InssanInssanManaging Council of INSSANPresident:U. S. Bapat Tata Power Company Ltd., Trombay

Vice - President:Bhushan Ganjoo K+T - Consultants, Mumbai

Treasurer:Indranil Ghosh The Tata Power Co. Ltd., Mumbai

Hon. Secretary:S. K. Jena Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Mumbai

Members :Sudhir H. DateS. P. GharatA. N. ShendeA. M. ParanjapeAshok SharmaS. R. KarandikarVinayak AtreManoj YadavP. K. MandalDr. Amit GangulyG. V. Srirama KumarK. K. SinghJ. ThirumeniSharad AggarwalHarish MalikM. M. Brahme

Past Presidents :D. I. ShahaniS. SamidasK. K. BhattacharyaS. H. DateP. S. RaoW. J. N. DanaitK. P. RaoS.A.GupteKalyan Chakravarty

The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily are the offi cial views of INSSAN - Editor

GPIL, MumbaiBHEL, TiruchirappaliRCF Ltd., Trombay, MumbaiSiemens Ltd., Worli, MumbaiPhilips India Ltd., Worli, MumbaiL & T, Powai, MumbaiRCF Ltd., Trombay, MumbaiSpecial Steels Ltd., Borivli, MumbaiL & T, Powai, Mumbai

Jamshedpur

A. N. SinghTata Steel, Jamshedpur

G. V. Srirama KumarTata Motors Ltd., Jamshedpur

Tamil Nadu

B. PalaniappanRane Brake Lining Ltd.

S. NatarajanSAIL - Salem Steel Plant

Delhi

Yogesh MunjalMunjal Showa Ltd., Gurgaon

V. K. SrivastavaSuprabha Protective Products (P) Ltd., Gurgaon

Mumbai, Past President, INSSANBharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. MumbaiRCF Ltd., MumbaiBX Consultancy Services, PuneIPCA Laboratories, MumbaiTata Motors Ltd., PuneSiemens Ltd., Navi MumbaiBharat Electronics Ltd., GhaziabadRCF Ltd., Raigad - MaharashtraMukand Ltd., KalvaTata Motors Ltd., JamshedpurEscorts Tractors Ltd., FaridabadDalmia Cement Ltd., TrichyITC Ltd., GhaziabadGrasim Cement, Raipur (Chattisgarh)Godfrey Philips India Ltd., Mumbai

Editor : Sudhir H. Date

Chapter

Chairman

Secretary

Poster Contest 2009 : 1st Prize,Mr. Raju B. Kammar, Tata Power Co. Ltd., Belgaum

October 08 - March 09 Vol. 20 No 2 &3

OFFICIAL BULLETIN OF INDIAN NATIONAL SUGGESTION SCHEMES’ ASSOCIATION

Dear Members,

It gives me a great pleasure, to present to you our Bulletin issue,

for the period Oct.2008 to March 2009,Vol. no.2 and 3 together.

The issue period has witnessed lot of disturbances of varied natures, the terrorist attacks followed by recession and loosing of jobs by many worldwide, as also many scams.With all these happenings,we have to go ahead, as time waits for nobody,wounds get healed with or without solace! Our 19th National Convention was also affected and had to be rescheduled to 10th and 11th April 2009 ! Life goes on!

Our activities during this period have seen lot of actions.Our North India Chapter (NIC) at Delhi,as usual had programme “National Seminar on TOTAL EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT-Challenges & Opportunities for Quantum Business Growth” at PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry,New Delhi on 21st and 22nd November, 2008, which was attended by large no.of participants.The report of the same with photos, is included in this issue, for your information.

Our Eastern India Chapter (EIC ) at Jamshedpur is very busy and active preparing for the forthcoming 19th National Convention at Jamshedpur, which was organized by them, on 10th and 11th April,2009.

Our Southern India Chapter (SIC), is also preparing itself for the future programmes, they are organizing in the southern parts, under it’s umbrella.You will hear from them shortly.

INSSAN’s AGM for the period 2007-2008, was held on 1st November 2008 at Mumbai, which was attended by our colleagues from NIC, along with other members.

The results of the INSSAN’S National Contests, conducted by INSSAN, for Slogan-English and Hindi, Poster Excellence in Suggestion Scheme, are included in this issue. The highlights of the Excellence Contest, are also part of this issue. Please see the details included in Statistical Highlights and Benchmark your EI Performance.

As usual, you have articals, from renouned Suggestion Scheme Practitioners like Mr. A.M.Pranjape ex Tata Motors Ltd., an article Did you Know….., List of New Members etc.

Our website “www.inssanorg.com” has restarted working. Kindly visit the site and let’s have your valuable feedback.The website has started functioning wef 9th Feb.2009.

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers at Thal Unit,Taluka Alibaug, Dist. Raigad, Maharashtra observed a Productivity Week during February 2009, the report of the same is part of this issue, along with photos, given by Mr. P.K. Mandal-Addl. Chief Enginneer.

The award winning posters,which are part of the INSSAN Calender 2009, are also part of this issue. We congratulate

all the winners of INSSAN Contests and hope more and more will participate, in the activities of INSSAN and make INSSAN vibrant.

Do not hesitate to inform us, the areas of improvements, in the bulletin published.We shall be eagerly looking forward to greater participation, from one and all, in the activities of INSSAN through various means like-

• Stories of success and failures in administration of SS/EI processes of respective Organisation.• Articles on EI programmes.• Events/Happenings about SS/EIP in your Organisation.• Any rejuvenation programmes.• Results of Contests held in your Organisation.• Case studies or Best Suggestors-Vishwakarma Puraskar winners.• Attending INSSAN programmes.• A Happy and Informative reading to all.

Sudhir DateEditor & Publisher

Editorial...

