Knowledge Acquisition Process or KAP: It is one of the several mediums where best practices by units are captured. To be judged as a possible best practice the teams need to go through a rigorous process.

set of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) scrutinise the entries and only after major consultation do they give their verdict. Every detail is shared on the KAP portal so that other units can implement as per their requirements. Currently, there are 160 best practices in the Group.

When asked about which businesses stand out in contribution, promptly comes the reply from Ramaswamy: "Idea and UltraTech." 

Idea's Quality Check for Signage Flex is a practice that was well-received. The problem was that the flex that was being procured for Idea branding for its outdoor banners was as per pre-decided specifications and was not up to the mark. There was no way of checking the same beforehand.

Idea came up with the solution of having the quality check done at the flex manufacturers, which involved no additional cost and also ensured 100 percent quality check before installation.

Group Wide Team Competition (GWTC): GWTC is an initiative where units form teams to tackle their manufacturing and business problems. A particular business is asked to submit its top 10 priority areas and problems. Thereafter, teams are formed. These teams are asked to choose one problem and solve it by using any quality model. Simultaneously they make presentations with step by step detailed analysis of the problem solving process. 

Every year 80 submissions are received, of which 15 are selected and present their case studies to the Chairman and finally are selected as winners. They are judged on the problem selected, composition of their team, quality of data analysis, logically analysing the cause, quality of analysis, and the solution reached through a particular practice/quality model.

It is also important that they implement it for a minimum of three months and make it a part of their daily practice. Novelis Pindamonhangaba was awarded for stabilising their aluminium sheet rolling process in the fastest possible time.

(Continued on the next page)