NEWS

Manufacturing Unit at Noida displays Samsung’s Capabilities

By VARINDIA - 2010-03-25

Spread across 30 acres of land, Samsung manufacturing in Sector 81, Noida can claim to be one of the best units among the Samsung subsidiaries across the world. Even to some extent, it is believed to be better than its peer manufacturers as well. It boasts of having the best workforce in place, the best of work process in place, etc.

When I started my journey from South Delhi, my pre-conceived notion was that it must be an untidy shop floor with some 100-odd people manually assembling the units, etc., but after my tedious journey of 45 minutes, my tired eyes met with a fantastic spectacle of coordinated work of man and machine.

We did not have to struggle for security check as they were well prepared to receive us. The gigantic iron gates were flung open from both the sides with the press of a button. The premises were clinically neat and clean. We were not allowed to take any photographs. They told me that the campus housed two units – one for display products, including colour CRT monitors, LCD monitors and colour TVs, and the other for CE products, including refrigerators, ACs, Microwaves, etc. Obviously, I chose the display unit because my interest was to see how the monitors get manufactured. Though there were a number of other buildings for R&D, software development and administration. And, there is still enough space left to set up another unit.

Two gentlemen Girish S. Shah, General Manager – Manufacturing Digital Media Division, Samsung India, and Gulshan Kumar Saini, Sr. Manager – Production Engineering, Samsung India, wearing official sky-blue jackets escorted me to the main floors of monitor and colour TV manufacturing. One was complete machine operated or automated and another was a combined work of man and machine. The workplace was spacious enough. There were notice boards on the walls, which carried the graphs sporting records of excellence of this unit and chronological changes in the manufacturing line since its inception and other notice board carrying appreciation for the individual performers along with their photographs and a monitor at the beginning of the assembly line, displaying individuals’ performance of the day.

All the operators, a good number of them females who were smartly dressed, were assembling the components on to the PCBs and the display units moving on conveyor belts in a synchronized manner. They were so fast and so precise! Girish said,

“The production time of a product is 4.9 seconds and if you make any mistake at any point, the entire process comes to a stop. That means there is no scope for error. And, one cannot afford to make any error also. The products are manufactured with such assiduity that the chance of delay is minimal.

Another spectacle was a multiple number of automatic machines assembling components on to the PCBs being fed from the chain of components. There was no light inside the hall, but the work was going on uninterruptedly. There might be 11–12 of them in a row, but it was surprisingly manned by a single operator moving from one end to the other on a pair of roller skates. He must be enjoying his job, but I wondered what will happen if he stumbles. One of the escorts said, “He is a super star. He is a path-breaker for us in terms of efficiency enhancement.”

Girish asseverated, “At all Samsung manufacturing units among the 11 subsidiaries across the world, we have the same infrastructure. But we have something special here. Therefore, the productivity is very high.”

As per the information, the staff strength is only 1,100 people in this unit, out of which nearly 300 people only work in the display division, but the productivity of individuals can be measured from the market share that Samsung enjoys – be it colour TVs or monitors. And, the unit has a capacity of 3.5 million units (1.5 million Colour TVs, 1.5 million CRT monitors and 5 lakh LCD monitors) per annum, which can be extended at any point. One just cannot believe till he sees the work process. Within 4.9 seconds, a new display unit comes out of the factory. Samsung India was the first Company to start manufacturing LCD TVs in India

“When the product line was installed in 1999, it was for 2,000 capacity, but we keep on doing innovation, and every year the line changes,” he adds. Surprisingly, the changes are effected based on the operators’ suggestion or feedback. Gulshan says,

“We treat suggestions as a very valuable tool for innovation and improvement. The suggestion can be anything related to his personal problem or something related to work process. And, as a matter of policy, we solve the problems within 72 hours.”

The authorities are directed to give a definite answer within the stipulated time whether it can be solved or cannot be solved or can be solved within a fixed time frame. There is no dilly-dallying in finding the solution. And, the suggester (operator) gets communication within the time limit and the matter is addressed. The most interesting practice, which is really democratic, is the complaint, and the suggester can go to the higher level if he does not satisfied with the solution. And, the company pays heed to each and every suggestion, which in some instances helps in the betterment of the company.

