Theme: Smart Organization: Innovative, Capable, Competitive

Kaizen in day to day LPG Operations

How does change happen in an Organization? Is it through major initiatives, or is it part of the ongoing way
you work? Some types of change inevitably need a major project; meaning months of hard work, big budgets
and upheaval. But an alternative or complementary approach to enhance system and processes is through more
subtle, ongoing changes and continuous improvements. Often this strategy is underestimated.
“Winners don’t do different things, they do things differently”
Kaizen is a strategy where employees at all levels work together proactively to achieve regular, incremental
improvements to the processes. In a sense, it combines the collective talents within a company to create a
powerful engine for improvement. Derived from the Japanese words “kai-” which means “change” and “-zen”
which means “good.” the popular meaning of Kaizen is “continuous improvement” or “small incremental
improvements” in all areas of an organisation.
LPG Operations at Uran LPG Terminal involve a host of activities right from receipt of product (indigenous
and import) to dispatching it through bottling, tank lorry and tank wagon into the market. To achieve
operational efficiency; constantly improving the processes at every level right from receipt, inventory
management, dispatch and engineering is an integral part. However, actually quantifying those improvement
is difficult, and figuring out a way to systematically improve the overall performance on a continuous basis is
even more difficult. This is where Kaizen really helps to critically evaluate processes and focus on where
system can be improved through small changes; be it power cost saving, optimizing on the runtime of critical
equipment to avoiding any major breakdowns or/and implementing low cost innovative technologies like LDR
(Light Dependent Resistor) sensors for automatic ambient light switching, such small steps has a major
contribution in improving operational efficiency and overall sustainability of the Terminal. Few such instances
are:-
 Installation of Capacitor Banks on the High Tension Line (6.6 kV) at Uran which has increased ‘power
factor’ from 0.95 to 0.997 and that has resulted in the savings worth 2.5 - 3 lakhs per month in the
electricity bill of the terminal. This small augmentation has significantly reduced the wasteful
component - ‘reactive power’ from the total power which helps in the increase of efficiency of energy
transmission.

 Replacing ‘Timer based switches’ with low cost ‘LDR’ switches for outside lightening which includes
8 high energy consuming high mast towers of 48kW each and street lights. It automatically switches
‘on’ in the evening and switches ‘off’ in the morning, outside lights in accordance with the surrounding
lumens. With this small change we were able to save unnecessary run time of about 1.25 Hrs of ambient
lights (including morning and evening hours) on daily basis. This 1.25 hrs has resulted in the total
saving of 480 kWh / Rs. 3840 per day or 14400kWh / Rs.115200 monthly; also with this about 136 kg
of CO2 emission is reduced per day which in turn reduces our carbon footprint.

“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
Most importantly, implementation of effective Kaizen events require consistency and foster respect. They
show that each area of a company has something important to contribute, that each person in the company is
an important part of the team, and that each individual is willing and able to improve the experience of
everyone else who works there. This explains the functioning of a smart organization which focuses on
efficiency at its roots.
Proposed By:
Kankana Bhattacharyya Kiran Sinkar Shubham Bharti
Asst. Manager Ops. (LPG) Asst. Manager Ops. (LPG) Asst. Manager Ops. (LPG)