In November 2017, we celebrated the 2nd anniversary of our Bangalore Engineering Centre. What started with 130 employees has grown immensely to include over 550 employees. Dr. Kurichi Kumar, Head of Engineering, takes a few moments to reflect on the progress of the Engineering Centre and look forward to the exciting future that lies ahead.
On the Bangalore Engineering Centre
What work is done at the Bangalore Engineering Centre?
Our Aerospace Engineering Centre in Bangalore focuses on providing engineering capability for new product design, development and manufacturing. The team also supports the service and repair engineering activities for the existing Rolls-Royce engine fleet. In a short span of two years, the team is making valuable contributions to the global team for new engine programmes such as Trent 7000, two Trent XWB variants, a variant of Trent 1000, and RB3043. Our ultimate objective is to develop a full engine design capability that can take on a new engine programme for India and the world.
Tell us about the journey and your priorities going forward.
The centre started in June 2015 as a green field site. Our team drew up a lean and robust recruitment strategy and in a short time span of just 15 months we recruited over 400 highly skilled engineers.
To effectively support our new employees we implemented a strong Learning & Development programme, focused on building core competencies. In total we supported 100,000 hours of class-room training during 2016 and 2017 for our engineers.
The newly formed teams hit the ground running and took up new and in-operation engine work very quickly. Currently the team is engaged in all of the Product Introduction and Lifecycle Management process (PILM) gate activities for various engine programmes. Notably, our team has also submitted several invention disclosures and five of them have been cleared for filing as patents. In another significant milestone, the centre was successfully accredited to Aerospace Standard AS9100; this enables all work delivered from the centre to satisfy all legal, safety, and regulatory requirements of the aerospace industry. These are a remarkable achievement by the team in such a short space of time.
As we continue to grow, our priority will be to focus on adding more value to engine projects and after-market service and sharpening our capability build-up. We aim to start our journey towards creating focused areas of excellence for certain activities. Another key priority will be to develop the skills and competencies of our people through our Talent Management initiative.
Did you face any challenges while achieving your growth objectives?
Any large initiative such as setting up a new capability from ground up experience teething troubles. However, the dedication of the team in Bangalore and the strong support from our leadership and functions throughout Rolls-Royce has made this project a success. As we are still in the growth stage, we do have few issues such as those associated with using a leading edge IT technology - Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), for carrying out our complex engineering work but these are all being addressed with great vigor and focus.
What do you see as the biggest accomplishments to date?
Our people are our power. The biggest accomplishment is creating and sustaining a diverse work environment and a motivated workforce of highly-skilled engineers and managers. Our people are passionate about adding value to the company’s engineering activities and we have been able to successfully roll-out the concept of High Performance Culture (HPC) training to accelerate the awareness and understanding of behavioral styles and how to use them effectively in the workplace. With our continued focus on embedding lean and continuous improvement and through these we have been able to contribute cost and man-hour savings.
On Culture and Leadership
You have built a High Performance Culture from the ground up. What has been your role in defining and driving it?
It’s crucial to establish a strong organisational culture right from the outset to ensure sustainable growth.
Other than my role to ensure that the centre adapts to the global technical capabilities of Rolls-Royce, I am also focussed on building and driving the right culture and casting the right shadow. This is possible by setting clear expectations, creating an environment of trust and transparency, encouraging employees' growth and development, being at the top of the accountability ladder and empowering the team to perform to their fullest potential. I am also a big believer of Lean culture and as a management team we have been able to create a Lean mind-set within our engineering teams here.
On Managing your Career and Recruitment
What excites you most about your job?
My favourite part is whenever I get to interact with the young talented engineers at the centre – listening to their issues, achievements and feedback gives me an insight into the pulse of the organisation. It also gives me a sense of purpose for my own role.
What has been your greatest professional achievement to date?
More than an achievement, I would call it an opportunity that was given to me by Rolls-Royce to set up this fantastic team in Bangalore. This has been immensely satisfying for me and is especially significant as I got to do this as my first job in my home country.
Apart from professional skills, what key qualities do you look for in engineering graduates while recruiting?
The two most important qualities I consider essential are the willingness for continuous learning and the ability to work with others.
What advice would you give to the next generation of professionals aspiring to join Rolls-Royce?
Be open to change and try and build more breadth in your capabilities, and above all, give 110% on everything you do. This is very important as the world and technology is changing so rapidly and if you don’t have the capability to adapt and learn, you will become irrelevant.