CHAPTER 9

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

9.1 INTRODUCTION

Energy and Environment are interconnected subjects attracting increasing attention of

researchers and policy makers in the contemporary world. Energy is the basis for
economical and social development of nation. Growth of population in developing nations
like India are going on adding extra demand on energy for housing, services and travel.
Increased economic activity is invariably coupled with increased transport requirement
and amplified energy consumption which in turn is accompanied by negative
environmental implications, thereby challenging the sustainable development. Energy is a
crucial input in all the sectors of an economy with transport sector deserving top priority
both in terms of total energy use and also its associated environmental implications. With
increase in education levels, improvements in science and technology, now mankind is
more aware of the detrimental effects of pollution on environment and understands that
human life on this planet is at stake if we do not act now. This has led to heads of almost
all nations converging and discussing about environment beginning at Rio de Janeiro in
June 1992 and the United Nations, Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee adopting
UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). US in September
2014 hosted the UN Climate Summit in September 2014 event where more than 125 heads
of state gathered to discuss and develop mitigation strategies. Under UNFCC, Kyoto
Protocol was agreed to in 1997 which provides for legal binding commitments for
industrialized nations. The Annex I parties agreed to reduce their overall emissions of
GHG by 5.2% below the levels prevailing in 1990 in the five year period fi-om 2008 to
2012.

According to national Strategy Study for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

implementation in India, the total GHG mitigation potential in India till 2012 was
estimated to be 417 MT C02eq (TERI, 2010). The lion's share of 76% was in power
generation followed by industries and transport with 10%. India is perennially facing the
challenge of providing quality and assured power to its citizens and also problems of
pollutions are on rise. As pollution is a silent killer and its detrimental effects take time to
surface, the gravity of pollution often is under estimated and not tackled in right earnest.
With the increased standards of living, increase in population and increase in urbanization,

191
India will continue to face uphill challenges to provide basic amenities to its population in
near fiiture.

All over the world, transport accounts for second highest amount of total energy used in
most of the developing economies. The energy used by transport mainly comprises
hydrocarbons which are now integral part of the developed and developing economies.
The hydrocarbons release GHG on combustion and also release CO in case of partial or
incomplete combustion. Transport sector of an economy comprise both roadways and
railways meeting various socio-economic objectives. Railways is of particular relevance in
the developing world as they contribute significantly to employment generation, national
income and are the most energy efficient mode of mass transport. Among the developing
countries, India has a special place in promoting railways and is managed by government
of India. India being the second most populous nation on this planet, the fransport
requirement of both men and material is massive and growing alarmingly. However, after
the liberalization of economy in the 1990s, the railways have been gradually facing stiff
competition from the road sector. Especially in the recent times, the railways have been
experiencing unprecedented pressure for their survival and growth in the liberalized arena
with competition from no fiills airlines for premium segment passenger transport.
Enhancement of competitiveness, among others, is the key for railways to successfiilly
come out of this grave situation. Improving energy efficiency, particularly in energy-
intensive workshops, helps not only in cost reduction but also in mitigating the
environmental pollution associated with energy use, thus contributing towards the said
cause.

The literature pertaining to the Indian transport sector reveal that performance of railways
on economic front is far from satisfactory (Expert Committee on Modernization of
Railways, 2012). The country suffers from severe and chronic under-investment in railway
infrastructure. These results in diversion of freight and passenger traffic to roads while
causing substantial loss in revenue to IR and also imposes heavy environmental burden on
the nation as the environmental costs of road transport are significantly higher than that of
railways. The organization is unable to generate internal resources for development and
has now taken recourse to foreign direct investment (FDI) for the first time post-
independence. The input costs of IR are on the rise and energy itself accounts for 22% of
its overall revenue. In absolute terms IR is anticipating an outflow of Rs 35,000 crores

192
during 2014-15 towards fuel costs which includes diesel and electricity (IR budget
estimates 2014-15).

The major energy consumers are the 7000 odd railway stations, the zonal and divisional
offices, 6 production units, 41 workshops and the carriage, wagon depots and loco sheds
(IR year book, 2010). The consumption of energy at workshop level is not high but when
all these are taken into consideration then the overall consumption is substantial. In this
context, energy consumption along with associated issues such as current level of energy
efficiency, causes and consequences of it, conservation potential, constraints and
motivators in its realization, etc., provide an interesting and fiiiitful area for research study
in this sector.

Railway workshops are the largest segment of Indian Railways both in terms of
employment and energy consumption next to traction energy. Thus, growth of workshops
is of critical importance for the development of IR which shall lead to overall national
economic development. Like in many other developing countries, Indian Railway
workshops are located in different parts of the coimtry and substantial number of them is
also manpower and energy-intensive in nature. Hence, even if energy needs and associated
environmental implications of individual workshops are trivial, they assume significant
proportions at the national level.

