OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2010 VOLUME - 12, ISSUE 4

Shapoorji Pallonji Exhibiting 145 Years of Construction Excellence

Our gallery, of course, is the globe

The Imperial, Mumbai

We@Shapoorji Pallonji Corporate Magazine

The Seat of Government, Accra, Ghana

Park Tower, Dubai Head Office Annual Day Celebrations

International Strategy Conclave at Dubai

An Overview of Damac Park Towers

European Holiday Travel Log

145 years, 20 sectors and over 22,000 employees

The Shapoorji Pallonji Group continues to grow stronger
Construction & Real Estate
Residential Buildings & Townships l Commercial Complexes
IT/ ITES l SEZs l Hospitals l Hotels l Multi Storeyed Towers
Happy
New Year
Metro Stations l Plants for Steel, Power & Automobile
Infrastructure
Ports l Jetties l Wharves l Roads l Bridges

2011
Tunnels l Expressways l Toll Ways l Transmission Lines
Other Businesses
MEP Services, DG Sets, HVAC l Facades & External Cladding
Business Automotion l Desalination Plants
Interiors & Fitouts l Water Purifiers & Vacuum Cleaners Shipping & Logistics

A Legacy of Landmarks

www.sp-group.co.in
DESIGNED AND PRINTED BY 3BF

Editorial Team
Mukesh Rao
Prabal Kansal
41/44, Minoo Desai Marg, Colaba, Mumbai 400 005. Saurabh Chaturvedi
Tel:+91 22 6749 0000 • Fax:+91 22 6633 8176 Prashanti Kutty
Email: we@shapoorji.com
Disclaimer: We@SP is for private circulation only. The views and opinions expressed or implied herein are of the contributors and may not necessarily reflect those of SPCL.
Material in this publication should not be reproduced, in part or in whole, without the consent of the editorial team.
 Editorial
Hello,
As you are reading this, we have entered another New
Year. We hope you are sticking to your New Year
resolutions. The editorial team wishes you and your family a
very happy and prosperous new year. Be happy. Keep fit.
Do good. Be generous. Donate your PL to a needy
colleague (read about the Vacation Donation Program in this
issue).
The previous year did not conclude on a happy note for
India. The nation is beset by scams and scandals on every
front. Our own sector is facing mounting problems the
paramount of which is the shortage of skilled labour. The
entire construction industry is furiously debating the solution.
The answer is skill development. We have taken the first
step by training unskilled workers as Carpenters in our sites
at Delhi, Pune and Hyderabad. Other regions will follow.
However, problems have not deterred our Regions from
taking on challenges like constructing South India’s tallest
residential tower - Mantri Pinnacle - in Bengaluru and
` 450 crore office towers project for Phoenix at Hyderabad.
In the International arena, we have entered Kenya and Saudi
Arabia. The details are given below. The recently concluded
International Strategy Conclave, featured in this issue, will
give a further thrust to our International operations.
Safety is first in our company and it was with immense pride
that we accepted the Golden Safety Award - the nation’s
top accolade - from National Safety Council of India (NSCI)
for our General Motors Project, Pune. Our congratulations
to the Project Team and Safety Department. Read about it in
this issue. Our Corporate Safety head, Mr. Alok Shrivastava,
has also written about his new initiative - National and
New Projects
• Turnkey Construction of Serviced Apartments and Mall for
Riverside Ten Ltd. in Nairobi, Kenya.
• Civil and Structural work for Water Treatment Plant for
Thermax Ltd. at Raigarh.
• Development and Construction of Residential Units for
Peninsula Land Ltd. at Ashok Ayatan, Nashik.
• Construction of proposed Formulation Facility for
Flamingo Pharmaceuticals Ltd. at Nanded.
• Construction of King Abdullah Financial District for Saudi
Binladin Group at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Construction of Office Building at R&D plot for Reliance
Infrastructure Ltd. at Santacruz, Mumbai.
• General Civil work for Tractors India Ltd. at TIL,
Kharagpur.
01 • Construction of Administration and R&D Protoshop
Building for Diamler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. at
Oragadam, Sriperumbudur.
Regional Safety Conferences and an informative article on
managing noise pollution.
Another new initiative we have covered is the first Vendors
Meet at Bengaluru. We hope to cover more such meets in
the future. You will also find a report on the 3rd Group
Practice Sharing Forum which discussed practices in
operations, functional expertise and technology.
Its official. The best project of 2009-10 was DLF 10,
Gurgaon. Kudos to the Project Team and Delhi Region. The
team received the award in the biggest event of the social
calendar - our Annual Day. Read about the function which
was special because of the presence of our Chairman,
Mr. Pallonji Mistry. We will cover the Annual Day functions in
our regions in the next issue. Our regions have been busy
with social, health and sporting initiatives. There is a lot
happening in our “Happenings” section.
We haven’t forgotten to inform you on what is happening
on our projects. Read about an IT park (SP Infocity),
Premium Residential Development (DAMAC Park Towers,
Dubai) and a Thermal Power Plant (Chhabra, Rajasthan).
We have also covered two major road interchanges
constructed in Delhi by our Group Company, AFCONS.
On the lighter side, if you are planning a holiday abroad,
read what Mukesh Rao had to say about his recent trip to
Europe. You are advised not to go in for a Netbook or iPad
without reading Saurabh’s expert comments. ‘Your Space’ is
meant to be just that - your space. Please send in your
articles. Share your experience with the SP Family.
Happy reading and send us your bouquets (and brickbats).
- The Editorial Team
• Construction of Shell & Core for Proposed Township for
Vadinar Properties Ltd. at Vadinar, Jamnagar, Gujarat.
• Civil, Architectural and Structural Steel work for Carbon
Plant at Aditya Aluminium Smelter Project for Hindalco
Industries Ltd. at Lapanga, Sambalpur, Orissa.
• Construction of Office Space at Notified IT / ITES SEZ
Project - HITEC-CITY – 2 for Phoenix Infocity Pvt. Ltd. at
Gachibowli, Hyderabad.
• Civil and Structural works for project IRIS for Tata Motors
Ltd. at Belur Industrial Area, Dharwad.
• Main Contract Works for Mantri Pinnacle - Premium High
Rise Residential Development for Mantri Dwellings Pvt.
Ltd. at Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru.
• Civil and Structural Works for Tata Aerostructure Ltd's.
Facility at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.
• Design and Construction of residential development of
Godrej Frontier for Godrej Properties Ltd. at Gurgaon.
Main Feature
Damac Park Towers, Dubai
View of the towers from Sheikh Zayed Road
Damac Park Towers is a two-tower commercial / residential
project on the prestigious Sheikh Zayed Road in the heart of
Dubai’s financial district, a stone’s throw away from the
world’s tallest building - Burj Khalifa, the world’s largest mall-
Dubai Mall and the world’s largest fountain situated between
the two. The developer - DAMAC Properties, is a leading
residential, leisure and commercial developer in Dubai who
has expanded rapidly into North Africa, Jordan, Lebanon,
Qatar and Saudi Arabia. To date they have delivered more
than 3029 units in projects at IMPZ (The Crescent),
TECOM (Executive Heights), JLT (Lake View and Lake
Terrace) and The Marina (The Waves and Marina Terrace).
Shapoorji Pallonji Mideast LLC (SPML) are the main
contractors and the value of the contract is AED 500 Million
The other stakeholders are:
Concept Designer : Gensler
Engineering Designer : Engineering Consulting Group
MEP Consultant : Ian Banham Associates (IBA)
Aluminium Glazing : Arabian Aluminium
Lifts : Thyssen Krupp
MEP Contractor : OMEGA
The complex with a total built up area of 17.3 lakh sq.ft.,
comprises 3 basements, 7 podiums and 41 floor twin
towers. The basements are for parking 1059 cars. The
podiums house 108 retail outlets and 120 offices while the
twin towers contain 530 one, two and three bedroom
apartments. The height of the buildings is 182 m (600 feet).
Recreational facilities include a temperature controlled
SP Infocity, Chennai
Artist's Impression
swimming pool, health club and gymnasium, a spacious
steam and sauna room, jacuzzi, tennis court and barbecue
area.
Business facilities include a concierge desk offering 24 hour
service, an elevated coffee lounge providing dazzling views
of the Financial Centre, a business centre with all facilities
including a round-the-clock manned help desk. A banquet
hall and meeting room have also been provided for private
parties and business meetings.
Work on the project commenced in February 2007. The
major challenge was the unique shape of the building which
was varying in shape and area - horizontally and vertically.
Co-ordination with the specialist subcontractors in MEP, Post
Tensioning and Glazing works was challenging as the layout
changed on every floor. Despite this, SPML completed the
41 upper floors in 10 months time with a minimum cycle
time of 4 days in some floors. The structure was completed
in November 2009. The formwork system for the core was
PERI’s auto climbing system while RMD table form was used
in slab decking. The short cycle time was achieved by
working on all parallel fronts. Block work and plastering is
almost complete while MEP works, tiling, lifts and glazing are
in progress.
The unique façade system in this project is unitized panel
glazing - the first of its kind in the region. It comprises 6323
triangular panels - each averaging 2.5 SM in size. It was a big
