Train 18 memoirs: The wise doth know he is foolish and vendors as partners in a public procurement regime?

Excerpts from Chapter  VII & VIII:

Around early April 17, everyone in ICF knew that we meant business and something unique was going to happen. The core team knew they were about to start an exciting journey to build a modern train set from scratch; the first time a project of this magnitude was ever attempted on IR.

Where were we?

We followed up on the multiple meetings that we held from January onwards with a more focussed approach. We had a vast reservoir of knowledge as nearly all the countries, except France, had moved to the concept of distributed power train sets with under-slung electrics and only a cab and no power units at each end.  Vavre and Srinivas had gathered a vast pool of information. They had also interacted with the main likely manufacturers and suppliers, in India, and to the extent required, abroad; it was imperative that ICF developed close conjunction with competent manufacturers in the country. Our design had to be suited to our conditions and realities.

Idle paper experts would always come to us brimming with such ideas. Not because they had any insight in the concepts but because they had merely seen or read about them. It was a gamesmanship based on a fad and their suggestion would not be serious, per se. I remember making a presentation in Board before we got the sanction where many casual attendees from Board would indulge in attention-grabbing, diversions and red herrings. We would handle that as we saw fit at that time but we were clear that ours would be a no frills design. A design of a modern train with features which gave us the best bang for the buck. We had to steadfastly work on the principle of ‘the best is the enemy of the good’ and ignore such features as:

·      Design upgradable to 220 km/h test
·      Tilting coach concept
·      Articulated shared bogies/Jacobian concept
·      Aluminium body
·      Extra long bullet-nose like Japanese high-speed trains

The primary requirement was to design a train set capable of operation at 160 km/h and validation testing at 180 km/h. Before any detailed work could start, we had to have clarity about the nature of the train, i.e., a day train like Shatabdi or an overnighter like a Rajdhani. Given that 160 km/h operation was possible only on very few small sections of IR, perhaps only on Delhi-Bhopal section (approx. 700 km), it had to be a day train, a faster equivalent of Shatabdi.

The immediate task was to make a detailed table listing the status in respect of the main features of the proposed train set and break them down in three categories: 1) area where we were there or almost there, 2) areas where we could be there with judicious selection of vendors, including import, but strictly as per specifications and drawings developed by ICF and 3) areas in which we could be there only with handholding by some superior intelligence.

I had mentioned that we had made a matrix earlier too but that was very basic. We now prepared an exhaustive matrix, assigning a category to each item. We had to be particularly careful that we did not overestimate our capability in our zeal and candidly brought out the gaps between our wish and the reality. It is impracticable and unnecessary to reproduce the matrix fully and I give here only a representative summary.

Item	Where were we?
Car body shell design and manufacture, including painting	We did it all the time. But not to the quality and accuracy we must have if we had the intention to match international standards. We would need hand-holding as we design the car body as well as its fixtures, tooling and processes, which would be amenable to more accuracy and better quality. We will need supervision during manufacture as well.
Fully suspended traction motor bogie fit for 180 km/h We have neither a coach bogie design on IR to run at 180 km/h test speed nor a bogie to accept fully suspended motors. Do we have the capability to design one?	We had designed many bogies in the past. If there is any Design Wing on IR which could take up this critical and massive work, it was ICF. What IR, including RDSO, has done so far is tinkering around a borrowed design, be it locomotives or coaches. A good example, we had not been able to even tweak the LHB bogie to accept alternators, let alone traction motors. This was a different ball game; we had to design a bogie from scratch. We could do it but not without direct guidance from an established & proven agency; once the design was prepared and validated through computer simulations, competent Indian companies would be engaged for manufacture of the frame and components. It would be possible to source most of the components in India, either from ICF’s own bogie shop or through trade, with very limited imports.
Efficient 3-phase IGBT propulsion with regenerative braking	Almost there. On evaluation of 3-phase electrics ordered by ICF and thanks to some great R&D work by an Indian company, it was heartening to note that this, the most expensive part of the train, could be developed indigenously with some extra R&D effort. It was understood that ICF would establish seamless working and infuse synergy among all the parties.

