PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, May 27: Tata Steel’s Jamshedpur plant has been recognised as the World Economic Forum’s Advanced 4th Industrial Revolution Lighthouse.
With this new milestone, the steel major is one of the few enterprises with three manufacturing sites in the Global Lighthouse network, with Kalinganagar Plant (India) and IJmuiden (the Netherlands) being the other two sites.
The award was presented to T. V. Narendran, CEO and MD, Tata Steel, at the recently held Global Lighthouse Network Dinner at the World Economic Forum in Davos by Enno De Boer, senior partner at McKinsey and Francisco Betti, head, Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing & Value Chains.
On the occasion, TV Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel, said, “It is a proud moment for all of us at Tata Steel as the Jamshedpur plant joins the prestigious Lighthouse Network of the World Economic Forum along with our IJmuiden plant in Europe and the Kalinganagar plant in Odisha. This recognition is a testimony to the effectiveness of the organisation’s investments in state-of-the-art equipment and leadership in the use of advanced technology and analytics to drive financial and operational impact, making Tata Steel plants among the most advanced steel plants globally.”
The Global Lighthouse Network is a community of production sites and other facilities that are world leaders in the adoption and integration of the cutting-edge technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
Lighthouses apply 4IR technologies such as artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and big data analytics to maximize efficiency and competitiveness at scale, transform business models and drive economic growth, while augmenting the workforce, protecting the environment, and contributing to a learning journey for all-sized manufacturers across all geographies and industries.
The Global Lighthouse Network is a World Economic Forum initiative in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, and the factories are chosen by an independent panel.
Tata Steel Jamshedpur’s journey from being Asia’s first integrated steel plant to be set up in 1907 to receiving this recognition is a testament to the company’s continuous improvement culture, its ability to embrace change and constantly be in sync with technological progress and focus on employee capability building.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Tata Steel leveraged its past investments in 4th industrial revolution technologies to ensure Covid appropriate behaviour in operational areas and business continuity during lockdowns while continuing to adopt new ways of working.
