Jindal Stainless : Strong as Steel

From a humble beginning at Hisar, where OP Jindal set-up the first plant in

1970, Jindal Stainless (JSL) has become Indias largest integrated stainless

steel manufacturer with a global presence in over thirty countries. The group

also has a Ferro Alloy plant at Vishakhapatnam and is constructing the worlds

largest greenfield integrated stainless steel complex in Kalinga Nagar, Orissa.

One of the core beliefs of JSL has been to break barriers between plant

floor systems and enterprise systems by implementing the best available

technologywhether it is for manufacturing processes or for organizational

management.

We have been running SAP since 2002. The plant manufacturing system was not

integrated with the ERP while process control was running separately, says Ajay

Dhir, group CIO, JSL.

Challenges



With the growth in capacity and growing number of plant systems at each

manufacturing location, JSL was looking to integrate all plant systems with

business system, ie, SAP ERP. The lack of visibility of real-time information

across locations was proving to be costly as there was no holistic view of

operations. Dealing with multiple products across locations and different

partners, suppliers and dealers only added to information chaos. A robust

database coupled with streamlined processes, connecting all locations was the

answer.

Ajay Dhir, group CIO, Jindal Stainless

Enabled global expansion and real time integration with JSLs manufacturing systems, eliminating inefficiencies and reducing costs Enabled global operation managers to plan proactively with real-time online monitoring of manufacturing processes

Before the SAP MII deployment, information about sensors and devices used to

be carried through PLCs and enabled local visualization. However, this

deployment enabled process information to be transferred to a Supervisory

Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) server, which was further connected to a

technical database, and then fed into the integrator. Therefore, process

information was integrated with business data giving a complete view of

operations.

This essentially implies that sitting anywhere in the network, any customer

query can be answered easily. Responding to queries used to take at least a

week, which can now be done in a single day, says Dhir. At about $150,000, the

project was executed in four months and went live in May 2008.

Returns Accruing



The SAP MII solution has provided an integrated platform for doing business

with speed, flexibility and a customer-centric approach. Deploying the

state-of-the-art technology has enabled global expansion and real time

integration with JSLs manufacturing systems, eliminating inefficiencies and

reducing costs, he says.

Whether it is monitoring and control of process deviations or tracking the

source of defect to analyze customer complaints, the deployment has enabled JSL

to address business growth in a 360 degree manner. Ultimately the company has

achieved a high level of plant intelligence, giving it a significant competitive

edge.

The deployment has also enabled operation managers to plan proactively with

real-time online monitoring of manufacturing processes. Therefore the planning

cycle has been made online instead of the hybrid model used earlier. Post

deployment, operations staff can now better understand the process parameters

and compare them with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), thereby enabling

them to improve quality standards.

The deployment has also enabled real-time monitoring of manufacturing

processes, and quality and efficiency analysis based on plant data repository.

Buoyed by the success of SAP MII, JSL now plans to integrate this with coil

tracking system (used for tracking the coils lying in warehouses).

Stuti Das



stutid@cybermedia.co.in