Those who wish to receive INSSAN Bulletin,please communicate to the Editor

For any additional information on INSSAN activities,please communicate at

Indian National Suggestion Schemes’Association1204, Daffodil, Satguru Gardens, Mithbunder Road,

Thane (E) - 400 603.Maharashtra, India

Telefax : 022-2532 4378 E-mail: inssan@vsnl.net

Membersarerequested......

for this bulletin by your success stories, innovative ideas on improvement in your organisations, Employee Involvement activities for sharing with others. Your participation will add value to this bulletin.

- Editor

.... to contribute.....

2

February 2009 – SE India – Jim Schwarz ran workshops atVizag Steel on Idea Management and presented at local Uni-

versities.

CEO Jim Schwarz traveled to India in February 2009 to share his knowledge of Idea Management. He ran workshops for Vizag Steel (RINL) leadership. The Vizag Steel Plant (VSP) plant is located in Visakhapatnam, India (state of Andhra Pradesh in SE India) and employs 17K people.

The VSP has a rich history of supporting quality initiatives. They have a suggestion scheme that was started in 1993 and also have Quality Circles, Six Sigma, Knowledge Management and other activities. Mr. Kanakayya at VSP is the manager that supports many of the improvement activities and arranged for Jim’s visit. India also has a national organization to support ideas from employees called INSSAN – Mr. Bhushan Ganjoo from Mumbai also attended the workshops and provided input from an Indian perspective. At the VSP facility, Jim ran an all-day workshop on Idea Management for Senior Leadership and an-other one for middle-management.

He also presented at regional universities – Andhra Universi-ty and GITAM University (Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management) along with presentations to regional professional groups. He was impressed with the level of activities to sup-port innovation and improvement via idea and team processes – he is writing an article to share his experiences there that will be available shortly.

Jim Schwarz, CEOTotal Quality Systems Software, Inc.P. O. Box 3558 Montrose, CO 81402 USATel. +1 970.252.9115 (Mountain Daylight Time -600UTC)Cell +1 928.853.3641

“We Wrote the Book on Idea Management”www.tqs-sim.comNew York Area Offi ce (Eastern Daylight Time -0400 UTC):Tel. +1 732.226.4053 North America +44 (0) 844.8709115 UK

Andhra Univ Presentation GITAM presentation

GITAM Univ Main Bldg VSP Middle Mgt Workshop

Jim Schwarz, CEO Total Quality Systems Software, Inc.conducted programmes in February 2009

in India

3

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. Thal celebrated productivity week from 12th-18th February 2009. The

Productivity Week-2009 was inaugurated on 12th February’ 2009 by ED (Thal). The main objective of organizing productivity week has been to promote productive work culture among the employees at all levels. The National Productivity Council had declared “Prosperity through Productivity” as central theme for the productivity week 2009 this year. During this week various presentations were organized to increase awareness among the employees about the importance of productivity improvement and its need in todays competitive environment.

Brief Report on “Suggestion Scheme and Productivity”for publication in INSSAN BULLETIN

GM (Technical ) welcoming Mr. Sudhir Date.

Mr. Sudhir Date Delivering Presentation to RCF Employees

ED (Thal) giving away Token gift to Mr.Praful Warde during Suggestion Week.

ED (Thal) delivering inaugural speech during inauguration of Productivity Week.

Suggestion scheme is one of the most important tools in the organization to invoke creativity and shape ideas into the economical working of the organisation and thereby resulting in increased productivity of the organisation. Hence, on the occasion of productivity week Mr. Sudhir Date, Ex President of INSSAN (Indian National Suggestion Scheme Association) was invited to give power point presentation on the subject ‘Productivity and Suggestion Scheme’ on 16th February, 2009. He explained the importance of suggestion scheme and its relevance in improving the productivity in the organization. The concept was well elaborated and explained through various examples and techniques. He also explained the objectives of suggestion scheme along with the degree of management support required to make the suggestion scheme a success. The suggestion scheme acts as a medium for the management to sense the nerves of the employees and their thinking process. The presentation was directed towards increasing number

of suggestions per employee and the role the employees can play in the growth of organization by giving at least one good suggestion. The point that increased productivity not only benefi ts the organization but also contributes in the welfare and safety of the employees was also put across convincingly. The presentation was attended by over 110 employees.

A suggestion week was also organized on the theme “Productivity Improvement.” Mass scale campaigning was done by issuing circulars and displaying banners at prominent locations. A spot gift was given for relevant suggestions and a total of 70 suggestions were received during the week.

The other presentations organized during the week include a special Presentation on 13th February 2009 by Mr. R.D. Medge, the President of ‘Nutan Mumbai Tiffi n Box Charity Trust’ popularly known as Mumbai Dabbawals. The presentation highlighted their progress towards achieving six sigma standards through hard work and discipline.

On 17th February 2009, a presentation on ‘Energy Conservation’ was given by Mr. G. Das, OM (ANP)- Trombay and Mr. M.M. Deo, CE (HWP), based on their one month training on the subject “Energy conservation Techniques” for Indian industry organized by ‘JICA’ Japan.

On 18h Feb’2008, Technical Paper Presentations were done by all plants at Thal unit, highlighting various efforts taken by plants in improving productivity in 08-09 and the future plans to be executed. Following all Technical paper presentations a valedictory function was organized.

