POWER TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION IC
Ashwani Kumar Tyagi,
Cluster Head, AADC Projects, PT&D
Having worked across UAE, Kuwait, Germany, France and Mexico apart from India, Cluster Head, Ashwani Kumar Tyagi (AKT) does bring in an international flavour. “Presently, I am handling four 33/11 kV BBPRY GIS substation projects comprising twelve substations, 300 km + MV cabling, 10 km OHL and nine package substations as Cluster Manager involving multiple customer and consultants.”
A small efficiency improvement can exponentially impact the bottom line of large value projects and by adopting a ‘look back and learn’ approach, AKT and team are driving productivity. “Right man for the right job is so important,” remarks AKT, “because an independent assessment revealed that a number of our workmen were engaged in activities outside their skill set. While we have addressed that anomaly, at the same time, we have focused on motivating them, upskilling both our civil and electrical workmen that have reaped us rich rewards.”
Cost optimization is a sure shot way to improve efficiency and AKT has initiated several steps to prop up project financials. “We have made savings to the tune of 10-20% by encashing the benefit of repeat orders in multiple projects by negotiating on overall quantity rather than individual projects. By obtaining client staff approvals across multiple projects especially for MEP, QAQC, T&C engineers who are not required for the entire duration of the project we have saved a lot, also by upskilling our electrical and civil workmen for cable jointing, termination, staging and scaffolding works instead of paying a premium to sub-contractors, optimizing P&M hiring, reducing DG usage, reducing MV/LV cable scrap by upwards of 0.5%, reusing and fabricating scrap materials into useful items.” Approval of local vendors has brought in savings of more than 75%.
Customers and consultants seeking frequent and last-minute changes is short circuiting the construction process, laments AKT, a common practice in the ADWEA region. “Their demand for deputation of all the staff for the entire tenure of the project when there’s no need is affecting us adversely, then the ambiguity in scope of work and specs, shortage of skilled manpower and competency holders to simultaneously execute 10-15 cable routes, the enormous paperwork, procurement of NOCs and permits for cables, non-availability of local vendors, space constraints are all huge circuit breakers.”
A regular pain point at site level is the long and stretched out process for HPC approvals which AKT feels can be digitized and “to achieve our aggressive targets, the Management should allow us to execute more projects albeit of smaller value as there is immense market potential in many countries.”
Hailing for Haridwar, Uttarakhand, AKT’s wife, Shalini, has completed double masters in MBA & M Phil and is presently perusing a PhD in Philosophy and they are blessed with a daughter, Aditri. In his free time, he loves to read and travel, “mostly in the Himalayan ranges.”
Narayana Panigrahy,
Project Manager – DDUGJY,
North 24 Parganas project, PT&D
There is no doubt in Project Manager, Narayana Panigrahy’s mind that people are the prime movers at projects. “I have developed many supervisors, trainees, junior staffs to supervise the work effectively,” he shares, “so that we can complete the works safely, maintaining high standards of quality, fulfilling customer requirements and remaining within the contractual timeframe. At the same time, I have been constantly building rapport with customers so our approvals and certification of bills for payment are easy and hassle-free.”
Having started his career with L&T in 2007 as a site engineer at a project in West Midnapore to electrify remote and virgin villages, NP is presently Project Manager of the DDUGJY project in West Bengal. “The intent of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, implemented by Ministry of Power, Govt of India, through the West Bengal Distribution Company Limited, is to reduce AT&C losses, improve voltage regulation and set up dedicated feeder management for agricultural consumers.” The scope of the project is huge with several challenges as NP ticks them off, “Continuous RoW problems, acute shortage of skilled manpower, and apart from being a risky and scattered job, we only have small spans of working time as we are working through agricultural land but I have induced a sense ownership for the project amongst my subordinates,” he shares passionately. Meticulous and realistic planning involving all oncerned, being proactive and positive in thinking, identifying the right man for the right job and leading from the front have been NP’s ingredients for success.
“It’s important to commence the works early immediately after a contract is awarded by arranging 15-20% of the material and minimise time for mobilization,” observes NP, referring to a few things that he would like to change. “We should start engaging with fewer but bigger labour sub-contractors who can mobilise more workmen and increase mechanisation, performance must be the only yardstick to measure efficiency and inter-IC transfers should be allowed to ensure proper utilization of skills, technical knowhow and managerial capability.”
