With the country in the grip of the second wave of Covid-19, workplace safety is back in focus. Ashish Bhatia interacted with the team behind the DROR enterprise application. Built in collaboration with MetalMan Auto, it is aimed at securing manufacturing sites.
It’s been over a year and worldwide countries continue to reel under the different waves of the Covid-19 pandemic. India is in the midst of dealing with a severe second wave and is said to be paying the price for letting the guard down. As we bravely learn to live with the virus, the return workplace safety is reigning as utmost import to organisations. Manufacturing units are no exceptions here! Following similar Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) devised around social distancing albeit their need for customised offerings were learnt off by the end of the first lockdown itself, in the first quarter of the fiscal (Q1FY2021). The DROR Enterprise application built in collaboration with New Delhi based MetalMan Auto Pvt. Ltd., among the first personal safety applications was built way back in 2018. Built as a personal safety app., then, the makers continued to adapt and fine tune the platform for emergency services and healthcare requirements circling around Covid-19. Averred Dhiraj Naubhar – Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at DROR, the requirements were basic and not complicated from most of the manufacturing units. There is a layer of customisation with IoT capabilities over and above the tracking and tracing capability that is being demanded which we are working on for future iterations. However we are content in terms of being able to meet most operational requirements at manufacturers.”
Effective tool to secure manufacturing sites
In a testimony to the DROR Enterprise application being used as an effective tool at manufacturing sites, the application bagged the prestigious Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) recognition as the ‘Best Application and Uses of Digitisation for Human and Machine Safety’ at the CII Digitech Cluster of Technology Symposium 2020 late last year. The application according to Naubhar and Nishant Jairath, Director, Metalman Auto helps manufacturers focus on their core business and revenue generation aspects while the suite takes over their dispensation of responsibilities across realms like Covid-19 contract tracing saving up 1000’s of man hours; realtime social-distancing via the app., and the camera feed; contactless attendance; automated temperature checks; automated ticketing system; seat booking; housekeeping management and on-field sales management. The application is claimed to be capable of driving effective decision making through the use of advanced data analytics it offers.
With most manufacturing sites following practices similar to the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association (ACMA) issued SOP, Naubhar explained the need for a customised approach. He mentioned, “We realised that for somebody who’s in a manufacturing unit, the SOPs are a bit different as compared to conventional offices like the pure co-working spaces. It’s not significantly different. But everybody needs their own little bit of customisation.” “We had these customisation modules already in place, because we knew that different companies would ask for different sets of priorities like availability in vernacular and local languages. Then there are those asking for inclusions like an alarm which works as long as people in close proximity don’t switch them off,” he said. He also drew attention to preferences differing in terms of the nuances like different companies preferring different tones of the alarm. “We are able to handle those using various, you know, provisions enabling custom notifications,” he claimed.
Besides in India where the situation continues to be grim, the company see’s opportunity with a clientele base in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe. Factoring in the customisation costs on the development side, the revenue model is largely dependent on a one time customisation fee and a recurring monthly subscription in a bid to avoid burdening the customer with long term costs for the unforeseeable future. Add to it, the cost to the consumer is also driven by the choice of hardware like wristbands and thermal scanners among other opt-ins. On meeting the shopfloor requirements, added Jairath, the company has partnered with a sister concern company in real time location services for meeting the IoT based custom requirements like tracking the movement of forklifts etc.
Beyond the pandemic
Catering to domestic and export markets, the suite has opened a new stream of revenue generation for the company. Given that the revenue per client is obvious, it is expected to be a 50:50 focus, he shared. Citing the companies looking at reducing outgoings and investing with an expectation on return on every rupee spent, Jairath explained, the company also faced the task of allaying employer fears enroute the full scale implementation. It included allaying fears of being tracked by the management and of intrusion into their personal space until they realised the value addition and the utilitarian perspective that the suite brought to the table. The prioritisation of health, quipped Jairqath, had changed for good, and so the company is confident of extending service to its clients beyond the pandemic through the inclusion of value additions in logistics management including geo-fencing and the provisions to align with the new normal at large. The effective communication mechanism at the heart of the device will continue to evolve for manufacturers on the whole.
DROR, since August 18, 2018 has been in existence as a personal safety app with emergency service and healthcare facilities that helps citizens in distress by building a community based network so that they can ensure each other’s safety. It promotes women’s safety by leveraging technology and community insights to enable everyone in building a trust-able community. The community based organisation is dedicated in creating a movement where it focuses on women and children’s safety for a better and safer India. With DROR, every individual is able to get help as well as rescue in just a click. The DROR app is available both on Android and iOS platforms. ACI
