Working in his dream company on a
richly awarded project

From his college days, Swapnil Patil dreamt of joining L&T and in 2007 it came true! Proud to be part of the organization that builds nations, his first assignment was the Vadodara Bharuch Road Project in Gujarat, after which he worked on other projects like the Ahmedabad Viramgam Malia Road and Mumbai Monorail projects before being posted at the Mumbai Metro Line 03, Package 07 project where he drives EHS. “I am so happy that our project has won as many as 17 prestigious awards from the start which includes two Golden Peacock and two RoSPA Gold Awards among others,” he says with great excitement. “Another wonderful moment was when I received my 15^th year Long Service Award in L&T from HC IC leaders.”

Such a richly awarded project must be doing something right and Swapnil is quick to reel off some of its successful initiatives. “Our Raksha Ambassador involves participation from all levels of the workforce and every month we identify one workman as ‘Raksha Ambassador’ from a group of 20 and our ‘Raksha’ weekly and monthly awards programme recognizes outstanding EHS performance and has helped create a reward culture at our site.” Bar bending machines and rope-suspended working platforms are equipped with fingerprint authentication machines, model scaffoldings have been installed at every station and regular training from various OEMs are conducted for safe and proper use of equipment like gas cutting sets, electrical equipment, scaffolding systems, and more.

Some other interesting initiatives have been to identify new workmen working for the first time at a construction site to give them special training and stricter supervision, special counselling for those violating EHS systems and free HIV testing for every workman during employment. “HIV-positive workmen were unwilling to take medication due to lack of awareness, fear of losing their job or other prejudices which were affecting our productivity,” mentions Swapnil. “We have tested more than 14,000 workmen till now.”

Another feather in Swapnil’s cap is that the project has clocked 6 million safe man hours, “and we have achieved the target of 0 AFR and 0 Fatality as per the Project Strategic and Zero Harm Vision,” he states proudly. “We have consistently achieved MARS audit scores of more than 70% for the past one year and Mr. Ron Mickell (Project Manager — GC) and Mr. Parag Doshi (GC Chief Safety Expert), complimented us for maintaining excellent EHS standards on 28^th March 2023.”

From Makunsar in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, Swapnil is married to Suchita, who works in the Pharma industry, and they are blessed with a 10-year-old daughter, Smiti. “My hobbies are playing cricket, watching movies and spending time with my family,” he rounds off with a smile.

As Manager – EHS for the Mumbai Metro Project since 2018, there is a lot riding on Bappa Hazra’s shoulders. “Working in a joint venture with the Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Company (STEC) and managing an underground project have their own set of unique challenges,” he remarks. “From a people’s perspective, I am handling a huge workforce of 2,500+, much more than that at my previous project and dealing with the JV staff who are unfamiliar with our EHS standards is tough.”

Work-wise, Bappa’s challenges are new for he is contending with Mumbai’s adverse geological strata, NATM (New Austrian Tunnelling Method) and TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) activities for the first time. “Then, there are the hazards of blasting with explosives in confined spaces, digging an underground tunnel (on Class 1 hard rock) beneath 100-year-old heritage buildings and fighting the pandemic,” he sighs.

What has stood him in good stead is his close to 15-year experience with L&T, designing and constructing an underground cut and cover station and 1.5 km long twin tunnel from Dwarka to IGI Airport at New Delhi (Airport Metro Express Line) (AMEL C‑5) including a 900 m cut and cover station box followed by a stint at building the 3.2 km long tunnel from Safdarjung to the Parliament as part of the CMC-01 project.

“We have introduced several new EHS initiatives to maintain our safety record,” smiles Bappa, “like making workers identify hazards, using gas cylinder stretchers and ultrasonic testing for lifting hook welding joints for TBM‑2 heavy parts lifting and laser lights for better and safer communication.” He is proud of a well-equipped Safety Park he has put together. “All of us have also set aside 20% of our time to educate our subordinates and supervisors to maintain a sound EHS culture.”

