Chapter 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Project Title:

A study on Quality Management System in Finolex

Duration of study
Place of study
Name of the company
Methodology

Industries Ltd. (PVC Plant), Ratnagiri

1st Jan 2015 to 20th April 2015
Ratnagiri
Finolex Industries Ltd.
A structured questionnaire was developed and administered

Major Finding

among the selected sample for effective analysis.

Quality Management System has been contributing to the
overall growth of Finolex Industries through cost reduction,
waste elimination, process improvement and greater
productivity.
There seems to be minute ignorance among the support

Major Recommendations

staffs and casual workers to some extent.

To maintain quality, maintaining proper parameter during
process operation with minimum errors is essential.
Also for Finished Goods, it is required to build shelf with
closed roof to prevent attack of moisture, dust & rain on
pipes.

Chapter 2

PROJECT OVERVIEW
Introduction to the study:
As a part of fulfillment of MMS curriculum of University of Mumbai. I have taken up the
title A Study on Quality Management System of Finolex Industries Ltd. (PVC Plant,
Ratnagiri).
The study is an attempt to understand the quality policies and quality management system of
Finolex Industries Ltd.(PVC Plant, Ratnagiri).
Concept of Quality Management System:
A quality management system (QMS) is the means by which quality management practices
are made an integral part of an organization. A QMS is not a temporary fad, but a permanent
part of an organization with a direct bearing on how the organization conducts its business.
QMS is not a vague phrase; it has a very specific meaning: a QMS has a structure, a defined
scope, responsibilities, necessary content (in terms of defined processes and supporting QMS
documentation), and required resources to accomplish quality planning, quality control,
quality assurance, and continuous quality improvement activities. If an organization merely
implements a few quality management practices in its operations, it cannot claim to have a
quality management system in place.
A QMS is not static, and by definition it must be improved continually in order to enhance
organizational effectiveness and efficiency. It may be formally defined as follows. A quality
(management) system consists of the organizational structure, procedures, processes, and
resources needed to implement quality management.
Quality management is the process for ensuring that all project activities necessary to design,
plan and implement a project are effective and efficient with respect to the purpose of the
objective and its performance.
Quality management is a continuous process that starts and ends with the project. It is more
about preventing and avoiding than measuring and fixing poor quality outputs. It is part of
every project management processes from the moment the project initiates to the final steps
in the project closure phase.

QM focuses on improving stakeholders satisfaction through continuous and incremental

improvements to processes, including removing unnecessary activities; it achieves that by
the continuous improvement of the quality of material and services provided to the
beneficiaries. It is not about finding and fixing errors after the fact, quality management is
the continuous monitoring and application of quality processes in all aspects of the project.
Definition of Quality:
Quality has been defined as "the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability
to satisfy stated or implied needs. International Organization for Standardization (ISO),
Quality Management and Quality Assurance (Geneva, Switzerland: ISO Press, 1994) stated
and implied quality needs are the inputs used in defining project requirements from the donor
and the beneficiaries.
It is also defined as the Conformance to requirements or fitness for use, which means that
the product or services must meet the intended objectives. Joseph M. Duran, Quality Control
Handbook (1951) of the project and have a value to the donor and beneficiaries and that the
beneficiaries can use the material or service as it was originally intended.
Quality is defined in ISO 9000 as the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfils
requirements. Note that the definition is not limited to customer requirements and the
inherent characteristics are limited to products. It could apply to any set of requirements
internal or external, technical or non-technical including health, safety and environmental
requirements. It could also apply to any process outcome: products, services, decisions,
information, impacts, etc. It extends to all those with an interest in the business.
Quality is therefore a term that describes the condition of business outcomes. Everything a
business does must directly or indirectly affect the condition of its outcomes and therefore all
business objectives are quality objectives. Therefore we do not need quality objectives in
addition to all the other objectives because all objectives are quality objectives and the
quality management system is not part of the management system it is the management
system. We can therefore describe the relationship between the management system and the
organization diagrammatically as shown in Figure.

The Purpose of Management of Quality:

The main principle of project quality management is to ensure the project will meet or
exceed stakeholders needs and expectations. The project team must develop a good
relationship with key stakeholders, specially the donor and the beneficiaries of the project, to
understand what quality means to them. One of the causes for poor project evaluations is the
project focuses only in meeting the written requirements for the main outputs and ignores
other stakeholder needs and expectations for the project. Quality must be viewed on an equal
level with scope, schedule and budget.
If a project donor is not satisfied with the quality of how the project is delivering the
outcomes, the project team will need to make adjustments to scope, schedule and budget to
satisfy the donors needs and expectations. To deliver the project scope on time and on
budget is not enough, to achieve stakeholder satisfaction the project must develop a good
working relationship with all stakeholders and understand their stated or implied needs.
Quality management consists of four main processes:

Quality Definition

Quality Assurance

Quality Control

Quality Improvements

Quality Definition:
The first step on the quality management is to define quality, the project manager and the
team must identify what quality standards will be used in the project, it will look at what the
donor, beneficiaries, the organization and other key stakeholders to come up with a good
definition of quality. In some instances the organization or the area of specialization of the
project (health, water or education) may have some standard definitions of quality that can
be used by the project. Identifying quality standards is a key component of quality definition
that will help identify the key characteristics that will govern project activities and ensure the
beneficiaries and donor will accept the project outcomes. Quality management implies the
ability to anticipate situations and prepare actions that will help bring the desired outcomes.
The goal is the prevention of defects through the creation of actions that will ensure that the
project team understands what is defined as quality.
Quality Characteristics:
All material or services have characteristics that facilitate the identification of its
quality. The characteristics are part of the conditions of how the material, equipment
and services are able to meet the requirements of the project and are fit for use by the
beneficiaries. Quality characteristics relate to the attributes, measures and methods
attached to that particular product or service.
Functionality is the degree, by which equipment performs its intended function, this
is important especially for clinical equipment, that the operation should be behave as
expected.
Performance, its how well a product or service performs the beneficiaries intended
use. A water system should be designed to support extreme conditions and require
little maintenance to reduce the cost to the community and increase its sustainability.
Reliability, its the ability of the service or product to perform as intended under
normal conditions without unacceptable failures. Material used for blood testing
should be able to provide the information in a consistent and dependable manner that
will help identify critical diseases. The trust of the beneficiaries depend on the quality
of the tests.

Relevance, its the characteristic of how a product or service meets the actual needs
of the beneficiaries, it should be pertinent, applicable, and appropriate to its intended
use or application.
Timeliness, how the product or service is delivered in time to solve the problems
when its needed and not after, this is a crucial characteristic for health and emergency
relief work.
Suitability, defines the fitness of its use, it appropriateness and correctness, the
agriculture equipment must be designed to operate on the soul conditions the
beneficiaries will use it on.
Completeness, the quality that the service is complete and includes all the entire
scope of services. Training sessions should be complete and include all the material
needed to build a desired skill or knowledge
Consistency, services are delivered in the same way for every beneficiary. Clinical
tests need to be done using the same procedure for every patient.
Quality characteristics are not limited to the material, equipment or service delivered
to the beneficiaries, but also applies to the material, equipment and services the
project staff uses to deliver the project outputs. These include the vehicles,
computers, various equipment and tools and consulting services the project purchases
and uses to carry out its activities.
Quality characteristics must be included in all material, equipment and services the
project will purchase, the procurement officers must have a complete description of
what is required by the project, otherwise a procurement office may purchase the
goods or services based on her or his information of the product.
Quality plan:
Part of defining quality involves developing a quality plan and a quality checklist that
will be used during the project implementation phase. This check list will ensure the
project team and other actors are delivering the project outputs according to the
quality requirements. Once the project has defined the quality standards and quality
characteristics, it will create a project quality plan that describes all the quality

definitions and standards relevant to the project, it will highlight the standards that
must be followed to comply to regulatory requirements setup by the donor, the
organization and external agencies such a the local government and professional
organizations (health, nutrition, etc).
The quality plan also describes the conditions that the services and materials must
possess in order to satisfy the needs and expectations of the project stakeholders, it
describes the situations or conditions that make an output fall below quality
standards, this information is used to gain a common understanding among the
project team to help them identify what is above and what is below a quality
standard.
The quality plan also includes the procedure to ensure that the quality standards are
being followed by all project staff. The plan also includes the steps required to
monitor and control quality and the approval process to make changes to the quality
standards and the quality plan.
Quality Assurance:
Assurance is the activity of providing evidence to create confidence among all stakeholders
that the quality-related activities are being performed effectively; and that all planned actions
are being done to provide adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy the stated
requirements for quality.
Quality Assurance is a process to provide confirmation based on evidence to ensure to the
donor, beneficiaries, organization management and other stakeholders that product meet
needs, expectations, and other requirements. It assures the existence and effectiveness of
process and procedures tools, and safeguards are in place to make sure that the expected
levels of quality will be reached to produce quality outputs.
Quality assurance occurs during the implementation phase of the project and includes the
evaluation of the overall performance of the project on a regular basis to provide confidence
that the project will satisfy the quality standards defined by the project. One of the purposes
of quality management is to find errors and defects as early in the project as possible.
Therefore, a good quality management process will end up taking more effort hours and cost

upfront. The goal is to reduce the chances that products or services will be of poor quality
after the project has been completed.
Quality assurance is done not only to the products and services delivered by the project but
also to the process and procedures used to manage the project, that includes the way the
project uses the tools, techniques and methodologies to manage scope, schedule, budget and
quality. Quality assurance also includes the project meets any legal or regulatory standards.
Quality Audits:
Quality audits are structured reviews of the quality management activities that help
identify lessons learned that can improve the performance on current or future project
activities. Audits are performed by project staff or consultants with expertise in
specific areas.
The purpose of quality audit is to review how the project is using its internal
processes to produce the products and services it will deliver to the beneficiaries. Its
goal is to find ways to improve the tools, techniques and processes that create the
products and services. If problems are detected during the quality audits, corrective
action will be necessary to the tools, processes and procedures used to ensure quality
is reestablished.
Part of the audit may include a review of the project staff understanding of the quality
parameters or metrics, and skills expertise and knowledge of the people in charge of
producing or delivering the products or services. If corrective actions are needed,
these must be approved through the change control processes.
The PDCA Cycle:
The most popular tool used to determine quality assurance is the Shewhart Cycle.
This cycle for quality assurance consists of four steps: Plan, Do, Check, and Act.
These steps are commonly abbreviated as PDCA.
The four quality assurance steps within the PDCA model stand for
Plan: Establish objectives and processes required to deliver the desired results.
Do: Implement the process developed.

Check: Monitor and evaluate the implemented process by testing the results against
the predetermined objectives.
Act: Apply actions necessary for improvement if the results require changes.
The PDCA is an effective method for monitoring quality assurance because it
analyzes existing conditions and methods used to provide the product or service to
beneficiaries. The goal is to ensure that excellence is inherent in every component of
the process. Quality assurance also helps determine whether the steps used to provide
the product or service is appropriate for the time and conditions. In addition, if the
PDCA cycle is repeated throughout the lifetime of the project helping improve
internal efficiency.
The PDCA cycle is shown below as a never-ending cycle of improvement; this cycle
is sometimes referred to as the Shewart/Deming cycle since it originated with
Shewart and was subsequently applied to management practices by Deming.

Plan

Do

Act

Check

Figure: The Shewart/Deming Cycle

Quality Control:
Quality control is the use of techniques and activities that compare actual quality
performance with goals and define appropriate action in response to a shortfall. It is the
process that monitors specific project results to determine if they comply with relevant
standards and identifies different approaches to eliminate the causes for the unsatisfactory
performance. The goal of quality control is to improve quality and involves monitoring the
project outputs to determine if they meet the quality standards or definitions based on the
project stakeholder expectations. Quality control also includes how the project performs in
its efforts to manage scope, budget and schedule.
Acceptance: The beneficiaries, the donor or other key project stakeholders accept or reject
the product or service delivered. Acceptance occurs after the beneficiaries or donor has had a
change to evaluate the product or service.
Rework; is the action taken to bring the rejected product or service into compliance with the
requirements, quality specifications or stakeholder expectations. Rework is expensive that is
why the project must make every effort to do a good job in quality planning and quality
assurance to avoid the need for rework. Rework and all the costs associated with it may not
refundable by the donor and the organization may end up covering those costs.
Adjustments; correct or take the necessary steps to prevent further quality problems or
defects based on quality control measurements. Adjustments are identified to the processes
that produce the outputs and the decisions that were taken that lead to the defects and errors.
Changes are taken to the Change Control processes of the project.
Assurance vs. Control:
Quality assurance is often confused with quality control; quality control is done at the end of
a process or activity to verify that quality standards have been met. Quality control by itself
does not provide quality, although it may identify problems and suggest ways to improving
it. In contrast, quality assurance is a systematic approach to obtaining quality standards.
Quality assurance is something that must be planned for from the earliest stages of a project,
with appropriate measures taken at every stage.

