Supply chain management at Bogibeel Bridge

01 Feb 2019 Editorial Team

India recently welcomed one of its biggest landmarks! The country’s longest rail-cum-road bridge—Bogibeel Bridge over river Brahmaputra in Assam—was recently inaugurated, after having encountered several engineering and other challenges, almost 22 years after its foundation stone was laid in January 1997.

HCC follows the Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory system where it produces or acquires materials and products as per demand. This is a key component of its supply chain. At the Bogibeel Bridge project, the team used a combination of rail and road transport to deliver 80,000 tonne of steel plates from various parts of the country to the remote project site in Assam. The orders for extra wide plates were placed in advance as per the design of the superstructure. In this way, the team avoided any possible mismatch of material and ensured qualitative and timely execution of the job.

“The steel used in the construction of the bridge is special grade, confined to E410CBC,” says RVR Kishore, Project Director, HCC. Steel plates and sections were procured mainly from three sources: JSPL, Essar and SAIL. Of these 80,000 mt, about 20,000 mt (25 per cent scope) was categorised as ODC (over dimension cargo) and attracted special measures for transport to the project site from the sources in Hazira and Angul.

A procurement plan was made according to minimum order quantity required thickness-wise, also estimating future market price trends as the order lot sizes range from 3,500 mt to 10,000 mt. Also, for the construction of the bridge, Kishore adds, “Plasma cutting machines for the cutting of material, automated-box making machines, levelling machines and robotic welding machines were imported from Canada.”

Technology

29 Jul 2026

AI-Enabled Workflows Lift Profitability and Productivity

Organisations modernising frontline workflows with artificial intelligence, automation and real-time data are reporting stronger financial performance, higher productivity and improved employee engagement, according to a global study by Zebra Technologies and Oxford Economics.The research covered 1,000 senior leaders across retail, manufacturing, transportation and logistics in the US, Mexico, the UK, Germany, India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.In transportation and logistics, 54 per cent of companies that improved picking and packing operations reported faster operational performance, wh..

India Leads Global AI Readiness but Implementation Lags

Indian companies lead global averages across all eight artificial intelligence readiness indicators tracked by JLL, but only 19 per cent have started making changes to their workplaces, according to the JLL 2026 Future of Work Survey.The study found that 77 per cent of Indian business leaders expect AI to change their office requirements, creating a 58-percentage-point gap between awareness and implementation. The survey covered more than 2,200 CEOs, CFOs and real estate leaders across 21 countries during the first quarter of 2026.Despite concerns over automation, 58 per cent of Indian leaders..

Three WOLFF Cranes Build Riyadh Cable-Stayed Bridges

Three WOLFF 180 B luffing jib cranes are supporting the construction of two cable-stayed bridges alongside the existing Wadi Laban Bridge in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The project is being developed for the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and executed by the ICRC joint venture comprising IC Ictas and Al Rashid Trading & Contracting Company.The cranes are handling lifting operations including formwork, reinforcement, concrete placement, work platforms, surveying equipment and other construction materials. Each crane is fitted with a 40 m jib, reaches a hook height of 157 m and offers a maximum ..