NP is quick to add that there is a lot going for L&T starting with “our culture and importance we give to human values,” he says sincerely. “Our EHS and quality standards and quick adoption of new technologies put us way ahead of competition. We have a free hand to operate, there is quick decision making that propels the job forward in the right direction, assuming additional responsibility is always welcome and there is no limit to growth.”
Hailing from Ganjam, Odisha, NP’s wife, Sonalika Dash is a homemaker and their daughter, Nitanshi is the apple of NP’s eyes: “my most treasured moment was when my princess was born.” When free, he listens to music.
– T.R. Priyadharsini,
Project Engineering Manager, PT&D EDRC
T.R. Priyadharsini, Project Engineering Manager, PT&D EDRC, has been doing what she likes best right from her student days, shaping excellence, “It began early when I received the best outgoing student award in college,” shares Priya, as she is fondly referred to by her colleagues. “L&T was a much larger ground, where I began my career in 2009 and as the years rolled by, opportunities came aplenty and with that my experience and expertise grew. Today, we are working to achieve excellence across diverse projects and the kind of value addition in the areas of civil and structural across PT&D projects is commendable!”
Initially, Priya learnt her ropes with the engineering of civil and structural works for various projects under the Substation BU from 33 kV to 1200 kV AIS Substations for major clients including Power Grid, NTPC, RRVPNL, UPPTCL, TANTRANSCO and other SEBs. Later, as a team member, she was part of some landmark projects like India’s first 1200 kV AIS test station at Bina, followed by another ‘first,’ the 765 kV AIS at Unnao. After her elevation to Lead Engineer, Priya has had her hands full handling the civil engineering activities of L&T’s first hybrid GIS at Jodhpur, a couple of 765 kV AISs and “L&T’s first project in the ASEAN region, the 275 kV Samalaju substation for Sarawak Energy in Malaysia.”
In her relentless pursuit of excellence, Priya believes that enhancing processes and standardising tasks are fundamental when executing large projects within stringent timelines. After taking over as Project Engineering Manager Civil for the Power Distribution BU she has quickly standardized a series of drawings for common works such as outdoor support structures, foundations, line structures to avoid multiple engineering for repetitive works. She remarks, “At the same time, we have put ideas into action to resolve bottlenecks with initiatives like precast trench sections that is now a benchmark for underground cabling works.” The advent and increased adoption of digitalization is certainly transforming Priya’s life for the better. “Automation has come with loads of advantages,” she says brightly. “It is making work easier, improving the quality of design calculations, minimizing human errors, reducing manhours, giving engineers the flexibility to focus more on optimization and less on routine works and documentation, bringing in more transparency and increasing the accuracy of BOQs.” She pauses and adds with emphasis, “these are also key first steps towards enhancing the quality of work-life.”
Looking ahead, Priya feels, “it is important to adopt a systematic approach without any deviations and no compromise on the quality of output.” At the end of day, for priya, it is the same question, ‘where did i improve today?’ that keeps her motivated both at work and at home. “with my husband, Saravanakumar also into project management, we have a collective responsibility to nurture a sense of excellence and positivity in our son, parvesh.”
B Vijayraj,
Construction Manager – Civil, PT&D
After five years at L&T during which time he was involved in six projects, on 13th March 2016 B Vijayraj got the opportunity to fly to a new destination and has ever since been busy building a powerful connection for the organization in Malaysia.
After the successful execution of two projects, Vijayraj is presently working on his third Malaysian project – Lawas Town 275/33 kV Substation, Lawas, Sarawak and his challenges are typical of building foundations of trust and credibility in a new geography. “I am working with contractors who don’t have any experience in substation civil works and therefore not only do I have to handhold them in the construction process but need to, at the same time, gain their confidence because after all we are on foreign ground,” he smiles. “Another challenge I face is to manage and improve the interface between the various stakeholders – the design team, the JV team, the client, the consultant and ensure that the client’s requirements are implemented at site. Finally, there is the cultural barrier, at least in the initial stages, especially when working with local site workmen.”
