shrish project report

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A

SUMMER TRAINING REPORT

ON

DabbawalaSatisfaction Research

Survey

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirement of the award of

degree in Master of Business Administration

AFFILATED TO:

(U.P. TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY )

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Excel School of Business Chatta SHRISH PRATAP SINGHMathura Roll No. 0844370026

MBA (3RD Sem.)

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ACKNOWLEDEMENT

A task undertaken without offering prayers to almighty and taking blessings from

the elders is not a good beginning. Likewise the work completed without

acknowledging the assistance to those who were always by my sides to make my

efforts fruitful in the task left incomplete.

In the beginning, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my Institute teachers

for giving me an opportunity to take the practical experience of working life.

I convey my sincere thanks to Mr Raghunath Medge or providing me the proper

guidance and Mrs. Prinikya Gautam for providing me the opportunity to carry

out research effectively and efficiently. I would also like to pay thanks to all my

classmates and friends and my family members for co-operating with me and

helping me to complete the project.

(SHRISH PRATAP SINGH)

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PREFACE

Quality without creativity is meaningless. As changes grow ever more

unpredictable creativity is rapidly becoming recognized a core management skill.

Todays business environment demands that managers posses a wide range of

knowledge skills and competencies, as well as sound understanding of

management process and function. Managers need to be able to make best use of

their time, talent and of other people to work with and through others to achieve

corporate objectives. They also need to demonstrate their ability not merely to

solve problems, but to transform them and design ways through them.

This report concerns needs and changing needs and their satisfaction level, which

are the important function in every organization.

SHRISH PRATAP SINGH

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DECLARATION

I SHRISH PRATAP SINGH a student of MBA of Excel School Of

Business Chatta Mathurarespectively hereby declare that the

Project Report on DABBAWALAS SATISFACION

RESERARCH SERVEY is the outcome of my own work

and the same has not been submitted to any other

University/Institute for the award of any degree or any

Professional diploma.

(SHRISH PRATAP SINGH)

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LOGISTIC & SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT (SCM)

SYSTEM

OF

THE NUTAN MUMBAI TIFFIN BOX

SUPPLIERS' ASSOCIATION

DABBAWALAS SATISFACION RESERARCH SERVEY

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IS O 9 0 0

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TOP 50 OTOP 50 O

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Founder of NMTBSA (Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Supplier And Association):-

Mr. Dhondiba Medge (1923-1980) - the father of Mr. Raghunath Medge (president of

NMTBSA), framed Human Resource Policy of Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers'

Association.

Mr. Dhondiba Medge was educated only to 4th standard. He framed rules & regulations of

the Dabbawalas. He was very stair & disciplined kind of person. Who was believes on "Time Is

Money."

THE ORGANISATION STRUCTURE

The Dabbawala have two different aspects as considered with the mode actual operations &

mode of organizations formed by the Dabbwallas.

To guide & manage the entire operation procedure.

Acquition of any new customers & training a new person assigned to the particular

customer.

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INTRODUTION

Dabbawalas the carriers of Tiffin boxes daily deliver lunch boxes to lacks of office goers in

city Mumbai. The practices 119 years old in spite of complexities this dabbawallas goes in

to the delivery has been appreciated world wide among them being BBC, MTV, CIIT,

PRINCE CHARLES & BRITAIN CHAIRPERSON OF VIRGIN AIRLINE COMPANY &

OTHER TOP MANAGEMENT COMPANIES & SCHOOLES. It is believed that system if

applied to other cities like Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad etc. will impact

a major positive change the lunch delivery system. The system runs efficiently & is in

prestigious position with achievement of SIX SIGMA RATING.

Dabbawalas fascinating. For instance the Berkeley University in California teaches the

logistic system of Dabbawalas as a case study in one of their business management

programs and many Indian business schools and industry associations have the Dabbawala

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logistics system in their case-study agenda. In 1998 two Dutch filmmakers, Jascha De

Wilde and Chris Relleke, made a documentary called "Dabbawalas, Mumbai's unique

lunch service" and in 2001, the Christian Science Monitor, the Boston-based newspaper,

covered the Dabbawalas in an article called "Fastest Food: It's Big Mac vs. Bombay's

Dabbawallahs." The British Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting

Corporation have done features on the delivery system as well, while Prince Charles was so

impressed with their service that he had even invited a few Dabbawalas to his marriage

with Camilla Parker in London. Yet these Dabbawalas have remained poor. "Nowhere in

the world would you find a lunch delivery service that costs as little as $9 a month," says

Talekar. The charges for this complex delivery system have remained dirt-cheap ever since

its inception, and still the maximum rate that a Dabbawala charges (depending on the

distance carried) is about $11 a month. Which is why technology is needed to improve their

lives, says Tripathy. "No doubt a major driver for establishing a Web-based and mobile

phone ordering system was the need for a central ordering facility where one can call for a

Dabbawala's service by just hitting the Web site or through an SMS," says Tripathy, "but

the other equally important driving force was to expand business." Until recently business

has come just through word-of-mouth or from contacts made in local railway stations.

"But ever since we introduced the SMS-based ordering service we have been getting about

15 new orders every day," said Tripathy. The Web site (www.mydabbawala.com) has also

enabled the association to solicit donations and sell merchandise, the proceeds of which go

towards creation of a social security fund to pay for the Dabbawalas' life and medical

insurances. "The use of IT would not stop there," says Tripathy, "we would be stretching

its use soon to enable the Dabbawalas to add additional lines of business." According to

him the next plan is to gear the Dabbawalas with the ability to sell groceries and other

daily necessities, the orders of which could be taken through their mobile phones.

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The Great Dabbawalla

My time in Mumbai was brief but full. The city itself seems to be about as different as

could be from, Delhi. Clean, full of sky scrapers, bustling, and largely friendly. Through a

contact of a contact I was able to spend some time learning about one of the stranger

aspects of Mumbai life the dabbawalla.

The term dabbawalla means something close to boxman. The dabbawalla are an entire

caste of people whose job is to transport home cooked lunches to their locations at peoples

places of work. There are 5000, largely illiterate, dabbawallas who use a complex system of

symbols and home-grown business sense to move 200,000 lunches each day. The system is

near flawless (one research paper put it as one screw up in 16 million successful deliveries)

and has been going for over a century. Almost all of these men hail from a small village a

couple of hours outside of Mumbai and because of the small town nature of things, almost

all are somehow related. The unique shape of the city and cheap train network make it

affordable for this system to work here and only here. And while its amazing to watch

these men scurry about doing their job, what I was interested in is how this amazingly

Indian concept has held on as long as it has. While fast food is booming as the only option

for office workers in virtually every megacity in the world, in Mumbai it is the norm to

have a fresh home cooked meal every day.

The system works a bit like this (and while I use gendered terms here the system is

becoming less so, again in an interesting way). Man leaves in the morning to go to work at

six to accommodate for the two hour commuter train to work. He wants lunch, so his wife

would have to get up at four to cook it and send it with him. Instead, in rushes the

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dabbawalla, making it so that she can send off the lunch at eleven to get to the office at one,

giving her an extra five hours of sleep. You subscribe to the service on a monthly basis

man on a bike comes by your house to pick up your tiffin (a stainless steel box or canister

which everyone uses to eat out of), he hands it off to the next fellow at the train station, who

hands it off to someone at the next train, to a sorter, to another bike, to the office. A couple

of hours later the dabbawalla picks up the tiffin and the whole process happens again in

reverse. The average tiffin goes through the hands of five or six people in each direction. It

has no writing on it besides a few grease paint marks of xs, os, and squares. Depending on

how far away you live from the office, you can get deliveries for between 150 and 400

rupees a month (three to ten USD).

Now, while this used to be all men receiving and women cooking, it has expanded lots over

the past couple of decades. Now about a quarter of the office workers receiving lunches are

women. They deliver to schools. If you want to deliver to your husband, children, brothers,

sisters, and cousins, you can send tiffins to all of them. If you have no one at home to cook

for you the dabbawalla have found homemakers who will be willing to cook extra meals on

a subscription basis so that strangers can also have a homecooked meal and the homecooks

can get a little bit of extra cash.

