10 Oct

Vijay Sampath: We’ve been watching all the great stuff that is happening at Wipro infrastructure and we felt that it is most appropriate that we should talk to you about the future of high-tech engineering. As you know, our feature on core engineering jobs is looking at how bright the future of core engineering is and what are the latest developments that young engineers should take note of so that they can build bright futures. So we thought we’ll take your valuable inputs on this framework of core engineering and maybe start first by checking with you as to how, what do you see as core engineering roles in mechanical, chemical, electronics and so on.

Pratik Kumar: So first of all, Vijay, thanks and we’re to be engaging on a subject which is increasingly becoming more important, keeping in view the renewed focus on manufacturing in the country and we keep reading about so much of investment being done in the sector and then obviously, the question which comes up is that where are some of these opportunities likely to be? In what form and what shape? And how’s it likely to be different from whatever we have actually seen in the past in experience? And I think therefore the question which you put forth becomes relevant is there’s so much which is happening around.

So first and foremost is that engineering in the classic sense, the way we understood at one point in time — you come from a civil background, you come from a mechanical background, you come from an electronics background and then if you’re lucky, you get into a domain which is ending up using your engineering knowledge in the domain investments by way of education and all. Very often we see in India, at least, that’s not the case. I people could be be graduating in any branch or discipline of engineering and would end up actually having a career which is entirely different. But that’s largely to do with how well the opportunities have actually been built up over a period of time and where people thought that, you know, it would be a good place to actually invest their future careers to be.

The thing, the shift which we are seeing and, here the key enablers, Vijay, has been that, and there’s no one particular discipline, it’s a cross discipline across sectors that there’s a big wave of, for lack of a better term, the digital transformation which is taking place. And I think no one, either in our own personal lives or in organizational life, anyone is untouched.

For a long time, Indian industries have shied away because the conventional view that the labor is cheap. So we have not actually looked at automation, which again is significantly coming in a big way. So what is the implication of it? I’m seeing it in my own organization as well that there is a lot of interdisciplinary dependence, which was earlier not there. So just being very, very unifocal in just knowing my domain is not good enough.

And some of these technologies are very, very pervasive. So each of the discipline will sit at the intersection of what’s happening through this digital transformation and automation. Therefore, what’s likely to actually happen because of that, the nature of engineering is likely to become more data-driven for sure. It will be more precise and accurate. It is also likely to be more transparent. And to that extent, you will see the gains of it as well. I mean, it’s more in terms of how it drives competitiveness in the organization, either on the cost front or from a productivity standpoint, or even in terms of just the quality benchmarks and standards, which were difficult to be achieved earlier. So I think just the shape of what the output can be through the same knowledge of engineering going forward could be significantly different from whatever we have been able to just because of the limitations around experience in the past.

Watch the full interview below or on YouTube:

Vijay Sampath: So what you’re saying is I take out the word interdisciplinary as being a key word or phrase that’s coming out, which is linked to the digital transformation of society at large, not just engineering and the impact of that digital transformation on engineering roles is the next question that I put to you. So are there any very specific use cases which are more relevant like AI or IoT or robotics where core engineering roles will need to pay more attention to? Would you say that it’s all pervading or there are some specific use cases which are more important than the others?

Pratik Kumar: If I have to look at in terms of the use cases which we are referring to in any of the roles, let’s say if I have a supply chain manager. Today, the extent of visibility and the transparency that person is able to actually get, just because of the AI looking into your entire supply chain and therefore to be able to establish what kind of inventory which I need to be holding. So that’s one example.

My sales team able to project more accurately based on data sets and establishing the correlation. So for instance, if we have a hydraulic business, just giving you an example, to be able to accurately forecast what the demand is likely to be based on very discrete set of data, which is correlated and we study that pattern over a period of time. So if you’re able to get your, in our kind of businesses and more so in the core engineering, heavy engineering side it gets very seasonal. So what happens is that, you you have a certain forecast you work on, suddenly you find that the volumes will collapse. So as a result of that, you could be sitting on huge inventory, right? And therefore, you know, it has its own, it comes along with its own pinpoints. In a manufacturing processes itself, you know, how do we actually extend the two lives of our equipments?

Just in a very simple term, I have to explain, we look at in terms of what is the spindle load? What is the kind of power it actually consumes? And then able to accurately predict how long this tool is likely to survive and how we can actually optimize it. Preventive maintenance is a big area. I mean, think about it — much of what we end up doing is when something has actually failed.

