Thrilled to be part of the award-winning JRS project team, A Rajeshkumar is happier with the partnerships he has successfully forged in life. “Joining L&T, my dream company, has been a great moment in my life as also marrying my soulmate,” he says joyfully. He enjoys his partnerships at site too. “My Project Manager guides, mentors and supports me, creating opportunities for me to learn and grow,” he says sincerely. “He always celebrates my successes, provides constructive feedback, and fosters a collaborative environment where I can confidently develop my skills, achieve my goals and gives me the freedom to make decisions and take initiative, which builds my confidence and drives my growth.”
He values his team members too, who support his initiatives by providing valuable feedback and ideas, taking on tasks to lighten his workload, enthusiastically accepting his vision. “They collaborate effectively to help achieve our goals, empowering me to focus on the bigger picture and the strategic aspects of leadership,” he shares.
Referring to some of their unique initiatives at site, Rajeshkumar mentions applying the underground fire pipe wrap coating to a stand with pipe-bearing support for easy rotation and installation, an arrangement implemented on a tire mounted arrangement in hume pipe approved by the B&F Head of QA/QC Mechanical. “It has even been circulated to all L&T MEP projects for adoption at their sites,” he adds gleefully. Another initiative of note is installing stainless steel drain trays over a length of 90 m, maintaining a 2 mm tolerance for alignment. He additionally mentions an ultrasound device to commission the waterside system and BIM to cross-check for clashes with other services before any work begins.
When the rotary screen failed, Rajeshkumar stepped in to design one according to the plant’s specifications, procuring the necessary materials in time to successfully commission the system at startup. “To address the 60-day delay to commission the ETP (Effluent Treatment Plant), I arranged for biomass from external sources within 10 days, to successfully commission it during the plant startup,” he flags off, “and when our client faced challenges in securing natural gas for the project startup, I effectively coordinated with government authorities to get the gas delivered on time to successfully commission the boiler system.”
Having previously, worked on the prestigious Mumbai International Airport – Hangar Building and the C17 Project for MEP works in Delhi, Rajeshkumar hails from Pollachi, Coimbatore. He describes his wife, Premavati, as “my support in all the stages of my life and presently a stay-at-home mom,” and his family is complete with his two beautiful daughters, Anjana Devi and Anushree.
A dream company for every engineer, L&T for Kokil Kumar is a platform giving him opportunities to become an even better engineer than he already is. After his first project at the C-17 India Air Force station project, Ghaziabad, where he learnt how quality worked by following the electrical processes and standard codes, Kokil brought his experience to play at the JRS project and is part of the team that has won L&T Construction’s Timely Delivery Award – 2024.
He attributes his success in large measure to his Project Manager, Hemant Gupta, for giving him the responsibility to play the role of Lead Electrical. “I got the chance to manage a team with proper coordination, right from the initial design phase to handing over. Of course, we faced several challenges in the process but were able to resolve them all with the help of my Project Manager.” He flashes a satisfied grin. Kokil is all praise for the cooperation from his electrical and MEP teams too. “I would say that they are one of the best MEP technical teams we have in B&F, and I was blessed to work with such a supportive team.”
A particularly tough situation for the team was to coordinate with a process equipment vendor for imported equipment installation and powering up. “We hired electricians and trained them as per the OEM’s stringent requirements and really delivered as per our expectations, maintaining all the safety and quality parameters,” he says, adding that Vanderpol were impressed too, expressing their appreciation in front of L&T’s senior management. Charging a 66 kV switch yard to distribute power from the transformers was another hurdle to cross. Working day and night, they arranged for the CIG inspections and commissioned the switch yard at first go which was a major milestone to supply raw power to the plant.
Modular cable trays and prefabricated wiring solutions improved the team’s Quality quotient, as did the implementation of smart testing tools like Power Quality Analysers and Infrared Thermography to proactively detect faults and thereby avoid reworks. “Ours is a BIM-driven project,” says Kokil with vigour, “relying on a combination of digital tools to enhance collaboration, accuracy, and efficiency.”
A proud L&T-ite, he says, “Our organization is always thinking about the requirements of each employee. like employee welfare, family accommodation, children studies support, medical claims and more.”