I am not the first or last person to marvel at this system. The whole organization organized

itself (stemming from a demand during the British rule for home cooked meals that were

British for British workers, then moving to Indians wanting their own food too) and

incorporated during the 1960s. The three heads of the organization are former runners

themselves and now give talks at major business colleges around the world on a system of

organization and efficiency which came naturally to them.

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Moving away from the marvel that it does work, its amazing to think about why people

want it to work. In a city which is renown for its hustle and bustle its amazing to think

that something as little as a home cooked meal would get this much love and care but its

a sign of how people are making attempts to adapt to this way of life while maintaining

connections to their roots. While the moustachioed man across from me on the train to

Mumbai seemed rather judgemental about most of what I am doing, he was happy to hear

I would be spending time talking with the

head of the dabbawallas. When I asked Mr. Moustache why he got his lunch delivered this

way he said the most important part to him was the continuation of the bond with his

family. While he, his wife, and his children may not eat together, they are eating the same

thing. His wife knows what he likes to eat and makes it for him. If he doesnt finish his

lunch, shell notice and intuit that he is ill or stressed. His meal is coming from someone he

loves and trusts and he knows that they are quality ingredients going into his food. Its an

interesting solution to the onslaught of the fast paced life which is overtaking India. Again

and again as I continue to talk to folks, the reason I hear that everyone is eating more

wheat is because they need to have convenience foods. It will be interesting to see if the

dabbawalla will survive and how their business and traditions evolve as the city and the

workforce continues to grow.

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1

Home made food is best for health and because health is wealth. Outside junk

foods may take your life and makes you sick. Home made food keeps your doctors

bill down and there are fewer absences from office due to poor health. In fact bad

food is the reason #1 of all the diseases.

2

Home made food is cheaper. When you use Dabbawalas services to deliver your

home cooked food to your office you are actually saving your hard earned pennies.

The delivery charge of Rs 250 - 300 per month is very nominal and reasonable. Its

simple maths.

3 Do you not love your mother or wife and like to eat food made by her?

4

Even if there is no one at home to cook food for you , Dabbawalas can deliver you

good quality home like lunch through many restaurants. We have quality

restaurants all over Mumbai where cheap and best quality food is prepared which

is delivered at your office or home through Dabbawala Channel.

5

Safety - The Local train of Mumbai are always very crowed and it is very tough to

take even small luggage during peak times. There are instances where the person's

hand got hurt or broken and ones belongings destroyed while traveling during

peak time. People leave from their home at about 8 - 9 PM which is peak time and

its not possible to carry Tiffin during this time and Even the food is not ready by

this time. By using our services you are getting hot food safely deliver in your

office.

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6

Dabbawalas give reliable services and their performance and accuracy match six

sigma standards. You must be sure that your home cooked food reaches in time.

7 We, the Dabbawalas never go on strike.

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By taking our services you are proving direct employment to 5000+ Dabbawalas

and many of their dependent families. You are actually helping us.

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Dabbawalas are an icon in their own sense and famous world over for their

efficiency and by taking our services you are being part of India's image building.

10

Dabbawalas are from the remote villages of Maharashtra and mostly uneducated.

They regularly organize bhajan and kirtans and spread the essence of Marathi

culture, good will and one ness of India. Being a part of Dabbawalas , you are

actually nurturing Marathi culture

SOME INFORMATION ABOUT NMTBSA

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ABOUT NMTBSA

History : Started in 1890

Charitable trust : Registered in 1956

Employee Strength : 5000

Avg. Literacy Rate : 8th Grade Schooling

Total area coverage : 60 Kms to 70 Kms

Number of Tiffins : 2, 00,000 Tiffin Boxes

400,000 transactions every day (including return)

I.e. 400,000*25 days*12 months= 120,000,000

(120 million or 12 crore transactions per year)

Time taken : 8 to 9 Hours

Morning 3 Hours Wartime

(9 A.M. to 12 P.M. for the Collection and Delivery)

Working of NMTBSA

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Error Rate: 1 in 16 million transactions

Six Sigma performances (99.999999)

Technological Backup: Nil.

Cost of service: Rs. 300/- to 350/- month

($6-8 3-4, 5-6 per month)

Standard price for all (Weight, Distance, Space)

Earnings: Rs. 5000/- to 6000/- per month.

($125, 60, 100) per month.

Turnover per Annum (Approx). Rs. 72 to 80 Cr

Diwali Bonus: One months extra payment

No Strike record since 1890.

No Police / Court Case since 1890.

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ATTITUDE & APPROACH

People study business books and then practice. We practiced first and have now become

case studiesRaghunath Medge (President)

Its a model of managerial & organizational simplicity C. K. Pralhad

DISCIPLINES

No Alcohol Drinking / Smoking during business hours.

Wearing White Cap during business hours.

Carry Identity Cards.

No Leave without Prior Notice.

Code of conduct

Rs 500- Drinking on duty

Rs 100- Smoking on duty

Rs 25- Not wearing white cap

Rs 25- Not carrying ID card

Rs 1000- Leave without intimation, sacked if repeated in 2-3 instances

DABBAWALA AS MARKETING RESOURCE

Marketing pamphlets with the Dabba.

Sticker, Tag and Sample Piece of Goods with Dabba

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THE ORGANISATION STRUCTURE OF THE OFFICIAL ASSOCIATION

FORMED IS AS FOLLOWS:

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

PRESIDENT

MR. RAGHUNATH D. MEDGE

VICE

PRESIDENTMR. SAMBHAJI

G. MEDGE

GENERAL

SECRETARYMR. GANGARAM

L. TALEKAR

TRASURER

MR. DAMODARPINGALE

DIRECTORS

(9)

GROUP

(120)

MUKADAM

1

MUKADAM

M

Dabbawala-1 Dabbawala--n Dabbawala-1 Dabbawala--n

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITY

PRESIDENT & VICE PRESIDENT

Taking monthly meeting

Checking accounts of the association

Solving the problems among the members

GENERAL SECRETARY

drafting the various types of letters

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collecting the trust fees

MUKADAM

supervising the functioning of the members in his group.

MEMBERS

To deliver Tiffin Boxes to the customers & carry Tiffin Boxes back to their home

respectively.

CORE VALUES

Work is Worship

Serving people is Serving God

Annadan is Mahadan

Time is Money

Unity is Power

HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES OF THE ASSOCIATION

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The Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association is registered institution. Though it

is so, it does not function as a commercial institution e.g. courier company.

The organziation is formed by the members. to avoid any disputes & give each member

pride, the employee-employer relationship is avoided. Each member is a shareholder in the

association. He gets his monthly salary from each of his customers directly.

All the members in a group gather on a particular date of each month mostly at a nearest

local office of the organization or the trust (NUTAN MUMBAI TIFFIN BOX SUPPLIERS'

CHARITABLE TRUST). all the members collect their salary together, cut down for overheads

& travel expenses. Also each member contributes amount of rupees 10;/- towards for the charity

purposes.

E.g. There is the group of 15 Dabbawalas

They carry 30 dabbas each

They get Rs. 150/- customer

So calculation goes like this:

1515030 = 67,5000/-

So. Gross earning of this group is Rs. 67500/-

Now from this amount, a collective amount of Rs. 4000/- approximately is deducted

comprising expenses for railways pass, expenses for parking the carts & cycles & overheads the

remaining amount is divided equally into all members of the group.

So, suppose now after deductions, group has left with 63500/-; it will be divided equally

among all the members, thus each member getting Rs. 4230/- each. This salary may not be

sufficient compared to the cost of living in Mumbai also may of have their families back in

villages to send money to. To cope up, with this problem, few of the Dabbawala have started

doing some side business for extra income. Some of them after returning home in evening drive

auto-rickshaws or early in morning before going on work distribute newspaper or milk.

The association once a month calls a meeting of all the members. In this meeting. It tries

to solve the internal problems of the members.

Such problem & solutions solved till now have laid a kind of unwritten rules &

regulations for the members of the organization to follow in certain cases.

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1. In the case of loss of Tiffin Box of the Dabbawala, if he is found guilty, then the

customer is refunded the appropriate amount for the loss.

