Accuracy and Our Culture of Tolerance

Writer's Building in Calcutta: The seat of the state government; a place where I learnt an important lesson early in life

When I was a young man, which clearly was many decades ago, a senior IAS officer at Writers Building in Calcutta took a liking to me for some unknown reason. He would often call me to his office to talk about a whole lot of diverse issues. He introduced me to Jiddu Krishnamurti at a talk and was very pleased when I wrote about his lecture in a local newspaper. I would drop into his office every once in a while and he would bid me sit even if he had important visitors. I drank the excellent tea the peons would make those days for the secretaries to the government and listened to him expand on a new subject every time I visited. Although he spoke about diverse matters, he never once rambled or repeated himself; there was a precision in his conversation I particularly liked. He expounded on philosophical ideas with the same meticulousness as he would on subjects such as Bengal agriculture or trade unionism. I gradually began to comprehend that it was his attitude towards the world and everything in it that attracted me. He seemed to treat the trivial and the grave with the same amount of seriousness, care and even compassion. While he would talk he would sometimes flip quickly through an important file, sign it and tie it up. Once while handling some papers he pricked his finger on a pin that was sticking out; he flapped his hand and rang for the peon. When the peon appeared, the officer instead of upbraiding him patiently explained how a pin was supposed to be inserted to attach two or more papers; the important thing, he explained, was to ensure that the end of the pin did not stick out and was securely inserted behind the sheaf of papers. ‘It is a small thing but many people do not know it’, he said. ‘Everybody needs to be taught these things, even the simplest of things, but we neglect to do it and the next generation does not learn; systems degenerate’. Over the years I have often recalled what he said and when I had my own office I made it a point to teach every little thing I thought relevant to newcomers. Nothing is too small or unimportant, not even a pin. The lesson has stayed with me as have memories of the IAS officer who taught me the importance of small things.

The importance of that lesson has only grown in recent years as I watch in dismay a culture of callousness better known in north India as “laaparvayee” erode our work ethics. Everywhere I find little attention to detail; few people take pride in their work; many do not know proper work methods; most aim to somehow get the things done; and the execrable “jugaad” syndrome is turned into a virtue. We have become intolerant of contrary views but extremely tolerant towards how we do things. It is this “chalta hai” mindset that is at the bottom of the shoddy quality of a lot of work in India, be it repairing an aircraft engine, doing woodwork or writing a blog. There are several notable exceptions of course, of individuals and organisations that take great pride in what they do and how they do it but in general callousness rules.

A Starrett combination square. Accuracy must start somewhere so always buy the very best you can afford when it comes to measuring tools.

Sometimes this attitude can be the cause of fatal accidents. A lot of the crashes that take place in the Indian Air Force can be attributed to poor or deficient work culture and inadequate understanding of tolerances and accuracy. My uncle was an aeronautical engineer at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facilities in Kanpur where they used to service transport and other aircraft. I called him a few months ago hoping to find out which were the reliable Indian manufacturers of accurate measuring tools such as engineers squares, straightedges and parallel guides. When I told him of the kind of tolerances I was looking for, he laughed and said nobody in India talked about tolerances or levels of accuracy. He was curious that I should be looking for it in woodworking when it was not given much weight even in aeronautics. He said that all accurate measuring tools and instruments are imported, especially when critical applications are involved.

Observe these screws closely and you will find that the slots are not centred, which means these screws will be difficult to tighten. This is a sure sign of sloppy manufacturing and lack of quality control. I routinely throw away 10 to 20 per cent of screws bought locally.

I was disappointed but nevertheless bought several engineers squares and so on from supposedly reliable Indian manufacturers, and needless to say I was disappointed in most cases; it was a hit or miss affair. Finally I decided to import squares, measures and straightedges from the reputed US company Starrett.  I had by then realised that accuracy must start somewhere; there must be a reference point. I had to start with a square that has a miniscule deviation along its length and the same should be true of straightedges and rulers. Once I have a standard, my subsequent work or subsequent purchases could be referenced against these accurate tools.

Sukhoi 30-MKI, the best in the Indian Air Force. These machines are extremely high maintenance composite systems that will not accept any deviation from strict standards of quality and accuracy.

Today, I realise that a constant awareness of tolerances and accuracy in any kind of mechanical work is a mindset that has to be developed and nurtured. It needs to become an integral part of one’s work culture. Sadly that is not yet the case in most workplaces in India. An old Russian friend of mine, who loves India very much, once complained to me that Indians are not capable of maintaining the hi-tech combat aircraft purchased at great cost from Russia. I naturally bristled at the suggestion and said our engineers at HAL and IAF workshops were among the best in the world. My friend shook his head sadly and said that was not the case. Highly sophisticated machines, like fighter jets, he explained, required very rigorous maintenance schedules and very accurate work. Unlike commercial jet engines, fighter jet engines undergo such stresses that their maintenance is hugely complex and rigorous, small lapses can often lead to failure. He said the evidence was clear in the accident statistics measured by failures against flying hours in India as compared to Russia and other East European air forces.

Workmanship is also a function of culture and history. This is the reason why successful engineering industries cannot be set up just anywhere and even today in India as in other places in the world, machining industries are usually established in places where there has been an engineering culture such as Coimbatore in the south, Howrah in the east and Ludhiana in the north. This is why Sheffield in England still makes some of the finest steel in the world although steel making technology today is universally available. Similarly, Milan and Turin in Italy has a history of making some of the world’s finest cars including those by Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Fiat. Stuttgart in Germany, another famous automobile industry centre where Karl Benz invented the automobile, continues to be the home of a number of car and automotive parts makers such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Maybach and Bosch. 

We still have a long way to go. The former chief of the Indian Army Staff, General Shankar Roychowdhury once told me of a test he was conducting on the Indian designed and made Arjun battle tank. It was good tank and incorporated some of the best designs, he said, but the workmanship was shoddy. During one of the trials, one of the wheels holding the tracks came loose and flew off. Later it was found that one of the bolts holding it together had sheared off.  The tank driver complained to the General that accidents like this kept happening and remarked that Indians still had not learnt to make tanks. Nothing like this ever happens to Russian or East European made tanks, he said. General Roychowdhury however decided that the Indian army must go for the indigenously made Arjun tanks. “The tanks might not be up to the mark but unless we start making and using them we will never learn and never get better”, he said, recalling similar problems the Israelis once had with their first tanks. Today, the Israelis make first rate tanks and combat aircraft. We still import over 90 per cent of our weapons systems.

This is why even in woodworking I insist on learning to work correctly, accurately and with the use of established methods. I try to keep tolerances down to the minimum and learn from my mistakes. I will never leave a pin sticking out of place or for that matter a nail in the wrong place; fortunately I was given good advice when I was still young.

Indranil Banerjie
17 May 2013