OBSTACLES GALORE BUT L&T GEOSTRUCTURE SITES FORGE AHEAD!

“Since resumption, we have completed 360 piles, 17,990 cum of concreting, 1635 MT of reinforcements and 2029 MT of structural steel fabrication,” shares Sanjeevi, reeling off the numbers in a rush. “We successfully completed the vacuum pump house slab of (20 X 41 m span), 300 cum concrete with a staging volume of over 3600 cum and formwork of 1400 sqm, roof beams of 2 m depth and installed multiple EPs for further mechanical works.” The team has completed a 792 cum transfer tower foundation installed with 100 bored cast insitu piles of 600 mm dia, involving excavation at a depth of 4 m below ground, PCC, pile chipping, two lateral load test works and 114 MT of reinforcement and shutter works with waler and tie road fixing. “We have also successfully completed major pile cap foundations for the External Coal Handling System involving excavation, pile chipping of more than 250 numbers and reinforcement works of more than 450 MT,” continues an obviously excited Sanjeevi. “That we have handled a total volume of more than 5000 cum in the last two months shows our momentum and pace of works during these crisis times.”

Curing labour pains

Sanjeevi’s excitement should be seen against the backdrop of the problems the site has had to face during and after the lockdown. “End March, we had 61 staff and 501 workmen but as soon as the lockdown was announced, our workmen strength dropped to just 8,” shares Head – Planning, Krishna Karteek. “We could not restart operations when the lockdown was relaxed as our personnel were staying 15 km away from site and could not travel.” The team’s proposal ‘to construct’ new workmen quarters at site was only approved by the client in July. Chennai saw a second lockdown from 19^th June to 5^th July and steady operations only started thereafter. “Once we got cracking, there was no looking back,” exclaims Krishna. “We targeted to mobilize
600 workmen by end August but by mid-September we have already mobilized 770.”

The story is much the same for Project Manager, R Ravikumar at the Uppur project. His workmen strength of 533 (225 local and 308 migrant labour) dwindled to just 24 within a week. “Idle minds are dangerous, and we have had some unrest regarding salaries, but we have pacified them,” he informs. By the time the relaxations were announced on April 20^th, the site had 300 workmen including 42 locals, “but things were unsettled as the migrants wanted to leave. Through some concerted efforts, we increased our labour strength from 42 to 420,” says Ravikumar, obviously pleased with his team’s effort. “In the process, we completed 4,500 cum of concrete, cast around 215 precast slabs, 50 I-girders and 15 piles.”

With Project Manager, Sarasindu Datta’s team raring to re-start their activities of spillway concreting, radial gates, sluice fabrication works, and earthwork at the Runj Dam project, labour was their pain point too. “Before lockdown, our subcontracted labour strength was 120 workmen for both shifts and a departmental workmen strength of 73 workmen,” he shares. “After resumption, we were left with only 70 subcon and 45 departmental workmen. Even so hamstrung, we have forged ahead despite the monsoon and are well on the road to make up for the time lost.”

After some vigorous follow up when Construction Manager, Sreejith Menon and team finally received client permissions to restart work at the Panki Power House project, they realized that their workforce had dropped alarmingly. “With only 115 workmen available, we started with activities that were more equipment-led requiring less workmen like excavation and piling,” Sreejith points out. “We commenced civil works on pile caps only after achieving a threshold level of workmen.” By sourcing manpower from around Kanpur, they reached a figure of 247 by the third week of May.

Planning Manager, Ankur Bhadoria’s issue was that the job required skilled workmen while the locals were largely unskilled. “To overcome this challenge, we focused more on on-site training with professional supervision and our frontline supervisors rose to the challenge by getting involved to impart job specific training.

Gradually with close supervision and monitoring, we were able to train the newly inducted workmen to significantly improve productivity and get the site works running to full capacity.”

When manpower dropped in March – May, invoicing dropped by 33% too, but when manpower and activities increased, so did the invoicing. Traditionally, piling activities contribute to the bulk of the invoicing but with uncertainty about the availability of piling work fronts, Sreejith had to think out-of-the-pile, as it were. “We decided to remove internal and external heavy equipment that were costing us,” he says, “and focused on round-the-clock and weekend working to complete maximum works in the allotted time frame. We monitored the utilization of equipment, de-hiring the underutilized ones that helped reduce our overheads,” he smiles. And, he has reason to smile. “We have handed over the NDCT, Powerhouse and Absorber Foundation area, ID fan etc., collected payment for works done till July 2020 and payment for August is expected by this month-end.”

Sarasindu acknowledges the help and support of the HQ procurement team, suppliers, and vendors to procure the required supplies. “It not only helped us to progress, but also sustained us during the monsoon and now that the monsoon has receded, regular work has resumed across sectors and we are gunning for our targets at a much faster pace.” Sarasindu’s enthusiasm is infectious although he and his team have an additional hurdle of getting work approvals from Client and other government agencies. “Being a state government sponsored project involving forest and revenue department clearances over work-oriented lands, clearances have been stalled at various stages,” he laments, “but since our district has started to function normally, we are hopeful of getting more work fronts opened,” he says with his fingers crossed.

Rajaneesh and his team proposed client and third-party inspections of procured items through video conferencing, and inspection waivers with internal test reports and photographs from the vendor. Again, the client approved the proposal, and the first virtual inspection was made on 6^th June.

“Against all odds, our site team went all out post the lifting of restrictions from 20^th April and till July have invoiced for 6.71 % of the job scope,” Rajaneesh looks reasonably happy.

Going digital helps

One positive impact of COVID-19 has been the widespread embracing of the digital mode. Digital approvals, video inspections and tele-conferences have become the norm. Apart from the already established digital solutions, the Workmen Mobilization App has been heaven sent for Sanjeevi Perumal’s team, in their concerted effort to mobilize labour. “Once we place our request in the App by providing details of project, location, nature and duration of work, we receive responses from various subcontractors in less than 6 hours about their interest to do the work, their location that helps us ascertain their distance from site, number of workmen available for us to plan for transportation and the like. This App has helped us negotiate and finalize the contractors during the lockdown, arrange buses for workmen and E Passes to mobilize 700 workmen in a span of 45 days.”

Challenges continue even as the pandemic rages, but project teams are finding ways and means to co-exist with the virus and still show progress. Here is wishing them all the very best!