But, enhancing energy efficiency is an urgent need in the Indian Railways, including
workshops, considering the large gap between demand and supply, escalating energy
costs, dependence on imported energy carriers by the nation, and the need to reduce
envirormiental damages. Further, the current empirical study of workshops has not only
found significant energy efficiency potential but also established that realization of such a
potential serves multiple purpose like reduced environmental pollution and above all,
helps in enhancing the competitiveness. In the light of these findings, it is advisable that
the workshop policy, must explicitly address energy efficiency and conservation by
incorporating appropriate measures for enhancing the same. In this context, the
recommendations based on the findings of our study are presented below.

9.2 ENERGY RELATED STUDIES IN INDIAN TRANSPORT SECTOR

Though transport in general and railways in particular are a vital component of Indian
economy, it appears that energy related aspects of them have not attracted the attention of
the researchers and policy makers in the past to the desired extent. Even the two expert

193
committees constituted recently, one for the safety and the other for modernization (Expert
Committee on Modernisation of Railways, 2012) of the railways did not exclusively
address this pertinent issue. The expert committee on modernization highlighted the need
for Rs 560,000 Crores funding in next five years for IR. Under the Public Private
Partnership (PPP) initiatives Rs 1,000 Crores need to be invested in renewable energy
technologies in five year term. Captive power generation by the organization needs a
corpus of Rs 4000 Crores for the same. Towards EC the committee suggests an investment
of Rs 1,000 Crores. The energy conservation potential was presumed to be significant and
measures need to be taken to harness its benefits. However, the thin literature available in
this area, outlined below, suggests that of late, energy and its associated issues in railways
and transport sector are gradually gaining attention in the research and policy-making
circles.

Railways have engineered social revolution, integrated the nation and transformed the
Indian economy. Indian Railways gross revenue has remained at 1.2% of India's GDP
over the last 10 years (Jaiswal, 2013). This needs to be increased to 3% by 2020 by
utilising the managerial resources of IR. IR was better than Chinese railways till 1980.
Later on during 1990s Chinese government initiated major policy decision on the principle
of efficiency and performance which brought in total transformation of Chinese railways.
Chinese trains run at a maximum speed of 300 kmph as against 130 kmph of IR.
Managerial resources can accomplish challenging tasks by training and learning and the
new paradigms in learning include E-leaming, gaming based learning and customized
learning opportunities.

Transport in India consumes 98.5% energy fi-om petroleum and 1.5% fi-om other sources
(Kochak, 2012). The total transport demand is increasing at the rate of 10% annually, in
the past decade. Based on the transport growth rate and GDP growth the total fi-eight
carried in India will be 5,500 billion ton km by 2020 (India Vision 2020, 2002). Indian
Renewable Energy Development Agency is investing in renewable energy projects and
70% of them are in wind energy projects and 30% in solar, biomass and hydro electric
projects. Railways have used new technologies, light-weight rolling stock, accommodating
additional freight and passenger traffic by innovative means. Use of composites for
aerodynamic profiling of Diesel electrical multiple units is being done. Simulators are
used to train drivers on optimal driving techniques. Use of LEDs in coaches, shutting

194
down of engines when in yards, low idle feature on shunting locomotives, microprocessor
controls for locomotives are being introduced to conserve energy.

For want of literature on railway workshops, recourse is taken to the industrial sector
which is not only quite similar but also provides for enough research material. Studies
pertaining to energy efficiency issues in industrial sector viz., the small-scale sector have
underlined the importance of non-technology factors (UoK, 1998; Dasgupta, 1999) in
analyzing their efficiency levels. The four factors that influence the energy efficiency are
Technical Factor (TF), Economic Factor (EF), Human Resource Factor (HRF) and
Organizational and Behavioral factor (OBF). Technical Factor comprises variables such as
age of plant & machinery; quality of energy used and process-specific variables. Age of
plant & machinery is an important variable, as generally the efficiency level tends to get
worse with the age. Newer machinery and equipment are usually expected to perform
relatively better than their older counterparts (Bala Subrahmanya and Balachandra, 2002).
The energy efficiency also tends to be higher with better quality of energy used, e.g. usage
of electricity leads to better utilization efficiency than fossil fiiels such as coal or oil in a
process. The type of manufacturing process used determines the material and energy
consumption level, due to usage of different machines and techniques. The EF includes
variables such as plant capacity utilization, resource use efficiency and production volume.
There is evidence in literature (Ramachandra and Subramanian, 1993) showing higher
capacity utilization leading to better energy efficiency. This could be due to the fact that
most plant and machinery require some threshold energy limits irrespective of production
level, and thereafter the incremental energy requirement to additional output may go on
declining. The efficiency of utilizing other material resources also does influence the
energy efficiency. Similarly, more scrap/rejection/rework is going to add to the energy
requirement. The adoption of right product mix can help in achieving "economies of
scope", and with large production volume it is possible to realize "economies of scale"
(Petersen and Lewis, 2002) which indirectly contribute towards improvement in energy
efficiency.