challenge managing the huge number of panels, each panel
of an unique size, fabricating and erecting them especially
due to the obstructions created by the temporary vertical
access to the building in the form of tower cranes and
builder hoists.
The 15 elevators in the building have a speed of 4 m/s and
capacity of 1050 kgs. The installation was done in two
phases by closing the core at 22nd floor. Two window
cleaning cradles have been installed at the top of each tower.
The telescopic jib of 32 m - one of the longest in the Middle
East- permits access to every external corner. Restraint
sockets have been provided to hold the 250 kg capacity
cradle in any position.
SPML can be proud that they achieved 10 million safe man
hours in this project.
Major Items:
1. Concrete : 83,253 CM
2. Steel : 7,735 MT
3. Masonry : 1,20,618 SM
4. Flooring : 80,629 SM - Anjani Pathak, SPINT, Dubai
A breathtaking challenge taken with pride by SP Real Estate
in Chennai, SP Infocity stands out among the many IT parks
in Chennai. An iconic design by the renowned architect,
Hafeez Contractor, the fourteen storey structure is the
tallest structure in its vicinity.
The structure is also a “Gold Rated Green Building.”
The major quantities were:
1. Concrete : 95,300 CM
2. Reinforcement : 12,400 MT
3. Formwork : 3,17,000 SM
4. Blockwork : 46,000 SM
5. Plastering
6. Granite
: 73,000 SM
: 9800 SM 02
 Editorial
Hello,
As you are reading this, we have entered another New
Year. We hope you are sticking to your New Year
resolutions. The editorial team wishes you and your family a
very happy and prosperous new year. Be happy. Keep fit.
Do good. Be generous. Donate your PL to a needy
colleague (read about the Vacation Donation Program in this
issue).
The previous year did not conclude on a happy note for
India. The nation is beset by scams and scandals on every
front. Our own sector is facing mounting problems the
paramount of which is the shortage of skilled labour. The
entire construction industry is furiously debating the solution.
The answer is skill development. We have taken the first
step by training unskilled workers as Carpenters in our sites
at Delhi, Pune and Hyderabad. Other regions will follow.
However, problems have not deterred our Regions from
taking on challenges like constructing South India’s tallest
residential tower - Mantri Pinnacle - in Bengaluru and
` 450 crore office towers project for Phoenix at Hyderabad.
In the International arena, we have entered Kenya and Saudi
Arabia. The details are given below. The recently concluded
International Strategy Conclave, featured in this issue, will
give a further thrust to our International operations.
Safety is first in our company and it was with immense pride
that we accepted the Golden Safety Award - the nation’s
top accolade - from National Safety Council of India (NSCI)
for our General Motors Project, Pune. Our congratulations
to the Project Team and Safety Department. Read about it in
this issue. Our Corporate Safety head, Mr. Alok Shrivastava,
has also written about his new initiative - National and
New Projects
• Turnkey Construction of Serviced Apartments and Mall for
Riverside Ten Ltd. in Nairobi, Kenya.
• Civil and Structural work for Water Treatment Plant for
Thermax Ltd. at Raigarh.
• Development and Construction of Residential Units for
Peninsula Land Ltd. at Ashok Ayatan, Nashik.
• Construction of proposed Formulation Facility for
Flamingo Pharmaceuticals Ltd. at Nanded.
• Construction of King Abdullah Financial District for Saudi
Binladin Group at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Construction of Office Building at R&D plot for Reliance
Infrastructure Ltd. at Santacruz, Mumbai.
• General Civil work for Tractors India Ltd. at TIL,
Kharagpur.
01 • Construction of Administration and R&D Protoshop
Building for Diamler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. at
Oragadam, Sriperumbudur.
Regional Safety Conferences and an informative article on
managing noise pollution.
Another new initiative we have covered is the first Vendors
Meet at Bengaluru. We hope to cover more such meets in
the future. You will also find a report on the 3rd Group
Practice Sharing Forum which discussed practices in
operations, functional expertise and technology.
Its official. The best project of 2009-10 was DLF 10,
Gurgaon. Kudos to the Project Team and Delhi Region. The
team received the award in the biggest event of the social
calendar - our Annual Day. Read about the function which
was special because of the presence of our Chairman,
Mr. Pallonji Mistry. We will cover the Annual Day functions in
our regions in the next issue. Our regions have been busy
with social, health and sporting initiatives. There is a lot
happening in our “Happenings” section.
We haven’t forgotten to inform you on what is happening
on our projects. Read about an IT park (SP Infocity),
Premium Residential Development (DAMAC Park Towers,
Dubai) and a Thermal Power Plant (Chhabra, Rajasthan).
We have also covered two major road interchanges
constructed in Delhi by our Group Company, AFCONS.
On the lighter side, if you are planning a holiday abroad,
read what Mukesh Rao had to say about his recent trip to
Europe. You are advised not to go in for a Netbook or iPad
without reading Saurabh’s expert comments. ‘Your Space’ is
meant to be just that - your space. Please send in your
articles. Share your experience with the SP Family.
Happy reading and send us your bouquets (and brickbats).
- The Editorial Team
• Construction of Shell & Core for Proposed Township for
Vadinar Properties Ltd. at Vadinar, Jamnagar, Gujarat.
• Civil, Architectural and Structural Steel work for Carbon
Plant at Aditya Aluminium Smelter Project for Hindalco
Industries Ltd. at Lapanga, Sambalpur, Orissa.
• Construction of Office Space at Notified IT / ITES SEZ
Project - HITEC-CITY – 2 for Phoenix Infocity Pvt. Ltd. at
Gachibowli, Hyderabad.
• Civil and Structural works for project IRIS for Tata Motors
Ltd. at Belur Industrial Area, Dharwad.
• Main Contract Works for Mantri Pinnacle - Premium High
Rise Residential Development for Mantri Dwellings Pvt.
Ltd. at Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru.
• Civil and Structural Works for Tata Aerostructure Ltd's.
Facility at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.
• Design and Construction of residential development of
Godrej Frontier for Godrej Properties Ltd. at Gurgaon.
Main Feature
Damac Park Towers, Dubai
View of the towers from Sheikh Zayed Road
Damac Park Towers is a two-tower commercial / residential
project on the prestigious Sheikh Zayed Road in the heart of
Dubai’s financial district, a stone’s throw away from the
world’s tallest building - Burj Khalifa, the world’s largest mall-
Dubai Mall and the world’s largest fountain situated between
the two. The developer - DAMAC Properties, is a leading
residential, leisure and commercial developer in Dubai who
has expanded rapidly into North Africa, Jordan, Lebanon,
Qatar and Saudi Arabia. To date they have delivered more
than 3029 units in projects at IMPZ (The Crescent),
TECOM (Executive Heights), JLT (Lake View and Lake
Terrace) and The Marina (The Waves and Marina Terrace).
Shapoorji Pallonji Mideast LLC (SPML) are the main
contractors and the value of the contract is AED 500 Million
The other stakeholders are:
Concept Designer : Gensler
Engineering Designer : Engineering Consulting Group
MEP Consultant : Ian Banham Associates (IBA)
Aluminium Glazing : Arabian Aluminium
Lifts : Thyssen Krupp
MEP Contractor : OMEGA
The complex with a total built up area of 17.3 lakh sq.ft.,
comprises 3 basements, 7 podiums and 41 floor twin
towers. The basements are for parking 1059 cars. The
podiums house 108 retail outlets and 120 offices while the
twin towers contain 530 one, two and three bedroom
apartments. The height of the buildings is 182 m (600 feet).
Recreational facilities include a temperature controlled
SP Infocity, Chennai
Artist's Impression
swimming pool, health club and gymnasium, a spacious
steam and sauna room, jacuzzi, tennis court and barbecue
area.
Business facilities include a concierge desk offering 24 hour
service, an elevated coffee lounge providing dazzling views
of the Financial Centre, a business centre with all facilities
including a round-the-clock manned help desk. A banquet
hall and meeting room have also been provided for private
parties and business meetings.
Work on the project commenced in February 2007. The
major challenge was the unique shape of the building which
was varying in shape and area - horizontally and vertically.
Co-ordination with the specialist subcontractors in MEP, Post
Tensioning and Glazing works was challenging as the layout
changed on every floor. Despite this, SPML completed the
41 upper floors in 10 months time with a minimum cycle
time of 4 days in some floors. The structure was completed
in November 2009. The formwork system for the core was
PERI’s auto climbing system while RMD table form was used
in slab decking. The short cycle time was achieved by
working on all parallel fronts. Block work and plastering is
almost complete while MEP works, tiling, lifts and glazing are
in progress.
The unique façade system in this project is unitized panel
glazing - the first of its kind in the region. It comprises 6323
triangular panels - each averaging 2.5 SM in size. It was a big
challenge managing the huge number of panels, each panel
of an unique size, fabricating and erecting them especially
due to the obstructions created by the temporary vertical
access to the building in the form of tower cranes and
builder hoists.
The 15 elevators in the building have a speed of 4 m/s and