But if you were able to actually predict before that there is a likely failure which is going to happen based on this each set of data and you’re able to address it before it can actually be of immense saving. In India too, now we are seeing increasingly the visual, just monitoring quality control detection. So there are huge numbers. And my personal view, and I’ll just stop there, is that I think we are barely scratching the surface as we speak.

The potential is huge. And the reason I say that we barely scratching the surface is because of the journey. The larger companies are able to, it largely depends on in terms of the nature of the sector, as well as the size of the companies where they’re able to use AI, ML, and some of the more recent trends and its application in an engineering environment more effectively. But every day I actually get to hear from our team new use case and its application which will have a significant gain and benefit for the businesses as we go forward, I’m absolutely convinced.

Vijay Sampath: So that’s very promising. You’re essentially leading on to what was traditionally called Industry 4.0 debate where every part of the industry value chain has been significantly impacted positively by these developers. So that automatically brings us to the next topic that how do you see Indian engineers faring in comparison or in respect to the global scenario because you are also a very global company, you own companies and operations all around the world. So how do you see Indian engineers faring in respect to their ability to adapt and get ahead with this interdisciplinary challenge. And more importantly, what do you see are their strengths that they already have and where you think they can do better when it comes to the very innovative and problem solving approach required in this model of engineering. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Pratik Kumar: Yeah, I know. This is something which we internally discuss at length. So let me preface my response by dwelling on a phenomenon which all of us are aware of. If you look at the last two and a half decades, Vijay, where have you seen growth in the Indian industries largely been on the IT side, right? And that story is well established. We have seen the trend changing and thankfully we are seeing, you know, for a variety of reasons.

One of course is that the whole geopolitical shift, which we are beginning to see where for long now China has stood out as the beacon and the example of large scale volume manufacturing and advanced manufacturing, if I may. For reasons which are known to all of us. Companies globally, they see that as a relatively risky strategy. So they are obviously looking at whether there are other countries and India actually pose some extremely good opportunities for people to invest here. A) our domestic market itself is huge, right from a consumption standpoint. The cost points, while we may not entirely be there compared to some of our own Asian competition, but significantly, more beneficial than many other countries in the West. So that again is a great opportunity for them.

And I think therefore, companies are looking for both to be able to address the large burgeoning Indian market which continues to actually grow and Indians like to spend. Therefore, it’s no surprise that so many companies are establishing their base.

And the second phenomenon really is that they are using this as a base for making exports globally. Why were they doing it, Vijay, is because from cost point of view, it is beneficial. And from a quality benchmark standpoint also, things have actually increased. So that’s a little long preface to coming to the Indian engineers and where they fall short or not and what are some of the things where they outshine others.

Just one element before that, our curriculum as in the past has also not helped. The focus on just the practical training, despite all the good intentions, was very limited. From whatever we know anecdotally of experiences of the generations today who actually go overseas for their engineering education and all, it’s a huge emphasis on getting that exposure. In India too, it’s happening, but the extent and the depth and the seriousness with it should be, I think there is still some distance for us to go.

Now, as the companies are investing, the employees are seeing newer opportunities, the global companies, you become part of the global talent pool, and many of them are actually finding opportunities, which is taking them right across. And toe to toe, they’re doing as well. And the reason, therefore, is no surprise because, they’re extremely hardworking. That remains to be part of their work ethos, which is very intact. Reasonably hungry and part of that hunger is that we almost feel that we are in a catch-up mode. I mean, you look at the past couple of decades and people think that time is now for us to be able to just move forward. And by and large, think we as Indians are quick learners. So we adapt quickly and we get adjusted to new environment quickly. So all in all, I feel very positive that the next decade or so will be fairly defining for the manufacturing sector as well as bright young minds who are coming into the manufacturing side.

Vijay Sampath: So if I may just ask you a further question on the young minds or the not so young minds who are already in the sector, people who have spent three, five, six, seven years, do they have to make some changes to adapt to this? And are there a couple of points you’d like to make on what kind of changes they need? Do you think they have already adapted?

Pratik Kumar: No, I mean, I know I think it’s a great question and it actually doesn’t mainly stop only at the people who are getting fresh into the profession or those who have been there a little longer or for many of us who have actually seen a little more of corporate life. I think each day we have to keep asking ourselves whether we are keeping ourselves relevant or not.