2. Each member is supposed to operate in his allocated area only & not interfere with any of

his fellow colleagues, work area. In fact normally no Dabbawala does this too!

3. In case if the customer is not pleased with dabbawala provided to him for service, both of

them cannot co-ordinate well with each other then the organization can shift that

dabbawala to some other area & replace other dabbawala in his area.

DISCIPLINE

Wearing White cap during working hours.

Reporting to duty on time.

Behave properly & respect the customers

Carry identity cards

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HR PRACTICES OF THE ASSOCIATION

FLAT ORGANIZATION:

The president, Vice president, General Secretary, Treasurer & 9 no. of Directors formed

13 members of board under which Mukadam & other Dabbawalas work. So due to such

Flat kind of organization structure decisions are taken on the spot. Even the president &

other higher categories membersalso work.

NO HIRE & FIRE RULE:

Everyone is shareholder of the association. Whatever profits they can equally distributed

within itself. It is democratic type of organization HR Practices.

COMMUNITY BASED RECRITMENT:

Those who have capacity to job they can apply for the Dabbawala post. There is no any

kind of basis happens related to recruitment process.

SHARING COMMON BELIEFS, VALUES & ETHICS:

All the Dabbawalas are from poor background, the aim of the organization is mutualbenefit to all members so they follow certain values, belief & ethics to run business

effectively.

FOLLOWING OF STRICT DRESS CODES:

All Dabbawalas must wear white cap which is called as Gandhian cap on duty. Also wear

white sadara & pyjama (shirts & pants). All Dabbawals must carry their Identity card on

duty. All these rules are bninding on all cadres of the Dabbawala.

LOYALTY & TRUST IS THEIR MONOPOLY:

All Dabbawalas are layal & hard working in nature. They follow their norms & promise

which they made their customers.

TRAINING PROVIDED TO NEW EMPLOYEES:

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After recruitment they provide complete process training to new joiner under the

observation of Mukadam or any senior member. When they feel that new employees are

capable to work, that time training will completed.

OWNER + EMPLOYEE IS THE DESIGNATION OF ALL:

Everyone is the shareholder of the Association. All disciplinary rules & other ethics

follow by all members. So there is no any employee & employer relationship between

each other. All are owners of the business.

QUARTERLY MEETING TO DISCUSS ISSUES:

Every quarter all Dabbawalas meet & discuss issues related to service, salary & future

goal. They discuss balance sheet & distrbute profits among them. If any critical issue

arises that time they cal immediate meeting. Also conduct daily meeting to handle day to

day problem. All Dabbwalas can participate in meeting & can contribute his suggestion.

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES OF THE NMTBSA

TEAM WORK:

Working with team is the strength of the Dabbawals. Also Team work is the key aspect

of their inner self satisfaction (proved by research). One Tiffin box goes from many hands of

the Dabbawals & finally reaches at exact destination which show success of their Team Work.

TIME MANAGEMENT:

They deliver Tiffin boxes before 12 pm at customer's office. There duty starts from

morning 8 am. Same time there is always lots of rush at railway station, & traffic on the

road, in such kind of critical situation they able to deliver lunch boxes on time. They got

Six Sigma because of their Time management & no. defects in deliveries.

INNOVATION:

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Dabbawala promote innovation. They started coding system to Tiffin box for easy

identification, which are one of the examples of their innovation strategy. They believe

on continuous improvement by way of innovation.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT:

100% customer satisfaction is the success of their system. They ahieved this level

because of maintaining good relationship with customers. They believe on Service To

Customer Is Service To God.

SIX SIGMA :

They have got the prestigious achievement of SIX SIGMA RATING because of their

percentage of correctness which is just perfect up to 99.999995 i.e. six decimals or more

than that. Not many of the topmost companies are even near to it. This is simply

incredibel!

HRM System of NMTBSA :

They achieved six sigma in following aspects.

Simplified coding system

High conformity to the system

Buffer in the lead time

Confirmed by the limits of the human capabilities

LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT :

By using their own logistic methods they deliver lacks of tiffin boxes through many

dadowalas hand : but the final goal is to reach tiffin box before 12 pm. At customers

office everyday they achieve their goal.

THE SYSTEM OF SERVICE NETWORK HOW THEY OPERATE

The dabbawalas are the whole & soul of the entire system of these operations. For these

dabbawalas to be able to provide prompt & efficient service, it is very much important &

necessary to be always on time. So you will not see any Dabbawala moving ahead road

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taking his own sweet time! They are always in hurry pushing through the crowd carefully

to deliver lunches on time for lacks of mumbaiities!

The entire system involves carefully planned, organized & implemented activities around

the hour timings, but they do it with excellent associated teamwork.

We now take look in the routine course of action Dabbawalas i.e. from the time they

leave their home in the morning till the time they deliver the tiffin box back to the

customers home in the evening.

This cycle of operations of delivery takes them nearly 8 hrs a day very similar to the

office timings, as these takes time normally from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. the day starts around

8.00-8.30 am in the morning.

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WAR AGAINST TIME

(8:00 AM 4.00 PM)

8.00 a.m. 9.30 a.m.

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Leaving Home for the work :

The Dabbawalas leave there homes in the morning between 7.50 am to 8.30 am

depending upon from which areas they have to pick up tiffin boxes.

The Dabbawalas reaches the customers homes according to the timing fixed

between two of them.

The day in home then hands over the prepared & packed tiffin box to the

Dabbawala.

Collecting 30-35 tiffin boxes (from area specified to him) is the responsibility of

each Dabbawala, but there were we can see that number of Dabbas picked up is

also dependent upon the age of the Dabbawalas. Where a young person picks

even 40 tiffins each, an elder person might pick pick 30!

Also collecting tiffin is not an easy task. Because, Dabbawalas have to pick up

tiffin boxes from various distant location in his area. These locations may be far

from each other located on higher floors of the building where sometimes elevator

may not be available.

These tiffin boxes are then taken to the nearest local station by vehicle. Usually a

bicycle or in long wooden creates carried on the head! Eg. If a Dabbawala a

collecting Tffin boxes from area of Ghatkopar then he will carry them to

Ghatkopar or Vikhroli railway station whichever is nearer from his area of

collecting Tiffins

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WHAT IS LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

What is logistics?

A widely adopted textbook defines logistics management as follows: "the process of

planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of

goods, services, and related information from point of origin to point of

consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements" (D. Lambert

1998).

What is supply chain management (SCM)?

A typical definition of supply chain management is the following: A supply chain

is a network of facilities and distribution options that performs the functions of

procurement of materials, transformation of these materials into intermediate and

finished products, and the distribution of these finished products to customers

(Ganeshan & Harrison 1995

5 Rs of logistics

Where should logistics start and where should it end? Again different views exist on

this question. Some say that logistics commences with finished product from the end

of production line to the consumer, or to get theright goods to the right place, at the

right time, in the right form and at the right cost.

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MANAGEMENT NMTBSA HOW USE LOGISTICS &

SUPPLY CHAIN

By using their own logistic methods they deliver lacks of Tiffin Boxes through many

Dabbawalas hand but the final goal is to reach Tiffin box before 12 pm. At

customers office. Every day they achieve their goal.

THE SYSTEM OF SERVICE NETWORK HOW THEY

OPERATE

The Dabbawalas are the whole & soul of the entire system of these operations. For

these Dabbawalas to be able to provide prompt & efficient service, it is very much

important & necessary to be always on time, so you will not see any Dabbawala

moving ahead road talking his own sweet time. They are always in hurry pushing

through the crowd carefully to deliver lunches on time lacks of Mumbaities.

The entire system involves carefully planned, organized & implemented activities

around the hour timings, but they do it with excellent associated teamwork.

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We now take look in the routine course of action Dabbawalas i.e. from the time they

leave their home in the morning till the time they deliver the Tiffin box back to the

customers home in the evening.

This cycle of operations of delivery takes them nearly 8 hrs a day very similar to the

office timings as these takes time normally from 9 a.m. the day starts around 8:00 to

8:30 a.m. in the morning.