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(Rest of the matrix  withheld....will appear in the book)

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The list, as I pointed out, was much longer but we were able to identify capable and willing Indian companies for most of the items to manufacture as per our drawings and specifications. In case import looked inevitable, we would go back to the drawing board and try to tweak the requirement to enable sourcing in India. We had to keep the cost in control as it was imperative that the prototype got built at around 50% of the ruling international price for the same. What Lord Bardolph in Shakespeare’s King Henry IV says, was apt for us here, “When we mean to build, we first survey the plot, then draw the model; and when we see the figure of the house, then must we rate the cost of the erection; which if we find outweighs ability, what do we then but draw anew the model.”

But what about areas which had this significant gap between our capability and the requirement? Well, firstly, it was more important to identify these gaps truthfully. Remembering Shakespeare once again,

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool”, says Touchstone in As you like it.

I made it clear that while our sights were high, we would be rooted to the ground reality. We would not be foolishly wise but wisely foolish. We had to remember it all the time. Better be a fool now and wiser later than to be wise before the deed is done.

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When the gap between the requirement and our capability is sought to be bridged through the services of some superior intelligence, as I called it, there are no impediments in engaging design consultants. Such consultants, not being a member of a big multi-national major, with eyes on future supplies, have an equal stake in our delivery on design and build. They have no stake in future supplies of components like companies imparting ToT. Their aim is only in delivering a good design and If handled with a sense of purpose, they can be programmed to first determine our capability and mould their concepts and designs accordingly. The process of learning in this arrangement, apart from completing the contracted design and manufacture exercise, is more comprehensive. The ICF design staff would get an upfront education to imbibe the nuances of all design concepts and processes, the know-why. Subsequently, when the designs would be taken to manufacturing, a deeper understanding of know-how, through continuous two-way synergy with the consultants, would also develop. I saw it happen with our teams at ICF; they would gain a lot in capability which should help ICF a lot in future projects. Moreover, this being our first enterprise, there would be great scope to improve the future builds. The consultants are very open in looking at all feasible improvements, including sourcing and new developments in India than a multi-national engaged for ToT could or would ever be.

We would clearly stipulate in our consultancy contracts that our team would work with them. Every single line they drew or every single word they wrote would be done along with us so we got to know the why elements of all the designs. At the end of the day the complete ownership of drawings and specifications developed in the process would rest with ICF, irrespective of the inputs from the consultants. For the first time on IR, we would be the real master of the Intellectual property rights (IPR), for whatever it would be worth in future; full ownership of the product would be with us, precluding any need to keep approaching some TOT contractor sitting abroad.

The picture was clear. It was time to plan actions and move quickly towards execution as Benjamin Franklin had said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” The lucxury of planning with full composure was not available to us and the speed of execution had to be supersonic. At this time I used a ploy; I told the team that we must turn out the prototype before the CRB retired, that is, July 2018. I was the boss so no one laughed at me. But the disbelief and amusement on their faces could have translated to, “This guy has gone bonkers.” Yet, Trivedi, with the other key member of the team, started to deal separately with the time line issues. It worked. Whether to get the monkey off their backs, or otherwise, our Planning and Design men put up a plan, with impressive Gantt charts, which showed us that the prototype could be out in June 2018. God knows who was fooling whom but Ghalib gauged the situation for us and Fani Badayuni even invited a preacher:

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But June 18 was less than 15 months away and not a single contract was in place yet. Was my team going to fling Shakespeare at me as we approached June 18, leering Player King in Hamlet, “Our wills and fates do so contrary run that our devices still are overthrown. Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own”. So much for my poor ploy!

