Work Wear Sector in India

The work wear market in India is seen as an attractive option as order sizes are usually large, competition is not very high and the margins are good. The increasingly large base of MNC manufacturing hubs in the country has also buoyed the work wear segment. 

The uniform business would also provide a substantial hedge for India’s top garment suppliers reeling under the impact of a slowdown.Companies are becoming more careful and conscious about their corporate images now and even the smallest of companies want uniforms. From security service agencies to coal mining, the work wear have become indispensable. The largest demand is from industries that are involved in manufacturing sectors and hire a lot of workers on a contract basis. Even sectors like hospitality and retail are giving good demand.

Unfortunately, in India this is a highly unorganised market, with most of the work wear manufacturers located in north and east. For example Superhouse group in Kanpur and Amrit Export in Kolkata are major industry in this sector.

However, with the advent of work wear giant like Cintas and Lindstrom the scenario of the work wear market is changing.  Cintas has over the years diversified into other business areas like first-aid products and fire protection equipment. The company operates over 400 facilities in US and Canada and employs more than 34,000 people.

Since the work wear concept is still new in India, so the foreign work wear company is just keeping the simple business strategy. They are adding the modules to increase capacity rather than building a huge manufacturing unit and retail unit. Before entering the Indian market Lindstrom carried out a market survey in 2007, it assumed that multinationals would be its big customers, but their assumption was proved wrong. Today 70% of the market comprises is local Indian companies.

The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) have brought the abrupt change in the Industry and market growth in India. There is solid entelechy for the job opportunities and money flow. This can be regarded as a true bliss as the industry hub area will grow rapidly. The other side of coin triggers for the sagacious look for the whole pseudo development. Thus it exemplifies the random situation. So certain standard and norms should be followed. The 3 things should be kept into notion: Identification, branding and uniformity.

The work wear market is a large market: between one quarter and one half of all European employees wear workwear. In 2001, the European workwear market was worth $3.59 billion, th equivalent of 306.2 million pieces. The market is expected to grow by 2.5 per cent yearly to $4.27 billion in 2008( Sanne van der Wal & Bart Slob).

There are roughly three kinds of work wear: 

(1)   Corporate Work wear- Used for official representative purpose. The ordinary fabrics is used with more emphasis on design and colours.

(2) Ordinary Work Wear- Overalls shirts and trousers in ordinary fabrics like poly-cotton.

(3)    Technical Work Wear- Made of special fabric or specially treated common fabric to protect workers. For example Fire Fighter wear, Forest wear. 

Visit to Industry

Safety Garment division of Superhouse

The Superhouse Garment division is located in Unnao 30 km from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. It is big industrial hub mainly comprises of leather industries.

The reason we went to the this industry is because it deals with work wear garment. In India we have very few industry which specialized in work wear sector and it is one of them. Although majority of the order comes from foreign countries like Kenya, USA, Canada, European nations etc. This is because in India work wear garment is not popular yet. This I observed last month itself when I went to Dhanbad Coal mines where there is no such uniformity and standardization in work wear dresses,although helmet,torch and boots are compulsory there. But when it comes to garments there is no such specification. In the Forestry region of Bandipur national park, there was simple Khaki uniform which is quite a mundane in government services.

About the Superhouse:

 It was established in 1975 by Mr. Mukhtarul Amin. The prime focus area is leather but recently garment division specially in safety wear is growing popular now days. In 1986, the company became public. Here are few highlights of company:

* Safety footwear leather export from India started

* First to make special Din Leather with German collaboration

* Started making uppers for exports to UK and Europe

* First to make safety footwear and started export

The company has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary in United Kingdom in the name of Superhouse (U.K) Ltd. in march '98 having its registered office in London, which is primarily engaged in the marketing and distribution of leather and leather products. The group also has two more foreign subsidiaries in U.S.A and U.A.E. The Superhouse group acquired Briggs Industrial Footwear Limited, a U.K based company incorporated in 1944. One more company Linea de seguridad sl in Spain was acquired in August 2012.

The turnover of Superhouse Group is more than USD 150 million for the financial year ending as on 31st March 2013 which is quite phenomenal. There are several prestigious brand which has tie up with Superhouse group like Allen Cooper, Himalayan, Panacea etc. Double Duty is abrand owned by Superhouse Ltd. for marketing safety footwear and garments mainly to Gulf countries and European countries. Double Duty is the only brand in export market under which they produce safety shoes with Direct Injection PU, Goodyear welted and Direct vulcanizing process meeting to all International safety norms.