4

National Seminar on“Total Employee InvolvementChallenges & Opportunities For Quantum Business Growth”

21st & 22nd November 2008Organised by NIC New Delhi

5

Sr.No. Parameter Best Performance Name of the Organisation

1 No.of Suggestions received from 100 eligible employeesAll India Average

6622574

TVS Motor Co. Ltd., Hosur, Tamil Nadu

2 No.of Suggestors out of 100 Eligible Employees whoparticipated in the Scheme.

All India Average

100%

66%

TVS Motor Co. Ltd.,Hosur, Tamil NaduGodfrey Phillips India Ltd. - MumbaiInternational Tobacco Co.Ltd.-GhaziabadTata Power Co.Ltd.-Trombay

3 No.of Suggestions Accepted out of number of Suggestions received

All India Average

100%

89%

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. - KoraputGodfrey Phillips India Ltd. - MumbaiBharat Electronics Ltd. - GhaziabadInternational Tobacco Co.Ltd.-Ghaziabad

4 Savings achieved per accepted suggestion in Rs.All India Average IN Rs.

26,331,81824,176

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. - Koraput

5 Savings achieved per eligible employees in Rs.All India Average in Rs.

310,000123,286

Tata Motors Ltd. - Jamshedpur

6 Award per accepted suggestion on an average in Rs.All India Average

7,60893

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. - Bangalore

7 Award per eligible employees on an average in Rs.All India Average

4,391474

TVS Motor Co.Ltd., Hosur, Tamil Nadu

8 No.of Suggestions implemented out ofSuggestions Accepted in %

All India Average

100%

85%

Hero Honda Motors - DharuheraTata Motors Ltd. - PuneHAL - BangaloreTVS Motor Co.Ltd.-Hosur, Tamil NaduHAL-KoraputGNVFC Ltd. - BharuchBEL-Bangalore and GhaziabadBHEL - TrichyGodfrey Phillips India Ltd.

Note: In all 18 organisations participated in the above contest compared to 20 in 2007.

Sr.No. Parameter 2008 2007 2006 2005

1 No. of Sugns.Recd. 6,16,231 4,58,807 4,03,777 3,87,866

2 No.Of Sugns.Accepted 5,47,171 3,84,740 3,64,924 2,48,005

3 % of Acceptance 88.79 84 90 64

4 Savings Achieved In Rs.Crore 1322.848 1092.157 735.719 600.704

5 No.of Suggestors 70,873 62,615 63,356 83,058

6 % of Suggestors 66.05 59 61 68

7 No.of Eligible Employees 1,07,299 1,05,817 1,03,460 1,22,188

8 No.of Suggestions Implemented 4,63,797 2,92,319 3,55,408 2,34,323

9 % of Implementation 84.76 76 97 94

10 Awarded Amount in Rs.Crore 5.085 2.75 1.53 1.98

11 No.of Sugns.Awarded for Intangible Benefi ts 3,37,226 2,43,935 1,29,620 1,15,232

12 Turnover of these Organisations in Rs.Crore 1,33,791 91,094 79,221 69,593

Statistical Highlights : Excellence in Suggestion Scheme Contest 2005--2008

Benchmark your Employee Involvement PerformanceFollowing its the result of the INSAAN Excellence Contest in Suggestion Scheme Performance - 2008

6

Last issue we learned about the Light Bulb.In this issue we will know about the Sliced Bread.Under Eating and Drinking.

After 16 years of determined effort in the face of a sries of setbacks that read like the plot of a Gothic novel.Otto Frederick Rohwedder fi nally succeeded in producing a working version of his invention,the bread slicing machine. The inventor: Otto Frederick Rohawedder

Did You Know…………

18?? Little is known about Rohawedder’s early life. 1912 Begins work on his fi rst bread-slicing machine1912-26 invents and patents a display rack for bread and two unsuccessful bread the sliced loaf together.1915 Told that he has one year to live1917 Loses all his tools and equipment in a fi re1922 Secures fi nancial backing for his bread slicing- machine

1928 Perfects a machine for slicing and wrapping bread. The fi rst pre-sliced loaves go on sale,in Chillicothe, Missouri1928-35 Files various patents for handling. and processing loaves of bread,including four for improvents to his bread-slicing machine.

The 1928 news article in the Chillicothe Constitution Tribune announcing the fi rst sale of sliced bread explained: “The idea of sliced bread may be startling to some people.Certainly it represents a defi nite departure from the usual method of supplying the consumer with bakers loaves.

As one considers this new service one cannot help but be won over to the realisation that here indeed is a type of service which is sound, sensible and in every way a progressive refi nement in bakers bread service In August 2003,at a special ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the invention of sliced bread, Otto Rohawedder’s son Richard was presented by the Mayor of Chillicothe with a golden key to the city in a presentation case marked with a plaque reading : “ Chillicothe,the home of sliced bread.”

By Sudhir Date

Sr.No Name Of The Organisation Rank No Group No.

1. Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. Mumbai I I

2. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Bangalore II I

3. International Tobacco Co.Ltd. Ghaziabad III I

4. T V S Motor Co. Ltd. Hosur I II

5. Hero Honda Motors Ltd. Dharuhera II II

6 Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Koraput III II

7. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Gurgaon I III

8. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. Hpbp. Trichy II III

9. Tata Motors Ltd. Jamshedpur III III

10. Tata Motors Ltd. Pune I IV

11. Bhilai Steel Plant Bhilai II IV

12. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd.Visakhapatnam Steel Plant III IV

RESULT : EXCELLENCE IN SUGGESTION SCHEME CONTEST 2008

Ranks Name Of The Winner Name of the Organisation

1st Mr. Ravi Kant Gupta Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd Heep, Hardwar

2nd Mr. K.Moses Sail, Bhilai Steel Plant, Bhalai

3rd Mr. Raghuvendra P. Sangam Tata Power Co Ltd, Belgaum

M1 Mr. N. Kumaran Tvs Motors Ltd, Hosur, Tn.

M2 Mr. Vikram Gupta Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Mumbai

M3 Mr. Anil Kumar Patnaik Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Koraput, Orissa

RESULTS OF THE POSTER CONTEST – 2008

7

To create an innovation based culture for continuous improvements, Suggestion scheme through SGA is adopted

and practiced at Ipca.

The objectives of the scheme are

• Involvement of employees all levels

• Creating entrepreneurship spirit

• Seeking suggestions for improvement.