The HRF consists of variables such as quality of labour, managerial and technical ability
of the stake holders. Quality of labour in terms of skill level existing in the workers will
certainly affect the quantum of material and energy used in producing a product. Highly
skilled labour force can reduce wastage and effectively perform the job in the best possible
manner. The managerial and technical ability workshops mainly refer to the supervising

195
engineers and the officers (managers). It is believed that higher the educational level,
higher will be the capabilities in terms of planning, decision-making, implementing,
innovating, etc., with respect to overall operation of the organization. This again affects
the overall efficiency of operation including energy. The managers of workshops
practically take all major decisions including energy related ones. Thus, with higher
experience and exposure it is believed that the managers are able to take sound energy-
efficient decisions keeping the overall long-term interest of the workshop in their mind. It
is observed that railways being a ministry under the Government of India has a policy of
transferring their officers after the term of 3 years or as required by the management as per
the prevailing rules. The OBF involves variables such as work practices, layout and
housekeeping, importance attached to energy related issues, and external interaction level
of the firm. The best work practices, neat layout and good housekeeping such as proper
insulation for heat loss, regular overhaul and maintenance, etc., will positively contribute
towards energy efficiency. The attitude of workshop managers, supervising
engineers/workers towards energy related issues in terms of importance they attach to it in
day-to-day working is seemingly important for efficiency improvement. A progressive
officer with positive attitude can use the government policies and programmes to improve
the overall performance of his workshop including energy efficiency. Similarly, officers
who are committed to social cause and welfare may treat energy efficiency fi"om
environment protection point of view apart fi-om business concerns and strive for
achieving energy efficiency in their establishments. The general interaction level of a
workshop with other similar units in the railways, Research Designs and Standards
organisation (RDSO), participation in seminars/conferences, etc., help the workshops in
upgrading the knowledge and skill of the manpower, eventually leading to improved
energy efficiency among other benefits.

Overall, the review of available literature about energy related studies in Indian transport
sector revealed the following:
> The studies did not adopt scientific sampling techniques, required for generalizing
the results to the entire workshop population.
> Though it is appropriate to discuss energy consumption within its social context,
most of the energy studies in India in the past have ignored the influence of socio-
economic context and the behavioural & organizational aspects of workshops.

196
 r There is also a dearth of studies probing the relationship of energy efficiency and
its consequences in terms of environmental and economic performance.
> There is hardly any study substantially dealing with barriers and drivers to energy
efficiency improvement in railway workshops.

Keeping this in mind, the overall objective of the current study was to analyze the energy
consumption in the railway workshops by probing causes, consequences and constraints
for energy efficiency so as to ultimately help the energy efficiency improvement initiatives
in this sector. It also aimed at ascertaining importance of energy as an input in the
workshops and to demonstrate the linkages of energy efficiency with economic and
environmental performances. The following were the specific objectives set for the study
while accomplishing the overall goal:
> To study the various activities of the selected railway workshops.
> To study the "energy consumption pattern" and associated "environmental
pollution".
> To find the current level of "energy efficiency" and hence to estimate the "energy
conservation potential".
> To identify and prioritize the "drivers to energy efficiency improvement".
> To identify and prioritize the "barriers to energy efficiency improvement

9.3 SUMMARY OF RESEARCH FINDINGS

This thesis analyzed energy use in the workshops of Indian Railways involving study of
energy consumption pattern, prevailing energy efficiency level and conservation potential.
Apartfi-omthis, it also probed causes, consequences and constraints for energy efficiency,
eventually to help energy improvement initiatives in the workshops.

The study concludes that Indian Railways is keeping pace with the change in times and
change in technology and is adopting the most efficient technologies in the system of
coach maintenance to reduce its carbon footprint and conserve precious resources. Both
the workshops studied have streamlined the POH of coach activity to achieve better flow
and reduced energy inputs to undertake the work which is of a continual nature. The
summaries of findings are summarized under four headings viz., energy conservation,
environmental issues, drivers to EC, and finally barriers to EC.

197
9.3.1 Energy Conservation

Both the workshops consume electricity as the major energy carrier. The average total
energy consumption of UBLS is 10,000 GJ per annum and that of MYSS is 7000 GJ per
annum. The study revealed that there is a scope of EC to the extent of 15% when two
workshops are compared together as there is variation in energy consumed per unit of
output between the two. The smaller workshop having specific energy consumption (SEC)
of 700 kWh per equated Non-AC coach POH can bring it down to 553 kWh by adopting
better technologies and electricity management principles which gives way to conserve
15% electricity per aimum. To achieve this, workshop has to change over from outmoded
technology equipments such as reciprocating air compressors, transformer welding to
rotary screw type compressors and inverter based welding plants to conserve energy.

