CII Communique - February, 2010

towards excellence
competitiveness
Trichy SME Cluster Launched
SME Cluster launch in Trichy
The CII L M Thapar Centre for Competitiveness launched
a cluster comprising of 10 Small and Medium sized
suppliers of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
on 6 January in Tiruchirapalli.
Mr A V Krishnan, Executive Director, BHEL, noted that
the current business models and practices may not be
enough for scalability. Hence, there is a strong need
from industry for introducing structured approaches
and systems to equip employees to create solutions
continuously. He said quality can be achieved only by
creating a strong culture within organizations for which
all must move from competition to cooperation.
Mr Krishnan described CII’s Cluster Approach as a
comprehensive model that could be absorbed by SMEs
to stay competitive. He committed that BHEL would be
glad to fine-tune its internal systems and processes
in line with what cluster members implement through
CII’s programme.
Avon Advance Cluster
The Avon Advance Cluster successfully completed its
advance level with a formal closure ceremony on 22 January
in Ludhiana. The cluster was launched in December
2008 when companies, having already undergone
the learnings of the Basic level cluster, committed to
move forward to achieve higher level of excellence in
Advance Cluster closure ceremony in
Ludhiana
manufacturing through
CII LM Thapar Centre
for Competitiveness for
SMEs. The advance
c l u s t e r e x p o s e d
the participants to
a superior level of
global practices. The
participating companies
were encouraged and
enabled to be on
their own path of selfsustained
rapid progress. The success of the Cluster
is evident from the fact that the companies together
achieved savings of Rs 182 lakhs and generated 1573
Kaizens in the process.
Energy Management
Energy conservation practices have acquired top priority
in the present context of acute power shortage and global
environmental compulsions, requiring Industry to take
up the latest trends in using energy efficiently. Energy
Conservation offers an excellent opportunity to reduce
operating energy costs to remain competitive.
A two-day Advanced Training Programme on Energy
Management’ from 28-29 January in Chandigarh,
discussed energy saving techniques with the latest
case studies and practical examples.
7 QC Tools- A Way to Problem Solving
The training programme on 7 QC Tools A Way to
Problem Solving on 22 January in Chandigarh updated
the participants on the advantages of the popular
Seven QC tools, which are used by quality-conscious
companies throughout the world for improvement of
products and processes. They form the fundamental
foundation for all problem-solving and quality control
activities and are also an important element of Lean
Manufacturing.
Training programme on 7 QC Tools in Chandigarh
42 | February 2010 Communiqué