• Employee empowerment

• Improving productivity

• Improving employee contribution & involvement.

• Providing innovative environment

Procedure-

Process followed for this is in 2 stages-

1. Training-

To create employee involvement at all levels, continuous training is provided to all employees in the area of continuous improvement, working in teams & groups, 7 QC tools & PDCA cycle,

Advance training is also provided to key employees in the areas of Leadership, waste elimination, Creativity & problem solving, self discipline.

To develop internal trainers ‘Train The Trainer’ program is provided to selected employees.

2. SGA structure-

To practice and monitor the scheme a 2-tier structure is created.

• At Primary level i.e. at plant/ unit level- Local Steering Committee (LSC), comprises of members from all departments.

• At Apex level- Central Steering Committee (CSC) which reviews the progress of all location

A. Local Steering Committee (LSC) -

The key function of this committee is to encourage employees to give innovative ideas by providing all necessary resources.

Role of Local Steering Committee-

• Provide process improvement knowledge and skill for all employees.

• Keep all employees informed on the progress of all efforts, training, process improvement teams, quality leadership team etc.

• Provide resources for all improvements and training activities.

• Encourage, improve participation and motivate SGA improvement team by recognition and appreciation efforts / results.

• Ensure continuous improvement process in all areas as per vision and mission set out for the organization.

IPCA LABORATORIES LTD. MUMBAISuggestion Scheme through Small Group Activities (SGA)

- Ashok Sharma

Process of LSC-

a. Idea generation-

New projects are generated in two dimensions:

Upwards:

• Idea generated by shop fl oor person is discussed with concern HOD and approved idea is sent to LSC.

• Local coordinator register the idea and help them to form the team

• Team worked for implementation the idea

Downward:

• Problem or new ideas suggested by seniors are put forward to shop fl oor employees.

• Team is formed for implementation and LSC is informed for registration of idea.

b. Review of projects:

• Concerned department / area champion review the ongoing projects

• He helps the team for progress of improvement project.

• Local steering committee meets weekly / fortnight to review progress of projects.

c. After implementation:

• After implementation of project, concerned team has to submit completion report to local steering committee in standard format.

• Above completed projects presented in front of LSC by the team.

• Selected good quality projects sent to CSC and represented in front of CSC.

d. Award-

To encourage employees to be more involved in suggestion scheme, participation reward is given. LSC evaluates all the relevant projects for reward.

• The completed projects are awarded from1 star to 5 stars rating.

• Award distributed to all team members who completed projects.

• Award function conducted quarterly / half yearly

Target for each plant is 1:1 ratio (No. of Projects / No. of employees) per month; many plants achieve this ratio regularly.

B. Central Steering Committee (CSC)

CSC is Apex level committee which is comprises of Managing Director & all Divisional heads.

Role of Central Steering Committee

• Create a learning organization by providing training (knowledge, skill and attitude), empowering encouraging and motivating (create an appreciative culture)

8

• Encourage, empower and support others in their efforts to improve work output.

• Review the progress and help to improve effectiveness

CSC meeting is held every month. Best projects from each plant are presented during meeting. CSC members evaluate those projects and graded them in 3, 4 or 5 star level based on parameters such as Innovation/ Creativity, Project relevance & usefulness to company, Applicability to other location, Team work etc. In this meeting all these project presenters are felicitated with Certifi cates. If CSC members fi nd the project presented has relevance in other plants/ unit, that projects are sent to those plants/ units for reference.

3. Spreading of idea –

• Good quality projects are displayed at TQM Gallery

available at each location for information to other area / department.

• Good quality projects are also sent to other locations as per their applicability for implementation.

• Employee of the month.

• Good contributions & good projects are published in co. in house magazine.

• Best coordinator award is given to the plant that performs well.

The scheme is operating since last 9 years & has been very effective and contributes to overall organizational improvement.

This is a crux of Suggestion Scheme process of Ipca Laboratories Limited.

Bernie Sander is an international consultant, author and work-shop leader. In acareer spanning 25 years, he has developed expertise in areas of total quality, group facilitation, strategic planning, recognition architectures and idea management pro-cesses. He is President of his own consulting fi rm, Innovation Transfer, serves on the faculty of several international orga-nizations and is author of the book, “A Wake-Up Call for Idea Champions”.

…an article by Bernie Sander published in Ideas Express August 2002

Not everything that counts can be counted,and not everything that can be counted counts.

Alfred Einstein

Not only those of us occupied with measuring success, but all organizations pursuing development in the idea management fi eld, will have to consider the changes, not only to how we manage and recognize ideas, but how we measure and report data and collect statistics.

Simple Defi nitions

It will start with simple defi nitions such as:

- what constitutes suggestion rate ?… will problem identifi cation, complaints, error notifi cation, normal maintenance issues be accepted into the mainstream of idea management ?

- what constitutes participation rate ?… as customers and suppliers’ ideas are accepted into our pro-grams, will defi nitions have to change accordingly ?

- what constitutes implementation rate?… is it only ideas from the past calendar year that have been implemented, or as we now fi nd, the fact that many organi-zations count all ideas implemented within a given recording period, irrespective of when they were submitted ?

Bernie Sander25 Broadway AvenueOttawa, OntarioCanada K1S 2V4Bus: (613) 567-9915Res: (613) 594-0177Fax: (613) 567-6391Email: bsander@innovationtransfer.com

Website: www.innovationtransfer.comEnlisting the knowledge, skill and enthusiasm ofthe employees to improve the performance of theorganization

- what constitutes savings rate ?… more appropriately benefi ts rate, including savings as well as revenues, that is either strictly counted as tangible benefi ts or, as many organizations now do, is a composite of tangible and intangible, again more appropriately called strategic, that includes as well all ideas that have an imputed monetary value to the organization ?

