UPSKILLING The FUTURE!

While the Indian construction sector has moved from the bullock cart to the bullet train era, skilled workers remain an elusive commodity. Equipment Times looks into the role of skill development/ operator training in CE operations and maintenance, current scenario of availability of skilled/certified equipment operators in India, challenges faced in skill development initiatives and steps needed to bridge the gap of demand-availability of skilled operators.

As construction and other infrastructure building activities in the country flourish, there is a growing need to mobilise and train individuals to fulfill the need for skilled manpower. Ensuring a steady pool of qualified, globally competitive and job-ready workforce for the construction industry will not only ensure high-quality output but also lead to higher employment generation in urban, semi-urban and rural areas, consequently having a multiplier effect on the country’s GDP growth.     

It may be pertinent to note that over the years, growth in the infrastructure equipment sector has been synonymous with the economic health of the country. With existing shortage of skilled manpower coupled with this anticipated growth, an overall requirement of nearly two million operators and mechanics has been projected by various agencies and skilling development trainers.

Adopting Changes…

Geared to adopt changes India has been slow in adopting Industry 4.0 technologies and currently faces a serious threat from other countries which are leapfrogging to implement advanced manufacturing solutions. The level of automation in India is low. As per a report by the International Federation of Robotics, in 2014, India had only 1 robot per 10,000 employees in the manufacturing sector. And in 2014, only 2,126 industrial robots were sold in India, accounting for 0.9% of global industrial robot sales.20 With a strong background in IT, India has seen a number of start-ups in the digital technology space. Companies like Imaginarium which provide 3D printing services have come up. Though the current market for 3D printing is small21, big companies like Hero, L&T, Pidilite and ISRO have used such technologies to develop prototypes. Implementation of such technologies in industry on a large scale is bound to take some more time. In terms of sectors driving Industry 4.0 adoption, the Automotive sector is at the forefront. Some other areas that have seen some traction in adoption of such technologies include packaging in the FMCG sector, service management at hospitals and monitoring in the energy / power sector.22 India faces a significant threat due to shrinking labor cost arbitrage compared to countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, etc. Manufacturers have been looking at other attractive destinations which offer the cost advantage which countries like India have offered historically. With adoption of Industry 4.0, India has an opportunity to turn the tide in its favor as Industry 4.0 will help India in evolving as a hub for manufacturing quality products at low cost when compared to other countries.

The Red Path Ahead…

Major objectives include strategically developing high impact domains like labour-intensive manufacturing, strengthening the traditional employment bases of agriculture and allied industries and retail through modernization and stronger credit and market linkages; harnessing the opportunities provided by the upgrade of infrastructure and housing: encouraging and empowering our youth for self – employment: incubating entrepreneurship as well as facilitating credit; and addressing the employability issue by initiating a multi-skill development programme.       

CE industry paves the way…

Economic growth in India is increasingly supported by robust industrial growth. Construction Equipment Sector is one of the known and significant sectors that support almost all industrial/ commercial activities. The level of inefficiency in CE sector activities in the country has been very high across all modes. The required pace of efficiency and quality improvement will demand rapid development of capabilities of service providers.

Trained manpower in demand…

H.S. Mohan, Chief Executive Officer – Infrastructure Equipment Skill Council (IESC), said, “Skill development eco-system has got a momentum since the new government came into picture which is not just in our own sector, but all sectors. There are certain sectors like IT where they have advanced into skilling ecosystem and the industry has matured enough to take people who have been trained and certified. This is now dissipating into the other sectors as well. The current equipment in India is estimated between 6 to 8 lakh. These many machines are working in India. We cannot measure it as there is no authority to measure the number of machines and operators are employed in India. When I say equipment in India, these machines are calculated by the OEMs with a life of six years (15000 hours).  

There is no career growth plan and there are no other benefits and they have been operating on whatever they know. Some of these operators are school dropouts and who are primarily on their own knowledge of moving from site to site.”

Deepak Shetty, CEO & MD, JCB India, said, “JCB has pioneered the setting up of Operator Training Centres for its products in India. To date, more than 30,000 operators have been trained on how to use these machines safely and productively. Over 18 such training centres are today spread across India and Nepal. These training centres offer certified courses that have been designed to make operators well versed with the operations of the machine and basic maintenance. The training program is a blend of practical and classroom training. These facilities are run professionally through certified training partners. The course curriculum is vetted by the company to ensure a world-class level of training for operators.”

He further added, “The operator training centres have qualified trainers and access to machines for practical training and classrooms for theory classes and are today extremely popular in the areas of their operation. The training program lasts for one month after the completion of which, candidates are given a training certificate. JCB is also now introducing simulators to further enhance the reach of training. We offer knowledge sharing during operator meets, train operators through JCB trained demonstrators on their site and conduct refresher RPL & RPL4 (NSDC approved) courses.”

