I would like to introduce myself. I am Anil Kapoor , an electrical
engineering graduate of 1982 from prestigious University of Roorkee , Roorkee
presently known as I.I.T. , Roorkee. I also underwent one year Diploma in
Statistical Quality Control and Operations Research from Indian statistical
institute , Madras in 1984.
I joined B.H.E.L. ,a Mahratna company in India ,as engineer trainee in 1982 and rose the level of Director H.R. I superannuated from service on 31st , January ,2022.
In this long journey of more than 39
years ,I have worked in quality ,manufacturing , technology (motors and
generators) , insulation technology and human resource and township
administration functions.
I got the opportunity of working on turbo
generators of 50 MW to 800 MW capacity of both Russian and Siemens
technologies, hydro generators and AC/DC motors of various ratings. In insulation,
I have worked on all resin rich and resin poor systems. I have been involved in
establishment of many Key special processes. I have also been involved in
solving of many critical quality and productivity related issues by following
RCA ,why why and SQC techniques. I have also been rewarded with BHEL highest
award i.e. Excel award twice , for technological
development which were at par or better than collaborator’s practices.
I also underwent German Language
basic and technical language training . I also took training aT ABB ,Manheim ,
Germany for Hydro Generators and Siemens ,Erfurt ,Germany on 660/800 MW
Generator bar manufacturing.
For almost seven years ,I have worked
in HR function both at unit and corporate level and have been involved in
designing and implementation of various policies and schemes. A lotof work was
done on manpower deployment. At unit level HR at HEEP ,Haridwar which supposed
to be one of the most volatile units , smooth relations were ensured with
unions and also many new initiatives were taken. Took many initiatives to
sustain employee motivation and improve engagement of employees. I have also been involved in training, health,
safety and environment (HSE) and CSR. During Covid waves also took many
initiatives to address the issues being faced by present and retired employees
and their families.
I rose to the board level as Director
HR in October 19. As Director HR , I had to resort to many cost cutting
initiatives because of poor financial health of the company . These cost
cutting initiatives were ensured without any I.R. issues . As HR head ,I was
also associated in three employee engagement and employee satisfaction surveys
. On the basis of these surveys ,many initiatives were taken which resulted in
improved engagement survey scores. I also involved in manpower audit exercises
to improve manpower delivery through redeployment and retraining.
For last one year, I was holding the
additional charge of power also. As director Power got the opportunity of
addressing execution related issues and introduced many landmark changes to
improve execution. In this last one year ,I was also on RPCL board as Chairman
and was able to many long pending issues.
I understand this varied experience
can be put to use to analyse and solve many quality , productivity , engagement
and other H.R. issues. The shop and corporate experience shall come handy in
understanding and resolving manpower motivation and engagement issues.
Through this forum ,I would be sharing my varied experiences in this long journey. You would appreciate that the actual shop floor connditions are very much different from what we normally read in the text books. I would be too happy to have your feed back or questions through this forum. Let us begin.
Testing of electrical machines
ReplyDeleteTesting of electrical machines is normally performed in manufacturing plants before dispatch as per agreed Testing plan with customers. Until unless specified, the tests are performed as per international norms. Most of the times these test.s are witnessed by customer representatives also.
To achieve satisfactory performance in final testing a lot of testing is done during manufacturing stages also. We shall talk about it
When we talk about testing of electrical machines, most typical problems I have faced in Turbo Generator Rotor windings. Let us understand the main part in the winding. In case of two pole machines, that are normally used, it consists of two set of concentric coils. Depending on size of the machine, there may be 7-9 coils per pole. Each coil consists of number of turns to achieve desired ampere turns. These turns have slits/canals/slots for passage of hydrogen which is used for cooling. These turns are electrically isolated using insulating strips which have slits/canals/slots cut for ensuring smooth flow of hydrogen. Each coil turn consists of two halves which are brazed at the ends.
In this scheme we can see that inter turn insulation plays a very important role. A lot of care is to be taken to match slits/canals/slots and to make sure that it does not slip or crack.
Normally if we see the history, we rarely face problem of earth fault or HV test failure. But inter turn always gives problems due to reasons mentioned above. For proper functioning of machine both the poles have to be electrical identical and for testing in stages and after laying of all the coils inter turn testing is done. Either the poles are compared by supplying current to the coils of both poles simultaneously and measuring voltage drop across poles /similarly placed coils. Voltage drop across different poles/ coils shall always have some variation because of physical geometry of poles /coils. Normally a variation of upto2 % is acceptable.
In some of the design inter turn testing machines are used. In Electrosila design Russian machines we had this system of electrical testing using impulse. In such cases as per design or as per commissioning protocols some standard reference curves are generated /made available. It becomes very tricky with time. Sometimes a change has been noticed in reference graphs due to
• Aging of components
• Repair
This may be because of aging or the replaced component not being exactly same. On the basis of my experience my advice is that we generate reference graphs for healthy and faulty (by creating artificial short circuit) inter turn test graphs. This will not only eliminate chances of error but also help in training of any new inductees in the team. In case of short circuit, the amplitude normally goes high as it indicates unbalance which will increase and frequency also changes, reduces. Expert opinion is that the change in frequency is a better indicator. You will be able to understand and visualise better with experience.
