Coca-Cola’s Biyagama plant conferred ‘TPM Excellence Award’ by JIPM

Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd. (CCBSL) announced that its Biyagama plant has been bestowed with an award for ‘TPM Excellence’ by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM). 

As per the audits done by JIPM, Coca-Cola’s Biyagama plant significantly improved its Productivity, Quality, Cost, Safety, Delivery and Morale through the implementation of TPM systems and processors. It is the seventh Coca-Cola plant in South Asia to win this award.

The TPM Awards were established in 1964 in Japan, with the purpose of encouraging development of the manufacturing industry, factories which displayed remarkable achievement in plant maintenance which is controlled by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM).  

Since then, the award criteria has evolved and it now covers the entire business processes from shop floor to the executive boardroom, thus creating a true companywide commitment to production excellence. For CCBSL, the award reflects company-wide efficiency by adopting holistic TPM.

Commenting on Coca-Cola’s achievement, 

Institute of Lean Management CEO and Founder of the Association of TPM Practitioners in Sri Lanka Thilak Pushpakumara said: “I’m proud to see a company in Sri Lanka receiving the TPM Excellence Award as it will definitely set a world class benchmark for Sri Lankan industries driving towards manufacturing excellence. The efforts of the Coca-Cola Sri Lanka team to achieve this internationally recognised award is highly appreciated.”

Commenting on the accolade, Coca Cola Bottling Investment Group Supply Chain Capability Development Manager, South West Asia Manone Perera said: “We are delighted to earn recognition for TPM Excellence from the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance. We promote the highest standards in product safety and quality, occupational safety, health and environmental standards across the entire Coca-Cola system. Our Biyagama plant too reflects the same ethos and attention to detail. The entire supply chain team has worked hard to exceed benchmarked criteria by the judging authority and it is this dedication to high standards that defines our products. The Coca-Cola Company places high emphasis on quality and efficiency and the plant in Sri Lanka uses world-class technology to manufacture its products.”

There were specific factors that resulted in the TPM Excellence award for Coca-Cola. The overall plant efficiency was increased while cost reduction in manufacturing was achieved. Furthermore, the speed of the plant’s 31-year-old filler was increased by 17% through a team-based speed improvement project. Emphasis was also placed on sustainable aspects of manufacturing by reducing water and energy usage.

A cultural change was also wrought at the plant by training plant associates through one point lessons, a significant increase in employee generated kaizens and defect identification tags and implementing 5Ss. These efforts have led to a pleasant working environment in the factory and boosted morale amongst staff, generating high productivity as well.

The Biyagama plant manufactures all of Coca-Cola’s products for the Sri Lankan market, from trademark Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light, Fanta Orange, Fanta Portello, Fanta Cream Soda, Sprite to Lion Soda and Lion Ginger Beer. The plant produces carbonated soft drinks in PET and returnable glass, employing approximately 280 people.

The Coca-Cola plant ensures high quality through robust processes such as Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) processes and adheres to processes laid down by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) to ensure consistent performance.