STILL ENJOYING THE FEELING OF
SETTING A WORLD RECORD

Yuvraj Yaduvanshi 

Assistant Construction Manager (Civil), TI IC

Akash Rao

Senior Engineer (Elec), TI IC

Fresh off his graduation, Akash Rao landed up at L&T’s Meerut–Aligarh–Ghaziabad Road Project at its initial stages itself. “Entering the corporate world was challenging because our project office was just being set up and there was not much scope for training then,” he recalls. But fuelled by a fire in his belly, Akash proactively sought opportunities from his manager and in-​charge to learn, and they promptly provided him with facilities to train across departments like EHS, P&M, QA/​QC lab, and execution.

“With most things being digitalized, I focus on modern technologies implemented in our project and adopt them to improve the productivity and quality of my work,” remarks Akash, smartly, who is most interested in digital process automation, which will give him all-​round visibility of his work progress.

Hailing from Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh, Akash is part of a joint family including his grandparents, three uncles & aunts, twelve cousins, his parents, and three brothers. “We all live together under one roof but on different floors. My father is a farmer, my mother a homemaker, and I am extremely grateful for their love & support,” he says smiling. While Akash doesn’t get time to play cricket these days, he spends his free time reading books and listening to music.

“My most memorable moment is joining L&T; when I sent my first salary to my parents, they were over the moon. Just like I was when our project created the world record for completing 100 lane km in 100 hours and for laying the highest quantity of bituminous concrete!” he notes, proudly signing off.

Prathamesh is thankful to his seniors & team members for their on-​going mentorship, encouragement & constructive feedback that are key to his success.

A native of Panvel, Maharashtra, Prathamesh’s better half is Dr Anushree, an M.B.B.S doctor pursuing her M.D. from Sir J.J. Hospital, Mumbai. Playing badminton is what relaxes him, and he is particularly proud of having won the Delta Award (2.0) for Execution Excellence with Innovation.

A strong proponent of technology at work, Harikrishnan G believes that people initially resist new technology because it feels complicated but if the adoption process is intuitive and user-​friendly, there will certainly be more takers. He is seeing it in action at his current Navi Mumbai International Airport project. “At first, it was challenging to monitor new workers and effectively educate them about their tasks and that lack of guidance were resulting in a noticeably adverse impact on both our processes and the quality of our products,” he says with a worried expression. “However, once we implemented a structured approach, there has been a significant improvement,” he says with relief.

While Power Apps have improved the team’s ability to monitor awareness among the workers, Frontline Supervisors and Engineers by keeping them well-​informed and aligned with operational standards, the Apps are a robust platform too to track DRIFTS (Do Right In First Time), external/​internal NCs and walkdown findings enabling them to closely monitor and manage deviations in both processes and products. “With this proactive approach, we can identify any major/​minor discrepancies and address them promptly, effectively to keep our operations on track maintaining high-​quality standards,” says Harikrishnan with fervour.

Convinced of its success, Harikrishnan advocates tailored training and supporting individual users’ needs and skill levels to drive greater adoption. “Having influential leaders or peers to adopt and endorse technology can also help drive adoption for people often follow the lead of those they trust or admire, so encouraging leadership buy-​in would be vital,” he says. Apart from clear and transparent communication about the benefits of the new technologies, he proposes a strong feedback loop where users can voice their concerns, suggestions, and difficulties for both buy-​in & continuous improvements and incentives for early adoption or consistent use of the technology like recognition, rewards, and demonstrating clear personal or professional benefits.

He is keen to have an App that incorporates well-​timed and contextually relevant notifications to enhance user engagement and prompt timely responses. “The current product quality ratings are manual, tedious, and not very effective to capture realistic product quality, but digital Apps can make them more frequent conducted by a broader group of peers and cross-​functional teams, for better implementation and accuracy.”

A native of Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, Harikrishnan is married to Vishnupriya G, a homemaker and preparing for her Civil Services exam, and they are blessed with 2‑and-​a-​half-​year-​old son, Pranavkrishnan V. H, who’s first birthday is his life’s sweetest moment. He loves to play cricket when not driving tech adoption.

At the Navi Mumbai International Airport project, Raj Nandini Saxena is still at her first with L&T but there is no denying that she is extremely proud of the company she keeps. “L&T is truly a nation builder and no matter how complex our projects are, the world knows that “if not L&T, then who?” And even as she plays her challenging role at site, Nandini is realizing that at L&T, you enjoy all-​round development to be a complete professional.

“As I am responsible for progress monitoring and scheduling, I realized that gathering data from every corner of such a massive site was a hugely robust task relying on conventional methods, that could also result in mishandling of data,” she observes. “Therefore, I streamlined data collection by creating a user-​friendly format on OneDrive for daily updates,” she smiles, adding that later she contributed to the development of L&T TI IC’s Daily Progress Input App and even trained site engineers to use it. “This initiative enhanced efficiency and standardized our project control processes,” she assures.

Streamlining App usage had its hiccups like resistance to change, network issues, frequent user changes, and mapping activities. To overcome these the team held trainings, weekly reviews, and ensured that the Section In-​charges monitored progress through the app.

Nandini attributes her success in good measure to her seniors and team members. “Their involvement made it easier for me to coordinate with the site team, ensuring steady app development and smoother implementation.”

From Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, Nandini’s family comprises her father, Mr. Rajeev, mother, Mrs. Anamika, and brother, Jai. “We share a strong bond and support each other in everything,” she says with feeling. “I love sports and am a national medallist in speed skating,” she beams. She also enjoys badminton, dancing & reading. She involves herself in essay writing, debates, extempore speaking and marathoning. Her parents’ pride at her joining L&T and winning her first national medal are special moments, she savours.