Successful EHS is the result of teamwork and Bappa is all praise for his Project Manager, Palwinder Singh and Chief OHS&E Manager, Mohsin Anwer Naqvi, his chief mentors, and influencers. “They appreciate my efforts, motivate and inspire me with their continuous support and guidance that have created an innovative mindset, and exposed me to new and rich experiences.” Bappa is thankful to his supportive and cooperative team members too who listen and obey to set instructions and work dedicatedly to perform their tasks. His best moments at L&T were when he was nominated by Project Manager of CMC‑1, YVN Sarma for a 2‑year Project Management Course from IPM Vadodara in 2015 and being part of L&T’s first-ever EHS Conclave in 2023.

From Kolkata, West Bengal, Bappa’s better half is Panchami Hazra, a homemaker, and they adore their daughter, Shreoshi. Reading is what keeps his going when free.

Dipankar is happy that one of the tasks he has taken on as an EHS professional is to implement hot work, welding and gas cutting, with a valid permit within an LNG Terminal area. “Normally, hot work is not allowed in such a sensitive area and such permits are not easy to get but I was able to obtain it after some rigorous follow-up,” he remarks proudly. “Another step taken by our project management to drive safety is installing CC TV cameras for 24/7 surveillance.” Yet another challenge that the project team lives with is the difficulty in communication since connectivity is poor on marine jetties, beside quarries and stockpile areas.

“We have successfully overcome all these challenges thanks to the leadership and cooperation of their leaders especially Project Manager, Rathnasamy, and Safety Head, Jahirul,” says Dipankar gratefully. Proud of being a part of the L&T family since July 2018, Dipankar believes that they are a winning team. “My team members have been very helpful and supportive too,” he smiles.

On his personal front, Dipankar hails from West Bengal and his life partner is Moumita Das, a homemaker. “My hobby is to study, analyse and implement the Vasthu Shatra, an ancient home science,” he shares, with a contended look on his face.

Close to completing 5 years with L&T, Rajaselvam has worked at only one project, the KKNPP Hydro Technical Structures Project that involves both offshore and onshore activities. “I take care of the onshore P&M activities, mainly looking after tower crane erection, dismantling and electrical power supply coordination,” he shares. Though his first project, he has had a steep learning curve. “I am learning a lot of new things about P&M and cranes by doing maintenance safely in the stipulated time with regular scheduling and follow-up of maintenance of each equipment so that it runs smoothly, without any breakdowns.”

“At the site, we have about 10 tower and crawler cranes and I have to ensure that erection and dismantling activities are carried out safely by meticulously implementing the manufacturer’s recommended guidelines,” he reveals why his safety record is so good. “Normally we face wind speeds of more that 45 ‑50km/hr but work has to go on,” he flashes a quick smile, “so we keep running our cranes and boom placers continuously in such conditions by using the required number of limit switches and sensors without affecting project execution.”

Rajaselvam’s approach is to concentrate on the controllables and give it your best shot. “We conduct prestart briefings for all our crane operators, boom placer operators, mechanics, and electricians and our discussions also include safety observations of the previous day,” he shares his work ethic. “We conduct the required monthly maintenance meetings and follow up daily inspections of all P&M equipment available at site, ensuring that we close a safety observation on time without affecting the civil works.”

One of his major challenges is the vast area that he must cover over which the site is spread with P&M activities happening at some corner of the site or other, in which situation, the SHIELD safety web application is very helpful for him to follow-up about P&M related unsafe acts and unsafe conditions. Another source of help and support is his Section Incharge, Muthukumar Lingaraja (Manager – P&M). “He has good experience, is knowledgeable about P&M, is supportive and ever ready to share his experience in P&M activities in PSVB daily with all our coordinates to solve critical issues at site and motivate us.”

Rajaselvam is from Thenputhuppattu, Villupuram, is married to Rajeswari, a homemaker, and they are blessed with a baby boy, Samar Vanthan, with whom he loves to spend his free time.

“Some of my best moments at L&T are our site winning the Best Safety Award 2022, receiving a memento from my Project Director and feeling proud of having contributed to this great achievement,” he gushes excitedly.

A DET who joined L&T in August 2017, Sandip’s first assignment as Execution Engineer was to construct the cable stay bridge across the Mandovi River in Goa. “We built a 45 m long bridge of 28 spans cast in-situ working on both land and marine conditions,” he recalls. “Our finishing works included expansion joints, bearing replacement and painting.” In February 2020, he moved to the iconic Mumbai Coastal Road Project involving the construction of a temporary access bridge at the Amarson’s Garden interchange, piles, pile caps, piers and pier caps including BBS to prepare the Haji Ali interchange and 9 modules of the main 18 m wide & 50 m long bridge including BBS.

