Industrial Visit to Volkswagen's Chakan Plant

Date: 8th August, 2013

Place: Volkswagen Plant, Chakan

It was a day we'd all been looking forward to since we first heard about it. An industrial visit is one of the few out-of-class experiences to look forward to, as an engineering student. It is a chance to see how things actually work, out there in the real world. An experience that cannot be matched by that of any classroom. It was probably all that excitement that brought all the people who can never wake up in time to make it for a 9 o'clock lecture, in college and ready to leave by 8 am. The bus that was there waiting for us looked like it hadn't been washed in years, but it did little to dampen our spirits. We weren't going to let anything cast a shadow on that long awaited day.

The ride was long and bumpy, but a fun trip all the same. It was a good chance for us to interact with our seniors, get to know them, and make note of the long list of tips they had to offer on how to improve our college life. We stopped at Lonavla at 11:30 AM for an early lunch. We were back on the road by 12:30, and we finally reached the Volkswagen plant by 1:45 PM.

As we caught our first glimpse of the plant, we were instantly taken aback by the sheer size of the establishment, covering over 575 acres. A workforce of over 3,500 people was engaged in building it during its peak construction stages. The plant was built in a record time of 17 months, with an investment commitment of INR 3,800 Crores (580 million Euros) by Volkswagen India Private Limited. It is the largest investment by a German company to date in the growing Indian market. The Pune plant is one of the most modern in the Volkswagen Group. It has a high level of vertical integration and a large share of local suppliers. The facility is the only production plant operated by a German automaker in India that covers the entire production process, from press shop through body shop and paint shop to final assembly. The facility uses futuristically designed state-of-the-art equipment. For example, the body shop uses the Diode Laser Brazing (DLB) technology, whereas the Roof & Side Framer laser technology is used for welding the roof to the body of the car. The facility is also one of the few environment-friendly manufacturing plants around the area. For instance, the exhaust of the paint shop is re-burnt and the resultant heat and energy is reused.

After being stripped of our cameras, we were lead into the seminar hall, where we were introduced to Mr. Chetanya, who was going to be presiding over our tour of the plant. Once we had our headsets on, to make sure we could all hear him inspite of all the noise in the body shop, we started our tour, beginning with the final review tunnels, where all the cars are reviewed one last time, before they are deemed worthy to be rolled out of the plant. Next up, we were in the body shop, where there were sparks flying all over the place, quite literally. Different process, here, are taken care of, either manually or using automated robots, depending on their requirements. At the end of it, all the fittings are checked using an infrared camera, to make sure that everything is precisely where it is supposed to be. We were amazed to see the arm of automated robots working with speed and precision. Mr Chetanya inserted, "At most of our plants in Germany, we have achieved almost 95% automation. Here in India, it is about 35-40%, since the labor costs are way lower." Next up, Volkswagen's patented copper wire welding chamber. A completely automated process that has taken roof welding to the next level. This process involves welding the roof of the car to the body, using thin copper wire. This copper wire melts into all the gaps, leaving no room for any water to seep through. Because of this process, Volkswagen has been able to rid their cars of the black strip that is seen on the roof of most other cars. Watching the robots at work, we observed what looked like a simple program, guiding them. The power of a few lines of code, enough to inspire at least one wide eyed computer engineering student.

The entire plant works like clockwork. Everything is timed down to the second. On the assembly line, each station is given a time slot of 115 seconds to complete the task assigned to them, after which the car moves forward to the next station. If at all any station fails to complete their job in the given time, the system automatically highlights that station in red, and sounds an alarm to alert the supervisor. If the problem is minor, it is fixed as soon as possible. If not, then that particular car is removed from the assembly line so that it doesn't affect the production level of the day. Volkswagen has developed ingenious tools and machines, to help make things easier for their employees. We went on to see the safety features installed in even the most low end Volkswagen cars. We observed padding at different impact points, in order to protect those inside the car. Coming to the end of the tour, they really made us want to buy one of their cars. For anyone contemplating on it, I'd definitely recommend it. After all, I've seen what's inside.

Before leaving, we were shown a short film about Volkswagen, and their reach in India, specifically their Pune plant, boasting of one of the most modern production lines and testing facilities in India. Under its massive roof, it rolls out premium cars, including Audi, Bentley, Ducati, etc. In order to do this, they maintain the highest levels of quality standards.

DBIT students and faculty at Volkswagen's Chakan plant

After the customary photo shoot, we finally got on our bus and started heading back. We'd traveled for more than 10 hours, for a tour that lasted a little more than 90 minutes. Was it worth it? Definitely. It is important for us, as young students to get out of our nutshell, and realize that there is a big wide world out there.

Technology doesn't need us. We need technology.

Technology will move on, with or without us. You can never really know enough, especially with computer based technology, for it is forever evolving. What we're learning today, is almost completely obsolete. It is up to us to stay up-to-date with the current day technologies.

Finally, I'd like to thank DBIT, and the ACM for giving us this opportunity. I look forward to many more eye opening industrial visits in the future.

I wrote this as a report to submit to the Computer Department for review.