Engineering & Technology

Dr. A K Jindal, - Head – Engineering Research Centre, Commercial Vehicles, Tata Motors.

- Ashish Bhatia

Q. How has technology evolved at the Engineering Research Centre (ERC) over the years? 

A. We have come a long way. Both in terms of technological depth, and areas that we cover, right to the extent of product breadths that we cover. Till 2000, the number of products that ERC was working on were limited. The frequency of new product development was low. This has increased, in terms of output almost asymptotically. Especially in case of large commercial vehicles. The number of commercial vehicle products, like in the passenger vehicle space, have expanded. They have almost doubled. Within the same product space, the number of variants has increased. The days of having a one-fit solution are passe. So, from an ERC perspective, work, both in terms of depth as well as width, has expanded. In 2005, for example, we were roughly 2000 people. We now amount to 4000 people. We also have a lot of external linkages to ensure the capture and incorporation of new technology.

Q. You have laid stress on frugal engineering and local development. How has it worked? 

A. Unlike before, we are today creating everything ground up at the plant. We are creating as well as co-creating. In many instances, it is in conjunction with the suppliers. The fact is, everything is being manufactured ground-up.

Q. How do you respond to changes quickly?