BCCL and Dhanbad

Dhanbad is a city in the state of Jharkhand.It is an epicentre for mining. Over the centuries this small district has attracted the mining industries.It has largest mine in India. Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, BCCL, ECL and IISCO(Indian Iron and Steel Company) are some of the companies having coal
mines in the district.

BCCL sub centre in Bansjora

Mining activities in Jharia Coalfield (JCF) started more than 100 years back and it has been extensively exploited. Unscientific exploitation of coal resources in the past resulted in large scale degradation of the coalfield which has manifested in haphazard infrastructure development, depletion of green belt and overall ecological and environmental imbalances. Land, air, water and soil had been severely affected. On account of multi-seam regime of the coalfield the reclamation process has become a challenge.


BCCL is a Public Sector Undertaking engaged in mining of coal and allied activities. It occupies an important place in as much as it produces bulk of the coking coal mined in the country. BCCL meets almost 50% of the total prime coking coal requirement of the integrated steel sector. BCCL was incorporated in January, 1972 to operate coking coal mines operating in the Jharia & Raniganj spread over 305 sq. km. Coalfields, taken over by the Govt. of India on 16th Oct,1971 to ensure planned development of the scarce coking coal resources in the country.

The head quarter of BCCL is in Koyla Nagar, Dhanbad. There are total 78 Coal mines under them in which 39 are underground 19 are open cast coal mines and 20 are mixed coal mine. There are 6 coking coal washers, 2 non-coking coal washers.

Statistics:

13.64% growth in overall productivity.
Rs. 10176.62 Crore turn over, ever highest since inception with 18.56% growth
Rs. 1498.80 Crore profit during 2012-13
31.21 million ton coal production, highest since inception with 3.34% growth
33.04 million ton offtake, highest since inception with 9.56% growth

Coal Mining Activities

1) Project Phases and Activities planning:

First of all planning is done by a team members comprising of 5-7 members. With the help of pre-determined data provided by geology department they sort out the required information and act according to them. In order to clarify the further information they visit the site for the conformity.

Site evaluation Tools

2) Site Evaluation
Pre-mining evaluation activities and requirements that may result in impacts. A number of test and surveys must be conducted to make sure the project is technically feasible, economically viable and environmentally sound. These activities include mapping, drilling and geophysical exploration.


3) Construction and Operation

Construction for underground mining in Bansjora

Open Mining with new robotic equipment

Coal mine operations activities and requirements that may result in impacts. Activities during the construction and mining phase include either surface or underground mining in addition to any facility (e.g., shaft construction) and coal transport system (e.g., access roads, rail lines, pipelines, conveyor systems) construction.

4) Decommissioning/ Site Reclamation

Decommissioning of a coal mine would include removal of structures, conveyor systems, and rail lines, if used, and the filling in of the mine area. Reclamation of the mine site and access roads, including re-contouring and re-vegetation,would mitigate some impacts,such as soil erosion,habitat fragmentation and visual impacts.

Danger with fire:

There are total 70 mining site which is under fire. The first fire took place in Jharia mine during 1916. Till now 10 mining site have been extinguished. The impact of fire can be very devastating a fine quality coal get burnt. Also it affects the rail line and road networks. It can also ruin the live stocks.

BCCL with the help of Indian Railway and Jharkhand government have launched the master plan for dealing with fire, subsidence and rehabilitation in the lease hold of BCCL. This was started as demonstration project with 5125 houses built. The Jharkhand government will provide the land for constructing the houses with basic amenities. 60,000 houses still to be built now. Till then 2500 families have settled. This is the world's biggest rehabilitation project.

Safety is a paramount importance in mining area. Due to capricious nature of job, a rescue station have been established. The rescue squad comprises of the well trained people whose job is the safety of miners and to facilitate them all medical assistance along with minimizing the accidental effect.


Coal Bed Methane Project working process

Machine used for Methane recovery

It is rightly said that prevention is better than cure. So in this case as well. If the main root problem is eliminated then all the adversaries like mine-fire can be prevented. The root problem is methane gas or CH4. BCCL have initiated the Coal Bed Methane project for the same. At few vulnerable mining site this coal bed have been set up. There are 3 advantages of this, methane is flammable gas which react easily with fire so once it is removed then there will be no chance of underground blast in mining. Second methane is a green house gas which seriously hamper the environment, so this Coal Bed methane make sure that the methane gas does not escape to atmosphere. Third is that, methane can be utilized for commercial purpose through the channelized tubular projector connected to coal bed. This is widely used as power generator. This is the perfect example of win-win situation.

