OBJECTIVE OF INDUSTRY VISIT

We visited the Bisleri plant at Andheri (E) on the 29th of September. The main objective of this visit was to observe and understand the overall Operations and Production Process of Bisleri Packaged Drinking Water. From this visit, we understood the following things :1) The important factors which influence the location as well as the layout of the plant. 2) The different stages involved in the production process ie. right from the basic inputs of raw materials to conversion subsystems to the final finished output. 3) The functioning of the different departments in the Plant. 4) The different types of Machinery used in the Bisleri Plant. 5) How to manage the overall Operations of a Packaged Drinking Water Factory.

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PROCEDURE

The Procedure of our Study mainly involved visiting the Bisleri Plant and gaining knowledge First Hand. The main information regarding Operations and Production Process, Plant Location and Layout, Planning involved in Production, Knowledge about the different Departments and the Distribution Network was obtained by visiting the Plant. Also certain information such as About Bisleri and the Packaged Drinking Water industry was obtained from the website.

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DEMAND OF WATER WOULD NEVER GO DOWN & WATER WOULD NEVER BE OUT OF BUSINESS

Packaged Drinking Water Industry

Water everywhere, not a CLEAN drop to drink! Who would have thought that there will be a day when sanitation of available water would be more of a concern than availability of water itself? Hygiene is of great concern to everyone today, and this is evident with the surging rise in the consumption of packaged/bottled water. India has 16 percent of the world's population, 2.5 percent of the land mass and 4 percent of the world's water resources. These limited water resources are depleting rapidly while the demands on them are increasing. Drinking water supplies in many parts of India are intermittent. Transmission and distribution networks for water are generally old and badly maintained, and as a result, are deteriorating. India is one of the biggest and most attractive water markets in the world. The boom time for Indian bottled water industry is to continue- more so because the economics are sound, the bottom line is attractive and the Indian government hasnt planned well for utilization of the nation's water resources. Corporate control over water and water distribution in India is growing rapidly: the packaged water business is worth $250 million. Around 1,200 bottling plants and 100 brands of packaged water across the country are battling over the market. Most multi-national (MNC) companies view India as the next big market with a lot of potential and growth possibility. Several MNCs are waiting in the wings to expand a $ 287 billion global water market into India. There is a huge market being exploited by the packaged water industry, and it's growing at 40% per annum. With over a thousand bottled water producers, the Indian bottled water industry is big by even international standards. There are more than 200 brands, nearly 80 per cent of which are local. Most of the small-scale producers sell non-branded products and serve small markets.

From being confined to the uppermost echelons of society, packaged water has now become a commonplace commodity and almost a necessity in metros. After witnessing historic growth in recent years, it has become a Rs 3,000-crore industry, one that is slated to only post healthy growth rates to become a Rs 10,000-crore business in just three years, The bulk water industry, or water in 12-, 20- and 25-litre packages, has also witnessed a parallel growth of Rs 700-1,000 crore. Basically, the market can be divided into two segments the retail consumer market where the pack sizes are 500 ml, one litre, 1.2/1.5/2-litre and five-liter, and the household and 3|Page institutional market, where the pack size is usually are 20- or 25-litre. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the governing authority on all quality and production regulations related to natural mineral water as well as packaged drinking water.

Future Growth Prospects for the Industry:

The industrys phenomenal growth in recent years can be attributed to rising incidence of waterborne diseases, improper municipal supplies, and evolved health consciousness of people as well as globalization, which has brought in tremendous tourist inflow. The industry growth rate is 40-50 per cent a year, but India is still behind countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, where the industry is already worth Rs 15,000-20,000 crore. These countries have much smaller population but similar climatic conditions. If we consider these data as a base for future potential, then the growth prospects of Packaged Drinking Water in India is high. The Indian market currently has more than 2,000 players, the main brands controlling the market are Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd., Himalaya Mountain Water, Pepsis Aquafina, Cokes Kinley, Kingfisher, SAB Millers Royal Challenge, besides local players such as Sabol. With better knowledge of packaged drinking water, brands such as Bisleri Mountain Water, Evian of France, Himalayan of North India and Blue Mont from the South are trying to create a niche in the premium water segment of mountain spring water, which comes under the natural mineral water specifications of BIS.

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ABOUT BISLERI:
Mineral Water under the name 'Bisleri' was first launched in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties - bubbly & still in 1965 by Bisleri Ltd., a company of Italian origin. This company was started by Signor Felice Bisleri who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India. Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd. In 1969 & started bottling Mineral water in glass bottles under the brand name 'Bisleri'. Later Parle switched over to PVC non-returnable bottles & finally advanced to PET containers. .

