Tata Crucible Hackathon Challenges

1. Measuring the residual life of battery in the Watch at the point of sales in the Stores, Service with or without opening the watch back cover.

 

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Short Description:

Titan is seeking solutions to measure the residual power of the battery inside the wristwatch with or without removing the back cover. A similar way may be used for in-stock batteries.

Description:

Quartz movements in wristwatches are powered by Silver Oxide coin batteries. It is important to ensure the sufficient life of the battery before selling it to customers. Verification of battery life is verified before sending the watches from the factory to the sales channels. The batteries are replaced if the watches are in storage for a long time (beyond the average life of the battery). This is a trial-and-error method and significant resources are used. Thus, we are looking for a solution which can help measure the life of the battery, especially for watches which are stored much under the average life of the battery.

To accurately test the residual life of the battery, the discharge method through accelerated consumption in the lab is used and it is destructive in nature and time-consuming. Currently, there is no non-destructive method, available to ascertain the residual life of silver oxide batteries. Thus, we are looking for portable, deployable solutions that can be used to test the residual battery life of watches before selling them to customers to enhance customer satisfaction and productivity.

The device or method should test the battery life preferably, without removing the back cover of the wristwatch. The expectation is a portable device that displays the remaining power of the battery. 

2. Developing a solution/algorithm which could predict the possibility of fire based on current/voltage variation and disconnect the power supply in case required

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Short Description:

Tata Power-DDL is seeking the development of a solution/algorithm which could predict the possibility of fire in any electrical system due to a short circuit

Description:

There are regular cases of electric fire in consumer premises due to short circuits in the wiring. These incidents happen more frequently during the summer as the loading is at its peak and the wiring temperature is high. Faulty equipment or abusive use of electricity by consumers may also lead to short circuits due to the surge of increased current, which leads to rising temperatures in the wire. The heat generated from a short circuit may melt the insulation and lead to a fire incident.

Some households have miniature circuit breakers (MCB) installed to tackle abnormal voltage/current conditions by disconnecting the power supply, avoiding damage to electrical equipment, and reducing the chances of fire hazards. However, many consumer premises do not have MCB or similar arrangements and run a risk of fire/electrical damage in case of abnormal voltage/current. Tata Power-DDL (Delhi Distribution Limited) wants to avoid such incidents by predicting them beforehand or controlling them in the nascent stage.

We are seeking a solution/algorithm which could predict the possibility of fire based on current/voltage variation during the event of a short circuit. The solution can reside in the electric meter or be connected in series with the electric meter and monitor the current, voltage, and transients and enable alerts quickly informing the customer or by disconnecting the power before any major damage occurs. 

The following are the expectations:

  • The abnormal condition that causes fire shall be identified by voltage and current waveform analysis.
  • The hardware required should reside in the electric meter or be connected in series with the electric meter and should take action according to the severity of the fault and its probability of causing a fire.
  • The action may be in terms of giving an alarm or disconnecting the power supply to the premises based on the energy going into the fault/severity.
  • The accuracy of detection of such events should be high as the fire caused due to the short circuit in the electrical wiring/equipment, may cause significant damage.

3. Accurate headcount during an emergency

Short Description:

Titan is looking for a system that provides quick, easy, and accurate information on the number of people present inside the plant/premises, 24×7.

Description:

Our business locations include corporate offices, manufacturing units, regional offices, etc. Biometric readers are used for providing access and can be used to get the count of people inside the plant.  However, it has not been possible to access the count immediately as any emergency situation (for evacuation) would demand the data to be available instantly.

Currently, we use Time-in and out for employee count and security register for vendor count on the campus. This data is accessible to authorised personnel only. The requirement is to consolidate all the data and display the total count (employees + other people on the premises) at a prominent place for everyone to see.

We have attempted cameras & video analytics (with AI) to count the number of people entering and leaving the premises, but the system couldn’t provide accurate data.

We are seeking for solutions to get an accurate count of people inside the premises quickly and display the headcount data at prominent places like the security room, entrance, incident controller’s desk, etc., in the Titan premises. The device should be able to work without power as well.

