19-03-2012, 11:45 AM
Analysis and optimization of Maintenance Management of Instruments at M/s. Ashapura Volclay ltd
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
With Candor and Pleasure I take opportunity to express my sincere thanks and
obligation to my esteemed guide Mr. Mahesh Chandani. It is because of his able
and mature guidance and co-operation without which it would not have been
possible for me to complete my project.
It is my pleasant duty to thank all the staff member of the computer center who
never hesitated me from time during the project.
Finally, I gratefully acknowledge the support, encouragement & patience of my
family, and as always, nothing in my life would be possible without God, Thank
You!
(TRUPTI GOSWAMI)
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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this project work titled “Analysis and optimization of
Maintenance Management of Instruments at M/s. Ashapura Volclay ltd” is my
original work and no part of it has been submitted for any other degree purpose or
published in any other from till date.
CHAPTER – 1
INTRODUCTION
Maintenance Management is an orderly and systematic approach to planning, organizing,
monitoring and evaluating maintenance activities and their costs. A good maintenance
management system coupled with knowledgeable and capable maintenance staff can prevent
breakdown problems and environmental damage; yield longer asset life with fewer breakdowns;
and result in lower operating costs and a higher quality of instruments.
Importance
Maintenance management is crucial to companies because proper maintenance makes workers
aware of the resources with which they have to work. When workers are aware of the cost and
nature of their maintenance resources, they are less likely to be wasteful with those resources.
They also are more aware of how their resources and maintenance work impacts the environment.
A good maintenance management system makes work more efficient and increases the quality of
visitor experiences.
Maintenance is an important factor in quality assurance, which is another basis for the successful
competitive edge. Inconsistencies in equipments lead to variability in product characteristics and
result in defective parts that fail to meet the established specifications. Beyond just preventing
break downs, it is necessary to keep equipments operating within specifications (i.e. process
capability) that will produce high level of quality.
Good maintenance management is important for the company cost control. As companies go in
for automation to become more competitive, they increasingly rely on equipments to produce a
greater percentage of their output. It becomes more important that, equipments operate reliably
within specifications. The cost of idle time is higher as equipment becomes more high-tech and
expensive e.g. NC/CNC machines and robots.
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Dependability of service is one of the performance measures by which a company can distinguish
itself from others. To establish a competitive edge and to provide good customer service,
companies must have reliable equipments that will respond to customer demands when needed.
Equipments must be kept in reliable condition without costly work stoppage and down time due
to repairs, if the company is to remain productive and competitive.
Many manufacturing organizations, particularly those with JIT (Just-In-Time) programs are
operating with inventories so low that, they offer no protection in the event of a lengthy
equipment failure. Beyond the cost of idle equipment, idle labor, and lost ales that can result from
a breakdown, there is a danger of permanently losing market shares to companies that are more
reliable. Maintenance function can help prevent such as occurrence.
Organizations like airlines and oil refineries have huge investments in the equipment. Equipment
failure will be disastrous for such companies. They need proper maintenance to keep the
equipment in good condition.
Interrelationship
Maintenance management is interrelated with other forms of management in a business. For
example, it is connected to financial management, since a maintenance management system
determines how maintenance resources, which have a cost, are allocated and used up. Business
owners and operators cannot develop or adjust their maintenance management systems without
also addressing other management systems within the company.
Requirements
To develop a proper maintenance management system, a company first has to evaluate its current
maintenance practices to determine what maintenance tasks and resources are used and
necessary. Ideally, the maintenance management system should be able to record maintenance
tasks and inventory/resources, provide feedback to the facilities operations manager for analysis,
and support the needs of the company and its customers. Computerized maintenance management
software programs often can meet these requirements and greatly reduce the amount of work
necessary compared to manual systems.
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The word “Operation” is usually linked with “Maintenance”. To put these terms in context,
Operation is the performance of work or services and the provision of materials and energy to
ensure the day-to-day proper functioning of an asset, e.g., the work activities, associated
chemicals and electricity to run a water treatment plant. As such, it has a direct but simple impact
on the cost of operating an asset. Maintenance is the work performed on an asset such as a road,
building, utility or piece of equipment to preserve it in as near to its original condition as is
practical and to realize its normal life expectancy. This Technical Information Document, as its
name implies, concentrates on maintenance management systems only. In general, maintenance
can be classified into the following categories:
(a) Routine - ongoing maintenance activities such as cleaning instruments and regular calibration
checking, which are required because of continuing use of the facilities.
(b) Preventive - periodic adjustment, lubrication and inspection of mechanical or other equipment
to ensure continuing working condition; and
(d) Emergency - unexpected breakdowns of assets or equipment. These are unpredictable or
reactive type of maintenance and are more difficult to schedule than the above three categories.
Objectives of Maintenance Management
The following are some of the objectives of maintenance management:
I. Minimizing the loss of productive time because of equipment failure (i.e. minimizing
idle time of equipment due to break down).