10

Quality Improvement:
It is the systematic approach to the processes of work that looks to remove waste, loss,
rework, frustration, etc. in order to make the processes of work more effective, efficient, and
appropriate. Quality improvement refers to the application of methods and tools to close the
gap between current and expected levels of quality by understanding and addressing system
deficiencies and strengths to improve, or in some cases, re-design project processes. A
variety of quality improvement approaches exists, ranging from individual performance
improvement to redesign of entire project processes. These approaches differ in terms of
time, resources, and complexity, but share the same four steps in quality improvement:
Identify what you want to improve; the project using the data found in the quality control
process identifies the areas that need improvement.
Analyze the problem or system, the team then investigates the causes for the problem and its
implications to the project, the causes may be internal or external to the project.
Develop potential solutions or changes that appear likely to improve the problem or system,
the team brainstorms ideas and potential solutions to the problem, taking in consideration its
impact to the project schedule and budget. After careful considerations the team decides and
chooses the best alternative.
Test and implement the solutions. The team may decide to test the solution on a small scale
to verify that it is capable of fixing the problem, it testes for the initial assumptions made
about the problem and once it confirms that the solution is a viable alternative, it then
proceeds to implement in a full scale the solution.
Cost of Quality:
The cost of quality is the sum of costs a project will spend to prevent poor quality and
any other costs incurred as a result of outputs of poor quality. Poor quality is the
waste, errors, or failure to meet stakeholder needs and project requirements. The costs
of poor quality can be broken down into the three categories of prevention, appraisal,
and failure costs:
Prevention costs: These are planned costs an organization incurs to ensure that errors
are not made at any stage during the delivery process of that product or service to a

11

beneficiary. Examples of prevention costs include quality planning costs, education

and training costs, quality administration staff costs, process control costs, market
research costs, field testing costs, and preventive maintenance costs. The cost of
preventing mistakes are always much less than the costs of inspection and correction.
Appraisal costs: These include the costs of verifying, checking, or evaluating a
product or service during the delivery process. Examples of appraisal costs include
receiving or incoming inspection costs, internal production audit costs, test and
inspection costs, instrument maintenance costs, process measurement and control
costs, supplier evaluation costs, and audit report costs.
Failure costs: A project incurs these costs because the product or service did not
meet the requirements and had to be fixed or replaced, or the service had to be
repeated.
Leadership:
Joseph M. Juran, one of the leading experts in Quality management said that it is
most important that management be quality-minded. In the absence of sincere
manifestation of interest at the top, little will happen below 4 What this means is the
main cause of quality problems is a lack of leadership. In order to establish and
implement effective quality projects, senior management must lead the way. A large
percentage of quality problems are associated with management, not technical issues,
it is the responsibility of the development organizations senior management to take
responsibility for creating, supporting, and promoting quality programs.
Quality problems should be taken as an opportunity for improvement; problems can
help identify more fundamental or systemic root causes and help develop ways to
improve the process. Unfortunately projects do not have a culture that promotes the
identification of problems for the fear that making improvements is an admission that
the current way of doing things is flawed or that those responsible are poor
performers. Improved performance cannot occur unless the project team feels
comfortable that they can speak truthfully and are confident that their suggestions
will be taken seriously.

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Maturity Models:
Another approach to improve quality is the use of maturity models, which are
frameworks for helping organizations and projects improve their processes. The
model includes a method for assessing the projects maturity levels as a first step to
determine the improvements needed to increase the capacity of the project to deliver
the project outputs as promised.
The use of the word "maturity" implies that capabilities must be grown over time in
order to produce repeatable success in project management. The Random House
College Dictionary defines "maturity" as full development or perfected condition.
"Maturity" also indicates understanding or visibility into why success occurs and
ways to correct or prevent common problems. "Model" implies change, a
progression, or steps in a process.
Project management maturity is the progressive development of an organizations
project management approach, methodology, strategy, and decision-making process.
The appropriate level of maturity can vary for each organization based on specific
goals, strategies, resource capabilities, scope, and needs.
The proper level of maturity to which an organization should strive is determined
during a detailed assessment conducted by a professional project management
consulting team. The organization has achieved full project management maturity
when it has met the requirements and standards for project management effectiveness
and it is capable of demonstrating improvements such as on-time project delivery,
cost reductions, organizational efficiency, and quality outcomes.
A project quality maturity usually consists of five levels:
Level 1. Informal level, there is no defined processes for quality practices or
standards. The organization may be in the initial stages of considering how projects
should define quality, but most efforts are informal and had-oc.
Level 2. Defined level, the organization has defines some basic quality standards and
project quality policies that are being adopted. But not all projects are using it in a
consistent manner.

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Level 3. Repeatable level, the quality process is well documented and is an

organizational standard. All projects are using it and producing consistent and
repeatable results.
Level 4. Controlled level, all projects ire required to use quality planning standard
processes. The organization has a unit or roles that coordinate quality standards and
assurance and quality audits are done on a regular basis.
Level 5. Optimized level, the quality process includes guidelines for feeding
improvements back into the process. Metrics are used as key criteria for quality
decisions and quality results are predictable. The model helps an organization
identify were they stand and were they should strive to reach, it is a simple way to
determine the level of maturity required for a project or organization, some
organizations may be comfortable with achieving a level 3 while others may be
encouraged to reach a level 4 due to the need to comply with legal or regulatory
standards.
Implementing a QMS:
For most organizations, the primary motivation for implementing a QMS is either
management need or customer demand. Managements motivation for implementing a QMS
usually stems from its need to improve productivity, improve product quality, and reduce
time-to-market, thus gaining a competitive advantage. Sometimes, managements motivation
for implementing a QMS is driven by competitive pressure, where the organizations
competitors have established (or are in the process of establishing) a formal QMS with the
goal of registration to a recognized QMS standard, such as ISO 9000. In such cases,
registration to a quality management system standard is perceived to be a valuable asset for
marketing and soliciting new customers.
Customer demands on an existing supplier (or a potential supplier) to implement a QMS is
driven by the customers need of an assurance that the supplier is capable of meeting the
customers quality requirements. Often, such a demand may be made in response to
continued subpar performance of an existing supplier, or prior to approving a new supplier.

14

In certain industries, customers (including government agencies) also go to the extent of

inviting bids only from suppliers who have attained a particular quality registration. Because
an organization that does not have a QMS in place may be barred from bidding for potential
business, it is likely to translate into management motivation to implement a QMS.
It has been argued that the management-motivated approach will normally be more
comprehensive and fruitful than the model used for demonstrating the adequacy of the
quality system (i.e., the customer motivated implementation of a QMS). In other words, the
likelihood that a QMS will be adequate and effective is significantly improved if its
implementation is driven by internal motivation in the organization (management need)
rather than external pressures (customer demand). In fact, management commitment to
quality is the most significant prerequisite for a successful QMS implementation.
When management visibly demonstrates its commitment to quality, and promotes a qualityoriented and customer-focused mindset in the organization, it encourages the employees to
strive to realize the true benefits of the implemented QMS. On the other hand, a QMS that is
implemented solely with the objective of achieving a coveted quality registration to win new
business, or please potential customers, will serve merely as a short-lived marketing tool.
This is because the lack of an effective QMS eventually will manifest itself in poor product
quality, late product delivery, low employee morale, and dissatisfied customers.
Benefits of implementing a QMS:
Implementation of a QMS in an organization offers short term and long term rewards:
Defined processes and supporting QMS documentation are the basis for repetition,
and help reduce (and eliminate) variation within process execution. As variation is
reduced, it results in improvements in operational efficiency.
With the implementation of corrective and preventive solutions that effectively
address the root causes of quality problems, permanent solutions are implemented.
This results in improvements in organizational effectiveness.

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A QMS enables an organization to focus on how it executes its business processes.

Such process focus and awareness are essential in order to be able to monitor and
analyze process performance for continual improvement.
A QMS fosters continual improvement in the organizations productivity, rework
costs, on-time delivery performance, and within budget project execution. This
enables the organization to enhance its bottom-line revenue growth.
A QMS results in higher-quality products and services, as quality management
practices are continually improved.
As an organization improves the quality of products and services, it improves
customer satisfaction levels, which helps improve customer loyalty and customer
retention.
A QMS enables the organization to gain a competitive advantage due to its being
perceived as a best-in-class supplier by its customers. This enables the
organization to retain customers, attract new ones, increase market share, and
enhance top-line revenue growth.
A QMS enhances an organizations competitive position by allowing it to present
itself as a viable supplier in situations where a customer requires its suppliers to
have a formal QMS in place (although in certain cases customers also seek
registration to a QMS standard).
A QMS enhances customer confidence in the ability of a supplier to deliver
products and services according to specified quality requirements (quality
assurance).
A QMS reduces the organizations reliance on heroes to make projects a success,
because all employees are aware of the required quality management practices. In
other words, it enhances an organizations ability to achieve quality requirements

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because employee competencies are augmented by a process infrastructure that

helps achieve the Identified requirements.
A QMS reduces (or eliminates) an organizations dependence on a few individuals
for information regarding critical processes, because such processes are now
formally documented. This reduces organizational vulnerability to employee
turnover.
A QMS reduces waste of resources and loss of reputation resulting from rejection
and rework of inferior-quality products (referred to as Cost of Poor Quality). This
enables the organization to shift from a reactive mode of operation (performing
corrective action) to a proactive mode (performing preventive action).
A QMS promotes employee understanding that quality is everyones responsibility.
The realization that each employee contributes to the achievement of quality
requirements helps institutionalize quality improvements across the organization, at
all levels.
Employee morale and satisfaction improve as employees participate in defining
their processes, and are empowered to own, monitor, and continually improve those
processes.
A QMS results in improved communication both internally and externally, which
results in improvements in efficiency and effectiveness, and improved customer
supplier relations.
Quality Management Systems Philosophy:
A system is an ordered set of ideas, principles and theories or a chain of operations that
produce specific results, and to be a chain of operations they need to work together in a
regular relationship. Shannon defined a system as a group or set of objects united by some
form or regular interaction or interdependence to perform a specified function.

17

Deming defines a system as a series of functions or activities within an organization that

work together for the aim of the organization. These three definitions appear to be consistent
although worded differently.
A quality management system is not a random collection of procedures, tasks or documents
(which many quality systems are). Quality management systems are like air-conditioning
systems they need to be designed. All the components need to fit together, the inputs and
outputs need to be connected, sensors need to feed information to processes which cause
changes in performance and all parts need to work together to achieve a common purpose.
ISO 9000 defines a quality management system as a set of interrelated or interacting
processes that achieve the quality policy and quality objective. But the word quality gets in
the way of our thinking. It makes us think that quality management systems operate
alongside environmental management systems, safety management systems, and financial
management systems. In ISO 9000 it is stated that the quality management system is that
part of the organizations management system that focuses on the achievement of outputs in
relation to the quality objectives, therefore the quality management system must exist to
achieve the organizations quality objectives. This concept was unclear in the 1994 version
with the result that many quality systems were focused on procedures for their own sake
rather than on serving objectives. It would appear therefore that other parts of the
management system are intended to serve the achievement of specific objectives. For
example, we could establish:
Safety systems to serve safety objectives
Environmental systems to serve environmental objectives
Security systems to serve security objectives
Human resource systems to serve human resource objectives
Marketing systems to serve marketing objectives
Innovation systems to serve innovation objectives
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 Financial systems to serve financial objectives

