QUALITY PRACTICES

IN
MARUTI SUZUKI LTD.
AQM
BY Amim Fatmi
Pankaj Singh
Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC)
Founded in 1909 as Suzuki Loom Manufacturing Company.
Started manufacturing motorcycles in 1952 .
SUZUKI started producing cars from 1955.
Today it is Japans largest manufacturers of small , fuel-efficient cars.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited

Maruti Suzuki India Limited commonly referred to as Maruti and
formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited.
It is a subsidiary of Japanese automobile and motorcycle
manufacturer Suzuki.
License and a Joint Venture Agreement was signed with Suzuki Motor
Company of Japan and Maruti Udyog Limited in OCT. 1982 .
Maruti is currently market leader with over 54% Share in domestic Car
Market.
Product Range
Maruti sells a complete range of cars.
Entry Level : Alto
Hatchback : Ritz, Celerio, A-Star, Swift, Wagon R, Zen
Sedans : DZire, Kizashi and SX4
'C' segment : Eeco, Omni
Multi Purpose vehicle : Ertiga
Sports Utility vehicle: Grand Vitara
Total Quality Management


Total Quality Management

Maruti Suzuki Ltd works in the following areas to reach the excellency in the quality.
1. Quality policy
2. Quality practices
3. Improved R&D
4. Labour practices
5. CSR
6. Sustainability
7. Occupational health and safety

1 .Quality Policy

Company follows PDCA functions at all levels of Maruti in to increase
consumer satisfaction through continuous improvement of products and
services.


Figure 1 (Source : http://www.marutisuzuki.com/our-
policies.aspx)
Quality Practices


Quality Practices Adopted By Maruti
Suzuki Ltd.


QS 9000
ISO/TS 16949:2002 Standard
5 S
4 M
3 M
3 G
3 K
QS 9000



QS-9000 is the industry specific adaptation of the ISO-9000 standards for the North American auto
industry.
It applies to all first-tier suppliers, i.e. companies selling components to be used or installed directly in the
products of the Big Three automakers.
It is a QUALITY SYSTEM REQUIREMENT STANDARD developed by three U.S automobile giants:
1. CHRYSLER
2. FORD
3. GENERAL MOTOR
The goal is the development of fundamental quality system that provides for continuous improvement,
emphasizing defect prevention and the reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain.
ISO/TS 16949:2002 Standard


ISO/TS 16949:2002 is an ISO Technical Specification, integrates existing American and
European automotive quality management systems within the global automotive industry,
Aim of eliminating the need for multiple certifications to satisfy multiple customer
requirements.
Using ISO 9001:2000 as its foundation, ISO/TS 16949:2002 specifies the quality
management system (QMS) requirements for the design & development; production,
installation and servicing of automotive related products.
(Source :Quality Practices in Automobile Industry

5S


1. SEIRI PROPER SELECTION
2. SEITION ARRANGEMENT
3. SEISO CLEANING
4. SEIKETSO CLEANLINESS
5. SHITSUKE DISCIPLINE
5S is a system to reduce waste and optimize productivity through maintaining an
orderly workplace and using visual cues to achieve more consistent operational results.
4M


1. MAN
2. MACHINE
3. MATERIAL
4. METHODS
The factory is essentially a mix of man, materials, machines and methods.
These should move continuously and effectively to produce a quality product at low
cost.

3M

In Japanese Language 3M is:
MURI INCONVENIENCE
MUDA WASTAGE
MURA INCONSISTENCY
Identifying and eliminating waste (in Japanese: muda).
Remove overburden (Japanese: Muri )
Eliminate Unnecessary variation (Japanese: Mura)
All three M's must be eliminated to create a sustainable lean process.

3G

In Japanese Language 3G is:
1. GENCHI GO TO ACTUAL PLACE
2. GENBUTSU SEE THE ACTUAL THING
3. GENJITSU TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION
The three realities (3Gs) approach is a method of problems analysis and solutions
Collects factual evidence from the reality of defective products.
..
Enhanced R&D
Enhanced R&D
Companys R&D division is enhancing its capabilities in component and
vehicle evaluation, benchmarking and design optimization.
The R&D manpower was increased from 1,070 engineers in 2010-11 to
1,210 in 2011-12.
Setting up a state-of-the-art R&D centre in Rohtak, Haryana at an
investment of Rs. 2000 crore.