Since 1995 Mr. Ramesh J. Chauhan has started expanding Bisleri operations substantially and the turnover has multiplied more than 20 times over a period of 10 years and the average growth rate has been around 40% over this period. Presently Bisleri has 8 plants & 11 franchisees all over India. Their presence covers the entire span of India. The company is planning to set up four more plants. Bisleri commands a 65% market share of the organized market. Overwhelming popularity of 'Bisleri' & the fact that it has pioneered bottled water in India, has made it synonymous to Mineral water and has made it a household name. When you think of bottled water, you think Bisleri.
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Product Range
Bisleri is packaged in:
Non-Returnable Packs- 250ml cups 250ml bottles 500ml 1L 1.5L 2L

Returnable Packs 5L 20L

Recently Bisleri Natural Mountain Water was introduced - water from the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand. Hence the product range now comprises of two variants: Bisleri with added minerals & Bisleri Mountain Water. Bisleri also has a marginal share in the Soda segment.

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PLANT LOCATION
Location is the most important factor to be considered while setting up any manufacturing plant. It plays a vital role in deciding the efficiency and smooth running of the factory. On the other hand, a bad plant location may create many obstacles in the manufacturing process. Hence any company attaches a lot of importance to selection of an ideal plant location depending on its line of business.

SO WHAT IS AN IDEAL PLANT LOCATION?

There are many factors to be considered while deciding the location. It varies from plant to plant depending on the sort of unit they are manufacturing. However there are certain universal guidelines which have to be taken into consideration. The factors which Bisleri took into consideration are :-

1) Availability of Raw Material :a)

The main raw material for any bottling plant is water. The location that has been selected has 8 bore wells on site which is enough to supply water for the whole year. Hence the company does not rely much on BMC for its water.

b)

The other raw material it requires is HDPE, LLDPE for the production of caps and PET for the production of bottles. The granules of these are easily available. The polymer manufacturing companies i.e. CHEMCO and SNJ HYDERABAD have distributors in Mumbai.
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2) Nearness to the market :Mumbai is one of the biggest cities in India and the market in Mumbai is very large due to the fact that people here are more hygiene conscious. The factory is located right next to the western express highway therefore making it easier for it to transport the finished goods to the different parts of the city as well as out station.

3) Availability of power :Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. is located in an industrial area therefore there is abundant power available. Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. gets its power from TATA Power, they have provided a substation to meet the needs of the factory.

4) Transport facility :Bisleri has a significant number of trucks (about 10) to meet the delivery needs of the company. They also hire Eicher trucks in order to transport the finished goods and semi finished goods within the city as well as out of the state.

5) Suitability of Climate :Bisleri is located in Mumbai which is in the temperate zone. Therefore, the temperature is moderate and this area being near the coast, gets high rainfall which is essential for the year round supply of water.

6)

Availability of labor :Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. is located in the city of Mumbai- a metropolitan city. It has abundant skilled, semi-skilled and manual or unskilled labour.

BISLERI PLANT LAYOUT

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Samant Road Dispatching Vehicles Space Administration Office

Main Entrance

Security Cabin

Western Express Highway

Laboratory Garden Blowing Wing

Stocking and Storage of the Finished Products i.e., 500ml, 1Litre, 20 Liters Bottles

Disinfection of the 20 Liters Jars

Filling Wing

Capping Wing

Bore well

Water Treatment Plant

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ANALYSIS OF THE LAYOUT

The factory has wide doors leading to a raised platform. There are small cranes which are

used to pick up the lot of raw materials such as pre-forms and caps which are brought by trucks. They are then stored in an accessible place so that they can be taken for further processing.

In order to facilitate the transporting of the boxes from one plant to another there are medium trolleys which have to be manually pushed. Therefore sloped entrance and exits are provided.

The warehouse where the finished goods are stored is located right next to the vehicle pool in order to reduce the time wasted in transporting to the trucks.

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INFLUENCE OF CERTAIN FACTORS ON PLANT LAYOUT

1) TYPE OF INDUSTRY:The unique manufacturing processes and the type of industry have a significant influence on the layout of the plant. The different types of industries are as follows:1) Synthetic 2) Analytical 3) Conditioning 4) Extractive Bisleri falls under the category of Conditioning industry. A Conditioning industry is an industry which is involved in the change of form or the physical properties of a substance; in this case water. Each of the above industries can be further classified into:1) Intermittent industry 2) Continuous industry Bisleri falls under the category of a Continuous industry. A Continuous industry is an industry that manufactures a product of a standard size.

