On the recommendations of the Booze Allen Team, it was decided to switch production from a mix of Silico Manganese & Ferro Manganese to Ferro Manganese in both furnaces at Ferro Alloy Plant Joda. In order to meet the requirements of Silico Manganese for Jamshedpur Works, we entered into a conversion agreement with M/s Universal Ferro And Allied Chemicals Ltd., (UNIFERRO) at their Tumsar works near Nagpur. The VE team worked along with the representatives of Uniferro to overcome the problem of ore availability as achieve lower cost. This project describes how we achieved our target. The team received the BEST VALUE ENGINEERING PROJECT AWARD from Mr B Muthuraman, MD, Tata Steel, December, 2000. The project was presented at the Invest Conference, SAVE at HHI, Kolkata in Sept-2000.

1. Project Title:
VVaalluuee EEnnggiinneeeerriinngg OOnn
MMaannggaanneessee OOrree BBlleenndd FFoorr
SSiilliiccoo MMaannggaanneessee CCoonnvveerrssiioonn AAtt UUnniiffeerrrroo
TToo RReedduuccee CCoosstt
Project No.: 230368_
Team Members:
Mr. Prabhash Gokarn Dy Mgr, Conversion
Mr. Sanjay Gupta Manager, Mineral Sale
Mr. C V G K Murty Dy D M, BS & D
Mr. Deepak V Ranade Dy Mgr, Ferro Alloy
Mr. J K Chatterjee Chief (Mkt Dev)
Facilitator: Mr. A K Ghosal, VE Group, Jamshedpur
Workshop Date & Venue: April, 2000, Calcutta.
Project Presented At
Invest Conference, SAVE
HHI, Kolkata Sept-2000

2. Project Was Awarded The
BEST VALUE ENGINEERING PROJECT PRIZE
at the MD level
December 2000

3. Introduction :
Objectives and Brief description of present system –
On the recommendations of the Booze Allen Team, it was decided
to switch production from a mix of Silico Manganese & Ferro
Manganese to Ferro Manganese in both furnaces at Ferro Alloy
Plant Joda. In order to meet the requirements of Silico Manganese
for Jamshedpur Works, we entered into a conversion agreement
with M/s Universal Ferro And Allied Chemicals Ltd., (UNIFERRO) at
their Tumsar works near Nagpur.
As per the MOA we were supposed to supply to Uniferro a blend of
+46 Balaghat single grade Manganese ore from MOIL, LGHS from
MOIL and 38/40 grade Manganese Ore from Joda for the said
conversion. However, we started facing operational problems in
the supply of single grade +46 Balaghat from MOIL and the
product cost became un-economic as well. The VE team worked
along with the representatives of Uniferro to overcome the
problem of ore availability as achieve lower cost.
This project describes how we achieved our target.
Information Phase:
We envisage a requirement of approximately 1200MT/month of
Silico Manganese at Jamshedpur Works, the entire tonnage to be
sourced from Uniferro. The conversion agreement with Uniferro is
initially for a period of one year (Dec-99 to Dec-00) renewable up
to a period of three years.

4. Scope Of Study:
The team focused on various blends for production of silico
manganese
COST DETERMINES PRODUCT COST
METALLURGICAL PROPERTY PRODUCT SPECS
Manganese
Ore & Slag
Blend
Conversion At
Uniferro
Silico
Manganese

5. AIM OF VE TEAM
+46 grade
MOIL Ore
H Mn O
Slag
38/40 Joda
Mn Ore
Mn/Fe
%Mn
Phos
Cost

6. Uses Of Silico Manganese
Silico Manganese is a bulk ferro-alloy, which is essential for the
production of almost all grades of steel. It is a de-oxidizer, it is used to
increase molten steel bath temperature (reboil using SiMn), remove
sulphur & control sulphide inclusion morphology(MnS) or to increase the
manganese content of steel. Manganese increases tensile/yield
strength & toughness in steel and counter-acts influence of sulphur, and
is thus an important alloying element in almost all steels.
Uses Of Silico Manganese
Alloying
 Increase Mn Content %Mn in SiMn needs
 Counter-act effect of Sulphur to be > 60%
Steel making
 Increase temperature(reboil) %Si to be > 16%
 Helps slag composition %Mn to be > 60%
Cost
 Adds to cost of steel Minimize cost
Size
 SiMn size needs to be 20mm-50mm
to be handled in pneumatic
ferro alloy addition system
Impurity
 Imparts phosphorus to steel %P of SiMn to be < 0.250%
Due to the above reasons, Silico Manganese is a vital alloying
element. Manganese ore is vital to manufacture Silico Manganese
using the electric arc smelting process.

7. Cost
The total cost of the blend as per the MOA is shown in the Annexure. The
cost works out to be Rs 22887/MT of Silico Manganese, landed at
Jamshedpur
Works consumes SiMn @1200 MT/month. The cost of SiMn is important to
control the cost of Works Saleable Steel.
Uses Of Manganese Ore In Smelting
 Imparts Manganese %Mn in SiMn
Mn Yield
 Imparts Iron Mn/Fe ratio determines SiMn
grade
 Imparts Phosphorus %P of SiMn
 Has specific size range %Fines in Mn Ore
 Contributes to SiMn Cost Minimize cost of SiMn through
proper blend

