Need for mechanisation
Earlier, the set up of the factory itself was different. “We had a lot of boring machines… which caused oil spillage on the workshop floor,” said Bhaskara Reddy CV, Senior Engineer-Maintenance, Bosch Limited, Bangalore.
“With the new CNC machines, the spillage has comparatively come down drastically. Besides the flooring then was cemented or concrete and now it is all epoxy.” Apart from epoxy floors, Bosch has also replaced concrete with megapoxy floors.
“Fuel injection pumps, delivery valves, common rail injectors, etc., are being manufactured in the Bangalore corporate plant. We have one more plant in Bangalore and four other plants across India. With the new flooring, maintenance has become much better as soiling of floors has considerably reduced. Yet, we need a lot of manpower to maintain these floors and hence have outsourced housekeeping to a local contractor, G. Balasubramanium and Company, that has been maintaining the premises for over 20 years now,” said Reddy.
The plant spread over 76 acres of land, has a workshop area of 13 lakh sqft. “The existing manpower is being used for better maintenance with mechanised cleaning equipment. We are using the indigenised Roots machines and also have a couple of machines of Hako, Germany. The main cleaning equipment being used round the clock is the scrubber drier. The cleaning at the workshop is done during the first shift from 6am to 2pm when all the cleaning machines are deployed to cover the vast area. The machines include 26 of the small Hakomatic Re43 scrubber driers and 11 machines of Hako’s bigger version CL65 and B90.
“Apart from these we also have vacuum cleaners and carpet cleaning machines which are used for carpeted area in the offices.”
Vacuum cleaners are also deployed for cleaning window grills, partitions and other areas. Bosch also has cleanrooms for the assembly line. “Our staff do swab test of the cleanrooms on a daily basis and if the ppm varies, the housekeeping is directly held responsible. This area is completely cleaned using vacuum cleaner in the mornings,” added Reddy.
The most challenging in floor maintenance is the production area which is always bustling with activity. “There are a lot of machines in operation at the workshop. Even as the production is on, maintenance and also preventive maintenance is conducted on some of the machines, parts changed in the production systems, mechanical maintenance in case of pipe leakages or pipe burst, changing of oil, feeding coolants & emulsions during the operation… all resulting in spillage. Due to environmental issues, we have emphasised that oil spillage will be first vacuum cleaned before it is mopped using a cotton mop. Owing to the dust and the kind of oil spillage, reusing of sophisticated mops does not help.”
Apart from mechanised cleaning, manual cleaning with hand mops is also being engaged to clean difficult-to-access areas between machines. “This way the cleaning activity can be done using less number of manpower and the fatigue involved in cleaning is also reduced,” he added.
While, high pressure washers could be an ideal solution in paint shops, “we find that it is not conducive for our operations. We had introduced high pressures for our washrooms but found that the spray & mist generated during the washing left the cleaner completely wet. We cannot use high pressures in the workshop as the mist in the air could affect the production quality. There is always possibility of the water droplets settling on the machines and leading to corrosion,” explained Reddy. Cleaning in the paint booth can be best done with a high pressure jet. “The Honda Siel facility in Gurgaon is using an ultra high pressure water jet of Forbes Pro for the paint shop,” added Puneet Mishra.
Toilets as such are being manually cleaned using scrubbers and mops. At present, this premise has 143 toilets which are being maintained by Best Practice Washrooms Pvt Ltd. “Initially, we had just about 40 or so toilets but with more buildings and increase in women staff, more toilets were introduced. “We have not found any appropriate mechanised cleaning solutions for our toilets so far,” said Reddy.
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We cannot use high pressures in the workshop as the mist in the air could affect the production quality. There is always possibility of the water droplets settling on the machines and leading to corrosion.
– Bhaskara Reddy CV
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For external cleaning at present, Bosch has deployed manual flipper. “Given the vast area for cleaning, we are considering purchasing ride-on scrubber this year.”
Facility Maintenance
Nippon Towers, state-of-the-art showroom of Toyota in Kochi, is claimed to be the world’s largest, equipped with facilities much better than any other showroom in the world. Some of the main areas where mechanised cleaning has been deployed include the washing area, lobby, visitor area, lounges, showroom and the main workshop.
“In general any workshop faces spillage problems besides tyre marks left behind on the floor by cars coming in with road debris,” said Sreejith Chandran of Roots Multiclean, who has supplied equipment for maintenance of this facility.
The Hakomatic D750R battery operated ride on scrubber has been deployed to treat such floors at the showroom. Three walk behind scrubber drier support the D750R in places where it cannot reach. These machines are equipped with silicon carbide brushes for better abrasive affect and better scrubbing. The vacuum cleaners help clean the upholstery and car interiors. These vacuums come with induction motors which enable them to work continuously for hours. The other machines provided by Roots include flipper machines for sweeping the outside area and the regular janitorial tools like double bucket, etc.
“From the earlier days, walk behind scrubber driers have been deployed. But in the automobile industry, battery operated machines should be encouraged. The cable can always be a hindrance given the vast area and excessive movement, especially in the assembly & main workshop. Working on a battery operated machine is more efficient, productive and time saving, as the machine moves at a speed of four to five km per hour.”
Particular about cleaning standards, Nippon Towers has outsourced the facility management to Marg Facility Management Pvt Ltd, the facility wing of Marg Hotels & Resorts. As part of the facility management, Marg provides housekeeping services, maintenance, security, some front office services and also provides food services in a very limited way. “In short, everything other than the façade cleaning is done by us,” said Vijay Cheriyan, Managing Director of Marg Hotels & Resorts. The Nippon Towers is a 10-storey building out of which seven floors have already been commissioned — two floors of fully air-conditioned car servicing area, a floor with five paint booths, one floor meant for repairing and denting, one floor for inspection of new cars sold through them (they are claimed to be one of the biggest dealers for Toyota in India), the fourth floor has the sales office and the fifth floor is the corporate office which is made up of leather floors. “Maintaining leather floors in the high humid conditions of Kerala is a big challenge. We have bought specially made German polishes which are manually rubbed on the leather floor using cotton cloth,” said Cheriyan.
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The major cleaning in this building includes the large glass windows and the high atrium which is a combination of glass and mirror. The only way to access the atrium is through scaffolding.
– Vijay Cheriyan
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The design of the showroom not only has glass facades but also has glass flooring and passageways which are sturdy. “We do a regular cleaning with the walk behind scrubber and there is not much cleaning as these floors are mainly located in the office areas. Yes, we are facing a problem with the side glass walls due to heavy rains and lot of dirt that comes in. The major cleaning in this building includes the large glass windows and the high atrium which is a combination of glass and mirror. The only way to access the atrium is through scaffolding.”
The service area being vast, larger machines are being deployed. More than 200 vehicles are likely to come in for servicing to this showroom. “As per the standards laid down, no dirt should be left anywhere after the car enters the premises. Hence, the cleaning is an ongoing process. There are two people working on each floor, besides four more to manage other areas.” The showroom also has an extensive ramp as the cars can go up to the seventh floor.
The paint booths are equipped with the modern spraying systems and the paint does not spread to the surrounding areas. Regular cleaning is done by mopping the area and if there is any paint residue, it is removed using a thinner. There is usually no spillage and even if there is, it is recovered through a process.
At present, 18 staff with three supervisors and one manager, are managing the facility “in five-star hotel” conditions as specified by the client. Marg has recently entered into FM services and is also servicing the cleanrooms of Bourn Hall clinic, which is planning to open 25 IVF centres across India. Marg is maintaining three of the IVF centres of Bourn Hall as of now. Besides, it is also maintaining all of the Marg Hotels & Resorts.
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