LEAVING HOME FOR THE WORK

The Dabbawalas leave there homes in the morning between 7:50 a.m. To 8:30 a.m.

depending upon from which areas they have to pick up Tiffin boxes.

The Dabbawalas reaches the customers homes according to the timing fixed

between two of them.

The day in home then hands over the prepared & packed Tiffin box to the

Dabbawala.

Collecting 30-35 Tiffin boxes (from area specified to him) is the responsibility of

each Dabbawala. But there were we can see that number of Dabbas picked up is

also dependent upon the age of the Dabbawalas. Where a young person picks even

40 Tiffins each, an older person might be pick 30 Tiffins.

Also collecting Tiffins is not is easy task. Because, Dabbawalas have to pick up

Tiffins boxes from various distant location in his area. These locations may be far

from each other located on higher floors of the building where some time elevator

may not be available.

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These Tiffins boxes are then taken to the nearest local station by vehicle. Usually a

bicycles or in wooden creates carried on the head. Eg- If a Dabbawalas collecting

Tiffins boxes from area of Ghatkoper then he will carry them to Ghatkoper or

Vikhroli railway station which ever is nearer from his area of collecting Tiffins.

Sorting & Loading Of The Tiffins Boxes 09:30a.m.-11:30a.m. The Dabbas are sorted by the Dabbawalas on the railway stations. Where a group

of 10-15 Dabbawalas from the same station but from the different locations have

picked up Tiffins boxes. On the railway station, first sorting of Tiffin boxes takes

place i.e. Tiffin to be delivered in one particular area are assembled together &

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staked wooden crates. These are then carries by Dabbawalas handling those

particular areas.

After sorting, Tiffins boxes are loaded in wooden crates in railways luggage

compartment or on bicycle depending upon the way in which Dabbawalas who is

going to carry them & what is his destination area (the Dabbawalas who is going to

carry the Tiffins destined to be delivered at stations where first sorting is done, he

only will carry them on bicycle.)

Mumbai railway has provided luggage compartment in railways, but the luggage

compartment in the morning time is very crowded. But then too these Dabbawalas

make way through it & find a place for themselves & their crates.

So in the morning peak hours the luggage compartment in the train is crowded with

20-25 Dabbawalas & 700-800 Tiffins along with them.

11:30a.m. to 12:30P.m.

Distribution of Tiffin boxes To the Final Destination These times slot is very important, as the service delivery has to be started in this

time only to complete it in all allocated locations to all given customers. After

resorting process the Dabbawalas set off for the delivery of Tiffins boxes to the

customers. Each one of them is assigned on a particular location or block of

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customers work place say one road etc. that person undertakes the responsibility to

deliver the lunch boxes in that particular assigned area irrespective of where the

Tiffins boxes has come from, which person is initially collected it & to which group

of Dabbawalas that person belongs to . Who is Mukadam of that group etc. in this

time slot if we observe we will see all the Dabbawalas rushing carefully through

crowds on the roads to reach to the customers work place.

Generally if offices lunchtime is from 1:00pm. To 2:00pm. So it is very important

that lunch box has to be delivered to the customer before his lunch time.

These Dabbawalas have the lunch at the premises of offices near by where they are

delivers Tiffins boxes if their associations office is not easily reachable.

1:00p.m. to 2: p.m. The Dabbawalas in the same areas of delivery gather at the nearest association

office & have their lunch. Otherwise they have their lunch in the vicmity of the

offices premises where they have just delivered the lunch boxes.

2:00p.m. to 2:30p.m. Now the Dabbawalas return to their customers workplace to collect the empty

Tiffins boxes. The whole process goes back again but in the reverse order.

2:45p.m. to 3:30p.m. The return journey by the train where the group finally meets up after the days

routine to dispatching & collecting from various destinations offices.

Usually, since it is more of a pleasant journey compared to the earlier part of the

day. The Dabbawalas lighten up the moment with merry making, joking around &

singing.

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3:30p.m. to 4:00p.m. This is the stage where final sorting & dispatch take place. The group meets up at

origin station & they finally sort out the Tiffins as per the origin areas.

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MANPOWER PLANING

Day to day their number of customer are increasing simultaneously they increase their manpowertoo. They don't have any criteria about recruitment of Dabbawala. They have some poets which

new recruit Dabbawala should follow these rules are as follows.

First few month he has to work under the supervision of senior person or mukadam.

He must wear which sadara (shrit), while pant (Gandhi topi) & white cap at the time of

working.

He should be physically fit to carry Tiffin boxes

He should maintain good relation which customer

He should be punctual

He should be able to work with team

He should has to give prior information to the association before going on leave.

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LEAVES

NMTBSA has segregated annual leave on two types

1. Weekly Leave:

All Dabbawala gets weekly leave on every Sunday.

2. Festival Leave:

All Dabbawallas are devotees of lord Shiv shankaras & vitthalas so NMTBASA

only sanctioned leaves for those festivals which are celebrated for their God.

Mahashivaratri (Festival of Shiv Shankaras)

Aashadhi Ekadashi (Festival of Lord vitthalas)

Kartiki Ecakashi (Festival of Lord Vitthalas)

Chaitra Pournima (New Year of Marathi People)

Diwali (2 days) (Festival of Lights)

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THE GROWTH

YEAR NUMBER OF DABBAWALAS NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS

1900 58 1445

1905 75 1965

1910 142 4120

1915 204 6504

1920 321 9675

1925 407 12140

1930 695 22865

1935 1024 43230

1940 1206 4340

1945 1715 64240

1950 2106 82000

1955 2552 105120

1960 3216 140000

1965 4406 198100

1970 4605 1760401975 4904 215000

1980 5551 27507

1985 5524 190645

1990 5102 130860

1995 5180 142260

2000 5164 16670

2005 5142 175040

2006 5150 1750602007 5200 187080

2008 5220 190900

2009 5300 200000

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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILIES

Started D "armashala in Bhimashankar district in the year 1930

Maharashtra government prorogates HIV awareness through Dabbawalas channel

Innovative workplace programmes caries HIV prevention messages:

Indian & Americans in partnership to fight HIV/AIDS plan consist of reaching

Mumbai office workers with HIV/AIDS prevention message in their lunch bases

through Dabbawala network is the innovative programme supported by the

emergency plan. On world AIDS day 2005, the project delivered lunches

containing information about HIV/AIDS as approximately 2 lacks office goers the

5000 Dabbawalas delivered lunch boxes. The emergency plant supported efforts

of the Dabbawala association to include in the lunches creatively designed

materials & coasters bearing messages reflecting the World AIDS Day theme

"Stop AIDS, Keep The Promise."

In addition to theses world AIDS Day activities the programme works throughout

the year to reach out to corporations to address HIV/AIDS in the workplace.

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SWOT ANALYSIS OF NMTBSA

STRENGTH (s):

Low operational cost

Customer satisfaction

Low attrition rate

Flat organization

Team spirit & team management

WEAKNESS(W) :

Limited access to education

Funds for the association

No social security to members

Operational cost is low

Wide range publicity

THREAT (T):

Job satisfaction level of New generations.

Canteen facility provided by corporate firm.

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Hon.Chairman of Virginn

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Conclusion :

Managing more than 5000 Dabawalas daily is really increased! So what kind of Humanresource policy they have adopted & how do they implemented it, was the objective behind these

report. Which are satisfactory completed, & I got some key formulas, principles of their effective

Human resource management system from this project work.

The lacks of office goers, 5000 Dabbawalas & risky job schedules, all these kind of

problems they are able to handle only due to their efficient Human resource management system.

Mr. Dhondiba Medge formed Human Resource Policy for Nutan Mambai Tiffin Box Suppliers'

Association. He set core values for the Association, these improved their system.

The key feature of their Human Resource Management is Flat organizational structure.

These are able to maintainno communication barriers from top level to lower level. All

Dabbawalas are employer of the association, there has no any employee-employer relation. This

thing is them motivational factor behind their job satisfaction. Effective delegation of authority

helps them to do work effectively. From top level to lower level Dabbawalas know their work &

their target which helps to effective job specification.