In any case, the spirits in ICF were soaring high. As we began our work, it was imperative that a buzz about the project be created internally as well as externally. The duo of Vavre and Srinivas had constructed some narratives, based on thorough study and material culled from across the globe on the trend of train sets; they prepared a series of presentations on the project, including ones for the Board. They took a series of meetings, stressing the outline and proposed time line of the project. Everyone in the team, including the members from Stores and Finance wings were sensitized about the Train 18 project. Indeed, everyone, barring some, was rising to the occasion. It was clear across the departments that ICF was attempting something novel and they wanted to be a part of it. So how did we start?

Item	This is how we started
Car body shell design and manufacture including painting	We had to go a quick consultancy contract on a European or Japanese firm, as they are the trailblazers, for making our designs, tooling and processes amenable to more accuracy and better quality. We zeroed in on three companies, one in Poland and two in Switzerland, who did similar work for European majors. In a quick process, the consultancy contract was awarded to the Polish company.
Fully suspended traction motor bogie fit for 180 km/h	In a dissimilar exercise, a novel way of combining consultancy with a major procurement case was in hand. We moved quickly to finalize the contract, incidentally, on the same Polish company.
Modern 3-phase IGBT propulsion	The train set electrics were tendered for as a part of separate electrics tender worth more than Rs 1000 crores, which was languishing for nearly a year due to indecision. Indecision or delay was not an option any more. We invited fresh bids and without any pressure on anyone for any particular result, the tender was finalized in three months flat. It was for the first time that ICF had awarded a contract of this magnitude. Earlier Board dealt with such contracts and the time-line norm for finalization used to be in the range of two years.

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(Rest of the matrix  and content withheld....will appear in the book)

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Every organization has people who do not care for action and delivery. They sit in their cubbyholes concerned about staying safe or working on some personal agenda. They cavil, equivocate or procrastinate, but never say Yes. Doesn’t that remind you of jalebis, the syrupy Indian sweet which looks like never-ending coils? Whenever I came across any such instance, I would call for the file, make my own judgement and if indeed there were some delaying the case unnecessarily, invite them to my room, order jalebis and offer it to them, saying that they had really earned this distinction. I added that since it was a great honour, even diabetics had to eat those jalebis. Not that I wanted officers to earn jalebis, but cannot deny that watching the consternation of these jalebi-smitten guys was good entertainment for me and Babu. Whether the officers concerned improved their working is a moot question but the message certainly got conveyed.

In short, by mid-2017, 

·      The three major consultancy contracts were in place:

·         New bogie design with fully suspended traction motors

·        Improvements in design, tooling and processes for shell, including supervision during manufacture

·         Interior styling concepts

·      The most crucial major contract for supply for electrics and allied systems was placed on an Indian company

·      The preliminary design work had started at ICF in full swing

·      Cases of Contracts for bought outs were moving at a fast pace, for import as well as local 

Around June 2017 our PR department prepared a write-up and when it was run through me before release, I could see that M/s Vavre and Srinivas did not find the new Train 18 time line as daunting as I did. I reproduce this write-up here.

ICF plans to turn out the prototype Train 18 on 30^th June 2018 which would be a semi-high speed (180/160 Km/h) train set with fast acceleration and world-class passenger amenities........

(Rest of the matrix  and content withheld....will appear in the book)

provide a fast and wholly new travel experience. 

Bingo! They got it right except for the first line. Or had they really purchased my gimmick hook, line and sinker? I know they would keep their noses to the grindstone and let everyone go the extra mile but still, what an uphill battle! My ruse was giggling back at me, confounding me some. A well-wisher confidante, an old ICF hand, comforted me, “Saar! No worry, saar. In ICF, the target for June 18 turn out is very much achievable.” 

Indeed! I am sure he had not read Much Ado but I bunged Bendick at him, nevertheless, “I would my horse had the speed of your tongue’’.  

One of the key to our success would lie in awarding effective contracts for development, manufacture and supply of equipment and components, by ordering on an array of vendors through the Public Procurement Policy. The questions which arise are:

Can you make your vendors your partners?

