ecchelmet Heavy Civil projects cement their
commitment to EHS
An organization’s success depends significantly on how well EHS is driven at ground level. At Heavy Civil Infrastructure IC, several projects have taken concrete steps to drive their EHS agenda at sites, towards creating a greener, safer tomorrow.
One Workman, One Plant
‘One Workman, One Plant’
The ‘One Workman, One Plant’ initiative at the Lower Kopili site aims to plant more than 500 saplings during the Safety Month to achieve the yearly tree plantation target and reduce carbon footprint. Saplings of Guava, Amda, Neem, Mango, Agar wood, Manipuri Sem, Bogipoma, Krishna Chura, and Radha Chura will be distributed by the site team to all subcontractors and staff to plant and increase the green cover at the project location.
Equipment will only start if punched by authorized personnel
Cranes, dumpers, and transit mixers at the Delhi Metro DC 09 site can only be operated by authorized personnel thanks to a biometric punch machine that has been introduced in all machinery, fitted to the equipment’s dashboard, into which engineers can feed in details of authorized operators. Unauthorized operation of equipment is eliminated because the machine will not start in the event of any unauthorized punching. The punch machine records who started the equipment, and the start and stop times are uploaded to the cloud. This real-time reporting has ensured reliability
in equipment usage.
‘The ocean takes care of us. Let’s return the favour.’
Coastal cleaning programme
With this theme, the Vizag Vessel Project teamed up with the Greater Vizag Municipality Corporation to clean the Vizag shoreside. A coastal cleaning programme was organized to spread awareness among the people about the effects of marine pollution, which saw about 110 employees and their family members gather at Sagar Nagar Beach
on 18 December 2022. The cleaning crew collected and removed several nonbiodegradable items from the beach.
A programme to protect the eyes
Campaign on eye awareness
The Thane Creek Bridge III project team, through risk assessment and observations, identified that the workmen at site are vulnerable to eye injuries. Nailing, chop saw activity to cut the binding wire, grinding, and concrete chipping are all activities that pose a risk of flying objects. Activities such as welding and gas cutting have a risk of radiation, while those like applying curing compound, mixing paints, and working with chemicals in the lab involve a splash risk. To raise awareness about the importance of protecting the eye, employees and workmen were sensitized to the different ways in which the eyes are prone to injuries. The site also announced a list of mandatory eye-protection areas and the type of eye protection equipment required to be worn in these areas.
Recycling concrete waste generated by transit mixers
Recycling of concrete waste
The wash being drained out from transit mixer operations contains concrete waste, which can be recycled.
The Thane Cheek Bridge III project team therefore fabricated a recycling tank (3.5 m × 1.75 m × 1.5 m in size) with the top fitted with two tiers of mesh (i.e. from the top, at a distance of 400 mm, an 8 mm sieve is installed; below that, at a distance of 300 mm, another sieve of 4.75 mm) to collect coarse aggregates. The tank was installed with a shuttering vibrator that operates with an air compressor and a drain point connected to a sedimentation tank.
The concrete waste is drained on top of the recycling tank. Coarse aggregates settle on either of the meshes depending on their size, while the residue of the slurry passes to the sedimentation tank through the bottom of the recycling tank. The advantages of this measure are manifold reduced concrete debris, recycled aggregate reused for PCC concrete (temporary work, stanchion base) and for dry mix concrete (temporary road work), for backfilling a waterlogged area in the vicinity, and recycled water reused for dust suppression.
Reusing waste stone for reclamation
At the Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) site, the quantity of blastedout or excavated boulder from cut & cover was huge. Initially, the excavated stone was to be disposed at a designated location some 60 km away from site.
Reuse of waste stone for reclamation
However, after thorough quality checks, the quality team confirmed that the material could be utilized for reclamation at MCRP-4 and MCRP-1; however, size was an issue because while the size of the blasted material was 0–700 mm, the required quality for reclamation was 0–100 mm. For reusing, the stone had to be crushed to the required size. After obtaining NOC from the client and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), a mobile crusher plant (orange category) was set up at site for this purpose.
Recycled sewage water keeps tunnelling operations going
Slurry preparation contributes to more than 60% of water in tunnelling operations, which require a large quantum of water every day. During the peak summer months of April and May, it was difficult to get the required amount of water due to low water levels at nearby sources. When the scarcity started to affect progress, the MCRP-4 team began searching for other water sources – which proved to be difficult, as the project is in a coastal area.
Using recycled water for tunnel slurry preparation
Exploring the feasibility of using treated sewage water instead, the project team’s search revealed that a couple of sewage recycling facilities were situated within 6–7 km from the project location. After analysis and confirmation from a tunnelling expert, the team decided to get the treated sewage water from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai’s (MCGM’s) sewage treatment facility through tankers. From May to June 2022, 1.3 crore litres of recycled sewage water were used for slurry production, whereas the total water consumption of the site was 61,479 KL for that period. Therefore, 21.37% of freshwater consumption was replaced with recycled water – a huge environmental achievement that supports L&T’s ESG goals!
100% harvested rainwater being used in batching plant and for civil work
With an abandoned quarry nearby their location, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link Package 3 project team realized that they could tap into a precious natural resource. After testing the water from the quarry to meet IS 456 standards and at an NABL-accredited laboratory, the water was certified to be suitable for construction. The site presently utilizes 100% of the harvested rainwater in the batching plant and for civil work, including curing, cube testing, and more. Approximately 34,700 KL of water has been used in batching plant operations, translating to around ₹52 lakh in cost savings, in addition to the ground/river water saved by using the harvested rainwater.
Utilizing harvested rainwater
Restriction of CO/CO2 emissions by reducing diesel usage
Digital Fuel Management System
At the RVNL Package 2 site, the following measures resulted in a reduction of CO/CO2 emissions:
Note: The above quantities are based on the HSD analysis for the month of November 2022.
Not only have these measures helped achieve a total saving of 4,60,700 L of HSD and reduction of 1,211 tons in CO2 emissions, but the fuel savings (EB vs DG usage and fuel pilferage) of 4,11,700 L of HSD have resulted in a cost saving of ₹3.70 crores!