They have implemented Human Resource Policy in their organization, these contains

strict disciplinary rules of employment, dress code & effective training & development facility to

new joiners.

They follow management principles in their organization such as Team work, Time

management, Innovation, Cstomer relationship management & six sigma. Because of these they

called as "Management Guru".

Human resource policy, Manpower planning. Training & Development, Disciplinary

Code of conduct & their Corporate Social Responsibility activity are the key result areas of their

Human Resource Management system.

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Their daily earning is not sufficient to fulfill their basic needs but whatever they earn out

of from it some amount they spend in FSR activities. 'We are the part of society which provides

many resources to us, so it is our prime duty to give back to society'-these CSR principle they

follow.

The organization has gained a lot of appreciation from foreign countries but it still in

some ways or other not fully appreciated by its own countrymen. Organization can do a lot to

perform better but it needs support & word appreciation frim its own countrymen. It so, it will

even leave back the top world0running entrepreneurs & give India a place of pride on the world

map.

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STUDY OF SIX SIGMA METHODOLOGY

IN

NUTAN MUMBAI TIFFIN BOX SUPPLIERS

ASSOCIATION

A STRATEGY FOR PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE

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SIX SIGMA

The distribution system is handled by almost illiterate or as we can say semi literate

people. Most of them uneducated or just servant or just fourth grade passed but this note make

any different to them. Yet the system runs efficiently and is in prestigious position with

achievement of SIX SIGMA RATING! It prodoudly shares this position with world famous

giant management corporate like GE, MOTOROLA (Source: Forbes magazine U.S.A.).

The reason behind this is the wonderful work system offered by them with only 0.01% error rate

in comparison with the huge number of operations it induleges inot. They have got the

prestigious achievement of SIX SIGMA RSTING because of their percentage of correctness

which is just perfect up to 99.999995 i.e. six decimals or more than that. Not many of the

topmost companies are even near to it. This is simply incredible.

Though they have achieved SIX SIGMA RATING & a wide popularity, it cannot be neglected

that the operations completely involve physical hard work & coping up with common modes of

transport. he crowded modes of transport, traffic &roads, continuous physical work-it is not too

easy. And we have even six p-seventy years old patrons doing it for a living. These are the

people who treat customer as GOD & run whole of their life for their GOD.

Six Sigma is a philosophy and a methodology focused on defect reduction.

Six Sigma provides a methodology and tool set

that can be used to identify and reduce defects

INTORDUCTION ABOUT THE SUBJECT

Six Sigma best described as a journey, a journey for business professional who are truly

committed to improving productivity and profitability. Six Sigma isn't theretical; it's an active,

hands on practice that gets results. In short, you don't contemplate six sigma; you do it.

The six sigma story began in the 1980 at Motorola, where it was first developed and proven. In

1983 reliability engineer bill smith concluded that if a product was defective and corrected

during the production, then other defects were probably being missed and later found by

fustomers. In other words, process failure rates were much higher than indicated completely fredefects; they probably wouldn't fail customers later.

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Six sigma statistically measures and reflects true procees capability, correlating to such

characteristic as defects per unit and probabilities of success or failure. Its value is in

transforming culture outlooks from complacency to accomplishment across the spectrum of

industry.

Most companies function at four sigma tolerating 6210 defects per one million opportunities.

Operating at six sigma creates an almost defect free environment allowing only 3.4 defects per

one million opportunities: products and services are nearly perfect (99.9997%) eliminating

defects eliminates dis-satisfaction.

This all sounds good in theory, but how do you put it into practice? Well six sigma is about

arming your human "assets" with the training, resources, and knowledge to solve problems. It's

also about taking a leadership journey to guide those assets toward ever-increasing achievement.

Six sigma asks hard questions about your processes and gets the data that supports them. Itprovides solutions that fit your unique processes.

Letter in the Greek alphabet (o)

WHAT IS SIX SIGMA?

Six Sigma is statistical concept that measures a process in terms of defects. Achieving six sigma

means your processes are delivering only 3.4 defects per million opportunities.

In other words, they are working nearly perfectly. Sigma is a term in statistics that measures

something called standard deviation. In its business use it indicates defects in the out-puts of a

process, and helps us to understand how far the process deviates form perfection.

The central idea of six sigma management is that if you can measure the defects in a process, you

can systematically figure out ways to eliminate them, to approach a quality level of zero defects.

So in short, six sigma is several things :

A statistical basis of measurement 3.4 defects per milion opportunities.

A philosophy and goal: as perfect as practically possible

A symbol of quality.

Six Sigma value is a metric that indicatesiliow well a process forming

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PRACTICAL MEANING OF SIX SIGMA

Letter in the Greek alphabet (o)

"Sigma" is a measure of the variation or spread within a process.

The sigma value is a metric that indicates how well a process is performing.

Six Sigma is a methodology to drive process improvements by focusing on defect

elimination.

In Six Sigma philosophy, sigma is a common language that indicates how often defects

occur in a process.

Focusing on sigma (o) requires through process understanding & breakthrough thinking.

Six sigma (o) a methodology & tool set that can be used to identify & reduce defects.

Six Sigma provides bottom line results improving the condition of the business.

Six Sigma utilizes the team approach to process improvement, gaining employee

participation, knowledge, and support.

Six Sigma is a continuous improvement process, striving ever closer to perfection and

allowing no complacency with success.

Six Sigma is both a methodology and a metric.

Six Sigma focuses on addressing the needs of the customer.

Six Sigma provides a structured approach to under standing and improving processes.

There are some levels in six sigma process which calls "Six sigma" levels these are as follows

Sigma level (process capability) Defects per million Opportunities

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2 308,537

3 66,807

4 6210

5 233

6 3.4

Practical Meaning of 99% Good

30 Capability 93.92% Historical Standard

40 Capability 99.38% Recent Standard

60 Capability 99.99966% Industry Vision

ESSENTIAL OF THE SIX SIGMA METHODOLOGY-

The six sigma methodology uses statistical tools to identify the vital few factors, the factors that

matter most for improving the quality of processes and generating bottom-line results. It consists

of four steps :

Process Characterization

1) measure (What)

Identify Project Scope/Goal

Define Key process Elements

Establish Process Capability

Validate Measurement System

What is the frequency of Defects?

Define the defect

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Define performance standards

Validate measurement system

Establish capability metric

2) Evaluate (Where, When, Wyh)

Benchmark Process Entitlement

Data Analysis

Determine Critical Factors

Where, when and why do Defects occur?

Identify sources of variation

Determine the critical process parameters

Process Optimization

3) Improvement (How)

Develop Improvement Plan

Understand/Optimize Vital Process Elements

Reduce Variation/Defects

Verify Impact

How can we improve he process?

Screen potential causes

Discover relationships

Establish operating tolerances

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Were the improvements effective?

Re-establish capability metric

4) Control (Sustain, Leverage)

Implement Long Term Control Plan

Leverage toSimilar Products/Processes

Document & Standardize

How can we maintain the improvements?

Implement process control mechanisms

Leverage project learning's

Document & Proceduralize

We should note that six sigma methodologies are nongid. Approaches vary, sometimes

significantly. One of the variations is in the phases. Same approaches use all five of the phases

listed above. while others not include the define phase. Six sigma professionals recognize that

this approach is a kind of roadmap for improvement, this is the tool which helps managers and

employees to understand and improve critical processes.

Six Sigma Methodology

This strategy is supported by two Six Sigma sub-methodologies called DMAIC (Define,

Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control), and DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyse, Design,

Verify). DMAIC shown in Fig. is an improvement system for existing processes which fall

below specifications and need to be improved incrementally. DMADV is also an improvement

system which is designed to develop new processes and/or products at Six Sigma quality levels.

In both sub-methodologies and Six Sigma in general, the objective is to continually find ways to

improve and refine processes, reduce defects and increase savings.

This 'problem-solving' phase is called DMAIC.

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First projects are defined from the perspective of customers or regarding process (Define).