capacity of 1050 kgs. The installation was done in two
phases by closing the core at 22nd floor. Two window
cleaning cradles have been installed at the top of each tower.
The telescopic jib of 32 m - one of the longest in the Middle
East- permits access to every external corner. Restraint
sockets have been provided to hold the 250 kg capacity
cradle in any position.
SPML can be proud that they achieved 10 million safe man
hours in this project.
Major Items:
1. Concrete : 83,253 CM
2. Steel : 7,735 MT
3. Masonry : 1,20,618 SM
4. Flooring : 80,629 SM - Anjani Pathak, SPINT, Dubai
A breathtaking challenge taken with pride by SP Real Estate
in Chennai, SP Infocity stands out among the many IT parks
in Chennai. An iconic design by the renowned architect,
Hafeez Contractor, the fourteen storey structure is the
tallest structure in its vicinity.
The structure is also a “Gold Rated Green Building.”
The major quantities were:
1. Concrete : 95,300 CM
2. Reinforcement : 12,400 MT
3. Formwork : 3,17,000 SM
4. Blockwork : 46,000 SM
5. Plastering
6. Granite
: 73,000 SM
: 9800 SM 02
 7. False Ceiling : 3,000 SM
8. POP Work : 2,700 SM
9. Internal Painting : 17,200 SM
10. External Texture
Painting : 20,200 SM
11. Structural Steel : 321 MT
Construction commenced in September 2006 with mass
excavation. The schedule was in 3 phases with basements of all
the phases taken up at one stretch. All major works of the first
phase in Block A were finished by early August 2009.
Mr. A. Balaji (AGM, Projects) was the Project-in-charge and was
guided by Mr. Anand Rao (AVP, SPRE), Mr. D. Santhosh (DGM,
SPCL) and Mr. Tarapore (GM, SPCL HO) The staff strength at
the peak - August to November 2008 - touched 230.
The project presented several challenges. The multi level
car park was provided under the building by excavating 0.35
million CM of rock filled earth. Vertical transportation was
CTPP, Chhabra, Rajasthan
Bird's eye view of the construction site
Chhabra Thermal Power Plant (CTPP) is being constructed
to meet the growing energy demand of Rajasthan. The
client-Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited
(RRVUNL), has engaged Indure Private Limited (IPL) as their
EPC contractor and Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) as their
consultant on this project.
CTPP is a coal fired, sub critical plant situated on the border
of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, 150 kms from Kota in
Rajasthan and 250 kms from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. It is
situated in a remote area of the state and temperature here
ranges between 50 and 5 degree Celsius. The plant has
been constructed near the bank of Parvati River, which is the
feeding source of water for the plant. Two units of 250 MW
are already in operation and the construction of next two
units of 250 MW each is in progress. It is a zero discharge
plant. The water from Parvati River is used for generating
power, after which it gets treated in the effluent treatment
plant system and is ultimately reused for irrigation. Another
unique feature of the plant is that it is environment friendly
and 99.9% of ash is absorbed by electrostatic precipitator,
03 keeping the surrounding area clean and healthy.
provided by 14 Mitsubishi elevators with a speed of 2.5
m/sec. For air conditioning the building, chillers weighing up
to 5 tonnes were lifted 65m above the ground. NANO
films with U/V reflectors reduced the effect of Chennai heat
inside the building. Refuge areas were provided in every
module to give a common space to occupants. Accentuated
by curved beams on the elevation, the refuge areas provide
an aesthetic detailing for the whole building.
The architects took Mr. Frank Lloyd Wright’s dictum “The
space within becomes the reality of the building” when it
came to designing the internal spaces. The granite finished
common areas lend elegance to the interiors and are eye
catching.
A major part of the building has been handed over to the
clients and the project has vastly augmented SPCL’s
capability of building international class IT parks.
- Adeep Jecob, Chennai
Construction of both these facilities is under the scope of
SPCL.
SPCL has complete civil construction under its scope. The
structures included are power house building, coal handling
plant, boiler foundation, ESP foundation & control room,
clarified water channels, fore bay, pump house, de-
mineralization plant, switchyard, transformer yard and turbo
generator foundation, columns, deck slab etc. Here, it is
imperative to mention a couple of challenges the team faced
during the course of construction in wagon tippler area and
turbo generator area.
The earth in general around this area consists of various
strata of soft and hard rock beneath the initial thin layer of
Black Cotton soil. So, for the construction of any foundation,
controlled blasting was required. Setting off charges at 2m
intervals, the team had to blast the way down to 20 meters
depth to achieve the desired level in wagon tippler area.
Around 2,50,000 cum of blasting has been done already. In
view of the fact that blasting work gets frequently interrupted
by continuous seepage, two operations-blasting and round
the clock dewatering are being done simultaneously.
Another challenging area was the construction of Turbo
Generator raft, columns and deck slab. All three structures
i.e. raft, columns and deck slab have temperature controlled
concreting. SPCL is casting 28 nos. 14 meters high columns
in one pour. The temperature of the concrete is maintained
strictly at 23°C by mixing 250 kgs ice in water for every cum
of concrete. This cold water is continuously sprinkled over
aggregates and then mixed with cement, sand and pre
cooled aggregate to get the required temperature. It is not
the normal activity which takes place every day on a
construction site, with three-tier stringent inspection by the
clients.
Salient features of the project
Project Cost : ` 80 Crore
Concrete : 1,40,000 Cum
Reinforcement Steel : 14,000 MT
Blasting : 2,50,000 Cum
- Alok Rajan, Ahmedabad
Safety
Managing Noise Pollution: A definite need
Noise can be defined as unwanted or undesired sound. • Work scheduling: Give breaks in noisy activities to
Usually 80 decibel is the level at which sound becomes avoid continuous exposure.
physically painful and can be termed as noise. Humans, • Identify high noise areas & display signs to wear PPE’s
animals, plants and even inert objects like buildings and like ear muffs / plugs.
bridges have been victims of the increasing noise pollution Statute on Noise:
caused in the world. Be it human or machine-created, noise At Workplace: As per Schedule VI of Rule 34 of “The
disrupts the activity and balance of life. Its effects on our Building and Other Construction Workers’ (Regulation of
health are elucidated below:- Employment and Conditions of Service) Central Rules,
- Continuous exposure to noise in the range of 90 to 140 1998” pertaining to the “Building and Other Construction
dB is harmful which, in the construction activities, is Workers’ Act, 1996”.
caused by drilling, grinding, fabrication and erection, Permissible Total Time of Exposure and Corresponding
compressors, generators, winches, heavy vehicles, Sound Pressure Level
concrete pumps, batching plants, cranes and material
handling. It may result in: Sound pressure Total Time of Exposure (Continuous
level in dB(A) or a number of short term
• Auditory Effects: Rupture of drum, auditory fatigue,
hearing loss. exposure) per day in hours
• Non-Auditory Effects: Annoyance, irritability, 90 8
interference in speech, difficulty in communication, 100 2
low night vision, difficult colour perception, vague
110 0.5
muscular pains, lack of sleep, indigestion, heartburn,
high blood pressure, ulcers and heart disease. 115 0.25
- Effects of noise are gradual and often painless, person For Outside Environment: As per “The Noise Pollution
often fail to recognize these. (Regulation & Control) Rules, 2000”.
- Hearing loss may also occur immediately on exposure to Ambient Air Standards in Respect of Noise
sudden intense form of noise energy. Category of Limits in dB Limits in dB
- Hearing loss is attributable to destruction of cells in inner Area / Zone (A) Leq* Day (A) Leq* Night Time
ear. These cells are neither repaired nor replaced by Time (600 -2200 (2200- 600 Hrs.)
b o d y a n d t h e r e f o r e t h e H E A R I N G LO S S I S Hrs.)
PERMANENT.
Action by sites to reduce the noise pollution: Industrial 75 70
- Controlling air borne / structure borne sound by; Commercial 65 55
• Regular servicing and maintenance, enclosing entire Residential 55 45
machine / parts, reducing the vibrations in *Silence Zone 50 40
components, replacing metal parts with sound Note:
absorbing materials. Silence Zone is defined as an area comprising not less than
• Fitting muffler of the exhaust, changing type of 100 meters around hospitals, educational institutions and
pneumatic equipment to reduce high frequency courts. The silence zones are zones which are declared as
components, proper fastening of parts, isolating the
such by the competent authority.
workplace containing noisy equipment. 1. Mixed categories of areas may be declared as one of the
• Avoiding banging / knocking of materials, reducing
four above mentioned categories by the competent
height of fall in bins or yard, reducing sharp blows by authority.
using rubber / plastic covering, reducing speed of
conveyor belts / motors and other moving parts, if 2. *dB(A) Leq denotes the time weighted average of the
level of sound in decibels on scale A which is relatable to
possible.
