Stunningly real dead men
It is fashionable to have an innovation centre or an innovation fund these days. Especially for companies which are low on innovation and incapable of disruption. The reality is large companies need quarter on quarter results and innovation brings in both uncertainty and risk.
I was in Hazira yesterday. After wading through a day of floods and waist high water around Surat railway station, I got to visit the famous threesome – Reliance, L&T and Arcelor Mittal (erstwhile Essar Steel). Reliance is a petrochemical process plant whereas arcelor nippon steel is an old world steel plant. The one I was really looking forward to visiting was L&T. This is the company that makes nuclear reactors, nuclear fusion (not fission) equipment and massive process equipment ranging from petrochemical reactors to chemical vapour deposition machines.
L&T did surprise me very positively.
Especially a collection of mannequins.
L&T has a centre for innovation in safety. I must admit it was a first for me. Why do you need innovation here ?? And is L&T in the business of safety equipment sale.
My doubts were quickly put at rest by the team at the centre. Ms Chauhan and Mr Amit took us through a well rehearsed tour of the massive centre. Their mission was to develop or deploy innovations that would help reduce the rate of accidents in industry – not just in L&T but in all industries. And they ran safety courses and innovation workshops not just for in-house purposes but also for other industry.
The most impressive part was their collection of stunningly real looking mannequins imported from Japan. One of them had IOTs all over and was connected to a large display. A person could give the mannequin CPR (cardiac resuscitation) and the screen would tell you if it was done right or not.
Adjoining the main building – which was complete with a 3D studio and training rooms – was a massive shed. A large tank would allow a trainee engineer to go inside a tank to get a feel for what a tank cleaning worker goes through. A jumping area helped people learn how to jump in case of an emergency for minimum damage. One could also throw a mannequin down from various heights to see how the person falls and where he gets hurt. Similarly one could hang upside down with safe ropes and protective mattresses down to get a feel of what it feels when working that way. They even had a test for a trainee to check if a scaffolding had been erected correctly or not. The fact that someone had put in such a lot od effort and expense to get all this together in one place was indeed very impressive. And I think full marks should be given both to the past and current leadership of L&T for this innovation centre.
I had the honour of having the L&T Chair professor from IIT Bombay – prof Vinay Juvekar – with me for the trip. And this provided an opportunity for an unforgettable intellectual exchange.
Three cheers for L&T