The workshops do not have an express feeder from the electricity supply companies and
have to rely on diesel generator (DG) sets for backup power. The cost of power generated
using diesel by the captive DG sets is three times higher when compared to that of power
supplied by electricity distribution companies. The Main Energy Consuming devices in
Workshops being Compressors, Welding plants. Electrical Overhead Traversing Cranes,
new technologies can be implemented in a phased manner. Various energy-saving options
and ways of achieving the same are discussed in previous chapters. In illumination,
lighting controls can be of great help to reduce power consumption through the use of
controllers such as timers, lux level sensors, motion sensors and occupancy sensors.

9.3.2 Environment

IR has taken the lead to go green and hence encouraged all its units to reduce the carbon
footprint in a phased manner. The current study is focused on two IR workshops to study
the energy consumption and suggest ways and means of adopting renewable energy to
make IR more environment-fiiendly.

The environmental survey conducted on the technical staff of the workshops clearly
highlighted the high levels of internal environmental friendly initiatives being undertaken
in both the workshops. The employees are educated and are aware of personal protective
equipments and the hazards of employment in workshops. As many of the employees have
previous work experience in the private sector they have ranked the workshops very high
as they can make out the difference by comparison. The responses clearly highlight the
good working environment in both MYSS and UBLS as both of them are government

198
organisation wherein all stipulated and mandated facilities are provided to the work force.
Due to increased educational levels amongst the staff, better and labour friendly
management policies, the required facilities have been provided by the workshop
management which is reflected in the independent responses by the working class. It is
due to the good environmental practices the workshop was awarded Environment
Management System ISO 14001 certification (MYSS PCDO, 2008). This clearly indicates
the high level of clean environment being maintained in the workshops of IR.

While UBLS has already initiated many steps in installing EC measures, MYSS is not far
behind. Central Workshop Mysore is certified for environment management system ISO-
14001, which can be replicated at UBLS also as it helps in conserving precious resources.
There is scope for introducing renewable energy technologies in these workshops and both
the workshops have already implemented many measures. The renewable energy
technologies successfully implemented include solar PV (stand alone) for illumination and
solar water heaters for canteen. Biogas plant for canteens, off site wind plants, solar water
distillation plants may be introduced gradually.

Biodiesel option for diesel engines of fork lift trucks, locomotive used for shunting
operations and stand by generator sets will reduce the local environmental pollution and
reduce the crude oil imports. Measures to save energy, improve utilization efficiency and
adoption of renewable energy, etc., can go a long way in sustainable development of this
vital transportation sector of Indian economy.

9.3.3 Drivers to Energy Conservation

Focused group discussion with the stake holders in both the workshops led to collection of
seven drivers for EC. The result analysis show the similarity in first three ranking for EC
drivers in both the workshops with total weighted average of greater than 0.5. The top
ranked driver for both the workshops was "dedication of the top management", with
supervising engineers and staff according weighted average scores of 0.18 and 0.19
respectively at MYSS and UBLS respectively. The driver "awareness and adoption of
latest technologies for EC" is a close second with weighted average scores of 0.16 and
0.17 respectively at MYSS and UBLS.

This clearly indicates that railways are mainly driven by the dedication of its personnel
and its sustenance and improvements on the energy front continue to get contributed
mainly by them. The compilation of the data and its subsequent analysis has given the

199
above results from which one can conclude that officers and electrical engineers group
mention "dedication of management, engineers and staff towards the EC" as the strongest
driver with an weighted score of 0.19. This is very apt looking at the fact that both the
workshops have consistently reduced their energy requirements despite multifarious
activities and also increases in quantities of few activities. Railways do have a structured
motivation programme right from the Railways ministry level, down to the individual
divisions, and workshops level. Further, separate set of awards can be constituted to
encourage healthy competition amongst various shops of the workshops. This will lead to
benchmarking and regular monitoring and thus the BET can be successfixUy implemented
and sustained. Secondly the knowledge about EC, the various measures undertaken at all
levels needs to be disseminated by means of posters, seminars, workshops at regular
intervals.

Introduction of renewable energy in the form of solar thermal for water heating in canteen,
solar PV for illumination of administrative building also has contributed to the energy
savings. Study also reveals that in UBLS all the four groups have similar ranking for the
drivers. The dedication of all the associates ensures that the energy usage is controlled,
regular preventive maintenance of major equipment is undertaken, the health of the
equipments are monitored and the subordinate staff are informally counseled for EC.

The engineers and staff recruitment are undertaken in a very fair and transparent maimer
and as such the best talent get an opportunity to serve the great organisation. All the staff,
both supervisory and technicians are provided with induction training either for 6 months
or for 12 months and as such it is essential that a module on EC should be a part of such
training. This will improve the awareness and understanding of the concepts in energy
management. Also, the engineers and staff have ranked "concern for environment" at the
last which calls for inculcating the importance of environment by way of educating them
during their initial induction training.

