Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd.

Managing for Quality- An Experience at Simbhaoli Sugars

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

Presented by Indeep S Bhatia, Sr. Vice President (SSD)

Rooprajinder Singh, Manager HR (Corporate)

• The Indian sugar markets have changed dramatically over the past 10 years. • In the highly competitive market today’s customers, especially the institutional

buyers, demand more attention towards not just quality assurance but towards quality management covering all facets of business, aiming to improve overall quality of work by everyone in the organization for achieving greater customer satisfaction and higher returns.

• Customers pay only for what is of use to them and give them value.• Customers satisfaction is a measure of product quality.• Today’s customers are willing to pay higher prices and repeat orders to the

companies who are satisfying their stated and implied needs. Through this presentation, we will try to understand

• How Simbhaoli Sugars manages to keep up with the changing times?• How we meet the ever-changing requirements of our customers beyond the

adequate?• What you get is not what you expect but is what you monitor and inspect…

Abstract

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

“Quality, to a great degree, is what a customer say it is”.

One of the early adopters of refined sugar process for making white sugar of below 45 ICUMSA conforming to EC-I and EC- II grade in the year 2001

We also added a facility to produce pharmaceutical grade sugar and a range of specialty sugar products including sachets and cubes.

Our sugar brand “TRUST” became one of the most popular and trusted brand for specialty sugar in the retail and F&B sectors and among institutional buyers.

Our customer base widened and became altogether different than from the traditional sugar industry.

With the widening customer base, the quality requirements also started varying from customer to customer.

The production staff, which in most cases consisted of people having very little educational background, found it difficult to understand varying customer requirements and slowly complaints started trickling in.

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

How Simbhaoli Manages Quality Issues- Flashback

Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd.

Some of our Products – Specialty Sugars

Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd.

Our Products- Sachets

How Simbhaoli manages Quality issues - The Simbhaoli Experience

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

Based on the feedback received from the customers, we had to immediately think and act upon 12 important considerations:-

1. Is the company work culture committed to quality ?2. Do we have any plan for managing quality ?3. Is our company customer oriented ?4. Do we manage supplier quality ?5. Are our people committed to quality ?6. Do we train our employees regularly for quality ?7. Is our workplace organized and orderly ?8. Is quality integrated into our production process ?9. Is quality integrated in our product design ?10. Does our company measure and monitor quality ?11. Does our company benchmark with the best ?12. Does our company sustain its quality / productivity efforts ?

“Quality is never an accident, it is always the result of intelligent effort”.

Strategy Adopted

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

To enhance the user’s experience of the organization’s services, a three pronged strategy was evolved – Team Building to establish a Quality Management Systems emphasizing on Systematic Problem Solving Approach

Focus on the User

Quality Management System Systematic Problem Solving Approach

Team Building

“Quality is the result of carefully constructed cultural environment, it has to be the fabric of the organization, not a part of the organization”.

Step 1Team Building for Quality Management

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

In the first step we decided to establish a Cross Functional Team (CFT) to carry out the quality improvement process. The team was primarily required to accomplish following tasks in the given time frame:-

• To define company’s vision, mission and quality policy.• To identify problems to solve.• To determine action steps required to solve the problems.• To monitor both planning and implementation.• To encourage acceptance of the recommended changes by both the staff and

the clients .

Step 1 (contd.)Ground Rules for CFT

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

We kept a multi-disciplinary team, having a democratic working structure, working in a non-hierarchical manner where all participants are equal, which in itself was a challenging job, given the work culture of the sugar industry.

Team members not only found common grounds to discuss problems in a mutually respectful manner but also worked towards finding satisfactory resolutions.

TEAM

•Respect individuals•Listen to each other

•Resolve problems With Consensus

•Communicate• Share ideas

Step 2Systematic Problem Solving Approach

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

Communicating• The vision, mission, quality statement and the quality strategy was widely

circulated to all employees and the purpose behind creating the same was explained, quality issues being faced and changing customer’s expectations, viz-a-viz their repercussions were also clearly communicated to all employees.

Involvement of people at all levels• Intensive brainstorming sessions were held with all the stake holders to

identify and list potential problems in implementing the quality improvement strategy.

• The problems identified were categorized (ABC, Important-Urgent, Resource – Benefit etc.)

• Teams were formed after training them in problem-solving techniques to analyze the problems find solutions and implement solutions to the problems

• To serve our esteemed customers in a best possible way and to provide best valued products to them, we decided to adopt a system approach.