As a matter of fact, the suggestions of the operators have helped in increasing the productivity of the company. Even some of the suggestions have been implemented by other subsidiaries across the world.

Girish says, “The operators and the managers have their own MBO system. There are 7–8 items on the basis of which the performance is evaluated and it has a direct link with the appraisal system. The system is transparent and one can track his performance record and when he receives his appraisal he never feels the shock; rather, he tries to outperform the others.”

As per the practice, the operators have to devise their action plan related to the items they are responsible for. They also stipulate the execution time period. As per the authorities at Samsung India manufacturing, Noida, the workers engaged are skilled and innovative. They are knowledgeable and innovative and they want to apply the same in their activities. They are also open to the learning process. The key to the success of the employees is that Samsung puts a lot of emphasis on training, which includes technical, management training, industrial engineering training, etc. The attrition rate is almost negligible. The company provides the best possible environment to the operators. The authorities claim that the employees are very safe in the factory. If there is any delay, the company hires special taxies to drop them at their doorstep. It is applicable in the case of each and every operator working in this un it.

The secret of Samsung manufacturing success is their motivated workforce. The company offers a lot of motivational schemes. Every accepted suggestion gets ten rupees of reward for the operators. This year alone, the company has awarded an operator for his 1,700 suggestions, and he has been dubbed as the king suggester. Not only has he received a cash reward of Rs.17,000, but he has also been given one TV costing Rs.30,000. If a suggestion results in some larger benefit, the suggester then gets some percentage of the benefit in cash. And, this amount can start from Rs.3,000 and can go up to Rs.1 lakh. During the last ten years, Samsung India has given up to Rs.10,000 for one suggestion. As per the sources, there must be nearly 11 suggesters who have received Rs.10,000 as cash rewards and 30–40 suggesters received Rs.5,000 cash and Rs.3,000 cash receiving suggesters are many in number.

Apart from this, in order to enhance the level of skills and bring competition, the company has introduced a–“Super Star” scheme. It is basically meant to recognize and incentivize an extraordinary skilled person to enhance productivity. If someone is given the tag of a super star, s/he is given a product of his choice. S/he is given a super star badge, identity card, and even s/he gets a reserved seat in the bus having a superstar logo and his name imprinted on it. Besides these benefits, there are other incentives as well. For example, a female operator gets a locker with Rs.500 worth cosmetics for the period until somebody supersedes her in the same skill. There is another is “Star Operator” scheme. It is in recognition of improvement in decision-making. The benefit of the stars is that they receive a cash reward of Rs.2,000, certifications and visiting cards. The company has about 11 super stars and 25 stars. If an operator gets three stars, he is promoted.

The company has also “Samsung Guinness Book of Records for Schemes”, which combines all the schemes. The master operator scheme also comes under this. The aforesaid, an operator on a roller skate manning 12 machines at a time is a master operator. There are also awards and rewards attached to it. Today, most of the subsidiaries are appreciating this activity. “This unit at Noida has been rated as the best manufacturing unit for the last 4–5 years among Samsung’s 11 subsidiaries,” asserts Girish.

The success of the unit does not seek any accolades or certifications, but certifications and laurels come on their own. This unit has received ISO 9001 and ISO14000 certifications. OHSMS (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems) has recognized it as one of the best. CETMA has also awarded Samsung India as the best electronics company of the year. Samsung India has also received Rajeev Gandhi National Quality Award. And, for the last nine years, the company is winning the quality circle certification from the Quality Circle Forum of India (QCFI) with excellent tag. This award is conferred on the company for the group activities of the operators. The company has also won the Quality Circle Certification at the international level competing against other subsidiaries of Samsung. Samsung has also received the prestigious Gold Award for Value Innovation in manufacturing for consecutive three years. It is the first time that any Samsung subsidiary has won this award in a row.

Finally…

When I completed my visit, it was 5.30 in the evening. I murmurred: “It was really a satisfied journey of 45 minutes. India really requires many such kind of manufacturing units. Then only can we compete with other advanced countries.”