To face and overcome these many challenges, Vijayraj sticks to the basics of good time-tested and proven construction practices to win the day. “I motivate our contractors to perform better in a new area for them – substation civil works and I also drive safety and quality with them and with the workmen to meet L&T standards.” He then reels off a list that all project engineers follow religiously at site – prioritization of activities, planning & analysis, organizing, monitoring, controlling and driving improvements.
“In fact,” he quickly adds, “drone photos and videos are helping greatly to improve our efficiency in terms of planning and site monitoring.”
“Of course, digitalization has gone beyond Indian shores,” he grins, “and we have adopted several digital solutions like closely monitoring the project’s critical path through Primavera (P6 Schedule), work closely with the client to gain his confidence with our reports, dashboards and daily monitoring of the 4Ms – manpower, machineries, materials and, of course money.”
He is convinced that the ‘human asset’ is an organization’s biggest asset and “to improve efficiency it is important to have more motivational programmes like awards and recognition at all levels and programmes to develop competencies. With people as our core strength, the digital drive and motivation from the management we should go places.”
From Salem, Tamil Nadu, Vijayraj’s wife, D Nadhiya, is a homemaker and they have two daughters, V Sriya and V Vaishali. “My annual holidays with my family are great and when I find the time, I don’t mind a game of badminton,” he smiles.
“Another challenge I face is to manage and improve the interface between the various stakeholders – the design team, the JV team, the client, the consultant and ensure that the client’s requirements are implemented at site. Finally, there is the cultural barrier, at least in the initial stages, especially when working with local site workmen.”
– Jerome Johnson,
Manager, Central Planning, PT&D IC
Jerome Johnson, Manager, Central Planning, PT&D IC, has the satisfaction of pursuing many goals and achieving many of them since he began his innings at L&T as a GET in 2011. “What keeps me charged is the fact that whatever be the situation, working towards the goal is the key.” Sharing an interesting anecdote from his recent vacation with his wife Florina, he says, “During one of our long and challenging treks in Bali, there was a point of time when we wanted to give up but the dedication to see the waterfalls pushed us and the moment we reached the Senkumpul falls, we were in awe of its beauty. It reminded us that however much we fall in life, if we have a goal, the result is going to be blissful.”
Getting specific about his current role that has many such delights, Jerome shares, “We worked on a stringent timeline of one year to develop and implement a first-of-its-kind digital tool in the construction industry for Planning, Reviewing and Assisting Projects to Improve called ‘PRAPTI’ to integrate a real time decision support system.” Today, this application is a game changer, he avers. “By involving all the disciplines (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) in a single schedule with the help of analytics models we are able to indicate the department or discipline that is causing delay in a dynamic project environment.”
Looking back from where it all started, Jerome traces his growth path, “I started off as a site engineer for a 220 kV Substation at Qatar, then moved to contracts where PT&D bagged the then single largest order from Kahramaa for Phase 11 works and then a stint at a sewage water treatment plant.” Jerome graduated to the big league of project management when he became planning engineer for 17 substations under the Phase 11 Project and 5 substations under the Phase 11 Addendum project. “I acquired the skills to improve efficiencies by listing down all the activities for the substation project and understanding among which were critical activities that drive project completion. We accelerated those critical activities alone instead of the non-critical ones and achieved our end goal.”
When developing larger digital platforms, we have included many such initiatives that are reaping rich benefits, shares Jerome proudly. “Users can now see the critical path along with its activities and accelerate for faster completion of the project with minimal resources. And for process enhancers like me it is all about standardisation of information that is key to driving goals home.” With PT&D prepping up for a quantum leap through its digital initiatives, Jerome has his hands full, a challenge that is inspiring and enriching for him.
With his wife, Florina, a data scientist, there is plenty to discuss for this engineer-couple but for now, they eagerly await the joy of their life, their first child!
Abhishek Singh,
Construction Manager (Electrical), PT&D
Construction Manager, Abhishek Singh’s father, Sanjiva Kumar Singh, is a banker by profession who would have positively influenced him to perfect the art of building assets and with the successful execution of the Lucknow Metro project, Abhishek has delivered handsomely. “As Project Coordinator, it was my responsibility to oversee all critical aspects like monitoring project performance, its financial health, mobilization and demobilization of resources, control costs, approve suppliers, drawings, GTPs, manufacturing quality plans, ensure timely deliveries, manage all stakeholders, especially the end customer and consultant with whom I regularly interacted to resolve and mitigate risks.” A tall order for a ten-year-old in the industry but Abhishek enjoyed the challenge calling it a “unique opportunity.”
