Revolutionising smartphone manufacturing

Understanding the potential of the Indian subcontinent and the government’s vision and dedication to “Make in India,” OPPO set up—what has come to be known— one of the most sophisticated super factories for smartphone manufacturing in India. It is, however, impossible to speak of mega factories and not shine a light on the powerhouse behind this successful venture—it’s 10,000 workforce that unite from all walks of life for a single purpose. That of excellence and innovation and building smartphones of the future. To understand the systemic clockwork of this mega force, we go behind the scenes to take a sneak peak into the lives and opportunities of OPPO employees. These are their stories.

Built on a whopping 110 acres in North India, the mega factory is equipped with cutting edge, state-of-the-art technology, with perfectly synced processes between Assembly, SMT (Surface Mount Technology), Storage, and Supply Warehouse that churn one smartphone every 3 seconds. The super-machines at the SMT section have the capacity to hold 37000 micro components per hour, adding to the production efficiency. Irrespective of how complex a PCB is, through the advanced technology the team can complete one Printed Circuit Board Assembly or PCBA in a mere 6.25 seconds. Although for OPPO India, creating job opportunities was just half the battle. To successfully run mega factories, apart from the monetary investment, there’s extensive training that’s skilling the workforce to use best-in-class technology, creating a cohesive process and above all investing in those who are at the core of this massive operation.

Giving immense importance to training, each employee at the plant undergoes a rigorous training schedule, be it for high precision 3D inspection machines (AOI), screen colour calibration equipment, innovative camera calibration machines, finger Print calibration and testing equipment or the Antenna 5G test. Spread across the floor, each person on the plant has a role that’s driven towards creating a smartphone that’s nothing short of a piece of art. Don’t believe it? Here are their stories.

Says Narendra Singh Yadav, Manager SMT Floor, “We train people for a month, teach them the work, then conduct an exam, once they are ready and have cleared the examination, only then are they sent to the assembly line.”

Elaborating on the intense quality checks, Umesh Sharma, Production Manager says, “Without teamwork a smartphone cannot be made. Quality is of utmost importance to us, we ensure that every device is of the best quality. If there is any issue in the production line, all of us personally look into it and ensure that the products do not get compromised on quality. Our targets are defined, we know when to finish and when to dispatch the unit to the warehouse.”

Highlighting the precision with which they function, Satish Kumar, Warehouse Manager adds, “We have 1.2M smartphone parts at a given point at the warehouse. We have a system in place at the warehouse, we have a software, which in case of a shortage in the assembly, inform us immediately. We then send out that part and the correct part is approved by the system.”

Adds Manoj Chaudhary, Assistant Engineer, Quality Checking, “Total 25 items are checked at our station, we do visual and function inspection. To check 25 items, I am given 300 seconds. After the device are checked by the machine, we then conduct a manual check.”

Lastly Subhash Viswakarma, SMT Worker concludes with a sense of pride and gratitude adding, “The uniform makes me feel proud, we do a kind of work that others are not equipped to do, it is unique, and we get this opportunity. My work is related to feeder reels, I combine reels. We combine the reels that make the PCB (Printed Circuit Board). If a wrong component is inserted, it will adversely affect the production timeline. This job has opened up unimaginable opportunities and avenues for me.”