The use of asbestos in concrete matrix such as pipes and roof tiles is being phased out due to health risks it poses. New substances such as glass, polypropylene, steel and other natural fibres are being used to reinforce concrete. The flexural and other strength properties of concrete reinforced with Sugar-cane fibre (Bagasse) were investigated by laboratory process. The specific gravity of the sugar-cane fibre was found to be 0.33. The mean water absorption value for the fibre is about 61 percent. The optimum water-cement ratio of its concrete was 0.58. The compressive strength of concrete was reduced by the inclusion of the fibre in concrete matrix. However, the flexural strength of the concrete reinforced with 25 percent of the fibre was improved to about 15 percent. The untreated (not coated with bitumen) concrete plate reinforced with sugar-cane bagasse fibre has 13.3 and the treated (bitumen-coated) plate has 3.9 mean percentage water absorptions. This is an important advantage in the plate’s capacity to resist ingress of water when used as roofing sheet.
Six Sigma is a process-oriented, da ta-driven approach focused at improving the performance of products and processes by finding and eradicating the origin of defects which are critical to customers. The purpose of this research is to study quality associated problems in an injection molded plastic product and to improve the quality of the product using Six Sigma methodology in a mid-size injection molding company. The result proved that the quality of product in plastic industry can be improved by using Six Sigma.
R. Jayachitra*, A. P. Senthil Kumar, U. Mohamed Faizel.
The main objective of this study was to improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) at a bush forming machine through the implementation of innovatory maintenance strategies. A case study approach was used. The paper focuses on improving the maintenance in a bush forming machine using an innovative maintenance regime mix to improve overall equipment effectiveness. Frequent machine breakdowns, lesser plant availability and increased overtime are a great threat to a manufacturing plant as they increase operating costs of an industry. At the end of this study we published a last three month OEE result. Also we discussed about the kaizen (continuous improvement) activities for a bush forming machine.
R. Jayachitra*, A. P. Senthil Kumar, K. Ramesh Babu, R. R. Pradeep.