As organizations to an increasing degree report 100 %+ partici-pation rate and implementation rate, it becomes intuitively ob-vious that some things in the reporting end of things will need to change to maintain credibility. As well, as more and more organizations adopt the recognition-based models of employee involvement, defi nitions of who is involved, engaged and em-powered will also change.

Formulas for Success

In my last Ideas Express article I asked the question: If the sug-gestion system was a business, would it be successful …would it survive ?

What follows are a series of so-called formulas for success that I would hope to see fl eshed- out with hard data in the years to come:• Creativity - Index• Strategic - Index• Profi t Backlog - Index• Market - Index• Satisfaction - Index• Fitness – Index

Allow me in this article to touch upon the fi rst of these poten-tial formulas for success.The rest will be described in subsequent Ideas Express articles over the course of this year.

Formula for SuccessBernie Sander...

9

Creativity – Index

The most common measures of suggestion system success, that include both quantity, quality and impact measures are:Suggestion Rate (A)Participation Rate (B)Implementation Rate (C)Benefi ts Rate (D)

Please note that it is precisely these defi nitions that are in increasing need of re-defi nition or retooling, as illustrated above.

A Creativity Index for an organization should therefore be a composite of such measures.For ease of illustration, let’s use components A, B and D above.

Example

An organization with 500 employees had 680 suggestions, both individual and team-based, from 290 employees over the course of the year, providing monetary benefi ts of $73,000.

Creativity - Index (1)

Suggestion + Participation + Benefi ts

Rate Rate Rate

Example: 680 + 290 +

+ 73.000

X 1

500 500 500 100

= 1.36 + .58 + 1.46

= 3.4

In this example, the Benefi ts Rate is multiplied by a correc-tion factor of 1/100 to ensure the formula is not skewed. As can be see, the simple addition of the 3 components creates a

In this example, the index has the added feature of „targets“ being added in. For most organizations that have performance indicators, and that take the business of suggestions seriously,

Creativity - Index (2) Suggestion Participation Benefi ts

Rate + Rate + Rate

Target 1 Target 2 Target 3

Component Actual Target

Suggestion Rate 680/500 100% (1 per employee)

Participation Rate 290/500 50% ( 1 of every 2)

Benefi tsRate 73.000/500 $1000 (per employee)

Example: = 680/500 + (290/500) + 73.000/500

1 (50/100) 100

= 1.36 + 1.16 + .146

= 2.67

Creativity - Index (3) Suggestion Participation Benefi ts

Rate X Weighting 1 + Rate X Weighting 2 + Rate X Weighting 3

Target 1 Target 2 Target 3

Component Target Actual Weighting

Suggestion Rate 680/500 100% 1

Participation Rate 290/500 50% 2

Benefi tsRate 73.000/500 $1000 3

Example: = 680/500 X 1 + (290/500) X 2 + 73.000/500 X 3

1 (50/100) 100

= 1.36 + 1.16 X 2 + .146 X 3

= 1.36 + 2.32 + .438

= 4.12

value that more realistically, than any one component in itself, imputes a meaning to creativity, as measured by the idea man-agement process.

the accountability that comes with real goals and targets, is incorporated into this variation of the Creativity – Index.

10

In this example, the formula is taken one step further in that a weighting is imposed on each of the components. This allows for organizations to determine where they should place their focus. In this example, the relative weighting of the Benefi ts Rate is three times that of the Suggestion Rate.

It allows for the following kind of fi ne-tuning:

When starting out, the weighting should be on quantity - enlist-ing, enrolling and engaging the workforce; through effective training and strategic integration, the weighting should pro-gressively shift to quality indicators; and when the organiza-tional culture has matured and/or the survivability of the orga-nization is at stake, then measures of impact take on increasing weight.

So What

One can certainly say that the interpretative value of any com-posite index tells us less than the interpretative value of each of the parts. That being said, in the search for one number reporting, a measure of “creativity” in an organization is much more robustly demonstrtaed through such a composite index.

In such a fashion, each organization could be charged with building their own index:

Component A, B, C, D, E, … Actual (1) Target Score (2) Difference Score (1-2) Correction Score Unweighted Factor Weighting

Total Score … develop your own matrix approach

I would challenge any organization or professional association that is giving out awards for performance, for star treatment or for the best in class, to strongly consider whether such an in-dexed approach to more truly refl ect creativity in the broadest sense would not be more meaningful, representative and fair.

Creativity Improvement – Index (CII)

CII = CI Year (n) - CI Year (n-1)CII % = CIICI Year (n-1)

This, in my mind, would constitute the most meaningful mea-sure of success … and winners could fi t a broad range of criteria … best of branch, movement within and across levels ( as in all healthy competitive sports leagues ), and simply the greatest movement .

Remember …. “Success isn’t how far we’ve got, but the distance traveled from where we started”

The statistics that we interpret in the future, and the organiza-tions that provide the data, will provide meaning to such for-mulas and indices to help determine our future success in the idea management business.