Recent technologies brought into Maruti
products

Light weighting
Light weight torsion beam
New gen anti-lock braking
Steering lock material improved
cabin noise comfort
Detent pin technology
Skirt slip type oil seals
Light weight plastic fuel tanks
Fuel efficiency
Third gen wheel bearing
End of life of vehicles (elv )
compliant
Hybrid and Electric Technology

Labor Practices
Labor Practices
Maruti Suzuki endeavours to create a conducive work culture in which
employees get ample opportunity to grow professionally and feel motivated
to align their interests with the interests of the Company.
Oneness and teamwork are central to the Companys work culture.
All employees eat in a common canteen, wear the same uniform and are
entitled to similar medical entitlements.


Diversity, Equal Opportunity and Non-
discrimination

The Company ensures that there is no discrimination against any employee
on grounds of race, colour, religion, caste, sex.
Recruitment, placement, promotion, transfer, compensation, training and
other benefits are based on the merit and competency of the individual and
the business needs of the Company.
No substantiated or unresolved incidence of discrimination was reported in
2011-12.


Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the
Workplace

The Company has instituted an anti-sexual harassment policy.
The responsibility lies with the top management as well as all employees.

In accordance with the directive by the Supreme Court.
No incidence of sexual harassment was reported in 2011-12

Non-discrimination of People with
HIV/AIDS at the Workplace

The Company has instituted a policy to ensure nondiscrimination of
employees infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.
Offers support to such employees.
No incidence of HIV/AIDS related discrimination was reported in 2011-12.

Forced and Child Labour

The Company abides by the Government of India legislation with regard to
forced and child labour.
Formulated an Anti-Forced and Child Labour
No incidence of forced or child labour was reported in any of the
Companys units in 2011-12.
The suppliers are encouraged to adopt these policies at their end.

Freedom Of Association And Collective
Bargaining

The Company has internal and independent labour unions at its plants.
All major policy changes affecting workers are discussed with union
representatives and their suggestions incorporated after being examined for
feasibility as per statutory requirements.

Employee Friendly Initiatives
Higher Education Scheme: The objective of this scheme is to meet the
aspirations of employees, especially young managers, to get higher education. The
scheme includes full time executive MBA and part time.
MBA programmes. The scheme is applicable for cadres from assistant manager to
senior manager and has well defined eligibility and selection criteria.
Mentoring of New Joinees
Buddy System
Rewards and Recognition

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Policy On Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR)

Maruti has developed its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy in

accordance with section 135 of the Companies Act 2013 and the rules made
there under.

The Policy apply to all CSR programs of the Company.

CSR Objectives

Social projects in designated villages and local communities,

Projects in areas such as education, water, sanitation, rural infrastructure and

vocational training.

Partnering and supporting designated Industrial Training Institutes across the

country.

Encourage and recognize its employees for volunteering in the community by

serving and sharing their expertise and skill.



CSR Programme Areas


Water and Sanitation
Education
Employment
Road Safety Education
Upgradation of Government Vocational and Technical Training
Institutes
Water and Sanitation
Company undertake projects such as improve availability of clean drinking
water.
Upgrade solid and liquid waste management facilities.
Create useful rural assets, and support economically weaker households in
construction of domestic toilets to minimize open defecation.

Education

Upgrades infrastructure of Government schools and focus on improving the

learning level and all-round development of students and youths in the
communities.

Offer scholarships to the meritorious students from underprivileged and

economically weaker communities.

The Company also offer scholarships to children orphaned as a result of

road accidents to support their education and training.
Skill Development
Up gradation of government vocational and technical training institutes.
Improve quality of training by upgrading infrastructure, facilitate overall
development of students and staff.

Provide industry exposure to students and staff.

Offer industry oriented add-on courses in government industrial training institutes
(ITIs).
Presently working with ten government-run ITIs, one each at Kerala, Tamil
Nadu and Maharashtra, two at Goa and four at Haryana.

ITI at Elathur, Kerala, specifically caters to the Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) community .

