So today’s class is on collaborative model for innovation.

This is a culmination of all the three aspects of design,

technology and [Link] you will see this particular sort of development happened as a research project
of mine while,you know, I worked in industry for nearly seven years and after industry experience,I joined IIT
Delhi as a professor and then I started my PhD then, because I realisedthat innovation needs a different type of
skill set and innovation was a very earlystages in the [Link] did not see many developments in the country
at that [Link] the cars, you know, were very [Link] you look at that time you had two brands running in the
[Link], in that stage I said let us workout a research program where I, you know, did aPhD theory of
collaborative [Link], this whole journey I am going to show you, how we built this collaborative
modelfrom real case [Link] the main objective was to enable organizations to generate innovative product
[Link] could be organizations, or it could be students, or it could be non government [Link] of
them, if they have to come with innovative [Link] these innovative ideas need not necessarily be product
[Link] for all of you I am telling you this could be communication ideas, it could be animationrequirements,
it could be interaction ideas, it could be anywhere but the methodology isthe same wherever you take these
ideas [Link] here we specifically built this using real case [Link] we actually took them as
sponsored projects with [Link] if you take them as sponsored projects with students, the industry is a
partner [Link] when you call it a sponsored project what happens is the industry pays a large sum ofmoney
to the institute so that the professor and the student is part of the [Link], here, then only it will be called
as a real case study, otherwise the case studiesare not [Link], so that was [Link] then these were live
case studies which addressed the complexities and operationalissues related with innovative product idea
generation, because what happens if you aredoing a fictitious classroom project, it is called a mock project, you
will not get thecomplexities as clear as you do in a real [Link] when you talk about a real project, the most
important aspect of the project is thatyou will get an industry partner, which is the toughest [Link] most of
the industry partners who are ready to come to satisfy their current [Link] will not come to work on
an innovative next generation product using new technologyand new materials or new [Link] will just say,
you know, redesign my [Link] we have to find the right partner to do this [Link] have to form teams,
both in the industry and academia, that is, for example, I havea student, the guide was me and some of the
colleagues from other departments who werepart of the teaming [Link], where to come up with the
product brief then the team would develop ideas and thenbuild it into [Link] concepts will come up with
multiple three [Link] these would be [Link] finally the final concept would again go into the
network group to see whether innovationcan happen or [Link] this is the total, you know, methodology be
followed for the [Link] research it is very critical to have very strict sort of methods because each case
studyhas to follow the same method so that we can actually get them into a particular frameworkto come up
with the [Link] this model will be very effective for [Link], here we come up with these life case
[Link] first case study was the design of a bicycle, next generation bicycle for Hero [Link] Cycles is
the largest manufacturing, you know, bicycle manufacturing company inthe country and, you know, we were
very lucky that they agreed to partner with us in [Link] the next project was a dual chambered bottle
for a beverage [Link] company wanted the bottle to be manufactured which has dual [Link]
wanted to supply masala milk and the masala liquid should be mixed just before drinkingthe [Link] it was mixed
before, the aroma, the taste, will all get [Link] that is called a dual chamber [Link] top chamber will
have the masala content and the bottom chamber of the milk so it canmix, and it can be used for various other
Indian [Link] he wanted the bottle design for that [Link] third product was the petrol pump
[Link] I joined IIT Delhi as a Professor, I worked on petrol pumps and the competitorcame rushing to us
and said we would like to work with [Link] this was a very easy client for us because he knew that we would
work on innovation andthis was a company called Midco which wanted to, you know, sort of wanted come with
aninnovative [Link] the fourth one was from Hero [Link] Motors was manufacturing a moped
called Hero Pook and they wanted to sell it urgentlyin the market and they said we want to really work on the
form innovation as well as userconvenience innovation for this [Link] the last project was from the Godrej
locks division in [Link] say that we have a lock product which we like to do, you know, redesign at 50%
ofthe [Link], each one had a [Link] from these challenges we started our [Link] why did we went
ahead with our, you know, real case studies?We had a student who would work on the project earlier like, you
know, we discussed thishelmet case [Link] student is the full team member, we call him as the person who
is fully [Link] had the guide, who was me, who was from design school and we had an engineering
professorfrom another department who would be his co-guide and that was called the team at [Link], we built
a team which is at the company level, where the company would then give theirperson for marketing, one
person from manufacturing, one person from supply chain and one personfrom [Link] way we have 4-5
people from the Hero Cycles company and in this case, rememberI was telling you, all these case studies have
to have a particular [Link] what is the framework we used?The framework was called Situation, Actor
and Process: [Link], Action and Performance: (LAP).This is a SAPLAP and this was actually done by
my professor who was my [Link] professor who guided me in my PhD is Professor [Link] was from the
school of management in IIT [Link] he was my guide and he came up with this framework to assess case
[Link] do a case study, you apply this framework and analyse, and you will come up with learningso that
you can act on the [Link] acting on the learning, you can have your performance, you can make things
[Link] fact we were [Link] were at the gates of Hero Cycles and my god, it was like a highway because
they weremanufacturing 24,000 bicycles a [Link] is a huge [Link] truck used to move around 200
[Link] if you manufacture so many, how trucks have to move on a particular [Link] then on the top of it,
if you are a manufacturer of so many bicycles, the parts have to comefrom all over Ludhiana, right?Hero Cycles
was in [Link] it has to come from various locations so all these people, vendors would start supplyingthe
materials in their [Link] the main gate of the company was like a huge, sort of, gateway of trucks going
inand trucks going [Link] type of volume they were [Link] they were having this stiff competition
from [Link] was supplying bicycles in India at half the price of Hero [Link] Hero Cycles was
threatened, they said that if they (China) started supplying inlarge quantities like, you know, what will happen to
our business?So, they were really concerned and that was the assignment they gave us, that you designwith
your [Link] want a low cost [Link] come up with innovative materials, you do whatever but our
cost of the bicycle shouldbe [Link] here we [Link] you have to understand the situation, what all Hero
Cycles is [Link] outsource a lot of pipe manufacturing, component manufacturing [Link] assemble
the bike in the [Link] capable of producing high quality products that is very [Link] information
was also given by the [Link] know, when you weld a frame what happens?When you weld something what
happens?When you weld pipes together, the stresses develop in the pipes, right?And your pipes are never in
