Kayapalat - to a Resurgent

Sinter Plant

During H1 of the year 2013-14, Sinter Plant was not able to meet its production target for which
Bara Steel Plant had to purchase Sinter from outside the premises. Because of this, profitability of
Bara Steel Plant got hampered and the only reason for this reduced profitability was Sinter Plant.
Sinter Plant became the only bottleneck in the steel making process of Bara Steel Plant
because all other shops/departments involved in direct production of steel met their
respective targets successfully. The utilization of Sinter machines was only 76.8% of available
hours. If we dive deep into the matter, then we can say that had Sinter not been purchased from
outside, Bara Steel Plant would have been able to achieve only 3/4th of its production target
for steel. The impact of the problem was so severe that we might not have been able to claim
ourselves as the largest producer of steel in India, which is the pride of our parent firm, had it
not been dealt immediately.
It was recommended that Sinter Plant needed to reduce delay so as to achieve the production
target successfully. Apart from this, there were also other three solutions which could have been
implemented, but reducing delay was less capital intensive as well as less time consuming for
which it became the best option as per our research and study. In other words, this was the
optimized solution which consumed fewer resources as compared other solutions and gave
maximum benefits to Sinter Plant, which in turn helped Bara Steel Plant to meet its production
target without procuring Sinter from outside. It increased utilization of Sinter machines from
76.8% to 97.6% i.e., a 27% increase in utilization of machines, and further stretching this to
100% wouldn’t be cost effective for which this was the highest utilization factor which we
could achieve.

intering is the process of

S agglomeration of fine iron ore
particles into a porous and lumpy mass
by incipient fusion. In Indian scenario,
sintering is most common process
of utilising iron ore fines as Blast
Furnace feed economically. Bara Steel
Plant (BaSP) is equipped with 3 sinter
strands (designed and commissioned
by erstwhile USSR during 1970’s). It
had been observed that Sinter plant
was not meeting its production targets
on a regular basis for a few months.
And during these periods, each and
every other shop/ department of Bara
Steel Plant was meeting its respective
production target set by its top
management. Hence, it was clear that
Sinter Plant had become a bottleneck
in steel making process. It needed to
be dealt as soon as possible so as to
meet the demands of customers of Bara
Steel

1
Plant. And this was the reason which
prompted for the investigation in Sinter
Plant. To investigate into the matter, a
problem statement had been defined
which was as follows.
After coming to a definite problem
statement, first point was to collect past
data to start analysis. After the collection
of data, second thing was to find weak
links with the help of analysis tools
from the past data. Third thing was to
do brainstorming with both blue collar
workforce (non-executives) as well as
executives separately so as to decide
which weak links could be attacked to
get maximum output with minimum
cost. And at last, the final thing was to
build pragmatic solutions to mitigate
the weak links optimally. These were
the four steps which had been taken
to strategize as well as implement the
solution.
The scope of this report was limited to
reduce delay only. The reason for this
is the fact that the need at that point of
time was to get a quick solution which
should be robust and cost effective.
And other ways of improvement were
increase in efficiency and productivity
of machines as well as to improve the
capacity of machines so as to assist
Sinter Plant in achieving its production
target. But these needed ample amount
of resource in terms of manpower and
capital along with significant amount
of time for which these things had been
rejected for further consideration. Hence
the scope was limited to reduce delay.
There is hardly any improvement
possible further in the weak link which
had been found and mitigated as per
this report because it already improved
the utilization parameter from 76.8%
to 97.6%. Further stretching this to
100% may not have much impact on
production. In other ways, it would
not be cost effective to stretch further
to achieve 100%. i.e., the limitation of
this report was utilization parameter
couldn’t be stretched more than 97.6%.
The reason for this limitation was the
fact that it would increase significant
amount of cost which in turn might
reduce the profitability.
Before starting the investigation,
historical evidence had been tried to
find out, whether any such instance had
occurred in the past, and if occurred,
had there any type of action been
taken to solve such problem or not.
There were two such things for which
no such historical evidence had been
found. First thing was that in case,
even if any group had taken the
initiative to solve the problem, the
group had not documented the
findings and solutions for which there
was no such report available in this
matter. Second thing was the fact that
as there were a few instances when
multiple shops / departments could
not achieve their respective
production targets, for which this
problem in Sinter Plant had been
camouflaged and hence, nobody
thought that this problem needed so
much attention. It came to limelight
because of two reasons. One of the
reasons was Bara Steel Plant had to
purchase Sinter from outside especially
to meet the production target. Another
reason was this time, only Sinter Plant
couldn’t meet its production target
whereas all other shops/departments
involved in direct production of steel
were able to meet their production
targets, for which it grabbed the
attention of management. All data
had been collected from log books of
the required period, and information
regarding the ways to troubleshoot
the problems had been gathered
through brainstorming sessions with
non-executives as well as executives
in Sinter Plant. Before getting into the
body of the report let us have a look at
the flow chart as well as production
target of Sinter Plant in Bara Steel Plant
which had been shown in Annexure I
and Annexure II respectively.
Thereportfollowed astructural approach
which was explained as follows.
First of all, it explained about the
crisis, which was named as SANKAT.
This part elaborated two things. One
was how the problem caught the
attention of the management and the
other one was how the mind-set of the
workforce had been changed by the top
management to assist in overcoming
the problem. Then the second part
was named as ANUSANDHAN i.e.,
the inquisition stage, where bottom-
up approach had been followed to get
the root cause analysis. After that, the
third part was named as LAKSHYA,
where a vision statement had been
made so as to not to get carried away
in the mid-way while solving the
problem. The vision statement should
not only be understood by each and
every employee, but also build the
confidence among each of them to turn
the statement into reality for which
after LAKSHYA, there came the fourth
part i.e., SAKSHAM which explained
about how the above things had been
planned to achieve. Then, after building
confidence among the workforce, the
stage of KARMA came, which revealed
the process to achieve success and
threw some light on how 4R strategy
had been implemented in Sinter Plant
to make a vision statement into reality.
Then, it showed the results of all the
above efforts and at last it provided
the conclusion precisely.
SANKAT: Defining the crisis
• During H1 of 2013-14, 97.6%
fulfilment of monthly production
target could have been achieved.
But Sinter machines were running
only for 51.25 hours/day (There
were 3 Sinter machines running in
Bara Steel Plant for which ideally
the machines could run for 24
X 3=72 hours/day), resulting in
76.8% utilisation of available hours.
Reliability of age old equipment
had become poor, and breakdowns
were common in the shop floor.
Figure.1 showed the fulfilment of
for H1 of the year 2013-14
production target and Fig.2
showed the daily running hours of
all the three Sinter machines
combined together for H1
 of the year 2013-14. of H1 of 2013-14 had been
• Frequent strand stoppages took toll depicted in Figure 4.
15.00 12.7 13
11.6

