01-12-2008, 01:38 PM
Designer Girish Wagh: The whizkid who shaped Tata Nano
NEW DELHI: When he first joined Tata Motors 16 years ago, Girish Wagh had no idea he would one day head the companyâs now-legendary Rs 1-lakh car project. Although he was part of the Indica vendor development team in 1997, Wagh was actually reluctant to get into full-scale product design with the Ace.
He remembers how Tata Motors MD Ravi Kant hand-picked him for the job and convinced him that it was as important as the work he was doing with the companyâs excellence group. That was December 2000. The Ace rolled out in May 2005 and almost singlehandedly helped beat a recession in the commercial vehicle space.
Impressed by his ability to deliver under tight deadlines, chairman Ratan Tata and Ravi Kant decided to move Wagh to the small car project in August that year. Almost painfully media shy, the Nanoâs strobe-steroidal launch this week was one of Waghâs few public appearances.
A mechanical engineer from the Maharashtra Institute of Technology, which was followed by a post-graduate programme in manufacturing from Mumbai B-school SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, the 37-year-old Wagh has had a pretty dramatic career at Tata Motors.
But nothing comes near the Nano experience. Heading a 500-strong team, Waghâs biggest challenge was to define the productâs specifications as they went along.
âUnlike the Ace where we knew what the necessary specs were, in this project all we had was a cost target,â he says. âThat and the fact that it had to be a real car which met all the regulatory requirements.â
The small car team had already put in about 18 monthsâ work by the time Wagh came on board. The R&D team was in place and work was on to get a fix on the styling, packaging, engine and transmission. Because there were no guidelines, the team used the M-800 for comparison. âThe idea was that we had to achieve at least this much and more,â says Wagh.
âAs we went ahead, we redefined performance specs. As recently as nine months ago, we tweaked the engine to increase the power.â The team also decided to launch the car with a manual transmission instead of the earlier-announced continuously variable transmission (CVT).
The CVT will come but the first variants will have a four-speed manual. Widely known as one of Tata Motorsâ new bunch of engineering whiz kids, Wagh enjoys a formidable reputation in the company. A stickler for perfection and a hard taskmaster, Wagh is the first to admit that the Nano experiment had its own share of hiccups. Part of the problem was the constantly evolving design. His solution was to âleverage the collective knowledgeâ in the company.
In a somewhat hidebound company like Tata Motors thatâs never be easy. But then folks inside knew that this was no hypothetical project, the chairman had made it amply clear that he wanted it done. Ravi Kant also made sure the team was insulated from all these pressures. So by the time the project hit top-gear, âthe R&D team, vendor development team and manufacturing team were all working together,â says Wagh.
Design would come up with a concept and the rest of the teams pitched in with components and aggregates. âIt was a melting pot of ideas,â he says. To bring some homogeneity of ideas to what Wagh calls âconcurrent engineering in real time,â the company top brass decided to involve the vendors very early on.
But convincing the vendors was only part of the challenge. The bigger issue was to constantly face the technical challenges that the project threw up. Wagh rattles off several instances when the team had to pick everyoneâs brain to come up with âsmart engineering solutions.â
For instance, putting the engine in the rear meant more spacious insides but it also meant the rear axle weight was more than the front. Result: handling issues. The team sorted that out by moving some aggregates to the front, tuning the McPherson strut in the front axle and tweaking the tyres developed by MRF.
That innovation is crucial, says another local auto CEO. The tall boy design also has higher centre of gravity which needs to be balanced. The Nano team did that by placing the battery and spare wheel in the bonnet. Wagh says at every step, things had to be done by trial and error because the project was challenging all traditional auto engineering concepts. âWe were using smart engineering to cut both cost and vehicle weight,â he says. âBut a smaller displacement engine and two cylinders meant not enough power so we had to reconfigure the engine capacity.â
Even the Nanoâs now widely-admired looks went through some evolution. At the prototype stage, the design and style did not pass muster with Ratan Tata. The team responded by increasing the length by 100 mm in the front. âThat also improved crash performance,â says Wagh.
