In the process of finding the best solution for a given problem we often forget that the problem itself might change. Similarly, when we want to build a smart factory, no matter how good the current solutions maybe, we need to be farsighted and plan accordingly. Built to last is the adopted mantra but built to adapt is the way to go, said Ganesh Mani S, Director- Manufacturing, Hyundai Motor India at the ET Auto Smart Factory virtual summit on Friday.

Giving an example of the ‘Build to Adapt’ Choluteca Bridge in Honduras, he called the COVID situation an ‘infection to inflection’ point. “The point of inflection gives pain. However, in the long term it offers huge advantages,” he explained.

“At present, the assembly automation ratio is less than 10 percent. Going forward, investments in Industry 4.0 should be viewed as a risk to mitigation technique rather than an ad hoc investment. Irrespective of the size and scale of operations, this will play an important role, especially considering the mixed production of ICE and EV in future,” Mani said.

Smart employees make smart factory

According to Mani, data is the oil, but it is useful only with the right resources (employees) to refine it. Smart leadership and remote communication capabilities are equally necessary.

“At Hyundai, we have on the shop floor a set of over 50 data scientists who understand machines and data programming,” he said.

As per the Hyundai Director, technology-enabled decision-making is the key. “In the post-COVID-era, data will be the new basis of competitive advantage. A digitally connected shop floor can generate 11.7 billion data points a year. So keep updated or become outdated,” he said.

Safeguard, Rebuild and Redesign

Talking about Hyundai’s journey of maneuvering the pandemic, Mani said ‘Safeguard’ was in the month of April with complete lockdown and zero sales. “We resorted to constant communication with the customers, employees, vendors, dealer partners, and all the people who stood strong to take care of the assets (machinery) and resources in the plant,” he said.

‘Rebuilding’ and restarting comes with uncertainty but requires preparation and quick execution. “We have already reached over 90 percent volumes of what we were doing in the pre-COVID period,” he added.

‘Redesign’ strategy started with zero-touch manufacturing as a concept and calibrated the use of technology by moving from social distancing to smart distancing, Mani said.

Further giving an example of pit stop timings in F1 racing over the last decades, he explained how automation technologies could help increase the operating speed by two times in smart manufacturing.

Lastly, talking about managing deliveries of its latest model amid the COVID scare, Mani said, “Hyundai Creta was launched in March, and we got a large number of bookings. So we started working at the backend. Generally, on an assembly line, the change is only four to five times a month. However, since the lockdown got eased, we were able to change it as high as 17 times in a short period. Even though this required systematic changes from the vendor and dealer end, we managed to do this because of highly flexible lines in the manufacturing setup.”