Is the Public Procurement Policy a disabler or an enabler?

At the end of the day, our Train 18 strategies were working fine and even getting spun off to all other areas. The consultancy and procurement contracts were getting finalized fast. In this diversion from the main Train 18 story towards procurement of stores, let me dilate upon the oft-repeated cliché in govt. organizations, more as a lip service pretension, and not as a governing mantra, “treat your vendors as partners”.

Let me go back some twenty five years when I was working as a Joint Director in RDSO, the premier R&D wing of IR. Every day, a large number of industry executives would visit our directorate and one would see them standing in the corridors, waiting for audience with some officer or the other. Some would be seen sitting on the attendants’ stools.  I always found it rather embarrassing. One of the toilet doors in the common wash area was broken for years and I once saw a foreigner inside with his head hidden in his palm; the pressure of Delhi belly had perhaps got the better of his sense of indignity. Were we going anywhere with this kind of a set up with important visitors not even offered basic courtesies? Well, thankfully the then boss of my directorate got one room converted into a make-shift visitors’ room which was somewhat of a novelty in this sarkari type office and well, as I saw it, something was better than nothing. The situation rankled but many of my colleagues were least concerned about all this; their take, “These people are here for their work, why should we bother about them”. Were we an organization for dispensing favours or were we here to collaborate with industry and develop cutting edge products for IR?

Let’s move forwards to some 16/17 years back when I was Chief Design Engineer at Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi. One day I had an important tender negotiation meeting and the convenor informed me that the GM of the concerned firm had arrived and that I should come to his room. I went to his room and on the way met the GM gentleman standing outside the room. The committee discussed the tender at some length, interspersed with many pleasantries and small talk. Eventually after more than an hour, the gentleman was called in and before we could begin, he said, “Sirs, you people are big officers of railways but even I am the GM of a reputed company. If I have to stand outside your room for hours, I take it my stride in the interest of my company but the disgrace rests entirely on your exalted status and your organization, not mine”. We were speechless but I am sure the others forgot it within no time. I, however, thought that what he said was so right. Since then, wherever I have worked, I have made sure that visitors are treated with dignity and not made to wait; if waiting was unavoidable, as indeed was frequent, they would be seated in a proper visitors’ room. And if the wait was going to be long, I would invite them to be seated in my room itself on sofas/side chairs till I became free to meet them. Big deal? Not at all. But the message was certainly very positive, “You are here to find ways to partner with us, to collaborate with us and not to collect favours”. That GM gentleman is a friend till date and we have done many projects together, but, of course, entirely on merit of the case.

This change in our outlook and in our disposition that our industry partners were our companions in an enterprise had to be inculcated at every level in ICF. We needed to deal with the vendors with empathy and not indifference. Some members of the team were already ahead of my thoughts. For example, Srinivas, was already known to treat the vendors in a very business-like manner but with remarkable courteousness. I heard only words of praise from all vendors, cutting across our supply and development chain, about Dash, who would later take over as CDE/Electrical. Trivedi was also known to transact with our vendors in a very professional manner. I would like to think that gradually the interaction with vendors became more professional and business-like and not that of one supercilious purchaser vis-à-vis supplicant vendors.

We, however, always came down hard on vendors who in our judgement, were not showing any resolve to improve. Punitive measure should be exemplary, not routinely customary. We must follow Angelo from Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, “We must not make a scarecrow of the law, setting it up to fear the birds of prey, and let it keep one shape, till custom make it their perch and not their terror.”

