A Critical Study and Analysis of the reasons of breakages of Ceramics Tiles During Transportation
Abstract - In Construction Industry, after Cement, Steel and Paint, Tiles and Sanitary ware plays an important role. Tiles are not a luxury now a days but it is a necessity. It not only adds protection to the floor and walls of houses, but also beautify them. Tiling is considered as the last product to be installed in a house construction after electrical installations. It is fragile in nature and need to be protected until it reaches the end user. The objective of this research paper is to study and highlight parameters required for the safety of the ceramic tiles from the manufacturing until it reaches the end consumer. It will also highlight the reasons of the breakages during transit and probable solutions to prevent these kinds of breakages. Primary data is collected from the various sources like logistics department, transporters, and customers. Secondary data is to be collected from the various Manufacturer’s sites, Magazine, Journals, and Books available on Supply Chain, Logistics, DistributionandCeramics Industry. Various Statistics tools are used to do the analysis of the data and to provide the solution.
Key Words: Logistics,SCM,Transportation,Distribution, CeramicsTiles,Construction
1. INTRODUCTION
InSupplyChainManagement,Logisticsplaysanimportant role.Supplychaincomprisesofthreetypesofflows,Flowof information,FlowofFundsandFlowofmaterial.Thethird flow comes into existence after the first two flows [1][2]. With the receipt of information and data, any business process is initiated, processes, machineries and methodologiesareinstitutionalizedandthemtheproduction oftheproductisdone[3].Logistics,flowofmaterialstarts withthisprocess.TheSCMoftilesindustryisasunder–
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Raw Material are brought from the various mines spread acrossGujrat,Rajasthan,APandTamilNadu.Themodeof transportationuseareRoadandRails(where-everpossible). The major tiles manufacturing companies in India are –Kajaria Ceramics Ltd, Somany Ceramics Ltd., HR John Son (Prism Group), NITCO, RAK Ceramics India Pvt Ltd, HSIL, Cera, Orient Bell Limited, Simpolo Vitrified Pvt. Limited, Qutone Cermics, AGL Ltd., Varmora Ceramics and many more. In Gujrat, Morbi is the major hub of Tiles manufacturing companies in India. Kajaria Ceramics have their plants in Rajasthan, UP, Morbi and Andhra Pradesh. Somany Ceramics Ltd, have manufacturing facilities in Haryana,GujratandAndhraPradesh.OrientBellLtd.,hasthe plantsinUP,GujratandKarnataka.HRJohnsonhavetheir plants in Maharashra, Gujrat, Rak Ceramics have the manufacturing facilities in AP and Gujrat [4][5]. Morbi in Gujrat is the Ceramics hub of India and is the major competitorforChina[5].
Morethan1500manufacturingunitsaresetupinthiscityof Gujrat.Themajororganizedsectorcompaniesout-sourceFG anddistributeacrossIndiaandExportstoothercountries. 60% of the total turnover of Indian ceramics industry is contributedbyGujratindustryand40%isthecontributions ofallotherorganizedsectorcompanies[4].FromMorbithe material is distributed to PAN India and abroad. Gujrat is well connected to the other states by Road, Rail and Sea.
MaterialtoPANIndiaissentthroughroadtransportation. BothSeaandRoadtransportationcatersKerala,somepartof Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Northern, Western, Eastern states are majorly serviced through road only. Concor (IndianRailways)andotherprivateserviceproviderscater Kolkotta(WB)andsurroundingcitiesthroughrailways
TilesarefragileinNatureandprobabilityofbreakagedueto shocksandjerksduringmovement.Therearemanyreasons ofthis,whicharesubjectforthisresearchpaper.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
In Supply Chain Management, logistics plays importation roles.Andinlogistics,transportationplaysanimportantrole ofmovingtheproductsfromproducerstotheendconsumer safely,securely,intimeandattherightplace[1].Itisnotonly the vehicle’s body and road conditions which effects the safelydeliveryofthematerial butalsothe typeofproduct whicharetobetransportedalsomattersthemost.Product rangeandthecharacteristicsalsoaffectstheperformanceof thelogistics[6].Roleofpackagingplaysanimportantrolein protectionoftheproductin-transit.Thepackagingdesigning shouldbesuchthattheproductisnotopentoanyexternal impactsandshouldbearthejerksinthemovement[1].
In some cases, it is found that the packaging done by the manufacturersarenotadequatetotransportitsafely[12]. Thematerialgetdamaged.Inthatcase,normallytransporter take extra precautions while loading and transporting the material[12].Sometimethesizeofthematerialisalsonot suitableforthepallet.Itmaybesmallorbig,whichmakesit vulnerabletodeliversafely.Overloadingofthevehicleisalso averyseriousissueofbreakages.EvenInsurancecompanies arenotacceptinganyclaimifthevehicleisoverloaded[12].
