Chandigarh BDS Cluster

The project held two workshops on lean manufacturing as a tool for enhanced operational efficiency in collaboration with cluster-level industry associations.  The first workshop was jointly organized by TERI and Haryana Chambers of Commerce & Industry (HCCI), Panchkula on 18 October, 2010 at Peninsula, Panchkula. About 70 entrepreneurs/BDS providers from Panchkula participated in this event. The second workshop was jointly organized by TERI and Mohali Industries association (MIA) on 27 October, 2010 at MIA Bhawan, Mohali. It was attended by over 100 participants including entrepreneurs/BDS providers from Chandigarh and Mohali.

The faculty to the workshops included specialists from National Productivity Council (NPC), PTU Gian Jyoti School of TQM & Entrepreneurship, and consultancy organizations who enlightened the participants on a range of issues related to lean manufacturing and the benefits of implementing lean manufacturing techniques. The two workshops focused on the following topics:

• Lean Manufacturing Competitive Scheme of the Ministry of MSME
• Role of NPC in implementing the Lean Manufacturing Competitive Scheme
• Improving competitiveness through lean manufacturing
• Lean manufacturing techniques like 7S, six sigma, kaizen, kanban, etc. and the benefits of their implementation
• Case studies to show how industrial units have benefited by adopting lean manufacturing techniques

Mr Bhullar, Deputy Director, NPC, Chandigarh spoke on the ‘Lean Manufacturing Competitive Scheme’ launched by the Ministry of MSME, and explained how the scheme is implemented over a period of one year.  He encouraged the participants to form Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) of 8–12 members each to avail the benefits of the scheme.  Mr Chawla, a principal consultant of PTU Gian Jyoti School of TQM & Entrepreneurship, Mohali explained how units can increase their competitiveness by implementing lean manufacturing techniques like kaizen, kanban, value stream mapping, problem solving, poka-yoke, etc. in their factories. Ms Tapasya Sharma from Aspire Consultancy described the concepts of 7 S and Six Sigma and discussed case studies on successful implementation of TQM projects in MSMEs.

Impact of the workshops

Both the workshops witnessed very high levels of interest and participation. They evoked considerable enthusiasm among the manufacturers to form Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to avail benefits under the scheme.  The workshops were followed by personal visits of the project team to the interested firms to persuade them to form an SPV. Following the workshops, regular meetings were also conducted at MIA Bhawan to create the SPVs and to help the manufacturers in selecting the best consultants.

The response has been most encouraging. Two SPVs have already been created in the cluster to avail of the Lean Manufacturing Competitive Scheme: namely, ‘Mohali Alpha Engineering Cluster’ and ‘Mohali Beta Engineering Cluster’. The former has 10 member units and the latter has 8 member units. The SPVs have been created under the banner of MIA.

The lean manufacturing consultant for Mohali Alpha Engineering Cluster is International Business Consultants; for Mohali Beta Engineering Cluster it is PTU Gian Jyoti School of TQM and Entrepreneurship. The consultants were selected after a series of presentations by various empanelled consultants of NPC.  The proposals for both SPVs were submitted to NPC, Chandigarh, and in-principle approvals for both have been received. The consultants have started making preliminary visits to the units. The creation of these SPVs has also resulted in a significant increase in business of these consultancy organizations.