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December 20, 2022

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Jarsh Safety’s Air-Conditioned Helmets: Opportunities
for Productivity Enhancement

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The marketing team at Jarsh Safety received an order for 500 units of the Model S helmet.
However, the buyer insisted that the firm deliver the 500 units within 15 days. While this
demand could be met at a price—a 20% margin on the cost price—Founder and CEO Kausthub
Kaundinya wondered how the company could do so given the current production
infrastructure.

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GENESIS OF JARSH SAFETY’S AIR-CONDITIONED HELMETS

In 2016, three young innovators, Kausthub Kaundinya, Sreekanth Kommula and Anand Kumar,
founded Jarsh Safety with the aim to produce user-friendly, durable, sustainable, comfortable
and industrial-grade safety helmets. The three entrepreneurs were peers at an undergraduate
engineering college in Hyderabad, the fifth largest city in India. They participated in a student
competition, for which they travelled to various industrial houses in the country. They discovered
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that most industrial workers wore uncomfortable safety helmets:

... the industrial helmets available in the market were of low quality, stuffy and
when used, let excessive sweating … most workers … wore [helmets] only when
the floor supervisor was close by. The workers simply did not like to wear them.
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The workers disliked wearing industrial helmets primarily because they triggered perspiration,
fatigue and headaches. The founders, consequently, conducted extensive research to
conceptualize a product design with technical specifications that appeared feasible to
manufacture and viable to commercialize. The company spent about 12 months on production,
trials and certifications. Finally, Jarsh Safety launched the world’s first air-conditioned helmet
that offered both safety and comfort in a rugged industrial environment.
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PRODUCT DESIGN

Jarsh Safety’s helmets were installed with a solid-state patented cooling technology that could
decrease the temperature by 15 °C and with four vents distributed across the helmet to aid
consistent cooling. Moreover, the absence of conventional compressor-based refrigeration
allowed for a lighter and power-efficient product. These features considerably reduced
perspiration and played a vital role in increasing worker productivity. According to Kausthub,
“…the product is designed to add comfort to safety. We are not just making a better helmet. We
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are attempting to produce a new category of industrial helmets that are desired rather than
enforced.”

Prepared by Professors Sundaravalli Narayanaswami and N Ravichandran of Indian Institute of

Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and is solely intended for class discussions. The case study does not
serve as an endorsement, source of primary data or illustration of effective management.
Cases of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad are prepared as a basis for class discussion. Cases
are not designed to present illustrations of either correct or incorrect handling of administrative problems.
© 2022 by Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
This document is authorized for educator review use only by SUNDARAVALLI NARAYANASWAMI, Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad until Jul 2025. Copying or posting is an
infringement of copyright. [email protected] or 617.783.7860
 2 of 8 A00444

Unlike traditional helmets, Jarsh Safety’s air-conditioned helmet, JACH01 (Figure 1), provided

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eye, head and thermal protection. The founders believed that their innovation bridged a pertinent

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gap in the industry and made a significant difference to the working conditions of industry
workers. They hoped that the product would change the general outlook towards safety helmets.
Overall, the business concept appeared highly promising.

PRODUCTION PROCESS

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The production of the JACH 01 helmet involved 14 processes grouped under three stages.

Stage 1: Preparation
Sourcing and Preparation
The helmet shell was sourced from a vendor. On receipt, the helmets were first visually inspected

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as part of a raw materials quality assessment and sorted for rejections. A cooling vent was
punched in using a Fly Press. The surfaces were then prepared for adhesives and cleaned for
assembly. Finally, a cradle was installed on the inside of the helmet. This process involved semi-
skilled labour, and related trainings were easy to comprehend and complete.

Adhesive Application
Following another round of visual inspections, industrial-grade adhesives were applied to the
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prepared helmets to help attach mounting points. In this process, skill, precision and practice
were of utmost importance.

Visor Sub-Assembly Preparation

Visor sub-assembly (VSA) is an auxiliary process independent of the previous stages and main
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assembly. A custom visor was procured from a vendor and assembled using mounting systems.
The VSA was stored for the main assembly in the final product. The process involved semi-skilled
labour, and related trainings were simple and straightforward.

VSA Attachment
Here, the VSA was attached to the helmet. This process was a simple push-fit operation.
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Curing
The prepared helmet assembly was placed in a special oven for four hours. The gradually heating
process helped the industrial glues cure and affixed them firmly and permanently. The oven was
automated and did not require human intervention, except for loading and unloading.

