50 Manufacturing Companies – Mahindra & Mahindra

At Mahindra, we believe that people are the key differentiators in building a great organisation, says Kalra.
In order to develop, nurture and groom them, the company has  created an ecosystem that supports holistic development of the individual. It has introduced various interventions such as employee of the month, employee of the year, skill competitions, cultural celebrations, various functional trainings on product and processes and behavioural training programmes to keep the team motivated to ensure that they deliver the best results.
For continuous skill upgradation, the company has state-of-the-art dexterities. Also, it holds competition for manufacturing excellence such as “Jagruti”, in which its associates are assessed and rewarded. This has really helped M&M in creating a standard based culture. “We also have a platform “i4” for our associates where they suggest ideas for cost reduction, productivity, safety and quality improvement. These ideas are then assessed and suitably awarded. Several skill competitions are also conducted at the plant and organisation level in areas of assembly, painting, welding, CNC, diagnostic, mechatronics, etc. We have established a mechatronics academy in every plant to develop our associates on future skills such as Internet of Things, Virtual Reality, etc.,” he says.
These initiatives and competitions have helped the company in upgrading the skills of its associates and has brought laurels to the company in the form of awards at national and international levels.
Kalra says the manufacturing sector is moving from Lean to Smart and technology is making an impact on every step of the process. Industries are making advances in fields such as robotics, machine learning, additive manufacturing, IoT, data analytics etc. Going forward, manufacturing will become more efficient, customised, modular and automated. This will help meet customer expectations in terms of quality and responsiveness. Richer data and smart robotics will maximise a factory’s output, while minimising cost and defects. Not only digitisation but manufacturers will also realise environmental and financial benefits from sustainable business practices.