Many organizations have appointed specific managers to achieve each of these objectives so
that we have for instance an Environmental Manager, fulfilling Environmental Objectives
through an Environmental Management System and a Quality Manager fulfilling Quality
Objectives through a Quality System. Do the same for the others and you would have
multiple management systems. This is what functional management produces and as a result
puts the managers in potential conflict with each other as each tries to achieve their
objectives independently of the others. Many of these objectives are in reality not objectives
at all but constraints that exist only by virtue of the organizations necessity to satisfy
customers.
All the objectives only arise as a result of the organization seeking to create and satisfy
customers. There is no environmental objective, impact or anything else if the organization
does not have customers. Objectives for the environment, safety, security, finance, human
resources etc. only have meaning when taken in the context of what the business is trying to
do, which is to create and satisfy customers. While many might argue that the purpose of
business is to make money for the shareholders or owners this is different from the purpose
of a business, which is to create and retain customers and do this in a manner that satisfies
the needs and expectations of all stakeholders. Without a customer there is no business at all,
therefore customer needs must come first. Satisfying customers becomes the only true
objective; all others are constraints that affect the manner in which the organization satisfies
its customers. It may help therefore if we view any objective that serves a stakeholder other
than the customer as a constraint or a requirement that impacts the manner in which
customer objectives are achieved.
The management system is the way the organization operates, the way it carries out its
business, the way things are. Its purpose is to enable the organization to accomplish its
mission, its purpose, its goals and its objectives. All organizations possess a management
system. Some are formal, some are informal. Even in a one-person business, that person will
have a way of working a way of achieving his or her objectives. That way is the system and
comprises the behaviors, processes and resources employed to achieve those objectives. The

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system comprises everything that affects the results. It only has to be formalized when the
relationships grow too large for one person to manage by relying on memory.
It is unlikely that you will be able to produce and sustain the required quality unless you
organize yourselves to do so. Quality does not happen by chance, it has to be managed. No
human endeavor has ever been successful without having been planned, organized and
controlled in some way.
Scope of the System:
As the quality management system is the means by which the organization achieves its
objectives, it follows that the scope of the system (what it covers) is every function and
activity of the organization that contributes to these objectives. This should leave no function
or activity outside the system. The system must also include suppliers because the
organization depends on its suppliers to achieve its objectives. The chain of processes from
the customer interface and back again includes the suppliers.
Including every function and activity within the system should not be interpreted as
compelling every function and activity to certification to ISO 9001 far from it.
Design of the System:
Imagine you are designing an air-conditioning system. You would commence by establishing
the system requirements, then design a system that meets the requirements, document the
design and build a prototype. You would then test it and when satisfied it functions under the
anticipated operating conditions, launch into production. If problems are detected during
production, solutions would be developed and the design documentation changed before
recommencing production. If problems were experienced during maintenance, the design
documentation would be consulted to aid in the search for the fault. If improvements are to
be made, once again the design documentation would be consulted and design changes made
and the documentation revised before implementation in production.
This traditional cycle for products therefore has some redeeming features:

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 Design does not commence without a specification of requirements if it does, the wrong
product is likely to be designed.
Designs are documented before product is manufactured if they are not documented, it is
likely that the product cannot be manufactured or will not fit together or functions as
intended.
Designs are proven before launching into production if production commences before
design proving, the product will probably fail on test or in service.
Design documentation is changed before changes are implemented in production if
documentation is not changed before implementation, the product will be different each time
it is made; solved problems will recur and no two installations will be alike.
QMS Planning Phase:
The QMS planning phase entails the specification of the QMS implementation goal, and lays
out the roadmap that the organization will follow to achieve the defined goal. Plans devised
at this stage may be revised later (as needed), but for the most part, decisions made in this
phase will have a profound effect on the pace and thoroughness of the QMS implementation
effort, and quality of the resulting QMS. It is therefore important that there be adequate
forethought and meticulous planning in this phase. These items are summarized below:
Implementation prerequisites: Identify prerequisites for success, and ensure that they have
been secured. Doing so helps maximize the chances of success and helps mitigate risks from
the beginning of the QMS implementation.
Implementation goal: Establish a clear goal statement that satisfies the SMART criteria.
Implementation team: Plan for an implementation team with adequate cross-functional
representation and clearly defined roles and responsibilities that are communicated to all
implementation team members.

21

Implementation strategy: Brainstorm the implementation strategy and ensure that it is

clearly communicated to all implementation team members and staff members.
Implementation process: Define an implementation process that lays out the high-level
roadmap for implementing the QMS. This includes main phases of QMS implementation and
key activities within each phase.
Implementation schedule, needed resources and cost: For the implementation roadmap
defined in the previous step, estimate the resources for each activity and establish an
implementation schedule. Ensure that an adequate contingency is included within each
phase. Also, estimate the major expenses for the implementation and budget for the
anticipated implementation costs.
Mechanisms to manage the implementation communicate progress and encourage
employee participation: Identify the mechanisms that will be used to track and control
implementation progress to ensure that the project progresses according to plans. Identify
means that will be used to communicate progress, especially to senior management, and to
facilitate timely management intervention in case progress lags. Identify means that will be
used to encourage employee participation and recognize employee contribution.
QMS documentation: Ensure that the key elements of a sound QMS documentation
management system are in place. Ensure that the process for creating, reviewing, and
approving new QMS documentation is defined and communicated to all employees.
QMS Definition Phase:
The QMS definition phase entails the definition and documentation of the organizations
QMS. If the organization has selected a quality management system standard for use, this
phase entails the definition of the QMS in accordance with the standards requirements.
Activities in this phase include but are not limited to:
1. Requirements analysis (if applicable): Analyze each requirement in the QMS standard
to clearly understand what is required and how the requirement can be satisfied.

22

2. Gap analysis: Assess the current state of the system (processes and procedures) against
best practices in the given industry, or against requirements in the QMS standard (if one was
selected). This exercise is intended to obtain answers to the question Where are we right
now? With a better understanding of where one is and where one is headed (project goal),
one is better able to plan future action. The gap analysis may reveal that processes and
procedures are already in place in certain areas of the organization. When appropriate, reuse
all or part of the current implementation as opposed to beginning from scratch. The gap
analysis may also reveal critical quality discrepancies requiring immediate attention; these
should be planned for immediate rectification.
3. Revise implementation plan: As is obvious from the foregoing explanation, the gap
analysis typically will cause the implementation plan to be fine-tuned as per the insight
gained into the current state of the system.
4. Correct critical quality (or process) deficiencies: Act upon the results of the gap
analysis to correct critical quality (or process) deficiencies that can be fixed relatively easily.
Doing so provides immediate return on investment for initiating the quality implementation
effort. It also provides an opportunity to cite the success stories to sustain management
commitment and encourage employee participation.
5. Perform high-level process mapping and create supporting process documentation:
Perform process mapping for high-level organizational processes, and create supporting
process documentation, as needed.
6.

Perform

low-level

process

flowcharting

and

create

supporting

process

documentation: Perform process flowcharting for lower-level organizational processes, and

create supporting process documentation as needed.
7. Create additional QMS documentation: In addition to QMS documentation in the form
of process maps, create additional documentation as needed, such as procedures, templates,
and forms.
QMS Refinement Phase:
23

The QMS refinement phase involves a final verification of the entire QMS to ensure that all
processes interact as originally planned and, further, that all processes are mutually
consistent and correctly defined. This phase also involves a final validation to ensure all
elements of the QMS comply with the organizations quality requirements (and, if
applicable, requirements of the QMS standard in use). Deficiencies identified during this
phase are addressed by requesting corrective action from the respective process (or
document) owners.
QMS Deployment Phase:
The QMS deployment phase involves institutionalizing the QMS across the organization.
In this phase, the QMS is rolled out incrementally so that it gradually is adopted and
becomes the new way of working. As each process is defined, documented, and approved for
use by employees, it enters the QMS deployment phase. In this phase, employees are trained
on the defined processes, and execution of the processes is monitored by the quality
assurance personnel (and by QMS implementation team members, as appropriate) who
participate in or observe activities as they are executed.
They verify that processes are being executed correctly and that they are adequate and
effective. Process execution also is verified by means of internal quality audits performed
during or after process execution.
This does not imply that during QMS deployment, all old processes are thrown out and
replaced with new high-quality processes. However, establishment of a QMS will cause the
organization to examine all its existing processes, and it is safe to assume that most of them
would be impacted to some extent during QMS implementation (mostly in terms of needed
improvements). This examination also may reveal some inadequate and inefficient processes
that need to be discarded and replaced with new ones.
For the most part, however, implementation of the QMS generally will result in changes to
existing processes, with some processes undergoing major change and others undergoing
minor change. It is important to plan for a certain amount of time (typically, months)
between completion of employee training and commencement of internal quality audits. This
time period, referred to as the process establishment period, is required for two reasons: first,
some amount of time is required to adequately promulgate a QMS throughout an

24

organization such that it becomes well entrenched in the organization by becoming an

inherent part of how the organization conducts everyday business.
Second, some amount of time is required to build sufficient amount of evidence of use of the
QMS that then can be audited. Starting an internal quality audit program too soon might not
provide internal auditors sufficient evidence that is necessary to assess adequacy and
effectiveness of the QMS. The process establishment period varies from one organization to
another and depends on factors such as:

Lead time to develop the products (in order to allow all product development
processes to be exercised at least once);

Extent of change to current processes;

Amount of QMS training provided to employees.

It is to be expected that, beginning with the process establishment period, the organization
will encounter growing (maturing) pains because the natural human tendency to resist
change will begin to surface once the QMS begins to directly affect how everyone does their
work. Further, employees and management personnel unaccustomed to the new and/or
refined processes in certain cases will attempt to circumvent the process when operational
and schedule considerations overtake quality considerations.
The QMS implementation team will need to address the aforementioned challenges by
continually educating management and personnel (and managing their expectations),
emphasizing benefits already realized, monitoring process execution, and reasoning with
personnel and working cooperatively with them to overcome resistance to change.
Continuous Improvement:
With the completion of the QMS deployment phase, an organization effectively transitions to
a state where compliance with the defined QMS needs to be continually monitored and the
defined system needs to be continuously improved and optimized. This is the final and
never-ending phase of QMS implementation the continual improvement phase. It entails the
use of mechanisms necessary to facilitate continuous improvement of the QMS.

25

Mechanisms for continuous improvement are not necessarily established in this phase only.
Some of them may have been defined in the QMS definition phase and deployed in the QMS
deployment phase. Others may have been defined but their deployment deferred until the
continuous improvement phase. Yet other continuous improvement mechanisms may remain
undefined until this phase.
For example, an organization typically does not start collecting customer satisfaction data
until a few months after completion of the QMS deployment phase, else it would be too early
for its customers to realize benefits from the implementation of the QMS. Moreover,
collecting customer satisfaction data too soon might not provide readily actionable
information because many of the known deficiencies might be attributed to causes that the
organization already is addressing under the QMS implementation underway.
Quality is not something that is done at the end of a phase or at the end of the project, is a
continuous process to ensure quality is performed in all aspects of the project. The goal is to
continuously improve based on the lessons learned and new insights provided by the project.
To be effective it should happen during all activities of the project. Continuous improvement,
in regard to project quality always focuses on improving stakeholder satisfaction through
continuous and incremental improvements to processes, including the removal of any
unnecessary activities. By applying a process that continuously improves every element of
the project can achieve better results than trying to wait until the end of a phase or a midterm
evaluation to start making adjustments and improvements to the work. It requires little effort
and by doing small incremental improvements the project can reach significant levels of
quality.
To implement continuous improvements, it necessary to have a culture of reflection that
allows the project team to learn from mistakes and apply the lesson on the next phase or
cycle and not spend time and effort trying to put blame, otherwise, the team will fear
reporting any problems with quality and it will be too late to do anything once the donor or
the beneficiaries find out.

26

Chapter 3
COMPANY PROFILE
FINOLEX GROUP - THE EVOLUTION

Finolex Group was founded by Chhabria Brothers in 1958.

Current group turnover exceeds over Rs. 50 billion spread across its various entities.

Over the years, Finolex has emerged as a very powerful brand synonymous with top
quality products.

Pan India distribution networks makes its products reach across the country.

Finolex group today has wide presence in PVC Pipes, PVC Resin, Drip Irrigation,
Power, Power Cables, Telecom Cables, Electrical Wires and Switchboard Cables.

All the companies in the group are professionally managed.

Quality and Customer satisfaction remains prime focus across the companies.

CSR initiative is focused in the areas of medicine and education.

FINOLEX GROUP AND ITS COMPANIES

27

FINOLEX INDUSTRIES LTD: HIGHLIGHTS

Finolex is the largest PVC pipe manufacturer in India.

Pipe processing capacity of more than 2 Lakh MT annually spread across multi
locations.

Market leader in most of its product categories.

Market presence for more than 3 decades since its inception in 1981.

Pan India distribution network through its wide network of dealers, sub-dealers and
retailers.

Offers wide range of PVC pipes & fittings for diverse applications across sectors.

Only PVC pipe Manufacturer with state of the art fully backward integrated PVC
Resin plant at Ratnagiri.

2nd Largest manufacturer of PVC Resin in India with 2.70 Lakh MT capacities.

Technical collaboration with Uhde GmbH Germany with Hoechst technology.

FILs strength is in its International level quality products.

