Rourkela: Few years ago it was unknown for women working on the shop floor of a Steel Plant doing tasks that were the monopoly of men. The scenario, however, has changed now for the women employees of the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) with more and more women employees voluntarily opting to take up challenging roles of Frontline Operations.
With the launching of RSP’s project ‘Veerangana’, women employees are being motivated to take up challenging tasks. The Personnel Department initiated the project by identifying suitable women employees and zeroed in on ‘crane operation’ as the first job for them, RSP said in a statement.
For launchig this novel idea, a new state-of-the-art plate mill provided the right ambience. Next step was to identify a suitable trainer for them, who not only had the expertise in crane operation but more had the will and patience to teach the nuances to these neophytes, it said.
Krutartha Nayak, Senior Operator (Cranes), Plate Mill who took up the job, says, “These girls are like my daughters and I will make sure that they become competent enough to match any man in terms of skill and expertise.” Special safety training was imparted to the women. Some of them had to be counselled and convinced to wear suitable dresses instead of saris which could prove to be a safety hazard. Safety overcoat were also provided to them.
Subsequently, the identified women employees started successfully operating the cranes independently.
