SMART WORLD AND COMMUNICATION
Santosh Kumar Potnuru,
Project Manager, (SW&C)
There are no time zones for Santosh Kumar Potnuru, Project Manager, at the Raipur Smart City as he, along with his team, provide the necessary technical support to keep the Command & Control Centre functioning 24/7 since the lockdown began. “It began with the transformation of the COC into a War Room as per the customer’s request which is now extended to many other value additions in the fight against the pandemic,” highlights Santosh.
Santosh and team are always on an on-guard mission as the entire city is being monitored and administered effectively from the COC. “Converting the call centre platform empowered the administration to address many issues,” he points out. “Today, at any given point of time, we have senior bureaucrats monitoring the updates and taking timely decisions. As a team, we are proud of being a part of this larger responsibility.”
Of course, Santosh admits that there were a lot of apprehensions when they began, “This was a whole new situation for all of us and the fear factor was high. The biggest challenge was to motivate the team members and encourage them to take charge.” Although a customer centric approach was always our priority, “the case here, was entirely different,” he explains, “as we had to work out strategies based on the customer’s requirements that kept changing as the crisis evolved. There were frequent meetings, revisions in decisions but we firmly attended to all their needs ensuring that there were no escalations.”
In line with our safety mission, we began to implement safe measures from where we operated, he declares, “We made a walk-through tunnel at the COC to sanitize people entering the hub and also provided PPEs and hygiene kits along with thermal screening. Giving a feel safe factor was important as it ensured that we are all safely fighting this battle.” He acknowledges the support from seniors at HQ Chennai. “Every update was discussed via digital platforms and there were a lot of cross-functional ideas shared as most of the COCs operated as a war room. Some of our staff like Ajay Sahu worked relentlessly with the customer to ensure that all their expectations were met.”
Like all COVID Warriors of L&T, Santosh continues his essential services keeping in mind that every effort aligns to the SOPs not only for him but for his team as he has a safety promise to keep to his wife Sandhya, who is a bank employee, nurturing his two little sons, Sanav and Sanat.
Rajveer Singh Shekhawat,
Project Manager (SW&C)
When close to 8000 smart meters in Haryana reported an error there was a hotline call from the client to Rajveer Singh Shekhawat, Project Manager, ESSL AMI Solution Smart Meters Project who was with his family in Jaipur due to the lockdown. “It was a rude shock for me as I understood from the client that some of the meters were malfunctioning which could not be fixed remotely through the software and needed replacements. With an e‑Pass, I rushed to Gurgaon to assess the situation.”
Our task involved reaching across certain districts with a team of around 40 to convince the end-users about the replacement, highlights Rajveer. “Thankfully, the client helped us to obtain the inter district passes and my presence further rallied our team members for this critical mission. The situation was more crucial from the client’s side as the consumer had access to power, but the smart meters did not capture the energy consumption which meant that it was a revenue loss to the DISCOMS,” points out Rajveer. “Gurgaon was a big base with around 2900 meters and our first target was to address the housing societies but it was a tough task as people were unaware that there was a fault in their meter and convincing them during the lockdown was difficult,” indicates Rajveer.
“We made a cautious beginning and when we succeeded, the good word started to spread to other housing societies. Seeing us with all the PPEs, aligning to the SOPs and subjecting to the protective measures across every society, created a positive outlook among the end-users. From my side, I kept boosting the morale of the team and ensured that every team member was safe and with a positive mind set.” It has certainly been a commendable feat by the entire team as all the faulty smart meters were successfully replaced during the lockdown and with the easing of restrictions, the momentum is bound to increase. “The client was appreciative of our team’s efforts which helped them resolve the complaints and prevent revenue loss to the utility.” Obviously, Rajveer’s dash from Jaipur was well worth the effort!
For Rajveer, this is his first assignment in L&T and having delivered a critical mission for the client makes it doubly special. “My most memorable and happiest day was when I got selected in L&T to execute my dream project, smart meters, and going the extra mile for the customer is highly satisfying. The feeling at home from my wife, Ritu Shekhawat, son, Ramdhanesh and daughter, Jayanti was initially apprehension but when I shared the criticality and later the success of the mission, they fully understood that it was an essential service.”