-5 mm in sinter, %
110.0 106.2 10.4
103.1 104.3 9.17 9.44
Target fulfilment, %

10.00
100.0
93.5 5.00
89.1 89.4
90.0
0.00

80.0 12 3 456
12 34 56 Months
Months

Fig. 3: -5 mm Sinter, H1, 2013-14

Fig. 1: Fulfilment of Production Target, H1,
2013-14 35689

External Sinter. Tons

40000
30000 27309
20000 25465
19947 19174 19456
10000
Daily running hours

60.00
55.20
55.00 51.00 51.60 52.23
50.00 48.60
45.00 46.44 0
40.00 123456
Months

12 3 456 Fig. 4: External Sinter, H1, 2013-14

Months
• It was not only the visible under
Fig. 2: Daily Sinter Machines’
Running Hours, H1, 2013- performance of Sinter Plant, but
14 also lack of any visible solution to
break the vicious circle which made
on sinter quality; -5 mm in sinter employees low on confidence.
were hovering at 11.05%, which was “Sinter Plant to Nahi Sudhrega”,
being shown in Figure 3. “Naya Plant na ane se iska kuch nahi
• It was necessitated to arrange hoga” was the statement made by
external Sinter for feeding Blast most of the workforce during those
Furnaces. In H1 2013-14, external bleak days which meant that Sinter
sinter of average 24500 tons/month plant won’t change for betterment,
was consumed, which acted against nothing could be done until new
the profitability and integration of plant comes in. Lack of hope was
BaSP. The amount of external Sinter more dangerous than challenging
consumed in each of the 6 months
1
In a year, ideally there should be 365 X 24 X 3 = 26280 hrs. available for running all the three machines.
But on an average 27 days had been taken for capital repair and other repairs for each machine in a
Year. So practically, time available for running for all three machines = (365-27) X 24 X 3 = 24336 hrs. /
year But all three Sinter machines are running for 51.25 hrs. / day on an average.
Hence total running time for all three Sinter machines = 51.25 X 365 = 18706.25 hrs. / year
i.e., utilization of machines = (18706.25 / 24336) X 100 = 76.8% of available time
 reality, and all symptoms of chronic
distress were evident in Sinter Plant
collectively.
• But it was the new GM (General
Manager), appointed from customer
department who saw the mounting
challenges as golden opportunities.
First and foremost action he took
was to instil confidence, “Jo nahi ho
sakta hai, WOHI TO KARNA HAI” i.e.,
the thing which can’t be done, is
what we have to do. He was the
person who tried to change the
mind-set of the workforce of Sinter
Plant in order to build confidence
among them so as to get the
production back on track.
ANUSANDHAN: Inquisition stage
To delve deep into the problem, and
prepare pragmatic solution, first of all,
rigorous brainstorming sessions had
been done separately with executives as
well as non-executives to gather ideas
to improve the utilization of Sinter
machines so as to meet the production
target of Sinter Plant. After several
brainstorming sessions, it had been
found out that there were mainly four
areas which could lead to improvement
in utilization of Sinter machines, if
dealt carefully. These four areas of
improvement were:-
A. Increase the productivity of machines
B. Increase the efficiency of machines
(Reduce rejection of Sinter)
C. Capacity improvement of machines
D. Reduce delays
While considering all the above
solutions, it was evident that if these
solutions would be implemented, then
the mind-set of the workforce couldn’t
be changed. And it was very important
to change the mind-set of the workforce
by looking at the long term perspective
of the plant. So, it was like a challenge
which had to be converted into an
opportunity to kill two birds with one
stone. i.e., one solution would be found
out which could help Sinter Plant to
achieve its production target as well as
change the mind-set of workers (The
mind-set of workers was “Sinter Plant
to nahi sudhrega”, “Naya Plant na ane se
iskaa kuch nahi hoga”). This perspective
had been put up in front of the top
management of Sinter Plant, after
which it was decided that an alternative
had to be found out to solve this matter.
This time, rigorous brainstorming
sessions had been conducted, and after
a few days of hard work, a solution
came, which was to reduce delay. The
executives were ecstatic about this
solution, but there were also some
risks involved with this solution. The
risk was in case the solution failed to
achieve the desired outcome, then the
workforce of Sinter Plant would think
that they were always right i.e., “Sinter
Plant to nahi sudhrega”, “Naya Plant na ane
se iskaa kuch nahi hoga”. And in future it
would be very difficult to change this
mind-set, if the management would fail
by opting for the fourth option i.e., to
reduce delay. Again, the pros and cons
of this solution had been put up in
front of the top management of Sinter
 Table 1: Comparisons of available options thought of during brainstorming