9.3.4 Barriers to Energy Conservation using AHP methodology

Indian Railways the backbone of India's transport sector is carrying out its responsibility
of transporting men and material safely across the length and breadth of this nation
regularly round the clock 24 X 7, day in day out. The organisation is aware of the dire
need to conserve energy not just from economical viewpoint but also to ensure least harm
to the fragile environment. IR being a government oganisation has installed state of the art

200
equipment in most of its units by procuring the machinery and plant by calling global
tenders and has a dedicated organization for the same.

The workshops which were established decades ago mostly during the British raj too have
modernized with the passage of time and are equipped with the most energy efficient
machinery and plant. The study revealed that the machinery utilised by IR workshops is
mostly the energy efficient one with new technologies being incorporated. EC is being
practiced in all the workshops and monthly reports regarding the achievements is
monitored at all levels be it divisional level, zonal level or Railway Board level.

The various drivers to the EC programme are found to have considerable impact and are
led by the dedication of top management, Engineers. This was clearly evident in the ways
various ECM have been implemented which are quite particular to the railway workshops
under study. The study revealed that concern for mother earth is picking up but is yet in
the nascent stage. This may be due to better indoor air quality in the workshop premises
and also less penetration of the importance of environment in the senior Engineers who
were educated long ago when environment was not an issue.

Similarly the barrier analysis performed using AHP revealed that the PRB is the top most
barriers which hinder the implementation of ECM. This barrier is beyond the scope of
individual workshops and it is for the Central Government's Ministry of Railways
(Railway Board) the apex policy making body to synchronize its policies with the varying
demands of the changing times. As IR is a major energy consumer, it has initiated various
drives to conserve energy but more research needs to be encouraged in the field of EC in
IR for a better tomorrow.

9.3.4.1 Barriers to EC using Factor Analysis

IR is in the forefi-ont of installing EET and has massive EC measures being undertaken in
all its units be it production units, workshops, or divisions. This is clearly evidentfi-omthe
state-of-the-art equipments in its establishments which are procured against global tenders
by the central organization for modernization of Workshops. Most of the earlier era
equipments have been made redundant and new energy efficient equipment have been
installed like Inverter based welding plants, Airless Spray Painting equipment; Variable
Frequency Drives based Machine tools, Traverser and Electrical Overhead Travelling
Cranes. The study revealed that out of the 25 potential variables, "motivation to

201
employees" has emerged as the top ranked factor which can contribute towards
implementation of EC measures and successfully sustaining them over a period of time.

Training is provided for the operating and maintenance staff as and when new equipment
is procured. This information needs to be widely circulated amongst all the colleague
supervisors and technicians so that the optimum utilization of the equipment can be
undertaken and underutilization or overloading is avoided.

9.3.4 Manpower

The study found out that the railway workshops employ thousands of technical manpower.
The average experience of its engineers and officers is considerably high of the order of 24
years and as such their value judgment needs to be given due consideration while
formulating policies. The study also revealed that the attrition rates in IR is almost
negligible as compared to other transport sectors or industry for that matter and hence
keeping the associates motivated can yield improved results

9.4 MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE THESIS

Focus of this thesis was studying energy consumption in the two energy-intensive
workshops by assessing the prevailing level; causes and consequences of it, and estimating
the potential for conservation; obstacles and motivators for achieving the same. Unlike
other studies which deal with energy issues only from a technical perspective, this study
looked at energy efficiency not only from a technical perspective, but also from
managerial, and social, organizational, and behavioral perspectives. While the approach
and outcome of each study objectives were covered at length in the previous chapters, the
following are the specific contributions of this research work:
> The study covered two highly manpowered and energy-intensive workshops
undertaking different non core activities which are also in diverse geographical
locations and established during different periods.
> A representative sampling is used and hence the findings of the study are
applicable to the entire population.
> The thesis analyzed current pattern of energy consumption and estimated the
associated environmental implications in terms of air pollution.
> A quantitative approach was adopted to analyze barriers and drivers for energy
efficiency enhancement.

202
 > A barrier analysis framework was proposed under a multi-criteria decision-making
model. Further, using AHP technique the barriers were prioritized based on the
value judgment of officers and supervising engineers who are the main
stakeholders of efficiency augmentation.
> The potential drivers for energy efficiency improvement are identified and
prioritized utilizing a weighted average scheme, again fi-om stake holder's
perspective.

9.5 POLICY IMPLICATIONS

Railway workshops are large technical entities employing 1.35 lakh people and
maintaining the entire rolling stock of IR. Maintaining the rolling stock of different
models, configurations, makes it a technically challenging and daunting task. It is only
because of the dedicated staffs of IR who devote their life for the organisation and do not
seek greener pastures that IR is able to manage the show successfiilly so far. If the
railways had the attrition rates as prevailing in the private sector, then the scenario would
have been different and disturbing. If IR is the lifeline of the nation then workshops are the
backbone of IR which works round the clock to ensure the safety of the rolling stock.
Thus, for survival and growth of railways workshops are of critical importance which in
turn leads to the overall national economic development. Like in other nations, workshops
over IR are also scattered in different parts of the country and a substantial number of
them are also energy-intensive in nature. Hence, even if energy needs and associated
environmental implications of individual workshops are not huge, they assume significant
proportions at the national level.