“Some of our primary challenges at the site are deploying L&T formwork staging at heights of more than 15 m and working in very confined spaces to cast the top slabs in-situ,” he shares. “To achieve our tight deadline, workmen need to work extended hours for which we have prepared places to rest at the site itself. Another big hazard is workmen taking shortcuts that lead to incidents. We do our best to educate them about how to carry out the work as per L&T’s safety standards.” Despite these challenges, Sandip is delighted that they successfully completed the CIS slab construction with cup-lock stagging at 15 m height without incidents.

“We have daily pre-briefing of works and regular hazard identification tours along with the EHS Team to prevent accidents,” he enumerates the team’s special efforts to ensure safety. “We also take into confidence all the concerned stakeholders when planning and preparing for all major CIS pours.” While CCTV cameras and drones actively monitor and supervise construction activities 24x7, the team addresses technical and operational queries of the site engineers and workmen by connecting them remotely with the designers.

“My seniors always follow the strategy to keep the site clean, tidy and safe,” he affirms, “and pushes everyone at the site to achieve Mission Zero Harm.”

About his experience at L&T, he says, “The inauguration of the Mandovi Bridge and winning the Best Quality Award as a team in 2021–22 have been some of my most memorable moments,” he smiles. On his personal front, Sandip hails from Hooghly, West Bengal, is single and loves listening to classical music, reading, watching football and different scientific research stories when free.

Om Prakash Singh

Assistant Supervisor (EHS),
Heavy Civil Infrastructure IC

Although a part of L&T from 1996, Om Prakash Singh was made permanent in May 2019 and is a proud L&T‑ite. “L&T has one of the best safety and quality cultures and standards and I am extremely proud to tell people that I am a part of Team L&T,” he declares with passion. He is equally proud of being a world record holder. “My most memorable moment was when we broke the world record in tunnelling with a large dia TBM by excavating 456.72 m in a month at our Mumbai Coastal Road Project Package IV,” he shares with his eyes shining.

Even when working as service care staff, Om Prakash was involved in several projects including the Kakrapar Nuclear Power project, the Guru Govind Singh Refinery Project, Bhatinda, the Ganga Bypass, Ludhiana City Centre, PTA Project Panipat, Manipal Engineering College, Sikkim, Baroni Refinery, HPCL West Bengal, Haldia Petrochemicals, and IFFCO Phulpur Fertilisers. “MCRP is my second project as a permanent staff having worked earlier in the WDFCC CTP 2 Packages 7 & 8,” he shares, adding that the MCRP is a tough project involving the construction of twin transportation tunnels using TBM, cut and cover tunnels, transition ramps, road works, land reclamation and more.

Although thrown into the deep end, Om Prakash is holding his own. “I was involved in all safety aspects to execute the Girgaon Chowpatty part of the project involving cut and cover excavation, ramp and road works, gantry, and tower crane erection and dismantling work, road diversions and so on,” he says, eager for the challenge. “We started special TBT along with P&M and Execution Managers prior to the start of any heavy erection and dismantling activity and my experience in refinery projects has helped a lot in the safe execution of work.” He was also involved in designing an effective training curriculum for workmen training specific to the job, “in which my first-hand experience with several projects came in handy,” he smiles.

Om Prakash attributes his success to the professional and personal support he has received from his seniors, especially Project Manager, Sandeep Singh, and EHS Manager, Sumit Hobisyashi. “They recognised my hidden potential and let me face various challenges which have carved me into such a safety professional, capable of solving most site related issues.”

Hailing from Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, Om Prakash is married to Rekha, a homemaker, and they are blessed with two daughters and a son, Neha, Roli and Aman. He loves reading during his spare time.

Rajesh V S

Manager (EHS), Railways SBG

Already into his 13^th year with L&T, V S Rajesh is happy that the company’s focus is to nurture and empower its employees. “That instills a sense of pride in us, and we feel valued and supported in our professional journey.” His assured sense of wellbeing is reflected both in the huge recognition he has won for his excellence in EHS and the several prestigious awards that he has helped his projects bag.