• Covering walls / ceilings with sound absorbing porous human hearing.
3. A "decibel" is a unit in which noise is measured.
materials, using sound absorbing screens, building
4. "A", in dB (A) Leq, denotes the frequency weighting in the
sound proof control areas / rest rooms.
• Providing sound barriers / curtains around high noise measurement of noise and corresponds to frequency
areas like cutting, grinding and drilling etc. response characteristics of the human ear.
- Avoiding continuous exposure to noise by: 5. Leq: It is an energy mean of the noise level, over a
• Job rotation: Change the tasks performed by specified period.
employees. - Alok Shrivastava, SP HO
Outdoor noise control - Barriers. Indoor noise control - Curtains.
04
 7. False Ceiling : 3,000 SM
8. POP Work : 2,700 SM
9. Internal Painting : 17,200 SM
10. External Texture
Painting : 20,200 SM
11. Structural Steel : 321 MT
Construction commenced in September 2006 with mass
excavation. The schedule was in 3 phases with basements of all
the phases taken up at one stretch. All major works of the first
phase in Block A were finished by early August 2009.
Mr. A. Balaji (AGM, Projects) was the Project-in-charge and was
guided by Mr. Anand Rao (AVP, SPRE), Mr. D. Santhosh (DGM,
SPCL) and Mr. Tarapore (GM, SPCL HO) The staff strength at
the peak - August to November 2008 - touched 230.
The project presented several challenges. The multi level
car park was provided under the building by excavating 0.35
million CM of rock filled earth. Vertical transportation was
CTPP, Chhabra, Rajasthan
Bird's eye view of the construction site
Chhabra Thermal Power Plant (CTPP) is being constructed
to meet the growing energy demand of Rajasthan. The
client-Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited
(RRVUNL), has engaged Indure Private Limited (IPL) as their
EPC contractor and Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) as their
consultant on this project.
CTPP is a coal fired, sub critical plant situated on the border
of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, 150 kms from Kota in
Rajasthan and 250 kms from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. It is
situated in a remote area of the state and temperature here
ranges between 50 and 5 degree Celsius. The plant has
been constructed near the bank of Parvati River, which is the
feeding source of water for the plant. Two units of 250 MW
are already in operation and the construction of next two
units of 250 MW each is in progress. It is a zero discharge
plant. The water from Parvati River is used for generating
power, after which it gets treated in the effluent treatment
plant system and is ultimately reused for irrigation. Another
unique feature of the plant is that it is environment friendly
and 99.9% of ash is absorbed by electrostatic precipitator,
03 keeping the surrounding area clean and healthy.
provided by 14 Mitsubishi elevators with a speed of 2.5
m/sec. For air conditioning the building, chillers weighing up
to 5 tonnes were lifted 65m above the ground. NANO
films with U/V reflectors reduced the effect of Chennai heat
inside the building. Refuge areas were provided in every
module to give a common space to occupants. Accentuated
by curved beams on the elevation, the refuge areas provide
an aesthetic detailing for the whole building.
The architects took Mr. Frank Lloyd Wright’s dictum “The
space within becomes the reality of the building” when it
came to designing the internal spaces. The granite finished
common areas lend elegance to the interiors and are eye
catching.
A major part of the building has been handed over to the
clients and the project has vastly augmented SPCL’s
capability of building international class IT parks.
- Adeep Jecob, Chennai
Construction of both these facilities is under the scope of
SPCL.
SPCL has complete civil construction under its scope. The
structures included are power house building, coal handling
plant, boiler foundation, ESP foundation & control room,
clarified water channels, fore bay, pump house, de-
mineralization plant, switchyard, transformer yard and turbo
generator foundation, columns, deck slab etc. Here, it is
imperative to mention a couple of challenges the team faced
during the course of construction in wagon tippler area and
turbo generator area.
The earth in general around this area consists of various
strata of soft and hard rock beneath the initial thin layer of
Black Cotton soil. So, for the construction of any foundation,
controlled blasting was required. Setting off charges at 2m
intervals, the team had to blast the way down to 20 meters
depth to achieve the desired level in wagon tippler area.
Around 2,50,000 cum of blasting has been done already. In
view of the fact that blasting work gets frequently interrupted
by continuous seepage, two operations-blasting and round
the clock dewatering are being done simultaneously.
Another challenging area was the construction of Turbo
Generator raft, columns and deck slab. All three structures
i.e. raft, columns and deck slab have temperature controlled
concreting. SPCL is casting 28 nos. 14 meters high columns
in one pour. The temperature of the concrete is maintained
strictly at 23°C by mixing 250 kgs ice in water for every cum
of concrete. This cold water is continuously sprinkled over
aggregates and then mixed with cement, sand and pre
cooled aggregate to get the required temperature. It is not
the normal activity which takes place every day on a
construction site, with three-tier stringent inspection by the
clients.
Salient features of the project
Project Cost : ` 80 Crore
Concrete : 1,40,000 Cum
Reinforcement Steel : 14,000 MT
Blasting : 2,50,000 Cum
- Alok Rajan, Ahmedabad
Safety
Managing Noise Pollution: A definite need
Noise can be defined as unwanted or undesired sound. • Work scheduling: Give breaks in noisy activities to
Usually 80 decibel is the level at which sound becomes avoid continuous exposure.
physically painful and can be termed as noise. Humans, • Identify high noise areas & display signs to wear PPE’s
animals, plants and even inert objects like buildings and like ear muffs / plugs.
bridges have been victims of the increasing noise pollution Statute on Noise:
caused in the world. Be it human or machine-created, noise At Workplace: As per Schedule VI of Rule 34 of “The
disrupts the activity and balance of life. Its effects on our Building and Other Construction Workers’ (Regulation of
health are elucidated below:- Employment and Conditions of Service) Central Rules,
- Continuous exposure to noise in the range of 90 to 140 1998” pertaining to the “Building and Other Construction
dB is harmful which, in the construction activities, is Workers’ Act, 1996”.
caused by drilling, grinding, fabrication and erection, Permissible Total Time of Exposure and Corresponding
compressors, generators, winches, heavy vehicles, Sound Pressure Level
concrete pumps, batching plants, cranes and material
handling. It may result in: Sound pressure Total Time of Exposure (Continuous
level in dB(A) or a number of short term
• Auditory Effects: Rupture of drum, auditory fatigue,
hearing loss. exposure) per day in hours
• Non-Auditory Effects: Annoyance, irritability, 90 8
interference in speech, difficulty in communication, 100 2
low night vision, difficult colour perception, vague
110 0.5
muscular pains, lack of sleep, indigestion, heartburn,
high blood pressure, ulcers and heart disease. 115 0.25
- Effects of noise are gradual and often painless, person For Outside Environment: As per “The Noise Pollution
often fail to recognize these. (Regulation & Control) Rules, 2000”.
- Hearing loss may also occur immediately on exposure to Ambient Air Standards in Respect of Noise
sudden intense form of noise energy. Category of Limits in dB Limits in dB
- Hearing loss is attributable to destruction of cells in inner Area / Zone (A) Leq* Day (A) Leq* Night Time
ear. These cells are neither repaired nor replaced by Time (600 -2200 (2200- 600 Hrs.)
b o d y a n d t h e r e f o r e t h e H E A R I N G LO S S I S Hrs.)
PERMANENT.
Action by sites to reduce the noise pollution: Industrial 75 70
- Controlling air borne / structure borne sound by; Commercial 65 55
• Regular servicing and maintenance, enclosing entire Residential 55 45
machine / parts, reducing the vibrations in *Silence Zone 50 40
components, replacing metal parts with sound Note:
absorbing materials. Silence Zone is defined as an area comprising not less than
• Fitting muffler of the exhaust, changing type of 100 meters around hospitals, educational institutions and
pneumatic equipment to reduce high frequency courts. The silence zones are zones which are declared as
components, proper fastening of parts, isolating the
such by the competent authority.
workplace containing noisy equipment. 1. Mixed categories of areas may be declared as one of the
• Avoiding banging / knocking of materials, reducing
four above mentioned categories by the competent
height of fall in bins or yard, reducing sharp blows by authority.
using rubber / plastic covering, reducing speed of
conveyor belts / motors and other moving parts, if 2. *dB(A) Leq denotes the time weighted average of the
level of sound in decibels on scale A which is relatable to
possible.
• Covering walls / ceilings with sound absorbing porous human hearing.
3. A "decibel" is a unit in which noise is measured.
materials, using sound absorbing screens, building
4. "A", in dB (A) Leq, denotes the frequency weighting in the
sound proof control areas / rest rooms.
• Providing sound barriers / curtains around high noise measurement of noise and corresponds to frequency
