Sunil Kapoor was deeply worried. He owned Kapoor Engineering Works (KEW) in Faridabad which started as a Forging unit 23 years ago and gradually expanded into machining. Today it supplied Gears, Shafts & Housings to leading Farm Equipment manufacturers all over India.
Sunil was deeply worried because today, 4th June, marked almost 4 weeks of the re-start of his factory. He had started with 25% production and then 50%. Now he had 75% schedule for June but he could not cross 50% output because of shortage of labour.
As he paced restlessly in the balcony of his flat in Northampton Enclave, his mind was bursting with thoughts about how he would reach 100% production in August. His HR Manager & Plant Head had apprised him last week that about 25% of his workforce which had left for their native places WOULD NOT COME BACK…at least for 6 months. These included some of his most experienced CNC Operators, Supervisors & Quality Inspectors. These people were the ‘lifeline’ of his factory, ensuring desired output and acceptable quality. How would he produce required quantity, and more importantly QUALITY without these people.
Sunil groaned loudly without realizing that someone was watching him intently from the adjacent Balcony.
It was his neighbour Mr. RK Sharma, a senior advisor to BNNA (Bharat Nav Nirman Aayog) a Government-Academia-Business partnership to infuse new technology to improve performance of SME Industries.
” Sunil.. What is the matter? I hope everyone OK in the family”
” Namaste Sharma Ji. All well on health front. It is my factory which in ICU and will have to be put on ventilator soon. Apart from money loss, and working capital shortage, I am most worried about how I will run my operations with many of my most experienced & skilled workmen NOT RETURNING from their hometowns.”
” Sunil, I know you and thousands of SMEs like you are in deep, deep trouble. Without sounding over-confident, let me tell you that there is a solution to your problems, a long term solution. Tell me what was your average Net profit in last two years. ”
” Five Percent”
” Then you can easily Double it because without entering your factory I can tell you that Double of your profit is going down the drain. I call this Easily Preventable Loss (EPL) which in case of 90% of SMEs, is more than Double their net profit. Even if you stop 50% of the EPL, your net profit Doubles. You can do this…and in such a manner that you don’t need to wait for Skilled Operator Ram Prasad and Inspector Ajaib Singh to come back.
” Sharma Ji! I am like your Son. I am really in trouble, and you are cracking jokes”
” Beta. I am serious. Listen carefully. Take a chair”. Both sat down on chairs in their respective balconies.
” Sunil, we all know what three of our holy rivers, Ganga, Yamuna & Saraswati symbolize. I will change their meaning slightly to make the philosophy apply to manufacturing industry, in a way in which you can relate to.”
“Yamuna is your infrastructure, your machines and your basic workforce”
” Ganga is the VITAL Life Force of your organization. What keeps it moving forward against all obstacles. It is YOU and your core team”
” Normally, confluence (Sangam) of Ganga & Yamuna in a manufacturing organization are enough to make it run successfully and nourish all life along the banks, i.e. employees, suppliers, etc.”
” However, in case of HUGE calamities, the landscape changes. These calamities are like massive earthquakes. In such times, you need the third holy river to sustain your organization, you need Saraswati!”
Sunil had initially listened restlessly, out of regard for his senior neighbour. Slowly, his mind was calming and he could sense that something very deep & profound was being told. He now switched off his mobile phone listened intently.
“Saraswati in this case is Deep Knowledge that has been flowing unknown to you beneath the surface. Now you need to summon it to the surface and let it ‘wash over’ your organization and your people. This modern Saraswati is called ‘Smart Manufacturing‘ and it has the power to transform your company, double your profits, eliminate your dependence of skilled workmen, increase your share of business with your customers.. And give you peace of mind, above all!”
“Sharma Ji, this sounds like a dream. I would do anything for long term prosperity & peace of mind. Please tell me how do I learn about this modern Saraswati and apply the learning in my organization”
” Sunil, BNNA is partnering with a company Marshall and they have mastered this knowledge. To help Industry create EAGER Implementors of Smart Manufacturing they have started ‘TRAINING 4.0‘, the world’s first HYBRID training programme in Smart Manufacturing with USA based company MachineMetrics (www.machinemetrics.com) as training partner.
“What is unique is that apart from Online Training, they have PRACTICALS and finally they will mentor & guide the Trainees to do a ‘NoCoP‘
” Sharma Ji, what is this NoCoP?”
” Beta it is short for No Cost/Low Cost Project in Smart Manufacturing. Marshall team will guide your Trainees to do one Project in any area of the factory. TRAINING 4.0 is REAL Learning as the Online classes are followed by full day practical at one of Marshall’s Industry 4.0 Centres across India. Trainees discuss possible projects related to the four training modules (1. Machine Monitoring, 2. Predictive Maintenance, 3. Closed Loop Production (Auto-gauging) and 4. Affordable Automation) with their seniors & select ONE NoCoP”
” After the success of NoCoP, You and rest of your team will understand the basic concepts and then quickly start similar programmes, say 1-2 each in Forging shop, CNC Machining & Grinding. You will see results within one month. After that deploy these technologies in your entire plant. The cost is nothing compared to returns.”
Sunil felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Whatever Sharma Ji had explained made perfect sense. He felt HOPE…and excitement. He had always been a fighter and had started business with Rs. 30,000/- 23 years ago and succeeded against all odds.. He would do it….Now. He thanked Sharma Ji and switched on his mobile to search for information about Marshall and TRAINING 4.0.
