ashok leyland - industrial visit
TRANSCRIPT
7/27/2019 Ashok Leyland - Industrial Visit
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ASHOK LEYLAND – INDUSTRIAL VISIT Leo Peter
Ashok Leyland – Hosur Unit
I along with the students of Batch-A had the opportunity to visit Ashok Leyland’s manufacturing unit
located at Hosur. Organized by Professor Lawrence of the Operations department, we were
scheduled to leave college at 12 noon on the 9th
of November, 2012. Around 30 of us were travelling
by bus, and 10 were coming in their own vehicles.
We started off to Hosur at 12:15 PM, as scheduled, having made sure that everyone who had
volunteered to come for the visit had boarded the bus. The bus was a 30-seater Swaraj Mazda busfrom St. Joseph’s Boys High School. The seats were nice and comfortable and the journey was
smooth, although the constant traffic jams common to Bangalore was something we couldn’t avoid.
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On the way to Ashok Leyland
We arrived at the entry gate of the Hosur Unit of Ashok Leyland by 1:40 PM. Lawrence sir got off thebus to talk with the security personnel. After getting the clearance which took around 10 minutes,
we entered the premises of the company. Our bus moved towards the parking area for visitor
vehicles, from where all of us would have to walk. We were told to keep our mobile
phones/camera/electronic gadgets in the bus itself since any such devices were prohibited while
visiting the facility. All of us got off the bus and walked towards the HRD Center’s checkpoint. A man
from security brought a box of ID cards stating ‘Industrial Visit’ which we were asked to display on
our persons. Having completed these formalities, we were asked to form a line while a headcount
was done. Then Lawrence sir arrived accompanied by Deepak Hegde and Amruth, both of whom had
worked at Ashok Leyland before and were familiar with the operations of the facility. We followed
them as they lead us to the entry block of the facility. We walked through the revolving turnstile and
into this open and green landscape, with well maintained lawns on either side, and a 10-feet wide
road in the center, along which we walked for about 400 meters to reach the HRD Center’s main
building. All of us were led into the auditorium where we took our seats around the conference table
in the center.
Mr Subramaniyam who was the HR Assistant, showed us a 7 minute video clip about Ashok Leyland,
its history, vision, growth, CSR activities, upcoming projects and technological achievements. After
the video ended, Lawrence sir introduced to us, Mr. Anil who was the HR manger of the Hosur Unit
of Ashok Leyland. He welcomed us all to Ashok Leyland and gave a small talk about the company, its
goals and its operations. Some of the things he mentioned included:
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The Mission GEMBA initiative
Ashok Leyland’s current production and future targets
Employee Engagement programs
Employee count
Vision to be the top 5 in Bus and top 10 in Truck segment
After the presentation, we were led in a line, towards the first manufacturing facility where the
engines for the Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) DOST were being produced. We entered the facility,
and it was a completely different world altogether inside the manufacturing floor. The smell of metal
and oil, the sound of heavy machinery spinning and polishing. We saw rows of LCV engines arranged
on the floor. The entire floor was divided into separate production lines. We were given an
introduction to the GEMBA initiative for employee engagement, after which we were led across the
platform of one of the production lines. There were different machines being operated upon by
workers. The engine would arrive on conveyer belts to each ‘station’ where a specific manufacturing
process would be initiated. Upon completion the engine would move forward to the next station forthe next step in the manufacturing process. We were surrounded by high-tech equipment with
complicated controls, and it was a very intriguing experience watching the manufacturing processes.
We also saw some CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machines – automated machines which were
used for precise movements to polish/grind and perform other manufacturing processes on the
engines. I asked Mr. Subramaniyam about the efficiency of the machines and he said that one CNC
machine could complete a manufacturing process in 10 minutes, which, for a human worker would
require 1 hour to complete!
After this, we went to the next facility, where the engines for trucks were being made. These engines
were much larger in size and took longer to make. Different components of the engine were puttogether by workers, along various steps across the production line. At the end of the line, a ‘crane’
would lift the engine to the adjacent inspection area on the manufacturing floor. Before entering
this production line, each engine would be spray-painted in the painting section adjacent to the
production line.
Finally, we went to another facility where the engines were fitted onto the chassis of trucks. The
engines would arrive from the previous facility where cranes would be used to place them onto the
chassis. Additional parts such as tail and front lights, exhaust pipes, tires, etc. would be fitted onto
the chassis to create the basic truck chassis – upon which the final body would be built at a body
building unit elsewhere.
Having seen the chassis construction facility, we were taken back to the HRD Center for some
refreshments – tea and biscuits - in the canteen. We then went outside for a group photograph, and
then started back towards our bus.
Thus the visit to Ashok Leyland came to an end. It was a very enriching experience to learn more
about the company and see first-hand how engines were manufactured and how the various
operations were carried out across the facility. We thank SJCBA and especially, Lawrence sir, for
giving us this wonderful opportunity.