There is a strong rumour in the industry that Ganesh Mani S, who quit yesterday as Director (Production), Hyundai Motor India (HMI) is joining Ashok Leyland as COO, the position lying vacant after the incumbent Anuj Kathuria put in his papers on June 14, 2022.
Mani has been associated with Hyundai Motor India since December 2015. He had joined the OEM as Vice President and had risen through the ranks to become a Member of the OEM's Board of Directors in July 2020.
Previously, he worked with Maruti Suzuki India and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. He holds an MBA from the Management Development Institute, a fellowship from International Management Institute and a degree in Global Executive Programme from the Indian School of Business.
Stint At HMI
HMI has been making over 12 models with more than 300 internal variants. During his tenure, Mani was instrumental in establishing three sets of fool-proof mechanisms, enabling associates to assist on various other technological fronts and making the system not allow the operator even to deliberately commit a mistake.
He was also involved in deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) to guide the operator on everything he needs to carry out, including the bolt's sequence, torque level, etc. Besides, he was also instrumental in introducing Intelligent Weld Management System that has helped the company check the number of components, their thickness and the level of current and voltage requirements before every spot welding. These are essential as the car has parts made of metals of multiple tensile strengths.
During his tenure the company introduced Intelligent Vision Control Systems that helps monitor the operations and check whether the job is being done properly, ensuring quality and traceability. Besides, the company introduced the Smart Innovation and Automation Team (SIAT) to ensure errors do not creep into the system; it makes certain that the operator does not commit a mistake.
Moreover, he was actively involved in increasing the number of units manufactured per hour from 49 about six years ago to close to 70 now. Beginning with making one car every four minutes in 1998, the plant currently rolls out two cars every minute.
As Ashok Leyland is carving its own niche in multiple models of trucks through modularisation and buses with ICE powertrain and electric (through Switch Mobility), the company needs a strong and experienced hand to augment its robustness further, and hence Mani appears to be a suitable candidate.