Womens ITIs at Gurgaon and Jhajjar.

Enhance skills of youth studying automobile trade at ITIs and polytechnics.

Automobile service workshops facility.

Working with 47 ITIs.

Road Safety
Skill Development In Driving

Company sponsor driving training of existing and new from underprivileged
and economically weaker sections.

Provide refresher training course to commercial vehicle drivers to enhance
their driving skills, knowledge of traffic rules, health and safety.

Road Safety Education
Promote road safety among people through print, audio and visual media.

Design and initiate specific road safety awareness programmes for the school
children, women and youth.

Developed two models for imparting driving skills:
1. The Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTR)
2. Maruti Driving School (MDSs).
Institutes of Driving and Traffic Research
Large-scale driving training institutes set up on areas as large as 10 acres.

Established in partnership with the government.

Maruti Driving Schools are a smaller version of training schools.

Set up in partnership with dealers.

These schools offer training for driving passenger vehicles.

The curriculum at the MDSs is the same as that at IDTRs, except that the training
is imparted on the road instead of on test tracks.
Driver Education Centre (DEC)
Company runs a driver training programme for the drivers employed by its
transport partners.

Driver Education Centre (DEC) has been set up at its manufacturing sites at
Gurgaon and Manesar.

Offers a two-hour training capsule on safe driving.

Community Development

Believes in working collaboratively with government to support and improve
the existing social infrastructure, services and facilities.

Since 2007, Maruti Suzuki has been regularly engaging with four neighboring
communities in Manesar.

Works in partnership with the community on issues relevant to them.
Government School Programmes
Company made large investments in infrastructure development of village schools.
Provided drinking water facilities, toilets, pathways, boundary walls and teaching aids.
Kasan Senior Secondary School is one of the government schools supported by Maruti Suzuki in
Manesar.
The trend of academic performance of the school is given in the table below:
Top Score (%)
Class 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
10
th
63.1 64.2 77.8 78.6 79
12th 75.8 78.6 84.4 83.4 90.2

Computer Education Programme
Computer education is important today for upward social mobility.
The Company runs a computer education centre that provides basic computer
literacy to the children at Alihar village.

In 2011-12, another computer learning centre was set up at Government School,
Alihar-Dhana.

Over 130 school children benefited from this centre during the year.
Sewing And Tailoring Centre

Sewing and tailoring centre was set up in the village on the request of the
women.

During the year, 50 women undertook the course at the centre.

Another centre is being planned on the request of the community at Alihar
village
Employees Contribution
Maruti Suzuki runs an in-house volunteer programme for its employees.

The programme runs in partnership with local NGOs.

In the reporting year, employees contributed 4,142 volunteering hours for the benefit of the
community.

Cumulatively, employees have contributed 13,191 hours since the start of programme in
November 2008.



Occupational Health
And Safety
Occupational Health And Safety
The Company adopted Japanese safety practices such as HHT and KYT to
inculcate safety

To standardize safety practices across various functions and locations, the
Company successfully implemented OHSAS 18001:2007 in 2011-12.

Occupational Health and Safety Policy was also reviewed and revised as per
OHSAS (Occupational Health & Safety Advisory Services )requirements.
Dedicated Safety and Welfare Department responsible for occupational
safety.
Has 150 safety coordinators representing all functional areas.

The Central Safety Leadership Council (CSLC) comprises top and reviews
safety performance on a quarterly basis.


Awards For Safety
The Company received the National Safety Award for its safety practices
and commitment towards achieving zero accident and injury in 2012.

Golden Peacock Award -2012

GREEN TECH Safety Award -2012 (Gold Award)
Sustainability
Sustainability
Maruti Suzuki became the first automobile company in India to register a
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project with the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Aims to make all its tier 1 suppliers ISO 14001 compliant in a time-bound
manner.

Solar power is currently harnessed for street lighting and water heating
purposes at both its manufacturing units.
Company uses the Japanese concept Kaizen very effectively in energy management
and water conservation.

A one MW solar power plant will shortly be commissioned at the Manesar facility.

Scrap generated in press and casting operations is sent to suppliers to manufacture
child parts, thus conserving material.