CSR Responsibility of BCCL:

BCCL have built thousand of houses, flats for the employees and localities. The hospital and health care centre have been opened with the involvement of state government.  There are total 14 mobile medical van run by BCCL which focuses on the deep rural area. Project Mitwa is one of live example general awareness about AIDS in rural area.

BCCL have opened around 90 schools and provides financial aid to then in the state. The water filter have been established for drinking purpose in various residential area by them. The farming is possible in all the season due to the philanthropy of BCCL. Over 2000 hectare land is irrigated. BCCL have funded 12 crore INR for this project.

BCCL have turned Lahbeda village into one of the principal village. The village have been well planned with proper sewage facilities, solar light, parks, school, hospital etc.

BCCL have also worked on women empowerment. This program is run by wife of BCCL employees. Sewing centre is established to provide scope of self-employment and career development.

Environment Sector:

Mining area turned to nature bliss

There is a general perception that mining is one of the most hazardous activity which severely hamper the environment. Keeping this in mind with the help of Dehradun research project, BCCL have greatly worked on the ecological restoration. The used up mining area in which no further mining can be done have been planted with many trees. Eco-park, snake park have been also land marked to attract the tourist in the region. This is big revolution in terms of ecological balance. What human have taken from the mother nature, it is diligently returned to her.

Bandipur National Park

Hilarious and sarcastic retarding truth!

Last week I went to the Bandipur National Park. It is situated 80 kilometres away from Mysore in Karnataka, lies on the outskirts of Mysore-Ooty highway. Are covered around 874 sq.km and it plays an important part in climate in Western Ghats region. We arrived Bandipur at 5 o' clock morning. It was shivering morning and only hopes to dodge the chillness was the fire.

Bandipur is known for the tiger reserve. There are very few tiger in the regions left around 150. The area is well flourished with the flora and fauna. Have to say it was so abysmal feeling in morning. Soon, after 3 hours weather was getting lighter with every ray of sunlight. We waited outside the Director's office. In the mean time we roamed around the park, captured few moments and wished it never ends. They charge you Rs 300 for Safari ride and for the foreigners Rs 1000. One thing I would like to make clear about National Park and Wild Life Sanctuary, people really get confused as they think the purpose for both of them is same i.e. to protect the endangered species.The Wild life Santuary is a abode for all kinds of wild animals. There is no defined boundary in the sanctuary so anyone can enter. Whereas National Park mainly focuses on the endangered species, it has defined boundary and people need special permission for roaming in the jungle.

There are several important activities which takes place like patrolling, making Fire-Line, Fire watch Guard, Jungle Safari, Elephant Ride etc. The Forest range officers give more priority in monitoring tiger movement so for that they have fixed around 45 anti-poaching cameras. The 4-5 members do surveillance daily. There are around 600 workers working in that around 325 have the permanent job.

The main focal point of visiting there was to observe the dress and uniforms of the forest range workers. It was simple Khaki uniform which is quite a mundane in the Indian government service. They are given a walkie-talkie and torch. The Rifle and sharp knife is provided for the protection as they have to go deep in the jungle.

The prime enemy is poachers who kills the tiger for their skin. But now days its very rare to find tiger. The jungle also has important ornament which attracts the smugglers which is Santalum album V or Sandal Wood. So, it is still a prime concern. The workers have to work late night and poor visibility can inhibit them in their work. So, the scothlite fabric can be used for the garment for good visibility.

The walkie-takie placement is also important because it is used frequently. The placement should be kept firm around waist area , when not in use as they have to free their hand.. The officers have come with jugaad. They tuck the wireless on the side of the belt. But here I feel that there should be a firm band nearby the waist region in ergonomically viable way. There should be a big flap around the ankle region so that it doesn't get pricked by the thorns. Of course, garment shall thy be reversible. A round zipper can be placed on the knee region so that workers can take out whenever they feel uncomfortable in hot and humid weather or when they crossing the water-ways with barefoot. Albeit the snake is not so big problem and there haven't been any severe incident of the snake bite in last two decades but still the dreadful image of venom shatter their mind. The most vulnerable area is ankle so the ankle guard can be placed in the region. This can psychologically enhance the confidence in the minds of workers or at least it assuage the vulnerability of snake bite.

 

A Day in Kannavam Forest

29th January, 2014, the day we spent in Kannavam Forest. It is around 60 kilometres away from NIFT Kannur. Preferred mode of transport is bus. First we met Forest Range Officer Mr. Premraja. We explained about our Graduation Project, for application of Reversible Garment for workers of Forestry department. I have say he was very enthusiastic and supportive. He told us about various activities in  Kannavam Forest. He showed his benedict gesture by assisting on staff person Mr. Sunil Kumar for forest trip. He was fluent in both Malayalam and Hindi language.

