:: GMLP - Global Manufacturing Leadership Program ::

The Aditya Birla Group is a leader in manufacturing excellence, research and innovation. The Aditya Birla Science and Technology Centre, the Corporate World Class Manufacturing Cell and the Group’s focus on sustainable development are some of the key initiatives of the Aditya Birla Group.

The Aditya Birla Science and Technology Center (ABSTC) is the corporate research and development centre of the Aditya Birla Group. Located in Taloja, just outside of Mumbai in India, ABSTC supports the broad diversity of the Group's businesses through multi-disciplinary teams of expert scientists and engineers who lead fundamental and applied research projects.

ABSTC, a world-class organization delivers innovative solutions that promote Operational Excellence and New Product Development as core strategic drivers for leadership positions within market segments. This is achieved by continuously improving core competencies and executing projects in a precise manner. The centre is supported by state-of-the-art equipment set in a one-of-a-kind brand new technology inclusive, comprehensive environment.

ABSTC pioneers advances in products, processes
and applications in several areas including:

Non-Ferrous
Metals

(from extraction and smelting to downstream operation)

Carbon Black Technology

(from feedstock to finished product)

Cement

(mineralogy, clinkerisation and concrete)

Fiber Technology

(spinning processes, materials and new applications)

Chemicals

(chloro-alkali product stream development, fluorine derivatives, phosphates, sulphites and specialty thermoset resins)

ABSTC has generated extensive intellectual property for the Group, with the filing of more than 60 patent applications that cover novel processes, products and applications. It also hosts the Knowledge Centre for the Group. The Knowledge Center houses and is responsible for technical databases, global patent filings, periodicals and publications, all catering to information needs for the creation of intellectual property.

Built on a 20-acre plot, the 30,000 sq. meter facility comprises modern laboratories, multi-purpose scale-up facilities, and modeling and simulation cells.

ABSTC is uniquely structured, into a Strategy team and Technology team, each complimenting the other to deliver technical differentiation for our businesses and customers in the marketplace.

The Strategy team comprise of Business Segment Domain Experts who are a technical one-stop shop for all strategic initiatives within a business segment. They develop comprehensive business profiles, emphasising the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT analysis) of a business, and then develop realistic and execution based technical strategies to be implemented by the Technology team. The team is further committed to developing a short and long term project pipeline in the domain of Renewable and Sustainable Energy to help reduce the Carbon footprint of our businesses.

The Technology team works on these
strategic initiatives using two strong capabilities

The Process Engineering and Sciences Laboratory which focuses on advanced process and design, process control and automation, and process engineering platforms and scale-up systems.
The Science and Technology Platform Laboratories which provide expertise in theoretical and practical metallurgy, fibre science and textiles, material and surface sciences, and chemistry development.

Furthermore, ABSTC is supported by the Analytical Science and Technology Laboratory, (ISO 9001:2008 Certified) with state-of-the-art equipment that enables advanced measurement and characterisation techniques. The analytical services laboratory also supports all the needs of the Group, as well as numerous external customers.

Corporate Technical and Energy Services (CTES), a sister organisation of ABSTC, provides Energy saving services across the Group as well as technical solutions for reduction of operating costs associated with:

Energy Usage and Conservation

Waste Heat
Recovery

Optimization of
Manpower

Material Handling
Systems

Improved Operational
and Maintenance Practices

Water
Conservation

Electrical Systems
and Process Control

CTES also provides plant support services for all major heat transfer equipment as well as the general trouble-shooting of all major plant equipment.

ABSTC is a Department of Science and Industrial Research (DSIR) approved organisation that actively partners with Universities, Institutes and Government organisations, to identify, develop and commercialise the next generation of cutting-edge technologies for the world.

After its inception in the year 1995, World Class Manufacturing (WCM), as part of a Group-wide initiative, started engaging with the Group's businesses to implement the best manufacturing practices, incorporated from Japanese TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) concepts.

In 1996, the Corporate World Class Manufacturing (CWCM) cell was formed to bring in a framework of excellence across the Group companies, with the following goals:

Bring a common language of manufacturing excellence across the Group

Enable Group companies to assess and identify opportunities for improvement as a business, in a structured fashion

Enable Group companies to focus sharply on achieving their strategic objectives

Enable Group companies to measure themselves according to the maturity of their business processes, keeping in mind world-class standards and practices

Enable Group companies to learn from each other's best practices and enable cross-pollination of practices and people across the Group companies

To attain these goals, CWCM develops some routine initiatives through the application of Manufacturing Excellence tools, in order to perform its duties

A team of specialists from various disciplines, such as TPM, TQM (Total Quality Management), Lean, Six Sigma, Value Engineering, RCM (Reliability Centred Maintenance) and Business Excellence are a part of the CWCM team. They support businesses in the identification of improvement opportunities and execution of high-impact projects, to achieve sustainable competitive advantage through on-site and off-site facilitation, assessments and audits.

CWCM works closely with the Group businesses in order to build a culture of teamwork, continuous improvement, and behavioural transformation. It builds capabilities in businesses to sustain excellence-building processes, by imparting skills and competencies through various improvement initiatives and self assessments.

CWCM initiatives aim to achieve Manufacturing Excellence by working towards a culture that involves Zero Defects, Zero Losses, Zero Accidents, Zero Breakdowns, Zero Pollution, and Zero Customer Complaints through a 'Zero Abnormality Movement.' The essence of CWCM is the formation of High Performance Ownership Teams, which continuously strive to delight their customers (internal and external) through enhancement of performance, which is measured through Quality, Cost, Delivery, Innovation and Productivity (QCDIP). Each team defines its QCDIP from the perspective of their customers.

The cell builds an external network of professional institutions from across the globe to seek out contemporary best practices and to provide internal platforms for sharing and learning.

The above endeavours of CWCM comprise of Eight Dimensions, pursued with Fourteen Key Manufacturing Focussed Areas (KMFA) that the cross-functional, multi-skilled teams focus on. The Dimensions are:

Waste (MUDA) Elimination
Work Environment and sustainability (5S)
Just-In-Time (JIT)/Supply Chain Management
Equipment Effectiveness/TP Customer Driven: Internal and External Customer
Quality First: SQM and Best Practices
Liaison, Team Force and Skill Development
Information, Systems/BPR, Technology and Cash Flows

CTES also provides plant support services for all major heat transfer equipment as well as the general trouble-shooting of all major plant equipment.

Leaders' Speak with
Mr. Jagdish Ramaswamy
Chief Knowledge Officer and President - Corporate WCM

Birth of World
Class Manufacturing

Business Excellence
Four World Class Tools

Aditya Birla Science and Technology Center

The Aditya Birla Science and Technology Center (ABSTC) is the corporate research and development centre of the Aditya Birla Group. Located in Taloja, just outside of Mumbai in India, ABSTC supports the broad diversity of the Group\'s businesses through multi-disciplinary teams of expert scientists and engineers who lead fundamental and applied research projects.