“I have received the Star Award twice at the Riyadh Metro project for achieving scores of 99.3% during the OH&S audits conducted by the Bechtel-led consortium,” he ticks off his wins. “Bechtel recognized us for clocking 8 million safe man hours, and I was recognized as the Best HSE Manager for achieving zero lost time injury since inception.” In addition, he has received the Environment Focus group award from Bechtel for effective implementation of 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) initiatives across the RBG’s scope of work and has consistently docked scores of 96% in the RMTC (PMC) monthly HSE audits.

After his star-studded performance at Riyadh Metro as Head EHS, Rajesh has had stints as the Mumbai Cluster Co-ordinator and at the Railway SBG HQ, Faridabad. “During my tenure at HQ, we won several awards,” he grins delightedly. Railway SBG bagged 1 Gold Medal & 2 Prashansa Patra Awards from NSCI, 23 BSA-ISA Awards, 2 BSC 5‑Star Awards, a BSC Sword of Honour, 15 RosPA Golds, 2 Silvers and a RoSPA Gold Medal to boot. “At HQ, we had a task force for the national and international award processes to support and guide the various project teams to win awards.”

Rajesh has been Task Force leader to develop a Quarterly Audit Rating Score (QARS 2.O), to assess overall EHS performance of projects through quarterly audits conducted by internal teams. “I was involved in developing and implementing the Loss & Injury Free Environment (LIFE) Award, workmen contact programmes and was a core member deputed to the Dhaka Metro Project for the BSC audit process and,” he smiles, “we won the Sword of Honour.”

According to the Heinrich Triangle, 300 unreported near-miss incidents will lead to 29 minor and one major incident and Debasish has taken it upon himself to work with the EHS team to change mindsets among the taskforce to inculcate a culture of near-miss reporting. “While all near-misses are analysed and improvement areas identified, we have introduced reward schemes for those who report the maximum number of near misses,” he shares. In a business that requires a highly skilled workforce, frequent change of manpower is undesirable. “We are proactively implementing some measures to tackle it with frequent meetings with stakeholders, citing safety as a key parameter when awarding contracts to sub contractors,” he remarks.

A native of Jeypore, Odisha, Debasish is unmarried, loves travelling, playing cricket, and listening to classical music of the 90s. “I am always proud to be a true L&Tite,” he grins.

A successful EHS professional is one who is not noticed hence though it can be a thankless profession, people like Amrit Raj find satisfaction in what he does. “Every time I finish a project with zero incidents and achieve Mission Zero Harm, it is a memorable moment for me,” he says, and it is great that Amrit has already enjoyed several such moments since joining L&T in June 2014. Presently, he manages EHS at the Underground Cabling Works Project in Kathmandu, Nepal after successfully completing three projects — BRGF West Midnapore, RAPDRP Varanasi and IPDS PESU (W) Patna, all for the UPD BU.

“Understanding is the first step of acceptance,” says Amrit quite sagely, mentioning his initiative to simplify the 180-page IMS Manual into a 6‑page flowchart. “It clearly shows the linkup of one system with another that not only enhanced my understanding but also helped my colleagues expand their knowledge of IMS. I even bagged an appreciation for it from our IC EHS Head in 2015 within a year of joining L&T,” he says, his pride shining through. To lay underground cables, which is majority of their work, the team was using a winch machine to pull the cable through with a 300–400m long wire rope sling that was very long and heavy. “I took the initiative by using a scrap cut piece of ledger pipe generated during the fabrication process to make a wire rope sling roller that could bear the weight of the wire rope sling and significantly reduce the manual effort.”

Executing a project in Nepal is a big challenge for apart from carrying out deep excavation in a heavy traffic area, the team is also representing our nation in a foreign land. “To restrict public movement, we have put up 1000 hard barricading boards, posters, use baton lights and retro reflective tapes to ensure safe operations.”

“Every risk comes with an opportunity to explore something new,” he says referring to digital solutions like the SHEILD App that is a boon for UPD projects that are scattered in nature. “It helps me in real-time monitoring, and do micro-level analysis to plug gaps.”