About Forest:

Kannavam Forest is a part of Kannur district in Kerala. It comes under Nidumpoyil section.The lush green forest, located on the foothills of the Western Ghats was established in the year 2000. The main objective is to restore the ecology in the region. So apart from the already existing trees, thousands of trees have been planted over the years. There are about 7500 species of plants and trees in the jungle. Most of seeds are purchased locally. Some of the common trees are:

1) Tectona grandis (TEAK)
2) Terminalia paniculate
3) Terminalia tomantosa
4) Terminalia bellarica
5) Bitex altissima

The forest is spread in the area of 8398 hectares( 83.98 sq. km). The periphery boundary is 68 Kilometres. There are numerous activities like Plantation operation, Fire-line dissemination, logging, felling trees, loading, dragging etc. The tools generally used by workers are knifes, shovel, axe, chainsaw etc.

The Demographic:




The Working

Khurchias Tribes are the major communities residing near forest. They work in the forest with holistic manner with common motto "to preserve the Forest". They were basically called hunting tribe. They have rich culture and heritage. The Kurchias as a class were loyal to Pazhassi Raja, the first guerrilla fighter of Kerala to take up arms against the British. Kurchias are known for their traditional hunting skills and primitive subsistence farming. They tilled forest hill slopes by the technique of slash and burn cultivation.



Lavish house of Kurchia Tribe family

There is one unique thing about Kurchias tribes which totally differentiate them from rest of tribal people of India, the standard of living. I was flabbergasted to see their house built with concrete and furnished with paints. They are elite class among the tribal.

Climate:

January to May is the summer time with average temperature 28-35 degree Celsius. Sometime it reaches to 40 degree Celsius, especially during month of march. June to September is the monsoon period, with heavy rain. October to December is moderate climate. Plantation is done during the month of August and September.

Forest department:

The workers are temporary. On an average around 10,000 workers work in the region. The payment is done on the daily basis. Rs 400 per day for unskilled workers and Rs. 600 per day for skilled workers. There is shortage of workers due to not unavailability but to unwillingness.. The standard of living is high and the communities are rich enough. Annual expenditure of Kovannam Forestry department is Rs 50-60 lackhs per  annum and revenue generated is around Rs 5 to 10 crores.

Tool

There is no such work wear for the forestry workers. Albeit the patrolling staff has simple khaki uniforms. The Fire-Line activities is quite common during the month of January. Here 5.2 m wide boundary is ubiquitously disseminated in the forest area. This is done by marking and then slashing and burning the leaves, woods etc. This serves the purpose in 2 ways. First it differentiate the private land to the government property and second is to prevent any unwanted trespassing.

Of all the trees Teak wood is most important because of the commercial reasons. The timber of teak is useful for manufacturing plywood. The Matti tree is a softwood which is use in manufacturing match sticks.

There was dormitories near the range office. The forest awareness and environment protection camp is held by High school kids and college occasion. The nature camp is also held for students.

The disposal in jungle

The department is also active in various other activities. The Forest sanitation is challenging job in which the forest department with the holistic help of tribal community dispose all the kind of waste especially non- biodegradable like plastic, bottles etc. With the rise in population this has been creating major problem.

Western Ghats is starts from Gujarat to Kanniyakumari, Tamil Nadu.The Madhav Gadgil committee stated that Western Ghats is a major part forestry region which must be protected. With slight modification of Kasturi committee the government become more concerned in order to preserve the integrity of the Western Ghats, as it determines the climatic change in India. The livelihood of 30 crores people depends on it both directly and indirectly. So, the unwanted intrusion which could harm the forest should be eliminated otherwise it could annihilate the eco system.

The Fire Watches is built on each place to check the potential forest fire. Generally, it can occur naturally with the friction of the dry wood, but since the climate is moderate so there is less chances of any forest fire. There is still the chance of fire by any other way like by human being. So, without taking any chance, the forest department want to make sure that it doesn't happen. There have been any case recorded officially of forest fire.

Hefty Adventure:

There was one big issue which is going quite prevalent now days in the region. The Maoist invasion. They have been creating some disturbances in the region by trafficking, smuggling, robbery of government goods, kidnapping etc. So, patrolling team always patrol with the guard carrying guns. One of the official even warned us about Maoist group. I was really bumped up with that caveat. We brave soldier took our chance and carried on this uncanny adventure.

