Sundaram Auto Components Limited (SACL), a TVS Group Company and one of India’s leading plastic auto component manufacturers, has been recognised in the category, ‘Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Excellence Award’- presented by Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) for its Mysuru plant. With this award, SACL joins the elite list of other 24 companies globally and six within India to be conferred this award.
JIPM’s TPM award is globally coveted and is a testimony to SACL’s commitment to improving the quality of its products and production efficiency by preventing equipment breakdowns, enhancing the quality of the equipment, and standardising the equipment at its Mysuru plant. With the TVS Group being a torchbearer of TQM and TPM implementation in India, it was only natural for its group company SACL to follow suit.
The journey started at its Mysuru plant in Aug 2016 with the aim to improve customer satisfaction through on-time delivery with the best quality levels at minimum cost. As a result, the plant’s overall equipment efficiency improved by 20% between 2016 and 2021, 50% reduction in lead time to service the customers, reducing line defects by 33%. All of this resulted in a considerable reduction in manufacturing costs, which allowed the company to sustain itself in an ever-increasing competitive market. This exercise massively improved the morale of the people working in the plant.
Reflecting on the significance of the award, Rajesh Oommen, President- SACL, said, “We are delighted to get this honour from JIPM, which is the highest standard of TPM awards at the global level. The team has worked diligently to implement, imbibe, and standardise the overall framework of TPM, which has resulted in higher productivity by minimising losses. I am sure this recognition will further inspire the team to achieve higher performance.”
Conducted in two stages, a team of experts from JIPM carries out the assessment for the TPM award. The assessment aims to evaluate the factory’s policies, practices, and performances around the eight pillars of the TPM technique.