Amrit believes that in L&T, one is never alone. “You will always find a senior’s hand on your shoulder to support you, to make you believe that Yes, a team with a positive mindset can do miracles,” for which he thanks Segment EHS Heads Asif Inon & Rajkumar Singh Kushwaha, Project Manager, Anirban Ganguli, EHS Manager, Anand Raj and his various teams.

Since joining L&T in September 2017, Sourup Banerjee is working on his 5th project and as EHS In-charge has been facing challenges head-on and overcoming them as he builds his career. “The 400 kV M/C Vedanta-Lapanga TL Project was my first,” he shares, followed by the 765 kV double circuit Angul-Jharsuguda TL, the 765 kV D/C ERSS02 West Bengal portion, the 132 kV & 220 kV D/C and M/C WBSETCL packages. “Presently, I am working on the 132 kV & 220 kV D/C and M/C WBSETCL Package AJ, constructing transmission lines in different places in West Bengal, one in North Bengal and three in South Bengal. We have successfully and safely completed the South Bengal area and I’m currently taking care of the North Bengal Project in Alipurduar (West Bengal), which will be completed soon.”

One of his major challenges has been working in continuously water-logged areas with the ever-present danger of soil collapses. “People often fall ill with fever, cold and cough working in such conditions, so we adopted the conventional method of cofferdam while for tower erection work, prepared bamboo platforms to reduce exposure to water.” Another challenge has been working with a diversified workforce drawn from different backgrounds. “Some workers just do not want to follow safety rules or don’t listen either due to language problems or just lack of interest,” he sighs. “Our constant effort is to make them understand how to manage work safely, and train them though it takes longer to complete a small work within a stipulated time.”

Sourup is thankful for the support and cooperation of his seniors and team members whenever he faces difficulties. “They always try and give me impactful solutions based on the situations, and I have never seen any of them avoid any difficult situation,” he remarks. “We always work as a team to overcome any difficult situation and manage the work more efficiently. My seniors taught me how to solve problems and handle team members, which I always follow.”

Hailing from Howrah, West Bengal, Sourup’s life partner is Sutapa Banerjee, who is a Subject Matter Expert working at Write4U Wiring Solutions. He loves to play and watch cricket and football, watch movies, and listen to songs during his free time.

“Joining L&T as a Safety Engineer was a dream come true for me,” he shares with feeling. “Another memorable moment was winning the EHS Rolling Trophy in 2020 for my good performance in the Package AJ segment.” Proud of being a part of a Company that builds nations, Sourup is happy that L&T ensures high quality and safety standards for their clients’ projects.

Winning EHS awards is music to his ears

Having been a part of L&T since September 2017, Daniel Jeffrin’s most memorable moment was winning the Best Safety Award in PT&D IC’s Renewables Business Unit for the 25MW GSECL Solar PV Project in Palitana, Gujarat. For a musician who loves playing the keyboard and listening to songs to strengthen his music knowledge in his free time, this certainly must have been music to ears of an EHS professional.

Although just into his 6^th year with L&T, Daniel is already working on his 9^th project. His long list includes the NBPDCL North Bihar Solar PV Rural Electrification & the 2 MWp BREDA Solar Rooftop Projects, both in Bihar, the 200 MW Atha Solar PV project in Tuticorin & the Containerisation Integration Facilities, Kanchipuram, both in Tamil Nadu, the 200 MWp HFE project, Karnataka, the 25 MW GSECL Solar PV Project, Palitana & the 35 MW GSECL Solar PV with 57 MWH Bess Project, Kutch, both in Gujarat and the 20 MW NTPC Floating Solar Project, in Auraiya, Uttar Pradesh. “Presently, I am working at the 90 MW (AC) Floating Solar Project in Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh,” he shares.

Jaison’s journey with L&T has been more than satisfying for he enjoys a free hand in decision making, support to implement safety standards, and motivation to continually improve to create a good working culture. “Safety begins with teamwork that L&T supports,” he says with vigour. “Success is the fulfilment of potential, and our mission is zero harm. Safety is just not a job; it is everyone’s responsibility.”