The following constraints should be kept in mind while developing a solution: 

  • There are multiple entries and exits in the facility
  • Usage of single-person access control while going out as a mass crowd or in groups while exiting from the office. 
  • Employees many times forget to bring their ID /Access cards
  • During an emergency – Access doors are disabled
  • Visitor’s and contractor’s presence in the facility should be considered 

4. Develop a robust marketing plan for an internal employee-oriented competition aimed at recognising customer-facing employees across various industries.

Short Description:

Tata Group is seeking solutions to create a marketing blueprint to scale the Making Customer Smile contest a global benchmark in the category in its scope and span.

Description:

Tata Group organises regular contests, celebrating delightful customer stories created by employees across various Tata companies spanning across industries. The contest is live for 30 days from the date of the announcement, and entries are received via email in the form of a word document and video testimonials of their customers. 

Very few entries were received, in the first four years of the contest. Interventions such as nominating a single point of contact to drive the contest (colleagues who managed customer complaints at a senior level) were appointed, and leaderboards were shared with them, regularly. A participant could nominate a mentor (a senior – reporting manager, area sales manager, or store manager in most cases) to check the story before submission. A webinar launch was conducted that highlighted the contest details and answered on-spot queries. 5000+ entries were received in the 5th year. 

The aim is now to scale up the contest across the Tata Group’s employees in all categories who have an impact on customer’s life. The team wants to make the contest a global benchmark, in its scope and span. 

However, some problems persist such as participants do not have regular access to emails or a computer system, many of them speaking their regional languages only, English proficiency acting as a barrier and fear for the participants to submit their stories in a compelling storytelling format. This was addressed by introducing ‘mentors’ (a senior or a reporting manager) who can review a story without being intimidated by the submission format but not being very successful so far. 

Participants are requested to develop a robust marketing plan for an internal employee-oriented competition aimed at recognising customer-facing employees across various industries. Keeping in mind the following parameters: 

  • How would you launch, navigate, and drive participation across the Tata Group companies? 
  • What marketing levers would you use to create buzz around companies and encourage participation? 
  • What global examples would you study to offer insights towards strengthening their approach?
  • How can more companies, larger companies from the Tata Group, be excited to participate and people across geographies nominate themselves to come forward?

The plan should be backed with strong logic, expected outcomes and a viable distributed budget of Rs. 4-5 Lakhs, targeting 10k participation. 

5. Innovative and never tried solutions to tackle plastic pollution at Marathon events

Short Description:

Seeking new and innovative solutions to reduce plastic pollution at Marathon events.

Description:

Around the world, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, while up to five trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed for single-use purposes – used just once and then thrown away. It produces about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. Despite current efforts, it is estimated that 75 to 199 million tonnes of plastic are currently found in our oceans. Major sporting events can generate up to 750,000 plastic bottles apiece – a clear indication of the critical role organisers have in changing the prevailing throwaway culture. Companies worldwide are becoming increasingly aware of the need to respond to growing public concerns.

Marathon events garner huge participation and there are thousands of people who also come to cheer these marathoners. A large amount of plastic waste is generated in marathons. Despite organisers making distinct efforts to decrease its carbon footprint, a lot of plastic is consumed, and waste is generated in form of cups, plates, ribbons, bags, bottles etc. This waste lingers on after the marathon which further adds to the problem of littering the roads. The focus over here is on eliminating plastic from events such as marathons. 

We are seeking for new and innovative solutions to reduce plastic pollution at Marathon events. These solutions should be easy to implement, address both the concerns of the environment as well as the comfort of the runners and should be out-of-the-box, budget-friendly, which can be implemented in a staged manner.

Prior Solutions already incorporated at some of the leading marathons:

  • Bring-your-own-bottle (BYOB) initiative 
  • Biodegradable/compostable cups and plates 
  • Reusable timing chips instead of tags 
  • Providing participants with reusable sling bags of cloth instead of polythene
  • Recycling- supplier company of water bottles collecting the bottles after the marathon. 

While these solutions are already in place, they do have their own limitations. Hence, we are inviting more creative solutions for this challenge, which has a wider impact and can make zero plastic waste at marathons a reality.

Source: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/10-ways-world-sport-tackling-plastic-pollution#:~:text=Major sporting events can generate,closely connected than people think.

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