Self reliant on all resources for pipe processing from raw material to finished goods.

Strong cash generation helping in reduction of debt.

Strong employee loyalty - 60% of employees have been in the company for more
than 15 years.

FINOLEX BUSINESS DIVISIONS

28

FINOLEX STRENGTHS AND USP

Only PVC pipe manufacturer in India with a fully backward integrated plant.

Complete control on availability of consistent quality raw material.

Self sufficient on main raw material, adequate land for any future expansion, self
sufficient on water, self sufficient on power - captive power plant of 43 MW.

Control on raw material own cryogenic Jetty near plant.

Market leader across products with strong brand pull.

Sales against 100% advance payment.

Pipes made up of highest quality.

One of the few manufacturers in India maintaining & matching global standards.

29

MANUFACTURING FACILITY: VIRTUAL TOUR

PVC PIPES & FITTINGS DIVISION: HIGHLIGHTS

It is the largest PVC pipe manufacturer in India.

It offers a wide range of PVC pipes & fittings, for diverse applications in
- Agriculture
- Housing
- Building & Construction
- Telecom Industry

Pipe processing capacity exceeding 2 lakh MTPA

Capacity spread over 3 ultra modern plants located at:

- PVC pipe plant, Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) 1 lakh MTPA
- PVC pipe plant, Pune 0.8 lakh MTPA
30

- PVC pipe plant, Masar (Gujarat) - 0.3 lakh MTPA

Strong pan India distribution network ensures large number of satisfied customers

First Indian pipe manufacturer to be awarded the IS/ISO 9001:2008

Only pipe manufacturer in India with control on quality parameters from raw material
to finished goods.

Manufactures large range of pipes between 20mm to 400mm in diameter in different

pressure classes.

Strong brand presence.

Pioneered the concept of Ringfit pressure pipes in India.

Consistency of product quality across plants as all locations use same quality raw
material.

PVC PIPES: SEGMENTAL USAGE IN INDIA

31

PVC PIPES: SEGMENTAL RANGE:

AGRICULTURAL SEGMENT
-

Irrigation

Drip Irrigation

Casing pipes

WATER MANAGEMENT SEGMENT

-

Drinking water transportation pipes

CONSTRUCTION SEGMENT
-

Sanitation and Sewage pipes

Plumbing pipes

Borewell pipes

AGRICULTURAL SEGMENT GROWTH DRIVER

-

Government focus is on rural water management.

32

Irrigation schemes of water to drive growth.

12th Plan envisages investment of approx. Rs.2.3 trillion (USD 43bn) for water
management.

Irrigation sector allocation to be approx. Rs.5 trillion (USD 92bn) in the 12th plan.

Focus of government to Increase land under irrigation to drive growth.

Government targeting 65mn hectares land under irrigation by 2020.

Depletion of water tables leading to increasing bore well activities.

CONSTRUCTION SEGMENT
Sewage Pipes
-

Urbanization driving demand for larger and cost effective sewage lines.

Cast iron pipes being replaced by a cheaper and efficient option.

Original & replacement demand fuelling growth.

Plumbing Pipes
-

Galvanized pipes are being replaced by PVC plumbing pipes.

Urban & rural housing both driving demand for pipes.

New construction driving demand.

Casing Pipes
-

Semi-urban & rural areas demand for borewells to drive growth.

BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

Urban Area

Rural Area

33

Housing shortage in urban area is ~

22 million units.
-

Government is targeting to build ~

54 million units.
-

2 million units /year.

-

One unit in urban area consumes ~

Housing shortage in rural area is ~

Government is targeting to build ~
4.5 million units /year.

One unit in rural area consumes ~

200 Kg of PVC products like pipes,

75 Kg of PVC products like pipes,

flooring, door & windows etc.

doors, roofing etc.

PVC RESIN DIVISION: HIGHLIGHTS

-

State of the art PVC Resin plant was set up near Ratnagiri on the west coast of
Maharashtra in 1994

Today FIL is the 2nd largest producer of PVC resin in India

Strategic location - supported by strong Infrastructure with captive power plant &
own cryogenic jetty

Manufacturing Capacity - 2.70 lakh MT of PVC Resin

1. Suspension grade PVC capacity 2.50 lakh MT
2. Emulsion/paste grade PVC capacity - 0.20 lakh MT

PVC plant was set up in technical collaboration with Uhde GmbH of Germany under
technology license from Hoechst AG.

Self sufficient in water with 2 large water reservoirs.

400 strong technical team help in running the resin plant at Ratnagiri.

PVC CONSUMPTION IN INDIA: OVER A DECADE

34

PVC HIGHLIGHTS 2012-13

GLOBAL
Capacity
Addition
Demand

DOMESTIC INDUSTRY
53.9 MMT 6%
3.0 MMT (80% IN
CHINA)
37.5 MMT 1.6%

Capacity

1.3 MMT

Industry Growth

12%

Consumption

2.22 MMT
1 MMT

Imports

(0.2MMT)

SECTOR WISE GROWTH: 2012-13

Growth %

Sectors

Volume in KTA

Pipes & Fittings

1640

over 2011-12
14%

Sector Share

Calendars

190

13%

9%

Films & Sheets

120

10%

5%

Wire & Cable

120

6%

5%

Profiles

75

25%

3%

Others

75

5%

3%

Total

2220

12%

100%

74%

INDIA: 2015/2020 DEMAND VS SUPPLY

35

PVC SECTOR WISE USAGE

PVC RESIN: CONCLUSION

-

India continue to remain deficient in PVC resin

36

Demand for PVC to grow at double digit

No visible new capacities in the near future in India

Most of the incremental PVC demand to be met by Imports

Feedstock surplus globally to stabilize raw material price volatility

Players with consistent quality to benefit

POWER DIVISION: HIGHLIGHTS

-

Operational thermal power plant fully commissioned since May 2010.

Located at Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.

Total generation capacity - 43 MW.

Plant based on imported coal coal transported through conveyer to plant straight
from its own coal jetty.

Captive consumption of power - 27 MW.

Single turbine of BHEL & 2 Boilers of Cethar limited.

PPA agreement done with Maharashtra state.

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS BALANCE SHEET

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS INCOME STATEMENT

37

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS QUARTERLY

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS SEGMENT WISE

38

HISTORY
In July 1945, two young brothers P.P. Chhabria and K.P. Chhabria came to Pune from
Karachi in search of a livelihood and within six months set up a small shop selling electrical
cables. The retail business became quite successful. A sizable order in the mid 1950's from
the Defence Department for wire harnesses for trucks and tanks bolstered their confidence
and they decided to manufacture Cables, themselves.
Starting as a small-scale industrial unit in 1956, they manufactured PVC insulated cables for
the automobile industry. Finolex brand was born from "Fine" & "Flexibles" and "O" with an
electric arc across it - signifying the electrical cable business the company was in. Their
relentless search for growth and doughty perseverance saw them through some difficult
times and in 1972 the enterprise turned into a limited company.
Since then, there has been no looking back and following a public offering in July 1983,
Finolex Cables Limited embarked on a continuous process of expansion and modernization
which enabled it to become the most diversified & largest cable manufacturer in the country.

39

Their relentless quest for growth saw the brothers establishing Finolex Industries Limited
(FIL) in 1981. The company sought to manufacture Rigid PVC Pipes and Fittings at Pune,
which find large-scale application in the agriculture sector. In a shrewd move towards
backwards integration, the company has set up a PVC resin manufacturing facility at
Ratnagiri on the west coast of India.
The early nineties saw the Finolex Group expanding into new business domains to
manufacture Optic Fiber Cables and Copper Rods. Today the Group turnover exceeds Rs.30
Billion (about US $ 750 million)
Finolex Cables Ltd. (FCL) and Finolex Industries Ltd. (FIL) are the two group companies
whose equity shares are listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange.
Global Depository Receipts of Finolex Cables Limited is also listed on the Luxembourg
Stock Exchange. Professionally managed, with continuous updating of technology and strict
quality controls, Finolex strives for maximum customer satisfaction. Over the years, it has
attained a significant position on the industrial map of India.

Leadership Team
Mr. Prakash P.
Chhabria
Executive Chairman

Mr. Sanjay K. Asher

Independent Director

Mr. Kanaiyalal N. Atmaramani

Independent Director

Mr. Dara N. Damania

Independent Director

Mr. Saurabh S.
Dhanorkar
Managing Director

Mr. Shrikrishna N. Inamdar

Independent Director

Mr. Prabhakar D.
Karandikar
Independent Director

Mr. Sanjay Math

Director (Operations)

Dr. Sunil U. Pathak

Independent Director

Mr. Tarun Chauhan

40

Advisor

MILESTONES

Finolex Group was established in 1958 & today has turnover in excess of Rs 4000
crores with 5 companies and 11 modern state-of-art manufacturing facilities located
at Pune, Ratnagiri, Goa & Uttarakhand.

The prominent group companies, Finolex Cables Ltd & Finolex Industries Ltd
manufacture and market a diverse range of products comprising of Electrical and
Communication Cables, Copper Rods,PVC Sheets,PVC Resin and PVC Pipes &
Fittings, Electrical Switches, Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL's). Finolex has also
established an advanced IT institute, I2IT at Pune and an engineering college at
Ratnagiri.

Finolex has over the years emerged as a very powerful brand synonymous with top
quality products. A national distribution network makes its products available across
the country.

Finolex Cables Limited, the flagship company of the Finolex group started its
operations with the manufacturing of Automobile Cables in 1958. In1970 Finolex
started manufacturing Electric wires, single & multicore Flexible industrial Cables.
Further expanding its product range in 1972 Finolex started manufacturing PVC
insulated Winding Wires & 3 Core Flat cables for submersible pumps.

In 1980 , Finolex started manufacturing 1.1 KV PVC insulated Power & Control
Cables, In 1984 , Finolex started manufacturing Jelly Filled Telephone Cables. Thus
Finolex became the first Indian company in Private Organized Sector to supply JFT
cables to DoT. Finolex is also 1st Indian company to develop & supply Foam Skin
Cable to DoT.

In 1993, Finolex added one more product in its product portfolio, Co-axial Cables. In
1993 Finolex Cables became the first cable company to receive ISO 9002 quality
certification. In 1996, Finolex diversified its product portfolio & started
manufacturing PVC Sheets. Keeping track of global trends in 1996 Finolex launched
two products viz. FR-LSH PVC Insulated Industrial Cables & Fibre Optic Cables in.

41

Thus Finolex Cables is the first company in India to introduce FRLS industrial
cables.

As communication was becoming need of hour, in 1998 Finolex started

manufacturing Telephone & Switchboard cables. Further expanding its product
portfolio in 2006 , Finolex launched Electrical Switches & Compact Fluorescent
Lamps (CFL's)

In 2008 Finolex started manufacturing HT Cables (upto 33KV) at Urse, Pune.

Finolex has also put up a manufacturing unit equipped with latest state of the art
modern machinery at Uttarakhand. Finolex is the first company in India to start
manufacturing LAN Cables.

The company has set several benchmarks and has been recognized by industry and
peers alike. In 1989 Company won the Harvard Business School Economic Times
award for Corporate Excellence; it was also declared the winner of Voice and Data
magazines Top Telecom Company Award in 2003; the IIM-LIC Award for Marketing
Excellence in 1994-95; Star Performer Award for outstanding contribution to
Engineering Exports during the year 2005-06 and several other accolades have come
its way.

Finolex Cables has also featured in the Top 150 Hidden Champions of the World by
World Link, Geneva. It ranked among the leading organizations of Business India's
Super 500 Corporations. In the survey conducted by Business Today and Stern
Standard, Finolex was listed among the Best Wealth Creating Companies of India.

Finolex Cables is the only Superbrand Cable Company in India. It has received
Superbrand Status for the 3rd consecutive year.

Finolex Industries Limited (FIL) was incorporated in 1981. It had a modest beginning
as a rigid PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) pipes manufacturer with manufacturing plant in
Pune.

In 1985, FIL pioneered the concept of Ringfit pressure pipes.

From 1984 to 1988, FIL won the PLEXCONCIL "Top Exporter Award" on five
consecutive occasions.

42

In 1994 FIL set up a state of the art PVC Resin plant near Ratnagiri on the West
Coast of Maharashtra State. The 130,000 M.T. PVC plant was set up in technical
collaboration with Uhde GmbH of Germany and under technology license from
Hoechst AG. FIL manufactures suspension PVC as well as emulsion/ paste PVC.

In 1996, FIL became Indias first manufacturer of PVC pipes and fittings to be
awarded the ISO 9001: 2000 certification.