areas like cutting, grinding and drilling etc. response characteristics of the human ear.
- Avoiding continuous exposure to noise by: 5. Leq: It is an energy mean of the noise level, over a
• Job rotation: Change the tasks performed by specified period.
employees. - Alok Shrivastava, SP HO
Outdoor noise control - Barriers. Indoor noise control - Curtains.
04
 Happenings
SPCL Head Office celebrates Annual Day
Mr. Pallonji Mistry lighting the inaugural lamp.
November 12, 2010. SPCL Head Office’s Annual Day was
celebrated at the JK Banquets. It was a remarkable evening
as the chairman, Mr. Pallonji Mistry walked in amidst a warm
cheerful welcome, followed by the Managing Directors -
Mr. Shapoor Mistry and Mr. Cyrus Mistry. The inaugural
lamp was lit by them. Mr. Varghese Mathew, Chief People
Officer, gave a welcome address to start the evening
proceedings.
Mr. Pallonji Mistry addressed the gathering, recounting
the growth of the company over the years and the role of
the management and employees in taking the company to
new heights. He looked forward to continued efforts from
the employees in meeting the ambitious targets set for
the company’s 150th anniversary in 2015.
Mr. Pallonji Mistry addressing the gathering
The heads of various business units - Mr. Kekoo Colah (SP
Real Estate), Mr. Mukundan (SP Infra), Mr. Kannan (EPC
division) and Dr. A.K. Gupta (on behalf of Mr. N. Dharmaraj,
05 Having a good time!
SP Agri business), spoke on the projects and future plans of
their business.
On the occasion, Mr. Cyrus Mistry gave the 10 year long
service awards and Mr. Shapoor Mistry the awards for 25
years service. Mr. Saini, CEO of SPCL, was a distinguished
recipient of the 25 years service award (see above)
Mr. Pallonji Mistry felicitated employees who completed 35
years of service. Mr. Hiloo, (DGM, Accounts) was one of
the proud recipients (see below).
The ‘Best Project’ Award was given to DLF-10 Project,
Delhi Region. Mr. P.K. Rakheja (Director, Operations),
Mr.Shammi Khurana (Additional GM, Projects, Delhi) and
Mr. Anil Kumar Tomar (Project Manager) collected the
award.
The event came alive with music performed by ‘90 Degree’
The staff of SPCL took to the dance floor and enjoyed
themselves. Besides song and dance, people relished a
variety of cuisines. Amidst all fun and entertainment,
employees got the opportunity to bond well with one
another.
- Shikha Banerjee, SPRE HO
Long Service Awards
35 YEARS
Mr. Hanumanta Jamlaiya Dasari: Mumbai - RO
Mr. Faroakh Jehangirji Hilloo : SP Centre - HO
Mr. Kishor Vasudeo Sharma : Ahemdabad/Surat - RO
Mr. Viraf Jamshed Dastoor: SP Centre - HO
25 YEARS
Mr. Dominic Barthol Kadam: Pune - RO
Mr. Deepak Dhondu Keshe: Nasik - RO
Mr. Sarad Datatre Lad: SP Centre - HO
Mr. Munir Dadesaheb Ismailmagdum: Pune - RO
Mr. Mohan Dass Saini: SP Centre - HO
Mr. Sherbahadur Kumarsingh Lama: SP Centre - HO
Mr. Pradeep Raghunath Poipkar: SP Centre - HO
Mr. Eknath Abaji Gangurde: Nasik - RO
Mr. Shankar Shivaji Rathod: Mumbai - RO
Mr. Ramdas Bapurao Ghumre: Mumbai - RO
10 YEARS
Mr. Srinivasa Vijay Kumar: Bengaluru - RO
Mr. Qutubuddin Khan: Mumbai - RO
Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan: Chennai - RO
Mr. Md Sahidul Islam: Kolkata - RO
Mr. Madanlal Rampyare Jaiswar: SP Centre - HO
Ms. Vijaya Lakshmi B.c.: Chennai - RO
Mr. Subhashchandra N Shetty: Pune - RO
Mr. Narendra Prabhakar Pathade: Nagpur - RO
Mr. Atul Bhatnagar: Delhi - RO
Mr. Ravindra Bipinkumar Shah: SP Centre - HO
Mr. Aravamudhan Balaji: Chennai - RO
Ms. Kavita Ajay Gujar: Pune - RO
Mr. U Mukesh Rao: SP Centre - HO
Mr. Sanjay Chandrapal Lanjile: Pune - RO
Ms. Preejy Lonappan: Real Estate - Mumbai
Mr. Martin Luke: Bengaluru - RO
Mr. Avay Kumar Verma: Hyderabad - RO
Mr. Prabhat K. Rakheja: Delhi - RO
Mr. Sukomol Sen: Kolkata - RO
Mr. Chandan Sarkar: Kolkata - RO
Mr. Natwar Samal: Hyderabad - RO
Mr. Rakesh Kumar Singh: Kolkata - RO
Ms. Regina Arjya Kumar Patro: Pune - RO
Mr. Sandeep Bolke: Manjri Horse Breeders Farm Pvt. Ltd.
Mr. Rupesh Khedekar: Magpie Finance Pvt. Ltd.
DLF 10 bags the ‘Best Project Award’ for FY 09-10
achievements by the project team was clocking 5 million
safe man hours.
This is an initiative to recognize the best projects selected
from the Regions based on their performance against the
following parameters: sales, profit, wastage, cost of quality,
client satisfaction, safety, receivables, productivity, delivery
time and leadership training/ organisation building initiatives.
Projects completed in FY 09-10 were eligible for the
reckoning. The Evaluation Committee compared the
performance of the nominated projects on aforementioned
parameters and was particularly stringent on the safety and
quality issues.
Mr. Cyrus Mistry presented the ‘Best Project’ trophy to
Mr. Shammi Khurana - Project Co-ordinator and Mr. Anil
The DLF, Delhi team receiving the award Kumar Tomar – Project Manager at the HO Annual Day
‘DLF 10’ project, executed by Delhi RO, bagged the ‘Best function held on 12th November, 2010. Mr. P. K. Rakheja,
Project Award’ for the FY 09-10. The scope of work
involved construction of a commercial building with a total
built-up area of 3.7 million sq. ft. One of the most notable
Head - Delhi Region was also present during the award
ceremony.
- Sohan Mohanty, SP HO
06
 Happenings
SPCL Head Office celebrates Annual Day
Mr. Pallonji Mistry lighting the inaugural lamp.
November 12, 2010. SPCL Head Office’s Annual Day was
celebrated at the JK Banquets. It was a remarkable evening
as the chairman, Mr. Pallonji Mistry walked in amidst a warm
cheerful welcome, followed by the Managing Directors -
Mr. Shapoor Mistry and Mr. Cyrus Mistry. The inaugural
lamp was lit by them. Mr. Varghese Mathew, Chief People
Officer, gave a welcome address to start the evening
proceedings.
Mr. Pallonji Mistry addressed the gathering, recounting
the growth of the company over the years and the role of
the management and employees in taking the company to
new heights. He looked forward to continued efforts from
the employees in meeting the ambitious targets set for
the company’s 150th anniversary in 2015.
Mr. Pallonji Mistry addressing the gathering
The heads of various business units - Mr. Kekoo Colah (SP
Real Estate), Mr. Mukundan (SP Infra), Mr. Kannan (EPC
division) and Dr. A.K. Gupta (on behalf of Mr. N. Dharmaraj,
05 Having a good time!
SP Agri business), spoke on the projects and future plans of
their business.
On the occasion, Mr. Cyrus Mistry gave the 10 year long
service awards and Mr. Shapoor Mistry the awards for 25
years service. Mr. Saini, CEO of SPCL, was a distinguished
recipient of the 25 years service award (see above)
Mr. Pallonji Mistry felicitated employees who completed 35
years of service. Mr. Hiloo, (DGM, Accounts) was one of
the proud recipients (see below).
The ‘Best Project’ Award was given to DLF-10 Project,
Delhi Region. Mr. P.K. Rakheja (Director, Operations),
Mr.Shammi Khurana (Additional GM, Projects, Delhi) and
Mr. Anil Kumar Tomar (Project Manager) collected the
award.
The event came alive with music performed by ‘90 Degree’
The staff of SPCL took to the dance floor and enjoyed
themselves. Besides song and dance, people relished a
variety of cuisines. Amidst all fun and entertainment,
employees got the opportunity to bond well with one
another.
- Shikha Banerjee, SPRE HO
Long Service Awards
35 YEARS
Mr. Hanumanta Jamlaiya Dasari: Mumbai - RO
Mr. Faroakh Jehangirji Hilloo : SP Centre - HO
Mr. Kishor Vasudeo Sharma : Ahemdabad/Surat - RO
Mr. Viraf Jamshed Dastoor: SP Centre - HO
25 YEARS
Mr. Dominic Barthol Kadam: Pune - RO
Mr. Deepak Dhondu Keshe: Nasik - RO
Mr. Sarad Datatre Lad: SP Centre - HO
Mr. Munir Dadesaheb Ismailmagdum: Pune - RO
Mr. Mohan Dass Saini: SP Centre - HO
Mr. Sherbahadur Kumarsingh Lama: SP Centre - HO
Mr. Pradeep Raghunath Poipkar: SP Centre - HO
Mr. Eknath Abaji Gangurde: Nasik - RO
Mr. Shankar Shivaji Rathod: Mumbai - RO
Mr. Ramdas Bapurao Ghumre: Mumbai - RO
10 YEARS
Mr. Srinivasa Vijay Kumar: Bengaluru - RO
Mr. Qutubuddin Khan: Mumbai - RO
Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan: Chennai - RO
Mr. Md Sahidul Islam: Kolkata - RO
Mr. Madanlal Rampyare Jaiswar: SP Centre - HO
Ms. Vijaya Lakshmi B.c.: Chennai - RO
Mr. Subhashchandra N Shetty: Pune - RO
Mr. Narendra Prabhakar Pathade: Nagpur - RO
Mr. Atul Bhatnagar: Delhi - RO
Mr. Ravindra Bipinkumar Shah: SP Centre - HO
Mr. Aravamudhan Balaji: Chennai - RO
Ms. Kavita Ajay Gujar: Pune - RO
Mr. U Mukesh Rao: SP Centre - HO
Mr. Sanjay Chandrapal Lanjile: Pune - RO
Ms. Preejy Lonappan: Real Estate - Mumbai
Mr. Martin Luke: Bengaluru - RO
Mr. Avay Kumar Verma: Hyderabad - RO
Mr. Prabhat K. Rakheja: Delhi - RO
Mr. Sukomol Sen: Kolkata - RO
Mr. Chandan Sarkar: Kolkata - RO
Mr. Natwar Samal: Hyderabad - RO
Mr. Rakesh Kumar Singh: Kolkata - RO
Ms. Regina Arjya Kumar Patro: Pune - RO
Mr. Sandeep Bolke: Manjri Horse Breeders Farm Pvt. Ltd.
Mr. Rupesh Khedekar: Magpie Finance Pvt. Ltd.
DLF 10 bags the ‘Best Project Award’ for FY 09-10
achievements by the project team was clocking 5 million
safe man hours.
This is an initiative to recognize the best projects selected
from the Regions based on their performance against the
following parameters: sales, profit, wastage, cost of quality,
client satisfaction, safety, receivables, productivity, delivery
time and leadership training/ organisation building initiatives.
Projects completed in FY 09-10 were eligible for the
reckoning. The Evaluation Committee compared the
performance of the nominated projects on aforementioned
parameters and was particularly stringent on the safety and
quality issues.
Mr. Cyrus Mistry presented the ‘Best Project’ trophy to
