PROJECT REPORT ON

Reduction in Cycle Time of Final Batch

Compound in Mixer Machine
AT

APOLLO TYRES LTD., Limda, Vadodara

A Report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of

final semester of Evening MBA program of

M.S. PATEL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

Faculty of Management Studies (FMS-Vadodara)
THE MAHARAJA SAYAJIRAO UNIVERSITY OF BARODA

Submitted By Company Guide Faculty Guide

Paresh C. Darji Mr. Diwan Paresh Ms. Smita Trivedi
Roll No. 05 (M- Production)
MBA (Production & Operation)
(2017-2020)

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 1

DECLARATION

I, Mr. Paresh C. Darji hereby declare that the project work titled “Reduction in
Cycle Time of Final Batch Compound in Mixer Machine” at Apollo Tyres Ltd. is the
originally done by me under the guidance of Mr. Diwan Paresh and submitted in Faculty of
Management Studies for the award of “Master in Business Administration” in Production
& Operations. I ensure the authentication of the material and guarantee that the
data/information considered herein will only be taken for academic purpose and will not be
in any manner be used for commercial or any other purpose. Views mentioned in this report
are my own and are based on my observations, and they may or may not be accepted by the
company.

Paresh Darji
Productions and operations management
Faculty of management studies
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

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 CERTIFICATE OF EXTERNAL GUIDE

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 3

 This is to certify that the project report entitled “Reduction in Cycle Time of Final
Batch Compound in Mixer Machine” submitted to Faculty of Management in partial
fulfilment of the requirement for the award of degree “Master in Business Administration”
is an authentic and original work carried by “Paresh C. Darji” under guidance of Mr. Diwan
Paresh.

The matters embodied in this project is genuine work done by student and has not
been submitted weather to this university or any other university/institute for the fulfilment
of the requirement of any course of study.

Mr. Diwan Paresh

Manufacturing Manager- Radial
Apollo Tyres Ltd.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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 It is a matter of great satisfaction and pleasure to report on A Case Study –
“Reduction in Cycle Time of Final Batch Compound in Mixer Machine” at Apollo
Tyres Ltd.
An understanding of mentioned case study is never an outcome of the efforts of the
single person rather it bears the imprint of a number of the persons who directly or
indirectly helped me in completing it. I would be fail if I don’t say a warm thank you to all
those whose sincere advice made my study period a real educative and pleasurable one,
who really helped me in to clarify some concept of productions and operations management
very well.

I would like to thank Prof. (Dr.) J.D. Jadeja (Dean-Faculty of Management Studies)
and Ms. Smita Trivedi (Project Guide-Internal) for giving me such a nice opportunity to
work on the project.

I express my warm thanks to Mr. Diwan Paresh (Project Guide-External) for this
constant support and encouragement throughout the span of the project.

Last but not the least, I would also like to thank all team members of Productions
Mr. Jatin Barot, Mr. Rajendra Darjee for their continuous support throughout. I am also
very much thankful to my family members, friends and relatives who gave me support for
making this cherish able experience for me.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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 Indian tyre industry has been reporting good growth figures over the past few years,
spurred by the growing passenger vehicle and two-wheeler market. It has emerged as one
of the most competitive markets in the world and with the emergence of new technology,
ultra-modern production facilities and availability of raw materials, the sector is poised to
grow further. Apollo Tres Ltd is one of the leading manufacturer in the world. Having
manufacturing facilities over 6 different countries and thus have a strong global presence
Manufacturing Time based challenge is an organized way for focusing on reduction of total
throughput time in manufacturing firm. Reduced time has a cascading influence on value
and worth. As cycle times are reduced, output increases equally. Cycle time reduction plays
an important role in improving the competitiveness and sustainability of a manufacturer.

Tyre is manufactured through three stages namely stock preparation, tyre building and
curing. Reducing the cycle time of Final compound batch was the prime focus. Final batch
mixing time is divided into Mixing time and Non-productive time. Upon observation and
understanding different activities of final batch mixing cycle time, proposal were given to
bring down the cycle time of final batch mixing. Mixer Ram movement operation reduction
was the first proposal and mixer charging conveyor speed increase was the second.

