Economy & Market

Change is the only constant in life, but….

Published

4 years ago

January 10, 2020

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Life is all about change, management schools run special courses on "Change", change is synonymous with progress, those who cannot adapt to the fast changing world are expected to perish, and this is true for individuals like us, for organisations, and for countries and nations as well. In fact, it has become an oft-repeated adage that "Change is the only Constant in Life"! Specially, in the last 20 years, with the advent of digital revolution in the world, change has accelerated in our lives, and also all around us, and we are having to accept and adapt continuously.

Personally, we do not like things to remain static, and love to have new and new things all the time in place of old, like new books, new movies, new clothes, new friends, new food, new places, everything new. But, at another plane, when it comes to internally changing ourselves to accept and learn new ways of doing things, for example new business processes, we resist change and tend to cling to traditions and established practices. In short, we want everything to renew and change, excepting ourselves. "Change" is a very interesting topic, it can be quite complex particularly when we transgress into behavioural aspects of change, and volumes have been, and will be written on it.

What about "change" in the context of project management? Good project managers dislike changes in the execution phase of projects. Truly, any amount of discussion and debate on changes in scope of a project is good in the planning phase, because it helps integrate the expectations of all stakeholders. But once the project execution commences, with tight accountability on time and cost of completion, we should avoid the propensity of making frequent changes in scope. In fact, in an ideal world, changes should be banned after the zero date has passed, but this cannot be implemented in actuality, because sometimes disruptive changes in technology, market, community, etc., taking place after the project has started, makes it an imperative to consider corresponding and commensurate changes in scope of the project. Therefore, we in project management parlance have designed rigorous processes for "change management", to deal with such eventualities.

Over the years, change management in projects has become a large subject, dealing with the process of initiating, recording, considering, analyzing, and approving all kinds of changes in the context of a project, small and big, be they in the areas of scope, financing, project team, implementation strategy, articulation of deliverables, contracts, et al. Professional project managers deploy very robust change management Processes to ensure that only the very deserving "changes" pass through the gate, and even if they do, these are well-documented for posterity. To refuse to even consider any change at all, can turn out to be wrong (in exceptional cases) when a great technological or market opportunity would be lost for such dogged refusal. Hence, the need for an elaborate process for change management is fully justified.

During my days in project management, we used to be very sensitive about changes. I always believed that the easiest way to filter changes proposed, was to evaluate financially (and otherwise) the benefits of the proposed change, and weigh that against its possible quantified impact on time and cost overruns, (both over the life-cycle of the project) and then take an objective decision in the interest of the stakeholders. This is nothing but simply the age old "cost-benefit analysis"! Believe me, all such numbers can be computed in all situations, with some assumptions/approximations needed on some occasions! But in all cases, we used to clearly record impact of such changes for all round awareness and to maintain a balanced perspective.

In one cement project we were doing, a very good suggestion came halfway through the project, that a few months can be saved if we were to switch to a slip-form concrete design of the pre-heater tower; as some of us will know, construction of the pre-heater is the critical path of a cement project, and three months saved there is equivalent to pruning three months form project time duration. We quickly went through the presentations by prospective contractors, and did our math on that basis, and found that these options will cost higher, but will save more in terms of time. But we felt that the difference, i.e., the net benefit to the project, was not significant enough to adopt a relatively untried methodology having some downside risks and uncertainties. However, we made it a point to capture our considerations in the form of a short report, such that in future the same technology may be reconsidered, with due preparations to manage the uncertainties. I cited this example here to communicate that it is important to consider changes proposed, but it is more important to consider the same objectively, keeping aside emotions and biases, relying on numbers.

All the examples that we broached in one of the earlier issues, on political interferences in projects, are actually major changes brought about into projects at a late stage, without adequate objective consideration, without application of any change management "gate" or processes. As we know by now, this has grievous consequences on viability of the project(s), and ultimately the stakeholders have to pay for such follies, knowingly or unknowingly. Our dismal history of public governance bears mute testimony to this painful reality.

When will this "change"? Who will "change" this malady? While we wait, as project managers, let us be sure to apply rigorous change management filters for our project. And, may be, extend this concept of evaluation also to"changes" that confront us in our lives, our jobs, our environments.