Mr. Shammi Khurana - Project Co-ordinator and Mr. Anil
The DLF, Delhi team receiving the award Kumar Tomar – Project Manager at the HO Annual Day
‘DLF 10’ project, executed by Delhi RO, bagged the ‘Best function held on 12th November, 2010. Mr. P. K. Rakheja,
Project Award’ for the FY 09-10. The scope of work
involved construction of a commercial building with a total
built-up area of 3.7 million sq. ft. One of the most notable
Head - Delhi Region was also present during the award
ceremony.
- Sohan Mohanty, SP HO
06
 International Strategy Conclave - 2010
Mr. Cyrus Mistry & Mr. Saini with the participants at the conclave.
Dubai was the venue for the International Strategy Conclave
- 2010 for SPCL’s International Operations and was hosted
by SP International FTZ (SPINT) on the 7 th and 8 th
December’10.
This conclave was chaired by Mr. Cyrus P. Mistry &
Mr. M.D. Saini and was anchored by Mr. Prabal Kansal,
Strategy Department, SPCL. The broad agenda of the
conclave was to brainstorm on “The Way Forward” i.e.
brainstorming the future strategic action plans with senior
management of the company for all countries where SPINT
already has a presence and also the countries of interest in
the future.
The participants for the conclave included all country heads,
respective department heads and senior officials at SP
International. The meeting commenced with Mr. M.D. Saini
welcoming all the participants and sharing the purpose of
Group Practice Sharing Forum III
The 3rd practice sharing forum of the Shapoorji Pallonji
Group was held on 11th November, 2010, at Sunville
Banquets, Worli, Mumbai.
The theme for the third quarter was “Operations, Functional
Expertise and Technology”. Presentations were made by
t e a m s f r o m Fo r b e s Te c h n o s y s ( F T L ) , A F C O N S
Infrastructure, Forbes-Engineering Division, SPCL and
Sterling and Wilson.
Mr. Sandeep Bhatia unfolded the FTL success story in
deploying 500 kiosks for SBI, India’s largest bank. The kiosks
were a result of an increasing need to have an alternate
delivery channel to ATMs and branch banking. The
implementation and operational challenges included
conceptualizing, identifying kiosk models, selection of
vendors for each stage in the process, carrying out user
acceptance tests; all of this not withstanding their
inexperience in projects of this scale in the past and limited
manufacturing capacity (for kiosks). He also elaborated the
post bid activities to ramp up their capabilities by deploying
SAP, deploying account managers, getting the software and
the engineers ready to deliver. Creation of multi functional
task force was the key element in the successful delivery of
this project.
07
The second session had three presentations from the
AFCONS team viz, ‘Culture of Collaborative Effort in
organizing this event. The meet focused on identifying the
company’s prospective clientele, countries and business
segments, services and products to be offered. The
company’s strategies for strengthening the resources to
meet clients’ expectations were also discussed in the
conclave.
Mr. Cyrus P. Mistry welcomed all the participants and shared
the vision for SPCL & SP International for the next 5 years.
During the two-day conclave, country heads from UAE, Sri
Lanka, Libya, Sudan, Nigeria, Qatar, Ghana, Algeria, Sub
Saharan Countries, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia (KSA) apprised
everyone present of their business plans. Brand building and
international human resource practices were also discussed
at length in the conclave. The conclave concluded with a
vote of thanks to all participants.
- Prabal Kansal, SP HO
AFCONS at Tender Stage’ by Mr. Giridhar Rajagopalan
(Technical Director), ‘Contract Management and
Administration’ by Mr. S. Sankar (Executive Vice-President,
Contract), and ‘Excellence through Execution’ by
Mr. V. Manivannan (Vice-President, CPE). Mr. Giridhar
shared the innovative approach adopted in the Chennai
Central station project especially in rock excavation which
was done without using Nxburst chemicals and without
disrupting the smooth running of traffic in the crowded
metro. Mr. Shankar brought out the ethos of managing
contracts and also building deeper relationships and
understanding customers’ needs and situations. He used the
Seven Habits Framework (Stephen Covey) to brilliantly
highlight contract management. Mr. Manivannan shared 5
case studies highlighting execution excellence.
T h e Fo r b e s E n g i n e e r i n g t u r n a r o u n d s t o r y u s i n g
differentiations such as service and cost leadership was
interesting as was the energy vertical narration on the
strategic shift to small power turbine requirements, the key
success factors being acquiring Technology for Assembly/
Manufacturing of Turbines, providing full-fledged
Refurbishing/ Service Activities on demand, building Team
for Sales and execution of O&M/ EPC Contracts and setting
up Power Projects in 15-30 MW range using BOOT model.
Sterling and Wilson shared their success stories in Nokia
Siemens and ISTA hotels amongst others and highlighted the
operations management in these projects using technology.
Mr. Nozer Tarapore and Mr. Sagar Gandhi shared the Virtual
Design & Construction tool that would help SPCL in
planning, visualization, execution and is being tried out on a
pilot basis.
The success of this forum is around the implementation of
the ideas that have worked in one business in other
businesses. No doubt they will have to be modified to the
needs and the context of the business, but they can certainly
be implemented.
- Vasant Sanzgiri, SP Group Centre
Mr. Cyrus Mistry with the SPCL team.
Vendors Meet 2010, Bengaluru
As part of SPCL’s corporate strategy, several key initiatives
were undertaken to achieve the company’s vision and
mission. One of the initiatives under “Vendor Development
and Management” was undertaken by the Bengaluru Region
which organized the first “Vendor Meet”. The meet, under
the guidance of Mr. N. D. Sadri, was held on 9th October,
2010 at Hotel Mathan, Bengaluru.
The meet was targeted at 15 specific product categories and
brought together more than 75 participants from 50
companies. Mr. Prashant Mahajan (Additional GM, BD,
Bengaluru) welcomed the gathering and briefed them on
the importance of organizing such events in the construction
industry. He also took the opportunity to apprise everyone
about the current status of projects in the Bengaluru Region. Inauguration by Mr. T Mallikarjuna. Towards left are Mr. Mitra,
The meet was formally inaugurated by Mr. T. Mallikarjuna Mr. Tribhuvan, Mr. Sadri & Mr. Shivkumar.
(VP, Bengaluru region) who lit the inaugural lamp along with Outlining the purpose of the meet, he urged the vendors to
Mr. Debasis Mitra (Director, Operations), Mr. N.D. Sadri collaborate with SPCL in discussing and resolving technical
(Addl GM, Materials & QM), Mr.Sarang Tribhuvan (GM, and commercial issues, improvisation of delivery mechanism
Commercial) and Mr. Shiva Kumar (DGM, Purchase, and facilitate smooth exchange if ideas to pave the way for
Bengaluru). innovation and accelerate the growth momentum. The
Mr. Mallikarjuna highlighted the status of SPCL in the vendors were felicitated and awarded certificates of
construction industry and drew attention to its rapid growth. appreciation based on their performance. This was followed
Mr. Mitra delivered the key note address delineating the by a cultural event on the theme of collaboration.
policies of SPCL and its growth in recent years.
The meet concluded with a vote of thanks by
Mr. Sadri announced the theme for the meet “Lets Mr. Shivakumar followed by cocktails and dinner.
collaborate and together multiply the success in future”.
- Nozer Sadri, SP HO
NICMAR E-PGPM Batch 6
Every year SPCL sponsors a few deserving employees to 1 Ms. Doris Mukesh Mehta HO
the exclusive Executive Post Graduate Program in 2 Mr. Nitin Ramesh Mohorikar Bengaluru – RO
Management at NICMAR, Pune. This 16 month contact- 4 Mr. Ashish Kumar Gupta Delhi - RO
based program, exclusively conceptualized and developed 5 Mr. Uttam Kumar Pal Delhi - RO
for SPCL, aims at developing professional project engineers 6 Mr. Puranam Virupakshaiah Hyderabad - RO
/ managers with the skills to handle Construction Project 7 Mr. Siddhartha Nath Kolkata - RO
Management problems. Participants are carefully chosen 8 Mr. Saugata Mazumder Kolkata - RO
based on their past performance and leadership potential 9 Mr. Vinod Ramrao Surve Nasik - RO
exhibited in their current roles.
10 Mr. Tushar M. Hire Nagpur - RO
Participants spend ten weeks on the Pune campus, three 11 Mr. Pravin Lanjewar Pune - RO
weeks every term and one week at the end of the course 12 Mr. Rajesh Sharma Real Estate-Delhi
for the final exam and viva voce. SPCL bears the entire
13 Mr. Sumit Goswami EPC - Kolkata
course fee, lodging and boarding expense incurred for the
14 Mr. Goutam Nandi EPC - Kolkata
program. 15 Mr. Sudip Mitra EPC - Kolkata
NICMAR has recently announced the results of the 6th 16 Mr. Vishal P Borude Mumbai - RO
Batch of E-PGPM course. We congratulate the following 17 Mr. Balbir Bisht Delhi - RO
08
successful participants of the 6th Batch
18 Mr. Murali Krishna Hyderabad - RO
- Sohan Mohanty, SP HO
 International Strategy Conclave - 2010
Mr. Cyrus Mistry & Mr. Saini with the participants at the conclave.
Dubai was the venue for the International Strategy Conclave
- 2010 for SPCL’s International Operations and was hosted
by SP International FTZ (SPINT) on the 7 th and 8 th
December’10.
This conclave was chaired by Mr. Cyrus P. Mistry &
Mr. M.D. Saini and was anchored by Mr. Prabal Kansal,
Strategy Department, SPCL. The broad agenda of the
