LALA LAJPATRAI

COLLEGE

ABID SUPARIWALA
SYBMS Div. B
Suggestion Schemes
Prof. Bharat Nadkarni
Productivity & Quality Management
The only way to have a good idea is to have a lot of
ideas

- Winston Churchill
 What is a suggestion
scheme?

•A formalized mechanism which encourages employees to

contribute constructive ideas for improving the
organization in which they work.
•The overall aim is to gather, analyze and implement ideas

in order to create results that have a positive impact on the

business and /or deliver new value to customers.
 Objectives
• Understand the keys elements of suggestion systems.
• Explain how to plan and launch on effective suggestion
system.
• Define how to set up a management infrastructure to
generate ideas, capture quality ideas, evaluate ideas and
sustain a constant flow of ideas.
• Explain how to develop employees to identify opportunities
for improvement and write good quality ideas.
• Define ways to recognize and reward participations.
 Two approaches to
suggestion schemes
Traditional approach
•Cash for your ideas

•Innovative, big ideas

•Low participation

 
Participative approach
•Let us improve the way we work

•Continuous improvement through implemented proposals

•High participation
 Scope Of Suggestions-
Acceptable Suggestions
•Improvements in one’s own work and the working
environment.
•Savings in energy, labor, materials, and resources.

•Improvement of processes/ practices.

•Improvement on tools, jogs and equipment.

•Improvement in safety.

•Methods of increasing production.

•Prevention of waste.

•Improvement in quality of goods and services

•Ideas for new products and services

 Out Of Scope-
Unacceptable Suggestions
•Company policy
•Compensation and benefits

•Complains or criticisms

•Disputes and grievances

•Jobs carried out under supervisors specific instructions

•Ideas for improvement derived from ones duty as a

committee member or from meetings

 Benefits Of A Suggestion
System
•Improves one’s own work and the working environment
•Engages and empowers employees

•Creates ownership and trust

•Builds teamwork

•Enhances communication between employees and

management
•Improves motivation and morale

•Promotes self-development

•Discover hidden talents

•Improves customer satisfaction

•Improves profitability
Process of suggestion scheme
Means of suggestion schemes
•Suggestion boxes in common areas example - lunch
room
•Online submission system

-emails
-internet
•In house voice mail box .

•Regular meetings designated to hear suggestions.

•Ideas generated from brainstorming activities

 Measures
“If you want to manage, you have to control.
If you want to control, you have to measure.”

Measurements Will Show Whether You Are

Efficient And Effective In Scheme
Implementation.
Outcome of suggestion
schemes
Benefits
 Maruti Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Is the First Auto Manufacturer

in India to Automate Its Suggestion Scheme with
ABBYY Form Reader

ABBYY’s data capture solution makes Maruti Suzuki

India Ltd’s suggestion scheme cost effective and time
saving for successful product reengineering and customer
satisfaction.
 Background
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. has a sales network of 600 outlets in 393 locations,
and provides maintenance support to the customers at 2,628 workshops in
over 1,200 towns and cities (as of March 31, 2008). Since inception, they
have produced and sold over 7.5 million vehicles, including almost 500,000
units in Europe and other export markets. More than 50% of cars sold in India
were a Maruti Suzuki brand.
Situation

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. created suggestion (feedback) forms not only for its
customers but also for its employees, and it led the company to the popularity
and success. Collected monthly from the employees the suggestion forms
help to enhance performance in terms of product quality, safety and cost
consciousness that are entrenched into the manufacturing process. Moreover,
the best suggestions in terms of cost effectiveness are being awarded.
Previously, data from suggestion forms were entered manually, and the results
sent to a database. It was time-consuming, and as deadlines had to be met,
most of the time the team ended up working overtime at the end of the month.
PROBLEM
 Solution
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. set out to automate its system, and a
search on the internet led them to NetSpider India (NIIL).
This started a whole new process wherein, for the first time in
India, automation using forms processing solutions was being
taken up in the automobile industry.

The first step in the process was to redesign the existing

suggestion form using ABBYY FormDesigner™. Therein,
ABBYY FormReader 6.5 was used for processing and finally,
codes were written by NIIL to extract data from the processed
forms and send to a database. NetSpider India provided an
end-to-end solution to the entire suggestion scheme.
 RESULT

Using ABBYY data capture solution Maruti Suzuki

India Ltd. saves time and manpower, doing away with
overtime. NetSpider India (NIIL) and ABBYY’s
acclaimed forms processing solution opened a new
avenue in the world of automobile industry.
 Operatinghas
If a company A Successful Staff Suggestion
a complaining workforceScheme Is Not Easy!
the following
things can be done to tackle the problem

To overcome this problem, the management must do 3 things

(at least):
•Set clear standards of what is meant by a quality suggestion.

•Train all staff in how to spot opportunities for improvement

and how to write a quality suggestion.

•Train managers and supervisors to guide their subordinates in

writing suggestions.
 Few Facts
Toyota has started implementing Suggestion Scheme since 1950 and
has achieved following measures
last year –
• 1 Million ( 10 Lakhs ) suggestions / year,

• 37 suggestion / employee / year,

•% Suggestions implemented = 87 %,

• Saving = $ 2000 / employee / year

( = 1,00,000 / emp. / yr. )

Employees’ Suggestion Scheme
International Labor Organization promotes this mechanism under its
Factory Improvement Program (FIP).
Government of India, under its Ministry of Labor and Employment,
through Director General, Factory Advice Service and Labor Institutes
( DGFASLI ), promotes this, and every year, declares 28 Vishwakarma
Rashtriya Purashkars ( VRP ).