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Case study 4: Sree Santhosh Garments - Premier
Printing
1. Background
This case study has been developed on the basis
of the SUSBIZ India programme running from
2007 to 2009 (www.susbizindia.org). The case
studies were finalised in May 2009.
Shree Santhosh Garments (SSG) is a leading
knitted garment supplier based out of the
knitwear cluster, Tiruppur in the state of Tamil
Nadu. SSG is one of the largest Indian companies
participating in the SUSBIZ project and has an
annual turnover of around one billion Rupees
(equalling approx. 20 mio. US$). The company has
manufacturing activities spanning the entire
stream of garment production from yarn and
fabric manufacture to dyeing and stitching units.
The management is one of the more progressive
thinking managements in the industry and some
of the units of the group are certified to the
quality management and social standards
ISO9001 and SA8000. The Company’s state of the
art dyeing plant is certified to ISO 14001 and has a
full fledged effluent treatment plant built to
international specification. Hence, CSR standards
were already high at SSG at the beginning of the
SUSBIZ project.
However, at the printing unit Premier Printing -
with whom SSG was working closely - room for
improvement was very apparent. Premier Printing
primarily produces for SSG and employs around
100 people. Premier Printing has capacity to
print about 2000 t-shirts per shift. During the
peak season there is an increase of 25% in the
work force by hiring contract employees.
Production processes
At Premier Printing all activities required for
printing are carried out in-house, right from
preparing the screen used for printing to
cleaning and reusing the frames used for
printing. Based on designs received from
customers, necessary screens are prepared
and used for printing on garments as
required. Bulk production is started after
samples are approved by the customer. Once
the necessary quantities have been printed,
the screens are washed and reused for the
next design. In cases where the screen cannot
Effluent treatment plant at the dying unit, of SSG
certified to the environmental standard ISO14001.
Effluent water before and after treatment shown in the
upper left corner.
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be cleaned and re-used only the frame is re-used.
2. Challenges Identified During Needs
Assessments
Health & safety was identified as an area with the
greatest potential for improvement. It was seen
that company employees were handling paint and
paint wastes without the necessary precautions.
In the screen preparation area, chemical cleaning
of screens and exposing were being carried out
without any concern for health & safety of the
operators. Chemical cleaning was being done in
the open without the use of masks. The exposing
of screens was being done in a room with no
ventilation. The constant exposure to the
chemicals implied a significant health risk to the
operators and workers in the room.
When a specific type of printing was done,
compressed air was used to clean the garment,
which generated fine dust to which workers were
exposed. Apart from this it was also seen that the
drying machines used to dry the garment after
printing made the production area very hot.
Fire extinguishers were not maintained; first aid
boxes were empty and in some cases poorly
equipped or empty. Signage related to emergency
exits etc. was also not sufficient.
Working hours and remuneration also held a large
potential for improvement. It was seen that there
was no record of the actual hours worked in the
factory. Though it was agreed that overtime was
an issue, there was no data to indicate how many
hours were worked beyond normal hours. Linked
to this, indications were that remuneration paid
to the workers was not proportionate to the
hours worked, especially with regard to overtime.
There was no clear data available if legally
mandated wage were being paid taking into
consideration the double payment for overtime as
required by law. There was reluctance to
record the hours worked and specifically take
actions to minimise the overtime. It was felt
that tracking the overtime hours would not be
useful as the workforce demanded overtime
as a way of making more money and it was
indicated that this was the trend in Tiruppur.
Another problem existed in the fact, that a
large part of the workers were employed
through contractors and the legal
requirements with regard to contract labour
were not being followed. For instance
procedures for ensuring payments of
minimum wages, enrolment under Employee
State Insurance and Provident Fund were not
established.
Waste management also held a huge scope
for improvement. The unit generated waste
water containing paint from the screen
washing activities, paint sludge from the used
paint, waste paint etc. The company did not
have the necessary permissions from the
Tamil Nadu state pollution control board for
establishing and operating such a unit.
Environmentally unfriendly disposal
methodologies were being followed for waste
water disposal. Untreated waste water was
collected in a tank within the unit and
pumped out into a pit in a field behind the
factory once the tank was full.
