How a Thermal Power Plant Achieved Operational & Sustainability Excellence with a Shopfloor Digitisation Startup
A case study on why startups are the ideal partners for industries to innovate faster and better
Industrial companies often find it difficult to innovate, owing to the lack of specialised talent, capabilities both technical & managerial, infrastructure such as labs, etc. Startups, on the other hand, excel in these areas. They are unmatched in their ability to develop and translate industrial technology to innovative operating capabilities and novel products at the lowest cost and fastest speed, with agility and ingenuity.
Take, for instance, an automaker seeking a cutting-edge component for their vehicles. They would most likely partner with a startup that specialises in it rather than build an entirely new in-house team and production line. The former approach is faster and more cost-effective, while the latter could take a couple of years and several million dollars. By then, the automaker would have lost its competitive edge in its products.
Therefore, in this fast-paced era, it is crucial for industrial companies to partner with startups to help them innovate faster & better—accelerating their transformation and growth.
Here is a case study on a thermal power plant’s collaboration with an industrial tech startup to transform its data management system. This partnership enabled the plant to accelerate both operational and sustainability excellence.
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TAQA India operates a 250MW lignite-fired thermal power plant in Neyveli, Tamil Nadu. Their operations were entirely manual, relying on paper-based logbooks to record and monitor plant performance. To digitise and automate their operations, transitioning towards a Digital Plant, TAQA partnered with Deliverain.
This strategic collaboration between TAQA and Deliverain not only streamlined their processes but also marked a significant step towards achieving operational and sustainability excellence. Let’s explore how TAQA leveraged technology to transform its operations.
Manual Data Management
TAQA’s reliance on paper-based logbooks for performance tracking resulted in a lack of real-time data and the potential for errors in data capture by the operations team. This led to low operational efficiency and frequent unplanned outages. The plant experienced roughly 15 days of unplanned outages annually, translating to a huge loss.
Deliverain’s Digital intervention
Deliverain is a Manufacturing Shop Floor Digitisation startup specialising in digitising and automating shop floor operations through their Manufacturing Execution System (MES) called Scaffold. This SaaS-based MES solution facilitates the digitisation and automation of shop floor processes. It seamlessly integrates with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Distributed Control System (DCS).
Deliverain is a portfolio startup of Forge, where Forge is actively supporting the startup through scaleup grants, seed investments, strategic advisory, market access pathways to industrial sectors, and other critical support.
Through an 84-day digital transformation initiative using Scaffold, Deliverain helped TAQA improve overall equipment efficiency, yield/throughput, on-time delivery, and waste reduction. The digitisation of operational procedures using Scaffold provided the operations team with near real-time access to plant data. This empowered them to identify faulty equipment and process gaps, allowing for prompt corrective action. As a consequence, unplanned outages were reduced by over 84%, preventing annual losses.
The Impact of the Deliverain’s MES on TAQA’s Production
The implementation of Deliverain’s MES has been transformative for TAQA’s production process. Here’s an overview of the key improvements:
Operational Excellence
Deliverain transformed the operations of TAQA India by streamlining workflows and automating tasks, resulting in significant efficiency gains and increased productivity. Through the implementation of Scaffold, TAQA India achieved an enhancement in operational efficiency of up to 20%.
The system provided data-driven insights and analytics, empowering the company to make informed decisions that optimised resource allocation and maximised profitability. This approach increased TAQA India’s access to real-time data by over 80% compared to traditional manual data collection processes.
The adoption of Scaffold facilitated streamlined operations for TAQA India, often leading to considerable cost reductions in areas such as materials, labour, and production time. The number of unplanned outages in TAQA India’s plants was reduced by over 85% due to these solutions.
It’s impact extended to TAQA India’s quality control processes, enabling real-time monitoring and data analysis that resulted in fewer defects and higher-quality products. The transition from periodic to preventive maintenance further reduced maintenance costs by 27%.
Deliverain’s focus on accelerated innovation cycles and process optimisation allowed TAQA India to adapt more effectively to changing market conditions and customer demands. This adaptability enabled the company to deliver products and services that better met evolving customer needs, ultimately leading to higher customer satisfaction.
Sustainability Excellence
Deliverain’s solutions facilitated a reduction in the environmental impact of TAQA India’s operations by promoting sustainable practices and assisting factories and plants in adopting paperless manufacturing processes. For instance, this transition to paperless manufacturing enabled TAQA India to reduce CO2 emissions by 50 kilograms per year.
Scaffold’s support of data-driven decision-making also increased transparency within TAQA India, encouraging greater visibility into the company’s supply chain and environmental footprint. Furthermore, Deliverain empowered TAQA India to innovate more rapidly while operating with increased efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability, thereby enhancing the company’s social responsibility within the industry.
In conclusion, TAQA India’s partnership with Deliverain exemplifies the transformative power of strategic collaboration between industrial companies and deep-tech startups. By digitising and automating its operations through Deliverain’s Scaffold platform, TAQA India achieved significant improvements in operational efficiency and sustainability. This case study highlights how embracing innovative solutions can optimise resources, reduce environmental impact, and enhance competitiveness in a rapidly evolving industry.
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At Forge, we fuel startup success by providing critical programmatic interventions across the entire lifecycle of industrial tech ventures — spanning innovation, production, industrialisation and commercialisation. Forge supports startups with strategic advisory, market access pathways, product acceleration & tech infrastructure, industrialisation & commercialisation partnerships, and investment pathways — all aimed at startups winning at every stage.
Forge’s Future Factories Launchpad initiative harnesses the innovation capacity within startups, academia (students & faculties), and research (scientists & technologists) to redefine manufacturing & value chains through bold ideas and breakthrough solutions — unlocking value from operational, sustainability & business excellence in industrial companies. Know more about Forge here — https://www.forge-iv.co/
