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Every Six Sigma practitioner dreams of the project that brings results so obvious and long-lasting that even other organizations take notice. While a project that seeks to save on internal costs would seem to be an unlikely candidate for drawing external attention, a concentrated effort to reduce energy consumption did, in fact, have far-reaching results for our Six Sigma team at Tata Toyo Radiators (TTR) in Pune, India. In early 2004, a representative from our local energy company visited the TTR site to investigate why our energy usage had dropped so dramatically over the previous months. The answer, they discovered, was energy reduction through Six Sigma.
Since its inception in 1998, TTR has made energy conservation an integral effort. Although our previous attempts had provided some temporary relief to the high energy costs of manufacturing radiators, it took a Six Sigma project to bring sustained results. The Six Sigma DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) methodology assisted in channeling our efforts through a structured and systematic data-driven approach.
Sustained improvements in energy, productivity, and cost
Launched in August 2003, our team's Six Sigma energy reduction project began to show dramatic results within months. An extended control phase of six months allowed us to take seasonal temperature variations into account when assessing the project's long-term results.
Among the improvements we documented were significant reductions in energy consumption and increases in productivity and savings. Overall results include the following:
- Reduced energy consumption levels by 28%
- Achieved yearly savings of Rs 5.5 million (US $122,200)
- Improved productivity by 42%
Less tangible, though still noticeable, benefits of the project include a renewed belief in Six Sigma within TTR. Throughout the plant, staff show increased interest in launching new Six Sigma projects, and every month Tata Toyo Radiators receives a reminder of Six Sigma's success in the form of lower bills from the power company.
View our complete project presentation for details on the specific improvements we made and to see how we used the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology.
The power of the energy metric
As our project illustrates, energy consumption is a metric that should not be overlooked in Six Sigma initiatives. Any increase in productivity means less energy expended per output; thus, anyone seeking to quantify Six Sigma gains as thoroughly as possible should remember to consider measures of energy consumption. As TTR's CEO R. Sundar and the Pune energy company will attest, the energy metric can be highly visible proof of Six Sigma's power to save.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our management champion, Mr. R. Sundar, CEO, for providing us guidance and support for moving this project forward. We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to our team members Bagade, Gaikwad, Ghorpade, Khandare, Manikum, Sapar, Sukale, and Vairagi. We would also like to express our thanks to A. Alur and R. Shete. Our special thanks to the technical advisors of Toyo Radiator, Japan, for technically helping us to enhance and optimize the brazing oven's speed and temperatures. Our thanks also to the management and the board members of Tata Auto Comp Systems (TACO), the parent company of TTR, for supporting the Six Sigma movement in TTR.
About the author
M. M. Kapadia is General Manager of the Quality Engineering Group and a Corporate Six Sigma Master Black Belt at Tata Auto Comp Systems, Pune, India. He has a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering with specialization in Quality Engineering from the University of Mumbai, India. He also has a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, USA, and a master's degree in Business Administration from St. Joseph 's University in Philadelphia, USA. He has over twenty years of experience in quality control / improvement and engineering in various industries in the USA and India. Dr. Kapadia is also an American Society for Quality (ASQ) certified quality and reliability engineer and a Johnson Controls (USA) certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
K. P. Kapadia is Vice President of Operations and Management Champion of Six Sigma at Tata Toyo Radiators, Pune, India. He has a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Mumbai, India. Mr. Kapadia has in all over twenty-five years of operational experience in refrigerators, truck assemblies, scooters, and radiator manufacturing.
S. Kulkarni is Manager of Manufacturing and Maintenance and a Six Sigma Green Belt at Tata Toyo Radiators, Pune, India. He has a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Pune, India. Mr. Kulkarni has about twenty years of experience in manufacturing and maintenance of air conditioning equipment, air compressor and transmission systems.
K. Shetty is Manager Operations and a Six Sigma Green Belt at Tata Toyo Radiators, Pune, India. He has a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from College of Engineering, Trivandrum, India. He has over fourteen years of experience in production and production planning functions of automobile and pharmaceutical industries.
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