Mr N P Sinha, former Vice President, E & RM, Tata Steel

Mr N P Sinha has seen Tata Steel change from a behemoth with an aging steel plant to an agile, world-class and market-led steel manufacturer. The company is now furiously engaged in enhancing its capacity by another one million tonnes per annum. Based on his experience he takes us through what necessitated this and its strengths in project management and beyond.

TN: What prompted this expansion?

NPS: The logic
TN: What prompted this expansion?

NPS: The logic is quite simple. India produces about 30 million tonnes of steel, which is not large for a country of our size. As the standard of living improves, so too will the demand for steel. This is the right time for a forward looking company to take action to meet the additional demand that will arise. Tata Steel has the best credentials to fill that gap since it is one of the lowest cost producers of steel in the world and the quality of its product compares well with the best globally. Also, we are in the business of steel, so we must grab the opportunity in the area of our core business.

TN: How is project management today different from the earlier days?

NPS: On the completion of the two million tonnes expansion in the late fifties, it took a long time to achieve the objective of the expansion, especially in terms of the capacity utilization. However, it was a different story when the Modernisation Programme was launched in phases in the eighties. Most of the facilities were commissioned and capacity utilization achieved more or less on time. Tata Steel over the years has acquired a high degree of competence in project management, which is being followed for the last several decades. The learning process is still on with greater use of modern tools and changing engineering practices.

TN: How has the company achieved its capacity utilisation deadlines?

NPS: In the 50s, operating groups were not integrated with the project management team. But since the Phased Modernisation Programme launched in eighties, operating teams have been a part of the project management team from the very inception. Therefore, ramp up and operations is much easier now.

TN: How is the man on the site different from the person before?

NPS: There has seen a lot of change over the years. Previously a lot of work and technical supervision was done by the departments of the company, but today Tata Steel’s manpower is much less at the site. Vendors and contractors have a much larger role to play. They are also better equipped.

TN: What beyond this expansion and 5 million tonnes?

NPS: This is certainly not the ultimate for Tata Steel. It is nowhere near its ultimate capacity. Perhaps, there is nothing like an ultimate capacity for a steel plant. The company only has to continually determine how far it wants to expand at Jamshedpur from the point of view of logistics and infrastructure as well as from strategic considerations. But there is nothing stopping it from becoming a multi-location producer. This may even be a desirable option at some point of time.