BW Hotelier talks to Pradeep Bakshi, MD & CEO of Voltas Limited about the impact of lockdown that has been imposed by the government to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

BW Hotelier talks to Pradeep Bakshi, MD & CEO of Voltas Limited about the impact of lockdown that has been imposed by the government to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. He talks about the company’s concerns while servicing during unprecedented times.

How many staff members of Voltas have been working amidst COVID-19 to help corporate offices function?

While the Covid19 pandemic has led to a nationwide lockdown, we, at Voltas, have always strived to ensure that our services remain focussed towards our consumers and the nation’s needs at large. We have been managing the upkeep of all essential services with the help of over 1500 technicians and engineers of Voltas, who are currently working on the frontlines of this pandemic.

What are the challenges that were faced by the personnel and what was the most common service request?

One of the most common challenges faced during the lockdown would be that of transportation especially since movement has been restricted at this time. Therefore, arranging safe travel to and from the site for our engineers and technicians has been challenging. 

At the same time, the most common customer service request was the necessity of operational manpower for the essential sites & emergency breakdown calls for rectification. There is a need to keep essentials services companies functioning uninterrupted at all times and we, at Voltas, are ensuring the same while keeping in mind the safety and security of our employees. 

Was the availability of spare parts for products in need of repairs and transportation a concern?

Yes, with the lockdown, transportation and courier services were affected. However, our teams were very swift in securing special permissions from essential service customers, local police authorities and worked cohesively with the third party logistics partner to help meet each service request. 

Among essential services, how many hospitals, banks, water supply units, airport services and factories (for essential goods like milk/bread) were serviced?

Our team of engineers have been relentlessly working across different hospital sites to convert standard wards into Covid-19 isolation wards using smart ventilation solutions. AIIMS, Bhatinda, and Guwahati Medical College and Hospital are few such examples. From build test centers to predictive maintenance of Chillers in Hospitals and Pharmaceutical companies that make life-saving drugs, Voltas has been impacting millions of lives during the lockdown and beyond. Voltas’ Operation & Maintenance (O&M) teams have been providing real time services to the "Essential Services" sites where customers need the operation, maintenance and breakdown support.  We currently have 260 such customer sites in India. 

These customer sites include: 

* 100 hospitals wherein we are addressing 50,000 TR of Air conditioning and serving 25,000 beds

* 50mn sq. ft. of buildings, data centers and IT Infrastructure

* 25 airports and metros wherein we manage 80, 000 TR of air conditioning and handling 50mn passengers

* 50 various industries across metals, manufacturing, refineries with a manpower of 800 

* 25 Pharmaceutical companies to help manufacture life savings medicines

Voltas also had the opportunity to help the conversion of existing medical facilities to make them Covid-19 compliant. At AIIMS Delhi, the company helped to convert standard wards to Covid-19 isolation wards. The company has built a test centre at Kovai Medical College and Hospital to help the state contain the Covid-19 outbreak by carrying out the necessary HVAC modifications. Similar conversions have been undertaken by Voltas at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, which is also one of the facilities across the country that has been upgraded to strengthen India’s fight against the pandemic.  

Will these personnel be given any special incentives for working during a crisis?

At Voltas, each employee works with enormous amounts of dedication and continue to add value in each responsibility they take up. Today, during this trying time, our employees are executing their responsibility as usual but with the awareness and safety personal protective measures required for precaution against COVID-19. Personnel working extra hours are given overtime charges and are appreciated through various recognition platform. We are extremely proud of our workforce as they truly reflect our brand values and continue to deliver at all times.

In terms of medical service upgradation, what facilities were provided by Voltas?

For medical service upgradation, we are conducting sanitisation, duct cleaning, retrofit with UVC lamp solutions and ventilation modifications as per COVID - 19 design guidelines.

What are the safety precautions being taken for Voltas workers helping in service requests across industries?

As part of the TATA Group, we have always placed utmost priority to the health and safety of our employees. We have been reaching out to our vast community of field engineers and technicians via the Mobile learning app Handy Train to sensitize them regarding health and safety by sharing Covid-19 awareness videos, safety measures and use of PPE.

Voltas continues to emphasize on learning & development and their upskilling. We are encouraging our workforce to upgrade their skills during this time which will help them to emerge stronger out of this crisis. Through Handy Train, we are also creating technical content for the users, resolving queries and troubleshooting, as well as conducting assessment and certifications for its technicians in a streamlined manner. This commitment is extended to over 28000+ workforce that include contract and last mile workers.

We have also ensured that all our service engineers, service partners and technicians have been trained through the digital (Video, TAB, App) platform to handle breakdown calls and preventive service schedules.