The Carriage and Wagon Depots of Southern Railway, Salem Division, at Erode and Coimbatore have been awarded with ISO:9001:2008 Quality Certification/Inspection of DRM at Sangagiri Railway Station

Sri R. Kuppan, CME, (2nd from left), handing over the ISO Certificate for Erode Depot to Sri Hari Shankar Verma, DRM, (3rd from left) along with him are Sri Pandian, Divl. President, SRMU, (1st left),  Sri Amit Kumar Sisodia Asst Divl Mech Engineer, Sri Chokalingam, Sr. Section Engineer, Carriage & Wagon Depot, Erode & Sri R. Saravanan, Sr. Divl Mech Engineer (partly hidden)

 Sri R. Kuppan, CME, (2nd from left), handing over the ISO Certificate for Coimbatore Depot to Sri Hari Shankar Verma, DRM, (3rd from left) along with him are Sri Pandian, Divl. President, SRMU, (1st left),  Sri Amit Kumar Sisodia Asst Divl Mech Engineer, Sri R. Saravanan, Sr. Divl Mech Engineer, & Sri Peter, Sr. Section Engineer, Carriage & Wagon Depot, Coimbatore

 Sri Hari Sankar Verma addressing the media persons

 Sri Hari Sankar Verma addressing the gathering 

Sri R. Kuppan, addressing the gathering 

Sewa Diwas Logo

Sri Hari Shankar Verma inspecting the Sangagiri Station 

Sri Hari Shankar Verma interacting with the passenger 

Sri Hari Shankar Verma inspecting the Sangagiri Station premises

The Carriage and Wagon Depots of Southern Railway, Salem Division, at Erode and Coimbatore have been awarded with ISO:9001:2008 Quality Certification by M/s. Quest Certification. In a function held today (28.05.2016) in the Railway Basic Training Centre, Sri R. Kuppan, Chief Mechanical Engineer, Southern Railway, handed over the ISO Certificates to Sri Hari Shankar Verma, Divisional Railway Manager, Salem.

These certificates have been received by the Carriage and Wagon Depots of Southern Railway, Salem Division, at Erode and Coimbatore, for implementing the Quality Management System in the maintenance of railway passenger coaches.

While addressing the gathering, Sri R. Kuppan, Chief Mechanical Engineer, stated that the receiving of ISO Quality certification would ensure customer satisfaction viz. the satisfaction of rail passengers and continued improvement, as the ISO system would require maintenance of same quality standards throughout and to ensure that Railways have to focus more on the quality systems. To ensure quality and safe journey to rail passengers, he said that Indian Railways, now encouraging such coach maintenance depots, railway stations and workshops to go for IMS (Integrated Management Systems) Certification, that will cover the Quality Management (ISO:9001), Environment Management (ISO 14001) and Occupational Health Manager (OHSAS-ISO:18001). Such steps would go a long way in regaining the good will of the passengers on railways, which is most important he asserted.  He also congratulated Sri R. Saravanan, Sr. Divisional Mechanical Engineer, Salem Division, and his team of officers and staff for such an  important step.

Speaking on the occasion, Sri Hari Shankar Verma, Divisional Railway Manager, Salem, said that for the past six months the Mechanical Branch of Salem Division was working towards implementation of Quality Systems for getting ISO:9001 certification and said that now further steps would be taken by both Erode and Coimbatore Depots to go for the remaining 2 certificates of IMS, viz. ISO:14001 and ISO:18001. He added that the Diesel Locomotive Shed (DLS) at Erode, which is involved in maintenance of Diesel Locos, is one of the oldest sheds in India, and is completing 50 years of service to the Nation this year. He said that when the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the DLS starts, the IMS Certificate for DLS would also be received. The inspection is being done by both internal and external auditors and as such strict compliance to the set standards need to be  maintained, he said.

Later, while addressing the media persons, Sri Hari Shankar Verma, stated that all the stations in Salem Division would be made disabled friendly in consultation with NGOs involved in the service of differently abled persons. He also said that steps are being taken to obtain IMS certification for Coimbatore Railway Station to better the passenger service. He added that all shops/vending units in Railway Stations have been instructed to display the name of the contractor, his contact number, the designation of the officer in charge of that particular station and his/her contact number, in both Tamil and English with a view to have passenger feedback and correction mechanism. In addition, all the Vegetarian/Non-Vegetarian Refreshment Rooms (VRR/NVRR stalls) in all the Stations of the Salem Division have been instructed to use eco-friendly serving plates made of arecanut leaves, which are cheap and bio-degradable, in place of the present stainless steel/plastic plates. This will be a pilot project for all stations in Indian Railways, he felt. On agitations by passengers on water shortage in trains, Sri Verma replied that since the Cauvery river had dried up, there is a difficulty in getting water for Erode station and steps have already been taken to fill water in trains on both ends at Salem and Coimbatore. The works for installation of lifts and escalators at Erode junction is being taken up and would be completed shortly, DRM explained.

Later, during his visit to Sangagiri Railway Station, as part of the Sewa Diwas (Service Day) of Rail Hamsafar Saptaah (Passenger Facilitation Week) being observed all over Indian Railways, Sri Hari Shankar Verma interacted with the passengers of Train No. 12678 – Ernakulam Banagluru Intercity Express. The passengers in the coach for differently abled persons complained to him that normal persons also enter into the coach earmarked for them and occupy their seat. On DRM’s instructions, the normal passengers found to be travelling in that coach were removed and moved to general compartment. Then, a few passengers at the Sangagiri station, demanded that pure drinking water facilities and seats/additional shelters in Platform No.2 need to be provided in view of the hot summer. Sri Verma assured them that in association with the Corporates in the area, an RO plant would be installed in the station and issued instructions to the section engineer to put up a proposal for installation of additional shelters and seats in Platform No.2.