A GET of the 2010 batch, he started as Project In-charge, then was Planning In-charge for the Tata Jamshedpur Projects, thereafter MIS & Project Coordinator for the Tata Projects in Jamshedpur and Kalinga Nagar, was EA to a senior EVP before getting on board the Lucknow Metro project. “We had several challenges: tight timelines, stringent specs, RoW issues, preventing damage to existing utilities during underground EHV cable laying, vendor approvals, manufacturing clearances of critical materials, installation and erection works in public areas, shortage of skilled resources.” He rubs his hands almost as if readying for battle. “We faced all these issues head-on and won,” he laughs.
“Precast boundary walls, drains and cable trenches speeded up construction,” Abhishek shares about steps to improve efficiencies. “We analysed and mapped the demand for critical material like cement and steel to reduce inventory costs, developed key stakeholders to quicken the approval process, identified and developed key sub-contractors in time, adopted JIT (Just In Time) for delivery of materials, planned better to solve RoW issues, maintained a positive cash flow and realized our retention payments phase wise.”
“We monitored the project real time through online cameras – OpticVyu,” mentioning the rewards of digitalization. “Quality and Safety Apps detected abnormalities to instantly attend issues. We managed the online store with cameras and workmen attendance was marked with biometric and their bank accounts linked with their Aadhaar cards.”
The best way to learn is from our own mistakes and those committed by others, he shares. “We face so many critical issues and that knowledge and learning should not be lost but documented for future reference. I am also keenly involved in retaining fresh talent and have successfully persuaded several GETs to stay put and grow with the organization.”
Pursuing his post-graduation in an Executive Management Program, he has little time for hobbies but still loves to read, listen to podcasts and to the music of Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd, Indian Ocean and take long drives.
– Pooja Javali,
Assistant Manager – Civil, PT&D
“If I had my way, I would like to mandate and encourage the adoption of new and emerging digital solutions,” states Assistant Manager – Civil, PT&D IC, Pooja Javali, literally living her new role as Digital Officer (DO) from September 2019 for the Transmission Line (TL) business unit. “I am the coordinator for SPEED-2 and BODHI initiatives of the IC and responsible for the development of all Digital solutions and OPEX initiatives.” Pooja started off as a Contracts Engineer in the TL BU Contracts team, then was MIS coordinator and Executive Assistant to the BU Head and thereafter, Project coordinator and MIS for a Task Force project valued INR 1400 Crores – ERSS XVIII before becoming a DO.
“Since our projects are all of a cross-country nature, most of our issues pertain to terrain and accessibility of locations,” shares Pooja. “Then there are the matters of Right of Way, subcontractor management and safety.” One thing that helps Pooja in her role as DO is that digitalization is so aggressively top-driven that Pooja can go with the flow, though as she says, it has not been easy to implement the slew of digital solutions that have already started making a difference to the business. “We use ALIGN, Geospatial technologies, VR safety training for workmen and supervisors, Quality Incident Reporting (QIR) app to monitor and report quality incidents, an EHS app to monitor and report safety incidents and violations, T-trax that tracks tower material from factories to sites using RFID, WISA that stands for Workmen Induction & Skills Application, personal tracking of safety stewards through GPS, installation of IoT in factories – to improve OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) and remote monitoring of stringing machines through IoT.” She stops to catch her breath. “We have also initiated development of VR modules to train our factory workmen on safety aspects.”
Her wish list is long for she would like to improvise and modify the sub-contractor billing system, encourage paperless offices and bring in a system to test the skills of employees and workmen on a regular basis. “I love the fact that new ideas are always encouraged by senior management, we are rewarded for our innovative ideas, there is thrust on mechanization at various stages of construction and, most importantly,” she smiles, “digitalization is recognized and given due importance as a tool to enhance operational efficiency.”
Pooja’s is an L&T family as husband, Sushil Chand Gupta, is Assistant Manager-SCM at L&T Construction. “I like reading and travelling,” and giggles that her most memorable time were her school days.