In the last decade, studies in energy and environment have attracted a great deal of
attention of policy makers in many developing countries (Schmitz and Nadvi, 1999). The
Indian government policy, which has shifted its focus fi'om protection to promotion, has
also realized the need for an all-round development of government departments in order to
achieve the sustained growth of their respective sector. This is indicated by the
comprehensive policy package announced by Government of India this year. This policy
proposes the permission for foreign direct investors to invest in IR, especially for
manufacturing of the rolling stock.

The comprehensive policy package aims to enhance the sector's competitiveness, through
enhanced fiscal and credit support, better infrastructure and incentive for technology up-

203
gradation. It is significant to note that there is no exclusive reference to energy efficiency
improvement in the policy. Enhancing energy efficiency is an urgent need in the Indian
railways including railway workshops, considering the large gap between demand and
supply, escalating energy costs, dependence on imported energy carriers, and the need to
reduce environmental damages.

Further, the current empirical study of railway workshops has found significant energy
conservation potential when their performances are compared with each other or in
comparison with the global benchmarks. In the light of these findings, it is advisable that
the railway board policy (Ministry of Railways), particularly for workshops, must
explicitly address energy efficiency and conservation by incorporating appropriate
measures for enhancing the same. In this context, the recommendations based on the
findings of this research study are presented below.

9.5.1 Manufacturing Technologies

IR has a dedicated organization COFMOW (Central organisation for modernisation of

workshops) which is supported by World Bank. COFMOW is dedicated to provide
technical inputs to the workshops for technological upgradation. Globally competitive
technologies are introduced in railway workshops through global tendering and
procurement process. Thus, IR has undertaken modernisation of its workshops in a phased
manner and many technological inputs are being provided. These up-gradations do include
equipment and machines which are energy efficient and also environmentally sound.
Technologies help in achieving sizable energy efficiency improvement and conservation.

EET does not mean only high end equipments are energy efficient. For EC, the
technologies are now being developed indigenously and are comparably economical as
well. IR can generate a data bank as developed for high end machines by COFMOW for
the machines which normally are dispensed by COFMOW for zonal procurement. A
separate website can be introduced where the successful case studies are uploaded. Cloud
space has to be effectively utilised with computing facilities to remove procedural
bottlenecks. COFMOW has successfully demonstrated it at a larger level but this need to
be facilitated for smaller procurements at zonal level too. As a policy, IR must insist on
adoption of only energy-efficient technology in the new procurements and prohibit fi-om
ftirther investing on energy-inefficient technologies so as to achieve appreciable energy
conservation and associated environmental benefits.

204
9.5.2 Non Technology Factors

While the need for technology upgradation for enhancing efficiency in energy-intensive
organisation like IR and its workshops is undisputable, this alone cannot succeed in
meeting the goal either. As found by this study, the human resource, economic,
organizational and behavior issues of workshops also need to be properly addressed for
fi:uitfial results.

9.5.2.1 Quality of Human Resource

Among the non-technology factors, the quality of human resource significantly influences
energy efficiency in the workshops. The improvement in quality of human resource needs
to involve 'labour skill level', 'education level of supervising engineers' and 'managerial
experience of the officers' in workshops. Workshops with more skilled labour force and
professionally qualified engineers and officers with practical work experience achieve
better energy efficiency. Given this, focus must be on enhancing the quality of human
resource in workshops by imparting specialized and periodic training to workers to
improve their technical skill set. This is also vital considering that labour productivity in
the workshop, thus implying that a productive labour is likely to use energy more
efficiently. Advanced managerial and technical training for the officers and supervising
engineers to tackle complex issues like technology, energy efficiency, and environmental
pollution, etc., is sure to produce desired results in the long run. Separate modules with
necessary content, training material like Power Point presentations, video clips need to be
prepared at railway board level and decimated to the workshops for effective
implementation.

9.5.2.2 Economic Aspects

Economic factors like 'capacity utilization', 'production volumes' and 'resources use
efficiency' have also shown considerable influence on energy efficiency. The respondents
have conveyed that higher capacity utilization was found positively affecting energy
efficiency. However, there are equipments in the workshops with very low utilization of
installed capacity, especially like the centralized air compressors', fork lift trucks,
electrical cranes etc. Thus, it is sensible to encourage installed utilization of capacity
before procurement of additional equipments in workshops by the concerned authorities.
The other way of increasing capacity utilization is to increase production volume, but this
is not an easy proposition for most workshops due to numerous constraints. Railway board

205
should encourage introduction of standards such as ISO 50001 for energy management
system in the workshops which can bring changes in the way energy is viewed by the
stakeholders. ISO 50001 is pragmatic, has wide relevance, has global applications which
can lead to reduced energy usage and increased profits to organisations where it's
implemented. In the mean while, the prevailing scheme of encouraging workshops to
achieve quality/environment system standards of ISO 9000/ISO 14000 Certification
should also continue.