Requirement Productivity Efficiency Capacity Delay

Capital High High High Low / Moderate
Manpower High High High High
Time More More More Moderate / More
Production Hamper Yes Yes Yes No
Change of Mind-set No No No Yes

Plant, after which the top management

51.25hrs. of daily running
decided to opt for the fourth option
as it was a situation like it’s now or
76.8% utilization of available hours
never. And the management was fully
97.6%
External Sinter in BaSP Blast Furnaces
committed to first craft a strategy which fulfilment of production target

would be robust so that there

Low Yield
wouldn’t be any chance of failure.
Hence, work started on fourth option. 11.05% of -5mm Sinter

To get a view of all the options, a small

comparison had been made which was Frequent Machine Stop

shown in Table 1.
Essentially the first step was to break
the complex topic of Sinter Plant delay
into smaller parts to gain a better
understanding of it, through data
collection and analysis. Number of
interdependent causes acted behind
the poor performance and any delay
in small parts ultimately led to overall
plant stoppage; hence root-cause
analysis was carried out. Figure 5 shows
the diagram.
Data Collection
Data from every available source were
collected, recorded and organized. Both
Quantitative as well as Qualitative
data were collected through
customized check sheetanswering the
Five Ws,
Fig. 5: Root cause analysis of non
fulfillment of monthly production target
which were being put in Annexure III
and Annexure IV. The 5Ws are:
• Who filled out the check sheet?
(Operator, fitter, welder, shift I/c,
section I/c etc.)
• What was collected? (Start / stop
time for delay, reasons for delay)
• Where did the collection take place?
(machine, room, section)
• When did the collection take place?
(hour, shift, day of the week)
• Why did the data are collected?
(characterize and analyze sinter
machine delays)
 Next level, inch arges of functional
areas e.g. Production, Mechanical, 40.00
37.83

Delay hours
and Electrical were required to fill 30.00
30.25
22.33
check sheet so as to enable 19.66 19.91
20.00
12.17
• To check the shape of the 10.00
probability distribution of a
process 0.00
123456
Months
• To quantify defects by type
• To quantify defects by location Fig. 8 : Production Delay, H1, 2013-14
• To quantify defects by cause
(machine, worker)
200.00 179.58
• To keep track of the completion of
steps in a multistep procedure (in Delay hours 15.00 123.08 127.16
116.08
109.67
other words, as an SOP/SMP) 86.16
100.00

The occurring of delay due to each of

50.00
the factors had been shown below.
0.00
123456
Months
37.91
40.00
31.66
29.08 Fig. 9 : Delay due to customer side, H1, 2013-
30.00
Delay hours

23.08 21.08 14
18.66
20.00

120.00 107.09
10.00 100.00
84.16 76.08
80.00
Delay hours

0.00 60.00
123456
40.00
Months 39.16
20.00
0.00 17.66
6.99
Fig. 6 : Electrical Delay, H1, 2013-14
123456
Months
119.41 114.66
120.00
100.00
98.33 Fig. 10 : Delay due to supplier side, H1, 2013-14
Delay hours

74.66 81.66
80.00
60.00 55.91 Data analysis
40.00
20.00 Analysing data involved examining it
0.00
in ways that reveal the relationships,
123456 patterns, trends, etc. that could be found
Months within it. By subjecting it to statistical
operations to find out what kinds of
Fig. 7 : Mechanical Delay, H1, 2013-14 relationships seemed to exist among
variables and to what level outcomes
500.00 100%
could be trusted. The basic objective
was to get an accurate assessment in 400.00
80%