Anurag Bhargava,
Manager, O&M, (SW&C)
With around 10,60,000 smart meters installed across Uttar Pradesh, there are always many issues to be addressed for Anurag Bhargava, Manager, O&M, which in normal conditions is a follow-up activity but the COVID-19 situation changed everything. “I was locked up in a containment zone and had to remotely schedule the operations, something which I have never done over such a long period of time,” he shares.
At home, the regime he followed was an early start to the day, “and thanks to my family, I was connected 24/7,” he mentions. “The main challenge was from the consumer side as most of the people who had raised complaint requests were not allowing our technicians to enter their premises to resolve the issues citing the pandemic while from the DISCOM, there was pressure to close the complaints as soon as possible.”
Finding a way forward, he says, called for a great deal of planning combined with motivation. “At field, 9 teams were deployed across 12 towns comprising around 100 members who were mostly from the O&M agencies. When we had issues such as consumers raising concerns, it gradually got to some of the team members and by the time a person who was into the fifth day of his work, there were instances of members backing out.” It was learning for me, he points out, “To shuffle the team members, even if it required bringing in some fresh hands. The ploy worked and we were able to close around 6346 complaints achieving a resolution of close to 99.70% during the lockdown.”
Safely managing such a huge team that moved across zones was a risky proposition but Anurag had all fronts covered with a special permission from the District Magistrate while aligning to the SOPs, “I had this fear all through that even if a single member showed symptoms of sickness, the entire crew would have to be quarantined but thankfully, our safety measures helped us to come out without any damage.”
Hailing from Jhansi, Anurag credits his wife, Anurita for giving him the support in this critical endeavour while taking care of the home front and nurturing his son, Shubh. “My wife is a multi-tasker specialising in numerology, spiritual healing and is also a practising therapist. She recently bagged the National Women’s Excellence Award and is acknowledged as one of 50 Most Influential Indian Women. All through the lockdown I was in the driver’s seat, seeing through the deliverables with my wife ensuring that even my breakfast, lunch and dinner were served at the hotseat from where I was operating,” he sums up.
T. S. Senthil Kumar,
Project Manager, (SW&C)
“When our Cluster Head decided to fight the pandemic staying back in Mumbai, I put my fears aside, and joined him,” declares T. S. Senthil Kumar, Project Manager, Mumbai City Surveillance Project. “A core team of three of my teammates stood firm in our commitment to fight this battle collectively without taking a single day off during the lockdown.”
In a challenging situation, his vital deliverable was to keep the Command & Control Centre functioning seamlessly. “With the lockdown in force, there was a long list of essentials to be covered 24/7 and to facilitate the process, we developed a business continuity plan with the on-field team taking charge while some of our other members who were working from home coordinating to address all issues.”
Although achieving full compliance of the various systems was a humongous task, Senthil was supported by his special teams for all critical activities. “While the CCC unit was entrusted with the task of monitoring the 124 viewing centres, the application team, at the backend, ensured availability to the stake holders.” Depending on the scope of operations, they strategized the team’s strength. “The maintenance team, for instance, required more hands to ensure the uptime of cameras and their accessories. Our services were focused to facilitate the help desk activities, DIAL 100 transactions and other vital functions,” he highlights.
With the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) depending on CCC inputs to take proactive decisions, their turnaround time to deliver customized solutions was always critical. “We had to be on our toes and deliver precisely for a range of requirements that included realignment of cameras in the containment areas with video analytics, deployment of ANPR cameras to monitor vehicle count, enhance viewing centres to monitor the status of jurisdiction cameras and set up a viewing centre in the CM’s Bungalow. Then there were larger requirements like setting up 34 cameras at a temporarily converted COVID-19 hospital and integrating them to our network.”
“Despite the many hurdles, we ensured 99% systems compliance,” Senthil beams. “Both the Mumbai Police and MCGM have acknowledged our support in these critical times especially commending our quick response to all their needs. The good work enabled us to collect INR 26 crores for the quarter ending March on priority and receive GST clearance for INR 79 crores, a much-needed impetus in the long battle ahead,” he says with a tight smile.
