Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. (KBL) is a leading global pump manufacturing company with expertise in engineering and manufacture of systems for fluid management. Established in 1888 and incorporated in 1920, KBL, the flagship company of the $2.1 billion Kirloskar Group, provides complete fluid management solutions for large infrastructure projects in the areas of water supply, power plants, irrigation, oil & gas and marine & defence. The company engineers and manufactures a wide range of industrial, agriculture and domestic pumps, apart from valves and hydro turbines.
KBL’s Coimbatore plant is considered unique in the sense that it has a 100 per cent woman workforce at its manufacturing set-up. The company has been in the news in recent times for assembling a pump in a record time of 17.25 seconds. The Textile Magazine which recently visited the company factory finds out what makes this plant different from others and its major achievements.
KBL offers fluid management solutions for varied sectors such as construction, power, irrigation and water resource management where the textile industry is also catered to. The Coimbatore plant of the company mainly manufactures domestic pumps, along with a few models for the agriculture sector. The facility has 132 staff members, of which the entire team on the shop floor and women.
Mahila Mission 20
Under its ‘Mahila Mission 20’ project, the all-woman team at the factory has set a record of assembling a pump in an amazing time of 17.25 seconds, a feat that has been acknowledged by the Limca Book of Records. The management wanted to expand plant production and has been deliberating on various ideas. When the Coimbatore facility commenced production in 2011, it assembled a pump in about 69 seconds. To increase production, the team started brainstorming on how best it could be done. Additionally, there was a challenge of achieving higher production in a single shift work environment, since it is an all-woman run plant. This is when the team at the Coimbatore plant struck upon the idea of further reducing the time taken to assemble a pump in less than 20 seconds, without compromising on quality. In a remarkably short span of time, through diligent planning and sustained efforts, in 2014, the record time of 17.25 seconds became a reality. The company is targeting a production capacity of one million pumps per annum in the near future, which for a single shift basis is a truly remarkable number.
Setting high standards
One of the highlights of the factory premises is the special thrust on energy efficiency and clean environment. Kirloskar’s Coimbatore plant is amongst the first small pump plants to be GreenCo certified. The lush green vegetation surrounding the factory has been designed for optimum utilisation of natural daylight and cross ventilation. All this is testimony to KBL’s commitment to a green production process and clean environment.
A strong commitment to quality standards has been another key reason for the plant success story. An exclusive quality control team takes care of the quality control process at the plant which is ISO 9001: 2008, SA: 8000 and OHSAS 18001: 2007 certified.
The meticulous attention to detail is evident in every one since the processes are strictly adhered to at the plant. The company’s in-house team has developed a unique ‘Synchronized Manufacturing Distribution System’ (SMDS) wherein the entire supply chain, including customers, dealers, regional offices and plants is integrated. As soon as a sale is made an invoice is prepared, in an instant every detail reaches in the reverse order to the technical support services department. Prompt aftermarket service support has been another key reason for the plant’s success. Customers can reach the company on the toll-free number and rest assured that the KBL team will take care of their problems.
All employees at KBL’s Coimbatore plant are not only trained in the manufacturing process, but also given additional vocational training in areas such as tailoring, embroidery, craftwork and drawing. This initiative from the top management was undertaken to ensure that the employee has a lifelong skill to fall back on even after leaving the company.
Awards galore
Given the unique achievements of KBL’s Coimbatore plant, it is no surprise that it has received several prestigious awards. The 5S-Four Star rating in 5S implementation award from QCFI-Chennai Chapter, ASSOCHAM’s Innovation Excellence Platinum Award 2013 in Social Development Category, ASSOCHAM’s Innovation Excellence Gold Award 2013 in Business Development Category, ASSOCHAM Innovation Excellence Award-2014, 3rd Africa Women Leadership Award 2013, 3rd Africa Best Brand Employer Award 2014 and the CII – Southern Region EHS Awards 2015 are the prominent among them.
KBL is known for its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. As a part of Coimbatore plant’s CSR activities, regular medical camps are conducted for the benefit of people living in villages surrounding the factory. Plantation of saplings is also done by the company on select occasions as part of its CSR initiatives in Coimbatore.
Mahila Mission 6 planned
Not resting on past laurels, KBL’s Coimbatore team has lined up ambitious plans for the future. As mentioned earlier, the team here is expecting to touch a production capacity of one million pumps per annum. Going forward, under the Mahila Mission 6 plan, the Coimbatore team intends to reduce the time to assemble a pump to mere 6 seconds on a throughput basis, i.e., total output of one pump under a unit period of 6 seconds from all the assembly lines put together. This would be a remarkable achievement indeed.
However, having already set the record of assembling a pump in less than 20 seconds, it won’t be a surprise if KBL’s Coimbatore plant were to achieve the 6 seconds target in the near future.