Delay hrs.
order to better understand trends and 300.00
60%

its effects on Sinter Plant performance. 200.00

40%

The delay data so collected were first 100.00

20%
analyzed in graphical representation, 0.00

and Histograms were used to plot the

density of data, and often for density
estimation: estimating the probability
density function of the underlying
variable. BF (Blast Furnace) belt
stoppage during July’13 is attached as
Figure 11, showing the trend of small
value but high frequency.
60
50
Frquency of stop
Agency
Fig. 12 : Pareto analysis of Delays, June 2013
relationships underlying a particular
problem. Application of the technique
to determine high occurrence of
mechanical and electrical delay is
presented in Figure. That encouraged
the troubleshooter to avoid assumptions

and logic traps and instead trace the

40
chain of causality in direct increments
30
from the effect through any layers of
abstraction to the root cause. The fifth
20 why suggested a broken process, which
10
was indicative of reaching the root-
cause level.
0
Fig. 11
1 3: Histogram
5 7 9 11 13of
15 daily machine
17 19 21 delay
23 25 27 29 The 5 Why technique had been depicted
Days
due to BF belt stop, July 2013 below.
Problem : Mechanical & Electrical
Data from check sheets, plotted stoppages are very high
against a Pareto chart, containing both
bars and a line graph. The chart 1. Why? Frequent breakdowns,
highlighted the most important among Machine reliability poor
a (typically large) set of delay reasons. 3. Why? Depleting manpower,
Hence, the most common sources of preventive maintenance limited
delays, the highest occurring type 2. Why? No condition based
shown in Figure 12, or the most maintenance of equipment
frequent reasons for customer 4. Why? Inspection schedule not
complaints could be identified. properly maintained
Besides the quantitative analysis, 5 5. Why? Poor house-keeping makes
why’s technique was also applied inspection impossible
to explore the cause-and-effect
LAKSHYA: Formulating vision
statement
After analysis of the delay situation, it
was evident that production target could
not be met with such high occurrence
of delays. So, it was clear that if delay
could be reduced then production
target could have been met in future.
And, if delay could be minimized each
and every time, then production target
would not have been missed even for
a single time due to delay. Hence, to
maintain the process for long term, it
was needed to make a vision statement,
so that even after getting success for a
few occasions in reducing delay to the
optimum level, people wouldn’t forget
to maintain or get carried away by
other responsibilities. Hence, a vision,
quite simply was being made and
Fig. 13 : Loss in productivity due to unplanned delays
communicated. The vision statement
is as follows.
Zero Delays
Zero Abnormalities
Perfect Quantity and Quality
SAKSHYAM: Capacity building
stage
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum
up the men to gather wood, divide the work
and give orders. Instead, teach them to
yearn for the vast and endless sea.”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupery
In fulfilling the targets and realizing
the vision, first step was taken
towards capacity building. Building
capacity, that it could not only
turnaround Sinter Plant by then, but
also during lasting future too.
 Communication
Communication initiatives had been
taken to focus Sinter Plant team to
achieve the overall objectives of
department and organization as a
whole. Objectives were broken down
to identifiable targets in the audience
groups’ sphere of influence. Variety
of communications modes e.g.,
Public display boards in each section,
presentation by sectional incharges
and closed group interaction were
implemented, to hard hit all people
down the line.
In addition, top management of BaSP
e.g., CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and
ED (W) (Executive Director (Works))
started to visit the shop periodically,
interacted directly with employees
and their concerns.
• Communicatingcrossingthebarrier:
Informal communications at job
loca tions, to share concerns
• Cross border communication:
Customers, suppliers and services
units of BaSP were invited to attend
formal communication meetings
and participate
14393
14194
14194
12419
12300
12000
12000
SepOctNovDecJanFebMar
2013 - 14
Fig. 14 : Daily Sinter production target (in Tons)
Brain storming
Acting hands on the equipment,
employees could be the best judge of
their problems. Brainstorming sessions
were organized. Concerned people
including executives and workforce
were called, the situation/challenge
put forth and questions e.g. “HOW
CAN WE?” were asked. Letting the
possibilities come forward, discussed
about pros & cons, effective solutions
could be implemented on reality.
Excellence Philosophy Method Tool
Idealistic, Functionality,
Space/Time/Interface,
Complete problem solving
process
Trend Analysis, Best Practice,
SOP, SMP, Knowledge Sharing
Fig. 15 : Brainstorming to find out the
possible solution of problems
Morale boosting
Chronic under-performance mostly
eroded confidence of employees and
attitude of no hope was evident. So the
can–do approach was first traded to all
of Sinter Plant. Through each and every
interaction,pessimism of the future,
confidence on employees, trust and
mutual belief were traded.
“No matter how bad things got, no
matter how anxious the staff become, the
commander has to preserve optimism in
himself and his men”
– Gen. D.E. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander,
Allied Expeditionary Force, WW II
Instilling Confidence upon i.e.
front line managers by assigning
greater responsibility created
exceptional positive spirit. One-to-
one communication with senior
management level and problem facing
head-on inspired all to Win.
KARMA: Application stage
To attain the goal, emphasis was
given to Preventive Maintenance i.e.
