We are currently producing variety of road construction equipment both for domestic and global markets
The Wirtgen Group in India, has a world class manufacturing facility in Pune. We are currently producing variety of road construction equipment both for domestic and global markets.
– Ramesh Palagiri,
Managing Director and CEO, Wirtgen India
Give us details about your manufacturing facilities in India?
The Wirtgen Group in India, has a world class manufacturing facility in Pune. We are currently producing variety of road construction equipment both for domestic and global markets. Lean Manufacturing serves as the foundation of manufacturing at Wirtgen India. Lean is not just about 5S or elimination of waste. It is more of a mindset. It is about Philosophy, Processes, People and most importantly Problem Solving. We stick to the basics and use latest technological tools such as IoT as means to improve and get better every day.
How technologically advanced are your manufacturing facilities in India? Also, what are the safety features incorporated in these facilities?
The advantage of sticking to the basics is that there are no special efforts required to achieve zero defects, environmental friendliness or promote safety. At our plant in Pune – We have relentless focus on people, their development and their safety, and this is automatically built in everything we do. We start every meeting with a brief on safety status. With such a culture, employees on the shop floor don’t have to be reminded to wear safety gear as they consider this as their prime responsibility.
What are your company’s initiatives in skilling and training?
If you look at the sophistication and cost of the machines in the last few years, it has become important that a skilled operator is required for operating the machine. Even the contractors are now convinced on the requirement for skilled operators. The trained operator will ensure that the customer gets optimum production and machine availability. Most of the projects are now running at almost two-three times faster than that was a couple of years back. The contractors want to complete the job ahead of the schedule and get the bonus. So for them, it is not only productivity but availability is also important, where a skilled operator will play a major role in the availability of the machine. If any machine maintenance arises at project site, depending an OEM service person to come and solve the problem will take more time. In most of the cases, the operator himself can solve the issues, which saves a lot of time and reduces the machine downtime. This is what we are planning to achieve through our skill development initiatives.
How do you make use of robotics in your facilities?
Additive Manufacturing has been around for some time. We have used it successfully for rapid prototyping to cut down the product development times. 3D printing has also been used to try out various geometries of a complex part while trying to solve a customer problem. We are currently learning more about AR. We have had a first taste of it during product development phase to check things like service parts accessibility.
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