Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has won the National Award for Excellence in Cost Management 2007of the Institute of Cost & Works Accountant of India (ICWAI) in the category 'Public sector manufacturing organisation with turnover more than Rs. 1000 crore'. Mr Soiles Bhattacharya, Director (Finance), SAIL, received the prestigious award from Mr Prem Chand Gupta, Union Minister for Company Affairs, at a function held at Vigyan Bhavan on 1st May 2008. It was double bonanza for SAIL as its Rourkela Steel Plant was adjudged the runner-up by ICWAI for the award in the category of 'Public sector manufacturing unit with turnover more than Rs. 1000 crore'.
With this, ICWAI has honoured SAIL for the third timefor its cost management efforts since the institution of the award in 2003. SAIL bagged the winner's trophy for excellence in cost reduction in 2003 and was adjudged runner-up in 2004. The award vindicates the success of SAIL's shift in focus from the concept of cost reduction to total cost management where all cost management initiatives form a part of the company's strategic planning itself and are monitored regularly.
This year's award is a testimony to the untiring efforts made by the SAIL collective over a period of time to set new standards of excellence in the field of cost management. The steel major with a turnover of over Rs. 39,000 crore has been laying a thrust on cost reduction measures for several years and a number of innovative steps have been introduced within the organisation resulting in substantial benefits. A major step in this direction is continuous accent on R&D, which enabled SAIL to reduce cost through process improvement, quality improvement, and introduction of innovative techniques. SAIL benchmarked various areas like BF productivity, coke rate, energy consumption, power consumption, etc., in its plants for its thrust on exploiting the full potential of existing assets. Simultaneously, the company saved significantly with the success of several other initiatives such as performance-based procurement, consolidating business transactions through e-commerce, competence enhancement through HRD initiatives, enhanced automation, manpower rationalisation and waste management.
The jury for the award, headed by former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court J.S. Verma, evaluated companies based on their continuous efforts towards adoption of new techniques, evolving innovative ideas and restructuring operations for better cost management. The criteria for selection of the winner included application of cost management techniques, various efficiency parameters, cost and financial information, capacity utilisation, labour productivity, assets and liabilities of the company, power and fuel consumption, working capital management, ratio analysis and cost reduction measures.
SAIL bags ICWAI National Award for Excellence in Cost Mgmt '07
Mr Prem Chand Gupta, Hon'ble Union Minister for Company Affairs (right) handing over the National Award for Excellence in Cost Management 2007 won by SAIL to Mr Soiles Bhattacharya, Director (Finance), SAIL (left).