And it goes back to the point which I was actually sharing with you, Vijay. I mean, unless and until, you know, I have appreciation of, I mean, I may not be an expert, but until and unless I have a decent level of appreciation of any of these emerging technologies and be able to have a fair sense how it can actually influence in a positive way my business, I will be missing out on opportunity. So there’s a great amount of relearning which is required, which is necessary. And that investment has to be made both on the part of the organization and there’s a realization which has to be at our own individual level to continue to invest, keep ahead of the emerging trends, be able to find time to be able to get deeper and also it’s a message to academia to be able to tie in more tightly with what’s visible ahead and build it into the curriculum as well.

So it’s a tall ask, I think once we see the opportunities the way it’s unfolding, my hope is that the people will do what is needed to not miss this opportunity.

Vijay Sampath: So since you’ve addressed the point about how there is potential and for India to be a global hub for manufacturing and talked about how this is really our time has come. How would you look at Wipro Infrastructure Engineering contributing to this vision of becoming a global manufacturing and engineering powerhouse? What are your thoughts on that?

Pratik Kumar: You know, just as a background Vijay, which you may be aware for your listeners, you know, I may just take a minute to just share. So we have a very well diversified portfolio of companies. I mean, we are in hydraulics systems, which was a company with which we started in manufacturing several decades back. We are into automation with a fairly large, large global footprints. We are into aerospace. We are into 3D printing, additive manufacturing. We are also into water treatment, that is. Each of these businesses are fairly global. So we have about 22 manufacturing plants globally across. We have about nine of those which are in India. And what we try and do is that we incorporate all our past learning into every time we go in for any capacity expansion or a new manufacturing plant be it in terms of enhanced safety standards, be it in terms of advanced technologies, be it in terms of that complying with the global expectations related to sustainability, is something which is actually inbuilt into the design. And what’s interesting is that our plants which are in India are not only globally benchmarked, but I would personally actually rate many of these to be actually better than what we have in some of the other geographies as well. And for us it’s necessary because our promise to our customer is that we will establish to address their needs. We will mirror the manufacturing footprints of our global customers irrespective of the geography they are in. So if they are in South America, they are in America, they are in Europe, other places. And what we offer them is our know-how, knowledge of the global supply chain, the manufacturing excellence, which we bring through what I just now shared. That getting reflected in our product in terms of that being of the best quality standards, being reliable, and also cost effective as well. And to be able to get there, this may just appear as wishlist of any manufacturing unit, what enables us is to constantly keep looking at many of these emerging areas and technologies and being able to marry those in our manufacturing processes and systems.

Vijay Sampath: Excellent. So, it would be a lot of people would be interested to know about some of the very, very cutting edge things that are happening and your organization. Being able to use those technologies such as additive manufacturing, robotics. Could you talk about some of the very cutting edge things that you are involved in just so that everybody may get a good buzz about it and maybe some more.

Pratik Kumar: I would love to, but let me, you know, I know that the paucity of time may not be permitting me to actually look at each of these sectors, but let me just give you some quick examples.

To me, additive manufacturing, as you mentioned, is still nascent and emerging as an industry segment. But according to me, it is going to be a clear disruptor as far as manufacturing is concerned. mean, just think of wherever you have that very intense design complexity, which conventionally you cannot actually have a part which can get manufactured. So think about, you know, I have this phone of mine, right. It doesn’t appear to be very complex. But you have your, you know, the various hundreds of components which are actually inside. As long as there’s a design simplicity, conventional manufacturing at volume can actually get done. But if the design is extremely complex, it cannot. So additive manufacturing today, whether it is, you know, being able to actually send many of the parts which are going to on satellites going into space, we partner very closely along with the space research organizations and others. I can’t actually dwell more specifically.

One is just on the additive manufacturing is also, does it do? So, of course, what can conventionally take from the time you actually prototype to actual manufacturing of that product? It can take you almost, suppose, six months. Here you can actually reduce it to, I’m not kind of overstating in about six days, you can effectively come out with a functional product which can actually go on to an equipment and as strong as what could have got done. So the cost points are still not there, what you would expect, but it will gradually actually get there.

Let me quickly steer myself to automation for instance. So we all aware of the big shift which is taking place in automotive where the big move towards electric vehicles. So the whole battery cell manufacturing, packaging, because that really is the heart of electric vehicle. And for you to be able to put that together, it requires a very precise level of automation. And we bring in that know-how. We actually work with all the large global automotive majors either based out of Detroit or based out of Germany or based out of India. And it’s extremely exciting, you know, the kind of work which is happening in India too, there’s a huge focus on localization and that can only take place if we are able to, the Indian companies are being able to step up.