9.5J.3 Organizational and Behavioural Issues

IR is a huge organisation employing 1.3 million staff and has a great share of technical
staff in the total manpower. IR has a dedicated organization called IRIMEE (Indian
Railway Institute for Mechanical and Electrical Engineers), where it trains its officers and
supervising engineers both for induction programs and special need based programmes.
There is a scheme called "special class railway apprentice scheme" wherein Union Public
Service Conmiission (UPSC) selects about 20-30 students annually who are trained by
railways and after qualifying for Associate Member of Institution of Engineers (AMIE),
are absorbed as officers in railways. Similar facility for selecting and training students and
grooming them exclusively for railway technology is the need of the hour. IR has entered
in technical agreements with General Motors of USA for diesel locomotives, Alsthom for
electrical locomotives and Alsthom LHB for high speed coaches, etc. There is a need to
train young minds in these technologies so that the operational and maintenance aspects
are taken care of till development of own in house technologies or go in for up-grades. It is
quite natural that Organizational and behavioral issues pertaining to workshops also have
some influence on energy efficiency. This includes 'interaction level', 'work practices',
'plant layout & housekeeping', and 'importance attached to energy issues' pertaining to
workshops. IR has of late entered into understanding with few Indian Institute of
Technologies (IITs) for developing Research & Development (R&D) specifically for
railway application. With reference to this, it is essential that IR must promote the much
talked about "industry-institute interaction" to increase knowledge sharing, R& D
activities, etc., between the workshops and neighboring technical institutes for mutual
benefits. The prevailing level of interaction between workshops and educational &
research institutions is rather insignificant and there is vast scope for improving the same.
Also, the co-ordination among different workshops and the technical institutes must be
improved for effective implementation of energy efficiency enhancement.

206
As far as work practices, layout & housekeeping are concerned, promotion of "cleaner
production techniques" by creating awareness among workshops through training,
demonstration, consultancy and advisory services will certainly help. With improved
awareness about energy - economy - environment systems, the workshop managers are
bound to appreciate the multiple dimensions of energy use in their organizations leading to
attaching high importance to energy and its associated issues.

9.5.3 Busting the Barriers and Boosting the Drivers

This study revealed that 'dedication of the management', and 'awareness of new
technologies' are the top two drivers to enhance energy efficiency in railway workshops.
Similarly, 'policy and regulatory barriers' and 'behavioral and personal barrier' are
perceived as the top two barriers of energy efficiency in the workshops. Detailed study
with greater sample size led to the findings that 'motivation'; 'knowledge and attitude' are
the top drivers for the EC measures. The workshops do not have a separate wing or cell to
ensure implementation of EET. The two findings complement each other but also logically
support the previously identified factors which influenced energy efficiency. Hence there
is a promising domain for a common set of policy interventions, especially in energy
intensive-workshops, to enhance the overall performance of workshops. There can be a
separate cell in each workshop which can be dedicated to implementation of EET so as to
ensure faster and wider implementation. As the EC act has not covered railway
workshops, there is no statutory binding on the workshops to have energy managers or
conduct energy audits. Both the workshops do have safety cells with safety officers as it is
mandated by Indian Factories Act. If there are similar provisions regarding energy
efficiency, then energy and environment will also get their due recognition and the culture
of EC by implementing EET will come up and grow further.

The various dimensions of FEB suggest that workshops have capital constraints to invest
on improving energy efficiency. This limitation is mainly due to insufficient ftinds, and
secondly to reluctance in associating finance to fiand the EET for want of proven economic
viability. There are several instructions from ministry of railways to support energy
conservation measures and implementing green technologies. Railway workshops are
exploiting them, largely due to drive from the respective workshop management. To
encourage gieater implementation without many hassles, streamlining of procurement
processes, and fiscal benefits for implementing the energy-efficient devices like, subsidies
needs to be made even more attractive.

207
Busting of BPB though crucial for efficiency enhancement is also quite complex to
achieve. It is necessary to eradicate the prevailing negative behavioural and personal
attitudes reflected by its dimensions such as 'feeling of insignificance in the population',
'others will do: syndrome', 'resistance to change', 'happy with status quo', 'busy with
routine functions', and 'dependence on others for help'. In this connection, more energy
educational campaigns, training programmes, seminars, workshops, consultancy services,
etc., can prove usefiil. Organisations involved in yoga, meditation, teaching life skills etc.,
are now in the limelight and such NGOs can be roped in to bring in behavioral changes. IR
has already introduced yoga training to all its loco pilots and has been successfully
conducted in all its training centers. This concept can be extended to workshops and the
staff trained in mind and body management techniques to shed off negativity and
contribute positively to the organisation. However, the local associations can take lead and
tie up with the workshops and bring in positive contribution in such initiatives.

