I was working with the Ahmedabad Electricity Co, Ahmedabad. The company had purchased a few CALMU meters from PI Industries. The year, as I remember it, was 1988 / 89. I was unable to meet the demand for tested meters due to an acute shortage of the Rotary Sub-Standard meters (RSS) used for testing single-phase and three-phase meters. Since CALMU meters were very accurate, I wondered if we could use them as a reference standard instead.
I tested the CALMU meter in our standard cell and found it to be much more accurate than the existing RSS meter. The challenge now was to create a jig so it could be used as a testing meter. I came up with a jugaad*, using some CTs that were available, a CALMU meter, a Cine MRI, a power supply, and a bulky phantom load set. This jugaad resulted in saving millions of rupees for the company, and my output of tested meters increased. I showed this jugaad to many visitors from Secure and asked their opinion. To this, they responded, “Our meter can be sold for this purpose also.” I was disappointed since the jugaad was not appreciated by my seniors or the supplier of CALMU meters.
Usually, Sanjay Saab and Babel Saab would visit our laboratory often; one day, I plucked up the courage to show this jugaad to them, fearing a harsh comment (Hey, what shabby wiring and connections), but I knew I could handle it. Contrary to my expectations, both of them appreciated my effort and asked me, “What can we do to help you test meters using CALMU?”
During the discussion and subsequent visits, I told them that RSS meters were a rare commodity at the time, and not only that, they were expensive, and the indigenous ones were not reliable. Furthermore, testing meters on-site was impossible because during transportation, the RSS meter would get damaged. Hence, if this jugaad could be packaged more robustly, on-site testing of meters at a consumer’s premises would be possible; this would also increase the consumer’s satisfaction.
In a few days’ time, Mr Babel came back with a nice package in a handbag, with a calculator to calculate the error percentage, etc. I tried this in the laboratory as well as on-site. Over time, we found other things that were needed. Mr Babel visited the site to get first-hand information on the difficulties we faced on-site, how we travelled on a bicycle or a motorcycle (the word bike came later, we were using the Bullet motorcycle).
A marketable version called Accuchek was born in a vanity bag.
Later, as the need arose, many other changes were incorporated to make the Accuchek of today.
*A jugaad is a solution put together with the materials and resources at hand.
– G K Panchal