ASSIGNMENT ON

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT (CP-207)

1. If you were in place of Manjunath, how would you take action
against the defaulters, while ensuring your own safety?

Answer-
If I was in the place of Manjunath, I would have informed my
senior officials of the adulteration practices taking place in Mittal
petrol pump. I would have initiated a detailed study on the
discrepancies taking place there and collect enough evidence so
that the legal authorities acted quickly. I wouldnt have gone
alone, considering my own safety. Going with my senior officials
and police officials, I would have seized the license of the petrol
pumps dealing with adulteration and pilferage and sealed it. I
would also conduct surprise raids and conduct random inspection
on other petrol pumps to ensure such activities did not occur. I
would have not acted hurriedly as Manjunath did.

2. BIS specifies a broad permissible range for each fuel
parameter which allows sufficient margin to cushion some
amount of adulteration without violating the specifications.
What is your reaction to this statement?

Answer-
BIS specifies a broad permissible range for each fuel parameter,
adulteration can be done without violating BIS standards. Since
fuel adulterants belong to similar hydrocarbon families as that of
automobile fuels, though of varying composition, some amount of
mixing is possible without changing the overall parameters of the
fuel specifications. These unethical practices not only damage the
engines of the vehicles but also cause damages to the
environment. I consider that BIS must reconsider the permissible
range as adulteration as their previous standards have been
carefully manipulated. Along with revised parameters there must
also be a quality benchmark so that there is minimum chance that
the fuel may get adulterated.

3. What are your recommendations to avoid adulteration of fuel
during transportation?

Answer-
In order to avoid adulteration of fuel during transportation-

a) The oil companies must take direct responsibility of
delivering the petroleum products to the
dealers/customers/receiving locations.
b) The lorry caught in adulteration must be blacklisted and
banned immediately by the oil companies.
c) There should be only one opening (inlet and outlet) in the oil
tanks so as minimize loss of fuel during transportation and as
loading and unloading is done with the help of a company
personnel it should be performed under strict supervision.
d) All the important joints from where pilferage and leakage
may occur should be welded properly in order to avoid these
problems.
e) Each time the lorry tanker stops at each depot, there should
be trained officials who can take a sample of the oil and
check its quality properly in order to ensure standards.
f) Tracking device can be used to track the lorry tanker .It helps
in keeping track of the location of the vehicle which helps in
minimising the chances of adulteration of vehicle during
transportation.


4. Why have other petrochemical companies such as IOCL, HPCL,
IBP and Reliance avoided using an explicit quality-related
campaign as the one initiated by BPCL?

Answer-
The main reason why other petrochemical companies such as
IOCL, HPCL, IBP and Reliance avoided using an explicit quality-
related campaign as the one initiated by BPCL is that other
companies have not been able to continuously improve as done by
BPCL. BPCL was the first to introduce premium fuel and first
bottled gas. The company consistently works towards providing
added value to its customers. It recognized that the basic need of
the customers is the quality and quantity of fuel. The following
points must be noted which have enabled BPCL to launch an
extensive campaign about their quality:
a) Seminars and workshops are held with dealers to make them
aware of the need for assuring quality to the customer.
b) Special meetings are held with the dealers to discuss the
inefficiencies at the retail outlets and how they can be
removed.
c) Delivery salesman at the outlet is trained by the BPCL
officials.
d) Inspection of stocks not participating in the pure for sure
campaign is conducted quarterly and the participating
dealers stock is checked in every 45 days.
e) Samples are collected every month from the outlet and they
are tested for every specification in BIS octane rating.
f) Delivery accuracy meters are fixed at every outlet and
checked every fortnight.
These quality control measures have enabled BPCL to
explicitly campaign about their quality and assurance of
better service than other rival companies.