In 1999, to meet growing demand, FIL also started manufacturing PVC pipes at
Ratnagiri.

In 1999 to cater the need of Plumbing sector, FIL introduced ASTM Pipes.

In year 2002 both PVC Pipes and PVC Resin plants at Ratnagiri were awarded the
IS14001 certificate for Environment Management Systems.

In 2006, Finolex Industries Ltd proudly celebrated 25 years of its success.

In 2006 PVC Resin capacity was expanded from 1, 30,000 MT to 2, 60,000 MT.

Further expanding its product range, in 2006, FIL launched ASTM fittings to its
product portfolio

In 2007 FIL introduced Underground Sewerage Pipes as per IS: 15328 2003.

In 2008, taking a step further with advancement in technology, FIL introduced LEAD
FREE Plumbing pipes as per ASTM Standards.

In 2008, FIL started a brand new state-of-the-art unit for manufacturing agriculture
pipes and casing pipes at Urse, Pune with the capacity of 28000 M.T.P.A.

VISION & MISSION

VISION

To maintain our leadership position in our area of our business through excellence
and innovation.

To continuously create new opportunities for growth and establish global presence.

To be amongst most admired Companies to work for and to be associated with.

43

MISSION

To enhance value generating capability of the Company in a globalizing environment,

delivering superior and sustainable customer value.

To display highest commitment to excellence in product quality, service and

enriching customers through added value.

Build exceptional standards and systems for productivity, performance, safety,

environment and quality.

Expand manufacturing facility and distribution network to cater to all regions in the
country.

Be a socially responsible corporate, addressing need of community and environment.

Empower and energize employees to embrace new ideas, learn continuously and
build HR processes for continual capability development of its talent.

FINOLEX INDUSTRIES LTD.

Finolex Industries Limited (FIL), formerly known as Finolex Pipes Ltd., was incorporated in
1981. Beginning as a modest rigid PVC-U (Poly Vinyl Chloride) pipe manufacturer, FIL
went in for backward integration and now manufactures PVC resin too.
FIL is the largest PVC-U pipe manufacturer in India. The pipes division of FIL is the first
Indian pipe manufacturer to be awarded the IS/ISO 9001:2008 Certification. Production
capacity of the pipes division is over 180,000 MT per annum with its two ultra modern
manufacturing plants at Pune and Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. A new state of art manufacturing
plant will be commissioned in early 2013 at Masar near Baroda in Gujarat with the capacity
of 50,000 TPA.
FIL offers a wide range of PVC pipes and fittings, for diverse applications in Agriculture,
Housing, Telecom, Construction and Industry, in sizes ranging between 20mm to 400mm
diameter in different pressure classes as per relevant Indian Standards.
44

Being a major user of PVC, Finolex Industries Ltd., has set up a backward integration plant
for manufacture of PVC, with an annual capacity of 2,60,000 Metric Tons, in Suspension and
Emulsion Grade in Technical Collaboration with UDHE GmbH, Germany with Hoechst
Technology. As a part of its PVC Complex, FIL has set up an open sea cryogenic jetty, the
first of its kind in the private sector in India. As such, Finolex is self-dependent for raw
material supply and is the only Pipe manufacturer to have control on quality parameters from
raw-material to finished product
The strength of FIL lies in its quality products and satisfied customers which are catered
through its very large distribution network.
MANUFACTURING PLANTS

Finolex Industries Limited (FIL) manufactures PVC-U Pipes and PVC.

FIL pipes division was incorporated in the year 1981 and is the largest manufacturer
of PVC Pipes in India.

FIL has its PVC Pipes manufacturing plants at Urse near Pune and its second
manufacturing plant at Ratnagiri (350 km, south of Mumbai). A new state of art
manufacturing plant will be commissioned in early 2013 at Masar near Baroda in
Gujarat.

FIL is one of the largest Manufacturers of PVC in India. The PVC plant was
commissioned in the year 1994 with Technical collaboration with Uhde GmbH of
Germany under technology license from Hoechst AG. FIL manufactures suspension
grade PVC as well as emulsion/paste grade PVC. The PVC manufacturing plant is
located at Ratnagiri with installed capacity of 260,000 TPA.

CRYOGENIC JETTY
The first phase of the Ratnagiri project was commissioned in 1994, and was India's first
petrochemical complex to have its own open-sea cryogenic jetty. Finolex is unable to use the
cryogenic jetty throughout the year. It is off limits from mid-May to about mid-September as
a result of the monsoons. An all-weather jetty will allow Finolex to reduce its inventory
carrying costs, since it now has to store ethylene and ethylene dichloride (EDC), (which is an
important raw material) for the four-month period that no ships can berth.
45

HOECHST PROCESS (GERMAN) TECHNOLOGY

The 130,000t/yr petrochemical plant was set up with technical collaboration with UHDE
using a process technology license from Hoechst of Germany. The company manufactures
PVC using ethylene dichloride (EDC) as the starting material. EDC is converted into Vinyl
Chloride Monomer (VCM) using oxy-chlorination process, which is then polymerized into
PVC.
PVC UNIT EXPANSION
In 1997, FIL announced a two-phase expansion of PVC capacity at the Ratnagiri plant. In
1997, capacity was initially raised by 20,000t/yr to 130,000t/yr, and although there are plans
afoot to expand to a further 200,000t/yr, these are currently on hold. Finolex raised some $30
million through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) to finance the expansion planned
for Phase 2 and 3 of the Ratnagiri project. Expansion for Phase 2 and 3 cost $70 million, of
which $22 million was spent on the construction of the new power unit. The capacity
expansion had been necessitated through the growth in the domestic PVC market, at 14%
annually. For FIL, plant expansion made the most sense economically, as a Greenfield plant
would have been prohibitively expensive.
PVC EXTRUDER LINES
In mid-2000, Finolex Industries announced its intention to increase PVC pipe production at
its Ratnagiri facility to 40,000 from 30,000t/yr. The first expansion of PVC pipe production
cost $3 million. A further expansion from 40,000t/yr to 60,000t/yr will cost around $4
million.
CHEMICALS
Finolex is actively trading in Ethylene Dichloride and Methanol catering to various
industries in the country. These products are used as solvents in the Pharma, Fertilizer,
Paints, Lamination, Amines and various other industries in India. Finolex is directly
importing these products at their own jetty at Ratnagiri and has built world class storage
facilities for these products. The strong infrastructure at Ratnagiri is backbone of these
trading activities.

46

PRODUCTS
PVC-U PIPES & FITTINGS
FIL is the largest PVC-U pipe manufacturer in India and the first to have been awarded the
IS/ISO 9001:2000 certification. FIL offers a wide range of PVC-U pipes and fittings, for
diverse applications in agriculture, housing, and telecom etc. ranging between 20 mm to 400
mm diameter. The range of PVC-U pipes and fittings that FIL offers is as follows:

Selfit PVC-U Pipes (for agriculture & potable water supply) As per IS 4985-2000.

Ringfit PVC-U Pipes (for agriculture & potable water supply) As per IS 4985-2000.

Molded Fittings for Agriculture (As per IS 7834-1987).

Fabricated Fittings for Agriculture.

Protector Well Casings & Screens (As per IS 1218-1992).

Underground Sewerage Pipes (As per IS 15328-2003).

Selfit & Ringfit SWR PVC Pipes (As per Is 13592 with Latest Amendment).

SWR Molded Fittings (As per IS 14735-1999 with Latest Amendment).

Plumbing Pipes (for domestic plumbing applications) As per IS 4985-2000, As per

ASTM D 1785.

Solvent Cemented Fittings (for domestic plumbing applications) As per ASTM D

2467 in Schedule 80 series.

SELFIT PVC -U PIPES (FOR AGRICULTURE & POTABLE WATER SUPPLY)

(As per IS 4985-2000)
The Selfit (Solvent Cement joint) pipes have one end self-socketed and the other end plain,
which fits snugly without the use of couplers. The solvent cement joint is strong, permanent
and trouble-free.
Range
Selfit pipes are manufactured in the range of 25 mm to 315 mm diameters in 2.5, 4, 6, 8, 10
and 12.5 kgf/cm2 working pressure.

47

Advantages

Selfit sockets are formed with high precision on specially developed sophisticated
machines.

50% saving in installation time, as compared with plain ended pipes and loose
couplers.

The number of joints is reduced by 50%, resulting in substantial saving in labor costs.

The requirement of Solvent Cement for a pipeline is reduced by almost 50%.

Cost less than conventional plain ended pipes with loose couplers.

Eliminates the inconvenience of loose couplers, and reduction in inventory costs.

355 mm & 400 mm diameter pipes in 2.5, 4, 6, and 10 kgf/cm2 working pressure are
available as plain ended pipes.

Selfit pipes are supplied in a standard length of 6 meters exclusive of the socket
portion.

RINGFIT PVC -U PIPES

This unique range of PVC-U pipes introduced by Finolex for the first time in India is
specially designed for higher diameter requirements and eliminates the need for solvent
cement jointing. The sealing ring ensures leak-proof joints and easy installation. The entire
range comprises sizes from 63 mm to 400 mm diameter, in 4, 6, 8 and 10 kgf / cm 2 working
pressure classes.
Advantages

Even in extreme temperature variations, the rubber ring absorbs the linear
expansion and contraction leaving the seal intact.

Deflection of pipes due to various reasons like shifting of soil, land contour can be
easily accommodated upto 2o per joint.

Easy, convenient installation.

No need for Solvent Cement.

PVC RESIN
48

PVC is a thermoplastic resin, which in versatility of processing and application surpasses all
other thermoplastic materials. This unique polymer is one of the oldest established plastics.
Today, PVC finds applications in insulation of cables, in pipes and hoses, agricultural
products, windows and profiles, flooring tiles used in the building industry, blister
packaging, films and sheets, foamed leather cloth, curtains, tarpaulins, and also for medical
use - for IV, blood bags, etc. The universality of its service properties is such that new areas
of application are being continuously developed.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
INTRODUCTION
Polyvinylchloride (PVC) [-(-CH2 -CHCl-)n-] is one of the three most important polymers
currently used worldwide. This is because PVC is one of the cheapest polymers to make
and has a large range of properties so can be used to make hundreds of products. PVC is
formed by the polymerization of vinyl chloride (chloroethane) monomer units:

PVC consists of polar molecules which are attracted to each other by dipole-dipole
interactions due to electrostatic attractions of a chlorine atom in one molecule to a
hydrogen atom in another atom:

49

These considerable intermolecular attractions between polymer chains make PVC a fairly
strong material.
Uncompounded PVC is colorless and rigid and possesses poor stability towards heat and
light. However, the use of additives/stabilizers enables us to change the properties of the
PVC to how we desire.
VINYL CHLORIDE MONOMER (VCM)
(VCM is the key material from which PVC is made)
VCM is a gas with a molecular weight of 62.5 and boiling point of -13.9C, and hence has a
high vapor pressure at ambient temperature. It is therefore manufactured under strict quality
and safety control.