… stay tuned for more examples of formulas for success

© IT Innovation Transfer Inc. 2002

20387 E.I.D. Parry (India) LtdPugalur Sugar FactoryPugalur – 639113 - Tn

S.RavichandranGeneral Manager – Works04324 - 270203/204/801 ravichandras@Parry.Murugappa.Com

Mr.M.Krishna Kumar04324 – 270801krisnakumarm@Parry.Murugappa.Com

20388 Denso India Ltdnoida Dadri Road,P.O. Tilpatta -203207distgautam Budh Nagar (Up)

Mr. Nigam PrakashGm-Hr, Ir & Admn120 2560140/ C: 9971200669nigam-Prakash@Denso.Co.In

Mr. Bhupendra KaushalSr. Mgr-Hr & Ir9871884342 Bhupendra-Kaushal@Denso.Co.In

20389 Hindustan Aeronautics LtdCorporate Offi ce15/1, Cubbon RoadBangalore

Hindustan Aeronautics LtdMr. T.Sudhakar RaoExecutive Director – Hr080 22866903/ D 22862107edhr@Hal-India.Com

Mr. V.V.SubrahmanyamGm - Ms & It080 22863538gmms@Hal-India.Com

20390

20391

20392

Hero Motors Ltd10th Km Stone, Gt RoadPo Dujana – 203207Dist Gautam BudhAgarnagarup. India

PAE Limited69, Tardeo RoadMumbai - 400034

Coromandel Fertilisers Ltd.Coromandel House#1-2-10, IV Floor, Sardar Patel RoadHyderabad - 500003

Mr. Nandan RaghuwanshiGm – Quality011 40511700, M: 9871184248nandan@Heromotors.Com

Mr. Karunakar L. SharmaHR Manager022 66185740 / Fax 022 66185757karunakar.sharma@paeltd.com

Mr. R. VaidyanathanGeneral Manager - HR91 - 40 - 27842034 / 66997000Fax : 91 - 40 - 27844117vaidyanathanr@cfl .murugappa.com

Mr. Deevendra Patelm.9953107572dcumech84@Yahoo.Co.In

Mr. Shashi NairSr. Admn. Manager022 66185707 / Fax 022 66185757shashi.nair@paeltd.com

S. GovindarajanSr. VP & Head of Manufacturing91 - 40 - 27842034 / 66997000Fax : 91 - 40 - 27844117govindarajans@cfl .murugappa.com

Welcome to New Membe rs

11

Ranks Name Of The Winner Name of the Organisation Slogan

1st V.S.Rapte Tata Motors Ltd.—Pune“agar hai suggestion scheme ka sathTo karenge har kathinai pe maat”

2nd J.S.Sethi Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.—Gurgaon

“Yahi hai sujhav yojana ka paigamYuktise lagaye samasya per viram”

3rd P.S.SahotaBharat Petroleum Corp’n Ltd, Mahul, Mumbai

“Agar nirantar chahiye pragati aur sudharTo sarvapratham banaye suzawonko aadhar”

M1 Ms.Sheela borkar Bhilai Steel Plant-Bhilai“Sujhav prakash surya saman Kare samasya ka samadhan, dilaye yashkirti samman”

M2 Anil kumar patnaikHindustan Aeronautics Ltd-Koraput

“Sujhav yojana per den’ jyada jyorUdyog badhega tabhi pragati ki or”

M3 Manas deshmukh Tata Power Co.Ltd.-Jamshedpur“Chintan me vividhata,aur suzawonme dhyanBanaye sadaiwa udyog ko mahaan”

M4 Sanjeev kumar Hero Honda Motors-Gurgaon“Dekar aapne sundar vichaarGunawatta me karo sudhaar”

M5. R.D.SharmaBharat Electroniics Ltd –Ghaziabad

“Sujhav yojana, chowtarfa labh dilayeKam lagat per.Udpadakata badhaye”

M6Zuber y.Patel & r.B. Kara-mwala

Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizer Co Ltd -Bharuch

“Sujhav me lagaye jaanSansthaki ho unchi shaan”

M7 R.S.Nikade Tata Power Co.Ltd.—Trombay“Har badlaaome sujhawoonka sahi yogdaanPragati aapni, samajki, deshki, yahi pehachaan”

Ranks Name Of The Winner Name of the Organisation Slogan

1st T.V.Ramakrishna Rao Bhilai Steel Plant-Sail, Bhilai“Suggestion Spells Clarity Innovation Excells Pro-ductivity”

2nd P.Srikanth Tvs Motor Co. Hosur“Suggestion Scheme Develops Ideas With CreativityFostering Innovation Develops Organisation Ability”

3rd N.H.Bhatt & P.B.VashiGujarat Narmaga Valley Fertil-izer Company Ltd—Bharuch

“Creative Suggestion Of Your Mind Can Leave Prob-lems Far Behind”

M1 Kamal SinghInternational Tobacco Co. Ltd Ghaziabad

“Suggestion May Be SimpleIt’s Power CaN Do Miracle”

M2 Abhishek SrivastavaMaruti Suzuki India Ltd.Gurgaon

“Suggestion Scheme Is A Refl ectionOf Employee Involvement Getting Perfection”

M3 Pradeep Kumar SharmaBharat Electronics Ltd Ghaz-iabad

“Suggestion Scheme Develops Innovative CultureOrganisation Moves To Bright Future”

M4 V.Manikya Kalyani Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd-Hpbp Trichy

“Employee Innovation In ActivityEnhances Organisational Productivity”

M5. Pradip K.Biswas Tata Power Co.Ltd. Jamshedpur“Endless Ways To InnovaTionSuggestion Leads Them To Realisation”

M6 B.N.HivraleTata Power Co.Ltd. Trombay, Mumbai

“Suggestion Scheme Is Sweet DreamInnovation & Ideas Are The Cream”

M7 Santosh Thomas Hero Honda Motors Ltd Gurgaon“Small Small ImprovementsLead To Great Achievements”

RESULTS OF THE SLOGAN CONTEST – 2008 ENGLISH

RESULTS OF THE SLOGAN CONTEST – 2008 HINDI

12

Suggestion scheme awareness program organised by IFFCO Pa-radeep Unit at Orissa on 21 and 22 march 09,Mr V.k.srivastava

gen secretary INssan north India chapter invited as a faculty for two days program on suggestion scheme awareness among the employees.

On both the days four batches of staff ,managers,sr managers and general managers including doctors.each batch was of 35 persons.. and four hours spend on each batch.

It was totally focused related to employee involvement and to-tal employee involvement thru suggestion scheme .And focused suggestion scheme is the only tool which involves each an every employee of all corners of any industry.This is the only scheme which allows all level employees to empower them self by giv-ing suggestion in day today work.