– SUMIT BANERJEE

Economy & Market

RAHSTA to showcase cutting-edge road construction tech, says NCC Director

Published

23 hours ago

April 19, 2024

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14th RAHSTA (Roads and Highways Sustainable Technologies & Advancement) Expo – India’s biggest road exhibition – will be held as a part 10th India Construction Festival 2024 at Jio Convention Centre, Mumbai, from October 9-10, 2024.

April 10, 2024, Delhi

“The RAHSTA expo will offer extensive information about the latest technology and methods for constructing high-quality roads. Currently, the challenge facing the roads industry is to uphold road quality and execute projects efficiently. RAHSTA will provide opportunities for everyone to learn about the latest worldwide technologies and equipment available, undoubtedly offering valuable insights to those involved in the roads sector,” said Vinod Kumar Yadav, Director – Transport, NCC, and former Chairman, Railway Board, while speaking during the launch of a road show – 14th RAHSTA Expo, which will be held from October 9-10, 2024, at Jio Convention Centre, Mumbai.

RAHSTA, which stands for Roads and Highways Sustainable Technologies & Advancement, is a dedicated event to the world of road construction equipment, technology, and sustainability.

“The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has constructed 12,349 km of national highways in 2023-24 – the second highest achievement! In 2020-21 a record 13,327 kms had been constructed, the highest so far. The experience of a well-constructed road is no accident but a badly constructed one can cause many,” stated Pratap Padode, Founder, FIRST Construction Council, a pioneering infrastructure-driven council focused on advancing India’s infrastructure development.

Also speaking at the launch, former Managing Director of Ashok Leyland & JCB, Vipin Sondhi, also Chairman of RAHSTA Expo Committee underscored the need for specialised platforms like RAHSTA Expo for the burgeoning road construction industry.

Ashish Kumar Singh, CGM – Finance, National Highway Authority of India; RK Pandey, former NHAI member and Member of RAHSTA Expo Committee; SK Nirmal, Secretary General, Indian Roads Congress and Member of RAHSTA Expo Committee; Prof Satish Pandey, Principal Scientist, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, Ministry of Science and Technology; Ankit Jain, CFO, Cube Highways Growth Advisors, Vijay Agrawal, Executive Director, Equirus Capital; and Subodh Dixit, Former Executive Director, Shapoorji Pallonji, participated in a round table discussion on the new BOT proposals.

The launch function at PHD Chamber for RAHSTA Expo was attended by who’s who of the infrastructure industry such Lt Gen Harpal Singh, President, International Road Federation and former Engineer-in-Chief, Indian Army; Akhilesh Srivastava, Road Safety Ambassador, International Road Federation; Sandeep Singh, Managing Director, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery; Rajesh Menon, Director General, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers; Raman Kapil, President, Tata Projects; Anand Sundaresan, Director, Ammann India; Dheeraj Panda, Managing Director, Ammann India; Rajan Aiyer, Managing Director, Trimble; Satin Sachdeva, Founder & Secretary General, Construction Equipment Rental Association; Dr Swamy, Chairman, The Institution of Civil Engineers and Dr Ranjeet Mehta, Executive Director of PHDCCI, among others.

Organised by the FIRST Construction Council, the RAHSTA Expo 2024, which will be held as part of 10th India Construction Festival, will bring together industry leaders, innovators, and stakeholders for two days of exploration, collaboration, and transformation.

Besides RAHSTA Expo 2024, the India Construction Festival 2024 will include the following:

Exhibitors can use RAHSTA Expo 2024 to showcase their construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines, and construction vehicles to a targeted audience of industry professionals. RAHSTA Expo will be an ideal platform to connect with key decision-makers, generate leads, and grow business in this rapidly expanding market.

Contact:

For exhibitor enquiries (for RAHSTA Expo), contact Mr Sujoy on Mob: +91 86577 95881, or Email: sujoy.g@asappinfoglobal.com

For delegate enquiries (for conferences), contact Mr Amar on Mob: +91 86524 93000, or Email: delegate1@asappinfoglobal.com

Economy & Market

RAHSTA will drive road construction innovation: Sundaresan

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2024

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April 10, 2024, Delhi

“We believe RAHSTA is the ideal platform for our presence, and we are confident in our participation in the upcoming expo scheduled for October,” said Anand Sundaresan, Director, Ammann India, while speaking during the launch of a road show – 14th RAHSTA Expo, which will be held from October 9-10, 2024, at Jio Convention Centre, Mumbai. RAHSTA, which stands for Roads and Highways Sustainable Technologies & Advancement, is a dedicated event to the world of road construction equipment, technology, and sustainability.