And it got a thumbs up from RNT. Because all experiments were âphysicalâ, nearly everything went through continuous nip and tucks. The floor panel changed 10 times to meet noise, vibration and stiffness requirements. The dashboard and seats too went through an equal number of modifications. Wagh credits his team with both passion and resilience, two qualities that helped cut the mental fatigue of redoing something over and over again. âNo design engineer likes alterations because they are painful,â he admits.
The reason the Nano team managed so well was because itâs a nice mix of people, some passionate about cars, others non-auto engineers, of all age groups. That diversity helped. The auto requirements were the boundaries and were set by the gasoline geeks.
The others challenged everything within that parametre. Wagh himself wanted varied inputs. So the team involved people from other lines and projects, including the operatives who make prototypes. âThey gave some excellent inputs to reduce parts and complexity,â he adds.
In the end, though, it was Tataâs dream that fired everyone on, including him. RNT was personally involved with the project, would spend time with the engineers and check the prototypes minutely. That meant the whole team was firing on all cylinders. âThey knew they were doing it for him,â says Wagh.
That may sound easy but the ability to take inclusive decisions without losing the way is a tough call. No wonder, Tata himself is more than generous in his praise for Wagh. âGirish is a terrific guy and has displayed enormous leadership qualities,â he said, just after the Nano launch.
âHe takes over a responsibility and sees it through.â Of course, âno one is indispensible and Telco did go through many years of innovation without a Girish Wagh. Thereâs a terrific spirit in the company and we try to identify, motivate and empower that spirit. Girish is part of that process,â he said.
Now that the peopleâs car has been unveiled, Waghâs challenges are hardly over. Tata Motors must prove that the seemingly incredible design specs hold up at the manufacturing stage too. Product quality needs to be consistent too, something the firm isnât well known for. Although Wagh wouldnât say, insiders say enough quality assurance systems have to be put in place at the upcoming Singur plant.
But Thursdayâs high-voltage launch at the AutoExpo will no doubt ensure that Waghâs career gets another turbo-charge. If the Nano manages a similar product record, it could make the self-effacing Wagh one of Indiaâs most sought after auto engineering brains.
Indiaâs growing importance as an ultra low-cost auto engineering hub means people like him will call the shots in the next phase of growth. For Wagh, the future is here and now.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/N...243,curpg-3.cms
NEW DELHI: When he first joined Tata Motors 16 years ago, Girish Wagh had no idea he would one day head the companyâs now-legendary Rs 1-lakh car project. Although he was part of the Indica vendor development team in 1997, Wagh was actually reluctant to get into full-scale product design with the Ace.
He remembers how Tata Motors MD Ravi Kant hand-picked him for the job and convinced him that it was as important as the work he was doing with the companyâs excellence group. That was December 2000. The Ace rolled out in May 2005 and almost singlehandedly helped beat a recession in the commercial vehicle space.
Impressed by his ability to deliver under tight deadlines, chairman Ratan Tata and Ravi Kant decided to move Wagh to the small car project in August that year. Almost painfully media shy, the Nanoâs strobe-steroidal launch this week was one of Waghâs few public appearances.
A mechanical engineer from the Maharashtra Institute of Technology, which was followed by a post-graduate programme in manufacturing from Mumbai B-school SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, the 37-year-old Wagh has had a pretty dramatic career at Tata Motors.
But nothing comes near the Nano experience. Heading a 500-strong team, Waghâs biggest challenge was to define the productâs specifications as they went along.
âUnlike the Ace where we knew what the necessary specs were, in this project all we had was a cost target,â he says. âThat and the fact that it had to be a real car which met all the regulatory requirements.â
The small car team had already put in about 18 monthsâ work by the time Wagh came on board. The R&D team was in place and work was on to get a fix on the styling, packaging, engine and transmission. Because there were no guidelines, the team used the M-800 for comparison. âThe idea was that we had to achieve at least this much and more,â says Wagh.
âAs we went ahead, we redefined performance specs. As recently as nine months ago, we tweaked the engine to increase the power.â The team also decided to launch the car with a manual transmission instead of the earlier-announced continuously variable transmission (CVT).
The CVT will come but the first variants will have a four-speed manual. Widely known as one of Tata Motorsâ new bunch of engineering whiz kids, Wagh enjoys a formidable reputation in the company. A stickler for perfection and a hard taskmaster, Wagh is the first to admit that the Nano experiment had its own share of hiccups. Part of the problem was the constantly evolving design. His solution was to âleverage the collective knowledgeâ in the company.