Simulation was carried for individual proposals implementation and also for simultaneous
implementation of proposals. After simulation it was found that implementing the proposal
there would be reduction in cycle time of final batch mixing by 5 seconds considering ideal
situation which is 90% utilization and no major breakdown. Resulting, an increase in daily
production by 25 batches. Eventually, generating additional 938 MT cure output.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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  DECLARATION……………………………………………………..2
 COMPANY CERTIFICATE………………………………..…….…3
 CERTIFICATE OF EXTERNAL GUIDE…………………………..4
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………………………5
 ECUTIVE SUMMARY………………………………………………6

1. Overview of Tyre Industry…………………………………………08

2. Apollo Tyres Ltd…………..………………………………………..10
3. Tyre Functions and Basic structures…………………………….17
4. Tyre Manufacturing Process and Production process flow……20
5. Project objectives.………………………………………………….22
6. Literature Review….……………………………………………….23
7. Observations………….…………………………………………….25
8. Project Proposals……………….………………………………….28
9. Simulation of Proposals…………………………..……………….29
10.Conclusions and recommendations……………………………...32
11.References………………………………………………………….33

1. Overview of Tyre Industry

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The domestic tyre industry is expected to post volumes growth of 7-8 percent to 1,805
lakh tyres during FY2018, despite the weak volumes during the first quarter and part
of second quarter during GST rollout. In tonnage terms, tyre demand is estimated to
grow 7 percent during FY2018, supported by pick-up in T&B replacement demand
after over two years of weak growth and: for FY2019, the unit ad tonnage growth is
pegged at 8-8.5 per cent and 6.5-7 percent, respectively.

However barring this short-term aberration, the domestic tyre demand has remained
favorable during the year and likely to recover in the second half of FY2018. Further a
rebound in automotive production across the product segments is expected to have a
cascading impact on original equipment tyre demand during the year.

Regarding tyre exports, the same have remained strong for the second straight year,
led by revival in demand across product segments. Following a 27.5 percent growth in
FY2017 exports volume increased by 14.1 percent during the first half of FY 2018.

In value terms, the growth in exports came a bit lower at 13.3 percent, a realizations
remained tepid: the pricing was constrained by softened RM prices. While overall tyre
exports grew by 13 percent during FY2017, the growth in exports to the top 10
countries was higher at 18 percent, aided by steady demand in most of the regions,
barring the UAE and Philippines.

Tyre exports are estimated to grow by 10 percent in FY2018 and by 8-10 percent over
the next three years led by stable demand and increased acceptance of Indian tyres in
overseas markets, both in terms of quality and pricing, However , with rising
penetration of low coast Chinese tyres in overseas markets, especially post the
removal of anti-dumping duty (ADD)by the US on the Chinese tyres in February
2017, competition from China (both in terms of volumes and pricing) will remain a
key challenge. Following the ADD imposition on the Chinese tyres by the US in
FY2015 and removal of AD on the Chinese tyre imports to India in FY 2015, TBR
tyre imports to India had witnessed a sharp growth in FY2016 and FY2017.

However, due to the demonetization effect and with US ruling out ADD on Chinese
tyres in February 2017, tyre imports have de-grown by 10.5 percent (in value terms)
and 2 percent (in volume terms) during the first half of FY2019. This apart, the re-
imposition of ADD by the government on 19 September 2017 on import of new
Chinese TBR (including tubeless) for fiver years, is likely to keep the imports lower
going forward, china cornered a lion share with 90 percent of TBR tyres originating
from China in FY2017. With the competitiveness of Chinese players diminishing post
ADD, it provided level playing field for Indian T&B tyre markers.

ICRA expects the capacity addition in the industry to continue over next five years
given the large cash balances, strong accrual position and favorable demand scenario.
Capex are likely to continue with planned Rs 25,000 crore of investments spread
across the next five years,

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As for raw material prices impact on the industry, while there was an interim spike of
30 percent during Feb-Mar’ 17, the natural rubber (NR) prices have subsequently
declined sharply and been trading at an average of Rs 130 per kg during 9M FY2018,
in line with FY 2017 levels.

Due to subdued demand, NR consumption increased by only 1.9 per cent during 5M
FY 2018 vis-à-vis a 5.7 percent rise in production levels. Global NR prices continue to
trade at a discount of 10 parent averaging at Rs 118 per kg during 9m Fy2018.

ICRA expects the prices of crude derivatives to increase by 15-20 percent in the fourth
quarter of FY2018 due to the time lag effect of the 20 percent spike in oil prices
during October-December’17.

Following the 10 quarter of subdued performance, the industry revenues grew by a

sharp quarter of FY2018. The growth was fueled by strong volumes across product
categories, especially in the OE segments, even as realizations remained weak, With
falling imports, T&B tyre demand recovered sharply, while LCV and motorcycle tyre
sales volumes were supported by good farm output, Stable PV and scooter tyre
demand, rise in OTR tyre exports and pent-up replacement demand across product
categories (post GST-related issues) further supported the growth in volumes during
the quarter.

