For thousands of electricity workers across Odisha, accessing formal safety training has traditionally meant travelling long distances from remote work locations, often making regular upskilling difficult.
Tata Power-led Odisha Discoms are changing this equation with Training on Wheels (ToW), a first-of-its-kind mobile learning initiative that brings immersive safety and technical training directly to the field, taking the classroom to frontline workers instead of expecting them to come to training centres.
Over the past six months, mobile training vans have reached more than 900 field locations across the four Odisha Discoms—TPNODL, TPCODL, TPSODL and TPWODL—delivering structured learning to nearly 7,000 frontline Business Associate employees stationed at Primary Substations and Fuse Call Camps, many located in some of the most remote parts of the state.
Designed as what Tata Power-led Odisha Discoms believe is among the first mobile, AR/VR-enabled learning models for power distribution field staff in India, Training on Wheels addresses a long-standing challenge in the sector: how to deliver consistent, high-quality safety training to a widely dispersed workforce operating under demanding field conditions.
Instead of requiring workers to travel to training centres, the programme brings structured learning directly to their workplace, ensuring training is accessible, contextual, and aligned with real operating conditions.
“Safety is the foundation of everything we do. Training on Wheels demonstrates how innovation can solve a longstanding last-mile workforce challenge by bringing immersive, AR/VR-enabled learning directly to our frontline teams, wherever they work. Through realistic simulations, the programme prepares our linemen and helpers for the situations they are most likely to encounter in the field, enabling them to practise safe responses and make informed decisions before they face those scenarios on site. This is about far more than enhancing technical skills—it is about protecting lives, strengthening a culture of safety, and improving service reliability for the communities we serve. We believe Training on Wheels has the potential to become a scalable model that utilities across the country can adopt to build a safer, more skilled and future-ready frontline workforce” said Gajanan Kale, Chief- Odisha Distribution Business, Tata Power and CEO, TPCODL.
Training on Wheels is built around specially equipped mobile vans fitted with LED screens, portable seating, and AR/VR-enabled learning tools. These vans travel directly to Primary Substations and Fuse Call Camps, delivering focused learning capsules of one to two hours to small groups of frontline employees.
The model is designed to maximise reach while minimising operational disruption. A single mobile unit can cover multiple nearby locations in a day, enabling frequent, cluster-based training sessions that fit within field schedules. The sessions combine audio-visual instruction, demonstrations, and immersive AR/VR simulations that replicate real-life field scenarios, enabling employees to practise safe responses in a controlled environment.
By bringing learning to the point of work, the initiative ensures that frontline employees—particularly linemen and helpers who often rely on experience-based learning—receive structured, standardised safety training without interrupting critical field operations.
In the last six months since launch, nearly 7,000 employees have been trained and upskilled across more than 900 field locations across the state, demonstrating strong scale, consistency, and last-mile impact.
Beyond capability building, the programme is helping strengthen a culture of safety and consistency across Odisha’s power distribution network. By reinforcing standard operating procedures and promoting a First Time Right approach, Training on Wheels aims to reduce operational risks, improve field preparedness, and enhance reliability of electricity supply across urban and rural areas.
“This initiative reflects a fundamental shift in how we approach capability building for frontline teams. Instead of expecting employees to come to structured training environments, we are taking structured learning to them—at their place of work. It ensures that safety becomes a lived practice rather than a periodic exercise. The ability to simulate real-world scenarios through AR/VR further strengthens readiness and helps bridge the gap between training and field reality, making our workforce more confident and better prepared for operational challenges.” said Dr. Ranabir Chakraborty, Chief Business HR, Transmission and Distribution, Tata Power.
By taking training to the last mile instead of expecting the last mile to come to training, the Discoms have created a scalable model for frontline capability building in the power distribution sector, one that has the potential to be replicated across utilities to strengthen safety, reliability, and workforce readiness nationwide.
Together, Tata Power-led Odisha Discoms serve over 1 crore consumers across approximately 154,000 square kilometres through a network of more than 3,600 operational locations, including Circle, Division, Subdivision and Section Offices, Primary Substations, and Fuse Call Camps.