As per the study done by the Supply Chain specialists [1][2][3][12],thereismoreprobabilityofdamageofgoodsif sendviaroad,insteadofbyrailandsea.
Thereisalmostnilresearchonthebreakagehappenduring the transportation of the tiles. Therefore, it is very interesting topic to study. Top 10 companies web sites, ICCTAS(IndianCouncilofCeramicsTilesandSanitary)are studies for collecting the data pertaining the product categories,characteristicsanddimensions.
Fromthevariouswebsitesofthemajormanufacturersin India,followingcommonsizesofthetilesaremanufactures [7][8][9][10]–
a) TypeofProducts
CeramicsProducts(WallandFloortiles) - VitrifiedProducts(FloorTiles) - DoubleCharges(FloorTiles)
b) DimensionsoftheProduct
- SmallSize–200mmx200mm,200mmx300mm, 300mmx300mm,250mmx375mm
- Medium–395mmx395mm,400mmx400mm, 300mmx450mm,300mmx600mm, 600mmx600mm,600mmx1200mm
- BigSize–800mx800mm,800mmx1200mm, 1000mmx1000mm,1200mmx1200mm, 800mmx2400mm,1200mmx2400mm
Earlier wall tiles were only rectangle in sizes like 200x300mm, 3000x450mm, 300x600mm, but now even squaresizearealsoused.Normallyfloortilesaresquarein size.Thebigslabsarenowcominginrectangularsizesalso. 60-70%ofthetilesareusesinfloorapplicationsand30%to 40% of the sizes are used on walls. There are some other sizesavailableinmarketfortheotherpurposelikeswimming pooltiles,pavers,exteriortiles(FaçadeTiles).Thereare3rd firedvalueaddedtilesalsoavailableonahighercost.
Tilesare classified majorly into fourcategoriesand whose breakingstrengtharementionasunder[11]–Category Breaking
Table 1 – TypeofTilesandBreakingStrength
More the Breaking strength, more the tile will sustain the jerksandlesswillbebreakages,whereasinlowerbreaking strengthstilesareboundtobreakonlowerimpactofexternal forceonitduringthetransit.Therefore,morecareisrequired inthecaseoftileshavinglowerbreakingstrength.
There is limitation of availability data or literature on breakageoftileshappenedduringtransit.
3. Research Methodology
Verylesspublicationhasbeenfoundonthebreakageissues oftilesintransit.Therefore,thisresearchismorerelyingon theprimarydata.Intilestransportation/movement,mainly fourrespondentsareinvolves,Logistics/WarehouseTeam, Transporter/Driver, Customers and the Technical services team/CustomerCareTeam.
A general questionnaire was prepared and circulated to Logistics,Customer,TechnicalServicesandthetransporters. Questionnaireisconsisting35 questionsandprovisionfor open-end response was provided for additional reasons. Whereevertherespondenthasresistancetorespondonthe questionnaire,telephoniccallsweredoneandthedatawas collected. It took approximately 6 months to collect and analysethedataforthisresearchpaper.
Thecompaniesconsideredforthisresearchwerethetop10 companiesinIndiainvolvedinmanufacturingandmarketing
oftilesinIndiaandaboard.Morethan50Customerswere contactedandmorethan25transporters,100driverswere interviewed.
Data is collected and recorded in different categories –Logistics Team, Transporter/Drivers, Customers, and Company’sTechnicalServicesTeam.Toolsusedforanalyzing the data, Tabulation of the data, Mean, Average, Graphical representationlikeBarChart,PieChart,Linediagram,Venn diagram,Etc.,
4. Data Collection, Interpretations, Findings and Results
35typeofreasonswereidentified byall thestakeholders contributingtothebreakageshappeningduringmovementof Materialfromthemanufacturertotheendconsumer.
small quantity, ply wood or boards are also used for protection.
Followingistabledepictingvariouspackaging-
Fig-3 ReasonofBreakages
The main reasons of breakages which are identifies are –LooseLoading,ImproperLoading,BigSizeTilesPackingand Strappingissue,Loadinginwrongdimension,Vehiclebody issue, Multiple Sizes, Multiple Loading and Unloading, Overloading, Cushion below and side of the vehicle floor, Packaging, Corners, Out of body loading, Road Conditions, Rash Driving, Damaged Material Loaded, Material not properlytighten,Un-palletizedtiles,FastDriving,Improper stackinginwarehouse,CustomersIntention,etc.,
All the four category of respondents gave their views independentlyunbiasedandwithoutanyprejudice.