For Senthil, it was a conscious shift from the Renewables BU that presented him with this opportunity. “Initially my family, especially my mother, was worried, but my sister, Thilagavathi and my wife, Rajam, managed the situation, giving my parents the confidence that I was secure and doing a national service. Of course, I do miss my two little children, son Vasanth and daughter Chaaru Meena but digital platforms always keep us connected.”
Farman Ali,
Assistant Manager, Field & O&M, SW&C
As a network communication professional, Farman Ali, Assistant Manager, Field & O&M, likes to do what he is best at, provide seamless connectivity and at the Pune Smart City Project, his first assignment in L&T, the responsibility was bigger. “We had the onus of keeping the city connected, ensure that all the smart elements were functioning 24/7 and provide WIFI across zones.”
“Here, it was not just about connectivity, but going a step beyond,” informs Farman, “In order to help isolated and quarantined patients fight mental stress and psychological challenges during the extended period of isolation, Pune Smart City along with the Pune Municipal Corporation extended their WIFI coverage specifically to isolation and quarantine centres at Naidu Hospital, Sanas Ground and Laigude Centres. For us, at L&T, it was all about providing high-speed internet service at these locations to give the quarantined patients a feel-good experience of being remotely in touch with their loved ones while recovering.”
For on-field personnel, being on the move is very natural, remarks Farman, “But COVID-19 was an entirely different proposition as we needed to immediately respond and restore priority locations which was only possible by getting the requisite passes. Our first point of contact was the police commissioner’s office to avail off the permissions and then there was the pressure from the client’s side as every hi-tech platform needed to be connected to access real time data. In a larger sense, we just could not afford breakdowns.”
Recalling a tense moment during one of the restoration ventures, Farman shares, “Our vendor’s team engaged in an activity was down with a positive case and the link had to be restored as quickly as possible, but with the right support and timely replacement of crew, we were able to manage the situation.” Apart from leading on-field service functions, Farman also chips in with ideas for cross-functional applications like the development of an executive dashboard which now enables L&T operators to map the entire city data to provide the right analytics and direction to the administrators.
“When I took up the on-field responsibility, my wife, Kahkashan Nigar, tried to convince me to stay back citing that I was not into essential services but now she proudly shares with my children, daughter Salsabil and son Syed Fasbah about how L&T is keeping the city connected and updated in this united battle,” he shares elatedly.
Naveen HR,
Assistant Manager, Projects (SW&C)
The immediate concern for Naveen HR, Assistant Manager, Projects, at the Bengaluru Metro Rail Project when the lockdown began was how to complete the installation works for the R4 Extension Project as the client had fixed the inauguration for some time in mid-August. “We had only a handful of workmen and the entire section had to be tested and made ready by July for the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety testing,” he describes his mandate.
Though on his first assignment at L&T, Naveen possesses experience of close to a decade across some significant infrastructure projects with special prowess in telecommunication systems having implemented hi-tech systems at the Delhi and Hyderabad metro rail projects. “This was a different situation, something that I had never faced before,” mentions Naveen. “Thanks to my seniors at site, we formulated a practical approach to make headway with the things on hand. This strategy was an insight for me as the team broke down the scope into smaller, achievable targets. Our immediate intent was to conduct some work with the available resources.”
“With around 7 workmen who were the only available manpower resource at site, we took up the works across the alignment and 5 stations and as we made progress, the client, seeing our meticulous effort chipped in to facilitate the process,” shares Naveen. “Installation & testing the 8 systems was a precision task which we aligned with the SOPs ensuring that all the checks and balances were effected.” Today, the team’s initiative is a model approach, highlights Naveen, “The client has acknowledged our initiatives by asking other contractors to follow the same approach as we ran the extra mile intelligently and safely reinforcing our credibility.”
A native of Bengaluru, Naveen is happy to be based with this family that includes his wife Sowmya and daughter Navya, “The greatest inspiration after a hard day’s work is to spend some quality time with your family and thankfully I have been able to share many good things about L&T’s concern for its employees and workmen that has made my family proud of the work I do.”
