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.