On the margin front, with the softening of RM prices since April 2017, the industry
recovered back to its normal levels of margins in the second quarter of FY2018,
following an exceptionally weak performance in the preceding quarter. Nevertheless,
the second quarter margins are still lower than Fy2017 level (considered one of the
best years for the tyre industry), due to steep correction in RM prices. Industry wide
operating and net margins expanded by 670bps and 400bps Q-o-Q, respectively.

ICRA expects the tyre industry (represented by ICRA’s sample of seven major tyre
companies) to post 8-10 percent growth during FY18-22. While price cuts during 9M
FY17, capped revenues during FY2017, price hikes between Jan-May’17 coupled
with modest volume growth is expected to support a 7-8 percent revenue growth
during Fy2018: during the first half of FY18, the industry posted 6.7 percent growth in
revenues.

Despite heavy capex in the coming five years FY18-22, the industry is expected to
fund the same from the significant pile of accruals during the past three years, leading
to a stable credit profile for the industry.

2. Apollo Tyres Limited

Overview

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Apollo Tyres Ltd, with its corporate headquarters in Gurgaon, India, is in the business
of manufacture and sale of tyres since its inception 1972. Over the years, the company
has grown manifold, establishing its footprint across the globe.

The company has manufacturing presence in Asia, Europe and Africa, with 8 modern
tyre facilities and exports to over 100 countries. Powered by its key brands – Apollo
and Vredestein, the company offers a comprehensive product portfolio spread across
passenger car, light truck-bus, off highway and bicycle tyres, re-treading material and
re-treaded tyre.

It gets 69% of its revenues from India, 26% from Europe and 5% from other
geographies.

At the end of the financial year 2018, the company clocked a turnover of US$ 2.28
billion, backed by a global workforce of approximately 16,000 employees.

Aa a March 31, 2018, the company traded in India on the Bombay Stock Exchange
and National Stock Exchange, with 59.68% of shares held by the public, government
entities, banks and financial institutions.

Apollo Tyres Limited is engaged in manufacturing and sale of automotive tires. The
Company’s segments include India, Europe and Others. The Indian segment includes
manufacturing and sales operations through India, The European segment includes

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 10

manufacturing and sales operations through the plant at the Netherlands along with its
subsidiaries.
The others segment includes the subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates, South Africa,
Thailand and other operating subsidiaries. It manufactures tires, tubes and flaps. Its
products include Passenger Vehicle, including ALNAC, ALNAC 4G, AMAZER 3G
MAXX and AMAZER 4G; Commercial Vehicle, including AMAR, AMAR AT-RIB,
AMAR DLX, AMAR GOLD and CARGO PLUS XR; Off highway Tyre, including
AGREX 85, BHIM, DHRUV, FX515 (ROW CROP) and FX 525, and Two Wheeler
Tyre.

Apollo announced its entry into the two-wheeler tyre segment with contract
manufacturing in march 2016. In November 2016, the company signed a Mou with
the Government of Andhra Pradesh to set up a new factory in Andhra Pradesh to
manufacture tyres for two-wheelers and pick-up trucks

The Company’s second plant in Europe was inaugurated by the Hungarian Prime
Minister, Viktor Orban, on April 2017.

Brands

Brands, Apollo and Vredestein comprise of tyres for passenger, commercial and off highway
vehicles Brands Regal and Kaizen focus on the truck-bus tyre segment.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 11

Each brand from the company is equipped with its own distinctive visual language and
targeted to a specific customer need. This approach has enabled Apollo Tyres to provide a
wide range of products for various applications, across geographies – ending with a delighted
customer.

APOLLO

Apollo tyres are manufactured in India and Europe and are available across all categories,
including commercial, passenger vehicles, two wheelers, farm and industrial.

As a brand philosophy, Apollo Tyres believes in giving its customers new choices that put
them in control and help them to conquer the road ahead. Apollo enables individuals to
achieve their on potential, when it comes to driving and in every area of life as reflected in its
tagline ‘go the distance’.

A choice of global and Indian original equipment auto players, Apollo Tyres’ genesis dates
back to the mid-1970s, when the first corporate identity was unveiled. It stood for passion,
aggression and determination to achieve excellence in all spheres.

VREDESTEIN

Innovation is seeing ahead

Rubber has been in our blood since the beginning of the 20th century and, like innovation, is a
building block of our DNA. This has made us what we are today:a leading European
manufacturer of first-class tyres.

