In the times when the government is promoting digitalisation, the manufacturing sector is going though the similar transformation towards digital age. We can see the implementation of solutions such as Industry 4.0, Internet of Things, etc. which looked like distant future till yesterday. More & more companies are focusing on implementation of smart manufacturing solutions. Speaking on the same, Harihar P, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing and Project Planning, Ashok Leyland Ltd said, "In the current market dynamics, smart manufacturing has transformed manufacturing process to strengthen the balance sheet of any organisation. This process of adaptation of change in processes goes beyond shop floor, networking of internal and external stakeholders, achieving scalability with best quality to keep costs under control."
"Smart manufacturing gives way to high degree of flexibility, ranging from adaptation of more variety with velocity to move from push to pull system. This is a collaborative approach to build intelligent factory with adaptability, resource efficiency, automation and ergonomics to face challenges of a volatile and cyclic industry," he further added.
Human machine interaction
Ashok Leyland is a 68 year old organisation that has scaled up its manufacturing footprint in India and abroad whileembracing new technologies. "Even though our manufacturing plants were established at different times, technology in each plant is less than 10 years old. We have also maintained a good blend of human-machine interaction with strategic initiatives focusing on quality, cost, ergonomics, safety and automation,"Harihar mentioned.
"This has significantly benefitted the organisation in terms of market share, balance sheet and financials. Strong financials have not only enabled us to extend our product portfolio from 1.25T to 49T, but also helped us in focusing on non-auto sectors, apart from enhancing capability and social status of our human resources. This has further given impetus to us to take up key challenges of market swing, product upgrade and meet stringent legal and statutory requirements focusing on customer requirements with digital touch," he continued.
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