Stage 2: Assembly
Cooling Module Preparation
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The cooling module was procured from a vendor and subjected to a raw materials inspection.
Accepted modules were then coated with a white chemical paste. The thickness of the coating
was carefully calibrated. The process required skilled and trained workers.

This document is authorized for educator review use only by SUNDARAVALLI NARAYANASWAMI, Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad until Jul 2025. Copying or posting is an
infringement of copyright. [email protected] or 617.783.7860
 3 of 8 A00444

Cooling Sub-Assembly

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Cooling sub-assembly was the most crucial aspect of the assembly process. The cooling module

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was attached to a custom-made heat transmitter and then placed in the helmet assembly. The
final step was the placement of a fan. This process warranted skill and practice.

Preparation of Power Sub-Assembly (PSA)

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The preparation of a power sub-assembly (PSA) was a complex process. The first step was
preparing a control board. The bare circuit board and electronic components were procured from
a vendor. Following a raw materials inspection, the bare circuit board and electronic components
were joined using an SMD pick-and-place machine and then passed through a three-stage SMD
reflow oven. The boards were then inspected using automated optical testing equipment and sent
for programming and protective coating. These processes were conducted in parallel and in
batches. The steps produced a control board to be integrated into the PSA. The control board was

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then integrated with a battery and mounting points to complete the PSA. Skill, precision, and
practice were important in this process.

PSA Integration
The PSA was installed in the main helmet assembly using an integrator and screws. The process
was simple, and a semi-skilled workforce could complete the task.
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Sealing of Cooling System
The cooling system and helmet were sealed using a sealer cup and screws. The process required
skill and precision.

Preparation of Power Pack for JACH01 Model S

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The Model S required a waist mounted power pack assembled in an auxiliary process
independent of the main helmet assembly.

Stage 3: QA and Packaging

Performance Testing
The assembled helmet was subjected to automated performance testing in batches of 20 units.
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The testing equipment was designed by Jarsh Safety. The duration of the test cycle was 60–180
minutes depending on the model variant. The test was run through a computer application and
automatically rejected any product of suboptimal performance. The rejected helmets were
processed through a troubleshooting line for evaluation and fixing.

Random Sample Testing

In adherence with the requirements of international safety certifications, few helmets were
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randomly subjected to destructive testing. The transmitted force and impact values were
recorded for regulatory purposes.

Sticker and Label Application and Packaging

Finally, all assembled helmets were stickered, labelled and packaged. This process included a
final visual inspection conducted by trained personnel.

This document is authorized for educator review use only by SUNDARAVALLI NARAYANASWAMI, Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad until Jul 2025. Copying or posting is an
infringement of copyright. [email protected] or 617.783.7860
 4 of 8 A00444

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Figure 1: JACH 01 helmet
Jarsh Safety sought to expand to the overseas market. To do so, the company and its products
had to comply with several regulatory requirements, including the EC-Gulf, European and ISI
standards. In addition, the company was mandated by law to undergo multiple quality audits
and to maintain quality audit and control reports at every production stage (i.e. raw materials,
inline and finished goods). Helmets were randomly subjected to destructive, temperature and
shock-absorption tests. The helmets were also tested for frame relay in accordance with ISI

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standards. Finally, the helmet went through a penetration resistance test to check if the integral
pieces showed evidence of piercing or denting when subjected to a certain amount of force. All
helmets were visually inspected for finishing aesthetics, functionality and performance.

The three entrepreneurs of Jarsh Safety were faced with an exciting opportunity of a bulk order
of 500 units but a non-negotiable delivery deadline of 15 days.
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Was Jarsh Safety capable of achieving this delivery? The CEO and the team were confronted with
the need for a thorough system assessment and several unanswered questions:

• What was the daily capacity? How much could be produced annually?
• What was the manpower utilization?
• Were the company’s resources—equipment, workstations and 12 workers—
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adequately utilized? Was there a more efficient way of re-deploying the resources?

The team felt the need for innovative ways to increase production capacity. One suggestion was
to group certain activities and then compute the revised system capacity.

• Would such changes make it possible to fulfil the order within 15 days?
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The CEO and team hoped to improve the response time and optimize manpower utilization. For
instance, the raw materials cost of the Model S was INR 6,000. The interest rate on the investment
in inventory was 18% per year. When raw materials are held in the system, the order fulfillment
time is equal to the production time.

