L&T’s WOMEN ‘Machine Operators’!

Back in 1977, when I started my career in the construction equipment and earth-moving industry there were hardly any women mechanics, service women or operators   associated with heavy construction equipment. Today Tata Steel at their Naomundi and West Bokaro mines have initiatives such as ‘Women@mines’ where you find female service mechanics as part of a service crew at different locations, yet women as machine operators are pretty rare.

Welcome to Larsen & Toubro, when I visited their stall at the December 2023, Excon Exhibition in Bengaluru, I was pleasantly surprised to find, Bhagyashree Rao, Anjali Malviya and Nandana Prasad busily operating hydraulic excavators, perched comfortably in their excavator cabins. Highly qualified, the first two are diploma holders in Electrical and Mechanical engineering with specialization in air-conditioning and refrigeration respectively, while Nandana is a graduate electrical engineer backed by over 6 year’s experience at an L&T Dealership, together they have been working as operators with L&T since the last 2 years!

They are all well trained at L&T’s Kanchipuram service station, and have qualified after appearing for theoretical and practical examinations followed by a viva. Apparently they got trained so well that one of them was invited by the Infrastructure Equipment Skill Council (IESC) to be a Trainer – Instructor! (The IESC is an apex body that spearheads the skilling of the workforce with the full support of over 40 construction equipment OEMs, equipped with state-of-the-art operator training centers).

But do such highly educated women operators see a future for themselves as excavator operators? Aren’t they wasting their education? Will they have a fulfilling career ahead? Do they have role models to follow? Why did they choose to become machine operators in the first place? The simple answer to all these questions is that they like operating huge big machines, period! It gives them a huge thrill. As for role models, its only in YouTube videos that they have admired confident women operators glamorously perched on big elephants’, so why can’t Indian women also work gigantic machines, specially when operation is as simple and easy as operating a two-wheeler and additionally, get to be seated in a comfortable air- conditioned cabin? The ladies have always felt safe in their cabins whenever they operate these huge ‘elephants’!

What about permission or parental opposition, did their families allow them to take up this profession? In today’s world nobody cares! In fact their parents asked them to ‘go ahead’ if they felt confident about operating heavy earth-moving equipment. With this kind of filial encouragement there has been no looking back for the girls! Do men in the field make a nuisance causing trouble while they operate the machines? Do they stare and disturb them at work? “Not at all” say the ladies while presently enjoying all the attention and flattery! They find men participating in the excitement claiming “Look! look! there is a lady operating the excavator” and queue up to take photographs and videos. Several senior men at L&T too, wonder why they had not attempted operation earlier when the task seems so easy and satisfying!

At the Excon exhibition Ganesh, L&T’s senior expert operator had me sit on L&T’s simulator, put on a pair of goggles and actually simulate excavator operation as if sitting on an excavator seat. Its indeed a very difficult task to coordinate the joint and sequential movement of the boom, stick and bucket, to be able to actually swing and then load onto a waiting dump truck. I was wary of hitting the edge of the truck if unable to raise the stick and bucket even as I swung the turret towards the truck. With the patient manner of Ganesh’s training coupled with repeated practice on the simulator and in the field that each lady operator is subjected to, I am not at all surprised to see their confidence and gung-ho attitude towards machine operation. So how much production are they able to garner from the machines that they operate? This is one area that needs to be pursued, they are usually so busy demonstrating equipment at exhibitions and trade fairs that they have very little time left to go onto the field and demonstrate their ability to ‘work’ the machines. I think its only a question of time before the lady operators will go onto the field and prove their mettle!

When women pilots are supposedly lots better at piloting and landing a plane, why shouldn’t the same apply to women operators as well? Women must break the glass ceiling and occupy roles exclusive to men till a few years ago, working in harsh climates that heavy earth moving equipment are normally required to work. No doubt these tasks require endurance and mental agility, but women must demonstrate these qualities and demolish patriarchal dominance in the mining and construction equipment industry by performing tasks that boost their confidence while propelling themselves to greater heights.

L&T’s women machine operators have entered a male-dominated sector to excel and redefine their self-worth and are happy to share their work spaces with their fathers and other male colleagues. After all its a steady progression from learning to operating a bi-cycle, a bike, a car and then to gear up to drive heavy earth moving machinery. To these women, nothing seems impossible. They are up to the challenge and find this opportunity to not only weaving a better future for themselves but to be a role model for several other aspiring women in the company. For L&T too its a win- win, the company recognizes that diversity in workplace positively impacts their business and initiatives such as this serves as a crucial enabler to bring in diversity in the work place!

Priyan R Naik
Priyan R Naik is a columnist and independent journalist based in Bengaluru. He writes for The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Navhind Times, Deccan Herald, Shillong Times, Ceylon Today of Colombo, Srilanka and the Daily Star of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

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