RBE No. 34/1985: Suggestion Box for Staff – At Zonal & Divisional Headquarters

No.E(G)85/PT 1/1, dated 25.01.1985

Sub: Putting up of a ‘Suggestion Box’ for staff at Railway Headquarters and DRM offices.

1. In order to improve the different facts of the Railway working, the Ministry of Railway have decided that a ‘suggestion box’ should be put up at conspicuous places in the Divisional and Headquarters offices of the Zonal Railways and Production Units and other important Railway Centers where there is a concentration of Railway staff, to which employees may have free access to put up their suggestions.
2. The main themes on which suggestions are welcome or listed below:-

(1) Improvement to punctuality of the train services;
(2) Bringing down the accidents and improving the safety standards on the Railways;
(3) Steps that can be taken with regards to improving the booking and reservation facilities for the travelling public;
(4) Improvements that could be effected in catering on the trains and other Railway stations;
(5) Improving the productivity per person engaged on different disciplines and departments of the Railways;
(6) Improving train services in the different parts of the country;
(7) Improving the training scheme and improving the knowledge of the Railway staff at all levels in all disciplines;
(8) Suggestions with regard to affecting economy and improving on the utilization of locomotives, carriages and wagons;
(9) Suggestions with regard to improving the earning of the Railways and cutting down the expenditure on the Railways and the areas where this could be affected;
(10) Suggestions with regard to improving the income of the Railways by the disposal of scrap arising on the Railways year after year;
(11) Suggestions with regard to cutting down on the inventories without affecting efficiency;
(12) Suggestions with regard to system of awards and incentives which could get better output from the staff;
(13) Technical suggestions in respect of Civil Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical, Signal and Telecommunication and other subjects pertaining to Railways day to day working with special emphasis on safety and improved efficiency;
(14) Suggestions on improved man-management on the Railways;
(15) Suggestions on cutting down delays in dealing with paper work in offices;
(16) Suggestions on better utilization and effecting economy in a staff.

3. Staff may, however, be advised that while all suggestions are welcome the same should not cast aspersions on any of their superiors for people below them and should not touch on any personal grievances.
4. Suggestions so received by the Railway Administration should be got examined periodically by the Standing Screening Committee (Inventions and Suggestions), which should have been set up and functioning in compliance with the Railway Board’s letter No.E56PT.I/3/3, dated 04.07.1956 (copy enclosed for ready reference) and adopted if found feasible with suitable modifications, where considered necessary. It may be reiterated that the underlying idea of such suggestions should be result oriented, with a view to effecting further improvements in the various sphere of Railway working and economy in administrative or operational expenditure.

Copy of Railway Board’s letter No.E56PT.I/3/3, dated 04.07.1956
to all General Managers, etc. etc.

The Railway Board in their letter No.3153-W(A), dated 28.09.1950 directed each Railway Administration to set up a Standing Screening Committee (Inventions and Suggestions) at its Headquarters. The working of this Committee has been reviewed recently and the Railway Board desire that further action as indicated in the following paragraph should now be taken in the matter. Instructions contained in this letter should be treated as supplementary to those issued in September, 1950.
1. On each of those Railways which have a Senior Dy. General Manager, this officer will be Chairman of the Standing Screening Committee. Elsewhere the Dy. General Manager (Works) will be the Chairman of the Committee. At the CLW the CME, and at the ICF at Parambur the CAOR should be the chairman of the committee. The following officers will be the other members of the Standing Screening Committee:-

(I) On each Railway:-

1. a Dy.CME
2. a Dy.CE
3. ADSTE
4. a senior scale personnel officer who will also sit as Secretary

(II) At the C.L.W.

1. D.CME
2. Dy.GM
3. a senior scale personnel officer who will also act as Secretary

(III) At the I.C.F.Parambur

1. Dy.CME
2. An officer to be nominated by this CAOR
3. The S.S. Personnel Officer who will also act as secretary of the Committee

2. The Committee should meet once a month on a fixed day of the work unless there is no suggestion for invention to be examined by it. Although the Committee has been deliberately kept small so that it may remain workman-like it may call upon any Head of Department to nominate an officer of his Department to assist the Committee and in effect to function as a member thereof, while considering any particular suggestion or invention.

3. The review of the functioning of the Suggestion and Inventions Committee on each Railway that was carried out by the Railway Board recently revealed that quite a number of suggestions have come up for examination by each committee. Government feels, however, that Railway servant at all levels may have constructive ideas and may have useful suggestions to make. It is their earnest desire that all grades office staff interest themselves in thinking of improvement in all phases of the activities of the Indian Railways. Railway Board would, therefore like all Railway Administrations to bring to the notice of staff at all levels that any suggestions that they may have for informing method of work, and any ideas of theirs for improving existing devices, or new devices, will be welcomed and will be carefully considered. If the suggestions are accepted, suitable remarks will be given, and the name of authors published in weekly Gazette.
4. Publicity should be continuous and should be in all the Regional Languages in addition to Hindi and English.
The monetary rewards should be adequate and should be in those cases where a saving is envisaged – be assessed, bearing in mind the saving that would accrue from the acceptance of the suggestion. The fact that an employee has made an acceptable suggestion should be recorded in his services sheet or at any other appropriate place and should be given consideration when considering his suitability for promotion to a non-selection or a selection post. The relevant information should therefore be put up whenever the name of the employee concerned is being considered for promotion.
5. Any awards that are sanctioned, should be handed over to the employee personally by a senior officer as that would convey to him the feeling that the administration attached significance to the occasion.

Download Railway Board Circular RBE No. 34/1985

Forward reference⇒RBE No.