• Would holding raw materials for 30 days reduce the response time?
• Was it possible to charge a premium (in addition to the 20% margin) on the product
price for reduced response time?
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• What was an appropriate price for an expedited order fulfilment?

This document is authorized for educator review use only by SUNDARAVALLI NARAYANASWAMI, Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad until Jul 2025. Copying or posting is an
infringement of copyright. [email protected] or 617.783.7860
 5 of 8 A00444

EXHIBITS

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Exhibit 1 illustrates the JACH01 production process. Exhibit 2 presents the processing time, staff
allocation and batch size for each production process. Exhibit 3 is a tabulation of the supply lead
time for raw materials. Exhibit 4 depicts the Jarsh Safety’s model variants.

EXHIBIT 1
JACH01 Production Process

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Source: Jarsh Safety

This document is authorized for educator review use only by SUNDARAVALLI NARAYANASWAMI, Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad until Jul 2025. Copying or posting is an
infringement of copyright. [email protected] or 617.783.7860
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EXHIBIT 2

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Process Time, Staff Allocated and Batch Size

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Time (in minutes) Batch
Sr. No Process Name Staff
E S C W size

1 Helmet Preparation 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1 1

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2 Adhesive Station 10 10 10 10 1 1

3 VSA Preparation 5 5 5 10 1 1

4 VSA Fixing 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 1 1

5 Curing 240 240 240 240 0 30

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6 CM Preparation 3 3 3 3 1 1

7 CSA 7 7 7 7 1 1

8 PSA Preparation 5.5 4.5 6.5 5.5 1 1

9 PSA Integration 4 4 4 4 1 1

10 Power Pack Preparation 0 20 0 0 1 1

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11 Cooling Systems Sealing 3 3 3 3 1 1

12 Performance Testing 90 180 60 90 1 10

13 Stickering, Labelling and Packaging 12 12 12 12 1 1

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Source: Documents by Jarsh Safety with modifications made by the authors

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This document is authorized for educator review use only by SUNDARAVALLI NARAYANASWAMI, Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad until Jul 2025. Copying or posting is an
infringement of copyright. [email protected] or 617.783.7860
 7 of 8 A00444

EXHIBIT 3

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Raw Material Supply Lead Time

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Sub-stage Raw Material Supply lead time
(in days)
1.1 Helmet Shell 15
Cradle 15
1.2 Industrial Adhesive 4

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Helmet Mounting 4
Point
1.3 Visor 10
Visor Mounting Point 4
Screw 6
2.1 Cooling Module 40
Chemical Paste 10
2.2 Heat Transmitter 40

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Fan 45
2.3 Control Board 40
Battery 40
Battery Mounting 4
Point
2.4 Integrator 4
Screw 40
2.5 Sealer Cup 4
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Screw 4
2.6 Battery 40
Screw 4
Battery Holder 4
Mounting Clip 20
3.3 Control Panel Sticker 4
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Barcode Label 4
QA Labels 4
Packing Cover 4
Packing Box 20
GTIN Label 4
Source: Documents by Jarsh Safety with modifications made by the authors
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This document is authorized for educator review use only by SUNDARAVALLI NARAYANASWAMI, Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad until Jul 2025. Copying or posting is an
infringement of copyright. [email protected] or 617.783.7860
 8 of 8 A00444

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EXHIBIT 4

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Description of Jarsh Safety’s Helmet Model Variants

Model E
Model E has a built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery that provides two hours of cooling or warming and
is available with tinted or clear eye lenses. The model was created for clients and executives.

Model S

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Model S is designed for industrial workers who work in environments with severe temperatures. Its
productivity-boosting technology contributes to boosting worker productivity by 15%. The model is installed
with a small rechargeable battery that is attached to the waist. The battery powers the helmet for a 10-hour
shift, keeping the user both comfortable and productive.

Model C
Model C is a light-weight model designed for operators of heavy machinery and workers in environments

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with extremely high temperatures generated by engines. The helmet is directly powered by a machine and
has no rechargeable battery, thus requiring no maintenance. The helmet has built-in pollution masks and
ear plugs.

Model W
Model W, designed for factory welders, comes with a welding shield. Offers comfort by providing consistent
air flow across the head and neck to reduce perspiration.
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Source: Jarsh Safety

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This document is authorized for educator review use only by SUNDARAVALLI NARAYANASWAMI, Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad until Jul 2025. Copying or posting is an
infringement of copyright. [email protected] or 617.783.7860