Mission Zero-Plastic!

Are dustbin bags, sticky bags, half liter water bottle, etc. banned?

Political posters in flex material are not penalised! So does it mean flex material is exempt selectively? Or is political fraternity exempt from discipline?

Do you mean to say citizens should carry steel vessels to buy milk, meat, fish, etc. all the way to their workplaces so that they can shop on their way back home after a long day?

Don't you think exempting branded packaged goods and foods in plastic is discriminatory to small businesses?

Such and many other doubts began circulating on WhatsApp as the plastic ban was announced by the State of Maharashtra.

If such confusion was expected by design as a strategy then it's a good move by the administrators.

Good because such confusion forces people to think intentionally as it has happened already. As a result, people have at least begun thinking of alternatives out of fear of punishment though.

But targeting to achieve any (Zero-Plastic kind of) result measures without enabling the corresponding processes in place always have had serious implications with associated costs. Time and again this has got proven by itself.

In Nagpur, for instance, out of fear some people got rid of banned plastic bags by dumping them in rivulets.

If such confusion, however, is by chance then there's a bigger worry.

Bigger worry because it might mean, there's a lack of well-designed time-bound plan, also lack of the design to execute the ban itself holistically expecting it to aim Zero-Plastic target! In fact, adequate design learning from others (especially from countries successful in handling the plastic menace) is the first step in any such project. Bigger worry because lack of meticulousness in such initiatives usually leads to sub-optimisation harming the nobility of the purpose itself.

Unless every stakeholder gets mindfully engaged in averting the plastic-pollution-menace and the forthcoming disaster therefrom, the costs of the short term approaches towards it will get out of control. There's a need to take a relook at it in order to scrutinise the blanket-ban, if any, if not done so already.

Better also to be innovative on making the recycling more effective. Not only does the arrest of the plastic need to be at manufacturing level but also at desire-based or want-based consumption level. A pictorial do-don't will go a long way in preventing the confusion among the users and the administrators.

In any case the Zero-Plastic target is an arduous task at least in near future since for some applications cost effective substitute is yet to get invented.

Sustainability of the planet is the priority number-1 but the ban itself needs to be sustainable for that!

Here's my 140 character Tweet plan of action (POA) revolving around the Kaizen technique: *MISER!

Be a MISER stakeholder on Plastic!

MINDFUL of enabling process to evolve Zero-Plastic result!
INNOVATE packaging!
SCRUTINISE blanket-ban!
ELIMINATE production!
REDUCE, REUSE! Collect to RECYCLE!

(*MISER: Minimise. Improvise. Simplify. Eliminate. Reduce.) 

Simplicity Of Theory Of Relativity

My google map was not responding.
Public transport was not in sight.

How far is Hill road, I asked at the roadside stall. 
"15 minutes", the stall-owner replied.

Just to reconfirm I asked same question to a person parking car nearby. It's hardly 2 minutes: He replied.

I was a bit confused. 15 minutes or 2 minutes?

After a couple of minutes walk, I asked same question to a lady waiting to cross the road.
She replied: It's about 30 minutes.

More confusion: 30 minutes after 5 minutes walk?

I continued walking down.
After 10 minutes walk, I asked someone for a landmark for the place I had reached. I thought someone could pick me up from there in order to reach me to my destination.

The person couldn't tell me one. She kept looking at the cow instead I was standing next to. Luckily she didn't tell me the cow as the landmark. Otherwise I would've ended up looking at 'google-guy' (snail) instead of google map. (Cow is pronounced as Guy in vernacular.)

The point I am driving home is it's all relative!
Long ago Einstein brought the concept of relativity. 
Perhaps by car it was 2 minutes.
By walk it was 15 minutes.
And by the walking speed of the lady it was 30 minutes.
Probably the lady was right. She was pregnant.

The only thing wrong was I didn't confirm the mode of travel. Nor did they specify.
Actually I was wrong not to ask right question.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:  Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

Do You Ask Right Questions? 
Do you exercise your choice meaningfully
Make checklists your friends
Love is Care.. Care is Love ! 
Take Habits For A Ride
Are You Good If Others Are Bad? 
Bust-wants, Boom-needs
Do You Celebrate Mean-or-Green
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture
I am afraid ! What do I do !!
Discrimination-is-Cremation of Law-&-Order
Success Or Failure: What Do You Like?
Fearful Death-Of-Birth !
Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell Me Hey Raam!

Discrimination Cremated! But How Long?

Can you see the traffic-jam in 'Before' picture. 

The change seen in 'After' picture is captured on next day. It so far has lasted for a day at least until writing of this post. Authorities took a couple of vigilance rounds after twilight also. 'Being vigilant on what one wants' was one of the success factors. 

Although it might be too early to rejoice this it didn't happen overnight.

It took more than seven years to see such a desired picture. Public had been struggling to get a solution since then. Authorities with all their might were unable to control a few heavy vehicles parked there illegally, causing trouble to traffic as well as to the community. One may read more details in my blogposts titled "Discrimination-is-Cremation of Law-&-Order (Part-1) and (Part-2) that prompted title of this post. 

But how long will this last? 

