Perfect materials management by WR produced excellent results for Corona managment

One more workshop at Mahalaxmi prepared high quality PPEs

Considering the increasing number of Coronavirus Pandemic cases in India there is a growing need of PPE kits & other materials for the frontline warriors specially the medical fraternity to fight the battle against the deadly virus.

The Materials Management department of Western Railway teamed up with the Medical department to kick off the race against time with a dedicated team of HQ, District and Divisional Officers for providing essentials for Doctors, Paramedics and patients to fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

This perfect materials management by Western Rly has produced excellent results to ensure better management of all efforts against the global pandemic corona, in the form of not only PPEs, but also a large quantity of Steel Beds for Isolation wards, Invasive and Non-Invasive Ventilators, Non- Contact Thermal Body Temperature Measuring Guns, Oxygen Cylinders, Sanitizers, N-95 Face Masks, Face Shields, Inner Gowns , Disinfectant Spraying Pumps , Sodium Hypochlorite Solutions etc. as well as 410 isolation coaches.

Alok Kansal – General Manager of Western Rly has appreciated all these efforts for perfect materials management and has congratulated Jyoti Prakash Pandey – Principal Chief Materials Managar of WR & his entire team of officers & employees, for their excellent performance.

According to a press release issued by WR CPRO Ravinder Bhakar, realizing the extreme necessity of PPE Kits for front line Doctors and Medical Staff, despite all odds, Western Railway has developed PPE Kits complying Defence Research Development Establishment (DRDE) and the South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) standards. The arrangement of raw materials like Non-woven fabrics and Seam Sealing Tapes complying Ministry of Health & Family Welfare requirements was a breakthrough of the Materials Management Department for in-house development of PPE Kits at Lower Parel Workshop and recently also by EMU Workshop at Mahalaxmi. In both these workshops, about 200 PPE coveralls are being prepared everyday with various shoe covers as per requirement.

Bhakar also stated that the Mahalaxmi General Stores Depot and the Lower Parel Depot have also developed 3 Ply Face Masks for Staff use. Steel beds for isolation wards for Covid-19 patients have also been developed at WR Workshops. Under the lockdown situation, the Materials Management Department teamed up and provided all basic raw materials required to convert the non-AC Sleeper Coaches into Isolation Wards for COVID-19 patients. So far, as many as 410 non-AC Sleeper coaches are ready to take care of COVID-19 patients.

He stated that against the backdrop of lockdown involving restriction in demographic movement and materials, Western Railway’s Materials Management team has arranged all medical essentials in all six divisions of Ratlam, Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Mumbai and Bhavnagar through trade purchases utilising various modes of procurement such as Spot Purchase Committee, Emergency Purchases and coordinating with civic authorities for movement of medical items.

To monitor the pulse of the dynamic demand and supply situation of things as varied as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Invasive and Non-Invasive Ventilators, Non-Contact Thermal Body Temperature Measuring Gun, Oxygen Cylinders, Sanitizers, N-95 Face Masks, Faces Shields, Inner Gowns , Disinfectant Spraying Pump, Sodium Hypochlorite Solutions, the Materials Management Department transformed itself and switched over to online working. The Department has also created a special task force including a material collection team to reach out to places in and around Mumbai with sole needs of providing immediate assistance. Utilization of Video Conference application and WhatsApp Group at various levels helped the department to make arrangements promptly.

Furthermore, amid the crisis of COVID 19 pandemic, the Materials Management Department remembers the wellbeing of staff and their family. Employees daily update health status themselves and their family in WhatsApp groups exclusively created for this purpose. All Officers and Staff have been encouraged and persuaded to download the Aarogya Setu App which helps them and the Government in the fight against COVID 19 outbreak. Besides this, the Materials Management Department ensured uninterrupted supply of all the items required for the safe running of Goods and Parcel trains including loco spares, coaching SLR spares and wagon spares. This was possible only due to relentless monitoring of the stock and dues of these items and also due to close interaction with industry by the headquarter as well as Depot Officers and Staff. Western Railway salutes all these silent warriors for their marvelous dedication and true workman spirit.