one [Link] your front wheel and your back wheel in all our cycles are never [Link] they are highly true, they will
be the best [Link] will have a very little load to [Link] will be [Link] will see the
difference [Link], here the biggest challenge was getting the pipes in one line and getting your
frontwheel and the back wheel in one plane in exactly one [Link] is the most important test for a bicycles
accuracy and [Link] we were very lucky, (Brijmohan Lall) Munjal, he was a senior guy who was around 75 to
80years at that [Link] came and gave us this very interesting one line brief saying that we need to
[Link] need to come with bicycle which can beat the Chinese competition, but also have a formfactor,
which is different from the current [Link] very, you know, we were very inspired by him because at that age
he could give thattype of phenomenal direction to the project whereas all other people from marketing andall
were talking about their current problems and looking at [Link] the Actors are the student, guide and the
co-guide, I told [Link] co-guide is from another [Link] example if I am doing bicycle design, I will take
a co-guide from applied [Link] professor from applied mechanics was our co-guide in the [Link]
we were 3 people [Link] the second team was from the [Link] CEO, the top management support
was very [Link] here we have the CEO coming in very, very [Link] of design DGM-Marketing and
Head of Export [Link] was chosen by [Link] Cycle also exports a lot of bicycles all over the
[Link] of course the third team were, this third team was built after we started the projectand this team
included out-of-the-box vendors like Maruti Udyog who were designing productsas a vendor to the car
company, we had Caparo Vendors who were experts in deep drawing,we had some street metal consultants
who came from outside and they were experts in deepdrawing, professors from [Link] this is a new team, which
was built up after we understood that we cannot handlethis project without some more additional information
coming [Link] that was the third team which came [Link] we did the data [Link] found out what all was
happening and then we came up with a lot of ideas which wereimportant for us to see whether we can merge
all this cycle [Link] cycles have been, you know, very very phenomenal in their simplicity and [Link], what
type of ideas can we come up was the biggest [Link], we want to solve the pipe structure problems, the
pipes were the biggest problem becausethe welding was getting stuck, all of you know the [Link]
welding was not [Link] weldings were taking a lot of [Link] we also looked at the possibility of use of
other [Link] many of you have ridden aluminium bicycles?Aluminium alloy bicycles?Very [Link]
are very light right?What happens when the cycle is light?It moves faster with lesser effort right?But the
aluminium alloy is so expensive that the cycle generally costs 3 times the regularcycles.3-4 times the regular
bicycles, because aluminium is difficult to weld, and the alloying, youknow, is a special [Link] biggest
breakthrough came when we did the idea generation for a deep drawn [Link] they were manufacturing
cars?They are manufacturing cars by sheet metal draw, right?The car body is drawn by large [Link] may
have seen it on [Link], when the large press is pressed you get the whole part in one [Link], can we
manufacture bicycles rather than pipe welding, you manufacture by the deepdrawn [Link] is a very big
insight and we will show you how that insight went [Link] a lot of ideas came up with, you know,
[Link] cast [Link] pipe structures, mild steel [Link] the structures together
rather than welding because that was taking a lot of [Link] here finally you come up with your focus
[Link] you have, you know, three focus clusters with three different types of materials [Link] first
concept is a sheet metal drawn [Link]'t it interesting, as soon as it becomes sheet metal, what's happening
to the handlebar,it has become very long, because in sheet metal if you gotta get the same stiffnessyour length
of the fork, will have to increase otherwise it will start [Link] this is a very interesting characteristic of a
sheet metal and all this is drawn atone go in a [Link], you get a one single frame [Link] this single
frame bicycle you can have special alloys to make it very light [Link] for example, you have box pipe
frames made up of [Link] box frames are so light weight and cost-effective in [Link] to
[Link] this is one box frame [Link] here it was again mild steel structural welding which was again
being used over [Link] the sheet metal concept was selected as the best concept, because the advantage
ofusing sheet drawn concept was that it would become very very cost [Link] prices will straight away
drop by 75%.Because what happens in a pipe bicycle is pipes are actually sheets originally.(Video Start time:
13:34) (Video End Time: 13:49)They cut the sheets, and they are rolled into pipes and that is how pipes are
[Link] are not [Link] iron pipes are [Link] of the pipes are sort of rolled and
[Link] just imagine if I directly take the sheet and use it, my cost will be very low and becauseof the
manufacturing process of deep drawn it is a very very fast [Link] get, you get no welding, no [Link] it
will become very, very cost [Link] can see how the whole frame has been built in one [Link] then,
further development [Link] then in the same process, we have something called the mockup model,
remember I alwaystalk about mockup models [Link] you build mockup models of this to understand how they
design would [Link] from these mockup models we built one full scale mockup, non-working mockup
because,you know, you need special steels to make a [Link] it was very difficult to procure the sheets
at that time and you needed tooling whichwill become very, very expensive to [Link] this became the option for
us to show to the [Link] of course, the company was very thrilled to see this product because the cost
was actuallyfinally 75% of the current cost of [Link] material they were [Link] the biggest
challenge here was the tool cost was very [Link] they have to invest around 50 lakhs in tooling produce this
bicycle which will be25% [Link], what did we learn from this journey was that interaction with the first
team, withthe team of experts was iterative in [Link], this interaction with the experts who were doing the
sheet metal drawing and allbecame very iterative and the concept development happened with experts from
the manufacturingsector in sheet [Link] concept detailing stage 1 concept was preferred over the [Link]
all the concepts why the other concepts were not chosen because of the [Link] main reason for our journey
was that we needed to start with the low cost aspect whereasall other concepts were not low cost so we chose
the concept which would result in lowcost [Link] that was the [Link] the main learning was,
solutions to existing design problems will lie completely in [Link] is the new paradigm?Car
manufacturing.A car paradigm of deep drawing and cars are cheap only because of deep drawing and
becauseof the large manufacturing base, which they [Link] special partners that can be [Link] is
the learning for us, for the collaborative team?You have to select special partners, like the people who are
experts in deep drawing,the people who are professors, experts in alloying of [Link] I need to produce, I
would have to go to Tata Steel and request them to produce thespecial grade of steel which can be deep drawn
and which will be stiff, because your bicyclecannot wobble right, the sheet has to be stiff, right?Of course the
form factor is there, we made the form which is the rib, so that it wouldbe stiff but the materials also have other
[Link] that was the major, you know, the learning in this case study that you need to reallybring experts
into the field during the design [Link] here, this is a dual chambered [Link] same journey.A lot of ideas
