Challenge yourself: A Case Study

It is a case study. It is also a success story.

It is about translating the text book idioms into real life implementation in manufacturing industries.

It is about making employees believe that – the only thing constant for success is to change.

“Challenge yourself to excel” is easy to do only when you realize that this is the growth path to “sustainable success”.

Ammonium Nitrate (AN); all of us in the earth moving field know; is a major raw material in manufacture of CHNO explosives. Most of the explosives manufacturing industries in India were established nearer to the AN manufacturing plants. The AN manufacturing plants were run by Public Sector Units or PSUs. Due to various reasons; which are not very relevant for this article; many of these PSUs became business inefficient and could not cater to the demand of explosives industries. Others who could manage to manufacture became operationally in-efficient. They could not market their AN in the correct rate. Cost had gone high. So, sneezing of AN units made explosives manufacturing units to catch cold. Raw materials’ cost went up for explosives manufacturers who started making losses. Sell of explosives became very difficult. Many explosives industries went sick to the points of closure.

The organization, the author is referring about, however made a smooth sailing in the turbulent and recession situations also. The relatively easy situation actually was attained by travelling an arduous path by its employees who were ably guided by their competent management.

The organization had three years’ ROLLING PLANS in place as a part of its business strategy (BS) in which one of the areas discovered years earlier is that – in Indian explosives market, cost of the input materials were going up and sales price of explosives were coming down. Management had aptly addressed to this disturbing trend. It facilitated processes to work its BS and R&D groups in collaboration. Action plans were to (a) understand the Indian explosives market, (b) understand the mines requirements, (c) to develop site specific products, (d) re-formulate its explosives compositions, (e) reduction of AN by other oxidizers, and so on.

A business model was developed to tackle ever increasing input-materials-costs and sustainable-business by combining all contributing parameters.

Explosives market was categorized as per (a) product need and geographical locations. Hitherto single explosives formulations for one product were sub-divided into many different formulations. Customers were categorized. Niche markets were found out and developed. On formulations side, (a) newer formulations were conceptualized, (b) their thermodynamic parameters were determined and established, (c) statutory permissions were obtained, (d) laboratory scale batches were made, (e) in-house tests were carried out (e) and scaled up pilot plant batches to commercial productions, (f) required field trials were conducted in various mines as well as in difficult geological strata. Statutory permissions were obtained for regularization of newer formulations.

Completion of all these activities was NOT easy. Because it was a change process and no one love changes.

Employees at all levels were trained, given trust, explained market threats, and other aspects of this peril. They were encouraged to come out from their comfort zones and take challenges. Most employees accepted these challenges and supported to undergo the difficult path. Change was made and the best part is that – now change is viewed and embraced by employees as the constant.

We shall come back to the AN aspect. Cost f the major input material, i.e. cost of AN was going up and domestic AN availability was becoming scarce. Three prong approach was adopted. These are: (1) lowering AN percentages in explosives formulations, (2) plant, machinery and process were upgraded and or altered to handle AN in solid form, and (3) overall input materials cost was brought down.

Had we not done this exercise of AN optimization at the appropriate time, we would have had succumbed to the sudden and unexpected AN market scenario.

Thus, challenging oneself is the best way to be ahead of trouble points and success.