Maruti Suzuki India : unique DOJO way of skill training and enhancement

New Delhi: In the pursuit of giving uncompromising quality to its customers, Maruti Suzuki India Limited targets to help set up skill training and enhancement centres at its over 400 vendors by 2020. These skill training facilities, christened DOJO centres, are training grounds for fresh workmen and re-skilling for existing workforce. DOJO centres replicate exact working conditions as inside a shop floor, so that the worker feels at ease when he joins work after his training.

The word DOJO means 'a place of the way' in Japanese. In other words, DOJO is a place to train in martial arts. In manufacturing parlance, a DOJO centre serves as a workshop that helps in skilling, re-skilling and right skilling workers. These centres help to acclimatize professionals and thoroughly preparing them, especially new workforce before they join work on the shop floor at manufacturing plants.

Commenting on the unique initiative, Mr A K Tomer, Executive Director (Corporate Planning), Maruti Suzuki said, 'To meet the ever evolving customer expectations, ensuring quality at vendor-end is critical. To help achieve this, Maruti Suzuki has institutionalized the concept of DOJO Centre to be set up at our partners' facilities. By 2020, our over 400 tier-I partners will have DOJO centres. These state-of-the-art centres develop skills in areas of Quality, Safety and Productivity. This effort is to bring global quality standards and complement the Make in India initiative.'

Maruti Suzuki has institutionalised the DOJO Centre facilities. The Company helps with the concept, while the partners make the investment towards setting up of the skill training and enhancement facility. Ideally, a new worker is trained for upto 2-weeks before he joins the shop floor. An assessment test is conducted at the end of the training, and only qualified workers are sent to the shop floor.

Re-skilling of existing workforce is also undertaken at DOJO Centres to refresh manufacturing concepts and educate them about technological advancements. The DOJO centre also provides both theory and practical lessons in basic concepts of manufacturing apart from a brief overview of the company. Knowledge about the company helps the worker stay connected with the company. The main thrust of DOJO training remains on on-job training, while inculcating a safety culture.

Click here for hi-resolution images of DOJO Centre: https://www.flickr.com/photos/126049010@N03/sets/72157696027687261