conclave was to brainstorm on “The Way Forward” i.e.
brainstorming the future strategic action plans with senior
management of the company for all countries where SPINT
already has a presence and also the countries of interest in
the future.
The participants for the conclave included all country heads,
respective department heads and senior officials at SP
International. The meeting commenced with Mr. M.D. Saini
welcoming all the participants and sharing the purpose of
Group Practice Sharing Forum III
The 3rd practice sharing forum of the Shapoorji Pallonji
Group was held on 11th November, 2010, at Sunville
Banquets, Worli, Mumbai.
The theme for the third quarter was “Operations, Functional
Expertise and Technology”. Presentations were made by
t e a m s f r o m Fo r b e s Te c h n o s y s ( F T L ) , A F C O N S
Infrastructure, Forbes-Engineering Division, SPCL and
Sterling and Wilson.
Mr. Sandeep Bhatia unfolded the FTL success story in
deploying 500 kiosks for SBI, India’s largest bank. The kiosks
were a result of an increasing need to have an alternate
delivery channel to ATMs and branch banking. The
implementation and operational challenges included
conceptualizing, identifying kiosk models, selection of
vendors for each stage in the process, carrying out user
acceptance tests; all of this not withstanding their
inexperience in projects of this scale in the past and limited
manufacturing capacity (for kiosks). He also elaborated the
post bid activities to ramp up their capabilities by deploying
SAP, deploying account managers, getting the software and
the engineers ready to deliver. Creation of multi functional
task force was the key element in the successful delivery of
this project.
07
The second session had three presentations from the
AFCONS team viz, ‘Culture of Collaborative Effort in
organizing this event. The meet focused on identifying the
company’s prospective clientele, countries and business
segments, services and products to be offered. The
company’s strategies for strengthening the resources to
meet clients’ expectations were also discussed in the
conclave.
Mr. Cyrus P. Mistry welcomed all the participants and shared
the vision for SPCL & SP International for the next 5 years.
During the two-day conclave, country heads from UAE, Sri
Lanka, Libya, Sudan, Nigeria, Qatar, Ghana, Algeria, Sub
Saharan Countries, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia (KSA) apprised
everyone present of their business plans. Brand building and
international human resource practices were also discussed
at length in the conclave. The conclave concluded with a
vote of thanks to all participants.
- Prabal Kansal, SP HO
AFCONS at Tender Stage’ by Mr. Giridhar Rajagopalan
(Technical Director), ‘Contract Management and
Administration’ by Mr. S. Sankar (Executive Vice-President,
Contract), and ‘Excellence through Execution’ by
Mr. V. Manivannan (Vice-President, CPE). Mr. Giridhar
shared the innovative approach adopted in the Chennai
Central station project especially in rock excavation which
was done without using Nxburst chemicals and without
disrupting the smooth running of traffic in the crowded
metro. Mr. Shankar brought out the ethos of managing
contracts and also building deeper relationships and
understanding customers’ needs and situations. He used the
Seven Habits Framework (Stephen Covey) to brilliantly
highlight contract management. Mr. Manivannan shared 5
case studies highlighting execution excellence.
T h e Fo r b e s E n g i n e e r i n g t u r n a r o u n d s t o r y u s i n g
differentiations such as service and cost leadership was
interesting as was the energy vertical narration on the
strategic shift to small power turbine requirements, the key
success factors being acquiring Technology for Assembly/
Manufacturing of Turbines, providing full-fledged
Refurbishing/ Service Activities on demand, building Team
for Sales and execution of O&M/ EPC Contracts and setting
up Power Projects in 15-30 MW range using BOOT model.
Sterling and Wilson shared their success stories in Nokia
Siemens and ISTA hotels amongst others and highlighted the
operations management in these projects using technology.
Mr. Nozer Tarapore and Mr. Sagar Gandhi shared the Virtual
Design & Construction tool that would help SPCL in
planning, visualization, execution and is being tried out on a
pilot basis.
The success of this forum is around the implementation of
the ideas that have worked in one business in other
businesses. No doubt they will have to be modified to the
needs and the context of the business, but they can certainly
be implemented.
- Vasant Sanzgiri, SP Group Centre
Mr. Cyrus Mistry with the SPCL team.
Vendors Meet 2010, Bengaluru
As part of SPCL’s corporate strategy, several key initiatives
were undertaken to achieve the company’s vision and
mission. One of the initiatives under “Vendor Development
and Management” was undertaken by the Bengaluru Region
which organized the first “Vendor Meet”. The meet, under
the guidance of Mr. N. D. Sadri, was held on 9th October,
2010 at Hotel Mathan, Bengaluru.
The meet was targeted at 15 specific product categories and
brought together more than 75 participants from 50
companies. Mr. Prashant Mahajan (Additional GM, BD,
Bengaluru) welcomed the gathering and briefed them on
the importance of organizing such events in the construction
industry. He also took the opportunity to apprise everyone
about the current status of projects in the Bengaluru Region. Inauguration by Mr. T Mallikarjuna. Towards left are Mr. Mitra,
The meet was formally inaugurated by Mr. T. Mallikarjuna Mr. Tribhuvan, Mr. Sadri & Mr. Shivkumar.
(VP, Bengaluru region) who lit the inaugural lamp along with Outlining the purpose of the meet, he urged the vendors to
Mr. Debasis Mitra (Director, Operations), Mr. N.D. Sadri collaborate with SPCL in discussing and resolving technical
(Addl GM, Materials & QM), Mr.Sarang Tribhuvan (GM, and commercial issues, improvisation of delivery mechanism
Commercial) and Mr. Shiva Kumar (DGM, Purchase, and facilitate smooth exchange if ideas to pave the way for
Bengaluru). innovation and accelerate the growth momentum. The
Mr. Mallikarjuna highlighted the status of SPCL in the vendors were felicitated and awarded certificates of
construction industry and drew attention to its rapid growth. appreciation based on their performance. This was followed
Mr. Mitra delivered the key note address delineating the by a cultural event on the theme of collaboration.
policies of SPCL and its growth in recent years.
The meet concluded with a vote of thanks by
Mr. Sadri announced the theme for the meet “Lets Mr. Shivakumar followed by cocktails and dinner.
collaborate and together multiply the success in future”.
- Nozer Sadri, SP HO
NICMAR E-PGPM Batch 6
Every year SPCL sponsors a few deserving employees to 1 Ms. Doris Mukesh Mehta HO
the exclusive Executive Post Graduate Program in 2 Mr. Nitin Ramesh Mohorikar Bengaluru – RO
Management at NICMAR, Pune. This 16 month contact- 4 Mr. Ashish Kumar Gupta Delhi - RO
based program, exclusively conceptualized and developed 5 Mr. Uttam Kumar Pal Delhi - RO
for SPCL, aims at developing professional project engineers 6 Mr. Puranam Virupakshaiah Hyderabad - RO
/ managers with the skills to handle Construction Project 7 Mr. Siddhartha Nath Kolkata - RO
Management problems. Participants are carefully chosen 8 Mr. Saugata Mazumder Kolkata - RO
based on their past performance and leadership potential 9 Mr. Vinod Ramrao Surve Nasik - RO
exhibited in their current roles.
10 Mr. Tushar M. Hire Nagpur - RO
Participants spend ten weeks on the Pune campus, three 11 Mr. Pravin Lanjewar Pune - RO
weeks every term and one week at the end of the course 12 Mr. Rajesh Sharma Real Estate-Delhi
for the final exam and viva voce. SPCL bears the entire
13 Mr. Sumit Goswami EPC - Kolkata
course fee, lodging and boarding expense incurred for the
14 Mr. Goutam Nandi EPC - Kolkata
program. 15 Mr. Sudip Mitra EPC - Kolkata
NICMAR has recently announced the results of the 6th 16 Mr. Vishal P Borude Mumbai - RO
Batch of E-PGPM course. We congratulate the following 17 Mr. Balbir Bisht Delhi - RO
08
successful participants of the 6th Batch
18 Mr. Murali Krishna Hyderabad - RO
- Sohan Mohanty, SP HO
 Vacation Donation Programme
As you may be aware, SPCL HR Department introduced six
policies in October aimed at motivating and rewarding
meritorious performances of employees and their children
and increasing the bonding among the employees.
One such policy was the Vacation Donation Programme.
Sometimes, circumstances compel an employee to take
more leave than is available to him/her. The policy
encourages ‘caring’ employees to come to the aid of his/her
colleague by donating PL from his/her account to the
colleague without any expectation on his/her part.
One such employee, Ms Shraddha Trasi of Corporate HR
who was a beneficiary under this scheme. Shraddha was
away from office for 4 weeks to take care of her mother
ELP Training, Hyderabad
The session in progress
‘Empowered Leadership Development’ program was held for
the managerial cadres at Hyderabad region from the
9th to 11th December, 2010. Twenty nine staff members from
Planning, QS, Execution, MEP, Tender & QA/QC depts.
attended the program. This was a residential program
organized in a serene environment at a resort. Feedback from
a few participants is given below:
1. Mr. Govind Sharma, Manager (Construction), EMAAR
MGF Site says, “I feel that this program may be conducted
at other regions also as this program has given a different
thought process and lateral thinking. This will help the
