Roller skating in textile mills! Yes, if you want proof, just visit Coimbatore's KPR Mills. Workers in this textile mill have given a new meaning to the idea of rolling production lines - by learning to do their job on skates rather than foot.
Workers initially felt the idea was mad and absolutely silly. They did not take it seriously at the first stage. But now they feel they are not only working but playing as well. They love it now. They system not only makes them more fast but more competitive too, many agree.
More than 2,000 workers in mills in Coimbatore have been trained to do their work on roller skates in a bid to speed up their progress across the shop floor and improve productivity. Previously, walking up and down the length of a 150-ft loom or spinning frame could take several minutes, and proved exhausting by the end of a shift.
Now, however, employees glide around effortlessly in what is fast becoming a standard
industry practice. What began as a novel experiment a couple of years ago has spread fast, with many of the big mills issuing skates for their staff to make the work more fun and improve work rates.
One employee on roller-skates can now operate a 120-150-ft spinning frame with 1,000 needles as it weaves cotton fibre into yarn, a task that used to require two on foot.
Even the management feels happy when they see the women emerge from their hostel on skates for their shift. "It looks like playtime in a school," said an official.
At Precot Mills, the women, for extra safety, are strapped around the waist and attached by ropes to pulleys with wheels on them that run across the ceiling.
"The movement boosts the employees' energy and makes the monotonous work fun," said another official. The need to train women to skate has turned into a cottage industry for many like the Pavis Skating Training Centre in Coimbatore.