PRODUCTION

AND
OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT
PROJECT

Project submitted by:

Aastha Grover (4728)
Aayushi Garg (4732)
Nishith Bahety (4693)
Vaibhav Goel (4730)
Vishesh Jain (4717)

SHAHEED SUKHDEV COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

STUDIES (CBS)
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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 We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Geetanjali

Juneja, without whose able guidance and support,

this project would have only been a vision.

We would also like to thank Bata India Ltd.,

Faridabad for their valuable support in providing us

with all the necessary help to carry out our study.

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 INDEX
1.Objectives of the study
1
2.Introduction to operations management
5
3.Process and Operations System
8
4.Different Types OF Layout
10
5.Production & Operations Management at BATA
18
6.Industry Profile
19
7.Process Flow chart
23
8.Description of Production Process
24
9.Quality Control
33
10. Research & Development
35
11. References
39

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 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Having developed a keen interest in Production & Operations Management as
a subject in the current semester (3 rd) and realizing its importance in todays
competitive and customer oriented market scenario we thought that it would
be a great learning experience if we could get to witness and learn the
practical aspects of it. Thus, we decided to make a formal pre-planned visit to
the footwear plant of Bata India Ltd at NIT, Faridabad, and learn about the
plants functioning. The main objectives of our study were:

1. To understand the flow of process in the plant.

2. To study the nature of production system.

3. Understand the key challenges associated with operations

management.

4. To know the various quality control measures used.

5. Study the inventory- management at the site

6. Identify the specific areas of Operations Management at the site

where there is scope for improvement.

METHODOLOGY USED
Methodology means selecting the various methods and techniques to be
used while conducting the study. The various steps includes: -

1. Selection of a company to serve as organization of study.

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 2. Collection of relevant data.

3. Analysis and interpretation of the data.

4. Generation of a final report.

INTRODUCTION TO OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT

WHAT IS OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT?

Operations management is an area of business that is concerned with the
production of goods and services, and involves the responsibility of ensuring
that business operations are efficient and effective. It is the management of
resources, the distribution of goods and services to customers, and the
analysis of queue systems.

APICS The Association for Operations Management also defines operations

management as "the field of study that focuses on the effectively planning,
scheduling, use, and control of a manufacturing or service organization
through the study of concepts from design engineering, industrial
engineering, management information systems, quality management,
production management, inventory management, accounting, and other
functions as they affect the organization".

Operations also refer to the production of goods and services, the set of
value-added activities that transform inputs into many outputs.
Fundamentally, these value-adding creative activities should be aligned with
market opportunity for optimal enterprise performance.

Operations management is a systematic approach to address all the issues

pertaining to the transformation process that converts some inputs into
outputs that are useful, and could fetch revenue for the organization.

CURRENT TRENDS IN MANUFACTURING IN INDIA

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 1 If India is to achieve an overall growth of 8% per annum, it is essential
that both manufacturing and services grow at more than 11% even
when agriculture growth picks up to close to 4%.

2 A comparison with other major Asian countries show that the size of
the value added in the Indian manufacturing sector ($ 66 billion in
2000) was less than one fifth of the Chinese manufacturing sector ($
373 billion) and even less than half of the Korean manufacturing
sector ($ 144 billion).

3 Share of the manufacturing sector in Indias GDP has remained stable

at around 17% while in China the manufacturing sector accounted for
around 35% of the GDP and in the case of Korea, it was 31%

SHARP DECELERATION IN MANUFACTURING

SECTOR GROWTH
1 Manufacturing sector growth in India has fallen sharply in the last
seven years as compared to the first seven years after the reforms.
Manufacturing sector growth slumped from 7.4% in the first seven
years of reforms (1990-91 to 1996-97) to just 4.7% over the last seven
years (1997-98 to 2003-04).

2 Manufacturing sector growth in the last seven years was lower than
the 5.1% growth clocked by industry or the 5.7% growth of GDP during
the period.

COST DISABILITY FACTORS FACED BY INDIAN

MANUFACTURING SECTOR
Higher input costs for the Indian manufacturing sector can be attributed to:

1. Cascading effect of indirect taxes on selling prices of commodities

2. Higher cost of utilities like power, railway transport, water

3. Higher cost of finance and

4. High transactions costs

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 LOW OPERATING SURPLUS IN THE INDIAN
MANUFACTURING SECTOR
A detailed investigation of 15 major manufacturing sectors in India shows
that the share of operating surplus in the total value of output averaged 15%
in India much lower compared to 22.6% in Malaysia, 29.4% in Indonesia and
30.6% in Korea.