A strong proponent of digitalization, Jaison is happy that VIEW EHS, provides a wide range in scope for inspection, incident reporting, managing man hours, planning with respect to EHS requirements, monthly activities, observations with an overview of safety violations, the opportunity to track corrective actions, and communicate better with various Safe Operating Procedures and Checklists. “These solutions help us to identify risks, prioritize, devise mitigation measures and improve overall system by analysing and understanding the IMS Requirements,” he says. “Additionally, we have more control over operational procedures, Safe Execution Card analysis and training details.”

A native of Trichy, Jaison married his wife, Nitchel Gabriella P, a B.E Civil Engineer and homemaker in 2019. “She takes care of me and my cute daughter, Katelyn Jesintha,” he shares lovingly. “Mostly, I like to spend time with them, playing and watching movies. My most memorable moment was my first day at the L&T campus and one of my dreams came true,” he grins happily, reminding us that, “the way we work determines the way we succeed.

Sabari Bhaumik has a multi-fold connection with L&T. Apart from being a part of the L&T family since July 2018, her family is an L&T family for her life partner, Abhirup Kar, works in WET IC as EHSO, both committed to maintaining high safety standards for the overall development of project team members, workers, sub-contractors, and other stakeholders. “I have implemented many engineering controls to reduce the level of risk at project sites and focus more on proactive measures,” she shares. “I thoroughly analyse project sites, machinery, equipment, materials, and processes from the start of a project to identify potential safety and health hazards and my efforts are always to boost the participation and consultation of workmen, workmen representatives and supervisors in EHS.”

Having started her journey with L&T as IMS Document Controller and MIS Coordinator, Sabari has since worked at the Ranchi Water Supply Scheme Phase‑I Project, and is presently at the Diggian Sewage Treatment Plant Project involved with the rehabilitation/upgradation of the 136 MLD (STP) on a Design, Build and Operate Basis (1‑year DLP and 15 years O&M) and additionally looking after O&M Mohali projects — Aero City Right, Aero City Left and IT City.

Roadblocks are a part of life for an EHS professional, and Sabari has had her fair share of them. “I strive to provide comprehensive safety training especially when dealing with a diverse workforce; language barriers and the high attrition rate of workmen are other challenges and to overcome them, I concentrate on effective communication and training strategies to ensure that everyone understands and follows safety protocols irrespective of the challenges,” she says, her steely determination shining through.

Digital platforms and tools have been Sabari’s allies to ensure instantaneous and real-time communication with workers, supervisors, and safety personnel. “We can promptly address safety concerns, report incidents, share critical safety information and these help us to identify and report hazards more effectively and transparently.” What’s more, data and predictive analytics have helped the team identify patterns, trends, and potential safety risks. “By analysing historical data and real-time information, we get insights into safety performance, identify high-risk areas, predict potential incidents, and enable proactive safety interventions.”

Hailing from Agartala, Tripura, Sabari loves cooking and working out at the gym. Her most memorable and proud moment was when her project won the RoSPA International Award in 2021. “We worked as a team with 100% dedication to present ours as a model site to the management,” she smiles. She loves L&T’s supportive and inclusive work environment that values diversity and promotes equal opportunities for all.

Young Bhuvanesh M is excited about the two international EHS awards, the BSC International Safety and the RoSPA Gold Awards, that his project, the Khatan Water Supply Scheme, his first with L&T, won in 2022, giving direction and pace to his aim to be a crack EHS professional. No wonder, rifle shooting is one of his favourite hobbies.

“Being an ex-NCC cadet and serving as the Contingent Senior for the Tamil Nadu NCC Directorate in the Republic Day Camp (RDC) 2018 gave me some invaluable lessons in leadership and team management,” he shares excitedly, helping him to pre-plan for activities, be vigilant about potential hazards and obstacles, maintain effective communication, continuously adopt an innovative approach to implement control measures and stay committed to excellence. A tall order, one might think, but Bhuvanesh is serious about his objectives.

However, things have not all been smooth for him since joining L&T in 2020. “My first challenge was to overcome the linguistic barrier that is essential to establish a strong rapport with the workers and the project team to effectively communicate system requirements,” Bhuvanesh points out insightfully. About his qualities, he says, “I can quickly adapt to different situations, keep a calm attitude and maintain a positive outlook to achieve the desired results,” flagging off the erection of the precast beams for the pump floor in the intake well as a ground-breaking achievement in WET IC, executed for the first time.

