Pune: The first visual that attracts any one entering the Pune facility of Tata Motors in the Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial belt of Maharashtra, is a line up of company’s car. Many others are seen busily moving in and out of the campus. Another prominent attraction in this sprawling 930-acre campus is the TCF-2 (Trim-Chassis-Fitment-2) or Omega Factory with huge conveyor belts, car components and the young women in their early 20s deftly operating them. It is the all-women-operated assembly line of Tata Motors. They seem well trained to lift and assemble even the heaviest car parts, manage bulky machines, fix, tighten all kinds of screws and do quality checks for the company’s Harrier and Safari models.
The Pune plant was Tata Motors’ first passenger vehicle plant when it entered the segment in 1998 with the iconic Indica hatchback. The plant subsequently introduced other models like Indigo, Marina, Vista Manza, Zest, Bolt, and Nexon.
The Omega factory was closed for about four years after the company stopped the production of Indica and Indigo in 2018. It was revived two years ago in April 2021 when the automaker started work on this new line in the factory to make it operational.
As the name suggests, in the Omega Factory, the company produces Harrier and Safari models which are developed on the OMEGARC platform based on the D8 platform of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). The models were earlier being produced at its TCF-1 factory, where the company now assembles Punch and Altroz. Harrier and Safari EV to be introduced in the market next year, will also be made in the TCF-2.
“The facility began with the aim of hiring a women workforce and within a span of two years, they are well equipped to produce 200 vehicles daily with two working shifts of 500 employees each on a single assembly line with about 65 stations. With 5 conveyor belts, it takes about 170 minutes for a vehicle to be produced from the start point to the end point,” Mohan Savarkar, Vice President- Product Lines, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV), said.
Omega factory workforce model
Based on their knowledge and skill sets, Tata said it began enrolment and training for women from economically deprived areas. The company pursued the Kaushaliya (Learn and Earn scheme) programme to bring in students from the ITIs or 12th pass to take up company-sponsored technical courses including Diploma and B.Tech.
Having a limited or no exposure to the industry, the staffers were provided on-the-job training on identification of electrical products, finding faults, resolutions and culture building. Following this, they were given hands-on experience on the company’s TCF-1 line which produces the Altroz and the Punch.
The Omega factory manpower model is based on hiring three categories of staffers. First, DAT or skilled professionals who are employed for 1-2 years. Second, NTTF (Nettur Technical Training Foundation) or the students who are pursuing a diploma and employed for about 3 years. Third, students who are ITI (Industrial Training Institute) pass out and are employed on a temporary basis (usually less than a year).
“I am pursuing my graduation degree via distance education and working here. We are provided with food, transport and other hygiene services. It feels good to have practical knowledge,” said a 21-year old.
The maximum tenure of work for these women is 3 years. However, by the time they complete the course they are expected to be trained in industrial work and capable of working in the auto component supplier sector or even car servicing dealerships. “The scheme of permanent employment is being explored. Based on each individual’s performance, they will be eligible for this,” Savarkar said.
Engineering adaptations in TCF-2
The maker of Harrier and Safari has made some innovative engineering adaptations to the assembly line. The factory has about 5% automation, mainly for the robotic glass glazing.
“We conducted an ergonomics study in September 2021. Most staffers have an average height of 4 feet 8 inches, owing to which we have made improvisations on raising workstations, redesigning some tools where tightening torque does not require human force, and providing fixed UB platform, ABS trolley, shower area height platform trolley. Based on RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) and REBA (Rapid Entire Body Assessment), we have implemented fuel tanks, door removal and glass manipulators,” Savarkar said.
In November 2021, the women were finally deployed at the shop floor on TCF-2 and the first pilot vehicle was built. The first model was rolled out of the all-women factory in February 2022. Thereon, the company also started the second shift at the factory.
Other functions at the factory, including logistics and maintenance are outsourced to male workers.
Amongst the young lot, there are also a few married women employed in the factory working on material providing to the staffers on the assembly lines. Most of them are 10th and 12th pass, but have a strong willingness to be financially independent. “We have been working here for a few months now. Our work is to carefully handover the components to the staffers on the assembly lines. The job is good but we are contractual workers and not provided free lunch like other staffers,” one of them said.
Along with gender diversity, the company stated that the absenteeism is less and attrition rate is lower vis-a-vis male counterparts.
For the overall passenger vehicle workforce, the company employs about 12,000 manpower in the plant, including 2,000 women staffers across the plant. “Our target is to improve the male to female ratio even further and train the women workforce in all fields of work,” Savarkar said.
Tata manufacturing plants
The company’s recently-acquired Ford plant in Sanand, Gujarat is expected to start operations in the next 12-18 months, mainly dedicated to the upcoming new EV models including Avinya.
The company’s existing Sanand plant produces about 13,000 units of Tiago and Tigor every month. The company said it has now managed to integrate the assembly line at the plant to produce the ICE and EV versions on the same line.
The company’s Ranjangaon plant in Maharashtra, which is in a joint venture with Stellantis, produces the Nexon ICE & EV models and a few variants of powertrains.
Not only Tata Motors!
While the concept of women technicians, engineers and other blue-collar jobs is far from being a norm across the industry, several automakers have made conscious efforts for gender diversity over the past years. SAIC-owned MG Motor India plans to achieve a gender-balanced workforce wherein women would account for 50% of its overall workforce, including in factories, by December 2023.
MG manufactured its 50,000th Hector model with an all-women crew at the Halol plant in Gujarat. At the company, women are deployed in critical manufacturing areas, paint quality and surface testing, research and development (R&D), assembly.
Bajaj Auto also has an all-women line of manufacturing high-end bikes at its Chakan plant, in Pune and it has seen women employee strength grow more than four times from 148 in FY14 to 667 in FY22.