Born to perform
Tyres contain a great deal technology. At Vredestein, we develop and produce tyres which
enhance the performance of every vehicle. A Vredestein tyre is designed to perform
optimally and maximize users’ freedom at all times. We strive to offer all drivers the safest
and best possible driving experience.

Technology based on design. This is Vredestein.

At Vredestein we have a clear vision on how a tyre should look. This is why we have had a
partnership with the famous Italian design agency Giugiaro since 1997 and why we also
devote so much attention in-house to the tread design and sidewalls of our tyres.

Vision and Values

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 12

Vision

To be a premium tyre company with a diversified and multinational presence.

Values

It’s about our instincts. It’s about the way we think. It’s the way we interact with the
world. It’s common culture. It’s a system of values that, like our six senses, defines
who we are and how we work.

1) Customer First: We believe that our customers and those whom they serve are
central to everything we do.

2) Business Ethics: WE act with integrity.

3) Care for Society: We actively participate in our local communities to address

health, safety, environment and community needs.

4) Empowerment: We take ownership for our actions and responsibility for results.

5) Communicate Openly: We are open and transparent in our communication across

geographies and levels.

6) One Family: We celebrate our oneness through building trusting relations, respect
for diversity and passion towards common goals.

Timeline of Apollo Tyres Ltd

 1976 Apollo Tyres was registered.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 13

 1977 First plant established at Perambra, Kerala, India.

 1992 Second plant at Limda, Gujarat, India.

 1994 Started selling tyres for 2-wheelers.

 1995 3rd plant at Kalamassery, Kerala, India.

 2006 Expanded operations outside India by acquiring Dunlop's Africa

Operations.
 2008 New plant at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

 2009 Apollo Tyres acquired the Netherlands-based tyre maker

Vredestein Banden B.V. (VBBV) for an undisclosed sum from
Russia's bankrupt largest tyre manufacturer Amtel-Vredestein NV.
 2013 Disposed of the Dunlop brand in Africa along with most of the
South African operation in a sale to Sumitomo Rubber Industries of
Japan.
 2015 Apollo has bought Germany’s Reifencom for 45.6 million euro.

 2016 Shifts corporate office for Europe region to Amsterdam from

Enscheda, the Netherlands.
Opens Global R&D Centre, Asia in Chennai, India.
Signs MoU with the government of Andhra Pradesh to set up a
new factory in Andhra Pradesh.
 2017 Inaugurates its plant in Hugary.

 2019 Two wheeler Motor cycle radial tyre production started at Limda,
Gujarat plant.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

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Apollo Tyres has the advantage of a diversified market base across geographies, and is
therefore, not solely dependent on a single domestic market. Furthermore, the
Company is working to establish and grow operations in other large international
markets as well. With an entry into the two-wheeler tyre segment, the Company is
now a full range tyre player in India and can service this large and growing two-
wheeler tyre segment.

The Company is powered by strong global product brands in its key markets – Apollo
and Vredestein.

Apollo Tyres enjoys an extensive distribution network for its key brands across its two
key markets India and Europe.

In Europe, the Company’s brand ‘Vredestein’ has an established presence and enjoys
a reasonable premium positioning in Ultra High Performance (UHP), winter and all-
season passenger car tyre segments.

Test results in 2015 across segments were excellent – number one position for Quatrac
5 in All-Season test, test winner Sportrac 5 in the summer segment, Ultra Satin in the
premium segment and highly recommended rating for Ultra Vorti. These results will
help in building a stronger position in the market.

The Company is a leading player in the Indian Commercial Vehicles segment which
accounts for the bulk of the industry’s revenue. Since the Company assumed an early
lead, Apollo is best positioned to maintain its leadership position in the truck-bus
radial segment and drive growth through the same.

A global and culturally diversified management team is driving growth across

geographies. The presence of modern Research & Development (R&D) facilities for
PV and CV tyres will play a key role in bringing cutting-edge technology and
innovation to drive growth for the Company.

Increased spends on building the corporate brand including Apollo Tyres’ association
with Manchester United is starting to make Apollo a globally recognized brand. The
Company has acquired Reifnecom GmbH, one of the largest tyre distributors in
Germany.

Weaknesses

The Company is currently not present in the European OEM market for regular
passenger car tyres, which to a certain extent drive the replacement market sales.

The Company still needs to establish a larger presence in new growing geographies to
reach economic sized operations. The Company is currently unable to effectively
block low quality low cost Chinese tyres through Government intervention which has
led to pricing pressures.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 15

Opportunities

In India, Apollo Tyres enjoys an early mover advantage in the truck-bus radial
segment and has a healthy lead over its competition in terms of capacity and market
share. This implies healthy growth prospects with increasing radicalization.