Green Manufacturing
Follows SMCs basic philosophy of Smaller, Fewer, Lighter, Shorter and Neater.
The Company has identified five focus areas for protection of the environment and
optimal utilization of natural resources:
1. Material use and weight reduction
2. Energy conservation
3. Water conservation
4. Air emissions reduction
5. Waste management


Companys manufacturing sites at Gurgaon and Manesar run on captive power
plants that use natural gas, a clean fuel.

The newly commissioned 2nd plant at Manesar was designed for maximum use of
natural light.

Only LED lights were installed at the 2
nd
plant at Manesar, making it the first car
manufacturing plant in India to use LED technology entirely.

Gurgaon Plant
Installed waste heat recovery boilers and steam turbine generators to generate power
from waste heat recovered from existing gas turbines.
Introduced a new generation electro-deposition (ED) paint coating that operates at
low voltage and consumes less energy in paint operations.
Aerodynamic energy-efficient fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) blades replaced the
standard blades at the cooling towers for lower energy consumption.
The voltage in the shops was optimized for lighting and motor loads.
Desiccant-type air dryers were introduced to reduce energy consumption.


Manesar Plant

Designed for maximum use of natural light.

Only LED lights are installed.

Gravity conveyors were installed to eliminating the need for electric motors .

Energy efficient motors were used in utility equipment
Air Emission Reduction


Ambient air quality and stack emission parameters (SOx, NOx, SPM etc.) are
monitored regularly by a government approved external agency.

Initiatives include:
A special fluidized bed type incinerator installed for cleaning of paint.
Improvement in the operational efficiency of gas turbines


Water Conservation
Water conservation is an integral part of the Environment Management System.

The Company has achieved zero waste water discharge status (outside factory premises)
since 2003-04 at its Gurgaon facility.

And since 2006-07 at its Manesar facility.

The Company uses canal water for most of its manufacturing processes to conserve
groundwater.
Waste Management

The hazardous wastes include paint, phosphate and Effluent Treatment Plant
(ETP) sludge, incinerator ash and used oil.

The used oil is sold to authorised recyclers.

Maruti Suzuki has been sending paint sludge, phosphate sludge and ETP
sludge to the cement industry.

This has eliminated the need for incineration and land filling.

The saleable solid wastes such as metal scrap and glass waste are sold to
recyclers.

All in-process and vehicle related e-waste is disposed off through authorised
recyclers only.

Use Of Environment Friendly Refrigerants

Air-conditioning is limited to offices and essential facilities.

All manufacturing facilities are cooled by air washers.

The Company fills environment friendly refrigerant gas R134a in the vehicles it
produces.

The refrigerant gas is filled into the vehicles with advanced dispensing machines.
Vendor Management
Vendor Management
In order to improve quality Maruti reduced the number of vendors of components
in India from 370 as of March 31, 2000 to about 100 as in 2005.

By lowering the time and cost involved, they have increased their supply chain
efficiencies.

In case of repair and replacements, costs of defective components supplied are
borne by the vendor.


Vendor Quality
Periodic vendor quality system audits are conducted.

Vendors are grouped together, trained in quality management and are
assisted in obtaining ISO 9000 certification.
Also helping vendors attain QS 9000 certification.
Managers from joint ventures companies are given exposure to Maruti
Suzukis HR practice.

History of Recalls


Maruti recalled 1,492 units of Ertiga, Swift, Dzire and A-Star models produced in
October 2012 to rectify a possible problem with steering column.
Maruti will replace 'fuel filler neck' of 103,311 vehicles (42,481 units of DZire,
47,237 units of Swift and 13,593 units of Ertiga) manufactured between 12th
November 2013 and 4th February 2014.



References

http://www.marutisuzuki.com/Recall.aspx
http://www.ibnlive.in.com/newstopics/dzire.htm
Maruti Suzuki Sustainability Report
www.marutisuzuki.com
http://www.marutisuzuki.com/range-of-car.aspx )
http://www.marutisuzuki.com/our-policies.aspx)


Quality Practices in Automobile Industry (ARNEESH SHAH ,DEVAN
PRAKASH NMIMS University)
www.epa.gov/lean/environment/methods/fives.htm
www.infoq.com/articles/lean-muda-muri-mura