HIGH COSTS OF INPUT MATERIALS AND

UTILITIES IN INDIA: A MAJOR DISADVANTAGE IN
THE GLOBAL MARKETS
A comparison of costs of input materials and utilities in India, China, Malaysia
and Korea across 15 important manufacturing segments showed that on the
average the share of input materials and utilities in total output value was as
high as 81.3% in India as against 75.5% in China, 68.7% in Malaysia and only
58.5% in Korea.

ADVANTAGE INDIA: THE LOW LABOR COSTS IN

THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR
Estimates show that the average share of labor costs in manufacturing across
15 major industries was 6.9% in India as compared to 8.7% in Malaysia,
10.7% in Korea and 5.5% in Indonesia.

IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY OF THE LAGGARD

SEGMENTS IN INDIAN MANUFACTURING

This improvisation was done through the cluster approach in 82 identified

areas in 23 industries spread across 31 states and union territories. This
included the following:

1 Promoting a balanced growth approach for accelerating growth of large

manufacturing clusters across all sectors and states is essential to give
a significant boost to the sector.

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 2 An analysis of the productivity levels in 23 major manufacturing sector
segments across 31 major states and union territories show that there
is significant potential for improving labor productivity. Benchmarking
the industries with low labor productivity in the laggard states to the
highest labor productivity levels currently achieved in the leading
states can be the first step in improving the overall productivity levels
in the manufacturing sector.

3 Our study has identified as many as 79 odd large clusters spread

across 23 major manufacturing segments in 31 states where there
is sufficient scope for significantly improving productivity levels.

MANUFACTURING SECTORS SHOWING

IMPROVED COMPETITIVENESS IN GLOBAL
MARKETS: 1980-2000
1 Our analysis identified 47 major manufactured products whose share in
the global markets has improved significantly between 1980 and 2000.
The share of these 50 products in Indias total merchandize exports
has gone up from 40.3% in 1980, to 50.9% in 1990 and further to
57.4% in 2000. We estimate that the share of these 50 major
manufactured products in total merchandize exports may be now
closer to around two thirds.

2 The share of these 50 manufactured products in the global market

currently ranges between 1% to 13%. On the average their un-
weighted share of the global export market is just 2.8%. We should
now target that the share of these 50 major manufactured products in
the global markets double to above 5% in the next five years.

3 Special product specific export promotion schemes and other

measures to facilitate faster growth of these export competitive
manufacturing sectors may be urgently devised.

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 PROCESSES AND OPERATIONS SYSTEM
Process design is a planning process for each and every component
manufactured, that determines the number of steps involved in
manufacturing, the number and types of steps used and the time spent in
each of these steps. The following are the 4 most generally used flows in
manufacturing organizations:

1 Continuous Flow System: A continuous flow system is

characterized by streamlined flow of products in the operating system.
The conversion process begins with input of raw material at one end. It
progresses in an orderly fashion to finally become finished goods at the
final stage. With such a system, the raw material and other required
items are fed into the system at the beginning of the process. Once
they are fed into the system, it is not possible to stop the system.
Various chemical processes happen in a closed manufacturing setup
and finished goods are obtained at the end of the manufacturing
process. In some cases, it is possible to derive products during the
intermediate stages of the process in the form of by-products. Since
the process is continuous, there should be a balance between all the
stages in the manufacturing process to maintain an even flow of the
material from the raw material stage to that of finished goods. The
need to keep the production facilities continuously running directly
translates into a need to be good in maintenance management. An
example of this can be the paper manufacturing process.

2 Assembly Line: Assembly line is also characterized by a continuous

and streamlined flow but this is used in case of discrete industries i.e.
various components are manufactured in a discrete fashion and final
product is obtained through an assembly process. It is basically a mass
production system wherein the volume of production is very high and
the number of variations in the final product is low. Therefore, it is
possible to organize the entire manufacturing by dedicating the
required manufacturing resources for each product variant and
arranging the resources one after the other, as per the manufacturing
sequence. Better management practices, methods of designing the
amount and nature of activities to be performed in each workstation
and configuring product based layouts are important in this system.
Automobile and two-wheeler manufacturers are typical examples who
use such a system.