2) SIZE AND TERRAIN :The size and the terrain of the site determine the types of buildings which in turn, influence the layout of the plant.
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The Bisleri Plant is located on a large plot. The terrain of that plot is in the Step Form. i.e. the full plot is not at the same level. This helps in the transportation of semi-finished products to the filler.

3) MACHINERY :The size and type of the machinery to be installed also influences the plant layout. The fixed and stationary parts of the machines should also be taken into consideration while designing the plant layout. In Bisleri, the following factors were taken into consideration while installing the machinery :1) There is enough space for the repair and maintenance of the machinery. 2) The machines are placed in such a way that there is enough place for moving and relocation of the machines. 3) There is enough maneuverability for the workers to move about the machines and work comfortably.

4) Workers :The layout of the plant should be such that it fulfills the requirements of the workers. Also the fact whether the employees have a job which requires them to sit in one place or move about should be taken into consideration. In the Bisleri factory, the workers have the following facilities:1) The plant is on the Western Express Highway and is also very close to the Andheri Station. This makes it very convenient for the workers to commune. 2) The Canteen for the workers is conveniently located and provides hygienic food. 3) The Washrooms for men and women workers are also conveniently located are kept in hygienic conditions

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PRINCIPLES OF PLANT LAYOUT

We have seen that certain factors influence the layout of the plant. Along with these factors, there are certain Principles which act as guidelines for the layout engineer while designing the plant layout. They are as follows :1) The principle of minimum travel 2) The principle of sequence 3) The principle of usage. 4) The principle of compactness 5) The principle of safety and satisfaction 6) The principle of flexibility 7) The principle of minimum investment

Out of these the Bisleri Plant follows 2 Principles: The Principle Of Minimum Travel :This Principle states that there should be minimum distance for labor and materials to travel between operations so as to minimize the cost of Materials Handling. The Bisleri Plant has installed its Machines in such a way that right from the stage of raw materials to the final finished product there is very little distance for a unit to travel. This saves time and cost for Bisleri.

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 The Principle Of Sequence :Machinery and operations should be arranged in a sequential order. This principle is best achieved in product layout, and efforts should be made to have it adopted in the process layout. In the Bisleri plant right from producing the caps and bottles pre-forms to treating the water to making the bottles and filling and capping it, all the machines are arranged in a sequence therefore saving time and cost on material handling equipment.

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PLANNING INVOLVED IN PRODUCTION PROCESS

1) Material :There is no output possible without the basic Raw Materials. Materials can account for almost 80% of the output. Hence Matrials are very important in planning for any production. The Materials which are required by Bisleri are : Untreated Water

HDPE LLDPE PET Recycled PET Granules Cartons Stickers

2) Procedure :This step involves designing the most compatible process of production with a given set of circumstances and facilities. This starts right from the designing of the plant to the actual production.

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The method for producing packaged drinking water starts with the production of bottles and caps. After that the semi finished products are transported from the cap and pre-forms division to the filling division, where the caps are added to the filling machines and the preforms to the corresponding size of the bottle. These bottles are then added to the conveyor belt to complete the process of filling the bottle automatically. After the bottle is filled to the desired level, the bottle is automatically capped and then stickers are put on the bottle. The price is printed through a spray gun. Then it is visually inspected and after that put into cartons ready for delivery.

3) Machines and Equipment:The Machinery that is used for production has to be carefully selected as it can result in higher and more efficient output at a lower cost. The following are the methods of acquiring the machinery:1) Equipments can be purchased fresh or second hand 2) Equipment can be leased or rented 3) Equipment can be fabricated within the plant Machines used in Bisleri are as follows : Injection moulding machines for the production of pre-forms and caps.

Moulding machines for making the bottles according to the required size and shape. Automatic fillers for the purpose cleaning and efficient filling of the bottles with least amount of rejection.

4)

Routing :The determination of where each operation on a component part, subassembly or assembly is to be performed results in a route for the movement of a manufacturing lot through the factory. A generalized routing can be determined depending upon the size of the building and is established by departments such as machine shop, assembly, finishing,
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inspection and so on. A detailed routing indicates the specific work station or machine to be used for each operation. The route of the production process is designed in such a way that in process, transportation is at a minimum. The plant layout is in such a way that it is easy to transport the semi-finished product. First comes the semi finished product then it is blown, filled and sealed, finally ready for delivery.