Priyanka Debnath,
Senior Engineer, (SW&C)
Ever since the lockdown began, Priyanka Debnath, Senior Engineer, Nagpur Smart City Project, has had a larger role to perform at the nerve centre of operations, “Overnight the Command & Control Centre was transformed into a ‘War Room’ with L&T providing comprehensive support for smooth operations of the various smart functions. Added to this, we have been sharing vital information and statistics such as analytics on lockdown zones, vehicle movement and crowd gathering to the police department and hosting emergency mobile applications as and when requested by the municipality.”
Keeping the nerve centre ticking 24/7 was the biggest challenge, highlights Priyanka, “We had two 12-hour shifts covering a range of critical activities such as management of all public announcements, variable message display boards, monitoring of CCTVs, ensuring cyber security check across all IT systems.” With almost all the top line bureaucrats based at the war room and all activities monitored from the COC, there was immense pressure that could only be felt by being at the location, remarks Priyanka.
Every issue had to be resolved at one go, “For instance, there were specific audio tracks recorded by the Nagpur Municipal Commissioner and Traffic Police giving instructions and guidance on preventive measures relayed across the 112 Public Address Systems along with 8 key slides and 1 video being precisely communicated across the city through the 51 Variable Messaging Displays. On a perfect day, this was just a series of transmissions but on one occasion due to some additions in the files, the uploading was not happening and finally got resolved only at around 1 am.” Of course, the hard work was acknowledged by the client shares Priyanka delightedly, “It was highly motivating to get a commendation certificate especially during this challenging phase.”
It has been a memorable debut for Priyanka at L&T that too in her first assignment and she is thankful to her seniors for having provided the opportunity to take up challenges, “Being a part of the project team right from the initial days has worked to my advantage and the crisis has opened up a lot of cross-functional learning which is an invaluable insight.”
On the home front, her parents based in Tripura, are proud of their daughter’s achievement. Certainly, this young lady is a tough customer who has proved her mettle under the most challenging circumstances and amid all the pressure, knows how to find some quiet moments to relax, “Yes I do get time, rather I should say, I make myself available to allow some ‘Me-Time’ to pursue my hobbies that include music and reading.”
Atul Garg,
Senior Engineer, (SW&C)
For Atul Garg, Senior Engineer, Telecommunication Systems at Nagpur Metro Rail Project, overcoming the fear factor was most important of all. “We had lined up the commissioning works and were hopeful that it would be completed seamlessly based on which I had also planned my wedding sometime in mid-April,” shares Atul. “COVID-19 changed it all. Thankfully, all of us are safe, nearing our project milestones while I await the easing of the lockdown to tie the knot with my beloved, Dolly Dixit.”
With the testing continuing along the alignment, Atul’s services were most sought after by the client, “Of the 11 systems, radio communication is a vital link and the customer wanted to be sure that it worked perfectly during the test runs.” The toughest thing for us during these times was to reach the site, informs Atul, “We were not used to going through so many protocols and processes, but they helped us to stay safe and align with the SOPs, with the client fully understanding our commitment.”
As some of the key members of the commissioning team were off work, the onus was more on Atul to ensure that the milestones were achieved. “With a lean crew, it was not easy to fix the spots across the alignment, but we made a tactical approach where specific engineers would cover the entire commissioning or maintenance work across identified sites. The ploy worked well, as, apart from dealing with the core issue, like radio systems in my case, I would also connect remotely with the respective engineer to rectify other issues like CCTV systems, etc. In a way, this method enhanced our cross functional domain skills,” adds Atul.
On course, Atul has added momentum to some of the other tasks as the lockdown gave more time to focus on finalising around 252 design drawings for equipment and cable layout, develop a 3D model for Nagpur stations with an ‘Augmented Reality’ view to facilitate the seamless integration of the design and also enable maintenance training through the proposed interface.
Atul now enjoys the backing of his full team at site as operations have resumed, and with most of the commissioning works finalised, he looks to take forward his hobby of writing poems to good effect to woo his beloved as he will be entering wedlock soon.