Just about I was penning this down see what the other picture that I took at the other end of the road about 30-yards away says.

I tweeted the abnormality as "Corporate-Social-IrResponsibility@HajuriRoad Thane. India Shines! Effluent disposal on road. Road blocked."

Sanjivani (my better half) dials Police-Control-Room #100. Alerts our society's security guards. A few alert citizens don't allow 'them' to take it for granted. The 'irresponsibles' RETREAT. INDIA WINS!!!

All within just about half an hour.

Yes.. ss.. ss! Social media does work sometimes!

The point is how and why everyone just takes-it-for-granted.

So with such an attitude of various stakeholders it's foolish to conclude that changes for the better such as in first picture will sustain on their own.

What's the learning?

Change can happen overnight if people-in-power take up causes of common-interest seriously and with a sense-of-urgency at that.

'They' ('suppliers' of the trouble as well as service-providers) do and will test patience of people-NOT-in-power. So people-NOT-in-power must persevere and "keep-knocking" their-doors even by guerrilla tactics if required.  

It's unfortunate but true that citizens in high-mistrust, inefficient and in-effective societies have to spend more than half their waking hours in non-value activities such as visiting and revisiting government authorities' and supplier's workplaces for reworks and follow-ups.

Be vigilant otherwise "But-How-Long?" will keep you haunting.

Use technology as a powerful enabler. That's one way to speed up the snails.

Faster you rejoice faster you will repent. Let equanimity prevail.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling

Discrimination-is-Cremation of Law-&-Order (Part-1) 

Discrimination-is-Cremation of Law-&-Order (Part-2) 

Make It Simpler, Rest Will Follow

How To Make A Difference

A Ride To Hell

Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?

Do you exercise your choice meaningfully

Taken-For-Granted? You deserve it! 

Will It Work Here? 

Technology in-place, security dis-placed

India-shining

Do you know a Best-Career-Plan

Some Moron ! Some Great !!!

That's How Morons Work

You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable

Customer or Custo-Mer? 

Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture

Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass 

WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling

Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam!

Success-or-failure! What-do-you-like?
 

Discrimination-is-Cremation of Law-&-Order (Part-2)

Do you want to know how to Tax-Tax-Tax?

How to: Tax-Citizens, Tax-Nation, Tax-The-Planet !

Have you read this joke about two guys working for the municipality? One would dig a hole. He would dig, dig, dig. The other behind him would fill the hole. 

'Dig-Dig-Dig' followed by 'Fill-Fill-Fill'! 

A man watching the furious activity from sidelines was confused. He finally asked them what they were doing. The hole-digger replied, "Oh yes it does look funny but the guy who plants trees is sick today."

So when the tree-guy resumes his duty, rework will resume dutifully is it?

This question kept bothering the confused man.  He kept  wondering about their unique Principles-n-Practices:

Dig-Dig-Dig ! 

Fill-Fill-Fill !!

Tax-Tax-Tax !!!

Break-Break-Break !
Make-Make-Make !!
Waste-Waste-Waste !!!

What is the relevance of the rework-joke here?

The question raised in my earlier blogpost titled Discrimination-is-cremation of law-&-order: Part-1 was "Why footpath on the other side was not made-up yet?". See red-circle in picture-4 from Part-1 above.

Eventually if & when they do it, I was hopeful that the past improvement (see green-circle in picture-4) that of a ¹mistake-proof divider for saplings would be replicated on the other side. I was happy, for it would make it difficult for parked vehicles to run over saplings on the other side as well, of course if planted. I was also hopeful that it will provide a tree-lined walking-avenue for pedestrians.

But alas, I was proven wrong!

With elections a couple of months away, the 5-year-pending work did get a push as a 'shining-opportunity'. However, picture-5 clearly shows that the improvement itself was undone while reworking the footpath after leaving it unused (without planting trees) for over 5 years.

Picture-6 also shows a rework of breaking the made-footpath in order to 'embed drain-pipes below it'. Perhaps a result of an inadequate design then or it was forgotten 5 years ago due to lack of inspection checks.

Do you know cost of rework?

Can you now calculate COPQ (Cost-Of-Poor-Quality) of Poor-Design that results in such rework?: Cost of extra labor & extra material (as can be seen in picture-7). Surprising that the old stones were not recycled forcing extra mining. Perhaps the regulatory authorities did not know that excessive mining is akin to raping the planet.

Other costs are cost of delays causing inconvenience, accidents², traffic jams, etc. It's typically a different Indian-story that the newly made-up 'foot-path' is creatively used as a 'scooter-path' (see picture-8). Now the traffic-police doesn't enter the 'path-zone' for penal action in 'municipal-jurisdiction'.

Apart from COPQ as above, issue of survival of saplings itself (if at all planted somewhere by the side) stays doubtful like in past. It goes without saying that cost to the planet and people as a result of inadequate tree-cover is intangible.

Now you may know relevance of the Dig-Dig-Dig Fill-Fill-Fill joke above!

The tangible and intangible impact of such 'rework-factories' that keep repeating rework due to sick-designs, sick-planning, sick-administration, sick-shoddy quality-of-work is insurmountable !!