II. Minimizing the repair time and repair cost.
III. Minimizing the loss due to production stoppages.
IV. Efficient use of maintenance personnel and equipments.
V. Prolonging the life of capital assets by minimizing the rate of wear and tear.
VI. To keep all productive assets in good working conditions.
VII. To maximize efficiency and economy in production through optimum use of facilities.
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VIII. To minimize accidents through regular inspection and repair of safety devices.
IX. To minimize the total maintenance cost which includes the cost of repair, cost of
preventive maintenance and inventory carrying costs, due to spare parts inventory.
X. To improve the quality of products and to improve productivity
COMPANY PROFILE
Established in 1960, Ashapura Group is India’s largest mutimineral solutions provider. The
flagship company Ashapura Ltd. is listed on India’s premier exchanges. Ashapura Minechem
Ltd. is a part of the BSE Midcap & BSE 500 indices. The group has mining & mineral processing
facilities in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Today
Ashapura Group has attained global status with projects in Belgium, Nigeria, Oman and
Malaysia.
Ashapura Group is one of the significant global players in bauxite and is amongst the world’s top
five Bentonite companies. Ashapura also dominates the value added segments in the country for
Bleaching Clay, Geosynthetic Clay Liners, Clay Catalysts, Calcined Bauxite, etc.
Ashapura has advanced from being a single mineral company to a specialist in industrial
minerals. Bentonite, the multi-tasking mineral, continues to be a core product with diverse
applications in industries that range from agriculture to environment and foundry to edible oils
and cosmetics to medicine New applications for the industries presently being catered as well as
for new industries are developed every year through indigenous and global research. The
company’s diversification into bauxite was a major move and today Ashapura is among the key
players in Bauxite from India. Our strategy to expand our mineral portfolio is paying rich
dividends as we have added Kaolin, Attapulgite, Barites, Feldspar and many other allied minerals
to our product portfolio.
A new exciting area, with immense growth potential and limitless possibilities, opened when the
company decided to move into value added products. At present our major value added products
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are Bleaching Clay, Clay Catalysts, Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GCL), and Calcined Bauxite and
very soon it will be alumina.
All our products come with a promise of ‘no compromise on quality’.
When Navnitlal R. Shah, the Company’s Chairman, returned to India from Burma, he had
confidence in his ability to convert opportunities to a profitable venture. He started a partnership
business in bentonite in the 60’s. By the early 80’s, the business flourished due to the export of
drilling grade of Bentonite to the Middle East. The war in the Middle East forced the company to
explore new applications. Since then Ashapura never had to look.
Some major milestones
1960 : Mr. N.R. Shah starts a partnership business in bentonite
1970 : An Office and a factory was set up in Bhuj
1972 : First export order received from Yugoslavia and then Iraq
1975 : Chetan Shah, the Chairman’s son, joins the business
1980 : The Shah family separated from their partners
1980 : Alternate uses of bentonite explored like oil & water well drilling, iron ore
pelletization, metal casting, civil engineering, bleaching clay etc
1982 : The partnership firm was converted to a Company
1991 : Marketing alliance established with Mitsubishi Corporation. Major support received
mainly in developing Bentonite for Iron Ore Pelletization
1992 : Ashapura Shipping Ltd. (ASL) established
1993 : Ashapura Minechem Ltd went public with an equity issue of 600,000 shares
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1995 : Diversification into bauxite business
1995 : Cat Litter business was started
1997 : Indo-American-Japanese joint venture Ashapura Volclay Limited started to
manufacture value added Bentonite products
1999 : AMCOL International Corporation acquires 20% stake in Ashapura Minechem Ltd.
2001 : Established a state-of the -art Knowledge & Innovation Centre at Belapur
2001 : Ashapura acquired 51% stake in M/s. Bombay Minerals Ltd.
2002 : Successful commissioning of Acid Activated Bleaching Clay plant
2003 : Calcined Bauxite plant commissioned
2004 : Ashapura Group crosses Rs. 500 crores turnover
2005 : Received in-principle approval from Gujarat Government for setting up Alumina
Refinery
2005 : Geosyntheic Clay Liners (GCL) plant commissioned
2006 : Bleaching Clay Plant capacity doubled from 25,000 tons to 50,000 tons
New global projects- Nigeria, Antwerp, Malaysia
New domestic projects - Port infrastructure, Kerala for Kaolin
2006 : Rs. 2500 crore Kutch alumina refinery project receives final OK from Gujarat
Government
2007 : Began setting up a project at Oman
2009 : Signed MoU with Government of Maharashtra to set up a state-of-the-art Alumina
Complex, with a refinery, smelter and captive power plant
2010 : New Initiatives in Indonesia to explore value added Minerals
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GROUP COMPANIES
Ashapura Group is one of the pioneers in the development of industrial minerals in India.
It is the world’s fifth largest producer of Bentonite and the largest exporter of Bentonite and
metallurgical grade Bauxite from India.
Ashapura Minechem Ltd.
Ashapura Volclay Ltd. (AVL)
Ashapura International Ltd.
Ashapura Claytech Ltd.
Ashapura Shipping Ltd.
Ashapura Exports Ltd.
Bombay Minerals Ltd.
Ashapura Minechem (UAE) FZE
Ashapura Foundation