In a somewhat hidebound company like Tata Motors thatâs never be easy. But then folks inside knew that this was no hypothetical project, the chairman had made it amply clear that he wanted it done. Ravi Kant also made sure the team was insulated from all these pressures. So by the time the project hit top-gear, âthe R&D team, vendor development team and manufacturing team were all working together,â says Wagh.
Design would come up with a concept and the rest of the teams pitched in with components and aggregates. âIt was a melting pot of ideas,â he says. To bring some homogeneity of ideas to what Wagh calls âconcurrent engineering in real time,â the company top brass decided to involve the vendors very early on.
But convincing the vendors was only part of the challenge. The bigger issue was to constantly face the technical challenges that the project threw up. Wagh rattles off several instances when the team had to pick everyoneâs brain to come up with âsmart engineering solutions.â
For instance, putting the engine in the rear meant more spacious insides but it also meant the rear axle weight was more than the front. Result: handling issues. The team sorted that out by moving some aggregates to the front, tuning the McPherson strut in the front axle and tweaking the tyres developed by MRF.
That innovation is crucial, says another local auto CEO. The tall boy design also has higher centre of gravity which needs to be balanced. The Nano team did that by placing the battery and spare wheel in the bonnet. Wagh says at every step, things had to be done by trial and error because the project was challenging all traditional auto engineering concepts. âWe were using smart engineering to cut both cost and vehicle weight,â he says. âBut a smaller displacement engine and two cylinders meant not enough power so we had to reconfigure the engine capacity.â
Even the Nanoâs now widely-admired looks went through some evolution. At the prototype stage, the design and style did not pass muster with Ratan Tata. The team responded by increasing the length by 100 mm in the front. âThat also improved crash performance,â says Wagh.
And it got a thumbs up from RNT. Because all experiments were âphysicalâ, nearly everything went through continuous nip and tucks. The floor panel changed 10 times to meet noise, vibration and stiffness requirements. The dashboard and seats too went through an equal number of modifications. Wagh credits his team with both passion and resilience, two qualities that helped cut the mental fatigue of redoing something over and over again. âNo design engineer likes alterations because they are painful,â he admits.
The reason the Nano team managed so well was because itâs a nice mix of people, some passionate about cars, others non-auto engineers, of all age groups. That diversity helped. The auto requirements were the boundaries and were set by the gasoline geeks.
The others challenged everything within that parametre. Wagh himself wanted varied inputs. So the team involved people from other lines and projects, including the operatives who make prototypes. âThey gave some excellent inputs to reduce parts and complexity,â he adds.
In the end, though, it was Tataâs dream that fired everyone on, including him. RNT was personally involved with the project, would spend time with the engineers and check the prototypes minutely. That meant the whole team was firing on all cylinders. âThey knew they were doing it for him,â says Wagh.
That may sound easy but the ability to take inclusive decisions without losing the way is a tough call. No wonder, Tata himself is more than generous in his praise for Wagh. âGirish is a terrific guy and has displayed enormous leadership qualities,â he said, just after the Nano launch.
âHe takes over a responsibility and sees it through.â Of course, âno one is indispensible and Telco did go through many years of innovation without a Girish Wagh. Thereâs a terrific spirit in the company and we try to identify, motivate and empower that spirit. Girish is part of that process,â he said.
Now that the peopleâs car has been unveiled, Waghâs challenges are hardly over. Tata Motors must prove that the seemingly incredible design specs hold up at the manufacturing stage too. Product quality needs to be consistent too, something the firm isnât well known for. Although Wagh wouldnât say, insiders say enough quality assurance systems have to be put in place at the upcoming Singur plant.
But Thursdayâs high-voltage launch at the AutoExpo will no doubt ensure that Waghâs career gets another turbo-charge. If the Nano manages a similar product record, it could make the self-effacing Wagh one of Indiaâs most sought after auto engineering brains.
Indiaâs growing importance as an ultra low-cost auto engineering hub means people like him will call the shots in the next phase of growth. For Wagh, the future is here and now.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/N...243,curpg-3.cms