One of the team’s biggest challenges to implement digital solutions was network connectivity with not a single telecom tower in a radius of 10 km, forcing them to purchase an additional device to boost connectivity.

A fully charged Krishna is keen to have a special team at site to drive digital activities, a special room to conduct digital analysis and all-​out efforts to improve the awareness of both the employees and the workers about the benefits of digitalization.

A proud L&T‑ite for the kind of iconic projects that L&T is involved in like the Statue of Unity, the Atul Setu Bridge, and the High-​Speed Rail, Krishna says, with his eyes glowing, “These not only highlight our expertise but also contribute significantly to India’s growth and infrastructure.”

Hailing from Tanuku, Andhra Pradesh, Krishna is a bachelor and loves to travel & explore new places, dance and, quite predictably, learn about new technologies during his free time. Surprising his mom at home on a Mother’s Day is a much-​cherished moment.

“I love to write and read books on philosophy, as I find them intellectually stimulating,” shares G T Dhanush, who is not just a budding engineer but also an avid writer and BIS scholar, with an M.Tech. in Construction Technology and Management from NIT‑K, Surathkal. His passion for writing extends to daily journals, short poems, and various write-​ups, showcasing his diverse talents beyond his professional endeavours.

Dhanush has already made significant contributions to two major projects: the NSPR-​BIAL Project, where he began his career as a Graduate Engineer Trainee (GET), and the MGEP, where he currently excels.

Dhanush takes great pride in his role of driving technology adoption at these projects. “At the NSPR-​BIAL Project, I played a pivotal role in implementing a grade control system in collaboration with Trimble, Leica, PMO, and the site team. This initiative was crucial for the successful execution of the apron and taxiway area earthworks,” he shares. “Additionally, I led the successful implementation of PROCUBE, enhancing progress monitoring and data capture.”

Hailing from K M Doddi in Karnataka’s Mandya District, Dhanush reflects on a memorable moment when he convinced his parents to allow him to pursue a Diploma in Civil Engineering instead of medicine, as they had initially desired. “This decision,” he notes, “always calms me during stressful times, reminding me of my determination and independence.”

“At L&T, I am proud to be part of a team that builds the longest, tallest, and biggest structures,” Dhanush concludes, embodying the spirit of innovation and excellence that defines his career and contributions.

At his second project, the Meerut–Hapur–Ganga Expressway – where he has been assigned after an initial stint at the Mumbai Nagpur Expressway Project, young Manoj Vishwakarma is taking care of Package 2 and managing roughly 1,200 personnel.

Elaborating on the technology solutions adopted at his site, Manoj says, “As a part of digitalization, we are implementing WMS or Workmen Management System to manage the workers, have installed GPS on the vehicles, and use the SHEILD App to drive Safety.”

Manoj’s major challenge, since he is dealing with labour, is to enrol and capture the attendance of all the workers at his site. “We are co-​ordinating with the site team on a daily basis to get this done timely,” he remarks. Another challenge that he faces is his inability to print the experience of the workers during the screening process in the system. “While it is showing up on the screen, it is not getting printed in the hard form and that needs to be rectified,” he says.

Acknowledging the role of his seniors to prepare him for his role at L&T, he says gratefully, “My seniors have been guiding me from time to time to make me thorough in the use of the digital platforms and I have also been involving my junior team mates to ensure that they also know about our various digital solutions for use in the near future.”

After stints at three projects where he was responsible for MIS, Ajay Chouhan’s first project, the Unnao–Lucknow Expressway Project, still finds a special place in his heart. “Joining as a DET, I learnt all my skills and built self-​confidence, fully supported by my in-​charge Mr. Anil Kumar Sharma,” he says with feeling. “I was given training & responsibility from MIS to overall P&M operations.”

Currently at the Meerut–Hapur–Ganga Expressway Project, Ajay has spearheaded several tech initiatives such as a RFID-​controlled fuel dispensing system and the fuel level sensors for machinery, which have drastically reduced fuel theft, and 100% digital connectivity to monitor asset performance, all aimed to maintain operational efficiency, minimize losses, and ensure timely delivery.

“Yes,” he nods that there have been hurdles to implementing the tech-​driven initiatives at his project sites, “but,” he adds with a smile, “these challenges also presented opportunities for growth and innovation,” ear-​marking resistance to technological change and integration of new technologies with existing systems as two of the biggest hurdles. Training, learning programmes, stronger collaboration with technology providers, and increased involvement of stakeholders in the adoption process, he believes, will reduce resistance to new tech and ensure that solutions meet the practical needs of all users.

“One new technology that could significantly improve project efficiency and resource management is the implementation of IoT-​enabled predictive maintenance systems for our machinery and equipment,” shares Ajay thoughtfully. “With sensors embedded in machinery, we can continuously monitor condition & performance and collect real-​time data on various parameters, which can then be analysed using machine learning algorithms to predict potential failures before they occur.” He is convinced that data-​driven decision-​making will minimize unplanned downtime, optimize maintenance schedules, and improve asset utilization, safety, & reliability.

Ajay hails from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, and his hobbies are playing volleyball and reading tech updates. “I make it a point to spend at least half an hour every day to stay up to date on fast-​evolving technology,” he says with a thumbs-​up. Being selected at L&T is his most memorable moment, with his sister’s wedding a close second. The Company’s unwavering commitment to innovation and technological excellence is what makes Ajay most proud to be an L&T‑ite. “L&T has always been at the forefront of embracing cutting-​edge technologies and integrating them in its projects, setting industry benchmarks for quality, efficiency, and sustainability.”