AVAILABLE PROCESSES OF PRODUCING VCM

Vinyl chloride was first produced using the process of dehydrating ethylene dichloride
(EDC) with alcoholic caustic potash. However, the first effective industrial process was
based on the hydrochlorination of acetylene. Until the late 1940s, this process was used
almost exclusively.
The normal method of producing acetylene was from calcium carbide. The high-energy
requirement for carbide production was a serious drawback to the continuing mass
production of vinyl chloride by this method. However, as ethylene became more plentiful in
the early 50s, commercial processes were developed to produce vinyl chloride from chlorine
and ethylene via EDC, namely, the balanced ethylene route. Today the balanced ethylene is
responsible for well over 90% of the worlds vinyl 6 chloride production. This process has
been refined and the scale of operation has greatly increased, but no fundamentally new
processes have achieved commercial availability. Although this is true, it is still necessary to
examine the alternative processes and determine if they can still be utilized.
All current production plants for vinyl chloride depend on the use of a C 2 hydrocarbon
feedstocks, specifically, acetylene, ethylene, or ethane. Commercial operations using these
compounds are confined to gas-phase processes. Manufacture from acetylene is a relatively

50

simple single-stage process, but the cost of acetylene is high. Ethane is by far the least
expensive C2 hydrocarbon, but it cannot be converted to vinyl chloride with high selectivity.
VINYL CHLORIDE FROM ACETYLENE
The process that produces vinyl chloride from acetylene employs the use of a catalyst. Most
of the time the catalyst used is mercuric chloride deposited on active carbon. In this process
the feed gases are purified, dried, and mixed at the entrance to the tubular fixed bed reactors,
which are packed with mercuric chloride on active carbon pellets as catalysts. Usually, a
slight excess of HCl is used over stoichiometry. About 99% conversion of acetylene and 98%
conversion of HCl are achieved. The selectivity to vinyl chloride is good more than 98% and
the only significant side reaction is the further addition of HCl to vinyl chloride to form 1,1dichlorethane. The major issue with this process is that fact that the catalyst used, mercuric
chloride, is a very volatile compound. It is so volatile that much of the development work on
this process has been devoted to this problem. Consequently, the acetylene route is currently
of little commercial importance.
VINYL CHLORIDE FROM ETHANE
Many attempts have been made to develop a process that will use ethane to directly produce
vinyl chloride. This is due to relative inexpensiveness of ethane. The major problem
associated with the use of ethane is its molecular symmetry. In particular, the addition of
chlorine to ethane gives rise to a wide product spectrum. The most promising routes appear
to be those based on high temperature oxychlorination that use special catalysts to achieve a
worthwhile selectivity to vinyl chloride and useful major by-products such as ethylene, ethyl
chloride, and EDC. The ethylene may be chlorinated to EDC and recycled along with the
ethyl chloride. Although possible, this process has not progressed beyond the conceptual
stage. This is due to the fact that the oxychlorination reactor design presents a severe
challenge in terms of materials of construction because the reaction temperature may go up
to 500oC. At this temperature chlorine becomes very aggressive to most construction
materials.
VINYL CHLORIDE FROM ETHYLENE

51

Ethylene can be converted to vinyl chloride in a single stage, i.e., without isolating the
intermediate ethylene dichloride by either chlorination or oxychlorination routes, as is the
case with the balanced ethylene route. Direct chlorination routes require a high temperature
and a large excess of ethylene to minimize soot formation. The patent 7 literature
recommends using inert fluid beds for heat transfer and diluting gases in the feeds.
Substantial amounts of vinyl chloride are formed when the oxychlorination reactor is
operated above 350oC.
The common problems with the direct routes of production are poor selectivity to vinyl
chloride and substantial production of chlorinated by-products, many of which have no direct
commercial utility. This has substantially hindered the industrial application of directconversion processes.

Below is the process flow diagram for VCM Manufacturing via Ethylene:

Balance Process Outline

The five main processes used in the production of Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) are:
1. Direct chlorination of Ethylene to form EDC
2. Oxychlorination of Ethylene to form from recycled HCl and Oxygen Unit 12
3. Purification of EDC Unit 13
4. Pyrolysis and Quenching of EDC to form VCM and HCl Unit 14
5. Purification of VCM Unit 15

52

1. Direct Chlorination Design

Ethylene and Chlorine combine in a homogeneous catalytic reaction to form EDC. Due to
high selectivity, ferric chloride is the catalyst of choice for chlorination of the ethylene.
Normally, the reaction rate is controlled by mass transfer, with absorption of ethylene as the
limiting factor. Direct chlorination process equipment includes: A plug flow tubular reactor
and a caustic scrubber.
2. Oxychlorination Design
The oxychlorination reactor is a PFTR with cupric chloride catalyst packed in the tubes
while cooling water flows on the shell side for temperature control. Some oxychlorination
processes utilize a fluidized bed reactor, but no heat recovery is possible with these reactors.
An optimal temperature of 305oC was determined by the reactor model. An increase in byproduct formation is observed with increasing reactor temperature. This is due to an increase
in oxidation of ethylene to carbon oxides and increased cracking of EDC. The
oxychlorination design also contains a caustic scrubber to remove HCl and a flash to remove
accumulation of light impurities.
3. Purification of EDC
The EDC from direct chlorination, oxychlorination, and the recycle stream from the cracking
step must be purified before pyrolysis. The EDC must be purified to 99.5 wt%. First, the
combined EDC is washed with water in a wash tower. This is done to remove a majority of
the water produced by the oxychlorination reaction. The EDC is then purified by two
distillation columns. The first column, referred to as the low boils-column removes water and
low boiling point impurities. The bottoms from the low-boils column, which have lower
volatility, are combined with the pyrolysis feed purge; these two streams combine to form the
feed of the high-boils column. The high-boils column removes the higher boiling point
impurities. The pure EDC composition is 99.3%, and is the overhead product of the highboils column.
4. Pyrolysis and Quenching of EDC

53

Pyrolysis (thermal cracking) of EDC produces vinyl chloride. Pyrolysis of EDC is an

endothermic reaction (H=71KJ/mol) that is carried out in a furnace. The furnace consists of
four main sections: a radiation section, a convection section, a shock section, and a stack.
The heat required for endothermic reaction is supplied by combustion of fuel from the
firebox burners. The fire box operates at approx. 500 oC. The main reaction which yields
VCM and HCl is a homogeneous, first order free-radical chain mechanism.
5. Purification of VCM
Two distillation columns are used to separate VCM from EDC, HCl and the remaining byproducts. The first column, HCl column, distills the hydrogen chloride mixture to a pure
overhead product. This HCl is recycled to the oxychlorination reactor. The bottoms product
of the HCl column is fed to the second column, the VCM column. A VCM product of 99.9
wt% is produced as the overhead product of the VCM column. The bottoms of the VCM
column are recycled to the low boils column for re-purification.
Basic Chemical Reactions
Direct chlorination: CH2CH2 + Cl2 ClCH2CH2Cl (EDC)
Oxychlorination: CH2CH2 + 2HCl + O2 ClCH2CH2Cl + H2O
EDC pyrolysis: 2ClCH2CH2Cl 2CH2CHCl + 2HCl
Overall reaction: 2CH2CH2 + Cl2 + O2 2CH2CHCl + H2O
There are roughly 125 to 150 VCM Plants worldwide. About 90% of these plants use the
balanced oxychlorination process. The technology for these plants is available from about 15
different licensors, each specializing in one or more sections of the VCM Plant. Some of the
leading licensors are B.F. Goodrich, Hoechst, Stauffer, ICI, Dow, PPG and Tosoh.
VCM

Handling

and

Storing

54

VCM spheres
Care has to be taken in handling and storing VCM. Mostly because it is a highly flammable
and potentially explosive gas (like the lighter fuel butane). But also because, if breathed in
quantity, it is a strong narcotic (like chloroform). In fact during the 1950s VCM was trialed
as a potential anesthetic gas for medical applications. However, it is also now known, from
studies on workers in PVC polymerization plants during the 1970s that VCM can be a
carcinogen, with the potential to cause a rare form of cancer (cancer of the blood vessels of
the liver known as angiosarcoma), if there is significant exposure over a prolonged period.
Once industry discovered this link, major action was taken to reduce the level of exposure
and all manufacturing processes involving the use of VCM today are closed and all personal
exposure avoided and closely monitored. Workers are regularly tested for even the lowest
levels of exposure and there have been no incidences of angiosarcoma related to exposure
occurring since the PVC production process was modified. Other than its flammability
potential at release, once in the open atmosphere VCM quickly dissipates posing little threat
to human health in such a diluted form and quickly degenerates when exposed to normal
daylight.
In the polymerization process practically all of the VCM is processed into the inert polymer
chains that make up the PVC plastic. It is possible for extremely low levels of any residual
unpolymerised VCM to remain in the polymer and eventually migrate into food from PVC
packaging, but only at levels, which are considered totally harmless by health authorities and
which fall well within European Union regulations. Migration of even the microscopic
amounts of any residual chemicals from packaging substances into food is highly regulated.
This is backed up by tests from independent toxicologists. In 1993 a five-year-long Italian
study, led by Professor Cesare Maltoni, Director of Bologna's Institute of Oncology, looked

55

at the health effects on rats given mineral water from bottles made of PVC (which contained
low levels of VCM) compared with water from glass bottles. There were no noticeable
differences concerning the animals' survival, weight and health conditions during the tests
and

especially

the

effect

on

tumors.

56

VCM PRODUCTION GRAPHS

TARGETED V/S ACHIEVED VCM PRODUCTION PER YEAR

TARGETED VCM PRODUCTION PER MONTH FOR YEAR 2013-14

57

PVC MANUFACTURING PROCESS

PVC is the second largest commodity plastic after polyethylene with world production
currently over 18 million tonnes a year. The chemical process for making PVC involves three
steps: first, production of the monomer, vinyl chloride; then the linking of these monomer
units in a polymerization process; and finally the blending of the polymer with additives.
Pressure is applied to vinyl chloride (dispersed in water as a suspension or an emulsion) in
high pressure chambers at temperatures of 50-70C. The role of water is to remove and
control the heat given off in the polymerization process. PVC forms as tiny particles which
grow and when they reach a desired size the reaction is stopped and any un-reacted vinyl
chloride is distilled off and re-used. The PVC is separated off and dried to form a white
powder.
The main polymerization methods for VCM include Suspension, Emulsion, and Bulk or
Mass methods. Solution polymerization, once used for coil-coating PVC's, is no longer
employed.

S-PVC MANUFACTURING PROCESS

58

In Suspension polymerization, VCM droplets (containing free radical catalyst) are agitated
with suspending agents in water for a given time and temperature to achieve the desired
molecular weight (or "K value"). This is the most common production method, and furnishes
"popcorn-like", irregularly shaped resin grains that can absorb liquid plasticizers and
additives to form dry blend powder compounds. Most flexible and rigid PVC calendaring,
molding, and extrusion (from powder or pellets) is done with Suspension PVC (S-PVC).
E-PVC MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Emulsion polymerization consists of emulsifying very small VCM droplets in water, with a
water soluble free radical catalyst. Depending on the type of "soap" or emulsifying agent,
agitation, and temperature, Emulsion PVC of varying molecular weight is produced. These
resin particles are much smaller than Suspension PVC, and are smooth surfaced, non
absorbent to plasticizers at ambient temperatures. Emulsion PVC resins (E-PVC), also called
"Dispersion resins" and "Paste resins, are used to make Plastisols and Organosols for
molding,

dipping

and

coating

applications.

M-PVC MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Bulk (or Mass) polymerization entails just the VCM monomer, containing catalyst, in a two
stage reactor. The first stage reactor, with reflux condenser, agitates the VCM monomer to
about a 10% conversion to polymer. This slurry is then transferred to a horizontal reactor
with a ribbon blending type low RPM agitator, where polymerization is finished as a dry
powder. This PVC (M-PVC) is similar in particle size and shape to S-PVC, and is used in the
same (mostly rigid) processes as S-PVC. The main difference between M-PVC and S-PVC
of the same molecular weight or K-Value is the higher bulk density of M-PVC.
After all the above reactions are complete, the PVC resin is "steam-stripped" and dried in
order to remove any residual VCM monomer--down to a fraction of a PPM.
INHERENT PROPERTIES OF PVC
Containing 56.5% Chlorine and 43.5% Ethylene from petroleum feedstock, PVC is much
less dependent than most other thermoplastic resins on the fluctuations of supply and
demand of the petroleum industry. Its chlorine content is derived from table salt! PVC's

59

chlorine content provides inherent flame & fire redundancy. Other additives (plasticizers,
modifying resins) may burn, but PVC will not support combustion on its own. PVC is
regarded as perhaps the most versatile thermoplastic resin, due to its ability to accept an
extremely wide variety of additives: Plasticizers, stabilizers, fillers, process aids, impact
modifiers, lubricants, foaming agents, biocides, pigments, reinforcements. Indeed, PVC by
itself cannot be processed. It must have at least a stabilizer, a lubricant, and if flexible, a
plasticizer present.
PVC has a unique degradation sequence. Unlike most other polymers that exhibit mainly
oxidative degradation with peroxide formation and chain scission, protected by antioxidants,
PVC (while also undergoing oxidative degradation) has a nasty habit of releasing HCl under
heat and shear of processing an "unzippering effect" that rapidly progresses to catastrophic
charred blackening if left unchecked. The art and science of stabilization a whole industry
sector has developed very effective protective stabilizer additives to retard this type of
degradation. This HCl elimination is most likely to start at a "weak link" site typically
chlorine on a carbon at a branching site in the chain. The result is a series of alternating (or
conjugated) double bonds, and the onset of visible discoloration (yellowing) has been pegged
at 7-8 conjugated double bonds. However a UV black light can see early degradation at 3-4
double bonds before it becomes visible to the eye.
DISPOSAL OF PVC
Once the PVC products have been used they can be disposed off safely by recycling,
incineration or burial methods.

Recycling can be carried out in two ways; either by sorting the waste plastics by hand
or more recently automatically, this is known as Mechanical recycling. Alternatively
the polymer can be decomposed at high temperatures and then the chemical
components can be recovered and recycled. This second method is known as
Feedstock recycling.

