havetaken place to explain the vision and why the change is necessary if CCI is to
remaincompetitive.
Process mapping
12.Helped by the CI coaches, workers have drawn maps of their processes.These
show the links between the stages of manufacturing as well what informationflow is
needed. The maps show:
•Details of tonnages
•Number of products
•Rework cycles
•Inspection points
•Stocks
•Delays
•Costs
13.The first part of this process is a ‘current state value stream map’. This
showswhat the systems and processes are like now. The next stage considers what
the‘future state map’ would look like. This highlights what CCI needs to do to
achievethis state, for example, investing in new processes, equipment or additional
staffing.Corus (Scunthorpe plate mill has 16 system maps). These link to each other
to givean overview of the whole process. For each of the 16 systems, a number of
rulesabout stock levels and stock rotation have been set up:
•Stock rotation ensures that the plates for one customer do not become buried
beneath others and therefore delayed.
•The required amount of slab steel (‘feedstock’) must be in front of the mill by
the Tuesday of the week in which the material is to be rolled.
•By rolling plates in the planned week, the mill is properly paced and all‘downstream’
processes (such as cutting, leveling and inspection) can bescheduled accordingly.
14.Using the value stream maps has helped CCI to improve process flows andthe
working environment. It has also reduced unnecessary motion, transport
andprocessing. By taking these small steps and involving everyone in the vision,
thedelivery of product has increased from 70% of plates on time to 92% on time.
3

Target setting
15.CI working requires everyone to think differently about the way they work. Itwas
recognised that people might be resistant and cling on to old ways of working.The
key was getting all workers to see change as their responsibility. The CI
coachessupport the teams and individuals and promote or ‘champion’ new ways of
working.
16.To help workers accept the changes, the 5-year plan established a timeline forthe
programme of introducing change. The team and individuals are empowered totake
responsibility and make decisions for themselves.
Key performance indicators
17.An important part of the Continuous Improvement programme was the creationof
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Previously, the only measure at Corus wasthe
number of tonnes of steel rolled. This did not show whether it met customers’needs
or whether the steel needed rework because it didn’t meet customerrequirements.
Corus has set new KPIs, which focus on meeting customer deadlines,such as:
•A zero backlog of customer orders - this means customers always get their
deliveries on time
•Meeting targets for rolling steel plate in its allotted week
18.Corus monitors and measures how its operations compare with otherproducers
and competitors in the steel industry. This process of benchmarkingmeans that
Corus is continually reviewing its activities to achieve best practice.Corus shares
relevant information both within and across Corus to driveimprovement. It also
spreads appropriate technical knowledge and informationacross the steel industry
through international groups such as the International Ironand Steel Institute.
The benefits of continuous improvement
19.There are significant costs involved in setting up a Continuous Improvement
programme, including:
•Allocating employee time to participate in group work
•Training coaches
4•Setting up a manual of tools and techniques
20.However, Corus is already seeing the benefits of CI with:
•Reduced waste through lean production
•Improved product quality
•Reduced rework time
•Faster response times, giving more customers their orders on time
•Becoming more competitive by driving down costs
•Retaining/gaining customers through innovative products and services.
21.By empowering its workers, Corus has gained a more committed workforce,which
helps to drive further improvement. KPIs show that the Corus is achieving itstargets
for rolling steel in planned weeks and is delivering almost 100% ofcustomers’ orders
complete and on time. The principles of team working help tocreate a more flexible
workforce. This gives Corus the capacity to increase orchange production when
necessary. In addition, Corus employees are more likely tobe satisfied and motivated
when they feel that they are making a contribution. Theycan see their expertise helps
to create a more effective company.
Product development
22.The steel for the new aircraft carriers needed to meet a very highspecification.
Materials for warships have to be able to endure the unique conditionsin which they
operate, such as extreme temperatures or high seas. This contractrequired grades of
steel with strength and toughness higher than those Corus hadput forward for its
previous contract bid. This represented a new product opportunityand using
innovations Corus used CI to support its new product development (NPD),enabling it
to meet the needs of its customers more closely. Thus, Corus developedthe new
product out beating its competitors. Corus's established CI systems andquality
procedures helped it to meet the following step change:
•It's Research & Development expertise and knowledge came up with the new
steel formula that had the required toughness and strength.
•Lean production principles helped to minimise waste since lean productionuses
fewer resources more efficiently. This increases productivity and canimprove
profitability
•One aspect of lean production that helps to save costs of stock is the just-in-time
(JIT) principle. Just in time means producing and supplying goods at thetime they
are needed. The business holds the minimum amount of rawmaterials and just
enough finished product to meet demand. It requires well-organised systems to
ensure supplies arrive and goods reach customers ontime. Just in time procedures
helped to meet tight deadlines. This reducescosts and so helps to improve the return
on investment for shareholders.
Product testing
23.Steel making is a large-scale manufacturing process. Manufacturing
involvestaking all of the raw materials involved in making steel and turning them into
tangibleoutputs. Producing large quantities reduces the cost of each piece. This is
known as
5