Packing Matrix
FromthedatacollectedfromtheLogisticsteamofthetop10 companies in tiles industry, following packages are recommended toprotect the tiles from damage The Small sizetilesarepackedinclosedboxfromallthesizesandcan be loaded in any fashion. Bigger sizes tiles need more protection as far as the strength of the cartons and the corners are required. In the Slabs, the Cartons need to be dispatchedonthepallets,speciallydesignedforthem.Incase of some bigger sized tiles which are to be transported in
Mode of Transportation
The data shows, 89% of consignments are dispatched throughRoad,8%arethroughSeaand3%arethoughRail. The%breakagescaseincaseofRoadis75%,Sea–15%and 10%inRail.
Loading Pattern
Asperthestudydone,loadingpatternfortheselectedsizes areasunder.TheSmallSizescanbeloadhorizontallyone aboveother,butthebiggersizecan’tbestoreinthatfashion, asbigtilesaremoreelasticinnatureandcanbreakduring movement, due to jerks. Bigger the tile, more is the probabilityofdamage.Topreventbreakage,biggertilesare recommendedtobeloadedormovedonthepalletsonly.
Thebiggertilesareeitherpackedorloadedonthewooden palletsoronIronPalletsothatthe tilesareprotectedand does not break during transit. If the material is not of full pallet,thenthetilesarepackedwithbothsidesPlywoodor Hardboard,strappedandloaded.Differentsizesneedstobe
treateddifferently,packed,andloadingintothevehiclewith allthesafetytoavoiddamage.Matrixofloadingpatternof differentsizesaredefinedasunder.
Theotherfactorswhicharecontributingtothebreakagesin transit are – multiple loading point, mainly in Morbi it is done,multipleunloadingpoints,moredistancebetweenthe unloading points, in rainy seasons road conditions also deterioratepavingtopitsontheroads,plasticcornersonthe cornersofthetiles,strengthofthecartonsareotherpoints ofconcerns.Withtheproductionofthenewtiles,packaging and movement of the material are done as per the requirement.Innovationinthisfieldismust,beingafragile material.
Some of the Packing -
5. CONCLUSIONS
TransportationofCeramicTilesisaverytrickyandtechnical task.Itcan’tbedonebyun-trainingmanpowerbothatthe LoadingandUnloadingpoints.Handlingofthetilestillitis layingplaysandimportantrole.Nowadayscompaniesare makingbigslabswhichcan’tbemovedwithoutpalletization, thattooofdifferentstructure.Someofthedimensionscanbe loadeddirectly,somewithoutpalletinhorizontal,somein verticaldirections,someonwoodenpalletsandsomeofIron pallets.
“Productdesignincludesqualityfunctiondeployment(QFD), ease of manufacturing, design for the environment (DFE), andeaseofdistributionthroughoutthesupplychain.”[9]
REFERENCES
[1]HonkeyMin,TheEssentialsofSupplyChainManagement, 1stEdition,2015,PearsonEducationLTD.
[2]SunilChopra,PeterMeindl,SupplyChainManagement, 4th Edition,2015,Pearson
[3]AlanRushton,PhilCroucher,PeterBaker,The Handbook ofLogisticsandDistribution,5th Edition,2014,KoganPage Limited
[4] https://surfacesreporter.com /articles/134110/ tilesin-india-market-share-growth-strategies-new-launches-andmore
[5]https://ceramicworldweb.com/en/tag/ceramic-worldreview
[6] RDanReid,NadaRSanders,OperationManagement,4th Edition,2011,JohnWileyandSons.
[7] https://www.icctas.com – Indian Council of Ceramics TilesandSanitary
[8]) https://www.kajariaceramics.com – Kajaria Ceramics Limited
[9]https://www.somanyceramics.com–SomanyCeramics Limited
[10]https://www.hrjohnsonindia.com–H&RJohnsonIndia Limited
[11] Giovanni Biffi, Rolando Giovannini, Book for the ProductionofCeramictiles,GruppoEditoriale,Faenza(RA)
[12] Mohamed Achahchah, Lean Transportation Management, Using Logistics as a Strategic Differentiator, 2019,Routledge,UK
BIOGRAPHIES
RajinderSinghMaan, GM(Supply Chain)InRAKCeramicsIndiaPvt., Isaresearch
Dr Poonam, is a Professor, in Department Management, OPJS University,Churu,Rajasthan,India