In today’s competitive environment one keeps on hearing that there are no good people to take the organization forward. The problem is more in case of public sector. What is the reason?
ReplyDeleteThere may be many reasons which are responsible for this situation. Is it the failure of leadership? the team members or both. We have to go into details to understand.
We all know, the things, the trends are changing very fast. Customer expectations w.r.t. quality and delivery are much much higher. Everyone is under severe financial stress . Performance is the only solution. As a matter of fact nobody talks about product quality because that is non-negotiable. In the consumer goods market if you see ,even the cheapest brands of TV ,refrigerator or washing machine are giving you quite a satisfactory quality level. Same is expected in other industrial products also. This is the impact of changing environment. Nobody will accept or tolerate any quality failures.
Same applies to execution. How fast the road network is coming up ,it is for everybody to see. This is what is expected?
Now where people went wrong?
In spite of having all the skills and knowledge, why these teams are not able to meet the market expectations? In PSUs, people don’t have knowledge, I shall never accept. In PSUs people generally don’t change the job and keep on doing the same job year after year . They develop all skills, only thing is how to ensure quality delivery? Quality delivery includes both, product quality and timely delivery.
With changing environment and demands may be these groups did not update themselves, their teams to be ready to take up the challenge. They failed to identify the challenge or did not ensure readiness of the team – is a question mark.
There were systems of identifying training needs for better performance, getting the captured in the system and the ensuring it is done. There was system of educating subordinates also. It was being done by all the companies as everyone was aware of the need. If we really look around all the PSUs are not facing the crisis of a large magnitude. Those who worked on it in a professional manner, they are reaping the harvest. Because as a routine PSUs and specially Maharatna /Navratna CPSUs have been attracting the best talent and by working on these teams best results can be achieved.
Those companies, who are facing performance issues have to identify the gaps and work on them in areligious manner. It has to be really good assessment and follow-up, no eyewash and report generation.
If we do, things will change for the better. No amount of humiliation or punishment will bring the change.
Wishing all the best to everyone.
Analytical thinking skills are critical in the workplace. It is essential for gathering data, solving complex problems, making rational decisions, as well as summarizing data and executing well-thought-out projects.
ReplyDeleteIn practice, your analytical skills can enable you to prepare a highly accurate sales forecast , business strategy , procurement strategy etc.
Analytical thinking skills are a set of soft skills that help you recognize, collect and process data related to a problem that needs to be solved efficiently. They also help you identify improvement possibilities or predict and prevent disaster.
Importance of analytical thinking skills :
In simple words, analytical thinking skills ensure survival and progress. In the corporate world, analytical skills are vital for making an enterprise profitable. Those with analytical skills show the way and lead the path. Decisions and actions are based on those skills and without them, any company is doomed. This is why the most sought-after employees and executives are the ones with a proven record of analytical thinking. To see patterns and trends, to draw logical conclusions, and be able to communicate that within the organization is a must .
Analytical thinkers should have the ability to identify and define problems, extract crucial information from data, and develop workable solutions to these problems. He / She should be highly logical and must be able to see patterns, or cause-and-effect relationships in complex situations.
Once we know the importance of analytical skills , next question comes , how to improve your analytical skills . Here are several ways you can improve your analytical skills:
1. Knowledge updation : Read your core knowledge subjects to develop understanding of the subject . That will form backbone of your knowledge tree . You can add other features on this knowledge but without core other skills become irrelevant.
2. Build your mathematical skills : Mathematics being a highly logical subject , solving mathematical problems will keep the brain active and alive.
3. Play brain games : Brain games challenge you to think deeply and logically.
These activities are necessary because our education system promotes more of copy –paste i.e. if you are good at memorising and reproducing you are excellent . So the reasoning ability of brain needs to be activated.
4. Learn new things : As mentioned in point 1 , knowledge is important . You have to enhance that knowledge . The more you learn, the more ways and information you’ll have when it comes to solving problems and analyzing situations. Even You tube could be a good source . This can be used at any time while relaxing , travelling etc.
5. Critical Observation : Paying attention to detail and being observant is a great way to improve your analytical skills because it allows you to process the way things work and interact. Using your senses and actively engaging in the world around you helps in honing your analytical skills.
6. Try to get into the why ? : Many things keep on happening around you. Many policies , rules keep on changing , try to get into the why of it . Read magazines , newspaper editorial ,post of experts on such happenings . That will help you develop understanding of situations leading to different decisions.
Keep a log of all these happenings and reasons . With time try to go into the why of different happenings based on your experience . Check it with the analysis of experts .That will take you in the desired direction as you will gat feedback on your analytical skills . Feedback always helps in initiating corrective measures.
Try, things will change for the better.
My best wishes.