Satyam soln dramatically reduces downtime for cement cos

Satyam Computer Services Ltd. (NYSE:SAY), a leading global consulting and IT services provider, announced today that it has developed a new and unique streamlined solution for process manufacturing companies which normally take an annual or semi-annual plant maintenance shutdown. Using Satyam’s solution, Priya Cement, the brand name of Rain Commodities Ltd. (RCL), reduced its plant shutdown time (for one plant for a single shutdown) from 18 days to 13 days, enabling production of an additional 15,000 tons of cement and $1.6 million worth of sales.

Satyam’s solution is based on the Theory of Constraints (TOC), developed by Israeli physicist Eliyahu Goldratt. The Business Value Enhancement Team of Satyam implemented a solution based on TOC’s Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) to bring about these results. CCPM entails breaking two of the most commonly associated myths with Project Management:

• No amount of safety factored in the estimates is enough to protect against the kind of uncertainty in a project environment.
• Focusing on completion of each task on time is a guarantee of being able to finish a project on time.  

CCPM has been proven to significantly reduce the duration of projects—the uniqueness and practicality of the CCPM methodology stems from the fact that it uses a “Systems Approach” and takes a “holistic view” rather than focusing on individual functions / departments.

“There were 208 activities on the Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) chart drawn up for the plant shutdown and controlling and monitoring such a large number of activities covering all the sections of the plant in conventional ways is a Herculean task,” said Mr. P B Gopalakrishna,  President (Operations) of Priya Cement. “The measures suggested by Satyam to evaluate the project status and progress were simple yet revealing and brought about an enormous amount of management focus in areas / on tasks where required. We were never worried about controlling all 208 activities and diffusing our focus. The review meetings were astonishingly short and revealed the importance of focusing at the right places to reap benefits. We are looking to reap similar benefits for all our plants”

In addition to the work at Priya Cement, Satyam has used this solution to reduce shutdown times by 30% at Shree Cement (a key player in North India) resulting in production of an additional 24,000 tonnes of cement and is prepared to apply this solution to other industries such as Chemical Process, Petroleum Refining and Steel.

“By implementing TOC techniques for Priya Cement and Shree Cement, Satyam has been able to put the client’s business goals first and providing solutions that directly impact the client top line and bottom line without any significant change in capital and operational expenditure,”  says Srinagesh Kumble, Satyam’s Global Head – Business Value Enhancement. “What’s exciting is that we’ve done this in an industry where the time taken per plant shutdown (16-20 days) remained unchanged for more than a decade. We’re poised to do this in other industries as well.”

Sourced From: Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide