Inside Tata Steel’s Reliability Mindset: What Really Drives Uptime
Walk into any plant, and within minutes, you can tell if reliability runs deep or if it’s just a slogan on the wall. You don’t need a report to see it—you can feel it.
As Amit Khanna, VP of Business Excellence at Tata Steel Thailand, puts it, “Housekeeping is the first thing.” A clean, organized plant signals that people care about their workplace—and that’s where safety and reliability begin.
The second clue is how teams treat their critical machines. In some Tata Steel plants, these assets are tagged or even painted a different color. “It tells me everyone knows which equipment really matters,” he said. That shared awareness is what turns reliability from a department’s job into everyone’s responsibility.
The third sign sits right on the wall: the daily management board. When operators use it to track abnormalities and performance shifts, it shows reliability is part of the daily rhythm—not a monthly review topic. “If I see these three things,” Khanna said, “I know people are moving in the right direction.”
When a Reliable Culture Meets Digital Insight
Those visible signs of discipline are what make digital transformation work. Without them, even the best tools stay unused. But when the culture is right, technology becomes an amplifier.
A few years ago, Tata Steel installed online gas monitoring on a transformer that powered its electric arc furnace. Traditionally, gas levels were checked once a year in a lab. This time, real-time data showed a steady rise—subtle, but clear.
“At first, even we didn’t know what to do with it,” Khanna recalled. The team decided to investigate, and what they found was a worn component that could have failed soon. Replacing it took just three days—and prevented three to four months of downtime.
That single moment changed how people thought about digital reliability. “It was the first time everyone saw what it means when equipment talks to you,” he said.
Where Digital Investment Creates Real Value
Tata Steel didn’t try to digitalize everything at once. Khanna explained that the company focused on equipment that’s difficult to repair, time-consuming to replace, or too expensive to keep as spare.
“Digital and AI have no limits, but resources do,” he said. “So we started with what would hurt the most if it failed.”
That approach kept things practical. Rather than adding complexity, digital tools simplified decision-making and proved their value where it mattered most.
From Skepticism to Enthusiasm
When online systems first arrived, some team members questioned the need. “We already do offline testing—why add another device?” they asked. But once the success stories started spreading, the mood flipped.
“Now it’s the other way around,” Khanna said. “Operators come to us asking for more. Enthusiasm is driving adoption.”
Listening Before Acting
For industrial leaders, Khanna’s advice is simple and memorable: start by listening.
“When you go to a country where the language is different, you need a translator. In our case, sensors are that translator—they help you understand what your machines are saying.”
Start by equipping your most critical machines with sensors. Once you can hear what they’re telling you, reliability becomes measurable. Focus on your most critical equipment. Create one success story, and let that story spread. Reliability doesn’t begin with dashboards—it begins with people who are ready to listen.
Based on an interview with Amit Khanna, VP Business Excellence, Tata Steel Thailand, at CXO Circle Bangkok.
About the author
Lucian Fogoros is the Co-founder of IIoT World.
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