It is like someone breaking your window-glass for fun. 

You change it for fun. 

Glass-factories profit on this break-make game and make fun. 

Or it's like making a shoddy road. 

You drive on it to rub tyres and enjoy the fun. 

Tyre-factories enjoy the fun as a bye-product of this rub-on-road game. 

Main fun-product is profiteering from road-construction contracts. The vicious cycle of costly 'Dig-Fill' and 'Break-Make' game goes on pushing public to experience death daily.

What is the solution?

Why should the 'sick' people responsible for this not be held accountable by slapping a Rework-Tax on them equivalent to at least the tangible part of COPQ? 

Research shows that such COPQ that gets embedded in a typical project cost work out to not less than 30%. In other words, there is a profit-potential of at least 30% if sick-work-rework chain is broken. An answer to this chaos until of course you add more tips and thoughts to this, is installing Kaizen-culture and penalizing indisciplined shoddy work with a sense-of-urgency.

Let us exercise our choice to engage in improvement culture. Let us not allow above kind of 'sickness' to be reflected in our own work and workplace !!!

Footnote-1, Mistake-proofing is called as Pokayoke in Kaizen parlance
Footnote-2, Accidents due to dirty-dagerous-difficult (3-D) situations

Discrimination-is-Cremation of Law-&-Order (Part-1)

See the picures and decide for yourself who is cremating the law.

Picture-1 & 2: A two-wheeler and a private vehicle is being towed away by RTO authorities from 'No-Parking' zone. This is a welcome move. Towing sub-contractors seem to do their duty diligently since business to them is on piece-rate basis. 

Picture-3: Vehicles of illegal businesses (three-&-four-wheelers that can be seen in red circle) are however ignored. In fact, the towing vehicle was prompt enough to 'somehow' pull a two-wheeler crammed between three-wheelers parked in the red circled zone on left of the picture.

Picture-4 gives a perspective. All the pictures were taken on same road on 19 th August at around 14.00 hours within a span of about 60 minutes.

Illegal businesses that can be seen in picture-3 (at yellow arrow mark) had actually sprung up over a couple of decades on municipality-plot reserved for a first-aid-center.

Why such discrimination of law-&-order? Why vehicles of the illegal businesses are ignored for instance in spite of being parked in 'No-Parking' zone?

If one looks at the pictures with keen eyes many more questions might spring up that throw light on discriminatory practices. 

Why had the municipality in the first place ignored sprouting up of illegal businesses that too on their own plot?

Obviously because of their political connections that help them enjoy all the utility support including electricity, water and even emergency services such as fire-brigade at the cost of law-abiding citizens. No rules or permissions such as that required for a legal business or a legal housing complex apply there.

Why there is no tree-cover on road while compound-walls of housing societies adjacent to it are full of greenery (as in picture-1&4)?

Obviously because no one cares for trees on road. It's a no-man's land. No doubt that municipality had planted saplings but without making adequate watering-arrangement. During my evening walks I used to carry water-bottles in order to water the saplings but in vain. Haphazardly parked trucks that repeatedly ran over the saplings were the culprit. This can be seen in red-circle in picture-4. 

However later on there was an improvement as can be seen in green-circle in the same picture. You can see a mistake-proof (Pokayoke in Kaizen parlor) divider for saplings which prevents parked vehicles from running over saplings. Never-the-less there is a good action that should have actually been thought about 15-years ago. Gemba-Kaizen action there could have triggered such improvements. I had suggested this to the Municipality as a part of ALM (Advanced-Locality-Management) while counselling them but in vain.

Why footpath on one side is not made-up yet?

I may sound negative here particularly when aggregates for the footpath can be seen laid there. Actually this footpath had been lying unmade since over 5-years when the other-side was made perhaps claiming bills for measurements of both the sides then. Such mal-practices did happen in past.

I have a few such pictures taken over a decade including that of ignorance of maintenance of street-lights, corrupt officers taking bribes, etc.  

Picture-5 for instance was taken on 28 th February 2011 when there was a fire in this illegal 'business-district', more than once at that. Obviously safety rules  have been flouted there with corresponding authorities turning a blind eye to it. Even trees in the compound got burnt there.

Incidentally, I was a member of a local team that had got this road declared as 'No-Parking' one a few years ago. This was done particularly because the trucks that still get parked there are a nuisance. Early morning they race engines disturbing sleep in the residential zone. 

Not only there have been a few cases of chain-snatching from behind the trucks but also a few accidents. A senior citizen who had no option but to walk on streets due to open gutters on broken footpath had fractured her hand when she got caught between a parked truck and a moving vehicle.

What is intriguing is that corresponding bureaucrats do have authority and corresponding politicians do have power but none seem to exercise that just-in-time (JIT) i.e. at right-place at right-time in right-amount.

Let alone installing amenities such as first-aid-center or trees, obvious basic needs such as eliminating dirty-dangerous-difficult (3-D) situations on footpaths also seems to be taking back seat behind their vested interests. Face-lifting at the time of elections however is always prompt while COPQ (Cost-Of-Poor-Quality) incurred due to such criminal acts gets conveniently forgotten.

God save India and Indians!