were [Link] a lot of ideas were built and each Idea was taken from a creative [Link] the first idea was,
if my opening is like the shutter of a [Link] is an opening and closing, right?So if you take inspiration
from the shutter, the dual chamber, for example, the top masalacan get mixed with milk by moving the shutter,
right?So I have taken the analogy from a camera to design my dual chamber [Link], here you have the
shutter in this and you move this lever and the shutter opensand only when you want to drink the masala milk
you're mixing masala with the [Link] here we have this, second idea, was taken from these dispensers, the
tubes for ointments,where there is a layer of silver foil and you press with the end of your cap, the
[Link] reverse the cap and you press and punch a [Link] was like a puncturing like mechanism,
you have a foil here and you have a [Link] this content will get in by puncturing the [Link] this is a
puncturing mechanism, which cannot be reused of [Link] the third option was inspired by traditional soda
bottles with the [Link] this soda bottle you press the ball out of its location, it goes and settles somewhereelse
and the channel becomes open for you to [Link] here, for example, you move this ball and automatically a
channel opens, because theball is elliptical and then the channel opens, the top masala will, liquid will mix
withthe [Link] was a live [Link] beverage company was on our [Link] wanted a patent for
[Link] you want a patent for such a [Link] would, you have to go and look at your patent [Link]
found 500 patents for a dual chambered bottle and my student went, you know, haywire,he said, ‘Sir, how can I
make one more which is [Link] that was the beauty is [Link] example, we found out that the need was
very critical [Link] client said that this particular bottle should not be more than 10% more expensivethan a
regular beverage bottle like a pet bottle which is used for Coca-Cola or [Link] those bottles are costing
you 10 Rupees this should be equal to 12 rupees, not morethan [Link] when you went to the web to see how
many patents were there, all those bottles werefor different, different [Link] did not have that type of,
you know, cost [Link] soon as it came in, the pet bottle, we talked to the pet manufacturers straight
[Link] he said, he told us that we are coming up with a new material which is 10% cheaperthan the current
[Link] you design with a new material you will be able to come down to your cost by 10% andthen you
come with your other designs which can [Link] those bottles you put them together and finally the whole
team decided that they wouldlike to go ahead with the shutter one, because that is more simple and more easy
to operateand more [Link] then the actual work started off of [Link] here how will the shutter
work?Here you have this, you know, a very interesting slope [Link] the slope what happens is your
sealing is not [Link] you have the shutter, when this turns in these locations, it is closed and when
thesetwo match it opens, a very simple [Link] the biggest challenge here you should be leak
[Link] is the big [Link] do we get the inspiration for leak proof you tell me?Have you seen these
leak proof taps, stainless steel taps with the [Link] happens in them?It is just a taper, right?And in that they
put a brass [Link] goes, because of the taper, it goes and [Link] is no rubber [Link], we took that
inspiration from that design and we used this taper over [Link] this is no longer [Link] is tapered like this,
so when you lock with the taper, you get a very good [Link] these got [Link] then finally it
goes, you know, implemented in the bottle and the bottle, you know, wasactually just 15%.It was not 10 of
course, 15% more expensive than the current [Link], this piece of the plastic is what is extremely low
[Link] the bottle had the turn in the [Link] you hold the bottle, turn the whole ring, the ring on the top, this
ring and top contentwill get mixed with the bottom [Link] the dual chambered bottle was [Link], the
client was wanted to get a patent, so we got it patented and after that we reallydo not know what has happened
with the [Link] are hoping that he has manufactured it.
Then the third project was Hero Motors Step through [Link] this step through bike was for [Link] was
for an export market, so we had to really work very hard with their export team,with the clients in [Link]
student was sitting in IIT Delhi and, you know, with a lot of [Link] this came, gave us a very important
inspiration that your visual sketches become very veryimportant for your design [Link] of
sketches helps you in the collaborative model for [Link] you can see how the client wanted, in a
hidden tugged bag inside the side [Link] this bag actually would go and the side pocket would
[Link] was very, very important for the step through bike.A lot of women would ride these bikes in that
country and they wanted the styling to matchtheir [Link] sent us a lot of image boards for this work
and you know that is how the whole producthad come [Link] then the student built a small scale [Link] was
just a 1/5th scale model, very [Link] with this model a lot of inputs [Link] you make models, the
biggest advantage is the collaborative team can give you a lotof [Link] can give you a lot of inputs to
how things will [Link] those inputs, the student then built a full scheme [Link] it is a
Montage?What is a montage over regular, sort of, model?A montage, only has half of [Link] can notice
it?Everything is [Link] do not have a back side of [Link], because it is a [Link] you build a half, by
layers, you can also build, like, [Link] is a foam montage and then this is a full scale montage so you can
really standnext to it, take all the inspiration and everything can [Link] this is a full-scale, a non-working
[Link] all done within a span of 6 [Link] the company, Hero Motors was thrilled to see this
progress because in their companythey take 3 years to build such a [Link] we finished in 6 [Link]
happens because the collaborative teaming because of the type of intensity the CoreTeam works on the
[Link] here for example, you can see every part, you know, including the special review andstands, basic
stands, the stands for the pillion rider, the seat design, the grab [Link] this tug away [Link] open
this box, you get a large bag which will come out of this pocket, and you canput groceries on both the sides.A
lot of storage was done which was a very important thing and this was completed inthat [Link] while doing all
this we were actually, what we were doing at the back?We were actually assimilating all the [Link] is
happening?Whom are we talking to?How are we working on this project?What are the inputs we are getting
from the team?What are the inputs we are getting from the external team?All that we are logging, I am not
showing you that log, but I will show you at the end,how the log helped us to build the [Link] then the
fourth model was the lock for [Link] Godrej said, ‘We want a lock, we are the largest lock company but
we are threatenedagain by foreign brands coming in with low [Link] we make a vertibolt, which is 50% of the
cost of the current product’.So again the same phenomenon of making a lot of [Link] one idea which
could be an integrated [Link], what is the best way of reducing the cost?You reduce the number of
components [Link] then this student actually did shadowing of a lock repairer in [Link] actually went
behind a lock repairer, worked with him for 3-4 [Link] he came and told me, ‘Sir it is really unfortunate that
the lock in Bombay, becauseof the breeze, the door closes and if the vertibolt is on the lock [Link] lock
breaks inside because it is made up of aluminium [Link] inside part is made of aluminium [Link]
because of impact, they can [Link] he was saying that even if the repair guy comes, he has to replace the
lock rather thanrepair it because everything is broken [Link], that was a big learning from the user [Link]