Incineration reduces the amount of PVC waste going to landfill. Burning of PVC
does produce toxic gases such as hydrogen chloride but none are any more toxic than
carbon monoxide and PVC produces no more deadly dioxins than say the burning of

60

wood. However, the incinerators are equipped with pollution control equipment to
minimize the release of emissions to the environment.

Landfill is carried out for the PVC plastics that can not be recycled. Controlled
landfill does not cause significant risk to the environment.

To summarize: PVC depletes fossil reserves, and releases toxic gases and dioxins when
manufacture and incineration processes. However, PVC can be recycled, it is cheap, is not
very flammable and has many uses some of which have helped save lives. These later pros
for PVC plastic outweigh the few cons by far.
PVC PIPE MANUFACTURING PROCESS

PVC pipe extrusion line is one of the most common plastic pipe machines. The production
process of PVC pipe extrusion machine is as follows:
1. Mixing the raw material: The PVC stabilizers, plasticizers, antioxidants and other
excipients are put in proportion into the high speed mixer according to the process
order, when the mixer working, the material are warmed to the setting process
temperature by the friction function between materials and machinery, and then by
cold mixing machine the material is dropped to 40-50 degrees. Then the mixed
material can be put into the hopper of the extruder.
2. The extruder working: The machine is equipped with a dosing device which can
ensure the extrusion amount and feeding amount and ensure that the products can be
stable extrusion. Due to the characteristics of the conical screw, the feed section has a

61

larger diameter, the heat transfer area and the shear rate of material are relatively
large, which if beneficial for material plasticization.
3. Extrusion die function: The compaction, melting and kneading PVC are pushed to
the extrusion die head by the homogenized subsequent material, the extrusion die
head is the crucial parts for pipe molding.
4. Vacuum calibration tank is used for pipes cooling and stereotypes. The vacuum
sizing tank is equipped with vacuum stereotypes and cooling system and water
circulation system, adopting stainless steel cabinet, circulating water spray cooling.
5. Haul-off machine (tractor) is used for pull the cooled and hardened pipes out from
the die head continuously and automatically, and frequency controls the speed.
6. Cutter: Cut pipes according to the requirements. Length of the pipe control by the
travel switch, and turning frame in a settled delay time.
7. Auto socketing machine(ASM): ASM is used for socketing process. Cut pipes are
moved into socketing machine where the sockets are made automatically, after which
pipes are shifted to warehouse and are ready to dispatch.
QUALITY TESTING
Because PVC pipes are used in many housing and commercial construction applications, it is
important that each pipe is tested to ensure quality. To do so, the pipes are tested for their
seal, connection (on grooved sections), and strength. The seal tests are conducted by adding
special cement to the pipe and allowing it to dry. Once this is complete, a series of liquids are
passed through the pipe at high pressure. If no leaks occur, the cement is removed and the
section is cleaned. For fitted pipes, a similar process takes place without the cement. The
final test of the pipes is to ensure their strength. This is completed by using several presses
that push weight down on the pipe. If the section does not break or show stress points, it is
sent for packaging and shipping. If a section fails at any point in the process, it is sent back
to be melted down and re-constructed.
PROPERTIES OF U-PVC Pipes (Unplasticised Poly Vinyl Chloride)
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES: (At 20oC)

62

Density: 1430-1500 Kg/m3

Min. Ultimate Tensile Strength: 45 MPa

Compressive Strength: 66 MPa

Shear Strength: 39 MPa

Tensile (Youngs) Modulus: 2750 MPa (at high loads)

Hardness (shear): 85 (ASTM D2240)

Hardness (Brinnell) at 23oC: 20KJ/m2 (250m notch radius)

Impact (Charpy) at 0oC: 8KJ/m2

Elongation at break: 50-80%

Poissions Ratio: 0.35 - 0.4

THERMAL PROPERTIES:

Max Continuous Service Temp.: 60oC

Specific Heat: 1047 J/Kg/oC

Coeff. Of Linear Expansion: 7x10-5 /oC

Thermal Conductivity: 0.13-0.15 W/m/ oC

Flame Resistance: Self Extinguishing PVC-U does not support combustion when the
source of ignition is removed. At the fabrication temperature, it can be shaped by
deformation.

Primary softening point: Not less than 80 oC (AS 1462)

Vicat. Softening temperature: 80 oC to BS 2782

63

Chapter 4
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objective of the study was to find out the following: To study the effectiveness of Quality Management System in Finolex Industries Ltd.
Employee attitude towards present Quality Management System.
Investigate about the leading policy of Finolex Industries Ltd.
To find History of Finolex Industries Ltd.
To identify areas where there can be scope for improvement in Quality Management
System.
For partial fulfillment of MMS.
To give suitable recommendations.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This project is done within the Finolex Industries Ltd..
To know about the Quality Product strategies of Finolex Industries Ltd.
To know Quality Management System that has changed over a period of time.
To know the requirement of in Quality Management System on an organization.
To know Pros and cons of in Quality Management System.
To know practical application of Quality Management System in Finolex Industries
Ltd.
To identify Quality Management System behind public sector industry.
Sample taken from around 20 people.

64

Chapter 5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study was descriptive in nature and except for a few instances where statistical analysis
of considerable region was used, the researcher tried to present the findings in a simple
format.
The respondents were selected through simple random sampling. The method of contact was
through personal interview as it was the most versatile amongst the alternatives. This helped
provide clarification to the respondents and also had the advantage of recording additional
information and opinion.
Research Design:
Research design refers to framework or plan for a study that guides the collection and
analysis of data. A typical research design of a company basically tries to resolve the
following issues:
Determining Data Collection design.
Determining Data Methods.
Determining Data Sources.
Determining Primary Data Collection Method.
Developing Questionnaires.
Determining Sampling Plan.
Explorative Research Design:
Explorative studies are undertaken with a view to know more about the problem. These
studies help in a proper definition of the problem, and development of specific hypothesis is
to be tested later by more conclusive research designs. Its basic purpose is to identify factors
underlying a problem and to determine which one of them need to be further researched by
using rigorous conclusive research design.

65

Conclusive Research Design:

Conclusive research studies are more formal in nature and are conducted with a view to
eliciting more precise information for purpose of making decisions. These studies can be
either Descriptive or Experimental.
Thus, it was mix of both the tools of Research Design that is, Explorative as well as
Conclusive.
Data collection:

Primary and Secondary data.

Primary data:

Questionnaire, Direct interview,

Interaction with the present staff within
the organization.

Secondary data:

Internet, Journal/Magazines.

Data collection procedure:

Survey

Research Instrument:

Structured Questionnaires.

Sampling Plan:

Sample size: 20
(Management Level-5, Employees- 15)
Sample area: Within Organization

Data representation:

Sample procedure: Random Sampling.

Tabulation and graphical Representation
method will be adopted.

Data analysis:

For analyzing data, statistical projections

and sampling methods will be used.

DATA ANALYSIS:
QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN:

66

The questionnaire method of survey was undertaken due to its main advantages of
versatility, speed and cost. The questionnaire helps to get accurate point of view of
personnel.
In order to learn the awareness of persons working at Finolex Industries Ltd. about quality
management system as well as to collect other relevant information. The questionnaire
intended broadly covered the following areas:
Workers awareness
Comparative statements
Satisfaction level
QUESTIONNAIRE:
In survey made of data collection, questionnaire is by far the most popular means of data
collection instrument. A questionnaire uses a structured standardized format of data
collection to record verbal responses to questions. Particularly, when the sample is large and
the study wishes to collect data about specifics of consumers attitude.
I have chosen the questionnaire technique, to collect the primary data because of its obvious
advantages which are as follow:(a) Versatility-The unique advantage of using a questionnaire is its versatility.

Respondents

can be probed on a wide diversity of issues by questioning.

(b) Speed and cost- questionnaire method is usually cheaper and faster than observations.
(c) Ease of communication- since the questions are formulation in advance, all the required
information can be obtained in an orderly and systematic manner. The exact wording of
the questions can be carefully worked art to reduce the possibility of ambiguity and
misunderstanding.
(d) Control- since same questions are put before all respondents in the same order, it offers
maximum control on the interviewing process and information content.
For this project on workers and outsider peoples awareness & profile, only one
questionnaire was designed and used. It was for both those working in the company and the
prospective personnel.

67

The questionnaire was designed in such a way that the respondent would have no hesitation
in fully expressing his/her views. Moreover, care was taken in the sequencing of questions.
Again care was taken in the wordings of questions direct, simple and unbiased wording were
used.

68

Chapter 6
QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF FINOLEX

Finolexs Definition of TEAM : Together Everyone Achieve More

FINOLEX INDUSTRIES LTD.:

QUALITY POLICY Are committed to ensuring customer satisfaction by offering

quality products through continual up-gradation of technology and system with the
involvement of customer, suppliers and employees

FIL is the first Indian PVCU Pipes manufacturer to be awarded the IS/ISO
9001:2008 (Quality Management System) certification.

Having network of 15000 direct and indirect retail outlets spread across India.

Finolex PVC-U Pipes and Fittings of consistently superior quality are easily
accessible throughout the country.

Working in rotary shifty (3 shifts)

Area :1500hector

600+ permanent employees and 600 are sundry workers.

Having own Captive Power Plant of 43MW; 21MW of power for internal use &
having power purchase agreement with MSEB, Ratnagiri for remaining power.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

Finolex Industries Limited (FIL) is committed to conform to all statutory and

regulatory requirements and other requirements of interested parties on environment

69

related matters and committed to put in the best efforts for continual improvement in
environmental performance through all means.

50% of area used for Green Plantation. (where only 33% is recommended according
to Environmental Management System ISO:14000)

The company always strives to prevent pollution, optimize resource utilization

wherever possible and resort to energy conservation, waste management and
environment protection drive to safeguard the ecosystem.

The company puts its best efforts to achieve maximum water conservation by rain
water harvesting, reducing losses and reusing the effluent after proper treatment.

The company is committed to the effective environmental management system as per

the international standard ISO 14001-2004.

FIL has developed a lush green zone over 150 acres of land at its Ratnagiri plant with
more than 49000 trees. The company is continuously engaged in tree plantation and
beautification programmes.

FIL takes constant efforts to educate its employees and people working for and on
behalf of the company to improve their environmental awareness.

CODE OF CONDUCT
Code of conduct for Directors and Senior Management:
They:
1. Use due care and diligence in performing their duties and in exercising their powers.
2. Act honestly, in good faith and in the best interest of the Company.
3. Neither makes improper use of information nor take improper advantage of their
position as a Director or member of Core Management Team.
4. Not allow personal interests to conflict with the interests of the Company.
5. Recognize that their primary responsibility is to the shareholders of the Company as a
whole but they should (where appropriate) have regard for the interests of all
stakeholders.
6. Not engage in conduct likely to bring discredit to the Company.
7. Take all reasonable steps and appropriate actions in consonance with all decisions
taken by the Board of Directors.

70

8. Ensure the confidentiality of information they receive whilst being in office of

Director or member of the Core Management Team and may disclose if authorized by
the Company.
9. Not indulge into insider trading.
10. Ensure that the business practices of the Company would always be fair and
transparent.
11. Ensure compliance of the duties of directors as per the provisions of the Companies
Act, 2013.
PIPE PRODUCTION UNIT:

Fully automated production machine.

Computer Management System (CMS) is used.

SCADA operating system is used over communication channels so as to provide

control of remote equipment.

Supervisors are assigned to look after working conditions of machinery through

SCADA operating system.

Workers are assigned to look after smooth flow of production process.

30% HCL produces as a byproduct during process, which get sold to other HCL
buyer companies.

Contaminated materials also get used for different products.

75% to 80% of used water gets reused after processing on it to make it reusable.

Power Generator is available for smooth functioning of production process in case of

power failure. (Rare case)

QUALITY CONTROL (QC) DEPARTMENT:

One sample of piece of pipe of each size taken for quality check from every shift.

Internal Audit takes place once in a month.

SAP software installed.

Follows quality reference of IS 4985:2000 for PVC pipes specification.

71

Follows quality reference of is 12235:2004 for pipes and fittings methods of test.