5) Estimating :Estimating is a special type of Forecasting. Predicting what a unit of a product will cost is very difficult to do. Hence, many companies have Pre-planning departments to estimate the cost of the products and the demand as well. Bisleri being an old company is able to estimate the demand because of past experience. They take the help of Market Surveys and past trends to determine the production requirements.

6) Loading and Scheduling : Bisleri uses both scheduling and loading help in production planning. Scheduling refers to the preparation of a time table for various operations covering the beginning and finishing times of various operations. Loading refers to the time gap for various work loads booked in advance for different products. Thus, scheduling guarantees the observation of delivery times and loading guarantees the maximum utilization of the available facilities. According to the schedule of the delivery, amount to be delivered and the place they are to be delivered, the trucks are loaded to be sent to wholesalers and retailers.

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INPUTS

CONVERSION SUBSYSTEM

OUTPUT

Environment Legal FDA, BIS, BMC Technological automatic inj. Mldg. m/c, auto blow mldg. m/c. Market Bisleri Bottles

Physical

Manufacturing Locational Services

Competition with Aquafina, Kinley etc. Customer Desire 50 m.l., 100 m.l., 25 Resources Primary litres and low price
Material: -

Transportation Exchange

Water from bore wells HDPE, LLDPE, PET.

Services Wholesaler Refill Other Private Services

Personnel: -

Plastics Engineering, Production Managers.

Utility

Capital Assets: Auto Filling Machine, Blow moulding machine, recycling machine

Control Sub-system

Sealed bottle, FDA, Quality

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BISLERIS PRODUCTION SYSTEM MODEL

INPUTS
Environment 1) Legal : -

Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd being a company involved in selling water which is fit for consumption, comes under the FDA. It also follows the standards of BIS. Therefore it maintains its quality and public perceive the image of being 100% safe.

2)

Technological : -

Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd believes in keeping up with times and they are trying constantly to increase their market share. This is the reason Bisleri has automatic Injection Moulding Machine in order to increase their production capacity 3 folds. Bisleri already has 2 automatic Blow Moulding Machines.

Market 1) Competition : -

Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd 1992 at that time Bisleri enjoyed almost a complete monopoly. Recently however, companies like Pepsi and Coco cola have entered the market to give tough competition to Bisleri by introducing brands like kinley and Aquafina.

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2)

Customer desire:-

Bisleri has become a household name to the extent that people instead of calling it packaged water are calling it Bisleri.

3)

More options: -

Bisleri was the first company in India to increase its products in packaged drinking water ranging from 500ml to 20 litres.

Primary resources: 1)

Material: The raw water is obtained from bore wells. The bottles are made from polymers such as HDPE, LLDPE and PET.

2)

Personnel: Bisleri requires mostly skilled and semi skilled labourers. The skilled labourers include production and plastic engineers.

3)

Capital assets: Bisleri has got 14 injection moulding machines, 2 automatic blow moulding machines and 4 semi automatic blow moulding machines. It has also got 2 plants located side by side for production purposes.

Conversion Subsystem
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1)

Physical: Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd is considered to be a manufacturing unit as it manufactures the semi finished product i.e. bottles and caps and also produces the finished products.

2)

Exchange services: The distribution network of Bisleri is maintained by its distributors and wholesalers. To supply to big corporates they have their own distribution network.

3)

Outputs: The final output of whole manufacturing process is we get clean pure drinking water in bottles of different sizes according to the needs of the consumers.

Quality Control and Quality Standards

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Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. follows and conforms to the standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Tests prescribed by the BIS are conducted daily and weekly on the Bisleri premises while quarterly, half-yearly and even yearly tests are conducted in a separate laboratory. REQUIREMENTS TO BE COMPLIED WITH BY THE APPLICANT OF PACKAGED DRINKING WATER FOR GRANT OF BIS LICENCE ACCORDING TO IS 14543:2004 A. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS General requirements for grant of BIS License B. PRODUCT SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS (FOR PACKAGED DRINKING WATER) 1. List of Test Equipments, Glass wares & Chemicals 2. List of BIS approved outside lab for the Product Water, Containers (including lids/caps) 3. Details of samples of the product/containers to be drawn during BIS visits. 4. Acceptance of Marking Fee 5. Acceptance of Scheme of Testing and Inspection (STI) 6. Guidelines for assessment of Hygienic conditions with Explanatory notes for guidance 7. List of Indian Standards which a Packaged Drinking Water Industry must have in original 8. Undertaking for getting the samples tested as per STI frequency from BIS approved/NABL accredited outside lab. 9. Consent letter from concerned outside lab for testing of sample (Ref. Sr. No. 8). 10. Copy of the appointment letter, qualification certificates for Chemist and Microbiologist 11. No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the concerned office of Central Ground Water Authority (if applicable in the state).