Uses study became a very important domain of learning from a design point of [Link] the user study became
[Link] of the people, understanding of the end user, understanding of the peoplewho service
your [Link] that became very [Link] with that we did this whole [Link] here you can see this
vertibolt [Link] the best part of this was again collaboration, between the teaming of Godrej locks divisionas
well as the teaming at IIT Delhi, who are specialist in sheet metal [Link] can see here, this whole
thing is one [Link] the whole thing is in one piece, it became extremely low cost and that was
usingalloy sheet metal and this alloy sheet metal would, you know, really give you the complete,sort of, one
single shot [Link] the product cost came down by 50% of the total [Link] this is the final
[Link], Godrej also was fully excited about this project and we submitted the projectto them and we,
you know, did all the work [Link] the fifth one was the most interesting one for me, because I think some of
you willask some of the questions with the fifth [Link] out of the 5 projects we took as the live projects, we
wanted all of them to becomeinnovation, right?But our journey in research was to come over the initial sector of
the innovation journeywhich was the seed, the innovation idea, right?The idea is also as important as the total
journey which takes forward, I think by nowyou know because of the other case [Link] here, for example,
this company, completely, sort of, out of the market because of theL&T petrol pump and they wanted to come
with a new product with new systems and new [Link] built the same type of teaming, with the student,
with the experts, with the [Link] build this whole [Link] can see here this was inspired by a
mobile [Link] is an old Nokia mobile phone [Link] interesting thing was that the hose was coming
from the top because of that [Link] that became a very big USP (Unique Selling Proposition); a Form
inspiration became aunique selling proposition for this product because this product was able to deliver
morepetrol per minute than any other product because of very smooth flow of petrol from the [Link]
because of the use of contemporary materials, contemporary technologies, contemporary ideageneration and
collaborative team, we could come up with the [Link], within a year the prototypes were built and
were installed in [Link] customers, who were the oil companies, were extremely glad to place [Link]
we became a runaway success,and became the largest selling petrol pumps in the country during those 3
years of [Link], here we have one case out of all our 5 cases which saw the light of the [Link] is
the learning from the real case studies?We got a clear understanding of the effective functioning of the
Collaborative [Link] built a Collaborative which is [Link] do we need to collaborate with
everybody?Because if you take a project here in IDC, when you do [Link] do you do?You are the only
guy who is working on the [Link] the most you go to the guide to get your inputs [Link] you need to
have, we very clearly came up with three separate teams with [Link] realized that there are
three teams of people [Link] is a team which is working hundred percent of the project, like I told you,
the studentand the guides who are 100%.There is a team which would give a lot of support in the [Link] the
support team was very [Link] finally the team which would give a lot of creative inputs to the whole
journey, wasthe creative inputs [Link], that was happening with the three [Link] the roles and
responsibilities of the teams in the idea generation process had tobe specified and [Link], we will
show you the models now, from the [Link] each of these learning, like you know, as I was showing you
the case studies, builtup some proposition, like for example, the collaborative network, you know, can workon
idea [Link] if you have to build up a collaborative network, you must have experts and peoplefrom
diverse areas to lead to innovative ideas, so that you can come up with innovative [Link] proposition too is,
you have to divide your idea generation process into steps thatwill lead to better control in the process as well
as generating and nurturing [Link] when I say steps you cannot say that I need one idea you immediately go
back andbuild a [Link] have to have a lot of ideas, you have to build [Link] of the three concepts
you have to choose the right concept by the stages, and afterchoosing that you need to refine the [Link]
those types of steps become very very critical and that is a part of a design process [Link] that step by
step process, when you have a step by step process, what happens?You can actually get very good inputs
from your Collaborative [Link] can get inputs from your [Link] can get inputs from your partners’ very
[Link] you won't get [Link] if you show the final result, how do you build their inputs into
your results?It's not possible to build their [Link] that becomes very, very [Link] three,
remember I was talking about, visual representation of [Link] remember the step through bike, where
because of the sketches, we could get a lotof creative inputs from all the partners in the Collaborative [Link]
it be the industry partners, let it be the marketing partners, let it be the [Link] was
happening in a very, very strong way and that resulted in evolutionary developmentof [Link] the fourth
proposition was the [Link] have to be very flexible in your idea generation stage where you should be
opento ideas and open to the changes in the design [Link], those changes are also very [Link] me
now show you the model which is generated out of all these case [Link] this is a very very simple model,
called the Collaborative model for a new [Link] in this model, you have the Core Team who has
the full responsibility of innovation,that is they are working hundred percent on the [Link] you are doing a
design in a company, the core team would be like the team which isworking 100% time on [Link] enterprise
wide team would be the team which will be working around 20-30% of thetime they would spend on the
[Link] the network team would be the ones who just give you simple ideas, they would bejust spending
5% or 2% of the [Link] will be just available for your [Link] will be your vendors, they will be your
technology providers and all [Link], these simple ideas of dividing your processes into 3 teams can lead to,
you know, a [Link] I was talking about the stages in the [Link] you have the
idea generation [Link] you have the concept [Link] have multiple concepts here, three [Link]
can do the concept detailing, and then you finally do the [Link], when you have these [Link] can
get inputs from various members very, very effectively into the [Link] here we have the core [Link] core
team has people who can be in the core [Link] can be designers, R&D experts, management representatives,
creativity [Link] upon your [Link] can choose the type of people who will be in your core
[Link], in the enterprise-wide team, you have finance, because finance is a very importantaspect of it,
right? you have to make tools, you have to make [Link] have product planning [Link]
engineering design people will be, you know, part of your enterprise wide, your manufacturing,HR, R&[Link],
depending upon your project, you can choose the type of enterprise wide cross functionalteam, which will be
there with [Link] then of course the most creative inputs came from the network external [Link] I
was talking about the dual chamber bottle where the pet manufacturer gave usa lot of interesting ideas about
[Link], in the issues of the bike, we went to a, sort of, Maruti which was manufacturingdeep drawn
parts, to give a lot of input to the parts, so that becomes very, very [Link] then there can all be, you know,
technology [Link] could be academic institutes to do research in the [Link] can become your very,
very great source of innovation, innovative [Link] this is the composition, all put [Link], these are all