Overall it was awesome experience for me. I really appreciate the commitment of the forestry department for their great work.I learned a lot learned some tricky scientific name of the tree and real life lesson of life. It has been 3 and a half year in Kerala and I didn't learned Malayalam much, saw a lady near from Balia, Uttar Pradesh. I was really astonished to find a woman coming all over the place leaving her family at tender age of 19 and settling in remote forest area. Hats off to the lady. She now has family with 4 kids here. She spoke Malayalam, Bhojpuri and I was immersed in the cocktail of the 2 different culture. This is new India it's changing for good.

 

Reversible Bottom Garment

We all have come across many types of garment. The reversible garment is something more sophisticated and unique. We generally have worn Jacket or Blazer which is reversible indeed, the only thing is that second surface is called lining which is more glossy and light weight. This gives the proto about the reversible garment. It can have 2 distinct fabric or same fabric, or single layer fabric which can be worn both side. But the seam finish will be something to worry about as it will be conspicuous when you wear rear side. So the lighter, glossy looking fabric is introduced in order to hide the seam finish or even operation such as surging or flat lock etc.

This in general was about the upper portion torso, still the bottom portion remain abysmal until the inventor Toshio Hosogai developed the trouser with fly. He also did the work on reversible fly zipper, which is challenging. Placing the zipper on the both side of the surface can make the trouser thicker on the crotch portion. The countenance of the garment will be more unusual so in order to look more normal, the fly portion should be set parallel to each other. It's obvious that the reversible bottom part will have two fabric surface which can be wore both side without compromising the integrity of the garment.

Reversible trousers comprises of 2 pockets on the each surface. The pockets can be slant, scoop or even patch. It is advisable to make scoop or slant pocket. The patch pocket can be put on the back side. Thus we can infer from this that in whole bottom garment there can have 8 pockets. The 2 pockets on each surface can supplemented on the knee length side, depending upon the requirements.
One may be pondering that still the whole garment will seem to be bulkier, but we can use different pocket fabric instead, which is durable and tenacious.

There should be common waistband for both surface fabric. Thus this reduces the GSM of the garment. The pocket attached to the common side seam and the pocket flap attached to the waistband and side seam. So The flap can freely swing through at pivotal axis. Pocket flap can have 2 surfaces, one surface matches the face surface and other matches the rear surfaces.

Whatever added to the garment, the critical part will be Fly zipper. Also mentioned in the US Patent by Hosogai that fly is major area. Hosogai constructed the pant having fly containing button and buttonholes. He has separate invention to his credit on reversible zipper fly cover(US 2003/0024034 A1)  attachment, but he didn't showed any such construction on reversible trousers with reversible fly zipper.

It will be interesting to construct a reversible trouser with reversible fly zipper. The most important thing is to identify it's application. There are various potential work area like Forestry and Mining.




  


 

Graduation Project: And Creche of my own

COURTESY :US. Pat. No. 1,337,698

Here begins the new beginning and what great pleasure we have to start a fresh endeavour "the Graduation Project". This is last task before leaving the college. There was delay in publishing the semester VII result and without any concern or dismay begin the research methodology. Welcome to semester VIII, where we are on our own. What we do shows the reflection of our work throughout.

The topic is "Systematic study on Reversible Trousers". I was bit perturbed and anxious but with more discussion ,queries and enchanting pep talk with faculties the head became more crystal clear. It's an independent project comprising of two member me and Akash.

We got 3 months i.e. 90 days top. Within this period we have accomplish our task. We have to convince people around, explaining the possible outcome our project. The prime target is Forestry and Mining department worker.

We ought collect pre-requisite data regarding work wear. This we can do with set of questionnaire and sample survey. Sorting out the problem about their work wear and giving the best possible solution. There will be more travelling and exploring, I wonder if It will be my travelogue. Fascinating isn't it?? Getting clear about the project is most important thing before putting both legs in the deep mystic ocean. You should how to swim, climb, breathe whatever it takes to satisfy the insatiable curiosity. That endurance only comes when you are interested. You can't be ostentatious. Can't afford to be.

There is lot of stuff to do. All I know that we have to start from the scratch so, beginning with Kannur. It's daring thou raring. Though newer, thou never extinguish. Lot to conceive all at time to time. Though I started this blog during my Internship period last year in the month of may as gesture of my work in Industry, which I really enjoyed. There I got the crèche room to write something more substantial, I kind of got lost in that mysticism. One word which could describe my feeling "abysmal". This time I am stationary more dynamic don't know about my whereabouts. Today I could be here tomorrow you never know where. The capricious journey begin no crèche at all, I take pledge to procreate the crèche on own, by the virtue of truth. Till then see yaa!!