On the energy front, to disseminate the benefits of energy efficiency to all its members, the
local association may arrange visits to the 'best performing workshops' thus motivating
them to emulate the leaders. Initially, with the help of in-house and external consultants,
detailed 'energy audits' may be conducted in the workshops to demonstrate the existing
energy conservation potential and to identify the key areas for improvement. The results of
the energy audits should form part of the regular training programme to all the technical
staff at all levels to percolate the knowledge. Later on, periodic 'energy audit' must be
made compulsory in all workshops providing for incentives for energy conservation. In
this regard the railways should have separate funds for undertaking diagnostic studies,
development and demonstration of modem tool kits, training, hiring of consultants, and
creating common facilities. Further, seminars, workshops, and study visits, etc., must also
promoted meticulously in the coming years to effectively bust the BPB.

Energy efficiency is vital fi-om the national perspectives of resource conservation,

reduction in spending of foreign exchange for energy import, environment protection, and
effective demand-supply matching. Railway workshops are mostly driven by the
determination of the management and not on economical or environmental considerations.
But, what is more important is to promote these drivers through specific policy measures
while promoting energy efficiency enhancement especially in energy-intensive workshops.
Thus, railway workshops must be encouraged to adopt energy efficiency as a 'cost
minimizafion' or 'profit maximization' strategy through various incentives. This may be

208
done by giving awards, certificates, preferential treatment for capital financing etc., to
motivate railway workshops to reduce their energy costs and increase their profit focusing
on energy efficiency.

9.6 SCOPE FOR FURTHER WORK

Most of the initiatives to increase energy efficiency in Indian railways have adopted
demand side management approach with emphasis on technology. These initiatives are
generally driven fi-om the top and the fi-ontline staff is not involved in decision-making.
But, energy lead initiatives must necessarily have the scope to encompass the other non-
technology issues as well for producing discernible results. Further, a bottom-up
participatory approach involving the main stakeholders of the system in identifying the
various constraints and motivators for energy efficiency enhancement helps in assessing
the ground realities apart from reducing implementation hitches. This research has made
contributions towards strengthening this approach in energy efficiency enhancement of
railway workshops.

The present study was based on the empirical data gathered by administering a structured
researcher administered questionnaire through the field visits across the two railway
workshops. Various other workshops located in the north, east, western regions of the
country were also visited and interactions carried out to assess the situations prevailing in
those workshops. The analysis of barriers and drivers for energy efficiency improvement
in this work has focused on railway workshops by incorporating the perspective of the
managers and the supervising engineers. However, future research may analyze the
barriers and drivers involving more number of stakeholders of Indian Railways such as
research and development institutions, policy makers, researchers, passengers, and so on.

More comparative work, more attention to external linkages and more concern with
knowledge flows can certainly lead any research to greater contribution and hence can be
aptly applied to this work too. Bearing this in mind, the present work involving two
workshops may be extended focusing on workshops located in other regions, thus
allowing systematic comparison of energy efficiencies. The other dimension deserving
research attention would be to explore the role of external linkages of workshops in
advancing their energy and environmental performances. According to Bell and Albu
(1999), there is also a need for the research studies in industrial clusters to shift from
production systems to knowledge systems. Thus, the studies covering effect of knowledge

209
flows from within and outside the workshops on energy efficiency may also prove fruitful
in enhancing energy efficiency in railway workshops.

9.7 CONCLUSION

This long drawn effort was an attempt to open up the massive organisation of IR for a
detailed study to arrive at some conclusions about various dimensions of energy and
environmental aspects of IR Workshops. Being in government sector, these workshops
have never been studied with a research bent of mind. The scope of undertaking research
activities in important government sector such as railways is very meager but should be
encouraged for the common good of the organisation and the nation at large. Railways
have tied up with few IITs to undertake research about railways and the scope should be
enlarged to encompass other technical institutions too. This study attempts to m£irk the
beginning of an era wherein more and more researchers will enter the government domain
and come out with usefiil conclusions having far reaching effects. It is thus believed that
this empirical study of energy consumption along with its associated issues in the two
energy-intensive railway workshops would be able to assist in triggering the concerned
stakeholders to seriously consider energy efficiency improvement for the sustainable and
long term growth of this vital transportation sector. Due to the current financial situation
and the damages to the eco system, government organisations must lead the research
activities not only on economic considerations but also put sincere efforts to reduce their
carbon footprints for a greener and cleaner tomorrow. The analysis of causes,
consequences, consfraints, and motivators is likely to assist in fine-tuning the Indian
railway's energy policy in general and energy-intensive IR workshops in particular.

210