3 Batch Production: This system is used in case of mid-volume and

mid-variety industries. A batch production system is different for
process and discrete industries. In case of process industries, in one

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 batch, one set of variations is manufactured and in the next batch,
another set of variations is manufactured. In between these two
batches, the necessary setup and changeover of resources are made
to facilitate smooth production and maximum productivity. In case of
discrete manufacturing systems, the entire manufacturing setup can
be split into units in which similar processing requirements can be
combined and manufacturing resources arranged to cater to these
requirements. One batch of components may be produced in one of
these units and another batch in yet another unit.

4 Job shop: In such systems the flow pattern is non-standard and

complex because there are unique process designs for each and every
customer order. Moreover, customer orders are typically for one off
items and organizations cannot benefit from any batching and
repetitive manufacturing practices. Some organizations undertake
projects that are typically large scale, involve high levels of
customization and have long lead times, thus it involves multiple
entities and multiple stages of the process. These require jumbled flow
systems. Scheduling of various activities and control of these is an
essential requirement and appropriate tools are required. Turnkey
project executers like BHEL and L&T are good examples for this. There
can also be organizations where the production may not be as low as 1
unit as in above case but the number of customers are very large,
resulting in large variety. Since each customer order could potentially
demand unique process requirements, the resulting flow in the system
becomes highly jumbled. An example can be an optical shop.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF LAYOUTS

In manufacturing, facility layout consists of configuring the plant site with
lines, buildings, major facilities, work areas, aisles, and other pertinent
features such as department boundaries. While facility layout for services
may be similar to that for manufacturing, it also may be somewhat different
as is the case with offices, retailers, and warehouses. Because of its relative
permanence, facility layout probably is one of the most crucial elements
affecting efficiency. An efficient layout can reduce unnecessary material

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 handling, help to keep costs low, and maintain product flow through the
facility.

Firms in the upper left-hand corner of the product-process matrix have a

process structure known as a jumbled flow or a disconnected or intermittent
line flow. Upper-left firms generally have a process layout. Firms in the lower
right-hand corner of the product-process matrix can have a line or continuous
flow. Firms in the lower-right part of the matrix generally have a product
layout. Other types of layouts include fixed-position, combination, cellular,
and certain types of service layouts.

PROCESS LAYOUT

Process layouts are found primarily in job shops, or firms that produce
customized, low-volume products that may require different processing
requirements and sequences of operations. Process layouts are facility
configurations in which operations of a similar nature or function are grouped
together. As such, they occasionally are referred to as functional layouts.
Their purpose is to process goods or provide services that involve a variety of
processing requirements. A manufacturing example would be a machine
shop. A machine shop generally has separate departments where general-
purpose machines are grouped together by function (e.g., milling, grinding,
drilling, hydraulic presses, and lathes). Therefore, facilities that are
configured according to individual functions or processes have a process
layout. This type of layout gives the firm the flexibility needed to handle a
variety of routes and process requirements. Services that utilize process
layouts include hospitals, banks, auto repair, libraries, and universities.

Improving process layouts involves the minimization of transportation cost,

distance, or time.

Advantages of process layouts include:

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 1 Flexibility. The firm has the ability to handle a variety of processing
requirements.

2 Cost. Sometimes, the general-purpose equipment utilized may be less

costly to purchase and less costly and easier to maintain than
specialized equipment.

3 Motivation. Employees in this type of layout will probably be able to

perform a variety of tasks on multiple machines, as opposed to the
boredom of performing a repetitive task on an assembly line. A process
layout also allows the employer to use some type of individual
incentive system.

4 System protection. Since there are multiple machines available,

process layouts are not particularly vulnerable to equipment failures.

Disadvantages of process layouts include:

1 Utilization. Equipment utilization rates in process layout are frequently

very low, because machine usage is dependent upon a variety of
output requirements.

2 Cost. If batch processing is used, in-process inventory costs could be

high. Lower volume means higher per-unit costs. More specialized
attention is necessary for both products and customers. Setups are
more frequent, hence higher setup costs. Material handling is slower
and more inefficient. The span of supervision is small due to job
complexities (routing, setups, etc.), so supervisory costs are higher.
Additionally, in this type of layout accounting, inventory control, and
purchasing usually are highly involved.