to treat causes of breakdowns before
they actually happen. In realizing the
goal, 4R strategy i.e. Retrenchment,
Repositioning, Reorganisation and
Renewal were applied.
Retrenchment
The Retrenchment strategy included
wide-ranging short-term actions, aimed
to stabilize the delays and to work
against the root causes.
Improve upon House keeping
House-keeping was outsourced section-
wise, with specificmention to
thequantity in the payment terms. On
contract to the earlier practice of private
supervision, monitoring by Sinter Plant
employees was introduced. Cleaning
being a hands- on activity, people
supervising during cleaning the
machines had the best chance of
detecting any failure. As they touched
and looked at the machine, loose bolts
shouted to them. Part of the cleaning
process was looking for ways to make
cleaning easier or maintenance
avoidable. In some cases, the source of
dirt could be isolated to reduce the need
for cleaning.
Cleaning Program Checklist
1. Cleaning main body of machine,
checking and tightening bolts
2. Cleaning ancillary equipment,
checking and tightening bolts
3. Cleaning lubrication areas before
performing lubrication
4. Cleaning around equipment
5. Treating the causes of dirt, dust,
leaks, and contamination
6. Improving access to hard-to-reach
areas
7. Developing cleaning standards
“This hand-on approach also increased
the person’s respect for the machine. This
process of cleaning, seeing, touching, and
respecting the machine was essential to
increase reliability”
– GM, Sinter Plant
Besides, keeping overall cleanliness
of area was another priority, scrap
removal and peripheral cleaning was
carried out in massive scale. This
could be ensured by systematic
elimination of sources of dirt and
clutter such as misplaced trash
containers, lack of proper storage,
broken tools, bad ventilation,
inadequate lighting etc.; which
ultimately helped in spreading
positive mood and morale among
workforce.
Vigorous inspection
All three key aspects of an inspection
i.e. inspector competence, reliability of
inspection and quality of information
used and created by the inspector
were carefully enhanced. Inspector
competence in terms of skill, knowledge
and ability to assess risk; to recognize
a defect, while categorizing and
reporting defects reliably and quickly
were ensured. Inspectors visually
inspected the item and, where relevant
listened to it, felt it and possibly smelt it.
Inspection data were recorded and
made accurate comparisons from one
inspection to the next, thereby
allowing defects to be monitored and
either repaired, or replaced in an
organized manner.
Besides, 3-tier inspection, by operator,
supervisor and sectional incharges were
introduced, which could seal any
possible leakages in single layer of
inspection.
Autonomous maintenance practice
Reliability based maintenance system
utilizing proactive, predictive, and
Reacting
Detecting Equipment
Continous
Improvement
Noise Vibration
Heating
Equipment leading
to Filure
FIX IT
Fig. 16 : Autonomous maintenance parctic
preventative maintenance practices
focusing on the entire equipment life
cycle was established. Implemented
team-based (including all departments
e.g. operation, mechanical, electrical,
and instrumentation) activities aimed
at the organization-wide goal of zero
defects and zero breakdowns. A work
order system and equipment data base
maintained, to monitor and support
continuous equipment improvement.
Also it was ensured that maintenance to
treat root cause and not the symptom,
so that maintenance personnel could be
moved from the “fire-fighting” mode to
the prevention mode. Daily 2-3 hours
planned shutdown and immediate
liquidation of defects identified
(Schedule for monitoring is attached in
(Annexure V) was introduced.
Responding Prevention
Rectification of Reasons
Continuous
Detecting Reasons for
improvement
Deformation Loose Align
Tightening
Lack ofWear & Tear lubrication
Greasing
Misalignment
Cleaning
Jam Corrosion
Equipment Not 100% Keep
Equipment T 100%
FIX IT MAINTAIN IT
 Step Process name
1 Clean & inspect
2 Eliminate problem sources and
inaccessible areas
3 Draw up cleaning and greasing
standards
4 Conduct general inspection
5 Conduct autonomous inspection
6 Standardise through visual
workplace management
7 Implementing autonomous
equipment management
Repositioning
Repositioning is the strategy, to move
people for improved effectiveness and
incorporation of various managerial
and operational changes.
Job defining and placing people
accordingly
Job definition is the list that an
employee had to do with a position.
The skills required and expectations
in terms of quantified outcomes were
clearly spelled out. Accordingly,
employees were relocated as per
requirement. Some key position
demanded people to develop future
plan and projections of needs. Efficient
utilization of available resources could
improve collective performances.
Activities
CGT (Cleaning, greasing, Tightening)
Correction of dirt sources, preventing
spillage, improving accessibility and shorten
time
Standards and schedule for CGT well
documented and reviewed periodically
Skill training and enhancing capabilities
Standard check sheets and standards for
inspection prepared and followed
Standardise all work process:
• Work area material flow
• Data recording methods
• Spare management
Improvement in everyday practices, maintain
reliable MTBF (mean time before failures) data,
analysis and using it for further improvement
Place Time
Mind
Fig. 17 : Right People, Right Job, Right Time
Gap analysis and revival strategy
Analysing the Gap i.e. comparison
of actual performance with potential
performance pointed areas where best
use of available resources was
missing. It involved determining,
documenting, and approving the
difference between requirements and
current capabilities.
 Identify core Internal External data Analysis Change
issues baseline data collection Implementation

