WOMEN SPECIAL...All Women Plant in TN Bears Fruit for Kirloskar

All Women Plant in TN Bears Fruit for Kirloskar  Clients specifically ask for pumps made at women-run unit RV Raj Kuumar, head of the award-winning Kirloskar pump factory in Coimbatore where all manufacturing is done by women, has many irons in the fire. But these days, he devotes most of his energy replacing the few men at the plant with those from the opposite sex. Including himself. “I am trying to find a replacement for myself,” said Kuumar, 44, whose designation is ‘divisional head-manufacturing’. He is among the 20 men employed by Kirloskar at the plant—the others include two drivers, persons doing the loading and unloading of stock, and some office staff. “Very soon you will see 100% women here,” he said. “We are looking for women drivers and conductors to ply our buses. We will be putting out advertisements soon.” He said there are plans to buy fork lifts and other similar contrivances for the loading and unloading—they will be operated by women. The men will be given jobs at other facilities. The plant was set up in 2011 by the 125-year-old Kirloskar Brothers as an “experiment” on a 4-acre plot at a cost of . 11 crore. It now employs about 70 women who assemble one pump every 20 seconds. Sanjay Kirloskar, chairman and managing director of Kirloskar Brothers, said the plant makes 20,000-25,000 pumps a month, and the quality of output is of such high standard that customers are now specifically asking for pumps manufactured at the Coimbatore plant. Pumps made here are also exported to Nepal and South Africa. “Even at home, it is the woman who decides which pump to buy. They want a pump that does not fail and is reliable,” said Kirloskar. “We know if the pump fails, some lady or young girl in the house—thanks to the way our society is—has to go and fetch water. ” High Attrition Rate a Problem “We told our ladies that if you make anything that fails, someone like you will have a problem,” Kirloskar said. The rejection rate at the Coimbatore plant, which makes about 11 variants of domestic pumps and five kinds of irrigation pumps priced from . 1,800 to . 5,000 each, is a miniscule 0.1%. Kirloskar said in the past 20 months, only eight pumps have had quality problems, a success rate that has fetched it many awards, including the eighth Kaizen Competition award from the Quality Circle Forum of India. “Having women employees has helped increase in productivity and also churned out good quality products. I am not saying men don’t do it, but women are always extra cautious,” said Kuumar. But the plant has its own problems. The attrition rate is about 15-20%, especially with the earlier batches, and absenteeism is high. “Women have to stay back at home if their husbands or kids are not well,” said Kuumar, who pointed out that the rate of attrition is falling and there is enough talent coming in to replace those leaving. “In case they get married, they have to move to other places. When you have women employees, these things are unavoidable.”

SANGEETHA KANDAVEL & MITUL THAKKAR ET130405