A visit to Rane Engine valves Pvt. Ltd., Chilkur, Hyderabad

Saturday, April 07, 2007: A group of 30 students of the FW-2006-08 batch of IIPM Hyderabad, visited “Rane Engine valves Pvt. Ltd.”, a journey of about 17 kilometers, to the company’s 11.25 acres lush green campus at Chilkur, Hyderabad, accompanied by Prof. Debajyoti Majumder & Prof. G. Hargopal.

After a brief security check, the group was escorted to the training hall, where the Manger and Deputy Manager-HR addressed them on the company’s business and many interesting facts about the factory site. It was noted that the site lies in a catchment area, and hence no major constructions are allowed. Environment protection is a major concern. Rane is ISO-14001 certified.

The 350 workers, who work in 2 shifts, generally come from nearby villages. There are also about 50 ITI technicians and engineers. The group is engaged in manufacturing valves for engines, mainly used in automobiles. There were manual as well as automated operations, and the use of CNC (Computer Numerical Control) technique is common. Operations include forging, turning, milling, boring, drilling and grinding with heat treatment, annealing and normalizing. Soap-water is used as coolant to prevent melting of tools, due to the heat generated in high friction operations. It was a marvel to see such a neat and clean mechanical workshop. Students also got a practical example of project scheduling, line balancing and statistical quality control; on charts displayed on the walls of the workshop.

70 % of the products are exported, as products so manufactured is of world class, pertaining to stringent quality and workman norms. Western Europe and Japan are the prime markets for Rane. Volkswagen is one of the major clients. Rane has won the prestigious Deming award and many other international accolades.

It was noteworthy that accident rate was very low. As per the Factories Act, if a worker is absent for more than 48 hours, it becomes a “reportable” accident; otherwise an accident is “non-reportable”. There were few non-reportable accidents from time to time for e.g. eye-glares, cuts, burns, etc. but no major reportable accident has happened in last 2 years. Rane has successfully implemented 5-S in housekeeping. It focuses in implementing TQM & TPM, and has been awarded JUSE (Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers) award for their efforts.

The canteen was huge and students relaxed there before attending a final interaction with the managers. This followed a photo-session outside the workshop. It was a learning day and students returned to campus, bubbling with enthusiasm.

McDowell’s factory

April 01, 2006, Nacharam, Secunderabad: IIPM Hyderabad organized an industry visit for the students. A group of 30 students of PGP/FW/2005-07 visited the factory of McDowell’s, The UB Group at Nacharam, Secunderabad, accompanied by one of the faculties. They started from the campus at 9.15 a.m. and reached the factory at 10 a.m. 

After exchange of courtesies with the managers of production and HR, the group was guided to the production unit, as part of “Total Process Control”. Before entering they were shown a display of the brands which are manufactured at this factory, which were corresponding to the brands in demand in the local markets. In the bottling unit, they went to the section manufacturing BLUE RIBAND. There were 5 assembly lines with the most efficient one producing 300 b.p.m. (bottles per minute). It was real fun to see the operation of man and machine together, so
efficiently like a clockwork system.

In the blending section the head showed two mixtures one of rum and one of whisky, with a test tube, pipette, burette and cups. She explained how a check is done at production unit by tasting, smelling and also checking concentration, before finally sending to quality control department.

Then the group moved to the Distillery and climbed up the steps to have a close view of the huge tanks, where the raw molasses from sugar factories are subjected to a secondary rectification to formulate ENA (Extra Neutral Alcohol). The rectified Spirits are then transferred to the storage tanks.

As part of “Warehouse Management” a brief visit was made to the cask maturation section where drums of raw material were stored in a cold and dark place for further fermentation.  There were drums marked as old as July 2003. The average maturity period is about 2 to 3 years.

After the tour around the factory there was a nice “brainstorming session” with Mr. V.N. Ramachandra, the Personnel and Administration Manager on various issues related to the industry. It was a relaxed mood over cups of tea and students clarified many doubts regarding labor issues, safety and security, distribution channels, etc. The managers discussed the constraints they face due to the highly regulated and rigid structure of the industry. Brief discussion also happened on Training methods.

On a note of humor it was mentioned that in this factory there is never any absenteeism due to drinking by workers, during the office hours. The group returned to campus at 2 p.m. full of enthusiasm and experience.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Zahirabad, A.P.

June 28, 2006: A group of 45 students from the SS/05-07 batch of IIPM Hyderabad visited the Mahindra & Mahindra Plant at Zahirabad, A.P. located at the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra. They were accompanied by the Dean Prof. Amit Baruah and two other internal faculties. The trip started at around 10 a.m. in the morning from the campus at Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. The location was at a distance of 125 kilometers. On the way the group crossed the industry belts of Patancheru and Vikarabad.

The group reached the picturesque Mahindra complex spread over 360 acres, around 2.45 p.m. They were warmly welcomed by the Head-HR, Mr. K.P.N. Rao. It was startling to know that all the 1600 workers and 100 odd managers were all housed in the same campus. The group assembled at the canteen where Mr. Rao and this group of supervisors briefed them about the organization.

The plant mainly concentrated on assembling of “Champion” and “Alpha” in the 3-wheeler segment and “Scorpio” and “Bolero” in the 4-wheeler segment. The new brand “Logan”, due to be launched in 2007, is also in process. The engines are self-made by M&M, but are not made in this plant. They are brought in from Nasik, Maharashtra. The plant has a capacity to roll out 220 vehicles per day and is all set to double its capacity in the coming years, with an estimated investment of about 70-80 crores.

The group visited the assembly lines, painting sections, trimming section, etc. The entire process was centralized by a SAP system, with strict quality procedures in place. Kaizen is a widely accepted method. Mahindra has its own quality guideline called “MQS (Mahindra Quality Systems) “, and also employs BS7799 security standards. Low Cost Automation (LCA) is a commonly accepted concept.

The organization is widely renowned in its CSR, with promotion of child education through a programme called “nanhi kali”, along with “Nandi Foundation”. The families of all workers stay together as a community in itself, and celebrate all festivals and social events together. The trip ended at 5.30 p.m. and the group returned to campus around 8.30 in the evening. It was a learning experience for the students and the atmosphere was electric during the return trip, as the day of journey was a much desired break from the routine classes.