the people and here you can see this cross at every stage, you aremeeting [Link] every stage of your
design process, you're actually collaborating with your enterprisewide team and you're getting input from your
network external team because of those inputsyour design would map much much more [Link] in the
Collaborative model, now putting all the slides together, we, we see how thecomposition [Link] here we
have the core team, and the core team is represented by this pipe over [Link] we have the enterprise wide
team, which is this, this colour over here and then theexternal team [Link] there is a complete network across
these teams and the functions of each team is mentionedover [Link] composition here is the supplier, the
distributor, the technology provider, theinstitutes which are giving you various inputs, the R&D institutes, the
consultant, the psychologistand the user groups which help you to build your [Link] the enterprise wide
team would be the part of the team which is within the [Link] product planning, the finance, the R&D
team, the engineering team, the materialsteam which will support you with new materials, the marketing,
manufacturing, human [Link] enterprise wide team is very critical in the design phase because you
should dowhat type of company synergy is there, because without the company's synergy you cannot
doinnovation, and they are the ones which, because they are part of the company, they will givea lot of support
for the innovation to go [Link], that is a very interesting team, and of course we talked about the core team
withall the designers and collaborators in [Link] the composition is their, a very important aspect is the
[Link] should each team function?So the core team, these are all the core team [Link] core
team has to conduct creative workshops across [Link] have to capture good ideas across the various
[Link] have to nurture ideas, once you capture ideas you have to make sketches and nurturethose ideas
and create [Link] you also have to evaluate [Link] example it is very difficult for idea generation across
the team and when you generateideas, what type of ideas will you select and reject is a very important
challenge [Link] you have to make ideas work, you have to do knowledge brokering, bring knowledgeinto
ideas, you have to collaborate with other team members, that is a very important [Link] of course
visualisation, collaboration is part of the functions of the main [Link] you have the enterprise-wide
[Link] also behave as innovation triggers because, see enterprise wide team is within the company,they
have a lot of problems in the current products which they can become like an innovationtriggers, ‘Oh!The cost
should be low, or the product should be more user friendly, the product shouldbe lightweight’.So all those
innovation triggers come from the enterprise wide [Link] are, you know, across the disciplines, they look
at the feasibility very [Link] will help you with the [Link] of course, they will help you with
evaluating ideas, which is very, very [Link] then we have the external team, they provide you with beautiful
ideas and various inputsfor coming up with the creative [Link] act as a knowledge [Link] is also a
user group which is your external [Link] will evaluate your product and tell you how your products will
[Link] of course, there will be a lot of people who would be material suppliers and othermaterials and new
manufacturing for their ideas to sell their materials to [Link] they give you a lot of input to build your
[Link], these are, you know, by putting the functions now into place, you again build your, youknow, the
whole [Link] we have a model for the composition and your model for the [Link] putting these two
things together, we have done a lot of [Link] these projects have been very, very [Link] I
was telling about the postbox [Link] exactly used the model and our letterbox became [Link] did a
Palki design for Vaishno [Link], 100 palkis are supplied in Vaishno [Link] became very, very
[Link] we have been using this methodology and we also did this methodology training forcompanies
like Ashok Leyland and for outside [Link] they have also used this model and considered it [Link]
advantage of a model is that you can actually year mark and pin point and take care of allthe steps so that
innovation can happen in the best possible way, because they are involvingthe CEOs very early in the phase
what's happening is, and because of the success stories now,people have much more confidence in using a
model to take things forward in the rightdirection if you have come with new innovations in the field.I think one
of the questions which was asked was out of the five projects, which of themwent into the [Link] as I told
you the petrol pump, the bullet petrol pump did very well in the market becausethe company management was
very, very keen in spending the extra resources on toolingand taking the product [Link] the other
project for example, we didn’t see so much traction from the [Link] the project got over they never
followed up with us to take the project [Link] we were happy with the type of progress because generally
across the domain they saythat, generally there is 10% success out of, out of an innovation [Link] we
have achieved, in this, while we worked for the model, we achieved 20% success becauseone product became
a runaway success, a very good count in innovation success.(Student Professor Conversation Begins: 16:58)
Why is it like that some companies, even afterknowing it's a very innovative product, why do not they take it
up?Sir: Very, very good [Link] fact that is a big challenge that we all know that this is good, they know that
itis going to give them a good market but the biggest challenge comes to, what happens tothe current
line?What will happen, and then the biggest challenge is, what will happen to the investment whichwe
gave?Because it is a new product right they do not know the [Link] do not know whether it will [Link]
is the reason why we were saying that the collaborative network should help us tolink with the users very early
in the phase, so that the uses become part of my [Link], for example, in the Hero Cycles, clearly it was a
risky [Link], innovation is always risky, right?So, the risky proposition, they were not ready to spend
the money, but they were ready tospend money on their current welding robots, for [Link], these are the
challenges which we face when we take the innovation journey, but whereas very clearly, when you look at the
Nano story, top management like Ratan Tata said,nothing [Link] car should be a car, but it should be half
the [Link] things can go forward in an effective [Link], you really have deep pockets to take in the
innovation journey [Link] you explain more on the features of the bike you made?Sir: This bike was very
[Link] bike, the main features of the bike was that they gave a lot of style requirementsfrom
[Link] said these are the types of bikes which are running [Link] should be like one of [Link]
you make something completely drastic then nobody will use [Link] was the major aesthetic consideration and
then other considerations was that youneeded to have utility which will not hamper the [Link] example,
if you put a basket to carry vegetables but the bags should be hidden insidethe [Link] the bags which were
coming out or jetting out, which were flexible bags were hiddeninto the flanks of the [Link] if you use the bike
normally it will look beautiful and then when you are carrying vegetables,they are, the bags are pulled out of
their hiding and you can put [Link] especially the rear view mirrors, all of them were [Link] want
every component to be stylized in a way to have impact in the market for [Link] the step through was an
important component of [Link] through was a popular concept there and they put a dove tail into the
step throughconcept by taking our product over there other, otherwise most of the products were from
Japan,OK?Come then we will head to our class, thank you.
