Chennai: "The Deming process is like getting a doctorate. In PhD there is no syllabus. One has to choose an area that has not been researched previously by somebody else and come out with your own findings," says Dr Surinder Kapur, chairman and managing director, Sona Koyo Steering Systems Limited, a postgraduate in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University, USA, with a doctorate in fluid dynamics.

The Rs286-crore-turnover company won the prestigious Deming quality medal last year from the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). A great admirer of Toyota Production System (TPS), Dr Kapur yearns for Sona Koyo to be able to resemble the Japanese auto company. But he knows that the journey will be a long one. Here he talks about his company's journey into the rigorous world of the Deming quality processes and the efforts required to keep improving further from there. Excerpts.

When did the company start practising the Deming quality process? What had it been practising earlier?
At Sona Koyo, quality was built into process right from its inception. Machines were arranged into a cellular layout (product layout). Quality checks were made part of the process and were done by the operators. In 1999-2002, when our net profit came down to a record low, we were determined to do something about it.

There was a marked change in the quality process when Toyota Production Systems' (TPS) expert ,M.Tanaka from Koyo Seiko, Japan, started guiding us in the early '90s. Many pokayoke (fool proofing) systems were installed to avoid operator mistakes. That is when we started gaining a real understanding of TPS.

Problem solving was made a necessary process in production management. We learnt how to become capable of supplying products just-in-time to customers. Our quality system was strengthened in line with ISO-9002 in 1994.

What was the manufacturing efficiency before you started practising the total quality management (TQM) process seriously?

In a nutshell they are:

PPM = parts per million
Q = Quality, C = Cost, D =Delivery

Could you narrate your Deming journey?
In 1997 Maruti Udyog Limited suggested that Sona Koyo join the first total quality management (TQM) cluster of 10 suppliers to be trained in the TQM methodology. When we began to implement and experience TQM, the 'managers' model lines, daily work management, gap analysis and root cause analysis with scientific tools were introduced.

Guidance and education from Prof. Yoshikazu Tsuda, a JUSE counselor and member of Deming 'prize committee' and learning and sharing with other cluster companies provided us with a great learning opportunity, especially in learning to focus more on customers' requirements. The policy deployment exercise with 'management for objectives' (MFO) began to help the organisation to focus on the company's objectives, thus helping all the employees look at one direction.

The teachings of TQM with emphasis on 'learning through experiencing' began to give the company a direction towards customer focus. The quality visits by top management and reviews of MFOs clearly defined the accountability of senior and divisional managers.

We formed a separate team to coordinate TQM activities. Initially, a team of three engineer level people was formed in 1999. In 2001, this was upgraded to a quality system division under a general manager. Under this division, four departments - TQM, total productivity maintenance (TPM), quality management systems (QMS) and environmental management systems (EMS) were formed to be headed by a manager.

What roadblocks did you face and how were they sorted out?
There were three noticeable roadblocks. These were (1) understanding about TQM across the organisation, (2) involvement of all the employees and (3) obtaining the commitment of managers. These were overcome by imparting training at all levels and making `quality visits' to all the divisions by the top management.

Your path to the Deming award must have included implementing concepts like lean manufacturing, TPM and others.
We started implementing TPS - Toyota Production System - techniques in 1992 taking guidance from a TPS expert through our collaborator. The techniques helped in increasing our productivity and reducing waste. To speed up the process of shop floor activities, in 2000, Sona Koyo decided to get the assistance of the Japanese Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) to implement TPM techniques. TPM has helped Sona Koyo to reduce rejects as well as breakdown of machines. It has helped in achieving zero defects in various areas.

This integrated approach in Sona Koyo's quality journey, lead by TQM and supported by TPS and TPM, is helping us to involve all the members of Sona Pariwar (family) with education and training. The development of new products like the Actuator and the cost- effective collapsible column gave us the confidence to apply for the Deming award.

Could you specify details of the benefits the company started deriving after it started practicing TQM?

I will specify the benefits through this table:

BSC - Balanced Score Card

How has the TQM / Deming medal helped the company collect the customer/market information post sales?
Earlier, we were collecting information on our product quality in the field from the customers. We started visiting car dealers to gather this information. Apart from these two sources, today, we collect this information from end users (drivers). We have been learning to implement quality function deployment (QFD) techniques to capture and utilise the customer voice.

What are the learnings from TQM process?
Our learnings during this journey were:

• TQM helps in identifying weakness in the organisation and working to eliminate the weaknesses.
  
• Improvement techniques are very simple to understand, persistence in doing is important.
  
• Involvement of all employees is vital to get extraordinary results.
  
• Developing our own product and production technology helps in improving competitiveness.
  
• Setting up challenging goals is the first step of achieving great results.
  
• Change will always bring resistance; we have to learn how to cope with it.
  
• Complacency after achieving good results brings down the performance. We have set even higher goals.
  
• We have to continuously search new ways of keeping people energised.

• Developing and retaining the company's human capital.
  
• De-risking the business by diversifying to different markets in terms of geography, products and clients.
  
• Strengthening its platform as a specialised player in steering systems.
  
• Building infrastructure to service overseas clients.