3. Action Plan Implementation
At the time of inclusion into the SUSBIZ
project, the company had not been exposed
to any CSR initiatives and was not sure of the
benefits of participating in the project. With
pressure to comply with requirements from
SSG, however, actions were taken. Initially,
though, management was reluctant to take
actions on several critical fronts.
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3.1 Labour standards
The hours worked, the wages paid and the
amount of overtime worked are now being
recorded. During the period of time where
overtime work has been recorded, it has
decreased. This can partly be ascribed to the fact
that management has become more aware of the
existing overtime hours as well as expenses
related to paying overtime premium. Human
resource management polices and procedures
related to recruitment, labour management and
disciplinary actions have also been developed and
implementation is in progress.
Progress has also been made on covering
employees under the employee state insurance
(ESI) scheme and Provident Fund (PF). Enrolment
under ESI and PF involves a share paid by the
worker and a share paid by the employing
company. Since workers were reluctant to pay
their share, awareness programs of the benefits
of enrolment under ESI and PF have been run.
More workers now see the benefits of theses
schemes and all regular employees are now
covered. Progress has also been made with regard
to contract labour on these issues, but full
compliance with legislation governing contract
labour is yet to be reached.
The rights to freedom of association and
collective bargaining are also being addressed by
forming a workers welfare committee, where
worker representatives get a forum for raising
issues of relevance.
3.2. Occupational Health and Safety
At the beginning of implementation of the
action plan, the company was encouraged to
review the health & safety situation with a
focus on improvements that would impact
productivity, efficiency and reduce risks of
accidents.
Staff has now been given training on first aid
and fire fighting, and fire extinguishers have
been installed. First aid boxes are now
sufficiently equipped. A Monthly visit by a
mobile clinic to check up on workers health
has been arranged with a nearby hospital at
an expense of Rs. 20.000 All employees have
now been subjected to medical examination.
This implies a huge improvement in workers
health management.
Sign at Premier Printing stating the company’s attitude
towards child labour.
Policies on working hours, lunch breaks and holidays
explicated on signs at Premier Printing.
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The layout of the factory has been reorganized
and ventilation was provided in the hottest areas
to improve air circulation. As a first step, basic
ventilation was also provided in the exposing
room to ensure that fumes did not remain in the
room and affect people working there. Employees
were encouraged to use personal protective
equipment (PPE) provided when handling various
paints, however some reluctance towards use of
PPE still exists among the workers.
Another area where Premier Printing has set
its sights on is on awareness raising. Some
training has been done in collaboration with
NGO’s and the focus has been on HIV/AIDS,
blood donation and usage of PPE. Linked to
some of the training, doctors have come to
the factory and the workers have been given
blood donations.
Signage with regard to emergency exits and
other issues is another area where Premier
Printing has improved.
“The two-day workshop on PPE helped us to know
what are the consequences of not using it. Now we
have provided PPE in all units, not only Premier
Printing. But not all use it. They think it’s very hot and
uncomfortable to use. We have shown them
presentations on what will happen if they don’t use it.
But some of them don’t care”
Vinoth Kumar
Executive Director
Shree Santosh Garments
Now, working areas is kept clean and free of material
not in use.
Before, the working areas were congested and
haphazard.
Ventilation established at Premier Printing improving
temperature and air quality.
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Overall, with regard to occupational health and
safety there has been a huge improvement in
terms of the general cleanliness and order in the
factory.
3.3. Environmental Improvements
Discussions were held with management on the
need to follow appropriate disposal
methodologies that are environmentally friendly
and also meet pollution control board
requirements. Actions on this front have not
been initiated, as management has indicated
that they wanted to shift the activities to
another location where the factory will be
built, keeping in mind compliance
requirements. The date of shifting, however,
has been postponed time after time. At the
time of the evaluation visits in March 2009,
indications were that SSG wanted to build
their own printing unit within 6-9 months.
Since Premier Printing has its facility on
rented premises - for the time being -
management has been reluctant to invest
large amounts to change the physical layout
of the factory.