Issues Process Benchmark Compare and Implementation

overview questionnaire contrast plan
• Customer
demand Current benchmark
• Performance measures
gap data
Other
• Problem areas departments

• Defined • Process flow • Other SAIL • Gap • Plan to close

benchmark mapping units • Process gap
area • Validate • Process reengineering • Actions
• Overview of • Target sister analysis, opportunities • Recalibrate
key process departments performance • New benchmarks
• Selected • Short term assessment o Flows • Additional
performance operational and measures o Policies analysis
measures improvements o Procedures
• Implementation
plan

Fig. 18 : comparison of actual performance with potential performance

Gap analysis also used to compare Technical interventions for recurring

existing processes to processes
performed elsewhere, such as those
obtained by benchmarking. In this
usage, each process was compared side-
by-side and step-by-step and actions
planned for differences (Annexure VI).
Step Description
1 Existing process identified
2 Existing outcome identified
3 Desired outcome identified
4 Process to achieve desired
outcome identified
5 Identify the Gap and document it
6 Develop means to fill the Gap
7 Develop and prioritize
requirements to bridge the Gap
problems
For system reliability study and
failure analysis, first Failure Mode
and Effects Analysis (FMEA) was
applied. It involved reviewing as
many components, assemblies, and
subsystems as possible to identify
failure modes, and their causes and
effects. For each component, the failure
modes and their resulting effects on
the rest of the system were recorded
in specific FMEA worksheet (Annexure
VII). It helped to identify potential
failure modes based on experience
with similar products and processes -
or based on common physics of failure
logic. And through this analysis,
frequent failure of hot
screen could be identified. Accordingly,
technical interventions e.g.
• Heat shield modification
• Additional grease station for vibrator
• Changing grease quality to
withstand heatwere implemented
as per in-house design
“This power of thinking out and
executing is initiative, and freedom to
propose and to execute belongs too in a
way, to initiative. The collective initiative
of all employees represents a great
source of strength of businesses. Henri”
– Henri
Fayol
Applying JIT in Spare Management
Applying Just-In-Time (JIT) in spare
management i.e.,‘the exact item needed,
when it is needed, and in the quantity
needed’. Weekly projection of spare
demand and managing supply chain to
ensure required items to be available on
site close to when they were needed and
not held in inventory for a lengthy time.
Extensive planning and scheduling
requiring highly responsive production
and supply systems were introduced.
Reorganization
The reorganization strategy introduced
some managerial changes in Sinter
Plant as:
Each section as value creation point
Here goal of each section clearly stated
so that every employee, working in any
section could relate to it. For example,
stock bin sections were given targets
Value
ValueCreation
Proposition
HowWhat
will you
willwork
your with
servicyour
do?customers and supplier to creat and d
Value Capture
How will you ensure that you benefit from creating the service?
Fig. 19 : Development of value creation point
of uninterrupted supply in required
quantity, flux and fuel crushing section
was given target to maintain crushing
index respectively at 80 & 85%. Each
section was defined as customer and
supplier to another, and ought to deliver
value to them. It was also a goal clearly
tied to the system output, a collective
overarching goal that subsumed
functional goals and depended upon
concerted efforts of people at all levels.
It created a super-charged atmosphere
in Sinter Plant whole, with people knew
what exactly their role in quantitative
terms and wanted to fulfill them. There
was a buzz in the workplace and a
number of small initiatives in every
section began to have a cumulative
effect in terms of better coordination
and performance.
Teamwork at its best
“Talent wins games, but teamwork wins
championships”
- Michael Jordan
 The Integrated Team Development Framework

Performing
Norming
Storming
Forming

Task
Individual Group Environment No
Opt Out? Agree? Yes

No
Yes Storming

Norming

Norming
Storming
Understanding & acceptance
of issues associated with the basic element by team Members.

Yes
Acceptance and understanding
of issues associted with the basic element by some team members.
Agree?