3 Confusion. Constantly changing schedules and routings make juggling

process requirements more difficult.

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 PRODUCT LAYOUT
Product layouts are found in flow shops (repetitive assembly and process or
continuous flow industries). Flow shops produce high-volume, highly
standardized products that require highly standardized, repetitive processes.
In a product layout, resources are arranged sequentially, based on the routing
of the products. In theory, this sequential layout allows the entire process to
be laid out in a straight line, which at times may be totally dedicated to the
production of only one product or product version. The flow of the line can
then be subdivided so that labor and equipment are utilized smoothly
throughout the operation.

Two types of lines are used in product layouts: paced and unpaced. Paced
lines can use some sort of conveyor that moves output along at a continuous
rate so that workers can perform operations on the product as it goes by. For
longer operating times, the worker may have to walk alongside the work as it
moves until he or she is finished and can walk back to the workstation to
begin working on another part (this essentially is how automobile
manufacturing works).

On an unpaced line, workers build up queues between workstations to allow a

variable work pace. However, this type of line does not work well with large,
bulky products because too much storage space may be required. Also, it is
difficult to balance an extreme variety of output rates without significant idle

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 time. A technique known as assembly-line balancing can be used to group the
individual tasks performed into workstations so that there will be a
reasonable balance of work among the workstations.

Product layout efficiency is often enhanced through the use of line balancing.
Line balancing is the assignment of tasks to workstations in such a way that
workstations have approximately equal time requirements. This minimizes
the amount of time that some workstations are idle, due to waiting on parts
from an upstream process or to avoid building up an inventory queue in front
of a downstream process.

Advantages of product layouts include:

1 Output: Product layouts can generate a large volume of products in a

short time.

2 Cost: Unit cost is low as a result of the high volume. Labor

specialization results in reduced training time and cost. A wider span of
supervision also reduces labor costs. Accounting, purchasing, and
inventory control are routine. Because routing is fixed, less attention is
required.

3 Utilization: There is a high degree of labor and equipment utilization.

Disadvantages of product layouts include:

1 Motivation: The system's inherent division of labor can result in dull,

repetitive jobs that can prove to be quite stressful. Also, assembly-line
layouts make it very hard to administer individual incentive plans.

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 2 Flexibility: Product layouts are inflexible and cannot easily respond to
required system changesespecially changes in product or process
design.

3 System protection: The system is at risk from equipment

breakdown, absenteeism, and downtime due to preventive
maintenance.

FIXED-POSITION LAYOUT
A fixed-position layout is appropriate for a product that is too large or too
heavy to move. For example, battleships are not produced on an assembly
line. For services, other reasons may dictate the fixed position (e.g., a
hospital operating room where doctors, nurses, and medical equipment are
brought to the patient). Other fixed-position layout examples include
construction (e.g., buildings, dams, and electric or nuclear power plants),
shipbuilding, aircraft, aerospace, farming, drilling for oil, home repair, and
automated car washes. In order to make this work, required resources must
be portable so that they can be taken to the job for "on the spot"
performance.

Due to the nature of the product, the user has little choice in the use of a
fixed-position layout.

Disadvantages of foxed position layout include:

1 Space: For many fixed-position layouts, the work area may be

crowded so that little storage space is available. This also can cause
material handling problems.

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 2 Administration: Oftentimes, the administrative burden is higher for
fixed-position layouts. The span of control can be narrow, and
coordination difficult.

COMBINATION LAYOUTS
Many situations call for a mixture of the three main layout types. These
mixtures are commonly called combination or hybrid layouts. For example,
one firm may utilize a process layout for the majority of its process along with
an assembly in one area. Alternatively, a firm may utilize a fixed-position
layout for the assembly of its final product, but use assembly lines to produce
the components and subassemblies that make up the final product (e.g.,
aircraft).

CELLULAR LAYOUT
Cellular manufacturing is a type of layout where machines are grouped
according to the process requirements for a set of similar items (part families)
that require similar processing. These groups are called cells. Therefore, a
cellular layout is an equipment layout configured to support cellular
manufacturing.