The Company’s Apollo branded PV tyres are being sold in Europe and this could
develop into a sizable market for the same, leveraging its already existing network in
Europe.

With the commencement of Apollo’s Greenfield plant in Hungary, the Company is

positioned to grow in the European market due to a new cost competitive
manufacturing facility.

The Company continues to increase its focus towards new geographies like the Middle
East and South East Asia, These will be our growth avenues for the future.

The Company can convert excess bias capacity into more profitable industrial tyres
capacity and tap into a new product segment

The Company is talking to auto majors for OEM fitments in Europe, This will
establish the brand even more strongly and drive significant growth in the European
market. The Company will look at introducing products and make an entry into the
European Truck and Bus segments.

Threats

Economic downturn or slowdown in the key markets – Europe and India – can lead to
a decrease in volumes and capacity utilization. Increased competition from global
players like Michelin and Bridgestone in India.

Increased competition of truck radial imports from China resulting in a quicker than
expected decline in volumes within the TBB segment thereby creating redundant
capacities requiring investment to convert into other product segment.

Continued threat of raw material price volatility, translating into pressured margins, if
raw material prices rise, Weak Indian currency resulting in pressure on margins, since
the company is a net importer.

Growing influence of budget tyres, mainly tier 2 and 3 brands from established
European manufacturers as well as Chinese and Korean imports.

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3. Tyre Functions and Basic structures
Tyre is a rubber member which gives the cushion to the automobile. It is consist of outer
cover i.e. tyre proper and tube inside. The tyre tube assembly is mounted over the wheel rim
and fit inside the tube carries entire load and tube carries entire load and provide cushion.
It provides support the vehicle load, provide cushion against the shocks. Tyres are capable of
transmitting strong longitudinal and lateral forces.
History of tyre technology:
The earliest tyres were made as a solid disc with three segments held together by circular
pieces of metal or leather. These clumsy wooden disc wheels later developed into spooked
wooden wheels.
The pneumatic tyre was invented in 1888 by Dunlop. The vulcanization of natural rubber
which he patented in1844 is credited to Charles Goodyear and Robert William Thomson.
Types of tyre:
According to tread pattern we classified tyres into three types
1) Summer tyres: Deliver excellent driving and breaking performance on wet and dry roads.
2) Winter tyres: specifically for the snow and ice covered roads.
3) All season tyres: More complex tread pattern.

3.1. TYRE COMPONENTS

Pneumatic tyres are manufactured by standardized process and machinery, in around 455
tyres factories in the world. The tyre is an assembly of numerous components that are built up
to a drum and then cured in a cure press under high temperature and pressure.

Tyre components are:

Tread /Belt Assembly:
Tread bracing components help in rising the modulus of the tread area, thereby maintaining
the inflated tyre tread profile and reducing tread pattern movement as it contacts the road.
Material: Synthetic and natural rubber.
Tread is consisting of cap, base and shoulder.
Functions:
Cap: Provide grips on all road surfaces, wear resistance, directional processibility.
Base: reduce rolling resistance and Damage to the casing.
Shoulder: forms an optimal transition from the tread to the sidewalls.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 17

Jointless cap strips:

Material: nylon, embedded in rubber.

Functions: enhance high-speed quality.

Steel-cord for belt plies:

Material: high strength steel cords.

Functions: enhance shape retention and directional stability. Reduce the rolling resistance.
Increase the tyre’s mileage performance.

Carcass cord ply:

Carcass plies gives strength to tyre. it is consist of cords of cotton, rayon, nylon or polyester,
woven as the wrap of a fabric with only very light yarns, widely spaced, as the weft. These
weft stands serve to maintain the uniformity of cord spacing during handling.

Material: rayon or polyester (rubberized).

Function: controls internal pressure and maintain the tyre’s shape.

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Inner liner:

Inner liner for tubed tyre is a thin layer of compound usually calendared direct on to the
underside of first ply after the latter has been jointed and batched in continuous lengths.in
tubeless tyres, inner liner is used as an air retaining member and usually calendared as a two
layer laminate with a stepped edges.

Material: butyl rubber or halo butyl rubber.

Functions: seals the air-filled inner chamber .acts as a tube in tubeless tyres.

Side wall:

Sidewall is an extruded rubber compound layer which protect the carcass structure .together
with the tread it forms outermost layer of the tyre. As with the tread, sidewalls are batched
into spools with a textile.

Material: natural rubber.

Function: protects the casing from external damage and atmospheric conditions.