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12. Detailed Manufacturing process indicating treatment for disinfection along with Process Flow Chart. Clause 3.2 of IS 14543:2004 specifies various processes for manufacturing Packaged Drinking Water for guidance only 13. Copies of Medical Examination Reports of the employees engaged in washing/filling of the product for any communicable/skin diseases and fitness to work in a food industry. 14. Details about the arrangements of pest control treatment such as an agreement/contract with the agency. Also details of Cleaning in Place (CIP) 15. Declaration of Shelf-life of the product separately for each type of container (e.g. 1littre, 2 litre, 20 litre etc.). 16. Undertaking Regarding clause 6 (Packing) of 14543:2004 (Labelling Prohibitions) 17. Obtain request letter from BIS for getting the sample tested for Radio Active Residues, from BARC before submitting the application and test report received from BARC is to be submitted along with the application form. IS 14543:2004 and clause 7.2 of IS

Quality Control Measures at the Inventory level

When the raw material like performs are ordered and are subsequently delivered to the plant, a Quality check is done physically, using a sampling formula, to ensure the quality of the goods delivered. If they conform to the Quality Standards prescribed, then the manufacturing department gives the go ahead and the raw material consignment is accepted, otherwise it is rejected and is returned back to the supplier.

RAW MATERIAL ARRIVES

SAMPLING FORMULA USED

QUALITY CHECK DONE

24 | P a g e CONSIGNMENT ACCEPTED/REJECTED MANUFACTURING DEPT. DECIDES

Other Quality Control Measures

Leakages in the System : Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. has standards for leakages in the system, i.e. it has consideration levels for rejection of damaged items during the production and manufacturing process. For instance a count is kept for the number of caps, preforms and bottles rejected in the process. If this count goes above a particular level, then the machinery is considered faulty and is immediately serviced / repaired. Approximately 0.8% to 0.9% leakages in the system are tolerated. On the day prior to the plant visit, the cost of rejections calculated in monetary terms for the 8 hour shift was Rs. 10,357 broken up as

Cartons Rs. 89, Preforms Rs. 290, Bottles Rs. 9728, Caps Rs.159, Labels Rs.91. Total Rs. 10,357 Standards for reuse/recycling of bottles : The 20 litre bottles are cleansed and then reused. Bisleri has certain standards for the reuse of these bottles. For instance the bottles are first
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externally cleansed. Then jet pressure of above 1 kg is used to wash the bottles internally, first with added disinfectant of the desired ppm level and then the bottles are rinsed with plain water. However if the bottles do not match the parameters for reuse, then they are rejected and crushed. A record is kept of these bottles. Other Methods : The packed cartons are not placed directly on the floor of the plant, lest they get damaged and consequently degrade the quality of the product. Also trolleys and carts are used to transfer the cartons within the plant. Workers in the plant are required to wear head masks to avoid contamination of the product. Daily pest control is undertaken to maintain a clean environment for manufacturing. There are at least two people appointed to remove defective or damaged pieces from the assembly line Water wasted during the bottling process is recycled and put to use. Bisleri maintains a regular sanitation and maintenance record. Minimal human intervention is involved during the production process. If a bottle is unnecessarily touched by human hand, the product is discarded to maintain adequate quality. The mineral water is ozone treated before packaging. An expiry date is decided for the product so that the desired quality can be maintained. Overall productivity for a day is maintained at 80% to 85%. (For the day prior to the plant visit it was 82% productivity) Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. has the following Quality Policy :

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Quality policy
Bisleri commits itself to produce and market a world class product to satisfy the present and future needs. We will strive to train all our people and develop an obsession for qualtity in all aspects of work in an organization. We are committed to implement good manufacturing practices and to achieve continuous improvement in the plant, process and didtribution chain. We ensure full compliance to all government regulatory norms and strictly adhere to the internal standards of quality and hygiene. Each and everyone in the organization is responsible for quality. The head is accountable for implementation of the quality policy and guidance. The quality policy is implemented uniformly across all manufacturing units. The corporate quality Assurance will provide necessary support and guidance for up gradation of the procedures and standards.

