Manufacturing organisations are continually in quest of new methods to stay relevant and successful in an increasingly competitive market. Productivity improvement is a vital factor in this endeavour. Recognising this, the Poona Divisional Productivity Council (PDPC), a progressive nodal agency, organises a contest with the objective of promoting productivity and quality. Through this competition, PDPC provides a platform for companies to identify and reward the best practices implemented by them towards productivity improvement.

It is noteworthy that at the seventh Productivity Improvement Case Competition-2013 conducted by the PDPC, Pune-headquartered Kirloskar Ebara Pumps Ltd (KEPL), a sister concern of Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (KBL), bagged the Gold and Silver trophies for two different case studies.

The event, which witnessed 46 entries, effectively displayed how teams at different levels in a company worked towards productivity improvement successfully. KEPL won the Gold trophy for its presentation on ‘Improvement in Casting Quality through Method Study at Vendor's End (Foundry)' and a Silver trophy for presenting on ‘Productivity Improvement through Process Change'. In fact, KEPL also won the Gold trophy from the Quality Circle Forum of India (QCFI), Pune Chapter, for its case study on quality improvements and enhancement of work processes and productivity.

It is in this context that ‘The Machinist' decided to speak with Sunil Katare, who heads the plant operations at KEPL. "Productivity and quality enhancement are constant endeavours at KEPL and we take great pride in our dedicated team that works towards its implementation. The platform also gives us great learning through practices and initiatives of peers, and we look forward to continue our participation in the years to come," said Katare, who is also the plant head at Kirloskarvadi, KBL's flagship facility.

Quality is everything

Since the recent achievements have been on the quality front, we ask him about the system which his organisation follows to ensure quality. "True to its value statement ‘Quality is Everything', KEPL's quality culture has been shaped consciously within the organisation. We follow QMS ISO: 9001-2008, and various superior approaches, policies and processes that lead to exceptional quality achievement. Health, Safety and Environment are part of our quality reflections and KEPL has obtained EMS 14001 and OHSAS 18001.