Bead apex:

Bead apex is a rubber compound strip located on the top of the bead .this is generally
triangular in shape with a finely tapered upper edge, is made by extruding from a multi-head
die.

Material: synthetic rubber.

Functions: enhance directional stability, gives steering precision, and improves comfort.

Bead core:

Bead core is a combination of multi-stand copper coated high tensile steel wires. Bead wire
provides rigid, inextensible units. The appropriate number of wires, formed into a flat layer
and uniformity separated generally represents with TxS.

Material: steel wire embedded in rubber.

Function: ensures that the tyre sits firm on the rim.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 19

4. Tyre manufacturing process and production process flow

FLOW SHEET:

Tyre manufacturing process involves all the operation which are carried out on the rubber to
get the final product.

Compounding and mixing:

Compounding is the operation of bringing together all the ingredients required to mix a batch
of rubber compound. Each component has a different mix of ingredients according to the
properties required for that component.

Mixing is the process of applying mechanical work to the ingredients in order to blend them
into a homogeneous substance. Internal mixers are often equipped with two counter-rotating
rotors in a large housing that shear the rubber charge along with the additives, The mixing is
done in three or four stages to incorporate the ingredients in the desired order, The shearing
action generates considerable heat, so both rotors and housing are water-cooled to maintain a
temperature low enough to assure that vulcanization does not begin.

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After mixing the rubber charge is dropped into a chute and fed by an extruding screw into a
roller die. Alternatively, the batch can be dropped onto an open rubber mill batch off system.
A mill consists of twin counter-rotating rolls, one serrated, that provides additional
mechanical working to the rubber and produces a thick rubber sheet. The sheet is pulled off
the rollers in the form of a strip. The strip is cooled, dusted with tale, and laid down into a
pallet bin.

The ideal compound at this point would have a highly uniform material dispersion; however
in practice there is considerable non-uniformity to the dispersion. This is due to several
causes, including hot and cold spots in the mixer housing and rotors, excessive rotor
clearance, rotor wear, and poorly circulating flow paths. As a result, there can be a little more
carbon black here, and a little less there, along with a few clumps of carbon black elsewhere,
that are not well mixed with the rubber or the additives.

Mixers are often controlled according to the power integration method, where the current
flow to the mixer motor is measured, and the mixing terminated upon reaching a specified
total amount of mix energy imparted to the batch.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 21

 5. Project Objectives

The main objectives of the study were:

 Study the activities of Final mixer
 Identify the possibilities of reduction in cycle time
 Optimize the mixing output

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 22

 6. Literature Review

According to Ajit Chavda and Prof. M.Y. Patil in their article “Increased productivity of tyre
manufacturing process using Lean Methodology”. Cycle time reduction is the strategy of
lowering the time it takes to perform a process in order to improve productivity. In addition,
cycle time reduction often improves quality. When a cycle time is too close to the takt time,
there is little margin for error.

According to Hiten Patel and Sanjay C. Shah in their article ‘Review on Cycle Time
Reduction in Manufacturing Industries’ cycle time is the time required at each station for the
performance of the work is known as cycle time. Cycle time is normally larger than the
service time. The cycle time at a stations is the time interval between the completion or the
starting of work on successive items, and, therefore includes both productive and non-
productive work as well as any idle time.

 Cycle Time = Service Time + Idle Time

 Cycle Time = Useful Production Time Per Day

Output per Day

The cycle time depends on the total output required and the available time for production.
Suppose T = Useful production time available per day and Q = Daily output required in
number of units
According to Toly Chen in his article ‘A Systematic Cycle Time Reduction Procedure for
Enhancing the Competitiveness and Sustainability of a Semiconductor Manufacturer’ the
cycle time (flow time, or manufacturing lead time) of job is the time required for the job to go
through the factory. Shortening the job cycle time is very important for a factory, at least for
the following reasons:

1. Each job represents an opportunity cost for the factory. A long cycle time means it is
difficult to convert the opportunity cost into profits in the short term.
2. Long job cycle time result in the accumulation of work-in-progress (WIP), which takes
the shop floor management a challenging task.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 23

In a case study on cycle time reduction by James C. Wetherbe and Mark N. Frolick, says that
one of the key components of cycle time reduction is “the 3% rule”. When looking at
organizational processes in terms of cycle time reduction, the 3% rule is often a good place to
start. The 3% rule states that only 3% of the elapsed process is actually needed to complete
the activity.

According to S. Sanhtosh Kumar and M. Pradeep Kumar in their article on ;Cycle time
reduction of a Truck body assembly in an automobile industry by Lean principles’, cycle time
is an internal of time, during which a series of grouped sequential actions takes places on a
recurring basis. So it is defined as the time of longest operations in an assembly line.

