Laboratory Digitalization at Birla Copper Dahej

November 18, 2024

Hindalco Belagavi chooses Revol LIMS for digitizing their Lab Operations

A female quality control lab technician inspecting food quality at lab with microscope

Background:

The 1182-acre Belagavi unit of Hindalco Industries Limited, a flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, is a state-of-the-art aluminium manufacturing facility located in Belagavi, Karnataka, India. The alumina plant started operations in 1969. As one of the largest aluminium producers in the country, Hindalco's Belagavi unit plays a significant role in meeting the growing demand for aluminium in various industries.

With a strong focus on innovation, sustainability, and operational excellence, the Belagavi unit of Hindalco has established itself as a leader in the Indian aluminium industry. Over the years, the plant has expanded its capacity of speciality products with approximately 120 different grades, serving more than 600 customers across 32 countries.

Despite its robust infrastructure and prestigious ISO certifications, the Belagavi unit of Hindalco faced significant challenges in its laboratory operations. Manual methods and some discrepancy in their processes led to inefficiencies, increased workloads, and data management complexities, hindering the Plant’s ability to operate at optimal level.

They drew inspiration from the successful laboratory digitization initiatives implemented by Revol Process Solutions at other Hindalco locations. Following a thorough evaluation, the Belagavi unit decided to adopt Revol LIMS, a cutting-edge, 100% web-based Laboratory Information Management System an AI Powered smart and intuitive Cloud LIMS platform with powerful mobile application. This strategic decision marked the beginning of a transformative journey, aimed at modernizing laboratory operations, enhancing efficiency, and improving data management capabilities, traceability, Decision making with SQC / SPC charts.

Challenges Faced:

Before the deployment of Revol LIMS, Hindalco Belagavi faced several operational challenges including

Manual Data Management :
Data from lab tests, quality control checks, and production batches were maintained manually in paperbased logs and spreadsheets. This process was time-consuming, prone to human errors, and difficult to audit.

Lack of Traceability :
With non-digitalised systems, it was hard to trace the history of material batches or to cross-reference quality data from various stages of production.

Data Entry Errors and Delays :
Manual entry of test results led to data inaccuracies and delays in accessing critical quality information, impacting decision-making.

Compliance and Reporting :
Hindalco had to comply with industry standards and internal quality norms. Preparing regulatory compliance reports manually was labor-intensive and error-prone.

Integration Issues :
The lab management system was not integrated with the overall Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and other production systems, causing delays in real-time data availability and operational inefficiencies.

Lab Process automation :
They lacked routine sample management, where the test and reporting were hard to trace and ultimately led to time consuming and tedious in day to day operations.

Solution: Revol LIMS Implementation:

Hindalco decided to implement Revol LIMS at their Belagavi plant to address the above challenges. Revol LIMS is designed to enhance laboratory productivity by automating processes, ensuring data accuracy, and providing real-time reporting capabilities. Key features of Revol LIMS that were implemented at Hindalco Belagavi included:

Sample Management :
Hindalco Belagavi lab works on 3 divisions i.e Alumina related, Special samples (Which they get order from their customers with prescribed composition), and Carbon samples etc. Revol LIMS software automated the entire sample management process, from sample creation and scheduling to results reporting. This reduced the chances of lost or delayed samples and ensured that sample handling met the plant's stringent quality norms.

Automated Data Entry :
Revol LIMS automatically captured and logged test results from lab equipments, minimizing the risk of manual results entry errors and reducing the time taken to input the information. This ensured real-time availability of test results across various departments. Significant time reduction in processing and operations has been observed.

Improved Traceability and Audit Trails :
Revol LIMS is provided with an automated traceability system that recorded each batch's history, from raw materials to finished products, including all quality checks performed along the way. It allowed for easy tracking of compliance to manufacturing standards. Each stage of sample that needs to be tested, audit trial at their respective stages can also be easily verified using Revol LIMS. This helps the top management to easily pick point the staff involved in case of discrepency for further investigation. Easily track the custody of the sample at each and every stage of sample life cycle.

Real-time Reporting and Dashboards :
Revol LIMS is provided with an customized dashboards which allows the top management to view 360 degree real time reports. This enabled them to make datadriven decisions faster, identify quality issues proactively, and reduce the time between testing and reporting.

Integration with ERP :
Revol LIMS was integrated with Hindalco’s existing ERP system (PL2P), ensuring seamless data exchange between the Revol LIMS and the PL2P through responsive systems. This integration enabled real-time updates on the quality status of products, and reduced lead times by automating the flow of data between systems. This lead to shut manual entry thus increasing overall productivity.

Compliance Management :
Revol LIMS helped Hindalco meet regulatory requirements and quality certifications by automating the generation of compliance reports. The system ensured that all required data was collected, verified, and stored for audit purposes.

Inventory Management :
Revol LIMS helped Hindalco to better manage lab inventory ensuring that the lab was always stocked with the required materials and help to procure things whenever needed by a alert mechanism, when the inventory goes below the reordering level.

Impact and Results :

The implementation of Revol LIMS at Hindalco Belagavi brought several significant benefits including

Improved Efficiency :
Automated processes and real-time data flow reduced manual effort, improved operational speed, and allowed lab personnel to focus more on analysis rather than data entry and management. This led to faster turnaround times for quality testing.

Lab Process automation :
Labs process has been significantly streamlined, allowing them to focus more on core responsibilities rather than meticulous routines

Enhanced Accuracy and Data Integrity :
By eliminating manual errors in data entry, Revol LIMS helped improve the overall quality and accuracy of test results, thus reducing the risk of quality issues in the production process.

Better Compliance and Reporting :
Hindalco could now generate accurate compliance reports quickly and efficiently. The system provided automatic reminders for regulatory deadlines, improving overall regulatory compliance.

Cost Savings :
Revol LIMS helped reduce manual data entry work and errors in data handling, along with better inventory management, led to operational cost savings.

Scalability and Flexibility :
With Revol LIMS in place Hindalco could easily expand the LIMS solution as their production capacity grew, or as new regulatory or operational requirements emerged.

Improved Traceability :
Real-time tracking of materials and batches improved the plant’s ability to respond to quality issues, reducing the potential for defective products entering the market. Additionally, this traceability enhanced Hindalco's ability to conduct root cause analysis in case of quality problems.

Enhanced Collaboration :
The integration between LIMS and ERP systems meant that laboratory data was readily accessible to the production and quality control teams. This collaborative environment helped speed up decision-making and enhanced communication between departments.

Conclusion:

The successful implementation of Revol LIMS at Hindalco's Belagavi unit marks a significant milestone in the company's journey towards digital transformation and automation of quality management processes. By leveraging Revol LIMS, Hindalco has streamlined laboratory workflows, enhanced data accuracy, and achieved seamless integration across the enterprise, resulting in improved operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and high-quality production standards.

This case study underscores the critical importance of selecting a suitable Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for large manufacturing organizations. A well-chosen LIMS solution, such as Revol LIMS, can integrate effortlessly with existing enterprise systems, provide real-time data visibility, and scale with business growth, ultimately driving operational excellence and competitiveness in the industry
Unlock the full potential of your laboratory and operational processes with Revol LIMS. Say goodbye to errors, inefficiencies and excessive workloads. Contact www.revollims.com and embark on your journey towards enhanced efficiency, quality, and operational excellence.