Building high-rises by maintaining
very tall EHS standards

Oberoi Sky City —
A much-awarded site!

The Oberoi Sky City project taking shape in Mumbai’s Borivali (Western Suburbs) is a group of 5 high-rises that will tower to 61 storeys though the more remarkable aspect of this project is the number of Safety awards it has already mopped up and undoubtedly a matter of great pride for Project Director, Vinayak Vilasrao Bhosale and his EHS team led by EHS Manager, Sharad Dattatray Mutkule. In 2017, it achieved a ‘5‑star rating in the BSC FSA Audit 2017’ (as one of auditees in a Cluster Level Audit). In 2018, the project bagged the ‘Annual EHS Trophy’ in the ‘Major Category’, achieved a ‘4‑star BSC (British Safety Council) FSA Audit’ and received an ‘Appreciation Certificate from the National Safety Council of India (NSCI)’ during their Safety Awards. In 2019, Vinayak’s project set fresh benchmarks winning the ‘Annual EHS Trophy 2019’ among residential buildings, bagging the ‘RoSPA Gold Award’, picking up ‘NSCI’s Prashansa Patra’ as part of their Safety Awards, winning a ‘special mention at the L&T Construction’s Annual Safety Awards’ for 2019 and, the icing on the cake, being a ‘5‑star rating along with BSC’s ‘Sword of Honour’ award. “Of course, our intent has not been to win awards,” smiles Vinayak, “but to keep the EHS flag flying in our project and we are happy that we have succeeded thus far.” Oberoi Sky City has also completed 15 million safe man hours in the process. 

“We have evolved a project specific EHS policy that is in sync with the requirements stipulated in the BOCW
Act 1996,” explains Sharad, “and remain committed to maintain excellent EHS standards at site with a detailed plan to drive our EHS objectives and functions.

Our EHS Management System Manual conforms to the requirements of ISO 14001:2015 & ISO 45001:2018.” The migration from OHSAS 18001:2007 to ISO 45001:2018 was critical as Vinayak shares. “There were key areas of improvement such as leadership & worker participation, opportunities to eliminate hazards or reduce risk during the HIRA process, address external hazards, manage change, etc. but with the guidance of our top management and with guidance at various levels, we demonstrated, implemented, sustained and managed EHS requirements at site as a team that is always ready to seek opportunities for improvement with agility,” he adds confidently. He specially mentions the “positive and motivational support” he received from Cluster Project Manager Pankaj Suraj Lalla, Cluster EHS Manager Shailesh Patel & other departments i.e. CMPC, P&M, Formwork at cluster as well as HQ levels in his endeavour to keep the site’s EHS slate clean.

Communication. Consultation. Participation.

Vinayak’s approach to drive safety is very simple. “To make every individual safety conscious, we have to demonstrate that we are serious about safety and my team and I never lose a single opportunity to do so.” Apart from a project specific EHS Policy, the team commits adequate resources to implement high EHS standards, set stringent EHS objectives and regularly review them for proper compliance. “We have integrated our EHS requirements to the organization’s business processes,” explains Vinayak that include formwork & rebar inspections, concrete pour clearances, daily ACS & safety screen inspections, ACS & safety screen climbing permits, P&M SOP compliances, WO/PO processes, recruitment, screening and competence processes.

Mr. Vinayak Bhosale, Project Manager receiving the Sword of Honour from Mr. Mike Robinson, CEO of British Safety Council

Sharad’s EHS strategy sits on a tripod of Communication, Consultation and Participation. “Under ‘Communication’, we have EHS induction, on-the-job and in-house training, daily toolbox and pep talks, instant safety alerts, careful recording and action-oriented monthly EHS committee meetings and, of course, the Safety app.” His mandate under ‘Consultation’ includes communication of the EHS Policy to all stakeholders, EHS considerations in WO & LOI, EHS and workmen habitat satisfaction surveys and the formation of project sub-committees. Participation is perhaps the most important aspect for the team that involves EHS walk downs, monthly committee & sub-committee meetings, incident investigations, EHS training & campaigns and participation in the HIRA process.

The issues of size and control

Driving a work force of 1,400+ to observe and maintain safety is no mean task. “One of most important management decisions we took,” shares Sharad, “was to make HIRA available in Hindi to reduce the language barrier. It was a very good move for it motivated workmen to be safety conscious, it changed their perceptions towards safety and convinced them that the management meant business when it came to EHS.”

Another challenge facing Vinayak, Sharad and team was the involvement of multiple stakeholders in the project all of whom were not under their control, though their EHS adherence was the team’s responsibility. They addressed this situation by implementing work permits, having dedicated pathways and deploying flagmen to control their influence.

All project managers have the responsibility to maintain the pace of construction to meet their business targets but those can never be at the cost of safety. To keep up with the asking rate, Vinayak and team have evolved some smart construction methods. “We found a cost-effective solution for peripheral fall protection during block work activity by replacing the conventional safety net system with a steel mesh,” he mentions. “It was fabricated at site using scrap material and since it could be easily fixed, removed and shifted by the masons themselves, it saved us the need for dedicated workmen for this purpose.” Another initiative was the introduction of fall protection inside the lift shafts during finishing activities. EHS performance is regularly monitored on a digital dashboard and “workmen satisfaction surveys regarding their camp are displayed,” adds Sharad.

Change management is a leader’s sternest test and for Vinayak and team, change has been constant adding to their list of challenges but thus far, they have held their own and as the various towers have grown taller, so also has their EHS performance.

Here is wishing Vinayak Bhosale, Sharad Mutkule and team the very best in their pursuit of EHS excellence and, of course, lots more awards and recognition.

Mr. Vinayak Bhosale and Mr. Sharad Mutkule, EHS In-charge receiving the Annual EHS Trophy from Mr. M.V. Satish