As many as 12 pumpset manufacturers here have formed a cluster to adopt lean manufacturing practices. This 10-month project will help the manufacturers increase productivity, improve quality, bring down costs, rejections and wastage and have a flexible production system.
According to Jayakumar Ramdass, president of the SIEMA Business Development Trust, the cluster was formed under the Union Government's National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme. The trust was a special purpose vehicle formed to implement the cluster programme and TUV was identified to work with the units on this. The total cost would be Rs. 19 lakh.
The Union Government would give 80 per cent of the cost and the rest would come from the participating units.
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The 12 pumpset manufacturers, who are all members of the Southern India Engineering Manufacturers' Association (SIEMA), signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February last year and submitted a proposal to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Department.
The special purpose vehicle was formed after that a tripartite agreement was signed in December 2010 by the trust, TUV and the National Productivity Council, which is the nodal agency for the programme.
The TUV officials organised an orientation meeting here on Wednesday for the 12 members. They would prepare a road map in 10 days.
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The lean manufacturing practices would vary according to the size, turnover and production systems in each unit. The involvement of the top management was important for the success of the programme, he said.