“DETAILED PLANNING IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE”
Rajendra Kumar Modanwal
Assistant Construction Manager (S&T), Railways SBG
“It all began when I joined L&T as a DET in 2011,” narrates Rajendra Modanwal, sharing about his career marked by numerous significant assignments, starting with the SEL and Balco Projects, followed by stints at the Rajpura Thermal Power Plant, the LSGC, MPGC, and MPL Projects that cumulatively gave him invaluable experience. “Currently, I am at the RVNL BTT-ARJ Package-2 Project, busy planning all the S&T work within the old formation in detail, to enable the team to perform location foundation and cable laying work at an early stage, significantly expediting the project progress and delivery.”
He is especially proud of his efforts at the MPL Project where his team collaborated with GGT & Siemens to comprehensively quality test all the components, resulting in cost savings. “We ultimately convinced them to revive the existing Westrace Mark-II system, and I convinced both the client and the Railways staff to utilize the existing old station building with some modifications.”
To minimize the workload during the pre-NI & NI stages at the RVNL Package-2 site, Rajendra and his team strategically replaced the SRJ switch point machine with new ones, to streamline the S&T processes. “We meticulously planned every S&T activity, focusing on resource and material availability that was crucial in ensuring a seamless pre-NI & NI phase,” he adds earnestly.
During the S&T foundation and cable laying near the old formation, he acquired special permission from the Railways, tracing various obstacles with a locator to avoid damage. “I like to break down large tasks into smaller chunks, for it is easier to know where to start,” he shares his work style. “Detailed planning is of utmost importance to ensure that the project runs smoothly.” He is thankful for the automation tools at his disposal that bring in efficiency, leaving him to focus on more complex and value-added activities.
Grateful to his seniors and team members for their part in coordinating with the client to finalize vendor agreements, he says, “Their feedback and encouragement have been instrumental in our collective effort to drive S&T progress and succeed.”
Hailing from Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, Rajendra’s better half is Madhavi Gupta, a student and homemaker. “I come from a close-knit and loving family,” he relates. “My father has instilled strong values of hard work and perseverance, and my mother has given unwavering care throughout my life,” he shares emotionally as he signs off. “I value spending quality time with my loved ones, and I have a few hobbies that I enjoy during my free time, such as playing cricket, reading books, and watching movies.”
THE SECRET TO A SUCCESSFUL
PROJECT IS A HAPPY CLIENT
Aditya Vikram Chopra
Assistant Manager (Civil), Railways SBG
After starting his journey with L&T, first as a Site Engineer and then as Planning Engineer at the WDFCC CTP 3R Project, young Aditya Chopra, presently at his second project, the RVNL BTT-ARJ Package 2 Project, is quickly learning that a happy client equals a successful project. “Of our several unique initiatives to drive progress, the one that stands out is to develop a relationship with our client, RVNL, at an early stage of the project, that has allowed me to start early invoicing even before formation was handed over to us,” he shares.
He agrees grimly that RVNL was a difficult client to handle, who descoped a portion of their project even before mobilization. “Initially, they were completely inaccessible, but gradually we built trust and improved coordination,” Aditya observes. “I helped to create a proper channel of communication and documentation and created a project email ID instead of the client’s official ID for communication to flow through the proper channel and avoid nonofficial methods of communication like WhatsApp.”
Delay in handing over formation adversely impacted progress, cashflow and invoice collection. “To address this, we maintained constant communication with the client about our issues, that put pressure on them to respond and find solutions,” grins Aditya. Additional material required for execution was ordered in lots to ensure proper invoicing and cash flow.
Aditya is involved in achieving the project’s financial targets by planning all the invoicing activities well in advance that can be completed and invoiced in specific months. “We try to order material when the price variation indices are at the maximum to maximize our PV,” he points out. “I have submitted various non-scheduled items which were initially not a part of our contract and got them approved by the client to increase our sales.” By coordinating with the SCM team, Aditya has ensured the timely availability of material at the site that is properly received, documented, inspected, and approved by the client.
He is all praise for his “fantastic team of seniors and colleagues” who have been invaluable to his professional growth and success. “Project Manager Rayapureddi Sudheer has been especially important in my career and my guiding star; a constant source of motivation, encouragement, and confidence and the rest of the team has been very supportive and helpful,” he says with gratitude.
A native of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Aditya’s life partner is Abha Ghai Chopra, a teacher. Meeting her for the first time and joining L&T are some of his life’s best moments. “One of my favourite hobbies is numismatics, the collection of coins. I have been collecting coins for 12 years, and my collection includes some very old Mughal-era coins and modern ones, signifying some of our country’s important events,” he says, proud of his passion.
