Ashok Leyland, Hosur Unit II Conferred the 2017 Deming Prize

CHENNAI:
Ashok Leyland, flagship of the Hinduja Group, yesterday received the prestigious 2017 Deming Prize for its Hosur Unit II manufacturing facility. The Deming Prize is one of the highest awards on Total Quality Management.
It is a global award which is the oldest and most widely recognized award in the world, given to companies that have established customer oriented business objectives and strategies, and implemented Total Quality Management (TQM) to achieve them. In 2016, Ashok Leyland Pantnagar plant had become the first truck and bus plant in the world and also the only CV manufacturer outside of Japan to win this coveted award. With the Hosur unit II plant winning this year, Ashok Leyland becomes the only CV manufacturer outside of Japan to achieve this feat consecutively.
Vinod K. Dasari, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland, said, “Ashok Leyland brand stands for quality. Our endeavor is to achieve the best quality in everything that we do. Winning the Deming Prize consecutively for our second unit is a testimony to our efforts and our belief. All of us at Ashok Leyland are very proud to have achieved this. Delivering quality has been an integral part of our brand promise of ‘Aapki Jeet, Hamari Jeet’ and we will continue to raise the bar for ourselves and the industry. This is indeed a big milestone in our journey and adds another feather to company’s achievements of delivering industry firsts.”
According to R. Sivanesan, Senior Vice President – Quality, Sourcing and Supply Chain, Ashok Leyland, “Following Pantnagar, our Hosur plant has now secured the highest recognition in TQM which no other CV manufacturer, outside Japan, has achieved. This is resultant of our intense focus on quality processes and customer oriented approach with efficient people management. Although the plant was established over two decades ago, it is replete with state-of-the-art finishing and assembling facilities including paint shops and press shops. Achieving this feat for our Hosur plant gives us confidence to continue our journey in TQM and replicate the success in our other facilities to conquer new frontiers.”
Sharing his views, Harihar P., Senior Vice President – Manufacturing and Project Planning, Ashok Leyland, “Winning the Deming Prize for our two manufacturing facilities is indeed a proud achievement for us. Our attention to all processes while maintaining a world-class quality is what has helped us win this prize. Our focus was to showcase the effective quality management methods, established structures for implementation and how these methods are put into practice. If we continue to excel in achieving quality in everything that we do, our stakeholders will continue to reward us with their loyalty and trust.”
The Deming Prize was established in 1951 by Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) to honor W. Edwards Deming, who contributed greatly to Japan’s proliferation of statistical quality control after World War II. The selection procedure of the winner involves a tedious process. It is a very intense and time consuming effort both for the company and the examination body. The Deming Prize Committee views the examination process as an opportunity for ‘mutual-development’, rather than an ‘examination’.
The applicants are not provided with any criteria or issues to be addressed. They are expected to identify and address important issues based on the business objectives which in turn allows quality methodologies to be further developed. Every factor such as the applicants’ attitude toward executing Total Quality Management (TQM), their implementation status and the resulting effects are taken into overall consideration before the final winner is decided.