Processes are grouped into cells using a technique known as group

technology (GT). Group technology involves identifying parts with similar
design characteristics (size, shape, and function) and similar process
characteristics (type of processing required, available machinery that
performs this type of process, and processing sequence).

Workers in cellular layouts are cross-trained so that they can operate all the
equipment within the cell and take responsibility for its output. Sometimes
the cells feed into an assembly line that produces the final product. In some

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 cases a cell is formed by dedicating certain equipment to the production of a
family of parts without actually moving the equipment into a physical cell
(these are called virtual or nominal cells). In this way, the firm avoids the
burden of rearranging its current layout. However, physical cells are more
common.

An automated version of cellular manufacturing is the flexible manufacturing

system (FMS). With an FMS, a computer controls the transfer of parts to the
various processes, enabling manufacturers to achieve some of the benefits of
product layouts while maintaining the flexibility of small batch production.

Advantages of cellular manufacturing include:

1 Cost: Cellular manufacturing provides for faster processing time, less

material handling, less work-in-process inventory, and reduced setup
time, all of which reduce costs.

2 Flexibility: Cellular manufacturing allows for the production of small

batches, which provides some degree of increased flexibility. This
aspect is greatly enhanced with FMSs.

3 Motivation: Since workers are cross-trained to run every machine in

the cell, boredom is less of a factor. Also, since workers are responsible
for their cells' output, more autonomy and job ownership is present.

OTHER LAYOUTS
In addition to the aforementioned layouts, there are others that are more
appropriate for use in service organizations. These include
warehouse/storage layouts, retail layouts, and office layouts.

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 With warehouse/storage layouts, order frequency is a key factor. Items that
are ordered frequently should be placed close together near the entrance of
the facility, while those ordered less frequently remain in the rear of the
facility. Pareto analysis is an excellent method for determining which items to
place near the entrance. Since 20 percent of the items typically represent 80
percent of the items ordered, it is not difficult to determine which 20 percent
to place in the most convenient location. In this way, order picking is made
more efficient.

While layout design is much simpler for small retail establishments (shoe
repair, dry cleaner, etc.), retail stores, unlike manufacturers, must take into
consideration the presence of customers and the accompanying opportunities
to influence sales and customer attitudes. For example, supermarkets place
dairy products near the rear of the store so that customers who run into the
store for a quick gallon of milk must travel through other sections of the
store. This increases the chance of the customer seeing an item of interest
and making an impulse buy. Additionally, expensive items such as meat are
often placed so that the customer will see them frequently (e.g., pass them at
the end of each aisle). Retail chains are able to take advantage of
standardized layouts, which give the customer more familiarity with the store
when shopping in a new location.

Office layouts must be configured so that the physical transfer of information

(paperwork) is optimized. Communication also can be enhanced through the
use of low-rise partitions and glass walls.

A number of changes taking in place in manufacturing have had a direct

effect on facility layout. One apparent manufacturing trend is to build smaller
and more compact facilities with more automation and robotics. In these
situations, machines need to be placed closer to each other in order to
reduce material handling. Another trend is an increase in automated material
handling systems, including automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/AR)
and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). There also is movement toward the

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 use of U-shaped lines, which allow workers, material handlers, and
supervisors to see the entire line easily and travel efficiently between
workstations. So that the view is not obstructed, fewer walls and partitions
are incorporated into the layout. Finally, thanks to lean manufacturing and
just-in-time production, less space is needed for inventory storage throughout
the layout.

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 PRODUTIO
N
&

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 OPERATION
MANAGEMEN
T
@

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

Bata is one of the world's leading footwear retailers and manufacturers with
operations across 5 continents managed by 4 regional meaningful business
units (MBUs). The MBU approach provides quality resources and support in
key areas to the companies operating in similar markets such as product
development, sourcing or marketing support. Each MBU is entrepreneurial in

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 nature, and can quickly adapt to changes in the market place and seize
potential growth opportunities.

THE FOUNDERS

Bata's strength lies in its worldwide presence. While local companies are self-
governing, each one benefits from its link to the international organization for
back-office systems, product innovations and sourcing.

Although Bata operates in a wide variety of markets, climates and buying

power Bata companies share the same leadership points. Two important ones
are product concept development and constant improvement of
business processes in order to offer customers great value and the best
possible service.