'economies of scale'. In order to test the new steel formula properly during
development, Corus needed to find a way of making small batches for
testing.Product testing is an important part of development. The small batches
enabledCorus to create prototypes to test and discover how well each prototype met
therequired specification.
24.
Corus needed to examine which elements of the steel manufacturing
processaffected the strength and toughness of the plate. It was important to test
variousfactors to see what impact changes in each would make to the finished
product:
•
The steel chemistry - what ingredients made the steel 'recipe' better?
•
The reheating conditions - how did the temperature affect the steel?
•
The rolling schedule - did different mill processes have an effect?
•
The cooling speed - did the speed of cooling affect the product?
•
The additional heat treatment processes - would additional heating change its
qualities?
25.
 The product testing stage enabled Corus to make sure the final product
metthe required brief from the design team. It used computer-modelling software
toidentify the impact of changes in each factor. By understanding the best
combination,Corus came up with the winning formula.
Outcomes
26.
Corus developed the new steel product to help it win the Royal Navy contract.
As a result, it benefited in many ways as a side effect of the changes:
•By using its existing CI procedures to guide its research and development
andtesting, Corus developed the new specification of steel required at acompetitive
price.
•Investment in new technologies and equipment, used alongside leanproduction
techniques, enabled Corus to minimise levels of waste and reducehigh
manufacturing costs.
•It was able to meet customer deadlines, a vital element of making a business'
operations more competitive.
27.The steelmaking industry also benefited. Corus adopts a practice ofbenchmarking
as part of it's continuous improvement. It shares its best practiceacross the
industry. Other steel businesses can now use the best methods ofproduction to raise
quality across the whole sector.

28.Quality assurance is a vital requirement of continuous improvement,especially in

the shipbuilding industry. Steel products for this industry requireapproval by shipping
classification societies, such as Lloyds Register of Shipping.This independent body
carries out its own assessment of the test programme toensure that materials meet
full requirements for the shipping industry. Without thisapproval, Corus would be
unable to use its materials for this type of job.
29.
By meeting the higher specification, Corus gained Lloyds Register
approvalfor the new steel plate it developed for the Royal Navy. This approval
means thatCorus can offer these high quality steels to other customers. This
expands it'scustomer base. Its investment in CI systems, research and development
and the useof its employees' knowledge have provided Corus with a distinct
competitive
advantage
Conclusion
30.In a competitive industry, businesses need to use all the resources they
have,including skills and knowledge. Continuous improvement at Corus provides
aprocess in which everybody can play a part in moving the business forward.
Workingin teams enables employees to share their ideas and expertise. Using the
expertiseof staff helps the business to develop. It also empowers individuals to take
on responsibility
And provides them with increased
Job satisfaction.
31.New product development may involve risk, such as investing time, resourcesand
money in new technologies. However, it also creates business
opportunities.Continuous improvement has helped Corus to meet the Royal Navy's
increasinglysophisticated requirements for high specification steel products.
However, in meetingthese needs, it has also opened up other business
opportunities. By winning thiscontract, Corus is now able to make this higher-grade
steel available as part of itsproduct portfolio. As a long-term strategy, it will help the
business to outperform it'scompetitors and increase its market share. It aims to
improve operational demandsto fulfill customer expectations and out-perform
competitors. However to enhance itsperformance further, the following is
recommended:
•Cost reduction can be achieved by recycling steel.
•Recycling does not affect quality and also preserves natural resource.
•Efficient SCM would immensely help due long-term orders.
•Using Value chain analysis, identify areas in which value can be added or
costs reduced.
•Created key targets for managing and reducing emissions.
•Seek new ways of reducing the amount of energy used in its
manufacturing and recycling operations.
•Give high priority to risk management in order to reduce the number of
accidents at work