Production System
Mass production: -

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Mass Production is the name given to the method of producing goods in large quantities at low cost per unit. Mass production, although allowing lower prices, does not have to mean lowquality production. Instead, mass-produced goods are standardized by means of precisionmanufactured, interchangeable parts. The mass production process is characterized by mechanization to achieve high volume, elaborate organization of materials flow through various stages of manufacturing, careful supervision of quality standards, and minute division of labour. Mass production requires mass consumption. Until recently, the only large-scale demand for standardized, uniform products came from military organizations. The major experiments that eventually led to mass production were first performed under the aegis of the military. Effects on the organization of work: The development of mass production transformed the organization of work in three important ways:
1. Tasks were minutely subdivided and performed by unskilled workers, or at least

semiskilled workers, since much of the skill was built into the machine.
2. Manufacturing concerns grew to such size that a large hierarchy of supervisors and

managers became necessary.

3. The increasing complexity of operations required employment of a large management

staff of accountants, engineers, chemists, and, later, social psychologists, in addition to a large distribution and sales force.

Production Process
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In the blowing department the performs, obtained from the preforms department are blown to form bottles. There are a total of 2 fully automatic blowing machines which are directly connected to the filler. Preforms are available in various sizes according to the size of bottle.

Bottle Sizes 1 ltr 500 ml 250 ml 1.5 ltr 2 ltr 5 ltr 20 ltr 2. Filling :

Preform Sizes 21gms 17gms 15gms 32 gms 34 gms 75 gms 710 gms

The filling department is situated in a closed and a controlled environment to maintain the hygiene. Bottles are fed by an air conveyor from the blowing unit directly into the infeed of the RFC. RFC equipment is neck run and it boasts of a mono block unit, which means that every bottle is held by the neck automatically while being inverted, rinsed and sprayed with ozonated water at 2 Bar pressure. After draining, the bottles are re-inverted and transferred to the filler. At the filler these bottles are straightened up and gradually
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lifted to the filling valves which open only when a bottle is placed under them. Filling is then done systematically through gravity. The bottles are directly loaded onto the conveyor belt, first the bottles are passed through UV light to kill the bacteria, then the bottles are cleaned by pure water, then the bottles are filled to the desired quantity. The water dispenser fills the bottle till the desired level of water is filled which is checked by a sensor.

3. Capping :

The bottles are passed to the capper from the filler through the conveyer belt. The caps are produced in the cap department. HDPE and LLDPE which are in the form of granules are emptied into the hopper of the injection moulding machine with a colorant and the caps are produced of the characteristic green colour of Bisleri. The caps that are produced are automatically packed into cartons. This semi finished product is transported, after quality testing has been done, to the filling department. The bottles are passed to the capper from the filler through the conveyer belt. Here ozonated-water rinsed caps are screwed on the bottle with uniform torque. Since the water is ozonated all product contact parts are of 316L grade stainless steel and the rubber parts are of EPDM.

4. Labelling:

From the capping section the bottles are directly sent to the labeling section. All Bisleri bottles are labeled on a hot melt reel feed BOPP labeling machine. This machine allows each individual bottles to be spaced out and fed to the labeling station where precisely
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cut labels with a strip of hot melt glue at the leading and trailing edge, get rolled around the bottle. These labels are fed into the machine in a roll form too.

5. Coding :

The labeled bottles are then passed to the coder. The sensor first senses the bottle and then the price, manufacturing date, batch number are printed by spraying machine on the bottle itself, then the bottles pass through a screen of white light where workers manually check all the bottles for any defects. The code exactly contains Date, Time and Quality Checkers initials. 6. Packaging : Lastly they are packed in cartons and stored in the warehouse ready for transportation to its destination.

All the waste bottles are separated send to the recycling department for recycling where they are cleaned, grinded to a coarse powder which is again used in the manufacturing process, thus reducing wastages and being environmentally friendly.

Technology
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Water testing
There are 8 Physiochemistry tests performed on the water:
1) pH: This test is performed to check the hydrogen ion concentration in water. It should be neutral. The pH limit which is accepted is 6.8 to 7.2 2) TDS (Total dissolved salts) 3) Turbidity 4) AOT ( Adherence, odour and taste) 5) Visual appearance 6) Packaging 7) Level alignment 8) Torque test ( for capping pressure) There is a bursting strength unit. It is to check the carton acceptance capacity. Carton is placed and the machine is started. The capacity is checked on the meter. 6-8 is the normal bearing capacity. Sample size for water treatment depends on the PH level. There is thickness meter to check the bottle thickness. Spectrophometer to check the standards for mineral levels in the water. Nitrate NO3 45mg/l Nitrite NO2 0.02mg/l Zinc Zn 5mg/l Manganese Mn 0.1mg/l

