In this edition, we report about JK Tyre’s visit to SRS Travels to conduct a free eye check-up and health camp at one of their three depots in Bangalore. For JK Tyre, its partnership with SRS Travels goes beyond business, finds out Sarada Vishnubhatla
A tyre is the mirror of a vehicle’s health. And JK Tyre takes care of its clients’ fleet. Not only that, JK Tyre cares for the health of the drivers too. SRS Travels is one of the major clients for JK Tyre. Out of the 4,000-odd buses that they ply across the country, about 1,700 are owned by them while the rest are attached vehicles. What was evident at the recently held free eye check-up and health camp at one of the three depots of SRS Travels in Bangalore was the tremendous after-sales support and care by JK Tyre. Mention must also be made here about the erratic monsoon in the country. With heavy downpour in some places alternating with scanty showers in others, this has had a negative health impact on people.
Drivers, who spend long hours on the roads in different pockets of the country, are affected too. And in that context, this medical camp was a boon at the right time. Elaborating about the camp, Dr. B.C. Praveen Kumar, Head – South India, Sevamob Primary Healthcare, said: “We hold these camps wherever JK Tyre takes us to conduct health check-ups exclusively for drivers and mechanics of their clients’ fleet. We specifically look for issues in their vision. Besides, we check if they are hyper or hypotensive. Most of them also suffer from diabetes.” Manju S, Area Manager, JK Tyre and Industries, agreed. “For us, the drivers need to be safe. Towards this, we go the extra length to take care of not only the tyres that we supply but also the drivers and mechanics,” he said.
Deepak V, Senior Sales and Service Engineer – Fleet Management, JK Tyre and Industries, said: “Our journey with SRS Travels began less than a decade ago. We had begun offering them 15-20 test tyres but now we are supplying about 400 tyres a month.”
P.C. Shiva Shankar, In-Charge – Tyre, Oil and Lubricants, SRS Travels, shared: “A little more than 70% of tyres for our owned vehicles are supplied by JK Tyre. We appreciate their partnership. And these health camps by JK Tyre are a boon because our drivers and mechanics are hard-working but do not pay much attention to health issues. That is because they are mostly on the road and therefore need a nurturing hand.”
SRS Travels swears by the after-sales support that is extended by JK Tyre. And the emotional connect between them is more than visible. Said Shiva Shankar: “Earlier there was a tyre company in Karnataka called Vikrant and we were loyal customers of it because of their high quality. Later, the brand was taken over by JK Tyre but we continued our relationship. On our part, we keep checking for new brands of tyres periodically but we almost always prefer JK Tyre because we find their tyres to be most suitable. Also, we are assured by the training sessions that they conduct for our staff regularly.”
JK Tyre, as a norm, appoints fleet management teams at its various clients’ offices or parking yards. It was the same for SRS too. The proximity allowed the personnel to be in constant touch with the driving staff so that trouble-shooting was possible even at a moment’s notice. “We believe in giving the best support system to our clients. A fleet service executive from our fleet management team regularly checks the vehicles at SRS’ depots. We regularly conduct a PART (pressure, alignment, rotation and timely removal of the tyres) check for maintenance issues, vehicle performance and tyre issues. Once a week, the senior members of the team go for overall supervision and to exchange information that is gathered over the week with the management. We analyse every case so that we can pre-empt maintenance problems,” Deepak said.
“These four are the most crucial aspects that we check regularly. We teach the drivers the same during the training sessions. We tell them that they should always aim for ideal tyre pressure to improve fuel efficiency and tyre mileage. Equally important are factors like regular tyre alignment and rotation for reduction in wear and tear. Timely removal of the tyre allows for timely retreading which increases the life of the tyre,” he added.
JK Tyre has recently announced the launch of TREEL sensors for monitoring and maintenance of tyres. The sensors measure the tyre pressure and temperature and the information collected by the system is shared with the fleet owners and the drivers in real time. TREEL is aimed at reducing potential downtime related to tyre maintenance issues.
In fact, JK Tyre is known for its training sessions which talk about important aspects such as maintaining safe distance on the roads, reading the signs correctly, and being aware at all times. “Over the years, we have seen that unless we establish an emotional connect that goes beyond teaching and preaching, the driving staff do not imbibe the suggestions well. For that reason, we rope in senior drivers from the group to teach the junior and the new drivers. We also reward those drivers who share exemplary safe driving experiences,” Deepak added.
He further shared: “We insist that drivers should always keep their family photos on the dashboard to motivate them to drive safe. We also encourage them to take six to eight hours of sleep, and give them tips on good sitting posture. If we motivate one driver, the rest get geared up automatically to do better.” If tyre and driver health is of utmost importance to JK Tyre, the smooth-going relationship with the brand is of equal importance to SRS Travels. In a nutshell, it is a win-win equation for the partners!