Continuous Improvement (CI) Case Study | Corus Steel Mill

Introduction to Corus Steel Mill and Tata Group

Under the company Fair child semiconductors the first integrated circuit was invented which can be considered the first milestone as far as the process of inventing microprocessor is considered. Later after the establishment of Integrated Electronics (Intel), in 1971 microprocessor Intel 4004 was invented which is capable of doing multiple computational tasks with perfection (Furber 2017). It is a single core silicon chip, able to control the AL unit of a computer and helps in exchanging transformed data as mentioned before. When Intel came up with its 3^rd generation innovation it was four times more functional when it was first invented. The present decade, is dependent on fifth generation microprocessors with highly advanced technology.

Justification for innovation

According to Bergek et al. (2015), in order to achieve environmental sustainability, to increase its efficiency and to deliver an experience of uninterrupted computing operations the innovation is required. The scientists are researching on its capability in terms of detecting glitch inside software. Otherwise, researchers are even trying to experiment with alternative material for manufacturing microprocessors for environmental need. The ingredients used in microprocessors can be damaging for the environment. Since the invention of 5^th generation, the microprocessors has not yet received meaningful modification to mitigate ongoing IT or social issues.

Brainstormed ideas within the team

Based on that ideas four ideas have been selected for evaluating which two will be the most feasible innovation to implement in terms of availability of financial and human resources. The first idea is to elevate the single core processor into multiple cores in order to make it more functional, secondly, for environmental needs alternative material for silicon can be used to manufacture a microprocessor. Thirdly, according to Li et al. (2013), microprocessors are capable enough to detect technological glitch and the most innovative one is to create bionic vision which will be changing the concept of eyesight for visually impaired people and if implemented correctly it can be one of the most innovative approach in sector of health.

Description of shortlisted ideas

Since 1995, the IT industry is depending on 5^th generation microprocessor as an integral part of CPU. The product has gone through lot of modification to become as functional as its current situation. Therefore, as per Hallstedt, Thompson, and Lindahl (2013), amending it for further development in IT field is not something which is required right now. Rather, to bring environmental sustainability and to innovate products in health sector might enhance its potential in terms of contributing apart from IT industry.

Organic processors

In 2011, a group of researchers in Belgium once created microprocessor on a flexible foil of plastic implanting 4000 plastic transistors on it. Although, it was able to handle 16 instructions at a time yet it was nor efficient in terms of executing operations. The purpose was to manufacture a chip which is cost effective using organic inks. However, this innovation was not accepted as these transistors are not as predictable as silicon chips and there were issues of variability as well.

What is Continuous Improvement and its process at Corus Steel Mill?

Later, scientists has realised the problem is not the material rather instead of using electricity if optical or photonic computers can be developed then it would be cost effective as far as savings of electricity is concerned. Combining photonic and electronic circuitry can be combined on a single chip to make microprocessors which would be able to response against instructions using light instead of electricity.

Bionic vision

Combining the concept of Nano-engineering, need of medical science and inducing speed of microprocessors a product can be innovated for creating a revolution for visually impaired patients. This product is a digital spectacle is going to be innovated to improved severe eyesight condition and it will be able to access data which is generally transformed and transferred through smart devices like phones and tablets. It will be helpful to detect potential issues with eyesight like glaucoma, or other eye diseases using revolutionary technology. It is basically a camera designed as a pair of spectacle with attached microprocessor in it. This chip is able to response against the movement of light and sends LED signals to create a form of vision in front of the patient. Patients with very poor eyesight, will be able to see the outlines of obstacles, moving people, and edge of the pavements which will decrease the chances of accidents as well.  

Cost benefit analysis

Both the ideas of innovation needs focus on cost benefit analysis to understand the budget and its long term effects which will reflect all the interest of stakeholders (Grimaldi, Quinto and Rippa 2013). In case, if the company needs to invest on prototyping before launching into the market we have to encourage recruitment of  skilled employees preferably from ECE background to create innovative photonic microprocessors. Investment must be done both in the field of developing human resources and IT infrastructures too (Shih and Tseng 2014).

In case of satisfying the medical need, according to Porter et al. (2013), investment must be done in sectors of high quality equipment and infrastructure along with adequate talent to complete the project within scheduled time. Such investment will be beneficial in terms of mitigating social needs of visually impaired patients.

Cost of developing IT infrastructure		Perceived Benefits
Environment friendly microprocessor	Capital cost: $20000 Revenue Cost: $30000 Total = $50000		Environment friendly microprocessor	It will be able to save electric energy regularly been used in IT sector.
Bionic vision	Capital cost: $40000 Revenue Cost: $50000 Total =$90000		Bionic vision	It will help the visually impaired patients to have better eyesight.

Strategies to mitigate risks

• According to Yoo (2013), before investing in such innovations, organisations must review both the market trend and need.The need of developing processors which will be able to response against the photonic energy and combining technology with the medical need.
• Before investing for long term, investors must invest in instalments for manufacturing some of the samples and till the feedbacks are received, investors can hold back for a while.
• Engineers and managers employed in the organisation review the situation and take decisions regarding risks every day. Providing a set of strategies along with developing an atmosphere of mutual support and knowledge sharing will be able to help in mitigating risks regularly.

