Tata Motors’ Pimpri plant has a workforce of 1,500 women who assemble 240 units every day.
It’s a known fact that the Harrier and Safari have brought in high volumes for Tata Motors. However, what’s not known is that since February 2022, these SUVs are being assembled by an all-women crew.
- Harrier, Safari assembly line has all-women crew
- Tata also providing tech courses for undergraduate women employees
The all-women crew at Tata Motors has been instrumental in assembling the brand’s popular SUVs. The decision was taken in late 2021, and the first Tata SUV to roll out, assembled by all-women crew, was in February 2022. Since then, the workforce has gone up to 1,500 women in the assembly line of its Omega factory section, known as the TCF-2 (Trim Chassis Fitment 2) at the brand’s sprawling 900-acre plus Pimpri Plant near Pune.
This assembly line can currently assemble as many as 240 units of the Harrier and Safari every day, and has played a major part in enroling, educating and training women of multiple age groups and education backgrounds, thus, playing a major part in nation building.
“Most of the women workforce have joined our team after high school. They have been thoroughly trained to work on the assembly line, with some of them also undergoing a diploma course. Once they complete that, they also have a choice to pursue a degree course, which can prepare them to have a very different career path,” said Mohan Savarkar, vice president at Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited.
For common folk like us, the TCF-2 line looks like any other vehicle assembly line. However, Tata Motors has made multiple changes in order to make the line more women-friendly, like the weight of tools, for instance.
We had a chance to visit this facility recently and spoke to some of the crew. “The opportunities for women that are provided here by Tata Motors are not seen in many car manufacturing facilities anywhere else, the scope is incredible,” said one of the team members.
“Being a part of building not one, but two flagship SUVs for Tata motors is surely a proud moment for all of us,” said another. A senior crew member added, “Tata Motors has tweaked the tooling set-up for the women crew, especially for working on the underbody and the mechanicals, and the tools provided here are comparatively lightweight in order to help us.”
What does the TCF line do?
At the TCF assembly line, painted bodies of the Harrier and Safari SUVs, along with every single component on the SUV, including its interior and trim, electronic components, sensors, seats, controls, centre console and infotainment are installed by the all-women crew in multiple shifts.
Further on, the partially assembled units move for underbody installation before mechanical bits like the engine, transmission and suspension components are installed. The vehicle is then rolled out and sent for a shower test to check for any leaks. It then goes for multiple tests like roll and brake testing, wheel alignment, suspension and even headlamp leveling checks before it is dispatched to the dealer stockyards.
What’s next for Tata Motors SUV line-up?
Having recently updated its entire line-up to meet RDE compliance, Tata Motors is now readying a major update for the Nexon compact SUV. Further on, the brand will introduce the Curvv SUV and the Harrier EV in the coming years.