Being part of a team that has successfully implemented several innovative measures to uphold safety standards and foster a safety culture within the workforce and project team has already won him a lot of appreciation. “We have designed a unique EHS Hall, developed blind spot models for operators’ training, and revolutionised training using VR and AR modules,” he shares. He is delighted that his site has achieved 8 million safe man-hours, which he attributes in large measure to the ViewEHS digital solution that has significantly reduced the time required for documentation, enabled analysis of vast amounts of data, realtime monitoring of compliances at various levels and seamless accessibility to work from any location without constraints.

Still single, this native of Chennai loves travelling, trekking, and watching movies too when not aiming for continuous improvement. “L&T’s unwavering commitment to excellence, prioritization of safety and welfare for its workforce and environment, continuous focus on opportunities, challenges, self-development, system implementation, and innovation are what make me proud to be a part of the L&T family,” Bhuvanesh signs off rousingly.

Prince’s sound approach to EHS management has held him in good stead since joining L&T in August 2016, starting as EHS Coordinator for the Mumbai and Pune Clusters. “My first project was the Indore Urban Water Supply Scheme as EHS Officer,” he shares, “and then moved to the rural water supply at the Buxwaha Multi Village Water Supply Scheme (WSS). In both projects, I had the opportunity to lead the department at the site level.” Presently, at the Surya WSS, MMRDA’s (Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority) first with the Surya River, he is managing TBM & micro tunnelling for the first time.

“In tunnelling activity, our focus is to implement the emergency evacuation and communication system with a centralized monitoring system, engineer control measures like mini oximeters, digital monitoring, tracking and safely install P&M assets,” he explains. Apart from a robust safety programme, Prince is benefitting from 100% implementation of digital solutions like View EHS, Safearmz, WISA. “We also drive our wellbeing programmes for staff and workmen rigorously,” he states assertively.

“Water supply schemes are widespread without boundaries, so a major challenge is to monitor the site and handle emergencies with our defined resources,” he mentions. Tunnelling activity is being undertaken in WET IC for the first time and Prince is delighted with their initial success. “We have successfully completed 1.8 km of the first tunnel and are on the verge of completing the second tunnel that is 4.6 km long.” He flags off executing MS pipeline of major dias (1829, 2235) beside a National Highway as another major challenge.

Safety is every individual’s responsibility at a project site, but having said that, EHS works best when all are in it together pursuing a common goal. Prashanta Saha, at his Flood Protection Work Project in Kolkata is happy that all the departments work like a team. “Our team members are always ready to help each other when faced with any problem,” he affirms. “Our senior management is co-operative and help every time we need their help, and my technical head is co-operative, providing solutions whenever we face new problems.”

Prashanta’s first project after he joined L&T in June 2019 was the foundation work for the LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) tank, Dharma. After its successful completion, at his present assignment at the West Bengal Major Irrigation and Flood Management Project, located at Hooghly and Howrah districts, he is in effect executing 4 different linear projects within one, of approximately 145 km, with the same activities that include constructing a flood wall, L‑wall, I‑wall, sheet pile and Bullah pile driving, boulder pitching and road casting. “The success of this project lies in our efficient fleet management,” he remarks, “for at peak activity we handle about 165 pieces of equipment including 86 tractors, 34 excavators, 12 transit mixers and 33 self-loading mixture machines.” Routine inspection of equipment and training of the operators are critical for which the team has implemented a checklist procedure that is signed by the EHS personnel after completing their training session.

“One of our main challenges was dealing with incompetent operators,” moans Prashanta, “basically incompetent tractor drivers engaged by the vender because the maximum number of tractors are required before cultivation. It is only after meeting the vendor several times that he finally agreed to engage competent operators.” Providing PPEs to all workers, training the civil workers and introducing new technology like attaching Movax to an excavator for it to work like a vibro sinker for sheet pile and Bullah pile driving were some of his other challenges.

Since there were multiple interactions with the local people, the team introduced a Workers Gender Based Violence training, conducted by an external faculty. “To safeguard against any unsafe behaviour, we have even set up a Grievance Committee with the members being the Panchayat Pradhan, a representative from the self-help committee and the Client’s social representative.” The main target of the 26-strong committee is to solve the issues shared in the grievance forms.