No
Non-Shared assumptions about
issues associated with the basic

Fig. 20 : The integrated team development framework

Conventional concept of teamwork

development i.e. Forming, Storming, Renewal
Norming and Performing were Renewals, strategy pursuing long-
implemented in all new cross-functional term actions were supposed to end in
(Goal Congruence) paradigms. Enabling a successful managerial performance.
factors of teamwork i.e. focusing on the The first step was analysing the existing
goal, placing the right people, enabling structures within the organisation.
to working together were all provided This examination lead to enhancing
on one hand; on the other teams were innovative core competencies,
continuously challenged with one concluded in an increase of knowledge
another. Improving Cross functional and a stabilization of the organisation
collaboration conflicted at a number of value.
levels both up and down the hierarchy
and across functions andwork groups. Improve upon core competencies of employees

In safety aspect, daily 10 minute safety Core competency was the specific factor
talk before job distribution (by sectional that was seemed central for long term
in-charges) and weekly safety meeting sustainable performance. Technical/
(by General Manager himself) instilled subject matter know-how, a reliable
a culture of safe working. process and/or close relationships with
customers and suppliers were the core
competencies targeted for improvement.
 Knowledge
Performance Skill up renewal
enhancement gradation

Improving core competency

Mentoring Delegation
Resource
provision

Fig. 21 : Fish Bone diagram for improving core competency

Shown in fig. 21. For that, subjective Promoting innovative culture

delegation of authority to employees
Challenging target demanded
and committing them resources were
creativity, i.e. viewing existing facts
implemented.
from a new perspective allowed
Nurturing young leaders individuals to come up with ingenious
Nurturing young leaders through ways to solve seemingly impossible
Encouraging, Involving & Enabling problems. Experimentation based on
front line managers paid excellent reverse logic was encouraged, which
dividends not only in enhanced ultimately lead shaping many ideas at
decision making speed, but also competitive cost. Introduction of a ‘Flap
boosted confidence in long term. gate arrangement’ in sinter transfer belt
Shift managers were empowered to was classic example of such realistic
communicate with customer & supplier innovation, which actually reduced
department and resolve issues delay due to BF belt substantially.
quickly. Similarly quick shutdown for
smaller maintenance jobs was Development of human resources
authorized to shift level executives. “Workshop on Sintering Technology”
was organized in Sinter Plant seminar
room, and shift level employees who
Degree of Empowered Lower Leadership

Enabling lower management to take bigger were otherwise left out in any such
Involvinglower management with more responsibility
Encouraging lower management to take more active training programs were covered. Basic
Get closer to customer objective was to update knowledge on
BaSP benefit Get closer to Supplier
Increase service delivery sinter making and disseminate latest
Innovate continuously
Enhance efficiency advancements in the same. Interactions
and discussions on problems and their
possible solutions were organised,
Fig. 22 : Enable, Involve, Encourage lower which helped in confidence building of
leadership each one.
Reaping the results
• Drastic reduction in internal delay i.e. due to mechanical, electrical and production
stoppages could be achieved which had been shown in figures 23, 24, and 25
respectively.

Fig. 23 : Delay due to electrical stoppages, FY 2013-14

Fig. 24 : Delay due to mechanical stoppages, FY 2013-14

Fig. 25 : Delay due to production stoppages, FY 2013-14

• Delay due to BF belt stoppage reduced by around 50% (shown in Figure 26

180

130

80

30

Fig. 26 : Delay due to BF belt stoppage, FY 2013-14

• Supplier side delay also reduced substantially, to near ZERO in March 2014
(Figure 27)

Fig. 27 : Delay due to supplier side, FY 2013-14

• Daily running hours could be improved up to 58.23 hours during H2, 2013-14
while 68 hours of running was realised on daily basis, which was all time record

(Figure 28)
Fig. 28 : Daily average running hours, FY 2013-14
• 101.5% fulfilment of monthly production target could be achieved in FY 13-14
(Shown in Figure 29)

Fig. 29 : %age of Fulfilment of production target, FY 2013-14

• Requirement of external sinter in BaSP reduced to 3893 tons/moth only, thus

improving productivity and overall cost efficiency of BaSP
• Operational stability as achieved could improve sinter quality. -5 mm in sinter
reduced by 20% (Shown in Figure 30)