So, in today's class we will talk about the concerns for innovation.I have been working for the last 20 years in
this field, trying to work and see howinnovation happens across various domains.I was, you know, also in L&T
earlier where, you know, we could see, you know, in the industry,innovation happens because of a number of
people in the organization.(Video Start Time: 00:29) (Video Start Time: 01:06)So, when I moved to IITs I also
realized that, you know, professors have a lot of [Link] of them are able to take it to the
innovation and others are [Link], then I had to also work on our own projects in IDC to see why some projects
go to [Link] of the most common products in the market of our professors’ is the voting
machine.(Video Start Time: 01:26) (Video Start Time: 02:38)I must tell you, I was a student at that time, 1988
and I was watching Prof. Roa and [Link] Poovaih, working on these machines, and I will see them, you
know, shaping them usingplaster mock-up models before they could go for their meeting with BEL to take this
tothe level of [Link], there is something which is very very critical in an [Link] what are
these critical aspects of innovation is when I, you know, conceived my book thedesign of the postbox for India
Post is when I came up with the concerns of innovation.I call them the Chakku’s 7 Concerns of [Link]
these concerns are very critical in the innovation [Link] it does not necessarily belong to only the
designer, it could be a professor whowants to go to innovation, it could be an entrepreneur who is doing
innovation, it couldbe an NGO who is working on innovation, but the concerns are there and then only
innovationcan [Link], let us see the first [Link] first concern is the [Link] Cause is like an
activist, that you are standing and saying that, ‘I am going tosolve this problem’.So, sure you are really, really
standing and saying that, ‘I am going to solve this problemand see to it that all the users get the benefit out of
it’.If I am just saying that ‘I am solving the problem’, ‘I am’ is not going to themarket, right?So, here the designer
is taking this cause saying that, ‘I am going to see to it thatit is going to get implemented’, and that is what is
the most important aspect in mycase or in the case of the professors you [Link] Ravi, Dr. Manish
Agarwal and NFTDC, you know, Dr. Balasubrahmanyam, who decidedto take the prosthesis, the mega process
to the people at an affordable cost, so thatchildren and people suffering from cancer do not lose their legs if
they get bone cancer,right?So, the cause becomes a very critical aspect of the total journey to begin [Link]
then the interesting aspect is that the context is as important as the [Link] we do not understand
our [Link] context in our country for helmets is, our country is a tropical, a very hot country.I cannot use
helmets coming from England.I cannot use helmets designed for motorcycle [Link] in our country two
wheeler riding motorcycles is a necessity for going to the office, right?it is no longer if, you know, evening ride
or a passion ride or a trekking [Link] 90% of abroad, in Europe it is meant for that purpose, where hardly it is
meantfor the commuting purpose and a [Link] here our contexts are very different from anybody else's
context, so the context forany innovation becomes very, very critical and addressing the context and the
environmentbecomes the next important concern for [Link] after you understand the context and you
stand for the cause, we noticed that a numberof times we lose out on the [Link] will gain insights only
when you are completely involved with the scenario and with the [Link], all your issues of user [Link]
your issues of [Link] your issues of understanding similar [Link] your issues of
[Link] is happening today in the market?Why are people not using or if they are using, what are
the current problems in the product?Everything becomes a [Link] when you draw insight from
this comprehension you get a whole list of what is [Link], without those insights you just cannot go ahead in
your [Link] that becomes a very important stage where you build [Link] you document studies of
[Link] do videography of [Link] do photo documentation of user problems or user situations and
come up with a [Link] then build something called the direction which is the [Link] check is to
have a complete list, and you want to stick to all the lists, and allyour ideas and development should happen
with that [Link], we will come, and then it is something like a product brief and, you know, you areactively
making everything [Link] you should know the direction you are [Link] early in your phase,
because your insights are there, your contextual information isthere, your comprehension is very, very [Link]
need to create a clear direction of how your design should [Link], you know, then of course, you know, very,
very creative aspect of, you know, idea generationand creating concepts, so generating [Link] ideas
concepts?What is the difference between ideas and concepts?Ideas address a particular problem in a product
or in a [Link] a concept addresses all issues of the, so a number of ideas will form a [Link] is
very, very critical in [Link], you develop the ideas, you develop the concepts and you develop your
final, you know,concept, which will match the [Link] that is why we call it a [Link] take the check at
whichever concept matches the check the most will be the concept whichwill be selected for your next stage of
deployment, which is the Crafting, which is a sixth [Link] here what are you doing?You are quickly building
mock-ups, 3 dimensional mock-ups. you are quickly building the prototypes,because you can do some user
study with [Link] can do some user study with [Link] you can of course do a lot of work when
you have multiple pilot [Link] then comes the connection where you go back to the user and connect
with him andcheck whether all the aspects you started with are matching or not and maximum numberof, you
know, users are [Link] that the connection [Link], this has synthesized from my industry
experience, from my student project experienceand from my live experience in the studio and watching other
professors all across [Link], this is the innovation journey.A number of times you repeat these [Link]
example, if you have gone to the users at the concept stage and a prototype stage,you failed there, you go
back to your comprehension, context and check and come back again [Link] this whole thing is a cyclic,
you know, till your innovation [Link], the Cause is the concern to solve a [Link] Context is to
understand the user and the [Link] comprehension is arriving at the design [Link] check is the
blueprints of [Link] we talked about it, a clear plan of [Link] then the Conception is creating
multiple ideas and combining them into [Link] Crafting is making mock-ups, functional prototypes and
pilot [Link] pilot production also is Crafting because you are spending a lot of time [Link]
then you have the Connection where your mass production and you reached a large numberof users and you
connect it back with the user and the benefit has reached the peopleat large till you are saying that you got the
benefit addressed to the [Link] let us put this on a very interesting [Link] I finished my PhD and I
came to IIT Bombay, I saw this rusted post box just nextto [Link] was rusted and after some time even the door
fell down and I said, you know, we all,you know, sitting in such great institutes, the best professors in materials,
manufacturingand management is available [Link] why cannot we change one product in the [Link], my
cause was, ‘I will start this journey and not stop till I have large-scale deployment,and, you know, see to it that I,
you know, solve this problem’.Because it is like, you know, very unfortunate that water gets in, the letters get
soggyand I myself watched some letters being very, you know, sort of wet in this box which was,you know, next
to IDC under a [Link], that was the first thing the [Link] then luckily I got a student who said, you know,
he went with my call and said, ‘Iwill work with you’, and it was a student project and we started our journey of
understandingthe [Link] we found out that the context is very different from what we [Link] then we
found out 1000s of issues about these [Link] were difficult to open during the rainy [Link] postman
could not hold his umbrella when he was taking all the letters and then thebox would be [Link], the letters
would be [Link] children cannot reach the letterbox because the height is very [Link], multiple issues and
then we also checked, in understanding the context, you have tocheck the management principles of India
[Link], we went to the GPO to check what are they based [Link] then we found out that the lowest division
clerk is the one who works on these post [Link] order post boxes is a tender system where the rates are