Second based on the defined projects, the current level of the product quality is measured into

sigma level (Measure). Third causes of the problems are detected through the analysis so as to

improve the sigma level (Analyse). Fourth efforts are made to improve the situation by workingwith the causes of the problems (Improve). Finally the optimal condition generated by the above

mentioned phases are controlled, maintained and monitored (Control)

DMAIC Cycle

53

Define

1. Identify project that is

measurable

2. Develop team charter

3. Define process map

Measure

1. Define performance

standards

2. Measure current level

of quality into Sigma

Control

1. Ensure that the result

is sustained

2. Share the lessons

learnt

Improve

1. Screen potential

causes

2. Discover variable

relationship

3. Establish operating

Analyse

1. Establish process

capability

2. Define performance

objectives

3. Identity variationsources

Define

Control Measure

Improve Analyse


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DMAIC Cycle

Step 1 : Define

Identify the project that are measurable.

Projectes are defined including the demands of the customer and process.

It is the initial stage of starting the project and the most significant step

Step 2 : Measure

The current level of quality is measured into Sigma level.

It precisely pinpoints the area causing problems. It forms the basis of the problem

solving.

Project defects must be precisely defined and all possible and potential causes for such

problems must be identified in thbis step.

Subsequetnly such problems are analysed statistically.

Step 3: Analysis

In this step, when and where the defect occurs in investigated. Projects are statistically

analysed and the problems are documented.

Major elements to be performed in tha 'Analysis' step are as follows.

Projects must be statistically and precisely defined int terms of Sigma.

the gap between the ttarget and the actual state is clearly defined in

statistical terms like mean and moving average.

A comparehensive list of the potential casues of the problems is created.

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Statistical analysis is carried out to reduce the potential casuese into few

causes.

Finally based on abofe swteps, the finacial implication of the project is

calculated and furteher review is carried out if necessary.

Tools for analysis

Process mapping

Failure Mode & Effect Analysis

Statistical Tests

Design of Experiments

Control charts

Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

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Step 4: Improve

Improvements for the potential casuses identified in the Analysis step is carried out in this step. Solutions to

all the potentials problems must be found.

The choices are how to change, fix and modify the process.

A trial run must be carried out for a planned period of time to esnsure the reviesion and

improvements implemented in the process result in achieving the sugeted values. The

step are repeated if necessary.

Step 5: Control

Proper control and mainteance of the improved states are estabilshed in thbis steop. It is

also a step to regularize the new method.

The results and accomplishments of all the improvement activities are documented There

is continuous monitoring of where the improved process well maintained.

WHY SIXSIGMA TO NMTBSA?

Having discussed the reasons why a suply clain like the NMTBSA can successful, we

need to further look into the reasons that contribute towards the system to be extermely efficient,

the following are the major ones.

Simplified coding system

High conformity to the system

Buffer in the lead time

Confirmede by the limits of the human capabilities.

PICTURE OF CODING

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Coding SystVLP : Vile Parle

Mumbai)

9EX12 : Code for

SIMPLIFIED CODING SYSTEM :

The system employes extermely a simple coding system. The cooding system has been

explained in the exhibit II. It completely specifies the location as well as the person who is to

carry to box. It also simplifies the sorting at the residential & destination locations. Thus, it

ensures a coplete flawless system. Any scope of flaw now lies only in sorting & the delivery,

which can be managed becaue there are more people involved in it, which remove the scope

of errors.

At first when number of tiffin boxes were less, the Tiffin's were tied with a colored thread or

wires to be identifies properly. But as the time passed & number of Tiffin's to be delivered

startede increasing, this system of coding was found to be insufficient and inappropriate.

So, in the early 1970's the association decided to implement new system of working where

Tiffin box codes & markings were uniform.

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This coding system can be explained life this Each Tiffin box has a certain unique code

painted on the top of the lid of the Tiffin box. The code donsists of the alphabets, numbers &

even colours. This includes.

Wher a Tiffin box is origainally picked from

Were in ha to be given

When is the Dabbawala who is finally going to deliver it.

Which group of Dabbawala does the tiffin boxes belong to

(In case of more number of Tiftin boxes tobe delivered in same area of location)

THIS CODING SYSTEM CAN BE EXPLAINED MORE IN DETAIL WITH HELP OF AN

EXAMPLE

Here the circle represents the top of the lid of the Tiffin box.

"BO" indicates "BORIVALI" which is the station of the pick-up of the Tiffin box.

"A" indicates the code given to be the Dabbawala or group of Dabbwalas the member of which

group picks-up the Tiffin box initially from the customer's house.

These codes are A,B.C, etc. according to the groups. When on each residential railway station

there are more than two groups of the Dabbawala. Each group is given in a colour painted on the

top of the lid of the Tiffin boxes. Often the codes are written in their full forms also.

The number "10" indicates the main area of the destination location. The number 10 prevailing in

the current system is allocated to the area of "Nariman Point".

58

BOA 10 9M

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The number "9" on the right hand side indicates the main loction of the Nariman Point & also the

number of the Dabbawala handling delivery in the particular area.

"M" stands forthe "Mittal Tower".

"16" stands for the th16th floor on which the .......... the customer is located & Dabbawala has to

deliver the Tiffin boxes.

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HIGH CONFIRMITY IN THE SYSTEM

The system operates in such a manner that every individual has personal interest in

confirming to the basic principles & discipline. He understands that when he delivers someone

else Tiffin's are being distributed by someone else. And that is a reason why he conforms to the

norm. His participation in the system in ensured by the peer's participation This interlock in the

system ensures a greater responsibility & thus a better performance.

The philosophy of the Dabbawala is do your work honestly & be satisfied with the

philosophy of the Dabbawala is - do your work honestly & be satisfied with what you get

satisfied & happy- all of them are of a very simple nature just trying to do their job perfectly.

They call the customer "GOD" & consider their service to the God. Not affected by artificiality,

misconduct & unethical ways of living life, they represent then class of the simple good-natured

human beings who are always on their toes for others.

BUFFER IN THE LEAD TIME

The system is main with a buffer in the lead-time. The Dabbwalas pick-up the lunch

boxes between 9:30am-10:00am & deliver at around 12:30 pm. To 13:00 pm So they have

around 2.5 to 3 hours to get the box delivered. Mostly it only takes the Dabbawala around 30 to

45 minutes to collect the boxes, & bring then to the station. Depending on which area the boxes

are collected, it takes between 30-45 minutes to deliver. So there is actually put in a time slack,

so even if the Dabbawala misses the planned train, he will still be able to deliver the lunch boxes

in time. So one most days the Dabbawalas have waiting time, when they arrive to their delivery

station. Which they utilize through sufficient time in sorting. If all goes as a planned they have

about 30 minutes to an hour before delivery. It is this time slack that is part of the reason, for the

very high percentages delivery on time.

Because even if some minor incident happened, like if their bi-cycle should get a flat tire

or so, there is still time to fix it, & still deliver on time. So we see the time slack as Necessity, to

keep in the impressive on-time delivery statistics.

CONFIRMED BY THE LIMITS OF HUMAN CAPABILITY:

The system is designed, to the capabilities of the Dabbwalas. They have made the system

so each person, doesn't have to remember more then 30-40 places to collect & delivery. This

number is partly picked as a result of two things. First of all because of the time available &

second, & may be more important. This is the number they have found to remember &

distinguish for most of the employees.

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As mentioned there is a certain buffer in the lead-time, which allows for a Dabbawala

collecting & distributing more lunch boxes. But this would make it more difficult for the

Dabbawals to remember the address, & would late deliveries. So.part of success as we see it, is

due to the recognition of the human capabilities & the recognition of the need for a time buffer in

the lead-time.

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Six Sigma Statistical Model

62

Sigmastatistic

Sigma

measure

Performance

benchmark

Statistical

model

Six Sigma

initiativeImprovement

process

Project byproject

approach

Organizational

infrastructure

Core

competencies


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CONCLUSION

The Dabbawala system of one of its own kind, unique to Mumbai, extraordinary in

operations, run by less educated people but higher in achievement on performance scale than the

leaders in management field & the country's topmost joint ventures. They might not have the

huge capital & assets like others. They are the winners. They have their greatest asset-the

satisfaction of their performance & trying to follow them in their own countries. Such is the

system India is proud of?