Hailing from Kolkata, West Bengal and still single, Prashanta loves to play football, listen to songs and do gardening in his free time. “My most memorable moment in L&T was when my site won a RoSPA silver,” he shares with a broad smile of triumph.

After completing his assignment at MTHL, Yuvaraj’s next stop has been at the Kanupur Plastic Concrete cut-off wall project at Keonjhar, Odisha. “This is a significant undertaking aimed to holistically address the water management challenges in the region,” he says, “and primarily to prevent water seepage through the dam to safeguard the upstream area.” It involves constructing a 1000 mm thick plastic concrete cut-off wall, built strategically at the heel of the earth dam, extending all the way down to the fresh rock level, encompassing the foundation of the left embankment up to
RD 1150 m.

Yuvaraj flags off several engineering control measures and environmental initiatives introduced at the site like additional locking arrangements for the radial conveyor movement during cyclones or heavy winds at the M‑01 batching plant to ensure that the equipment remains secure and stable under adverse weather conditions. “An electrostatic discharging pit installed near the High-Speed Diesel (HSD) storage facility that discharges any accumulated static charges in the fuel bulker during fuel transfer from the tanker to the storage facility mitigating the risk of sparks,” he points out. “Aerobic decomposers installed in the workmen’s habitat efficiently convert approximately 80 kgs of food and organic waste generated daily into valuable fertilizers that are used to develop green belt areas.”

Having realized that implementing a safety culture from the beginning of a project is a significant challenge, Yuvaraj is happy with the collaborative approach at the site. He is especially appreciative of the leadership, encouragement and support of his Project Manager, Praveen Pratap Singh and EHS Head, K P Ravinath. “The dedication and active involvement of our team towards EHS have been exemplary, we have complete freedom to implement initiatives and we strive to achieve our goal of Mission Zero Harm,” he emphasises.

Born and raised in Salem, Tamil Nadu, Yuvaraj is still a bachelor. “I spend my leisure time playing cricket and badminton and love long drives to discover new cities and places.” Winning appreciation from his client for completing the MTHL project is his most memorable moment at L&T.

Naresh Chakradhar Viyyapu

Manager (EHS), L&T GeoStructure

Safely working at heights was perhaps one of Naresh Viyyapu’s early learning at the IOET Berth and Coal Berth Project at JSW, Paradip, Odisha, his first after joining L&T GeoStructure in May 2019. Managing marine piling and constructing wagon tipplers and track hoppers prepared him well for his next and current assignment, at the MSB Unit of the Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) Expansion Project, involving piling and ground improvement activities.

“Maintaining a safety culture is a major challenge,” says Naresh tightly, “especially at newly established sites.” Located at Bishnupur in Assam’s Golaghat district, the site experiences heavy rains from March to September forcing them to work in extremely muddy conditions. “During such times, it is essential to adhere to all the safety precautions,” he cautions, and assisted by banksmen, move their machinery to the designated pile locations in slippery conditions. “We have a pre-established lifting strategy prior to commencing work in the rainy season,” he adds.

At site, Naresh and team have organized a ‘Line of Fire’ campaign, focusing on work-related activities. “We celebrate a monthly Safety Day on the 1st of every month,” he shares, “focusing on a specific theme and reward workmen with motivational prizes.” The EHS team actively participates in the client’s weekly and monthly HSE review meetings and, “We regularly communicate safety observations from the PMC to the site crew, that helps in timely resolution of safety-related issues.”

“During the piling and ground enhancement work between March 2022 and March 2023, we achieved one million safe man hours without any reportable injuries and that helped us secure the EHS Trophy at LTGS in December 2022!” he shares with a punched fist.

Naresh has immense respect and gratitude for his seniors. “Our EHS Head, K. P. Ravinath provides constant motivation, while our Project Manager Nowshath Hussain A. demonstrates strong support and commitment, actively guiding the team with proactive thinking, empowering us with complete autonomy to drive initiatives and ensure active engagement of all in EHS activities,” he remarks gratefully.

Born and brought up in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Naresh is married to Anusha, and they are blessed with two sons, Chakshith and Shanvik. When he finds the time, he loves taking long train journeys and doing some reading.