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 Serves 1 million customers per day
Employs more than 40,000 people
Operates 5000 retail stores
Manages a retail presence in over 50 countries
Runs 40 production facilities across 25 countries

In INDIA Bata has 5 production facilities and 1 leather unit:

1 Batanagar, Kolkata

2 Faridabad, Uttar Pradesh

3 Bataganj, Patna

4 Southcane, Bangalore

5 Hosur, Tamil Nadu

6 Leather Unit at Patna

20% of total Indian shoe production comes from Bata i.e. about 8 crore pairs.

Bata India has several fully owned retail stores in different parts of India,
apart from various franchisee stores. There are basically three types of Bata
Stores:

1 Flagship Stores- Target Sales are 1 crore plus and Target Population
is the high-income group

2 Family Stores- Target Sales range between 50 lakh and 1 crore and
the target group is the middle-income population.

3 Bazaars- Taget Sales of less than 50 lakh and the maximum

purchasers are people from low-income group.

OUR VISIT
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 We fixed an appointment with Mr. Mukesh, the HR manager, and left for Bata
Indias Plant located at NIT, Faridabad. After a rather tiring 90mins journey to
the site, we finally reached Batas production facility, spread over approx. 20
acres of land.

We were escorted inside the plant office from where, after a brief formal
introduction with the Mr. Mukesh, we began our tour of the plant with
Mr.Kamlesh, the Productions Manager, who explained to us, each and every
step of the manufacturing process in detail, moving from one assembly line
to another, from one workstation to another. all throughout the well-guided
tour, we kept asking him whatever queries we had in mind, all of which were
very promptly answered by him Later, we sat in his cabin and and discussed
other issues related to productions and operations management at Bata.

THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS

The plant mainly produces canvas P.T shoes and the Hawaii slippers. Our area
of concern was the production of the canvas shoes and the associated
manufacturing process.

Bata uses Batch Production system. Although it only manufactures canvas

shoes but within that it has various size variants. Within the batch production
system, assembly line process is followed. The plant has 2 assembly lines
working simultaneously, one for the stitching of shoe upper and other is a
semi-automated conveyor belt for assembly of the shoe, at the end of which
we get the shoe. Simultaneously, there are other processes like the
production of adhesive cement and rubber latex, shoe binding etc are done
simultaneously at different workstations.

The plant in all has 6 conveyor belts and 6 stitching lines but presently the
management is operating only 3 of them, in view of the low demand for their
products this year.

One conveyor belt requires 35 people to work and 6 people are required on
the stitching conveyor. The factory employs 450 people. One set of conveyors
(i.e. both stitching and assembly included) produces about 1800-1900 pairs
of shoes in one day. The gross monthly production of the plant averages
around 5 Lac pairs.

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 Despite the fact that the whole production process is semi-automated,

the Bata Plant still remains a labour intensive unit. As such, having a

good and efficient HR department is very important. In order to infuse

a constant drive to work harder in its employees at various levels, the

department has made use of various pin-up boards and small hoarding

where it has put up many inspiring and motivational quotes, some of

which we have captured below :

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 PROCESS FLOW CHART
The whole process of the production of shoes can be depicted
through the following chart:
Compou Chemic Out Threa Binding Boxe
RAW MATERIAL
nd al Shoe d Cloth s
STOCK

Making
Sole Pull

Foldin
g
Ceme Making
nt Cuttin
Binding
g
Latex
Stampi
ng

Stitchin
g

Assemb
ly

Vulcanizi
ng

Controllin
g

Packing

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Canvas Shoes
 1 RAW MATERIAL STOCK
The raw materials which includes the chemicals used for making cement
adhesive, rubber latex and sole (both inner and outer), Cloth (bought from
Bombay Dyeing) used for making upper , material used for making
binding, thread and the packaging cartons etc are stocked in the
warehouse . Inventory of all the above items is properly maintained with
the help of a Material Stock Position chart made on the walls of the
warehouse and a computerized Inventory Database.

Thte

Every department has been allocated a maximum stock limit beyond

which they cannot store the raw materials for themselves. It has to be
used as frequently as possible. Every fortnight, the stocks and usage is
reviewed. The transmission of raw materials from stock warehouse to
respective departments is recorded and same is done with the
transmissions between various departments. All this data is readily
available for review to all departments and can be checked anytime.