old, 20 year old rates theygive for making the [Link], what would people do?How will they manufacture
these boxes at a 20 year old rate?They of course recycle [Link] use old, you know, those steels that
are already [Link] what happens when you rusted, already rusted steel and painted it?Will the rusting
stop?Paint gets, go off because the rusting will start to progress a little bit and the paintwill chip off and further
rusting will [Link] we are on an innovation journey right?I am just not making a fancy-looking nice, you
know, post box and, you know, saying myjob is [Link] I am saying that I am going to look at the total
context of what is happening inthis [Link] that I can make an impact and change all this, so now I have to
involve the managementof India post also in [Link] is the head of the India Post organization?It is a
Government organization right?It is the [Link] of Posts right?Who is the head of the Ministry of
[Link]!We will have a minister as the head right?Minister calls the [Link] the minister, who is there
in the ministry, the Secretary, the IAS officers, right?The highest level is the Secretary, and then comes the
Member Secretaries, and then comesthe Postmaster Generals or the Chief Postmaster General and then the
Postmaster [Link], where did we reach first?My student reached the Postmaster General in [Link]
reached somewhere around 4th level [Link] the time I reach the top level, you know, what will
happen?Implementation will not [Link] you need to understand the problems of all the levels otherwise
things would [Link] the context becomes very [Link] then we understood the insights very
closely and all the things I was mentioning was theinsights of the context [Link], here we came up with
very, you know, even the postman does a lot of interesting things,you [Link] puts plastic inside so that the
letters are not [Link] they have flat tops in some other [Link] is not rocket science, the flat top will
always rust right?Water will stay over there and rust more and, you know, we built a lot of insights in thisand
that is called the Comprehension and came the [Link] brief is very [Link] is the cause I stood
for?Maintenance free postbox right?It should not [Link] did I start the whole journey?I should not forget
[Link], people forget and I am no [Link], you see how we failed a little [Link], we said
maintenance free for 20 years, that is the [Link] of contemporary [Link] phenomena of
innovation, use current materials, do not use dated [Link] manufacturing because I knew these
boxes have to be really strong right?Because in the field there, it should have robust [Link] should be
user [Link] should be able to easily post, because in our Comprehension, we realized that
childrenare not able to post, that it is too high, some of them are on pedestals, so we [Link] design,
there should be a small and large box because the volumes are [Link], we need, you know, two
[Link] create and identity for India [Link] came [Link] all my design assignments, creating
aesthetic identity will become number oneright?Now in our innovation journey design and aesthetics, you know,
came [Link] to my surprise when I offered this brief to the Post Master General along with thestudent, they
said, ‘We are a growing [Link] have also bought a jet now for transporting our [Link] bought a
[Link] have a jet now, you know, private India Post [Link] we want to have a new [Link] he himself
asked for a new identity for the [Link] then we said yes, we will work on [Link], you know, our checklist
is very clear, you know, the direction is happening fromwherever it is [Link], here we have the 5th C,
the [Link] we then generated a lot of [Link] will see online, you know, more [Link], lots of
ideas were [Link] 3 concepts were built right?And by applying the check, the first concept was, you
know, the most, you know, close tothe requirement list from all aspects of the, you know, like maintenance-free
aspects, themanufacturing aspects and the aspects of easy installation and multiple [Link] first one was
the best and then we went into Crafting, where a prototype was builtby [Link] then using CNC machines, a
small pilot of 5 were [Link] then a large pilot production of 20 were [Link] they were put in or put all over
the country in 5 different places, Delhi, Bombay, Patnaand [Link] very, very happy [Link] papers
were having articles saying, ‘Past imperfect, future good’, you know, multiplethings like that they were saying,
you [Link] then they were saying, ‘New box changing the whole landscape of India post’.And then the India
post celebrated their 150 years Celebration, and they launched the box,during that [Link] is the first
prototype they [Link] there we just reached the stage of, this was the pilot stage right?We reached the
pilot stage of production and they launched the [Link] then an interesting thing [Link] we found
a lot of money in IITs [Link] (India Post) said we have given you this money, now manufactured 200
number and giveit to us, and I told them, ‘I am no manufacturer.I am a professor and I can go till pilot’.They said
‘No, [Link] cannot help it, we need this [Link] the ministers, who were these guys who are sitting over
[Link] Secretary of India [Link] we reached the highest authority [Link], the Secretary has inaugurated
[Link] now they want 200 numbers and then our journey [Link] manufactured 200 numbers by collaborating
with 5 different [Link] collaborated with Jindal manufacturer, Jindal stainless steel for the stainless
steel,Jindal architecture for the architecture, you know, there are the manufacturing andthe [Link],
whom did we go to?[Link] good, Godrej [Link] went to Godrej because the locks should not rust
right?We used the non rusting [Link] bolts we went to Hilti, the [Link] we have a new design which
is bolted to the [Link] earlier design was, you know, [Link] would go into the [Link], we wanted a bolted
design and we went to [Link] we went to, and then for the plastic top, we went to the best manufacturer at that
timecalled GE Plastics and we used geloy which is a combination of polycarbonate and [Link], very good
material for the tops, and we manufacture 200 [Link], this was made out of [Link], very good
opening, very easy to post letters, height is also, you know, perfect,a lot of space was there for advertising on
the side so you can make revenue out of [Link] steel box, ‘scrotch-brite’ [Link] also insisted
on ‘scrotch- brite’ so that no light, if you have a headlamp it shouldnot shine back right? in the [Link], you
know, that was given [Link] then we had a nice change of timing [Link] the location addresses and all
done [Link] then, you know, I like to now take you to a new journey to show you what exactlyhappened after
[Link], let me now take you to the pitfalls of [Link] have done so many cases right?On design,
technology and [Link], were all do we have the pitfalls?Let us start with the first pitfall.A lot of my
professors in IIT, we have got around 500 professors, do [Link] you do research you need to write a
research [Link] paper is the outcome and the research paper is published in research journals
whichare very noted and the IIT professors are given promotion if they have so many researchpapers in so
many [Link] the journals are also created.I cannot put in a Tom, Dick and Harry journal.I had to put only
in the journal which is [Link], a reputed journal will have another 10 professors on the [Link] will not
accept the paper till it has got quality [Link], that is the whole yardstick on which you survive in IIT
Bombay right?So that is the whole level of [Link], what happens when some new material for a chair is
developed?I developed a new plastic for manufacturing chairs or a new metal for manufacturing chairs.I made
a research paper and I did not use it so it has got to the [Link] I leap-frog from the pitfall, what happens in the
second stage?Comes a [Link] what have we done?In the design stage, you make a mock-up of the
[Link], small [Link] use the new material, which is a very thin and very like, lightweight and whichis very
low cost, not [Link] research you did, you use all that research to make a [Link] then if you have
not taken it anywhere else, which is most of our, 99% of the projectsat our IDC, are in this pitfall, right?So, if
you take this pitfall, look at the, you know, [Link] need to do a pole vault, pole vault is skill-based,
right?So, you need a lot of practice, a lot of skills, a lot of knowledge to take any mock up toa prototype stage to
leapfrog this, right?So, now, you know, and for taking the prototype stage I need a lot of support structure.I
have special people who know welding.I have special people who do fabric stitching for the clothes and, you
know, special fabrics.I may have people who are doing fixtures for main, building the product and I just builtone
[Link] is the cost of a prototype in compared to the final product any guess?100 times, very good, 50
