The whole Dabbawala system works between houses and offices, and
concerns the lunch in a ‘dabba’ that there dabbawalas carry from houses to the
respective destination offices.
We were introduced to the scale by various statistics being
brought into the picture – 4 lakh tiffin transactions in less than 4 hours. The people involved are mostly uneducated, and lack any management or technical skills.
Then how do they manage such a complicated process flow? This is what their head, representing the Dabbawala community, talked about that day.
Each dabba shifts hands approx 6 times during a single
transaction. The Organization Structure is composed of a multitier system, were
each person higher in the pyramid is responsible for the team under him. The
only modes of transport are Mumbai Local trains, and the cycles which the
dabbawalas use.
Astonishingly true, the error rate is 1 in 16 million. A
99.99 percent efficiency on the six sigma scale. The cost of service is Rs. 500
to Rs. 550 per month from a customer. They stand for NO STRIKE, and earn about
Rs. 9000 to Rs. 10000 a month in average.
All dabbawalas share an identity mark – the white cap, which
makes it easy for them to coordinate and work in a team. Their moto is ‘Work is
Workship’ and they truly live up to it, imposing fines like Rs. 50 fine for not
wearing the cap, Rs. 1000 fine for alcohol consumption during duty hours, and
so on. The discipline is very formally followed.
We were informed about their Unique coding system, and as
the dabbawala hilariously stated – that sometimes the uneducated ones are more
efficient at work than us, the educated crowd.
Overall, the session was hilarious, and we enjoyed it to the
fullest. The key observation by many of us was that despite being uneducated,
they held pride in their trade, and with remarkable efficiency, they made an
impossible-seeming task possible, that too with 0% Tech support.
We still have a lot to learn from the Dabbawala uncleji!
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