On the home front, Kokil, who hails from Haridwar, Uttarakhand, is married to Amrita Singh, a homemaker, and they are blessed with two children, daughter, Rishika Singh, who’s birth is his life’s most memorable moment and son, Arsh Singh. He lets off steam by playing cricket.
“I would like to extend my gratitude to the JRS project team for their support and encouragement throughout this journey that motivates me to continue striving for excellence to timely deliver all our projects,” says M S Muthu, acknowledging his recognition as a Timely Delivery Champion at his award-winning project. A proud L&T-ite at his 3rd project, Muthu is all praise for his Project Manager, Hemant Gupta, for trusting him to handle the civil activities under his direct guidance. “Our administration building and the transit house building are milestones of our best finishing,” he announces proudly.
Muthu is extremely impressed with the way the project was planned, beginning in the pre-construction phase with clear project goals and objectives and a kick-off meeting involving all stakeholders before the start of work. “It established among all the stakeholders a sense of shared understanding of the quality, budget, and timeline expectations from the site leadership,” he shares, “and we developed a detailed quality management plan outlining quality control measures, roles, and responsibilities.”
Later, during the construction phase, the team used high-quality materials and equipment to ensure durability and safety while clear lines of communication among the team members and stakeholders prevented confusion and miscommunication. “Our effort for continuous improvement was helped by digital tools like Conquer, SHEILD, BIM and others that we deployed to streamline processes, improve quality control and enhance our overall efficiencies,” he notes.
Due to environment-related issues, the team was hard-pressed to complete the roof and floor related works in time which, Muthu mentions, they successfully did thanks to the perfect coordination between the various trades and departments. “We had a great work culture coordinating with our subordinate teams, guided and supported by our Project Manager, to achieve our end goal of customer satisfaction,” he says, with a punched fist. “Appreciation was our main motive to develop ourselves that we realized from our PM. We are proud to have worked on this project,” he exults.
A native of Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, Muthu’s better half is Pandiselvi T, a homemaker, and they are blessed with two children, daughter, Shri Mithra M and son, Jagdeeswaran M. Holding his daughter for the first time was his life’s most cherished moment and apart from playing with kids, his other interests include gardening, cooking, and listening to music.
For an EHS professional, handing over a project without any fatalities or LTI is a huge achievement. Ritesh Kumar Jha, at the JRS Project, his first with L&T, is overjoyed that he maintained an unblemished Safety record at his site for which they won the BSC’s Sword of Honour award. L&T Construction’s Timely Delivery Award is an icing on his cake. “It is very important to report near misses to identify hazards in advance and take necessary corrective actions,” he says seriously. “I am glad to have played a role in integrating a Digital Hazard Reporting System, which allows supervisors and workers to report near miss incidents and hazards in real time on their mobile devices for us to take immediate preventive measures.”
One of his prime responsibilities at site was new contractor finalization along with their gangs and getting them to adopt L&T’s EHS systems, which Ritesh and the project then successfully managed using the 3Es concept (Educate, Engage and Enforce). “This was a holistic approach to safety to make our workforce understand the risks, be accountable for their actions, and remain motivated to stay safe,” he explains. Active safety briefings, safety programmes, and clear policies & procedures fostered a safe and inclusive culture, helped along by the various digital tools deployed at site including SHEILD, IB4U, Conquer, and WISA.
Safety is a shared responsibility, and Ritesh acknowledges that he could not have driven it at site without the support of his leadership, seniors and colleagues. “Safety is something that comes from the leader,” he avers, “and our Project Manager, HG (Hemant Gupta) Sir, was very supportive; he never asked me any questions whenever I intervened, always respecting my decision, and since I was new to the L&T system, Chirag Soni Sir, CEHSM – West Factories, moulded and guided me through the entire process. So, everyone supported me where I required it,” he says with a delighted smile.
A native of Madhubani, Bihar, Ritesh is married to Dr. Pratibha, a homeopathic medical doctor working as a trainee at the Government Medical College & Hospital, Delhi. He enjoys traveling and exploring new places.
Transitioning from civil engineering to safety engineering was perhaps his most memorable moment. “My passion for safety led me to the Operation & Maintenance (O&M) of the Statue of Unity project, where I prepared an acclaimed Emergency Response Plan on my first day and was soon promoted to Fire & Safety In-charge,” he shares proudly. He is impressed by the strong employee bond at L&T that creates a sense of belonging and camaraderie, making it an exceptional workplace.