• We adopted and established companywide ISO systems/standards in the year 2005-06 and were one of the first sugar companies in India to get certified simultaneously in three world class standards - ISO 9001:2000 for Quality Management System, ISO 14001:2004 for Environment Management System and HACCP for Food Safety Management System.

• These systems have now been upgraded to their latest versions in the year 2009 and we are now certified for ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 22000:2005.

Step 3Establishing the Quality Management System

People were motivated and given rigorous training on WHY such stringent systems are required, WHAT needs to be done, WHERE the systems need to be followed WHEN systems have to be followed and WHO all are responsible.

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

Having established systems for product quality and for customer service, it was very essential to keep a check

on whether the systems are being followed by all concerned or not.

Monitoring and Evaluation-Establishing the systems is not the end of problems

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

A multi-pronged strategy was evolved to monitor the entire Quality management

process :-

• Strict Control and Supervision and documentation at all level.

• Surprise third party audits and consequent sharing of the reports with all

concerned.

• Random visits by the Unit Head / Senior Management Personnel.

Monitoring and Evaluation (Contd.)-Establishing the systems is not the end of problems

Halla Bol

• Whenever a system is violated or a customer complaint is received, the same is

highlighted by various means like displaying notices/ complaints in local

language, photographs or through any other relevant audio visual means, so

that it is easily understood and the loss is also converted into financial terms

and communicated to all employees.

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

Monitoring and Evaluation (Contd.) -Establishing the systems is not the end of problems

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

Complacency is part of human nature. We generally get used to the system and start

taking things very casually. We start overlooking things and then it gets difficult to identify improvement points. In order to

eliminate that possibility, we thought it would be helpful if we invited someone

from outside the system to take a look at the things from a totally new perspective.

Team Chak De Trust

After brainstorming on this, we felt that this can be best achieved with the support of

our Home Makers – the Ladies residing in the colony , since they have a natural

sense for keeping things in order and they are also the end customers for most of our

products. Moreover, it would have a psychological impact upon the employees too,

since their wives would be coming inside the plant to audit their husbands workplace.

Monitoring and Evaluation (Contd.) -Establishing the systems is not the end of problems

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

A group of nineteen Ladies were identified and were trained by a trainer for two days on how production of sugar takes place, what customers expects, what systems were being followed to maintain quality, etc.

On the third day the ladies were equipped with cameras and were sent inside the plant to do the audit and their findings were presented to all the stakeholders.

Everyone was surprised over how many new areas of improvement we had been missing and also the areas where systems had been violated. Responsibility and target dates for compliance were also fixed as also the dates for re-audit by ladies team.

Monitoring and Evaluation (Contd.) -Establishing the systems is not the end of problems

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

The audit day

Training before audit

Monitoring and Evaluation (Contd.) -Establishing the systems is not the end of problems

Presenting the findings

Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd.

After the first successful experiment, we now have two ladies’ teams who conduct surprise checks and audits and have helped us tremendously in

maintaining and improving the Quality Management Systems.

Surprise checks/audits

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

Continual Improvements

•One of the permanent quality objectives of an organization should be the continual improvement of its overall performance.

•At Simbhaoli, the core quality team keeps on reviewing the quality plan regularly, employees are regularly trained to meet the quality objectives and if need be they also visit the customers’ sites to understand their requirements and any suggestion of customers is welcomed with open arms and implemented in right earnest.

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

“Quality requirements need to be continuously upgraded to meet customer needs”.

ISO 9001:2008

Cost Reduction Activities

Energy Management

Reduction in Rejections Reduction in Rework

Manufacturing Facilities Committed Man powerProper

Leadership

Food SafetyISO 22000:2005

Environment FriendlyISO 14001:2004

Management Commitment

Adequate Resources Trainings and Development

Towards World Class

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

Quality Management

Towards World Class

Customer Delight

Conclusions

In the present scenario, for survival of any organization, quality is a

key to success and a due consideration is must for this issue.

Developing and maintaining effective quality management systems

has helped Simbhaoli Sugars not only garner a large market share

for its specialty products but also has gained TRUST of a large

number of loyal customers who prefer buying sugar only from

Simbhaoli Sugars, giving us a edge over our competitors.

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited

Some of our Esteemed Customers- Specialty Sugars

Some of our Esteemed Customers - Pharma Sugar

Thank you for your patient listening.