PLANNING, TO STAY AHEAD
Vipin Kushwaha
Senior Engineer (Civil), Railways SBG
Having just celebrated eight years with L&T, Vipin Kushwaha is happy with the opportunities he has had and considers L&T an ideal platform to perform, learn and develop himself. “I joined as a DET in EDRC Faridabad in the Railways electrical team, being part of the SP/SSP design and drawing team,” he shares. A few months later, at the OPGC-Merry Go Round Railway Corridor Project, after being initially rotated across different domains, “I was deputed to the Planning Department to look after engineering coordination, client and subcontractor billing, MIS, ERP modules, productivity & cost monitoring, and project documentation.” Quite a handful, but certainly it was a great opportunity for him to earn his spurs.
Presently, at the BTT-ARJ Railway Doubling Project, Vipin has been involved from inception. “I have been deputed to the Planning Department and am looking after vendor billing, MIS, work & rate analysis, coordinating for the project’s proposals, WO/PO preparations, contractual correspondences, claims, and monitoring the project’s financial parameters such as RCV, JCR, and PV.” Another handful, but Vipin is holding his own, attributing his success to his Project Manager Sudheer Rayapureddi and Planning Head Ravi Mehrotra’s support. “They have made me believe in the thought process of all my colleagues, irrespective of cadre or experience, that has given every individual a platform to perform, confidently and energetically,” he says rousingly.
This enabling environment has helped the team overcome the initial client-caused delays handing over the formation in bits and pieces. “With efficient and strategic work planning with the execution team and site management, we broke down the works into minor patches, activities, and priority tasks, allocating them to different vendors to initiate the work in the available formation within the budgeted time and cost,” he shares their MO. Negotiating with multiple vendors for several activities is another of Vipin’s key responsibilities. “Our aim is to initiate the works keeping our delivery lines in mind. I have multiple meetings with different vendors going into minute details to anticipate ground-level challenges.”
Another smart ploy has been to target high-value items with short delivery timelines to maintain the project’s cash flow such as the supply of ballast that constitutes almost 28% of the project value. “By ensuring timely approvals of proposals/HPC approvals, POs and maintaining the cashflow of the ballast, we have been able to maintain our cashflow,” he smiles reassuringly.
A native of Sonipat, Haryana, Vipin’s life partner is Monika Rana, a homemaker, and his favourite pastimes are reading and cooking, for which he, unfortunately, finds little time. “My first salary at L&T is one of my top memorable moments,” he signs off with a broad smile.
“I am a diligent and determined individual who thrives on challenges, deeply passionate about my work, pride myself on being transparent and straightforward, striving for integrity and fairness in all my interactions,” is Shahnawaz Alam’s selfintroduction. With these values he started an exciting journey with L&T in 2015 as a DET at the WDFC (EMP-4) Project handling OHE (Overhead Equipment), describing it as, “My toughest project.” He handled a large amount of OHE foundation, mast erections, wiring and worked with a 25,000 V power supply. “We successfully completed 120 rkm of railway electrification work, including a Traction Substation, a Sectioning Post, three Switching Station Platforms and an Anchor Termination Point before handing over the project,” he says with obvious satisfaction.
In 2021, he moved to his current preoccupation – the BTT ARJ Project – where his focus is to commission two priority sections:
Indara–Keriharapur and Aunirhar–Sadat. “To accelerate progress, we have implemented some special and unique initiatives by finalizing the OHE drawings to initiate the OHE foundation and mast erection work early,” he points with a sense of urgency. “We meticulously microplan each OHE activity including manpower and materials availability, both before and during the NI stages.” A huge safety concern is that the project runs parallel to the busy Indian Railway (IR) line and much of the OHE work activities are being executed during specified power and traffic block periods, for limited periods of time granted by the IR authorities.
“During critical OHE work activities such as OHE wiring, bracket adjustments, OHE modifications, and ATD adjustments, we take extra safety precautions like using a 25 kV discharge rod, anti-fall arresters, full-body harness belts, and a prominent flag as visual indicators at the site,” shares Shahnawaz, proudly adding, “I played a crucial role in developing the OHE mast reverse deflection measurement process, to accurately determine the grouted OHE mast reverse deflection at site.” He has also created an OHE Progress Master Sheet, to consolidate data on OHE work activities for the entire project facilitating daily progress monitoring, aiding sub-contractor and client billing, and provides a secure backup for comprehensive record-keeping.
About his personal journey, he shares that during his early days, when having to grapple with challenges his seniors helped him hone his skills to effectively manage such situations. “Here too, I faced complexities in deploying subcontractors, maintaining client relations and work in the power block, and again my seniors, with their invaluable support and guidance, helped me surmount the obstacles.”
A native of Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, and a member of a large family of 8, Shahnawaz’s partner in his life’s journey is Shaheen Praveen, a homemaker and his hobbies include cricket and books.