They have prestigious achievement of SIX SIGMA rating the term used for the

percentage of correctness which is just perfect, up to 99.999995 i.e. six decimals or more thanthat. Not many of the topmost companies are even near to it. This is simply incredible!

It is a disciplined, data-driven methodology focused on eliminating defects. A six Sigma

defect is defined as anything that falls outside of a customer's specifications. The results reported

below by six sigma companies are convincing about its contribution to industry. The Six Sigma

methodology and fundamental objective is to implement a measurement-based strategy that

focuses on process improvement and variation reduction.

Six Sigma is a term used in manufacturing process improvement methodologies and it

refers to the variability of a process.

Six Sigma has roots back to the teachings of Dr. Joseph Suran and Dr. W. Ewwards

Deming (Thawani, 2004). Six Sigma is a high performance, data driven method for improving

quality by removing defects and their causes in business process activities. The higher the

number of sigma's, the more consistent is the process output or the smaller the variation. It is

particularly powerful when measuring the performance of a process with a high volume of

outputs. Six Sigma links customer requirements and process improvements with financial results

while simultaneously providing the desired speed, accuracy and agility in today's e-age.

In 1998, Forbes Global magazine conducted a qualities assurance study on the

Dabbawalas operations and gave it an accuracy rating of 99.999999 more then Six Sigma. The

Dabbawalas made one error in six million transactions. That put then on the list of Six Sigma

rated companies, along with multinationals like Motorola and GE. There was only one mistake

in every 6,000,000 deliveries.

The BBC has produced a documentary on Dabbawalas and Prince Charles, during his

visit to India, visited them (he had to fit in with their schedule since their timing was to precise to

permit any flexibility).

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Although the services remains essentially with one barefoot delivery boys as the prime

movers, the Dabbawalas have started to embrace technology, and now allow booking for

delivery through SMS. A web site mydabbawala.com has also been added to allow for online

booking, in order to keep up with the times. An online poll on the website ensure that customer

feedback is given pride of place. The success of the system depends on teamwork and time

management. Such is the dedication and commitment of the barely literate and barefoot delivery

boys who form links in the extensive delivery chain, that there is no system of documentation at

all. A simple colour coding system doubles as an ID system for the destination and recipient.

A gauge of quality and efficiency, Six Sigma is also a measure of excellence. Embarking

on a Six Sigma programme means delivering top-quality service and products while virtually

eliminating all internal inefficiencies. A true Six Sigma organization produces not only excellent

product but also maintains highly efficient production and administrative processes, Six Sigma

may mean not only the obvious reduction of cycle time during production but, more importantly,

optimizing response time to inquiries, maximizing the speed and accuracy with which inventory

and materials are supplied, and fool proofing such support process from errors, inaccuracies and

inefficiency.

The primary factor in the successful implementation of Six Sigma project is to have the

necessary resources, the support and leadership of top management, customer requirements

identified explicitly, and a comprehensive training programme.Six Sigma's DMAIC structure of

problem solving is its ability to analyse, improve and control processes with an emphasis on the

ability to measure the performance. Deployment of Six Sigma is best achieved through the

defined projects. Success of a Six Sigma project depends on buy-in by the entire organization,

deployment of the process, effective training and key measurements.

Lucas has thus concluded that:

"Current Business System + Six Sigma = Total Quality Management"

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THE RESEARCH & METHODOLOGY

THE DABBAWALA SATISFACTIONS SURVEY

Meaning of Research

Research is a common parlance which refers to search for knowledge. Research is

scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact research is

an art of scientific investigation.

It is the pursuit of truth with the help of study observation and experiment. Thus research

refers to the systematic method consisting of intimating the problem, formulating hypothesis,

collecting the facts or data.

Research means a careful search or inquiry or an endeavour to discover facts by study or

by investigation. Research methodology has become unavoidable, when there is a problem, one

search for the causes of that problem and the way in which the problem can be solved.

Research is defined as the scientific and systematic search for information on a specific

topic. According to Clifford Woody, "research comprises of defining and redefining of problem,

formulating hypothesis and suggestion solutions, organizing and evaluating data, carefullytesting the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis."

The purpose of research is do discover answers to question through application of

scientific procedures.

Identification of Problem :

The Tiffin box service provider - Mumbai Dabbawala has been working from 115 years.

Yet the system runs effificnetly & is in prestigious position with achievement of SIX

SIGMA RATING!

The research has conducted to solve following Problem :-

The first problem is to know the job satisfaction level of the Dabbawala.

Previously many B-schools has done project on Dabbawalas service, they

appreciated the service of the Dabbawala but in the conclusion they stated that

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the six sigma service providers are poor & not job satisfied workers. So to

know practically & statistically job satisfaction level of the Dabbawala.

To know about their demands which they want to fulfill.

Define concepts :

This research work gives full fledge knowledge about satisfaction levele of the

Dabbawala. This satisfaction level judge under four parameter, these are as follows :

Financial level :

Dabbawala are financially sound or not.

Whatever salary they drawn which are able to solve their basic necessities

or not.

To know about, effect of financial level on job satisfaction.

Family level :

Dabbawala family consist his spouse, children's, parents which are totally

depends on them.

Each & every Dabbawala first aim is to fulfill demands of their family

members.

Sometimes they do dual job to fulfill their basic family needs, So, to knowabout effect of Family level aspect on their job satisfaction level.

Personal level :

Some customers also want service on Sundays & public holidays so as per

the customer wish Dabbawala provides services on those days by keeping

asides their personal interest.

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The Dabbawala satisfaction Survey

New generation are well educated but unemployment compel them to do

same business.

So, to know effect of self satisfaction of Dabbawala on their job

satisfaction level.

Social level :

The nature of the work is totally field work & there is large chances of

happening uncertain events like acciderts, health problems etc.

In such kind of situation the critical problem they are facing about security

of their social life.

Objective of Study :

To study job satisfaction level of Dabbawala

Hypothesis :

Is there win-win situation of satisfaction level from both side i.e.

(customers & Dabbawala)

Understand interrelation between risk & satisfaction level.

Understand the relation between two variables like satisfaction level &

motivation.

Scope of study :

Location is NMTBSA office at grant road station west of Mumbai

suburban area.

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Sampling : Survey method of research is used & as per survey method questionnaire

is formed.

Questionnaire is design in a local language (Marathi) which is able to

understand them.

The all type of Dabbawala who are working in different categories in the

association has selected for sampling.

SAMPLE SIZE :

Out of 55 samples, 50 samples of Dabbawalas who filled all question in the questionnaire

are selected.

The Dabbawalas who are working from more than a year with association are selected.

DATA COLLECTION :

Data are collected from primary source

Method of data collection is survey & questionnaire. (questionnaire are design in a local

language which are understood by most of the Dabbawals)

In editing work the questionnaires which are not completely filled up are rejected also the

Dabbawala who has less than 1 year experience their feedback also not considered.

Under coding system 16 question are framed in one question form, consist "yes-no" type

questions; "objective" type questions & few are "brief" questions.

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INTERPRETATION & ANALYSATION

Here in this part, we are going to analyse the data collected through the answers given by

the Dabbawals to the questions in the questionnaire. For the purpose, fifty Dabbawals were given

the questionnaire to fill. In the course they were also asked the reasons for the particular answers

to the subject questions.

The Dabbawalls review include all type of the Dabbawala from normal Dabbawals to

mukadam (team leader); also interact with president, vice president, secretary, treasurer to collect

full information related to research work.

The data or the answer to the questions reflects the view of the customers regarding

various aspects such as :

Their monthly income

Any social security cover

Their work experience

Job satisfaction level

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ABOUT EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION

EDUCATION No. OF DABBAWALA PERCENTAGE

0 06 12%

1-4 09 18%

5-7 09 18%

8-10 22 44%

11-12 04 8%

12%

18%

18%

44%

8%


0 1-4 5-7

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The purpose of this question was to know about their educational background. The

Dabbawals service appreciated by Britain prince Charles, Virgin Atlantic airline chairman Sir

Richard Branson. Dabbawalas are not high educated individual but there I.Q. (Intelligent

Quotient) level is high.

