SKAPS Industries

In my previous blog I talked about the concept of 5S and how it can be used as an effective management tool. In this blog, I’ll be talking about Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) which forms the key measuring indicator of the entire TPM activity in an organization. OEE tells you about your equipment’s efficiency by determining the losses associated with it. According to TPM, there are 16 major losses in any manufacturing unit as mentioned below: Losses Category 1 Breakdown Loss Losses that impede equipment efficiency 2 Setup & Adjustment Loss 3 Cutting Blade Loss 4 Start-up loss 5 Minor Stoppage/Idling Loss 6 Speed Loss 7 Defect/Rework Loss 8 Scheduled Downtime loss or Planned Downtime 9 Management Loss Losses that impede human work efficiency 10 Operation Motion Loss 11 Line Organization Loss 1...

In my previous blog I talked about the history of TPM and its essence in brief. In this blog I would be talking about 5S and its importance being the foundational step of TPM. 5S also known as Housekeeping or workplace organization is the pre-requisite for implementing TPM in any organization. There are numerous articles and books written on the concept of 5S and rightly so because 5S is such a powerful yet simple thing that lays the foundation for carrying out TPM related activities. In this blog I won’t just explain you what 5S is but rather how it can be used as a powerful management tool to drive a cultural change. The first S stands for Sort which says you identify all the unwanted items in your work place and remove them. It’s also called red-tagging activity because you attach a red-tag to those unwanted items and then take decisions on them. Similarly when you are in a management position there will be multiple things that will come to you but you need to iden...

This blog takes a look into some of the recent trends in the fiberglass sector in India and existing challenges. The Indian market is right now in a medium phase of growth, with various sectors slowly incorporating FRP composites in their applications. Although looking from a global perspective, its imports account to a mere share of 2% of the world total, India still features amongst the top 15 importing nations, making its presence felt in the global market. One startling fact is that, with all this growth, India fares low in terms of per capita consumption of fiberglass. With close to a meagre .24 Kg when compared to markets like US (10 Kg) and China (2 Kg), it is evident that there has been limited penetration in most of the sectors. One factor that this can be attributed to is the lack of awareness about the advantages of GFRP composites . Barring a few sectors like wind energy, electrical & electronics (uses fiberglass as a standard material for wind blades & na...

In my previous blog I talked about TPM being a culture and it is rightly so but unless you start practicing you won’t realize it. But it has a definition and there is a systematic step by step procedure to implement it in an organization. In this blog I’ll be giving you a brief about TPM and how did it start. TPM, Total Productive Maintenance, is primarily a maintenance program where operators and maintenance people work together as a team to solve machine related problems. TPM says that operators look after routine activities like Cleaning, Lubricating, Inspection & Tightening (CLIT) and the maintenance people look after upgrading the machine to improve its life. Before I explain the meaning in detail, let’s look at the history of TPM. TPM was started in the factories of Japan in 1970s. Some say it was Toyota some say it was developed from the Productive Maintenance concept of USA which was adopted by Japanese factories. Whatever the truth may be the full-fledged con...

In my introductory blog about TPM , I mentioned that the path to implementing TPM is a challenging one and to my knowledge it fares better than the other management concepts. The reason why I say that is simple: TPM is a cultural change . A cultural change requires a combined effort from all the departments in the organization but the most important support required is from the Top Management. Top Management can be the biggest obstacle in the implementation of TPM. If they understand the importance of TPM and its benefits, the journey becomes a tad bit easier. But the challenge still remains as the mindset of the managers & the middle managers need to be changed. One needs to sit with all the managers and middle managers and make them understand the importance of implementing TPM in our organization and asking for their inputs and support in implementing it. If they are not convinced then they can be a hindrance at every step but if they get involved in the implementation the...

TPM which stands for Total productive Maintenance is a management concept that focuses on Bottoms-up approach and increased participation of people at all levels in decision making. SKAPS embarked on the journey of TPM in 2015 with primarily two goals in mind: Stabilization and Involvement of Everyone . Being the TPM Manager at SKAPS I can tell you this that the journey has been a challenging one but at the same time the results have been rewarding. TPM, unlike other management concepts like TQM, Six-Sigma, lean etc. gives utmost importance to empowering the floor workers and urges management to spend more time on the floor than on the computer and this is what creates the difference. I am not saying that other management concepts are inferior to TPM just because I am implementing it in SKAPS but according to me it has an edge over other concepts if implemented judiciously. TPM says that machines are the heart of any manufacturing firm and if you take care of the machines you t...

Started in 1996 as a Geonet manufacturer in Commerce USA, SKAPS Industries has been continually expanding in the space of technical textiles. Our product portfolio includes Geotextiles – Woven and Nonwoven, Geonets, Geocomposites, Fiberglass Fabric, Form Fabric – SKAPS HydrotexTM and industrial products like produce netting, roofing, frost blanket etc. SKAPS Industries is the largest manufacturer of Geocomposites in the world. Manufacturing Facility in Mundra, India With a strong focus on Quality and Customer Satisfaction we have grown bigger both in size and customer base. We have seven manufacturing plants in USA and India and we supply our products to nearly 60 countries worldwide. We practice TPM – Total Productive Maintenance at all our plants which helps us to maintain and improve our production and quality systems. This splendid journey of over 20 years would not have been possible without our employees who proudly believe in the motto of Be One, Be SKAPS . We ...