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We, like other government organisations, had to follow the Public Procurement Policy provisions and guidelines. There are a lot of misconceptions about these policies; the prime misgiving among purchasers and suppliers being the intent and execution. Most people seem to believe that the policy prevents you from buying the best and L1 syndrome guides you to go to the lowest bidder, with quality and durability of the product given a short shrift. This is far from the reality. The policy guides you to make sure that public funds are used judiciously and that some form of level playing field is available to aspiring suppliers vis-à-vis the established ones. The government executive dealing with public money must have the courage of conviction to decide which product(s) would be the best for an application and then go about ensuring that with transparent and cogent arguments. The policy does not prevent you from doing it; on the contrary, it empowers and enables you to do it.

Many executives find it surprising but it enables you to decide a case even if you get one bid in a tender, given certain condition. Shakespeare speaks through Hamlet, “Why, then, ’tis none to you, for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Absolutely. If your objective is transparent in what you want to purchase or develop, and do it with a clear reasoning for who and why, there is every feasibility of achieving it, even in a government set-up.  

The problem is that many government executives want a procurement solution on a platter without them having to exercise their judgement and show firmness of purpose; they prefer to choose the easy way out of going with the least controversial path. It is always safe to follow the path of least resistance and let the sense of propriety be twisted to justify sub-optimal procurement action; the omnipresent excuse would be that they could not work like a top executive in a private firm who was entitled to do it straightway and no questions asked. But they forget that such an executive also carries responsibility towards the shareholders, board and bottom line of the company and his decisions are not whimsical. At times even the boldest executives may find it difficult to judge what would be right; they tend to take the ubiquitous band-aid solution to avoid complaints, complications and accusations. Remember, the glitches and bugs in the Obamacare software in the initial days? Even the most powerful person on earth, the then President of the US, Obama, lamented that execution of the health policy had issues as the agency assigned the software job was chosen through a state procurement policy! But such cases should be exceptions, not a de rigueur.

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In all critical areas, we had to order the items from established and proven vendors who had either supplied for train sets globally or were truly competent to do so. In addition, the emphasis to procure from Indian vendors as far as feasible was not to be forgotten. Most of the team members at ICF, including those from Stores and Finance realized this and did not shy away in deviating from the regular sarkari way of dealing with Stores cases. I cannot recall cases, barring of course some handful of them, in which the order was placed on someone who failed to react and deliver in time with quality. Yes, there were some officers who would not see straight and find all kinds of excuses or reasons against bold actions. Their way of conveying their negativity, disguised cleverly under fake positivity, would be something in the fashion of this great philosophical ghazal of Ghalib:

Na tha kuchh to khuda tha, kuchh na hota to khuda hota

Duboya  mujhko  hone  ne,  na  hota main  to  kya   hota.

Hui  muddat  ke   Ghalib  mar  gaya  par  yaad  aata  hai

Wo  har  ek baat par yeh kehna ke yun hota to  kya  hota.

(When there was nothing, there was God. If there were nothing, there would still be God. I am sunk because I am but if I were not there, what would I be? My being is dead for a long time but I do remember your saying that if it were not so, what would it be?) Now this is a creation with multiple interpretation in spiritualism and ways of life so but just look at the literal meaning here.

Getting over the sporadic negativity was never a major challenge although this form of nay saying and nitpicking was perhaps more inimical for the project than jalebi-making. Support from Trivedi, at managerial level, Vavre and Srinivas, on technical issues, and Stores officers in general was for the asking. With the proper procurement actions bottled up firmly, it was a matter of engaging the selected vendors in the design process meaningfully; since most of the sub-assemblies and components had some technical novelty in them, these key vendors had to be an important part of development. For example, development of a noise-free comfortable air-conditioning (AC) equipment required development of three prototypes of AC ducting and complete re-design of the AC units midway of the project even after approval of drawings. The selected partner, an Indian company with vast experience on IR and Metros, re-designed the complete equipment and delivered the same without affecting timelines significantly.

Yes we can procure what we want through the Public Procurement regime; and from whom we want and make them our co-travellers in our journey.

I like to take a bow in honour of the bard who wrote these lines for all us and spoke through Helena in All’s well that ends well:

"Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie, which we ascribe to Heaven."

(to be continued)