Multi-Faceted Transformation

SN SUBRAHMANYAN reveals the many faces of transformation as visualised by L&T Construction for the infrastructure industry. A fresh dawn is breaking for the country with the formation of the new government at the Centre, which is creating a ground swell of positive sentiments and ushering in hope across the board. This augurs well for the economy and there are already obvious signs of recovery. The renewed emphasis on infrastructure development is heartening and bodes well for the industry as a whole, particularly the construction sector. In such an emerging scenario, it is imperative for us at L&T Construction to keep getting the basics right. The past couple of years have been crucial because in a tough business scenario, we followed some primary growth mantras like re-structuring the organisation, widening the spectrum and scope of projects, focusing our efforts in new geographies, creating a trained labour force, maintaining a robust risk management process, successfully embracing new technologies and improving the supply chain. These have collectively yielded good results and enhanced our operational efficiency. The focus going forward will be to not only keep these good things going but also to further enhance their delivery. Organisational re-structuring Specific business verticals have been institutionalised within the organisation to focus more sharply on our core competencies, be more competitive and better aligned to customer expectations and requirements. With complete empowerment, each vertical has grown into an independent business with execution and delivery tailored for its particular line of operation. This has resulted in superior project management, enhanced quality and safety, cost optimisation and, most importantly, timely delivery. Widening the spectrum While our involvement in the rail sector had hitherto been confined to general electrification projects, a significant move towards portfolio enhancement has been winning the contract to develop India´s first dedicated freight corridor, which is the largest order handed out by the Indian Railways. In the realm of renewable energy, which is relatively an unchartered territory for us, we have made considerable inroads to construct some of the largest solar plants in the country. Seeking new horizons To offset the sluggishness in the domestic market, we trained our sights in the Middle East with considerable success. Our power transmission and distribution business vertical has bagged a slew of major orders in the Gulf markets, while our transportation infrastructure business vertical has landed several new projects, including the Batinah and Bid-Bid Sur highways in Oman, Al-Wakrah highway at Qatar and the Maffraq road project in the UAE. A robust organisational structure has been created in the Middle East where we have positioned the heads of the heavy civil and transportation infrastructure verticals for greater control and operational ease. Experts and specialists from these two verticals have been relocated to cover every aspect of operation. This move has resulted in two prestigious metro projects in Riyadh and Doha coming to us. From unskilled to skilled To create a well-trained workforce, we have set up eight construction skills training institutes (CSTIs) across the country. We have also dedicated HR for labour, and close to 4,000 unemployed youths from villages are trained and converted into skilled labourers annually, who contribute by improving the quality and speed of construction at our project sites. Covering risks Another growth mantra has been to put in place a robust risk management process to cover every stage of the project right from pre-bid to execution. This has not only helped us to be selective with our projects but enabled us to complete and commission projects within stipulated deadlines. Improving the supply chain For a contractor, success largely depends on the quality of his partners. Therefore, a good supply chain is crucial for flawless delivery. We have developed a wide and strong chain of suppliers both in India and overseas. Practises such as e-procurement have ensured better pricing and greater process efficiency. Embracing new technologies To remain contemporary, it is imperative to embrace new and evolving technologies and put them to work to our benefit. Our R&D Centre and Centre for Excellence and Futuristic Development work towards developing sustainable and carbon neutral built spaces. ´Srishti´ in Chennai and ´Drishti´ in Mumbai are two 3D studios, the first-of-their-kind in the Indian construction industry, where ideas are created, synergised and designs culminate in virtual reality. What the future holds Going forward, while we will take all these transformations to the next level of efficiency, the immediate challenges would be to attract and retain better talent, be able to play on our strength of ´design and build´ and win turnkey jobs with technology inputs, increase focus on mechanisation to reduce dependency on scarce skilled labour and seek more success in partnerships. People have always been our prime movers and will continue to be our prime assets. We are ready to take on the challenge of attracting and retaining the right talent from across the globe and work on larger and better projects. ´Design and build´ has been our specialisation and the focus will continue to be on taking on more projects of that kind. With an enviable track record of delivering mega projects within stringent timelines, we are well positioned to face the future. While we are making significant strides in creating a skilled labour force, the stress will also be on increasing mechanisation through the use of self-climbing formwork systems for tall structures, using precast technology for housing, micro-tunneling for sewer laying and automatic track laying machines for railway tracks. The mechanisation process is adopted at every site through dedicated construction methods and planning cells and would be instrumental in the face of labour shortage. In a changing business environment, we will be increasingly faced with the prospect of working with JVs or consortiums, especially in the overseas scenario. While there is the challenge of understanding and synthesising with the thinking and working of foreign partners, the partnership mode has the advantages of risk optimisation and shared expertise. Finally, relationships are crucial in today´s business scenario and the network of associations we have forged with existing and prospective customers as well as partners should stand us in good stead in the future. About the Author: SN Subrahmanyan, Whole-Time Director & Sr Executive Vice President (Infrastructure and Construction), Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T), is the youngest member in L&T Board and also Director on the Boards of L&T Oman LLC, L&T Ramboll and L&T International FZE. Subrahmanyan is also a member of the Board of Governors of Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC).