CASE STUDY NO.

3 :
CLEAN ENERGY IS A
DIRTY BUSINESS
B Y:
E S TA C I O , E M I LY M A R I E Q .
KHARIS, NOR-AIN S.
PA L M E S , K A R E M A .
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Bituin Marikit Corporation (BMC) is a solar wafering
company that faces a commercial and technological
challenges. Chinese manufacturers are undercutting the
company, and BMC must find a way to use recycled
slurry to reduce costs and stay in business.
Environmental considerations also support using recycled
slurry, but the problem is that recycled slurry creates
quality issues that impact yield and decrease customer
confidence.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
BMC aimed towards achieving a more sustainable
future by providing consumers a viable alternative for
energy purposes, the company can already be
considered a significant performer and contributor for a
cleaner environment. However, the main issue of the
case does not pertain to the final product but to the
waste materials produced in the manufacturing of these
vital components for solar wafers.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The company has implemented practices of reusing
slurry materials to cut down on costs. The massive use
of renewable forms energy can benefit the economy of
the country since consumers will be able to cut down on
overhead costs in the long run and therefore result in a
more productive economy. On the other hand, most
industrial company can benefit in using renewable
energy through large savings in electricity consumption.
INDUSTRY BACKGROUND
BMC was established in 2012 with an initial capitalization of
$13,000,000. Its maximum capacity was reached in 2014 producing
1,000,000 wafer per week using silicon ingot wire slicing machines. BMC
immediately captured a large percentage of the market supplying wafers to
five customers, such as Fusion star and Spectra Energy. One of its
strategies was to reuse the Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Polyethylene Glycol
(PEG) abrasive slurry a number of times to reduce the wafering cost.
Around the middle of 2015, engineers started reporting quality issues of
roughness values above specifications and of surface stains that were
eventually traced to the quality of the abrasive slurry.
CURRENT SITUATION
• The company is now in a state of financial uncertainty because
of the problems they have encountered in manufacturing of
their products. What seemed to be an endless series of
challenges only seemed a portion of their troubles especially
when manufacturers in China became their gigantic competitor.
KEY ISSUES AND PROBLEMS
• Quality issues

• Loss customer’s trust and confidence

• Toxic chemicals used in manufacturing wafers

• Continuous decrease of product demand

GOAL AND OBJECTIVE
• GOAL
BMC aims to achieve a more sustainable future by
providing consumers an alternative for energy.

• OBJECTIVE
To reduce wastages by 99.90% thrown in landfill.
 180,000.00
DATA ANALYSIS
160,000.00
97% yield
140,000.00

WAFER COST PER DEMAND VOLUME

120,000.00

100,000.00

80,000.00 95% yield

60,000.00
93% yield

40,000.00 90% yield

20,000.00
87% yield

-
1 2 3 4 5

VIRGIN VIRGIN + RECYCLED RECYCLED VIRGIN + RECOVERED RECOVERED

 ALTERNATIVES
Technical Alternatives
 To add sodium acetate to slurry which could be one way to prevent
defects due to thick slurry cutting.
 To use the waste abrasive slurry as filler in making concrete hollow blocks
(CHB) and polyurethane matrix composite.

Managerial Alternatives
 To revise the process flow of the slurry usage and recycling plan.
 To have separate management to undertake and supervise the process in
converting sludge to concrete hollow blocks (CHB) and in making of the
polyurethane-sludge composite material.
 RECOMMENDATIONS
NO ACTION:
 To Add sodium acetate to slurry as an alternative to prevent
defects in wafers.

MODERATE ACTION:
 To revise the entire process flow of the slurry usage and recycling
plan.

MODERATE ACTION:
 To restructure the organization of which it has to be a separate
management to supervise the process in converting waste abrasive
slurry to concrete hollow blocks and in making of the
polyurethane-sludge composite materials out of the waste sludge.
 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
VIRGIN SLURRY
A. ABRASIVE SLURRY USAGE
AND RECYCLING PLAN
Ingot Cutting

Waste Toxic Waste Abrasive Solar Wafers

Chemicals Slurry Filler (Product)

Concrete Hollow Polyurethane Matrix

Block with Prototype Composite with
with Waste Abrasive Waste Abrasive Slurry
Slurry Filler Reinforcing Filler

< 0.1% of wastages from recycling process Recycling Process

Waste Treatment

Expectation: < 0.1% of Wastages

LANDFILL
 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
B. ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE PLAN

TOP
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

HUMAN
MARKETING PRODUCTION
RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT

QUALITY
Solar Wafer CHB Polyurethane CONTROL UNIT
Section Section Filler Section

Solar Wafer CHB Polyurethane

Section Section Filler Section
 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
B. ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE PLAN

a. Top Management
 Checks and balance between all the employees.
 Checks the current company performance and remove
the upcoming problems to additional business.
 Verifies the company accounts and make a detail about
company current performance with desired
performance.
 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
B. ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE PLAN

b. Human Resource Management

 Responsible in recruitment and staffing
 Payroll management
 Appraisals and performance management
 Training and development
 Conflict resolution
 Employee relation
 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
B. ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE PLAN

c. Marketing Management-consists of 3 section heads (1 head per

section)
 Administrative: formation of sales policy, designing the sales
organization structure, coordination of sales activities etc.
 Operating: performed by field sales managers and supervisors—
include training, routing, supervising and controlling the sales force.
 Staff: providing support, sales planning, marketing research, sales
analysis, sales personnel policies.
 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
B. ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE PLAN

d. Production Management
1. Production Manager (Engineer)
 Checks the condition of finished products
 Manages the technical problems
 Validates sales & purchases
 Takes customer feedback about product and services and
create changes according to their suggestions.
 Selection of production process
 Selection of right production capacity
 Production planning and production control
 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
B. ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE PLAN

e. Quality Control—consists of 3 section heads (1 head per

section)
 Quality, Material Testing and Inspection, and Cost
Control
 Inventory control
 Maintenance and replacement of machines (equipment)

f. Consultants
 Consists of Industrial Engineer who is an expert in Solar
Energy, Structural Engineer and Department of
Environment and Natural Resources.
 CONCLUSION
The company should only use virgin slurry in manufacturing wafers to prevent defect wafers and so the
customer’s trust and loyalty to the company will be restored. However, in order not to cause environmental
damage in disposing waste sludge in landfill, these wastages can be recycled and used as an alternative filler
by manufacturing concrete hollow blocks prototype and polyurethane matrix composite. Perhaps, the wafer
demand will increase as well as the profits with an additional revenue to the company through selling CHB
prototype and polyurethane.

Hence, we rejected our first recommendation because there is no further study that sodium acetate can
prevent thick slurry formation and no assurance that it will not be a health threat to the workers in the
company.
THANK YOU!