to 100 times easily, or 20 to 100 [Link] you are making one and you are putting in a lot of effort
because it was not existingand I am getting that material from the [Link] happens then I get material
from the research, tell me?No manufacturer is [Link] I will do all the production using a plant and a
rolling mill to produce that [Link] we come to the working [Link] what happens when you have a
working prototype?You can test it right?You can get a lot of users who can sit on it, check whether it is good,
not good, allthe [Link] then you take to a pilot [Link] here you are flying on a balloon and you
have a lot of support structures from various,you know, departments like, you know, you can talk to market
research people, you cantalk to manufacturing experts in tooling, you can talk to people who are experts inpipe
bending for the [Link] multiple things are there and you then leap up to pilot [Link] in the pilot
production you can look at,see how now it has become a special-purpose fixture, to now make the pilot of 20 or
[Link] what is the cost of pilot production, 20 times to 50 times, if that is 50 to 100then this will be
between 20 to [Link] piloting is also expensive because you are not producing too many and you need tohave
a lot of skilled people working on [Link] then comes the next stage from pilot production to the mass
production, and this is the mostdifficult [Link] of people fail over [Link] of the IITs startups are all stuck
over [Link] start-up they did a prototype, from prototype they can somehow garner the money to do
thepilot and after the pilot, is the biggest leap where you need to reach large scale tomake innovation
[Link] for that large scale you need tremendous, you know, you need an aeroplane to fly, right?See, here
you are, it is like, you know, much, much more difficult, much more expensive,right?So you have the, you know,
specialists in manufacturing, specialists in tool makings,specialists in understanding user needs and aspirations
because you are looking for alarge number of [Link] a large number of users you need to have social
research, socio-economic structurescoming into [Link] this product will run or not?They will do a lot of
[Link] will go and do user studies in locations, market research in locations to come and sayyou
can invest this 100 crores in this business.I think it is a good [Link] then only it will go to mass production
because mass production needs a lot of [Link] then you have, you know, multiple pieces assembled and,
you know, take it for [Link], this is the whole, you know, journey which I wanted to show [Link], in this
stage when we did 200 numbers on it went to all, the first 20 went to where?The Metros’ (cities).All educated
people, you know, it was big, and the journalists were [Link] when the 200 were made, the pilot was made,
it went to all the areas which requiredpost boxes and most of them were rural [Link] what happened with
the boxes?Nobody recognized the [Link] thought it was garbage [Link] said a red color top is enough,
it was not [Link] wanted a rusted box but red [Link] wanted a rusted box but round [Link], what
was the most important thing, user perception of the [Link] this is a legacy [Link] product was
there for ages right?So, we fell flat on our [Link] failed, we fell into the ditch again, that pilot ditch, and we
had to go back to ourdrawing [Link] the sketches [Link] we had a new brief: Marry the old and the
new, right?There is an old [Link] form cannot be novel and completely out of [Link] has to be coming out of
the old form, so that people can recognize it and then camethis round top and red [Link] then, you know,
they said, ‘Oh yeah, this is recognizable and then we did an actualuser testing to find out whether people have
accepted it as a box and they said [Link], here we have, you know, and now by this time the project moved to
IIT Bombay hereat the Design Innovation [Link], that is the Secretary of MHRD [Link] Secretary post,
already retired and a new Secretary came in and he (the former Secretary)was very unhappy when we
[Link] Ministries do not know that failure is good for design or failure is goodfor [Link]
you fail you do better right?They would not let me stand in front of [Link] would say, ‘How did you do
this?How can you fail?’I said, ‘I am also a human being although I am a professor in IIT’ so I got so
muchcriticism at the Ministry that, you know, I had to keep quiet for a couple of monthsand then start working
on it again and here we have the [Link], now the project is from the Secretary Minister of Human Resource the
Innovation,the Design Innovation Centre is from the, it is a project by [Link] we took it under that, we
developed the [Link] we now are, you know, in the race and then, you know, then we showed it to the
PrimeMinister saying that this is the box which is going to [Link] was in, you know, IIT for the Convocation a
year back and then we showed the box tohim and he liked the [Link], now we are back in the India Post with
the new Secretary, asking him to take himto take it to the [Link], the Cause remains right?We thought we
nearly succeeded right?So that is the interesting journey of innovation that till you do not do user testing,
youcan again fall into the pitfall of, you know, of the innovation cycle and things will [Link], that is the
whole journey of the, you know, the Pitfalls in Innovation and the SevenConcerns of [Link], if you look
at the 7 Concerns, it happens in all the [Link] also when the concern is there, you will be able to
leapfrog the [Link] the concern is not there it [Link] the concern can be from various [Link] could be
from the Ministries concern, it could be the concern of the funding [Link] for example in the case of the
prostheses (Total knee prosthesis), the funding agencieswere also concerned that the product should go to the
[Link] Student 1: Sir, so how did you prevent rusting?Sir: We used stainless steel and we powder-coated
[Link] had to, it looked foolish right?Stainless steel, that is why we did not paint [Link] said stainless steel is a
good [Link] shines, it looks modern, because remember, even though, you know, who will mislead youthe
most?The [Link] wanted a new identity [Link] said, ‘We should look [Link] should be..’ that's what I
said this is your new [Link] 2: Is there something on the inside of the box as well which helps
take out theletters [Link]: In fact that is a very interesting, you know, point that point actually came fromthe
[Link] actually said, ‘Why don't you tie a bag inside?’The users gave this suggestion in the first meeting
[Link] PostMaster Generals across Maharashtra came, so they just grab the bag and they [Link] that
suggestion was theirs, not ours which is [Link] we put a bag inside with four hooks and, you know, the
letters fall directly into thebag and they just grab the bag and put a new bag and go [Link] the bag was also
recyclable so it does not, you know, affect us in any [Link] 3: What was the reaction when they saw the
red box, like, the post office people?Sir: In fact, you know, I must tell you, you know, that after we failed
[Link] were not ready to accept anything other than a round (shape).And as new manufacturing
techniques developed, round was earlier the manufacturing [Link] used this in everything, they were
using the rolling [Link] everything you see around are [Link] washing machines, the cupboards
and [Link] we used a folding process which is much more cost-effective in manufacturing and savesa lot of
[Link] then it also, you know, helps us put more volume of letters inside than in a [Link]
(cylindrical shape) takes less volume of [Link], you know, like after showing the red one, you know, because
of the older reaction, theywere not very keen in taking it [Link] after making it red, even after giving it a
round [Link], I had to go to the Prime Minister to make him like it, hoping that, you know, they would,you know,
they would go [Link] the first box which was designed, was designed by my professor, Prof.
[Link] at that time the box was put opposite Indira Gandhi’s house, the Prime Minister'shouse and
she liked the box and that went into [Link] 4: At what stage are you now in, in the sense, like, are
you still taking thisforward?Sir: Yeah we are still taking this [Link] are, like, you know, again requesting
them, ‘Please give us the pilot order’.And if they give us the pilot order then we will put a [Link] we will
again go for mass production which is much, much [Link] time the pilot itself will be 200 and then the mass
production will be 20,[Link] we need around 5 lakh post boxes in the country and in the meanwhile what
is happeningis technology is going [Link] need more, you know, more things in the box [Link], we
still do not know how things will move but, you [Link] this is a landmark product for [Link] is a, you
know, total pole on the wall.