And also suggestion scheme is the only tool which create team work feeling among the cross functional dept and teams..

Suggestion scheme is the only scheme which allow all employ-ees towards not only innovation but also inspire for continual improvement. And also focused by v.k.srivastava top down and bottom up needs in total process.

Initially management not look for any saving,it is like a planting a fruit tree as soon as it grows fruits will be there in the form of productivity,5s,quality improvement,and minimum break-downs ,low absenteeism,belongingness towards machine and work place.safety ,environment and heath,security,reduction in consumables .Apart from these fruites in the form of power/energy conservation,water conservation,oil conservation and many more.

Moral boosting at all the level irrespective to level and position and change the mind set of employee.

IFFCO Training Programme conducted by Mr. V. K. Srivastava

Lamp lightening by V.K.Srivastva INSSAN NIC Gen. Secretary and Mr Patel ED. and Mr K. K. Gupta Sr. GM.

Sr. GM Production and Finance Head Of Paradeep Unit.

Right V.K.Srivastva Middle Mr Patel Executive Director Iffco Paradeep Unit. Left Mr K.K. Gupta Sr General Manager (Chairman Suggestion Committee)

Mr P.P. Gupta Sr Manager (Coordinator Suggestion Scheme) Welcoming The Faculty And Participants.

13

Address By Gen Sect V.K Srivastava, To Asst Mangers Managers And Sr Manger.

Mr M.R.Patel Executive Director Iffco Pardeep Unit.

Mr T.N. Gupta Addressing The All The Participant During 2nd Day Of Program.

Mr Srivastava in action - explaining the points.

Managing a Suggestion Scheme in Organizations

In the past two decades, Suggestion Schemes in Business Orga-nizations have been extensively used as an effective means to

tap the creative potential of the employees in order to have a competitive edge. Attitude of the employees to give innovative suggestions in an ongoing manner is an indicator of success of the scheme. However, a well designed and managed scheme has been the key motivating factor for the employees in sus-taining such movement.

Suggestion scheme is always a tailor made scheme suitable for the organization. It depends upon the kind of enterprise, its size, operations, technology and level of skills of its employees. A scheme designed for a manufacturing unit will certainly differ from one used in an IT Company or a Financial Institution or a Laboratory. However, a few basic elements are essential for any scheme to be successful.

1. Defi ning Objectives and Scope -

Besides the Business objective of ‘Improvements in Product / Service / Operation Costs, Quality, Productivity & Environ-ment’, any scheme for employee involvement should aim at ‘Creating a climate that allows individuals to think and come out with creative proposals’. In short, the scheme must give opportunity to express everyone in a manner they feel. Defi ning the Scope of the scheme includes the area of operations, eligi-bility for category of the employees (Executives, Staff, Train-ees, employees under contract, etc.) and topics or subjects for suggestions. The scope should also clarify types of suggestions that ‘cannot be considered’. For instance, it should not be a

complaint, any grievance, pointing a mere fault or criticism on a system. In other words, it must ‘suggest’ some ‘improve-ment’. Such a framework is very essential to avoid any descent or demotivation once the scheme is in operation.

2. Forming Systems and Regulations –

Any Suggestion contains an ‘idea’ and it fl ows in a unique route.

Rejection Suggestion Intake Assessment

Acceptance Implementation

There should be a well defi ned system for each step on this route, a simple procedure in the entire chain with time frame specifi ed, for-mulation of rules and a keen monitoring by the Scheme Manager.

a. Intake or Inwarding –

It is essential to have a standard format, either in a printed form or on the screen of a computer for writing the text of the sug-gestion. In the format, besides the complete identity of the em-ployee, enough space should be provided to describe the present system and the proposed changes of the idea. It is always advis-able to make provision for any attachments to the format for additional information, sketches, diagrams or any scanned docu-ment. An identifi cation number (either purely numeric, alpha

The author was a senior executive at Tata Motors, Pune and was actively involved in Management of Suggestion Scheme for over 10 years.

-- A M Paranjape

14

numeric or a continuous generated number through a system) must be allotted to the suggestion for future reference.

b. Assessment --

Assessment of any suggestion should always be unbiased and with proper justifi cation. Persons empowered for assessment should be thoroughly knowledgeable and with enough experi-ence in the concerned area. It is preferred that the assessment is carried out by a team rather than one person in order to con-sider all pros & cons. In most of the organizations, ‘assessment committees’ are formed consisting members related to differ-ent disciplines who meet under leadership of a senior offi cer and take appropriate decisions.

To begin with, the assessors have to confi rm that the text of the suggestion is clear & contains all relevant information. Next, they have to primarily ensure whether the idea stated in the sug-gestion will result in any kind of improvement, whether it can be implemented and whether it will benefi t the organization. There could be situations in which the idea seems good but its imple-mentation could be subjected to or depends upon some criteria which are not in the controls of the company. Sometimes the improvement is so marginal that it may not be worth the time and/or cost of implementation. Many times the committee has to defer the decision for want of additional information.

Considering all abovementioned factors, a decision should be tak-en whether the idea put up as a suggestion is “ Accepted ” or “ Re-jected ”. ‘Accepted’ indicates that the idea is “Principally accept-able” and moves ahead in the fl ow whereas for the rejected ones, the journey ends. However, the assessors have to give a proper reasoning why the suggestion cannot be considered. These could be ‘Idea known’, ‘Idea accepted and in progress’, ‘Idea techni-cally not feasible’, ‘Beyond the purview of the scheme’ etc.

c. Implementation –

Taste of the pudding is in eating it. No idea, put up in form of a suggestion, is complete unless it is successfully implemented, giving the desired benefi ts to the organization. The Scheme Manager will have to ensure and get a certifi cation from the Se-nior Executive Offi cers of the Benefi ciary Division, Department or a Section or Unit. This must be in form of quantifi ed benefi ts wherever possible such as ‘Cost Reduction, Manpower Reduc-tion, Operational Cycle Time Reduction, Reduction in consump-tion, Saving in Energy Units etc. In case of any improvement in areas like Discipline, Convenience, Safety or Environment, wherever quantifi cation is not possible, gradation system can be used based on the merit of the idea.