8. Function Phase :
Item Verb Noun Class Type
+46 single grade
Mn Ore (from
MOIL)
Imparts High Manganese Basic Necessary
Imparts High Mn/Fe Ratio Secondary Necessary
Imparts High Phos Secondary Un-
necessary
Imparts High Cost Secondary Un-
necessary
Imparts Difficulty (in
procurment)
Secondary Un-
necessary
Slag from MEL Imparts Very High Mn/Fe Basic Necessary
Imparts Manganese Secondary Necessary
Imparts Low Phos Secondary Necessary
Reduce Cost Secondary Necessary
Imparts Difficulty (in
procurment)
Secondary Un-
necessary
38/40 from Joda Imparts Manganese Basic Necessary
Imparts Low Phos Basic Necessary
Imparts Low Mn/Fe Secondary Un-
necessary
Reduce Cost Secondary Necessary
Imparts Ease (in
procurment)
Secondary Necessary

9. Function – Cost - Worth Analysis (F-C-W)
The value gap has been identified as :
Item Function
Function
Cost
“C”
Function
Worth
“W”
Value
Gap
"C" - "W"
Basic
Worth
Value
Index
"C"/"W"
+46
Blend
MOIL
Imparts
High Mn
Rs
22887
/MT
90% of
"C" = Rs
20599
/MT
Rs. 2288
/MT
Modify
Ore +
Slag
Blend
1.111
Slag
from
MEL
Imparts
High
Mn/Fe
38/40
Joda
Mn Ore
Imparts
Low
Phos
As the value index is more than 1.00 the team pursued the
modification of the blend with various combinations keeping the
function and quality as desired by the customer (Steel Works).

10. Function Analysis System Technique Diagram
(FAST Diagram)
Impart
High
Manganese
Impart
High Mn/Fe
Ratio
Reduce
Phos
Meet
Specifica
tion
Use
Blend
Of Mn
Ores &
SlagIncrease Cost
Increase Phos
HOW
WHY

11. Creative Phase :
During the many brain storming sessions held in the course of the
project; the team generated ideas, listed below:
I. Continue with blend of Mn Ore as agreed i.e.
a) +46 single grade Mn Ore (MOIL)
b) Slag from M.E.L.
c) 38/40 grade Mn Ore from Joda
II. Use 46 blend Mn Ore instead of +46 grade Mn Ore i.e.
a) 46 blend Mn Ore (MOIL)
b) L G H S Mn Ore (MOIL)
c) 38/40 grade Mn Ore from Joda
III. Use 46 blend from MOIL, Ukwa-I grade(42) from MOIL and slag
from MEL
a) 46 blend Mn Ore MOIL Ore 30%
b) L G H S Mn Ore from MOIL 35%
c) 38/40 grade Mn Ore from Joda 35%
IV. Use a blend of 40/42 grade & 38/40 grade ore from Joda and
slag from Uniferro i.e.
d) 40/42 grade Mn Ore from Joda 35%
e) 38/40 grade Mn Ore from Joda 35%
f) HMnO Slag from Uniferro 30%

12. Evaluation Phase :
The team identified the following criteria to select the most suitable
alternative:
CRITERIA
Identity Criteria Score Rank
A Phos input into SiMn 1 4
B Availability, supply ease 4 3
C Achieving product specs(%Mn) 6 2
D Cost of SiMn 7 1
PAIRED COMPARISON :
B C D SCORE
A B1 C2 D3 0+1=1
B B2 D3 3+1=4
C C3 5+1=6
D 6+1=7
(Point Scale : Major diff. = 3, Med diff. = 2, Minor diff. = 1, No diff. = 0)
Decision Matrix:
(Point Scale : Excellent = 5, Very Good = 4, Good=3, Fair = 2, Poor =1)
The options were evaluated on the above selected criteria, using
both quantitative analysis and qualitative parameters using the
normative group technique.
Desired
Criteria
Weightage
Proposals
A. Phos
Input
1
B. Availabili
ty
4
C. SiMn
Specs
6
D. Cost
7
TOTAL
I 4*1=4 1*4=4 5*6=30 1*7=7 45
II 2*1=2 3*4=12 2*6=12 2*7=14 40
III 1*1=1 2*4=8 2*6=12 3*7=21 42
IV 3*1=3 5*4=20 3*6=18 5*7=35 76
As the fourth recommendation scored the maximum points, the
team presented the same to the management for
implementation.

13. Recommendation Phase :
The team recommended the idea of “Use a blend of 40/42 grade
& 38/40 grade ore from Joda and slag from Uniferro”, based on the
decision matrix (as above) which shows that the above mentioned
idea has the highest total score of 74 .
Savings :
The savings till date (Dec-00 to Jul-00) have been Rs. 74
lakhs. (as indicated in the Annexure I).
The expected savings have been calculated in Annexure IV The
expected savings from Dec-99 to Dec-00 (the present contract
period) will be Rs. 216.19 lakhs. (as indicated in the
Annexure IV).

14. Implementation Plan :
The above recommendation for change in blend of Mn Ore has
been implemented in two stages, as follows :
1. In Feb-00 & Mar-00, the blend was changed from the initial
blend of +46 Balaghat single grade Manganese ore from MOIL,
Slag from MEL and 38/40 grade Manganese Ore from Joda to
the blend of 46 blend Manganese ore from MOIL, LGHS from
MOIL and 38/40 grade Manganese Ore.
2. In April-00, encouraged by the initial results, the blend was
further changed to the blend of 40/42% Mn grade ore from
Joda (35%), 38/40% Mn grade ore from Joda (35%) and slag
supplied from UFAC.
The above plan has been implemented from Feb-00 and the total
expected gain in the contract period, i.e. Dec-99 to Dec-00 is
around Rs 2,16,19,065; and the saving is reccuring in nature.
Savings Dec-99 to Dec-00
Rs 2.16 Crores
Team Receiving the
BEST VALUE ENGINEERING PROJECT AWARD
from Mr B Muthuraman, MD, Tata Steel, December, 2000