Case Study - Cheminova

Cheminova India Ltd. headquartered at Mumbai in India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cheminova A/S based in Lemvig, Denmark. Cheminova India Ltd. was formed when Lupin agrochemicals (India) limited was acquired by Cheminova A/S in December 1997. Cheminova India Limited is dedicated in providing crop protection solutions through manufacturing and marketing of agrochemicals and its intermediates. The company has three state‐of‐the‐art independent sites at Panoli (Gujarat).

 

Client Profile 

Cheminova India Ltd. headquartered at Mumbai in India is a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Cheminova A/S based in Lemvig, Denmark. Cheminova India Ltd.was formed when Lupin agrochemicals (India) limited was acquired byCheminova A/S in December 1997. Cheminova India Limited is dedicated inproviding crop protection solutions through manufacturing and marketing ofagrochemicals and its intermediates. The company has three state‐of‐the‐artindependent sites at Panoli (Gujarat).
The company is one of the leading crop protection chemical company in Indiaand employs around 480 people in manufacturing, marketing and other alliedservices in the country. The company is committed to safety and health of theIndian farmers, employees and other stakeholders and abides by all guidelinesof environment protection by making high capital investments. The companylays special focus on safe use & handling of its products, intermediates at alllevels during marketing & distribution.
Cheminova India Limited has a broad portfolio of agrochemicals includinginsecticides, herbicides, fungicides & growth promoters. TechnicalManufacturing capabilities include Monocrotophos, Dichlorvos, Chlorpyrifos,Quinalphos, Acephate, Triazophos and Imidacloprid. Recently, the company hasadded capacities to manufacture Thiacloprid.

Formulations

Cheminova has a large in‐house formulation plant on a separate site at Panoliwith a yearly capacity of 10 million liters. There are separate dedicated fullyautomated and semi‐automated lines for producing assorted products in HDPE,PET, Tin and aluminum packs.

Intermediates

Situated at a new site of 42 acres in Panoli, Cheminova has been producingmajor intermediates like Phosphorous Trichloride (PCL3), Trimethyl Phosphite(TMP), Phosphorous Penta Sulpfide (P2S5) and DiethylPhosphorochloridothioate (DEPCT) for captive consumption and caters to therequirements of other companies.The company has three independent sites atPanoli (Gujarat), 380 km north of Mumbai for manufacturing Technicals,Formulations and Intermediates.

Client needs

Establishing Productivity Norms, and Assess percentage Workload / WorkOccupancy for entire unit covering Direct Workmen, Casuals, and indirect supportive staff working in DMA & Azoxy Plant, Acephate Plant. Suggestion on method improvements and process automization to reduce functioning costs and cycle times by eliminating unproductive activities and optimum utilization of resources. 

Challenges and goals of projects 

The major challenge was a high imbalanced work profile i.e. very dynamic nature of market demand and hence 'Make To Store' production system, any improvement initiative or process design must support and benefit in each work load condition. 
At last, many of the work simplification initiatives was demanding major infrastructural change due to old age of plant. 

How vrunda consultancy services helped

Carry out INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING survey for the entire plant forPRODUCTIVITY improvement highlighting the Scope and Ways ofimplementation.
VCS consultants visited the plant and had discussions with the WorksManager and Plant Incharge/ Shift In Charge so as to get the details of theprocess/operation of processing the product.
VCS consultants went into details of manpower positioned by the PlantSupervisor and above. 

VCS spent sufficiently long time to get into details that influences the manpower justification at every stage. This was supplemented with in depth observations at selected, critical work centres.

Suggestions 

The consultant team strongly recommends the following suggestions for furtherimplementation. These recommendations will help in developing a cultureincluded in the philosophy of the company. In order to keep the benefits forlonger period and get sustained improvements, few suggestions are given here:

Multi-skilling is the need of the hour.

Standardization of Hopper Height.

Standardization of bag size.

Dedicated forklift is suggested for shifting of Raw Materials

Avoiding usage of Day‐Tank

Multi‐skilling, Job Enlargement Material handling practices in the plant need to be further considered in totality.

Culture of Continuous Improvement like 5S, Kaizen, TPMEntrusting & using IT as a tool for productivity improvementJob Rotation, Performance Linked incentive for operative and Variable Pay for staff (SI & Above)

OVERALL 30% MANPOWER IS FOUND SURPLUS IN BOTH THE PLANTS