Colour of Pipe: Light Gray

Classification of Pipe (as per pressure rating at 27c) :

Class of Pipe
1
2
3
4
5
6

Working Pressure
0.25MPa (2.5kg/cm2)
0.4MPa (4kg/cm2)
0.6MPa (6kg/cm2)
0.8MPa (8kg/cm2)
1.0MPa (10kg/cm2)
1.25MPa (12.5kg/cm2)

Marking on Pipe (as per IS 4985)

a) Manufacturer name
b) Outside diameter
c) Class of pipe & Pressure rating
d) Batch number
e) The word PLUMBING in case of plumbing pipe
f) Pipeboy Logo

Batch Number : e.g. 21014123111

2
10
14
12
31
1
1

Plant no. i.e. RATNAGIRI

Machine no.
Year
Month
Date
Shift
Line no. (2 in case of Line no. 2 of dual machine)

72

Ink Colour for Marking :

Sr. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Colour
Red
Blue
Green
Brown
Yellow
Black
Pink

Working Pressure
0.25MPa (2.5kg/cm2)
0.4MPa (4kg/cm2)
0.6MPa (6kg/cm2)
0.8MPa (8kg/cm2)
1.0MPa (10kg/cm2)
1.25MPa (12.5kg/cm2)
Plumbing

Quality Check Testing :

1. Hydrostatic Pressure Test : (Acceptance Test)
Test Temp. (c)

Test Duration

Test Pressure
(kg/cm2)

(hr.)
A) U-PVC pipe
27

4.19*Pressure no.

B) Plumbing Pipe
27

36

2. Reversion Test:
Sample Size: 200mm long
Method: Immersion Method
Test Temp.: 150c
Marking before immersion: 100mm long
Oil used: Poly Ethylene Glycol
Conditioning period: 15minuts
Result: Length shall not be alter by more than 5%

3. Impact Test: Resistance to external blows at 0c

Sample Size: 200mm long
Test Temp.: 0c

73

Medium used: Air

Apparatus: Envital Test Chamber
Conditioning period: 60 minutes
Result: Sample should not break on blow
4. Density Test :
Density should between 1.4 to 1.46gm/cc
5. Sulphated Ash Contain Test:
Apparatus: Muffle Furnace
Limit: max. 11%
6. Opacity Test:
Wall of plain pipe shall not transmit more than 0.2% of visible light falling on it.
7. Vicat Softening Temperature Test (VST):
Vicat Softening Temp. should not be less than 80c
8. Methylene Test (Gelation Test):
Liquid Used: Methylene-di-chloride
Effect of methylene-di-chloride on cross section, outer & inner surface of pipe is
checked.
Based on physical observation, this effect is expressed in OK %

INVENTORY & DISPATCH DEPARTMENT:

SAP software installed

74

Keep the stock of Goods at most appropriate level at all times so that the plant
requirements are always fulfilled.

Maintain capital investment in stocks at a min. desirable level without sacrificing the
main interest of trading.

Protect the stocks from losses or damages due to improper handling, pilferage or
unauthorized removal from stores.

Keep record of all goods routed in the stores and keep up-to-date trace of every
outgoing item from the stores.

Index all items of stocks from their quick location through positive identification
marks, labels and bin cards.

Keep up-to-date inventory records showing the quality and value of goods in the
warehouse, all receipts and deliveries made from the warehouse and the points at
which replenishment of stocks become necessary by ordering new stocks.

Use of FIRST IN FIRST OUT (FIFO) method.

Proper vendor selection to reduce lead time.

75

Chapter 7
ANALYSIS & FINDINGS

The data collected through questionnaire are suitably arranged in table for the purpose of
effective and in-depth analysis and interpretation. Use of percentage, pie-diagram, bardiagram etc is also made for the study whenever necessary.
Only the management, worker and related personnel are targeted respondents of the
questionnaire.
This questionnaire deals with all the analysis and findings related to quality management
system. Three different types of analysis are done covering almost all the objectives that are
need to be found.
The questionnaire was divided into two segments so that correct information is achieved
when conducting the survey.
First type of the questionnaire was designed to gather information regarding the general
concept of the respondents.
Second type of questionnaire was specially designed to collect information regarding the
technical solution.

76

Chapter 8
QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS
The 1st question was asked- What does the term ISO stand for? What standards
make up the ISO 9000:2000 series?
The findings are mentioned below:
The respondents simply share with me and they suitably give me their view:
The term ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization. You would
reasonably assume that it ought to be IOS, but it isn't. Apparently, the term ISO was chosen
(instead of IOS), because ISO in Greek means equal, and ISO wanted to convey the idea of
equality - the idea that they develop standards to place organizations on an equal footing.
Tabulation of Respondents Perception:

Respondents
View

Management
Personnel

Employees

Percentage

Able to Define

13

90

Unable to Define

00

10

77

The 2nd question asked to the respondents to find out the Total Quality
Management (TQM) helps business because it
The findings are mentioned below:
Says that every person in the business must work together to make excellent quality
products. Excellent product increase sales and profits or lowers a businesss costs because
making excellent products means it does not waste money on repairs and refunds.
Tabulation of Respondents Perception:
Respondents View

Percentage %
Management

Employees

Agree

15

100

Disagree

00

00

No Response

00

00

Total

15

100

Respondents View:

78

The 3rd question asked to the respondents to find out the benefits of quality
management system.
The finding of the above question is:

Improvement in internal quality (reduction in scrap, rework and non-conformities

in the shop)

Improvement in external quality (customer satisfaction, claims of non-conforming

products, returned products, warranty claims, penalty claims etc.)

Improvement in Production reliability (number of break downs, percentage down

time etc)

Improvement in Time performance (on-time delivery, time to market etc. Reduction

in the cost of poor quality (external non-conformities, scrap, rework etc)
Above 20 respondents we collect the appropriate data as shown in the table:
Respondents View

Number of Respondents %

Perfectly Describe

40

Partially Describe

50

Ignorant
Total

10
100

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

79

The 4th question asked to the respondents to find out, where most of the quality
problems occurs.
Finding of the question is:
Originate on the shop floor because of waste and product rework. Number of respondent,
their view etc. are listed below in the table
Respondents

Management(

Technical

Casual

Number of

View

M)

Worker (T)

Workers(C)

Respondents %

Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
No Response
Total

3
2
0
0
5

2
3
0
0
5

5
5
0
0
10

10
10
0
0
20

Respondents View:

The 5th question asked to the respondents to find out, quality should generally be
of priority with?
Finding of the question is:
80

Among 20 respondents from 70% of them are agree with that quality should generally be of
equal priority with cost & schedule and 25% of them believe equal priority with cost, but
higher priority than schedule and 5% express their ignorance.
By putting the above data in a pie diagram then we can find the visual representation of the
respondents viewPercentage Wise Respondents View:

70%

The 6th question asked to the respondents to find out the concept of quality is
based on?
The findings are given below:

81

The respondents view are 20% of them believes producing excellent products that are
superior to other similar items, 15% of them believe conforming to the requirements
specifications, 5% of them believe maintaining uniformity of design and 60% of them
thought the concept of quality is based on all of the above points.
The visual representation of the above findings is-

Respondents View:

The 7th question asked to the respondents to find out Is the technology using in
Finolex is the latest? Explain with example?
Finding of the question is:
When I present the above question they proudly said that their process is latest such as PVC
Pipe production, which began in Finolex Industries from the last few years. When I visit the

82

pipe section then I found the newly designed machine purchased from German, which they
believe technologically the latest.
We can draw a visual representation of respondents view as followsTech. using in
Vardhaman is
latest
Strongly agree
Agree

Management

Technical
Worker

Casual
Worker

3
2

5
3

0
2

40
35

Weak response

20

No answer

10

100

Total

Respondents View:

The 8th question asked to the respondents to find out if they have knowledge
or not about PDCA cycle?
Finding of the question is:

83

Amazingly maximum of the personnel can explain PDCA cycle- The most popular tool used
to determine quality assurance is the Shewhart Cycle. This cycle for quality assurance
consists of four steps: Plan, Do, Check, and Act. These steps are commonly abbreviated as
PDCA.
The four quality assurance steps within the PDCA model stand for:
Plan: Establish objectives and processes required to deliver the desired results.
Do: Implement the process developed.
Check: Monitor and evaluate the implemented process by testing the results against the
predetermined objectives.
Act: Apply actions necessary for improvement if the results require changes.
If we put the view of the respondent in a visual representation we found-

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

The 9th question asked to the respondents to find out where

the most

quality problems are occurs?

Finding of the question is:
The maximum respondents are strongly agrees with the view Originate on the shop floor
because of waste and product rework.
84

We get the following visual representation by putting the respondents view with percentage
wiseRespondents

Management

Technical

Casual worker

view
Strongly agree
Agree
Weak response
No response
Total

persons (5)
1
3
1
0

persons (10)
2
6
2
0

(5)
0
1
3
1

Percentage %
15
50
30
5
100

Respondents View:

The 10th question asked to the respondents to find out What have to do the
manufacturers to prevent the majority of product defect in most of the processes.
Finding of the question is:
The technical workers view

Increase the use of acceptance control charts instead of standard three-sigma

control charts.

Make a concerted effort to eliminate the potential for product defects in the
design stage.
85

But in the base level the answer is not acceptable.

Respondents view
Suitable answer
Acceptable answer

8
6

Technical persons
2
3

Base worker 20

Percentage
50%
45%

Not acceptable

5%

Total

14

100

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

86

The 11th no. question asked Are the customer satisfied with the quality of
Pipe?
Finding of the question is:
Management (5)

Technical Worker
(10)

Casual
Worker (5)

Strongly agree

70

Agree
Weak response

0
0

2
0

3
1

25
5

No answer
Total

0
100

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

87

The 12th question asked to the respondents to find out if they know the
quality tools are necessary for continuous improvement?
Finding of the question is:
Tabulation of Respondents Perception:
Respondents View

Percentage %
Management (5)

Employees (15)

Agree

10

75

Disagree

No Response

25

Total

100

Percentage Wise Respondents View:

88

The 13th question asked to the respondents to find if they familiar with the
zero defect concept?
The 14th question asked to the respondents to find if they familiar with 8020 rules.
Finding of the above two questions are:
Resp. view

Yes

No

No Response

Management (5)

Technical (15)

10

75%

15%

10%

Percentage

Respondents View

89

The 15th question asked to the respondents to find if they think that
QMS has help Finolex?
Finding of the question is:

Respondents

Management

Technical

Casual worker

view

persons (MNG)

persons (TP)

(CW)

Agree
Disagree
No response
Total

5
0
0
5

10
0
0
10

4
0
1
5

Percentage
%
95
0
5
100

Respondents View:

90

Chapter 9
RECOMMENDATIONS
For Finished Goods, it is required to build shelf with closed roof to prevent attack
of moisture, dust & rain on pipes.
To maintain quality maintaining proper parameter during process operation is
essential.
Also for production of quality plastic, if the raw material in proper parameter it may
give low cost and with minimum errors.
There is need for Quality improvement tool to be implemented in Finolex
Industries Ltd..
To make employees more aware of QMS by organizing seminars, providing
training on a continuous basis.
To make sure that the awareness program covers as many workers as possible.
To teach the workers how to make efficient utilization of the existing Quality
Management Tools & Techniques.
Before starting the trails there must be strong commitment from management which
should be a commitment for time, money and total backup for the project.

Chapter 10
91

LIMITATIONS
The study being very extensive might be very difficult to complete within the
stipulated time of two months.
The project may suffer from financial constraint.
It may suffer from biasness & ignorance of the respondents.

Some of the information was kept confidential by the company.

Study was confined only to the selected components in the PVC Pipe Plant.

Chapter 11
92

CONCLUSION
Finolex Industries Ltd. is a largest plastic producer which is popular among Education Sector
and the product quality is acceptable in India and out of India.
Finolex Industries Ltd. has large number of employers skilled and unskilled, line and staff,
flexible and inflexible work in a network of domestic foreign facilities. Formal and
informal system, good and bad practices and old and new cultures co-exist production
consists of a mix of low volume of high engineered, customized products. Sometimes
medium columns of high performance products with short life cycles and sometimes high
volume of high quality low cost commodities.
Finolex Industries Ltd. product process is as varied as the products they produce. Finolex
Industries Ltd. has taken a new Manufacturing Strategy or Plan to bring structure or order
into the complex environment. The optical properties are one of the vital criteria beside the
competitive price for product (paper / board) selection by the customer.
Though management personnel are fully aware of the above mentioned systems, there seems
to be ignorance among the support staffs and casual workers to some extent.
The feedback generated during the study helps to identify the areas where needs
managements attention to increase the effectiveness of ERP and TPM systems in Finolex
Industries Ltd., and provides an opportunity for improvement

93

BIBLIOGRAPHY
JOURNALS AND BOOKS:
UDHE GmbH Operating Manuals Finolex Library

94