They have more than 5000 Dabbawals strength, which are capable to deliver lunch boxes

to 2 lacks customers.

Out of 50 Dabbawalas interview, 8% of Dabbawals are not educated, they didn't go to but

they know entire coding system which is in English language, also able to sign in the muster roll.

18% of Dabbawalas lies in 1st to 4th standard education 5th to 7th standard schooling

education qualification lies by 18% Dabbawalas.

Majority of Dabbawalas lies in 8th-10th standard educational qualification, their

percentage is 44%.

Only 8% Dabbawalas lies in 11th & 12th standard qualification.

Mr. Raghunath Medge- President of Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Supplier's Association &

chairman of Dakkhan Mavle Sahakari Patpedhi Mumbai, also Contractor of Tiffin Box Suppliers

& School Bus Service has completed their Graduation from Mumbai University.

The coding system founder Mr. Raghunath Medge play a big role in filling up an

educational gap of Dabbawalas.

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HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING WITH

NMTBSA?

OPTIONS ANSWER PERCENTAGE

1-5 13 26%

6-10 14 28%

11-15 09 18%

16-20 06 12%

21-25 03 06%

26 & ABOVE 05 10%

26%

28%18%

12%

6%

10%

1st Qtr

2nd Qtr3rd Qtr

4th Qtr

5th Qtr

6th Qtr

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HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING WITH

NMTBSA?

The object behind to ask this question is as follows :

The answer will give details of exact no. of people who are loyal with the association.

The criteria for this research project is to take interview of those Dabbawalas who has

completed more than one year service, So-this question help to sort our sample for

research.

The question helps to know about the no. of younger generation's entry in this profession.

The suggestions of experience Dabbawalas are very fruitful so I get to know their

numbers.

There are 26% of Dabbawalas which lies in 1 to 5 yrs of experience.

The total percentile of 6-10 years experience of Dabbawalas is 28.

Out of 50 sample, 09 Dabbawalas lies in 11-15 years of experience & there percentile is 18.

There are 12% of Dabbawalas which lies in 16 to 20 years of experience.

The total percentile of 21-25 years experience of Dabbawalas is 28.

There are many Dabbawalas who has been working from more than 25 years with association.

These higher senior categories of Dabbawalas are 10% of whole strength.

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IS MONTHLY SALARY ABLE TO FULFILL YOUR BASIC

NEEDS?

Dabbawalas are doing risky job. To travel Tiffin boxes through trains at peak hour, also

as per requirement of the customer they provide services on public holidays. But they only get

Rs. 200-300 per month per Tiffin from customer who contributes around Rs. 5000-6000 monthly

income. But to live in city like Mumbai, this amount is not capable to fulfill basic needs.

The aim of this question is to know opinion about their monthly income. The question

covers financial aspect of research work.

The 54% of Dabbawalas are satisfied with their salary, which are able to complete their

basic needs.

The remaining percentages of Dabbawalas i.e. 46% are not satisfied with their salary

which is unable to fulfill their basic needs.

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DO YOU HAVE ENSURANCE COVER FOR YOUSELF?


YES 25 50%

NO 25 50%

50%50%Yes

No

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DO YOU HAVE INSURANCE COVER FOR YOURSELF?

The object behind to ask this question is to know how may Dabbawalas thinks about their

life & do investment to secure it.

I got some good reply from them, many Dabbawalas are very conscious about their life

because they know risk gravity in their job. They want self protection & family protection from

uncertain events so they secured their life.

But 50% of Dabbawalas are not secured their life because they don't have sufficient

amount to invest in insurance. But they wish to invest in insurance.

They want government or association should do to secure their life or give them

insurance.

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DO YOU HAVE INSURANCE COVER FOR YOURSELF?

The project behind to ask this question is to know how many Dabbawalas thinks about

life & do investment to secure it.

I got some good reply from them, many Dabbawalas are very conscious about their life

because they know risk gravity in their job. They want self protection & family protection from

uncertain events to they secured their life.

But 50% of Dabbawalas are not secured their life because they don't have sufficient

amount to invest in insurance. But they wish to invest in insurance.

They want government or association should do to secure their life or give them

insurance.


YES 0 0%

NO 50 100%

0%

100%

Yes

No

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YES 0 0%

NO 50 100%

0%

100%

Yes

No

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DO YOU GET ANY RETIREMENT BENEFIT OR OLD AGE

BENEFIT FROM MMTBSA?

Northern Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association is not providing any retirement benefit or

old age benefit to their members. The frequency of this question's answer is 100% No. so I say it

is 100% negative answer.

There is little reason behind this.

NMTBSA charges low fees from their customers

They do not have sufficient balance to provide retirement benefit

Whatever monthly income they earn, they equally distributed within itself.

If any Dabbawala want to retire or leave job, he can do by selling his clients to

association, that time association give him a lumsum amount; which is only source of

income for them after retirement or resignation.

The Dabbawalas association has "DAKKHAN MAVALE SAHAKARI PATPEDHI" this gives

personal loan to members at very reasonable rate. The members can take benefit after retirement

also. So the gap of old age benefit or retirement benefit to members is partially filled up by this

scheme.

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DO YOU GET ANY RETIREMENT BENEFIT OR OLD AGE

BENEFIT FROM NMTBSA?

Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association is not providing any retirement benefit

or old age benefit to their members. The frequency of this question's answer is 100% No. so I say

it is 100% negative answer.

There is little reason behind this :

NMTBSA charges low fees from their customers.

They do not have sufficient balance to provide retirement benefit.

Whatever monthly income they earn, they equally distributed within itself.

If any Dabbawala want to retire or leave job, he can do by selling his clients to

association, that time association give him a lumsum amount; which is only source of

uncome for them after retirement or resignation.

The Dabbawalas association has "DAKKHAN MAVALES SAHAKARI PATPEDHI" This

gives personal loan to members at very reasonable rate. The members cant take benefit to

members is partially up by this scheme.

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AS PER NATURE OF JOB, HAD YOU FACE ANY INJURY

DURING YOUR WORK? IF YES, THEN PLEASE MENTION

The object behind to ask this question is to know risk gravity in their job. Doing field

work job in Mumbai city is too hectic, & handle time management side by side is very

impossible. So doing these kinds of job, what kind of problem they face & how they tackle in

was the prime aim behind this question.

20% of Dabbawala met with an accident in the course of duty. They also mention reason

of an accident. The reasons are as follows.

The four wheeler struck to cycle at walkeshwer area at the time of delivering. Tiffin

boxes, hospitalized-leg, hand fractured.

Due to continuous cycle riding theyface problem of pain in leg, chest (chamak - motech)

Many times vehicles struck to their cycle.

The remaining 80% Dabbawala said that they know the art of riding cycle with carrying. Tiffin

boxes. But they are not denying that in the future they will not meet with an accident. Means

there is a lot of risk they carry at the time of delivering. Tiffin Boxes.

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OTHER THAN NMTBSA, HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING

SOMEWHERE ELSE?


YES 06 12%

NO 44 88%

12%

88%

Yes

No

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OTHER THAN NMTBSA, HAVE YOUR BEEN WORKING

SOMEWHERE ELSE?

The Dabbawalas are getting only Rs. 5000-6000 monthly. This amount is not sufficient to live in

Mumbai. The Dabbawalas family consists spouse, children, parents; all are totally depends on

them.

88% of Dabbawalas are not doing any work, because they completely tire after doing

daily work +& unable tot do other kind of part-time job.

22% of Dabbawalas who are young they do part-time job in morning or in evening. Such

as:

Doing some agency work like Bhisi, investment ect.

Pan card-helping others to get pan card.

Landing - unloading work- hamali in flawer market of Dadar & in other area

Working as a Coompounder clinic-those who are educated they do part time work clinic.

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YES 47 94%

NO 1 2%

MEDIUM 2 4%

94%

2%4%

Yes

NoMedium

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Do You Satisfy working with nmtbsa?

This is the key question of this research work. The entire conclusion is depending on it.

The question gives exact statistical percentage of satisfied Dabbawalas.

shrish project report

Documents