Let me give you a quick, another example with that I’ll close. We are aware of this big push on, you know, even the phone and many of the large phone manufacturers shifting to India in terms of the assembly of their models, right? And obviously I’m not being specific here in terms of the brands, but one of their impediment is that the supply chain is yet not ready. If they were having it in Vietnam or China or any of those places, those supply chain has been ready. So the push is to be able to make sure that how the supply chain can actually come up and step up to the same volume, same speed, same efficiency, same cost competitiveness, same quality, and be able to actually produce that scale and volume. There too, we bring in our know-how, we bring in special purpose machines which can actually help them in being able to address some of those requirements. So it just feels like we are in exciting times, this is not something which is exclusive only to us. I manufacturing itself is entering into a phase where the next decade or so is going to be very defining for the sector, what gets done there. The government is trying its own bit in terms of trying to also extend incentives for people to make those investments, to be able to have lesser dependency on imports and create more incentive structure for people to take that leap of faith, which where folks have been hesitant so far.

Vijay Sampath: So you’ve given a snapshot of some of the cutting edge technologies and how they’re evolving. So that should probably bring us to the last segment of our conversation, which is probably for you to tell us what do you look for in talented engineers who are not just fresh, but people who are already in the system. What is your message to them in terms of evolving and growing and making great careers with all the opportunities that we just discussed coming up?

Pratik Kumar: No, so think, you know, for me, that doesn’t change at any stage. More so for our young engineers coming. I think they are extremely fortunate stepping into the industry at a time where the richness of learning is so immense. The opportunity for them to just spread across, combine those learning and be able to fold into what they can bring onto the work is phenomenal. So, they should be eager, they should be curious, they should have that appetite to be in continual mode of learning and learning doesn’t stop. In fact, from the time they actually enter the organization, it’s just another phase where they have to just restart and just open their minds to fresh new learning triggers. So that’s the second element. Third, is for you to be able to be comfortable, to lean across other functions, other disciplines, and learn from wherever the learning can actually come from. Right? So I think that’s also essential, which goes back to the original point of discussion where we’re saying that it’s going to be interdisciplinary. I mean, we have only talked about engineering disciplines, but if you look at globally across, I mean, I know of several of my friends and colleagues and their children who as a part of their own education, not so much here where they have actually had as many courses in liberal arts and others combining along with in terms of engineering.

Vijay Sampath: That’s true. That’s true. But I wanted to just, you know, ask pause here and ask you a question. What about, mean, especially I’m talking of people who are three, five, seven years into the system. Is there something different that they have to do or is the same set of rules applied to them?

Pratik Kumar: No, I think, you know, you have to, you cannot actually shy away from the newer technologies we actually spoke about. And you cannot actually just cocoon yourself to say that, look, let me just remain focused on what I’ve been doing. Because I mean, you are on a treadmill and things are moving. And if you remain to be where you are, the speed of the acceleration of it will actually continue. So you have to be, my urge therefore would be for them to be able to open themselves up to embrace some of the newer technologies and be able to see its application in their own roles and functions. And I can assure you, there is not a single role or function which will not benefit from that learning. Whether you are in sales, whether you’re in service, whether you are in manufacturing, whether you’re in quality control, whether you’re in maintenance, each of these areas, with thoughtful application, you could actually make your own learning, your own output, lot more rich, lot more significant, not only for yourself, but for your larger team members as well.

Vijay Sampath: Great. That’s very valuable. you’re putting, you’re sort of balancing the onus of learning both on the organization and the individual. I think both have to do it together and nd just one of them doing it is not enough. So that brings us to the end of our very interesting conversation where you us through many facets of how the core engineering role and how manufacturing and engineering in India and the globe is changing. And it was nice to hear your comments and views on the positive elements and some of the challenges.

So I think I would like to thank you for your time and if there were any last words that or famous last words that you would like to leave us with which every engineer and every other listener of this podcast can take back that would be nice.

Pratik Kumar: I’m maybe just repeating it in another manner I mean there couldn’t have been a better time to be in this profession.

Vijay Sampath: That’s a very short, sweet and very auditing motivational statement and I hope it will stay with it and probably people can take that if nothing else from this conversation. So thank you Pratik, it was lovely having you with us and look forward to maybe another session or to some other time with you on other topics of interest to our working professional community. Thank you.

Pratik Kumar: Thanks again. Enjoy the conversation and all the best.