According to Rahul Rana in their article ‘Cycle Time Reduction by using Lean
Manufacturing’. Cycle time is defined as the time it takes to do a process. It includes the time
from when an operator starts a process until the work is ready to be passed on. This cycle
time definition is rather simplistic, though, as there are several elements that can cloud the
issue. On linked assembly lines, there is often waiting at the end of a line shift. That waiting a
typically not considered part of the cycle time, but waiting within the work is generally
included. Put simply, the cycle time is the minimum time a stopwatch would have to run to
produce a good unit of work.

According to S.S. Rai in the research paper on ‘Simulation Model for Teaching and Learning
Process in Higher Education’, Simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real world
process or system over time. The act of simulating something first requires that a model be
developed: this model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected physical
or abstract system or process. The model represents the system itself, whereas the simulation
represents the operation of the system over time. Simulation is a particular type of modeling,
building a model is well recognized way of understanding the world; it is a simplification of
some structure or a system. On the other hand, it can be a prediction, a substitute for
experimental learning.

According to Anu Maria in her article ‘Introduction to modelling and simulation’, a

simulation of a system is the operation of a model of the system. The model can be
reconfigured and experimented with; usually, this is impossible, too expensive or impractical
to do in the system it represents. The operation of the model can be studied, and hence,
properties concerning the behavior of the actual system or its subsystem can be inferred. In its
broadest sense, simulation is a tool to evaluate the performance of a system, existing or
proposed, under different configurations of interest and over long periods of real time.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 24

7. Observations

Apollo Tyre Ltd., Limda Radial plant has one final mixer machine for producing final
compound. This process is divided as shown in below diagram namely compound
weighing, charging in mixer, mixing, milling, cooling, sampling, testing and storage.

Final Mixer Process Flow Diagram

Final compound mixing cycle involves different steps which are polymer charging, hopper
door close, ram down, mixing, discharge door open, discharge door close, ram up and
hopper door open.

Final compound cycle time is included compound mixing time in mixer and non-
productive time during batch discharge. The reading were noted from the display unit of
the machine which has integrated time recording system. The summary of the observation
are as below.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 25

 Observation at Final Compound Mixer for Compound Code F001.

Sr. No. Batch mixing sequence Productive time in Sec. Non-Productive time Sec.
1 Rubber Charging in mixer 8
2 Hopper door close 2.5
3 Ram down 3
4 Mixing 50
5 Ram up 3
6 Ram down 3
7 Mixing 45
8 Discharge door open 2.5
9 Discharge door Hold 9

Discharge door close/Ram up/

10 3
Hopper door open

Total 101 28

Total Cycle Time in Sec. 129

From the above observation, average cycle time of the compound code F001 is 129 sec.
Gantt chart is prepared for understanding the activity flow.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 26

 Time Study Measurement

Process Name PCR Mixing

Machine/Area Final Mixer
Compound Code F001

Apollo Tyres Ltd.

Date -
Shift A
Analyst Paresh Darji

Duration

3
6
9
12
15
18
21
24
27
30
33
36
39
42
45
48
51
54
57
60
63
66
69
72
75
78
81
84
87
90
93
96
99

Sr. No. Batch mixing sequence

102
105
108

in Sec
1 Rubber Charging in mixer 8
2 Hopper door close 2.5
3 Ram down 3
4 Mixing 50
5 Ram up 3
6 Ram down 3
7 Mixing 45
8 Discharge door open 2.5
9 Discharge door Hold 9
Discharge door
10 3
close/Ram up/ Hopper

27
8. Project Proposals

From the observations following proposals were given:

 During Batch mixing, Ram up and down position change to middle which would be
saving 3 seconds cycle time per batch.
 During compound charging in mixer, increase charging conveyor speed which would
saving 2 seconds cycle time per batch.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 28

9. Simulation of Proposal

Simulating proposal 1:

 During compound batch mixing, Ram down and up movement sequence given at
certain temperature in mixer. If Ram up movement reduce to Ram middle during
batch mixing, the cycle time of batch would be as below:

Current observation After Simulation

Ram Up at Ram Down

Sr. No. Ram Up Ram Down Cycle Time Cycle Time
Middle from Middle
1 3 3 129 1.5 1.5 126

Table:-1 Simulation of proposal-1

PROPOSAL 1
140
129 126
120

100

80

60

40

20
3 3 1.5 1.5
0
Ram Up Ram Down Cycle Time Ram Up at Ram Down from Cycle Time
Middle Middle

Current Observation After Simulation

Fig. 1: Simulation of Proposal-1

 The cycle time of batch mixing comes down from 129 seconds to 126 seconds by
Changing Ram up and Ram down sequence to Ram middle position. By there will be
saving of 3 seconds.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 29

Simulating proposal 2:

 During compound batch mixing, batch charging conveyor speed is 50 RPM. If batch
charging conveyor speed increase by 15 RPM, the cycle time of batch would be as
below.

