Rockwell Automation solution has enabled Climate Systems India to eliminate 15.2PPM heat exchanger rejection rate and reduce operating costs by 50per cent and downtime by 33per cent.

A supplier to Maruti Suzuki, Climate Systems India (CSIL) was established in 1991 as as a joint venture between Ford Motor Company (now Visteon Corporation, a long time customer of Rockwell Automation) and Maruti Udyog (now Suzuki Motors). The company manufacturesheat exchangers exclusively for the Suzuki Motors plant near New Delhi and is committed to product and service quality comparable to the best in the world. In fact, one of the first companies in India to meet international quality standards, CSIL initially manufactured only mechanically assembled aluminum radiators. In 1998 it expanded its operations to include the manufacture of controlled atmosphere, brazed heat exchangers.

Says Sailesh Chopra, facilities' engineer at CSIL, ""We wanted to provide the benefit of the very latest manufacturing technology to the Indian automotive industry." Supplying to a auto manufacturer like Suzuki Motors, which has a 52per cent share of the Indian market, bringing CSIL annual gross revenues of US $10 million, the facility of the company near New Delhi has a combined capacity of 1.2 million heat exchangers per year.

However, Climate Systems India wasn't always the cutting edge manufacturer it is today. CSIL turned to Rockwell Automation for help in 2001, the plant used an entirely manual production process. Human error and frequent mix up of good and bad parts on the mechanically operated stamping unit commonly caused production breakdowns, costing the company about 20 hours of downtime per month. Breakdowns meant the production line often had to run overtime so CSIL could meet its 100per cent on time delivery record. Most problems occurred at the leak checking station, where human error contributed to a high rejection rate of 15.2 parts per million (PPM).

Unfortunately, the heat exchangers usually got to the Suzuki production line before the rejection was detected, resulting in high warranty returns, a great amount of rework and customer concerns. This rejection rate was simply incompatible with Climate System India's commitment to products and services of unrivaled quality.

In addition to the rework and high warranty returns, the high cost of consumables was also impacting profitability. CSIL used a manual printing process to label the heat exchangers. Production data was handwritten in registers, and labels were printed and affixed manually to the finished product. This labour intensive process consumed vast quantities of ink and paper, both expensive commodities. With high operational costs, unacceptable downtime and impaired quality, Climate Systems India had to make some major changes - quickly. The company needed to reduce both human error and machine failure to improve quality and reduce downtime. Quality, profitability, maximum uptime, safety and reliability were key value drivers. For a workforce unaccustomed to automation, ease of use and excellent support services were essential.

As the exclusive heat exchanger OEM to Suzuki Motors, Climate Systems India would settle for no less than perfection. The company's goal: to achieve a rejection rate of 0.0PPM. Impossible? Not for Rockwell Automation and its partner, Control & Automation. CSIL selected Rockwell Automation because of its depth of product line, which allows for the desired solutions today and for future applications, and because of its longstanding relationship with Visteon. The system integrator, Control & Automation, also enjoys a reputation for outstanding services.

Combined with easily accessed technical expertise and a competitive price, CSIL had confidence that Rockwell Automation and its channel partner could provide a complete solution. The contract was awarded in June, 2001 and commissioned in March, 2002.

Rockwell Automation's solution was to fully automate and integrate the final quality procedures. This achieved all of Climate Systems India's objectives: outstanding quality, reduced breakdown and lower operational cost. The system is foolproof so there can be no shipment of defective parts to the end customer due to human error.

Rockwell Automation synchronized and integrated four isolated machines into one work station using the Allen-Bradley SLC 5/03 controller, 300 I/Os and a Panel View 550 operator station. The complete automation system features a complex interlock, tracking of all aspects of testing, fault diagnostics at the channel level and mimic of machine operation.

An on line leak check simulates the evacuation and filling of coolant in an automotive assembly plant. Leaks are detected through a differential pressure decay method, which uses a highly sensitive pressure diaphragm transducer. Human error and possible environmental influences in rejection monitoring are fully eliminated with the help of Rockwell Automation's solution.

Climate Systems India reaped immediate results from Rockwell Automation's system: in the first 10 months following the installation, Suzuki Motors rated CSIL as the best vendor for delivering top quality. Clearly, the project was a resounding success and with Rockwell Automation's help, CSIL was able to exceed its customer's expectations and attain world class quality. "Rockwell Automation's solution enabled us to achieve a very high level of quality, with 0 PPM rejection, and helped us win Suzuki's confidence," expresses Shailesh Chopra of CSIL.

The dramatic reduction from 15.2 PPM rejection rate to 0 PPM not only boosts Suzuki's confidence in the OEM, it directly impacts Climate Systems India's bottom line. The high rate of warranty returns was a major expense for CSIL; the new automation system eliminated warranty returns. And without the need to rework, productivity significantly increased and operating costs reduced by 50per cent. CSIL previously experienced about 20 hours per month of downtime due to breakdown. Now it was 13 hours or less - a 33per cent reduction. Although the system never experienced a failure since it was installed, it is now set to automatically upload variables to get the system up and running again quickly should a failure ever occur. The monitoring system enables CSIL operators to diagnose and correct problems with speed and accuracy, increasing system uptime. In addition, field sensors placed at critical gates ensure operator safety. The fault diagnostics are so user friendly, CSIL's system repair operators have no difficulty with usage.

Printing and labeling are also automated, with the labels printed directly onto the heat exchangers. Eliminating paper and ink has reduced the cost of consumables by 50per cent. Climate Systems India's single greatest goal is to "achieve customer satisfaction through quality of products and services." And with higher productivity, reduced breakdown, increased uptime, on-time supply and zero defects, Climate Systems India couldn't be more delighted.

(Case Study Courtesy: Rockwell Automation)