The Japanese Philosophy of ‘Kaizen’ stands for ‘continuous improvement’ of quality and productivity by reducing and eliminating waste. This forms an integral part in enhancing the productivity at Alstom too. “At Alstom we practice the principles of ‘5S’ religiously and rigorously. The principles of 5S have been completely implemented and deeply ingrained in every individual at our organisation. And we are seeing the results now after five years,” said Dharmesh Save.
“The implementation of the 5S programme meant embarking on a journey to continuously and tirelessly improve the organisation. The 5S is one of the five important pillars on which the productivity of the organisation hinges on. The others being safety, quality, efficiency and DPM (uptime of the machines to the optimal levels).”
Sort
The first ‘S’ in the ‘5S’ is ‘Sorting’. It is about reducing unwanted materials and objects that have no bearing in the running of the facility. Alstom implemented this system by celebrating a Red Tag Day. Underlining the importance of the system Dharmesh said, “The management had decided to put this as a key element to be embedded in our production system.” On the Red Tag Day, red tags were distributed to all employees, who were then given two hours to set the tags on obsolete items at their workspace. This gave each of them an opportunity to think how cluttered their work place had become. This system was beneficial in identifying underutilised space. “Even if, 20% to 30% of space is freed, it could be used to improve either the storage area or increase the production area of the facility.”
Systematise
The second ‘S’ is about Systematise, leading to efficient functioning of an organisation. This system makes it necessary that every object finds its place. Simplifying the system Dharmesh shared a slogan they used for increased participation, ‘A place for everything and everything in its place.’ He acknowledged, “This was the most difficult of all tasks. Our factory has 46,000sqm of covered space out of the total land area of 125,000sqm. To systematise such a big area was an uphill task, but we persevered.” The employees were coached, trained and mentored to reach a standard platform for the acceptance of the system and results were visible within a year.
A lot of activities were undertaken like labelling, indexing and filing at the office & administrative blocks besides the factory. Layouts of machines, mobile equipment in the factory along with computers and telephone handsets in offices were made. People were encouraged to keep the equipment in its designated place after use. The benefit of systematising everything in the factory was that it allowed keeping an inventory of all the tools, machines and equipment. Alstom uses heavy machines worth several crores of rupees and valuable tools in its facility at Vadodara. “Searching for a particular tool or machine in such a large facility was difficult, often forcing a repurchase of the same. Systematising of consumables enabled to have knowledge of which machine is where at any given point of time, thus reducing the instances of duplication of purchases and improving the bottom line of the organisation.”
Shine
Standardise
A standard in terms of the horizontal deployment of the programme led to the creation of standard operating procedures that reduced the variation in the production processes and also in the defect rates of the products.
Sustain
This is perhaps the most important of all the ‘5S’, as all the work done through ‘5S’ would be for naught, if it was not sustained. “The changes described in the ‘5S’ system takes time to implement and it is a continuous journey like the PDCS cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act) in quality. If gaps are found in the implementation, then there is a need to go back to the start to enhance the process and then check and audit the progress all over again. This process has to be constantly repeated to improve the set benchmarks.”
It took the Alstom five years from 2008, when the ‘5S’ was put in place, to reach the point where the results were visible in the increased and enhanced productivity of the company. This was done in a systematic manner. “The first step in implementing the system was to divide the factory in zones. Each zone had designated leaders, who reported directly to the Director of Operations of the unit. These leaders were the owners of the zones and conducted monthly audits, based on a pattern validated by the unit management.”
Audits and checks were important for improvement in performances, but the question of maintaining the motivation of the people to sustain the programme was equally important. A system of recognition was enforced, whereby the Director of Operations along with the Head of Manufacturing, presided over a small function to recognise the efforts put by an area to win the award at the end of the month. Recognising the efforts of an individual or team boosted their morale and increased their motivation to work harder in implementing the system.
“The implementation of the ‘5S’ benefited into a sixth ‘S’, that is Safety.” ‘5S’ contributes to the safety of the company and makes the employees realise its importance. The impact of the ‘5S’ can be seen not just in the improved productivity of the facility, but in the influence it has on the workings of the employees. Sharing an example, Dharmesh mentioned “We organised a rangoli competition on th
e eve of Diwali, to engage the people by bringing out their passion through expression. Out of the 40 entries to the competition, around 10 entries had symbolised either ‘5S’ or safety as a theme.” This realisation of the sway ‘5S’ had on the employees and their concern for safety, validated the fact that good working conditions lead to good work place and lesser number of accidents. It is not the percentage of money or the efforts put in initially to implement the system, it is the results reaped in the long run that has to be taken into account.