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Calcium Ca 75mgl Magnesium Mg 30mg/l Sulphide S - 0.05mg/l

All the different machines to the check whether bottles are blown properly or not are BISLERI PATENTED

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Water Treatment Process Diagram

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WATER TREATMENT
Every drop of Bisleri water is purified as per international standards to ensure that Bisleri experience always remains pure and satisfying for longer. The following is a brief understanding of the water treatment process: The Raw water is the Water taken from the 8 bore wells present at the Plant. Chlorination kills micro organisms and removes organic matter. After that the water goes through the Sand Filter where the solid wastes are removed. The Carbon Filter removes residual chlorine & odours.The Ultraviolet chamber helps to cure the bacteria and viruses present in water. Reverse osmosis is similar to the membrane filtration treatment process RO (Reverse Osmosis), however involves a diffusive mechanism so that separation efficiency is dependent on influent solute concentration, pressure and water flux rate .It works by using pressure to force a solution through a membrane, retaining the solute on one side and allowing the pure solvent to pass to the other side. This is the reverse of the normal osmosis process, which is the natural movement of solvent from an area of low solute concentration, through a membrane, to an area of high solute concentration when no external pressure is applied. Reverse osmosis removes organic material. Controls total dissolved solids in the water. The water is then passed through a Silverization Chamber to give sparkle to the water. Ozonization is a process where in Ozone gas is passed through water. It ensures water remains bacteria free for longer life.

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DISTRIBUTION NETWORK OF BISLERY

Our observation of the Andheri Plant
What we found from our analysis of the Mumbai plant is that Out of the 3 shifts the factory has i.e. 7am-3pm, 3pm-11pm and 11pm-3am, the night shift 11pm-3am is used for loading of cartons which carries approximately 40,000 litres of water. The distribution is done using 80 vehicles and is sent to the 20 distributors in the city who then sells it to the retailers.

Other plants across the country

Bisleri has 52 bottling plants across India and uses state-of-the-art technology at all stages of its purification processes including double ozonisation. Bisleris portfolio includes Bisleri with Added Minerals and Bisleri Himalyan water. On a national level, there are 2,000 trucks on call for Bisleri, while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai and Delhi market alone. Everyday, nearly 5,000 delivery vans drive out of these 52 strategically located Bisleri bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of pure, sweet drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2,500 distributors and nearly 600,000 retail outlets.

Future Objectives
1) Bisleri is targeting a 40 per cent growth this year and has outlined an aggressive market penetration
strategy which is a dual distribution plan penetrating newer markets including townships and

rural India which includes smaller and interior markets and aggressively looking at entering newer territories and increasing shelf presence in the metros and existing markets. It also plans to penetrate every possible segment of the market by introducing more pack sizes and establishing the brand strongly with trendy new packaging. . 2) Bisleri plans to overtake Himalayan, at the top end of the market (mountain water) with its
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premium variant Natural Mountain water in six months. Himalayan, which was acquired by Tata Tea last September, is the largest player in the natural mountain water category in India. For which Bisleri began operations at its new mountain spring at Rudrapur in Uttaranchal. A bottle of Himalayan sells at Rs 25 and with Tata Tea taking charge, the company is expected to beef up its distribution significantly. Bisleri is confident that its one-litre bottle, priced at Rs 20, will make an impact in an increasingly health-conscious market.

Future projects
The company is setting up dedicated channels for its 20L jars to ensure that every household and corporate gets service at their door step. For which it is also investing heavily on vans, since distribution is a key factor in the business and focusing strongly on marketing to key accounts.
Bislery plans to have six more plants in Mumbai. At present, the company has only one

plant in Mumbai, with a capacity of more than 0.75 million litres a day, which caters to the city and surrounding markets like Pune. It is also planning to set up 25 new bottling plants across the country which will be located in states like Maharashtra, Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, UP, Orissa, Jharkhand and North Bengal states. The company will start exports to the US, Europe, UK, UAE and Japan by the end of October 2009 for which the water will be bottled at the plant in Himachal Pradesh.

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MRP
Objectives of MRP for Bisleri are :

To improve customer service by meeting the delivery schedules promised and shortening delivery lead times . To reduce inventory costs by reducing inventory levels To improve plant operating efficiency by better use of resources.