3. Proper & Timely Communication –

This happens to be another important motivating factor for the employees desirous to give suggestions. Once an employee puts up a suggestion, he or she expects that the Suggestion Manage-ment attends to it, communicates and gives timely feedback about the status of the suggestion. After completion of every phase, the Scheme manager should ensure that the employees receive the status of their suggestion. When the suggestion is submitted, an acknowledgement should be given to the employee with the refer-ence number. After evaluation, he should know whether the sug-gestion is found acceptable in principle, or not considered. Care must be taken to inform the reason for rejecting the suggestion. After acceptance of the suggestion, preferably a note or a letter should be sent congratulating him and making an appeal to put in more suggestions. If possible, approximate time span for imple-mentation could also be mentioned. If he is eligible to receive a reward, it is advisable to intimate the employee about the nature or amount to be received and the time span.

4. Appropriate Rewarding System –

This is a very sensitive, favourite and therefore extremely impor-tant part of any Suggestion Scheme, because, receiving a reward

for the suggestion is a pride to the employee and the topmost im-portant motivating factor. Rewards should always be given when a suggestion is fully implemented & benefi ts to the Company are confi rmed by the relevant Senior Executive. While formulating the Reward System, some points are worth considering, such as-

a. Whether the Company Management prefers to reward in cash or in kind

b. Whether the suggestion is very simple (related to document corrections, house keeping or improved discipline etc.)

c. Whether the benefi ts to the Company are concurrent or the improvement is local & benefi ts are of ‘One Time’ nature

d. As seen earlier, whether the benefi ts can be quantifi ed in monetary terms or of ‘Intangible’ nature

If the Company Management would not like to disburse cash, the Rewarding System does not become complicated. The rewards could be a small memento, a household article, professional books, or in form of subscribing for a library, traveling opportu-nity, and many alike. However, for the Scheme Manager, it may lead to arrangement of procuring, keeping stocks, replacements of the defective ones and ensuring proper disbursement.

For those suggestions, which are acceptable, yet the benefi ts are not so signifi cant, reward can be only an ‘Appreciation Letter’ with a few encouraging words, from the concerned Executive, enough to maintain the motivation of the employee. If during the year, an employee receives more than one such appreciation letters, a system can be laid to reward him either in cash or kind.

A well structured awarding system is necessary when the rewards are given in cash. As stated earlier, the benefi ts can be tangible or intangible, and therefore, two separate streams of awarding system should be enforced. As far as the tangible or quantifi able and concurrent benefi ts, most of the companies follow a prac-tice of awarding a fi xed percentage of the benefi ts as the award. This is very popular and easy to operate. Fixing the ‘percentage’ is a vital decision to be taken by the company management. Another popular derivative of this system is to award different percentage applied to fi xed ‘slabs’ of the benefi ts. Generally, the percentage moves in a descending order for rising slabs. This is supported by the limits of minimum and maximum levels, so that a minimum award is ensured to an employee.

In case where the benefi ts are ‘non tangible’ or cannot be quan-tifi ed, it is always better that guidelines are issued as far as pos-sible, clarifying the nature of accepted suggestion and a fi xed award against each of the category. Since the awarding becomes subjective, many organizations appoint an ‘Award Committee’ comprising of senior offi cers to settle the awards. In situations where the suggestion results in very signifi cant benefi ts or only for ‘one time’ benefi t such a committee is very helpful.

Although every employee would prefer to receive the award as soon as the suggestion is complete and introduced, a popular practice is to disburse through the salary pay slip every month.

5. Recognition –

A human being feels proud and gets motivated if his efforts get recognized. Bearing this in mind, the Scheme Mangers can line up a number of activities for employees, coordinators, differ-ent Committee Members who are involved in the scheme. This includes publishing success stories and articles in house maga-zine, arranging periodic felicitations for sections giving good suggestions, distributing gifts, giving opportunities for partici-pation in related programs etc.

In summary, since any suggestion scheme essentially deals with employee involvement, the systems and controls should be in line with human nature. If the scheme is able to develop the thinking ability and attitude of improvement in the minds of the employees, suggestions will follow automatically.

15

If not delivered, please return to:INDIAN NATIONAL SUGGESTION SCHEMES’ASSOCIATION

To

BOOK POSTPRINTED MATTER

THINKING MAKES A BETTER MAN, SUGGESTION MAKES A BETTER ORGANISATION”

1204, Daffodil, Satguru Gardens, Mithbunder Road, THANE (E) - 400 603, Maharashtra, India. Telefax : 022 - 2532 4378 E-mail: inssan@vsnl.netInssan 87@gmail.com

Printed by Editor, S. H. Date, INSSAN Bulletin for Indian National Suggestion Schemes’Association, MumbaiDesigned & Printed by Dhote Offset Technocrafts Pvt. Ltd., Jogeshwari -60, Tel.: 2821 6851

2ND PRIZE, Mr Shivaji D Sawant,Godfrey Phillips India Ltd, Mumbai

POSTER CONTEST

3rd PRIZE WINNER, Mr Prasanna OgaleTata Motors Ltd, Pune.

Fostering Innovation

Enhance Productivity

Reduce Cycle Time

Reduce Input Cost

Improved SHE

Reduce Wastage

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"EMPLOYEE CREATES IDEA FOR INNOVATION

LEADS TO ORGANISATION NO. 1"