4. Business improvements
The initiatives taken at Premier Printing have
helped SSG in their relations with buyers.
Management has experienced that new or
potential customers are showing an
increasing interest in CSR related issues
before placing their orders.
According to the estimates by management,
attrition rates have decreased by at least 10
%. Thus, time and resources are saved on
training of new staff.
The numbers of sick days were not recorded
at the time of the needs assessment.
Therefore, the effect on sick days cannot be
quantified. However, improved conditions can
have a positive effect. Because of the
improvements workers are now not
Signage and equipment related to fire safety has improved
at Premier Printing.
Selected employees have been trained in first aid
techniques and wear arm tags for quick identification in
case of emergency
“New customers are asking for CSR. When we explain
them about SUSBIZ they are very interested and it
helps us in our engagement with them”
Vinoth Kumar
Executive Director
Shree Santosh Garments
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continually exposed to organic solvents and other
harmful substances. This holds the potential for
decreasing the amount of sick days and improving
quality as well as efficiency, as efficient workflows
and concentration is improved in a healthy and
orderly working environment.
Risk of accidents has also decreased as a safety
management system is now in place and fire
precautions are taken.
5. Future Activities and Challenges
Implementation of the action plan has worked to
some extent at Premier Printing. Still steps need
to be taken. With regards to personal protective
equipment (PPE) there is a long way to go as the
attitude of the workforce has to undergo a
change. Management has been determined on
confronting this issue and training has been
conducted. Some effects have been observed and
the company hopes to further change the attitude
of the workforce by continual training.
Management also recognizes that actions can be
taken further and to facilitate this, a HR
consultant has been brought in. On the health &
safety front it was seen that though material
safety data sheets have been obtained, these are
in English and need to be translated to local
language. A hazard analysis is also planned to
ensure that hazards and associated risks are
identified and appropriate steps are taken.
Improvements are also required on managing
and controlling working hours to ensure that
legally mandated limits are adhered to –
especially for contract workers. Payment for
overtime should be made at double the
normal rates as required by law for all
employees – contract and regular.
On the policy and procedure front, actions
need to move to implementation from the
current policy definition/formulation aspect.
Though many procedures have been defined,
these are not fully implemented and the
workforce is also not aware of these. For
instance employees do not have written
employment contracts though management
has indicated that policies to this effect have
been put in place. Constant vigilance is
required to ensure that any activities carried
out in the factory do not negatively impact
the employees. A holistic approach to
managing activities in the printing unit is
required so that focus shifts from just
meeting requirements to continued
compliance to best practice enabling Premier
Printing to leverage the benefits of the
actions taken.
Premier Printing Improvements at a Glance
- Overtime hours and wages are now being recorded
- All regular workers have been covered by ESI and PF
- workers welfare and first aid committees have been
established
- Appropriately stocked first aid boxes are available
- Fire extinguishers has been installed
- Training has been conducted in first aid and fire fighting
- Training on the use and relevance of personal
protective equipment is conducted on a continual basis
- Ventilation and lighting have improved
- Monthly visit by mobile clinic to factory has been
arranged by paying Rs 20000 to a local hospital
- HIV/AIDS training has been provided.
Business improvements
- Attrition rates dropped by 10 %
- Improved potential of engaging with new buyers
- Risks of fire and other accidents decreased
- Healthier workforce holds a potential for improved
quality and efficiency
“There are a lot of overlaps between the SUSBIZ
Action plan and demands from buyers. So it has
helped us in passing audits from for example Adidas
and Puma”
Vinoth Kumar
Executive Director
Shree Santosh Garments
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Waste management is also still an area of critical
concern, as waste water is still being discarded in
a pit in the field behind the factory.
Text & Photo
Claus Aabling (Danish Federation of Small
and Medium-Sized Enterprises)
Line Bech (Danish Federation of Small and
Medium-Sized Enterprises)
Pranjal Goswami (SUSBIZ India)
Henning Høy Nygaard (Danish Federation of
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises)
Raghu RV (Versatilist Consulting India, Pvt.
Ltd.)
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