In order to meet its MRP objectives, the management of Bisleri has scheduling plans at yearly, quarterly, monthly and weekly levels. Depending upon the season or the requirement there is change in materials ordered. For Example, in the months of March, April, May, i.e., the summer season and October which is the vacation month there is a greater demand of mineral water bottles. In other words the availability of dependant materials is managed in order to achieve maximum efficiency
AGGREGATE PRODUCTION PLAN

FORECAST DEMAND

FIRM ORDERS

BILL OF MATERIAL

MRP

INVENTORY TRANSCATION

INVENTORY STATUS MRP System Structure

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ERP
Bisleri has implemented an Enterprise Resource Planning system called as Navigen developed by Godrej which has automated all its functional business systems in terms of information management . The ERP system supports all of its business systems maintained in a single database, the data needed for a variety of business functions such as Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, Financials, Projects, Human Resources and Customer Relationship Management .

Enterprise Resource Planning

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SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS:
1. First Mover Advantage: Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. was the first company in India to enter the packaged water segment. Due to this it enjoys a distinct identity. The company by continuously working on its brand positioning has capitalized on the first mover advantage. 2. Huge Market Share: Bisleri has a huge market share in the packaged water industry. Its market share is 65%. 3. Well Known Brand/Goodwill: Bisleri in India has a strong brand value. Packaged drinking water is synonymous with Bisleri. People have strong belief & trust in the purity of Bisleri hence the goodwill that Bisleri has is immense. 4. Centralized location: Bisleris plant is centrally located & close to the railway station. This makes supply of products easy. Commuting for employees is also easy. 5. High Automation: the process used by Bisleri to purify the water is highly automated. This results in higher levels of hygiene. 6. Bore wells on premises: The plant has 2 Borewells on the premises providing a definitive reduction in costs. 7. Innovative Brand Positioning: Bisleri at regular intervals modifies its bottle shape & label graphics to counter imitation of the same. The shift to the current green label & round bottle from the previous blue label & hexagonal bottle is an example of this.

WEAKNESS:
1. Expansion: Bisleri at this particular plant has no space for further expansion.

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2. Wastage of water: during the automated process water gets wasted which is then retreated. If water is not wasted in the first place retreatment costs can be avoided. 3. Unorganized Plant Layout: This particular plant of Bisleri could have been more organized. As also different department areas could have been demarcated. 4. Non Homogeneity: The packaged water industry in India is unorganized & non homogenous. According to surveys conducted the quality of water across the country for the same brand differs. 5. International standards: The level of hygiene at this plant falls short of anticipated international standards.

OPPORTUNITIES:
1. Mountain water: Bisleri can try and capture more market share in the mountain water category. 2. Spring Water: after mountain water it can further diversify into the spring water segment. This is a huge opportunity because overseas demand for spring water is high due to its medicinal properties. 3. Soda water: Bisleri has a marginal share in the Soda water segment. It can concentrate on expanding the same. As a long term plan it can also enter the aerated drinks segment. 4. Higher Home Consumption: due to higher standard of living & higher health consciousness in India currently, Bisleri can try to increase home consumption.

THREATS:
1. Late entry into the mountain water segment: Bisleris entry into the mountain water

segment has been late and the distribution limited to a few areas. Other competitors like Himalaya have a first mover advantage in this segment 2. High level of substitution: Bisleri water can easily be substituted by that of other brands.
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3. Threat from smaller players: Smaller players have good sales in non metro & non cosmopolitan cities. 4. Threat from imitators/fakes: smaller players which imitate Bisleri labeling and packaging are a huge threat especially in non metros.

Recommendations
Use of vertical space/overhead space for storage of finished goods The location of raw material storage should be shifted near to the first production process Ergonomics at the stage of preform being put in the machine for the blowing process Have safety instructions on machinery Proper storage of scrap Should avoid keeping loose and unattended raw material near the machinery Have mess facilities for workers as well as gaps between shifts Have more systematic approach towards security of the plant Workers should be provided with mouth pieces to ensure hygiene during production Bring in automation in production process of 5 ltr and 20 ltr

Limitations
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 Understanding certain technical aspects (filling, reverse osmosis, sand and carbon filtration) relating to the production process Not having an access to certain areas of the plant ( filling, production process of 5 ltr and 20 ltr bottles) where the production process was undertaken Mismatch of information from the website and from what we gathered from our plant visit

Conclusion
The research report on Operations Management at Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd has helped us in understanding various concepts and applications related to Operations Management and its relevance to the organization. It also gave us a deep insight into the fact that all these aspects are crucial to the organization. This extensive research, analysis, interpretation, review and recommendations provided in the report was a great learning experience for us and we hope to reflect this learning in our future endeavors at work.

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