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 2 CEMENT AND LATEX MANUFACTURING
The cement adhesive and rubber latex are the main chemicals used to
paste together the different parts of a shoe, are manufactured in the plant
itself. Both these materials are produced keeping in mind the exact
requirements and also the correct specification, which is the right mix of
chemicals to make it the best pasting element and get the desired quality.

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 3 SOLE PULL MANUFACTURING
The inner and outer soles required in the shoe are also produced in-house.
Huge rubber sheets measuring 3 ft x 2 ft having a thickness of approx. 2
cms are first are heated to a high temperature and then cut into pieces of
different sizes using specialized machines.

Sheet Manufacturing: The rubber compound is mixed, grounded and then

processed at high temperature to convert it into sheets of uniform length
and thickness The sheets thus prepared are then placed in a curing
chamber for 8 minutes where they are again processed at high
temperature of around 170oC At such a high temperature, the sheets
expand and then sent for vulcanization where it is processed for 3 hours
to set the shrinking limit of rubber. These sheets can be cut only after 2
weeks of vulcanization. This is known as seating process.

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 4 MAKING BINDING
A binding is required on the outer of the shoe to bind the edges of the
cloth upper. This binding material is also made within the plant, using
cloth. It is machine stitched onto the cloth upper.

5 FOLDING, CUTTING AND STAMPING

The cloth that forms the shoe upper is procured from Bombay Dyeing It is
first folded into huge lots and then cut into pieces of uniform sizes
according to the different size lots. These cloth pieces are then stamped
with what may be called a batch number and the shoe size. An example

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 of a batch no. may be F-321 8422. In this code, F represents plant code
of the Faridabad factory, 321 is the code of the particular workstation and
assembly line , 8 represents the year of manufacture, 42 the week and 2
signifies the day of the week in which production has been done. This
stamping particularly helps if there is a defect found out in the shoe after
sale. After stamping is done, the upper is sent for stitching.

6 STITCHING

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 The cloth received after stamping is set for stitching and making it into a
proper upper of the shoe. The stitching process starts with folding of the
piece and stitching it in a particular fashion to give the shape of an upper.
Next, it is sent for stitching the binding onto the edges of the shoe. After
the binding on the edges has been done, the shoe is transferred further
where lace holes and flips used under that are stitched onto the upper.
The last step in the stitching process is to put laces into the shoe, which is
done by hand. The upper of the shoe is now ready to be sent for assembly
process.

7 ASSEMBLY
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 The assembly process uses a dual level conveyor belt as can be seen in
the picture.

A fact worth noting is that the conveyer does not have a linear
arrangement of workstations; rather it is an ellipsoidal conveyer with
different workstations positioned all around it. At first glance, it is not easy
to comprehend as to wherefrom where the process begins. However, a
closer look reveals that fully assembled shoes are hand picked away from
the conveyer at one particular point on the conveyer. Despite its
unconventional design, it is a very well organized and systematic
assembly line configuration where none of the employees sit idle at any
point of time., thus minimizing idle time losses.

There is a parallel conveyer which

basically consists of many metal shoe
moulds onto which the entire shoe
assembly is built.

The shoe building process starts at one

when one person applies cement on the
inner sole and places it on the conveyor
belt. The next person then applies
cement of edges of the upper of the
shoe and again puts back the piece
onto the conveyer. Next, the inner sole is put on the upper part of the
mould and the cloth is pasted on the sole to get the exact shape of the
shoe Now, when the shape is achieved, the shoe is dipped into latex so
that the latex covers the lower sides of the shoe.

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 It is then placed in a drying chamber to dry the latex wherein the
temperature is around 70oC.

SHOE GOING
IN

SHOE
COMING
OUT

Once the latex is dried and the shoe is taken out of the chamber, it is
again placed on the conveyor and the next person puts the outer sole
(coated with cement) on the conveyor as well. The sole is then pasted on
to the shoe tightly and pressed by a large bag containing water. This

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 water filled bag is a part of the conveyer only, and water is used to
prevent the formation of air bubbles, which may lead to manufacturing
defects.