Sundaresan added, “We predominantly specialise in road construction machinery, such as asphalt plants, concrete batching plants, pavers, and rollers, among others. Additionally, we offer ancillary equipment like supers. With the government placing significant emphasis on infrastructure development, there is a substantial demand for road construction machinery. Particularly noteworthy is the growth witnessed in the last year (2023-2024), with a surge in orders. Moreover, the construction of airports is underway, necessitating equipment for runway construction. We perceive immense potential and opportunity for growth within the industry.”

“The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has constructed 12,349 km of national highways in 2023-24 – the second highest achievement! In 2020-21 a record 13,327 kms had been constructed, the highest so far. The experience of a well-constructed road is no accident but a badly constructed one can cause many,” stated Pratap Padode, Founder, FIRST Construction Council, a pioneering infrastructure-driven council focused on advancing India’s infrastructure development.

Padode was speaking at the launch of a road show – 14th RAHSTA Expo, which will be held from October 9-10, 2024, at Jio Convention Centre, Mumbai. RAHSTA, which stands for Roads and Highways Sustainable Technologies & Advancement, is a dedicated event to the world of road construction equipment, technology, and sustainability.

Speaking at the launch, former Managing Director of Ashok Leyland & JCB, Vipin Sondhi, also Chairman of RAHSTA Expo Committee underscored the need for specialised platforms like RAHSTA Expo for the burgeoning road construction industry.

Ashish Kumar Singh, CGM – Finance, National Highway Authority of India; RK Pandey, former NHAI member and Member of RAHSTA Expo Committee; SK Nirmal, Secretary General, Indian Roads Congress and Member of RAHSTA Expo Committee; Prof Satish Pandey, Principal Scientist, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, Ministry of Science and Technology; Ankit Jain, CFO, Cube Highways Growth Advisors, Vijay Agrawal, Executive Director, Equirus Capital; and Subodh Dixit, Former Executive Director, Shapoorji Pallonji, participated in a round table discussion on the new BOT proposals.

The launch function at PHD Chamber for RAHSTA Expo was attended by who’s who of the infrastructure industry such Lt Gen Harpal Singh, President, International Road Federation and former Engineer-in-Chief, Indian Army; Akhilesh Srivastava, Road Safety Ambassador, International Road Federation; Sandeep Singh, Managing Director, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery; Rajesh Menon, Director General, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers; Raman Kapil, President, Tata Projects; Anand Sundaresan, Director, Ammann India; Dheeraj Panda, Managing Director, Ammann India; Rajan Aiyer, Managing Director, Trimble; Satin Sachdeva, Founder & Secretary General, Construction Equipment Rental Association; Dr Swamy, Chairman, The Institution of Civil Engineers and Dr Ranjeet Mehta, Executive Director of PHDCCI, among others.

Besides RAHSTA Expo 2024, the India Construction Festival 2024 will include the following:

Contact:

For exhibitor enquiries (for RAHSTA Expo), contact Mr Sujoy on Mob: +91 86577 95881, or Email: sujoy.g@asappinfoglobal.com

For delegate enquiries (for conferences), contact Mr Amar on Mob: +91 86524 93000, or Email: delegate1@asappinfoglobal.com

Concrete

New appointment at TMEIC

Published

3 days ago

April 17, 2024

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TMEIC Industrial Systems India, a Group company of TMEIC Corporation, Japan, has announced the appointment of Hidekazu Matsushima as the new Managing Director. Matsushima has been associated with Mitsubishi Electric FA division for domestic market in Japan since 1991 and been assigned in Industrial division in 1994, where he rolled out his mission of sales, marketing and business development of General industry (GI) such as paper, film, Oil & Gas, petrochemical, cement, food, automobile, semiconductor industries in Japan. During the establishment of TMEIC in Japan in 2003, he was assigned with the responsibility for domestic GI market Sales in Japan HQ, and then in plant and energy sales department.