Continuous Improvement is one of the fundamental tenets of the Mittal Steel management approach – and this drive for improvement has played a large part in ensuring the success of the Company’s acquisition programme.
It is supported through the work of a dedicated Continuous Improvement team at the corporate level and in a Knowledge Management Programme that seeks to build and share knowledge and skills throughout the Group.
The Continuous Improvement programme supports local business unit management to identify high potential areas on which to focus additional effort and resource in order to accelerate improvement in performance. Once the priorities are determined, multifunctional teams are formed at the local level, supported by corporate Continuous Improvement managers, to gather and analyse key operational data, develop improvement plans and manage implementation. During this process, these teams will also draw on relevant technical and functional expertise available within the global Mittal Steel group.
In leading and supporting this problem-solving work, the Continuous Improvement programme helps build local management capabilities in planning and problem solving methodologies. As these skills are developed, local managers of improvement are appointed to continue to work with departmental teams on performance improvement initiatives.
In 2004, the Continuous Improvement programme focused much of its attention on productivity improvements and the removal of bottlenecks that were restricting output. It completed major projects at four Mittal Steel companies and started projects at three others.
At Mittal Steel Ostrava, projects were undertaken to increase production in the slab casting/hot rolling mill complex. Detailed analysis of performance on a shift-by-shift basis, identified an opportunity to improve cycle time between deliveries of slabs. Working with front-line operators procedures were refined reducing the gap time between slabs. The effect was to substantially increase productivity in the mill.
Similar issues were identified in the steel melt shop at Mittal Steel Galati, where wide variations in operating practices were resulting in big swings in productivity. New standardised practices were introduced that cut tap-to-tap times. Another initiative focused on improving logistics planning and transport procedures at Mittal Steel Galati, reducing the finished product inventory.
Elsewhere, projects were undertaken at Mittal Steel Temirtau that reduced delays and improved productivity in the slabbing mill, tinning lines and galvanising lines, while projects that commenced in the meltshops at Mittal Steel Canada, Mittal Steel Poland, Mittal Steel Annaba and Mittal Steel Point Lisas are expected to deliver results in the coming year.
The Knowledge Management Programme (KMP) makes similar use of the depth and breadth of knowledge within the Group by ensuring systems are in place for sharing it. Knowledge transfer is seen as the key to enhancing performance at many of the more recently acquired companies. The KMP is designed to build a world-class Knowledge Management capability at Mittal Steel.
The formal KMP was established in the mid-1990s and has been progressively expanded since. It now covers key functional areas such as procurement, health and safety, and marketing as well as all the main steel producing and processing steps.
Shared benchmarking information highlights performance gaps while the meetings
provide an opportunity for managers to seek advice and input from colleagues
at other business units – or detail successes that may be applicable to other business units. The KMP process also helps build peer networks and accelerate integration with the Group.
In 2004, Mittal Steel held 25 KMP meetings, attended by more than 500 managers.
The exchange of know-how goes beyond the formal KMP meetings. Two examples illustrate the benefits to be had from sharing know-how between Group companies.
In 2004, new slab casters were built at Mittal Steel Temirtau. They are due to come on stream in the first quarter of 2005. To ensure a smooth start-up on such a major investment, the teams of people that will be operating the casters have been given training and hands-on experience of slab caster operations at Mittal Steel Ostrava, Mittal Steel Lazaro Cardenas and Ispat Inland.
In improving the productivity in the steel melt shop at Mittal Steel Galati, referred to above, the technical skills of Mittal Steel Ruhrort personnel were called upon. A team of German technicians supported the commissioning of an express laboratory on the shop floor to provide quick analysis of the chemistry on-site. The express laboratory has contributed to reducing cycle times and achieving the desired productivity gains. It was a tangible example of the industry-leading skills that reside
within the Group – and which the KMP makes accessible to sister companies.
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