K. A. Sravan Kumar, Head-Product Support, L&T Construction & Mining Machinery. A construction machine cannot be utilized to its potential with just the knowledge of lever operation. Proper use of available modes and features along with good energy saving operation techniques will ensure optimum production. Thus, knowledge and skill upgradation must go hand in hand with technology development. An untrained operator who does not understand the features and facilities available in the monitor panel will prove counter-productive and will not do justice to the high capital cost that has been spent for the machine.

Suresh Nair, AVP – Institutional Business and Key Accounts, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery, said, “We conduct Junior excavator operator trainings at our Kharagpur and Dharwad training centres. Fresh candidates who have completed 18 years of age, are preferably at least class VIII pass and are physically fit qualify for this training. The training consists of introduction to the machine, practice on the simulator followed by practice on the actual machine. Additionally, elementary knowledge is imparted on the working of components and how various working modes that machines are equipped with can be utilized to enhance productivity, ensure zero downtime, and reduce consumables and fuel consumption that occurs due to owing to incorrect usage. Awareness is also generated on types of buckets and attachments to be used in different applications. Knowledge of safe operating practices also helps reduce breakdowns and accidents.”

According to Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director & CEO, Wirtgen India, “With more sophisticated machines coming into the market, skill upgradation is the key and all manufacturers including Wirtgen Group have been working very closely with our customers in training their operators, imparting application knowledge to them so that we get better roads. Through our Centre for Training and Technology, we conduct classroom training programs for operators, as well as onsite trainings for our customers, to ensure trained manpower is available to operate and maintain their machines.

At our state-of-the-art training facilities, our experts pass on their expertise to machine operators, site managers, service technicians and workshop personnel.”

V.G. Sakthikumar, Managing Director, Schwing Stetter India says, “Schwing Stetter India has been in the forefront on ‘Training’ its customer personnel in the safe operation of its equipment through its state-of-the-art customer training centres at its facilities at Irungattukottai and at its global manufacturing hub at Cheyyar. It has an operator training school affiliated to the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and the Infrastructure Equipment Skill Council (IESC). Schwing Stetter India has trained 2000 fresh candidates as operators of Batching plant, Concrete Boom Pump and Excavators and have placement for all them with the Industry partners. We have also re-skilled close to 15,000 operators, mechanics and engineers with various construction companies who extensively use our equipment. Schwing Stetter India’s customer training department has won the ‘Best Training practices’ award by Ernst & Young and also the ‘Best Trainer Of The Year 2021” by a leading trade magazine. Schwing Stetter aims to train at least 10,000 fresh candidates and make them employable in the next 5 years.”

Speaking on the role of skill development/operator training in CE operations and maintenance, Rajiv Chaturvedi, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, After-Sales Support – Hyundai CE India, said, “Hyundai has always considered Operators as the key stakeholder to complete value chain. We believe in the philosophy of empowering operators through right skilling. Since our machines work at remote locations, overall understanding about inbuilt safety features and diagnostic ability of the machines help the operators to enhance productivity and reliability of the equipment.”

On company’s initiatives in operator training and skill developments, Chaturvedi said, “Hyundai Construction Equipment India is the founding member of Infrastructure Equipment Skill Council and actively promote the skill development initiatives of the Government of India. In the year 2021, around 230 operators were trained and certified under IESC guidelines. Apart from the IESC training schedule, we also trained the technical Engineers of our dealerships and the technicians of customers, a total 1350 such technicians were trained in 2021 under various programs. Considering the challenges of COVID where physical presence of our master trainer was difficult, we invested in virtual reality technology where the trainer can demonstrate the location and function of various components of the machines over a video call. This initiative is appreciated by our dealer partners and the customers across the country.”

Speaking about the current scenario of availability of skilled/certified equipment operators in India, Sandeep Mathur, Brand Leader, New Holland CASE Construction Equipment, states, “While there are numerous infrastructure projects announced in India, we still lack in terms of trained manpower with adequate skills in the market. Due to the onset of the pandemic, the industry faced several challenges to train the operators. However, it is adapting, and a speedy recovery is seen which is fueling the demand for advanced equipment and skilled manpower. The industry is addressing the issue with a fair approach of introducing training programs traditionally and via the digital mode. We are certain that training the operators will highly contribute to the development of infrastructure in the country. Different programmes and schemes will further help the operators be updated about the advancements in the system.”

Murthy G V S N, Business Line Manager – Parts and Service Division, India Operations – Epiroc Mining India, “Epiroc identified the gaps in skill sets, be it operators or maintenance crew, and hence started working closely with the end customer. Feedbacks from end customers were given due importance and accordingly custom-made skill developments course both onsite and offline was launched, with great success. Remote guidance for trouble shooting, with expert technicians of Epiroc guiding from their location, was launched way before Covid. During lockdown, this became a blessing in disguise as travel restrictions had come into effect. However, this did not deter servicing/trouble shooting of critical breakdown at even remove site locations, because of this technology.

Simulators, with operators have been able to achieve optimal results. Skill set enhancement, long hours of practice at controls even before handling the machine ensured the end user gets the desired production from day one.”

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