Rising Above The Ordinary

The present times call for us to have unprecedented visibility, tracking and control over the entire production process while at the same time creating cost efficiencies, says Nachiket Kodkani, Plant Head & Vice President – Manufacturing, Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers Ltd. (MVML).

- Niranjan Mudholkar

How do you benchmark yourself? 

The Mahindra Automotive Division has seven major plants in India and one in Korea (SsangYong motors). We have a similar set up for tractors. In a way, we have more than enough plants internally to benchmark -- as every plant has one or two areas of excellence.

Benchmarking for us works in two ways, internal and external. When we say internal, we mean within our plants we compare similar shops and processes with respect to various efficiency parameters and we do the same with our other plants in the Group. For example, a vehicle rolling plant will have all its parameters compared and benchmarked with all our plants across the Group in India and globally. This builds a healthy internal competition. We also have synergy groups consisting of members from all plants who continuously interact and visit to keep this process strong, leading to continuous improvements.

On the external front we benchmark other OEMs and many a times visit the “best practice” companies.

We also work and partner with suppliers on latest technologies and processes that can be implemented in the near future. We not only learn from auto industries but also learn a lot from other industries remotely connected to us. Our teams are on the move across the world attending different technology seminars /shows scouting for something new to make us more efficient and effective. We work with industry experts on specialized areas, also we interact with various institutes like IITs and other research institutes.

Skilled workforce is a challenge before the industry. What initiatives are being undertaken by your company for the skill building and craftsmanship, which is a requisite in present times? 

Hiring the right talent coupled with right training soon after on boarding is the key for skill development.