Fig. 30 : 5 mm Sinter, FY 2013-14

Conclusion
This case study outlined the turnaround of an age-old sinter plant, from state of acute
distress to exceptional performance. Root causes for deterioration were identified
and analysed. The vision formed and well-marketed to have ‘Zero Delays’. First steps
taken were morale boosting and building capability of workforce. Then 4R strategy
was carefully designed and implemented in Sinter Plant. As a result, more than 100%
of targets could be achieved, just within 6 months.
The Steely Glitter in Eyes of Each Employee tells about the RESURGENT SINTER PLANT
References
1. www.LCE.com
2. www.cimaglobal.com/insight
3. www.globalturnaround.com
4. www.globalturnaround.com
5. www.insol.org
6. www.instituteforturnaround.com/default.asp
7. www.tma-uk.org
8. http://www.amazon.com/Autonomous-Maintenance-Seven-Steps-Implementing
9. http://www.implement-lean-manufacturing.com
10. www.tpmonline.com
11. http://bokarosteel.com/
12. Piotrowski, J., April 2, 2001. “Pro-Active Maintenance for Pumps”, Archives, February 2001,
Pump-Zone.com [Report online].
13. Arunagiri. P. & Babu, Dr A.Gnanavel, “Review on Reduction of Delay in manufacturing process
using Lean six sigma (LSS) systems”, International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications,
Volume 3, Issue 2, February 2013 1 ISSN 2250-3153
14. “Root Cause Analysis For Beginners” by James J. Rooney and Lee N. Vanden Heuvel
15. Gupta Desh & Sathye Milind, “Financial Turnaround of the Indian Railways: A Case Study”,
Faculty of Business & Government , University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia
Teaching Notes
KAYAPALAT – to a Resurgent Sinter Plant
The case had been prepared after the implementation of a strategy to assist Sinter
plant in achieving its production target. It had been observed in H1 of the year 2013-
14 that Sinter Plant was not able to meet its desired production target, but other shops
/ departments which were involved directly with steel production, met their
production targets successfully for which Sinter Plant became the bottleneck in Steel
making process for Bara Steel Plant. A thorough research revealed that Sinter machines
were being used only for 76.8% of its available running hours. After getting this clue,
the job was to how to solve this problem. Various questions could be framed at this
juncture which were:
1. What were the reasons for which utilization factor for machines was only 76.8%?
2. Was this the only reason for which production target had not been met or else apart
from this, there was/were other reason/s also, which was/were significant?
3. Was there any raw material issue like the raw materials procured for Sinter Plant was
having low quality during this period, for which it was like garbage in, garbage out?
4. If utilization factor for machines being 76.8% was the only reason, then what were the
causes for this problem?
Then, after having brainstorming sessions with executives as well as with non-executives,
the team found various ways to solve the issue of utilization factor to be only 76.8%.
These were:
• Increase efficiency of machines
• Increase productivity of machines
• Increase capacity of machines
Apart from these three solutions, one insight came to the team was that the mind-set of
people working in Sinter Plant i.e., “Sinter Plant to nahi sudhrega”, “Naya Plant na ane
se iskaa kuch nahi hoga”. This was the general sentiment among the workforce of Sinter
Plant. At this point various questions could come to any leader’s mind:
I. Should we solve all the three or only one or else any two among these options?
II. Should we upgrade all the three machines simultaneously and during these
periods, procure Sinter from outside temporarily?

Or else Stop the production during these periods, and start capital repair in all other
shops/ departments so that all our guns will blaze after a few days even with high
production capacity to mitigate the production loss occurred during these days?
III. By following Step-II could we satisfy our customers (Were they ready to wait for that
period or else did we have enough inventories to satisfy their respective demands
on time?)?
IV. Should we upgrade one machine at a time so that desired production target wouldn’t
get hampered as extra Sinter could be procured from outside till all machines got
upgraded one by one?
V. Were any of the above steps actually right by looking in the long term?
VI. What about the mind-set of the workforce? If machines would be upgraded right
now, could the mind-set of workforce be changed?
VII. Was changing the mind-set of workforce important for Sinter Plant?
VIII. Which one would be better in long term? Upgrading machines or changing the
mind-set of the workforce of Sinter Plant.
After looking at the above options, the team decided that changing the mind-set of people
was more important than upgrading the machines of Sinter Plant, and it discussed this
important issue with higher authorities of Sinter Plant to find a way anyhow to solve the
issue as well as change the mind-set of the workforce. In other words, the team took this
challenge as a golden opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. After many days of
rigorous brainstorming the team found a way to solve the problem and the way was to
reduce the delay. Even at this point, the team faced many questions regarding the impact
of the solution which could be
1st. Would this solution help Sinter Plant to achieve the production target?
2nd. If this wouldn’t fulfill the target, what might happen to customer satisfaction?
3rd. Wouldn’t the credibility of Bara Steel Plant be at stake?
4th. If this solution would fail, then could the mind-set of workforce i.e., “Sinter Plant to
nahi sudhrega”, “Naya Plant na ane se iskaa kuch nahi hoga” be changed in future?
5th. Who knows if it would fail, workers would laugh at the leadership of the top
management and the grip of shop floor managers on workers would be lost. Even
because of the negative mind-set, workers would always have an excuse i.e., nothing
could be done without new machines.
The stakes were high, for which the executives planned to make sure that they would
make it happen because the situation was kind of it’s now or never. After careful
consideration, strategies had been crafted to turnaround the situation and the successful
implementation had been done with the help of 4R strategy, which helped immensely
in achieving the objective set by management of Sinter Plant.
This report tries to throw some light on how the management of a Sinter Plant
overcame from the problem of not achieving its production target. But, more
importantly, it tries to show the thought process of how the management tried change
the mind-set of the workforce by changing the way to achieve the desired objective for
long term benefit of its parent firm.