Current observation After Simulation

Sr. No. Batch charging time Cycle Time Batch charging time Cycle Time

1 8 129 6 127

Table:-2 Simulation of proposal-2

PROPOSAL 2
140
129 127
120

100

80

60

40

20
8 6
0
Batch charging time Cycle Time Batch charging time Cycle Time

Current Observation After Simulation

Fig. 2: Simulation of Proposal-2

 The cycle time of batch mixing comes down from 129 seconds to 127 seconds by
increase charging conveyor speed from 50 RPM to 65 RPM. By there will be saving
of 2 seconds.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 30

Simulating proposal 1 & 2:
 Ram up and down movement change to Ram middle and Charging conveyor speed
increase during batch charging.

Observation:

Current observation After Simultaneous Simulation

Sr. Ram Up and Batch Ram Up and Batch Charging

Cycle Time Cycle Time
No. Down time Charging time Down time time

1 6 8 129 3 6 124
Table:-3 Simulation of proposal 1 and 2

Reduced Cycle Time

140
129
124
120

100

80

60

40

20
6 8 6
3
0
Ram Up and Batch Charging Cycle Time Ram Up and Batch Charging Cycle Time
Down time time Down time time

Current Observation After Simultaneous Simulation

Fig. 3: Simulation of Proposals 1 & 2

 The cycle time is reduce from 129 seconds to 124 seconds. Thus saving of total 5
seconds can be achieved.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 31

10. Conclusions and Recommendations

 From my observations at Final mixer, two proposals were given by me for improving
the cycle time of final batch mixing.
 The two proposals were Ram up and down movement change to Ram middle and
Batch charging conveyor speed increase.
 Upon stimulating, it was calculated that there would be saving of 5 seconds which
bring down the cycle time from 129 seconds to 124 seconds.
 This saving would yield more production of batches and increase in Cure tyre output
in MT. The calculations is as below.

Available Production Time (S) at

Cycle Time (S) No. of Batches Produced
90% targeted Utilization of Machine

Current 129 77760 602

After Proposal 124 77760 627

Increase in production/day 25
Production in a year 8775
Increase in Cure Tyre Output in a year 938 MT
Table-4: Calculation

 From the above calculations, it is observed that there would be increase of final batch
production of 25 batches per day. Leading to increase in annual cure tyre output by
938 MT.
 For proposal 2, increase in charging conveyor speed, must be taken care for jamming
of rubber at mixer hopper door during batch charging.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 32

11. References

 www.corporate.apollotyres.com
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_manufacuring
 https://auto.economicitimes.indiatimes.com/news/tyres/tyres-
industry-in-sweet-spot-with-favourable-demand-prospects-icra/
62442717
 James C. Wetherbe, Mark N. Frolick, Cycle Time Reduction:
Concepts and Case Studies, Communications of the Association for
Information Systems, Volume 2, Article 13.
 S. Santhosh Kumar and M. Pradeep Kumar, Cycle time reduction
of a Truck body assembly in an automobile industry by Lean
principles, International conference on advance in manufacturing
and materials engineering. AMME 2014.
 Rahl Rana, Vikas Ucharia, Akshay Kumar, Cycle Time Reduction
by using Lean Manufacturing, IJESC, Volume 7, Issue No. 8, 2017.
 Ajit Chavda, Prof M.Y. Patil, Increased Productivity of Tyre
Manufacturing Process using Lean Methodology, 2011.
 Hiten Patel, Sanjay C. Shah, Review on Cycle Time Reduction in
Manufacturing Industries, JETIR (ISSN-2349-5162), Volume 1
Issue 7, 2014.
 S.S. Rai, Anil T. Gaikwad, R.V. Kulkarni, A Research Paper on
Simulation Model for Teaching and Learning Process in Higher
Education, International Journal of Advanced Computer
Research, Volume-4, Number-2, Isssue-15, June-2014.
 Toly Chen, A Systematic Cycle Time Reduction Procedure for
Enhancing the Competitiveness and Sustainability of a
Semiconductor Manufacturer, Sustainability 2013.
 Book: Operations Research by J.K. Sharma.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. 33