The person sitting next checks once again that there is no gap in the
pasting. The side foxing is then pasted on the dried latex and the shoe
moves on. The next employee pastes the Bata logo on the back of the
shoe and also presses the side foxing. On the next station, the toe guards,
both side strips as well as circular one, are available to the employee,
coated with cement. Both of these are pasted on the shoe. The shoe is
now prepared to be vulcanized and hence is transferred by the last worker
on the conveyor, from the conveyor to the conveyer trolley.

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 8 VULCANIZATION
After the assembly process, though the shoes are ready but they are still
very sticky and not set for use. Thus, they need to be vulcanized to
harden the shoe and ensure that the parts have been pasted properly and
the chemicals used have dried up. The shoes which are already put in
trolleys (as depicted above) are then sent to the vulcanizing chamber.
Around 19-20 trolleys are sent in 1 chamber with about 70 pairs in each
trolley. The vulcanization process requires an approx. time of 1 hour, 135-
140oC of temperature and 3 atmospheres of air pressure. The shoes are
then sent to the quality checks department.

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 9 QUALITY CONTROL
After the vulcanization process, the shoes are set to be packed but before
thatan important step is to check the quality i.e. quality control. In Bata
every shoe is checked manually by an inspector and is assigned the
following grades:

1 A-This is the best grade stating that the shoe is ready to be packed and
ready for sale.

2 B-This grade shoe becomes a factory seconds product and thus is sold
at low prices.

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 3 C-This is the lowest grade which can neither be sold in seconds lot nor
repaired and is thus cut and disposed off.

10. PACKING
The shoes once checked are then packed very thoughtfully to protect the
shoe from any kind of damage. Each pair is first rolled inside plastic sheets
and then put into cardboard boxes, made exactly to size. These small
boxes are then put into large ones, the master cartons for transportation
purposes. Each box is labeled with its destination address and other
details such as batch, manufacturing information etc.

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 These boxes are not stored at the plant for more than 2 days. They are
immediately delivered to their destination retail stores which stock it
themselves.

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 RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT
The Research & Development wing at Bata Faridabad designs new shoes,
slippers, sandals etc.

This R&D wing only works on rubber based products; it does not design
leather Footwears. They design footwear mainly for the teenage group.

How The Department Functions:-

Whenever the R&D department designs a new product, it must first get it
approved from the in house Testing Laboratory, which thoroughly tests the
product to check whether it Is fit to handle real world footwear treatment.
This is a sort of a pre-commercialization test of the product. The laboratory
has various machines some of which are:

1 One which duplicates the movements of the foot when a person walks.
They maintain that any product should be good enough for at least 5
million such movements before anything happens to it.

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 2 One is a machine is to test the sole of the shoe. It is ensured that the
sole survives 1.5 lakh shots, before it becomes unfit for use.

3 Then there is also a device to check the quality of the boxes in which
packing of the shoes is to be done.

4 They also check the abrasion of rubber component

5 A certain moisture level has to be maintained in the production of

shoes and this is also checked in this department.

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 6 The shrinkage of the rubber sole is also tested here in an oven. It
should be according to the specified norms.

7 The textile and thread used in the production is also tested and needs
to be approved.

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 Thread Textile
Testing Testing

These machines are also used to check the manufactured shoes sometimes
like once in a month. One shoe is picked from the lot and is tested on all
these parameters. This can be regarded as a part of quality control.

After the new product has been approved by the laboratory it goes to the
management, which decides on the target market for the new product, the
price of the product, the feasibility of producing that product, the investment
required, etc. This is a crucial stage in the development of a product. The
management has to carefully evaluate weather producing the product will
yield satisfactory profits or not, if not then the product is dropped then and
there. To find this out what Bata does is that instead launching a product in
the entire market, it launches it in a small segment of the market to test the
response of the customers so as to minimize losses if any.

It is only after a product has been approved by the management, can it go

into production. Where first any new machinery required for the production
has to be acquired and then the product is finally produced.

AREAS WHICH REQUIRE IMPROVEMENT

1 The space available was very under-utilized.

2 There was only one quality inspector.

3 Nothing noticeable but we sensed a tiff between the labour

unions and the management.

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 REFERENCES

At

1 Mr. Mukesh, the HR manager

2 Mr.Kamlesh, the Productions Manager

Websites
www.Google.co.in
www.Bataindia.com

Books

Operation
Management by
Heizer & Render

&

Production and
Operations
a Management by

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