Sustainability concern

As the innovation planning has been done keeping the environmental needs in mind the first innovation will not create much trouble as far as waste management is concerned. Moreover, the ingredient Silicon has been considered more eco-friendly than plastic.

Strategies for implementing new ideas

• After finalising the ideas, regular meeting must have been conducted to establish final objectives along with scheduled timeline.
• As discussed in Kogan et al. (2017), policies must be developed regarding work ethics for managing teams. Aligning with the task requirements resources must be allocated.
• The tasks and the activities must be observed and supervised on a regular basis to restrict occurrence of risks and in case of ongoing issues this practice help in its diagnosis and mitigation.
• In order to implement allocated task the most important factors are people, monetary resources, and organisational structures means the way responsibilities have been defined.
• Moreover, the capabilities of the workforce must be balanced with requirements of innovation. The culture of the organisation must be supportive towards the employees to provide them with necessary trainings, or technical help during the process of innovation.

Expected timeline

Tasks	Expected timeline
Ø Selection of ideas and determining objectives	6 months
Ø Allocation of resources	1 months
Ø Competition of product manufacturing	1 to 1.5 years

Impact over employees

1. It is possible that employees feel less engaged while confronting with such changes within organisation. As discussed in Cruz-Cázares, Bayona-Sáez and García-Marco (2013), managers must response towards employee needs regarding execution of tasks, arrange trainings and maintain regular and easy flow of communication.
2. Instructions must be clear and understandable even if in a culturally diverse scenario to avoid confusion among them.
3. Organisational relationships must be friendly and positive to ensure team effectiveness.

Communication procedures

According to Matos Marques Simoes and Esposito (2014), regular meetings and technological aids, social networking sites, e-mails will be helpful in terms of maintaining continuous uninterrupted interaction for mitigation of resistence. After a situational analysis, brainstorming the ideas, objectives and key audiences the work must be started. In order to supervise, evaluation of regular results, establishment of timeframe and identifying the channels of communication is important.

Key performance indicator

As described in Camisón and Villar-López (2014), while deciding the performance indicators the balance of quality and quantity is important while brainstorming the ideas. The success of each idea is dependable on feasibility of implementing the same. At the end of the project or while it is still on process, employees learn a whole set of skills which are beneficial in terms of individual and organisation benefit. After the release of product the market response must be collected in order to be sure if the market has responded according to desired outcome or not.

Trialling process including a pilot run

Every technological innovation needs to go through a process which is called pilot run. In this due course market feedbacks are collected and potential of success is being evaluated. Here also, engineering are preferring to do the same to check the acceptability of the product before launching it in market.

References

Bergek, A., Hekkert, M., Jacobsson, S., Markard, J., Sandén, B. and Truffer, B., 2015. Technological innovation systems in contexts: Conceptualizing contextual structures and interaction dynamics. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 16, pp.51-64.

Camisón, C. and Villar-López, A., 2014. Organizational innovation as an enabler of technological innovation capabilities and firm performance. Journal of business research, 67(1), pp.2891-2902.

Cruz-Cázares, C., Bayona-Sáez, C. and García-Marco, T., 2013. You can’t manage right what you can’t measure well: Technological innovation efficiency. Research Policy, 42(6-7), pp.1239-1250.

Furber, S., 2017. Microprocessors: the engines of the digital age. Proceedings. Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences, 473(2199).

Grimaldi, M., Quinto, I. and Rippa, P., 2013. Enabling open innovation in small and medium enterprises: A dynamic capabilities approach. Knowledge and Process Management, 20(4), pp.199-210.

Hallstedt, S.I., Thompson, A.W. and Lindahl, P., 2013. Key elements for implementing a strategic sustainability perspective in the product innovation process. Journal of Cleaner Production, 51, pp.277-288.

Kogan, L., Papanikolaou, D., Seru, A. and Stoffman, N., 2017. Technological innovation, resource allocation, and growth. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 132(2), pp.665-712.

Li, W.H., Tang, T.J.J. and Lui, W.L.D., 2013, September. Going beyond vision to improve bionic vision. In Image Processing (ICIP), 2013 20th IEEE International Conference on (pp. 1555-1558). IEEE.

Matos Marques Simoes, P. and Esposito, M., 2014. Improving change management: How communication nature influences resistance to change. Journal of Management Development, 33(4), pp.324-341.

Porter, M.E., Pabo, E.A. and Lee, T.H., 2013. Redesigning primary care: a strategic vision to improve value by organizing around patients’ needs. Health Affairs, 32(3), pp.516-525.

Shih, Y.H. and Tseng, C.H., 2014. Cost-benefit analysis of sustainable energy development using life-cycle co-benefits assessment and the system dynamics approach. Applied energy, 119, pp.57-66.

Yoo, Y., 2013. The tables have turned: How can the information systems field contribute to technology and innovation management research?. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 14(5), p.227.