individual to identify their red and green behaviors which
they are not aware of. This program has given a different
view to think about your own strengths which you can
utilize for achieving your goals in life effectively.”
2. Mr. Y. Babji, Dy. Manager (QS & Planning), ITC
Bhadrachalam says, “This type of program may not give an
instant result but constant application will show good result
both for the participant and the organization. It has the
potential to make a change in behavioral skills, goal setting,
and conflict resolution.”
09
3. Mr. Tonmoy Mukherjee, Dy.Manager (Construction),
HHIPL Site, Vizag says, “It was a wonderful program. Firstly
the venue selected was the correct place for such a
who had a fall and required full time care. Having recently
joined the company, she had no leave to her credit and was
on leave without pay during this emergency. Then, a
benefactor (who wishes not to be named) donated 6 days
Privilege Leave. This unexpected act of generosity touched
Shraddha. She said: “I felt good. His act helped a lot and I
was thrilled. I had read about the policy but never thought
that I could benefit from it. I am so glad that our company is
different from others. We are the only one to have this
policy.”
Let us all take a pledge that in the New Year we will reach
out and help our colleagues in need.
- Mukesh Rao, SP HO
program. I think every body should try to follow as much as
possible from this program. It will certainly improve our
leadership quality with values & self esteem. I am sure that
through this light of knowledge every body will prosper in
life with a specific goal.”
4. Mr. P.G.C. Santosh, Manager (Planning), EMAAR MGF Site
said,“The key learnings from the program are
a. Listen to anyone without a burden to agree.
b. No break through happens inside comfort zone.
c. Win and keep winning, but not by making others lose.
5. Mr G.Chakravarthy, Senior Manager (Planning) from AKES
Site said “The ELP work shop has made a transformation in
my life. It really touched my emotions and fuelled my
passion for doing something extraordinary not only for
organizational growth but also for entire human kind. I am
thankful to the entire faculty who showed us our destiny.
Now this group is called HYDERBAD GOLDEN EAGLES
and this team will develop more powerful teams in future.
I thank management for giving this wonderful opportunity
to be a learner at ELP.”
- Aziz Tayyaba, Hyderabad
SPCL Site Bags the NSCI Safety Awards
CEO-SPCL, Mr. MD Saini receiving the NSCI Golden Award from Union NSCI Award ceremony photographs, 30th October, 2010, Manager-SPCL, Mr.
Labour Minister Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge on 30th October, 2010 accompanied by Rahul Mazumdar, DGM-SPCL, Mr. KU Ramu, and Regional Head HSE. Pune-
Head HSE-SPCL, Mr. Alok Shrivastava. Also seen in the picture are DG- NSCI, SPCL, Mr. Tushar Banekar- with the honorable minister.
Mr. VB Sant, Secretary-Ministry of labor, Mr. Anup Pandey and Vice Chairman-
NSCI, Mr. Galav.
The National Safety Council of India (NSCI) aimed at innovative and fresh concepts that were enforced in totality,
recognising and encouraging establishments for achieving there was hardly any probability of an unsafe practice during
“Excellence in Occupational Health and Safety Management the execution phase and this is what happened precisely.
System in Construction Projects” by initiating the “Safety First” is a mindset which each and every employee at
“Sarvshreshtha Surakhsha Puraskar Scheme” in 2005. SPCL’s SPCL believes in and given utmost importance by our MD,
General Motors project at Talegaon, Pune won this Mr. Cyrus Mistry. It was indeed a superlative achievement
prestigious NSCI Golden Safety Award (‘Sarvshreshtha that was contributed by:
Surakhsha Puraskar’) for the year 2009. • Sheer dedication and hard work put in by the site and
The robust “Health, Safety and Environment Management regional team
System” (HSEMS) of SPCL was in place right from day one
of the project. The concept of not giving a single day’s • Absolute support and commitment of the client
leeway and HSEMS rules and procedures proved very • Decisions and actions by top management to boost the
crucial in establishing the mind set of site team. Even the HSE movement
client, General Motors, reinforced the HSEMS of SPCL by Though continuously strengthening existing HSEMS systems
further infusing it with their relevant practices and played a complementary role, it is the inherent culture
procedures that are acknowledged worldwide. which contributed towards adding one more feather in our
With the, amalgamation of these two proven safety cultures crown.
and all necessary collaboration, coupled with various
- Alok Shrivastava, SP HO
Safety Conference
To bolster the safety culture across the Company, it was
mooted by the corporate HSE department (CHSED) to
hold one-day 'Safety Conferences', involving key senior
management representatives and safety personnel from
HO, ROs as well as from the project sites.
As a result, the first safety conference was held at SP Centre
having participation from the corporate team and regional
teams represented by the Regional Head (RH) and Regional
Safety Coordinator (RSC). All RHs had made presentations
for their respective regions in the prescribed format.
Subsequently, a conference was organised for each region Participants taking the safety oath
attended by the RH, Project Coordinators, Project
Managers, RSC and Safety Officers. CHSED was Total safety conferences : 9 (one at HO, 8 at RO's)
represented in each of the regional safety conferences and a Number of sites participated : 96
training session of two hours on 'Awareness, Principles and Participants : 245
Guidelines of Safety' was imparted to the participants.
To organise the Safety Conference on a regular basis was
Project Managers made presentations on the safety aspects
unanimously agreed by all the participants. Therefore, it is
of their sites in the prescribed format. Details of the
proposed to have annual HO conference and RO
10
conferences are as follows-
conferences twice in a year.
- Alok Shrivastava, SP HO
 Vacation Donation Programme
As you may be aware, SPCL HR Department introduced six
policies in October aimed at motivating and rewarding
meritorious performances of employees and their children
and increasing the bonding among the employees.
One such policy was the Vacation Donation Programme.
Sometimes, circumstances compel an employee to take
more leave than is available to him/her. The policy
encourages ‘caring’ employees to come to the aid of his/her
colleague by donating PL from his/her account to the
colleague without any expectation on his/her part.
One such employee, Ms Shraddha Trasi of Corporate HR
who was a beneficiary under this scheme. Shraddha was
away from office for 4 weeks to take care of her mother
ELP Training, Hyderabad
The session in progress
‘Empowered Leadership Development’ program was held for
the managerial cadres at Hyderabad region from the
9th to 11th December, 2010. Twenty nine staff members from
Planning, QS, Execution, MEP, Tender & QA/QC depts.
attended the program. This was a residential program
organized in a serene environment at a resort. Feedback from
a few participants is given below:
1. Mr. Govind Sharma, Manager (Construction), EMAAR
MGF Site says, “I feel that this program may be conducted
at other regions also as this program has given a different
thought process and lateral thinking. This will help the
individual to identify their red and green behaviors which
they are not aware of. This program has given a different
view to think about your own strengths which you can
utilize for achieving your goals in life effectively.”
2. Mr. Y. Babji, Dy. Manager (QS & Planning), ITC
Bhadrachalam says, “This type of program may not give an
instant result but constant application will show good result
both for the participant and the organization. It has the
potential to make a change in behavioral skills, goal setting,
and conflict resolution.”
09
3. Mr. Tonmoy Mukherjee, Dy.Manager (Construction),
HHIPL Site, Vizag says, “It was a wonderful program. Firstly
the venue selected was the correct place for such a
who had a fall and required full time care. Having recently
joined the company, she had no leave to her credit and was
on leave without pay during this emergency. Then, a
benefactor (who wishes not to be named) donated 6 days
Privilege Leave. This unexpected act of generosity touched
Shraddha. She said: “I felt good. His act helped a lot and I
was thrilled. I had read about the policy but never thought
that I could benefit from it. I am so glad that our company is
different from others. We are the only one to have this
policy.”
Let us all take a pledge that in the New Year we will reach
out and help our colleagues in need.
- Mukesh Rao, SP HO
program. I think every body should try to follow as much as
possible from this program. It will certainly improve our
leadership quality with values & self esteem. I am sure that
through this light of knowledge every body will prosper in
life with a specific goal.”
4. Mr. P.G.C. Santosh, Manager (Planning), EMAAR MGF Site
said,“The key learnings from the program are
a. Listen to anyone without a burden to agree.
b. No break through happens inside comfort zone.
c. Win and keep winning, but not by making others lose.
5. Mr G.Chakravarthy, Senior Manager (Planning) from AKES
Site said “The ELP work shop has made a transformation in
my life. It really touched my emotions and fuelled my
passion for doing something extraordinary not only for
organizational growth but also for entire human kind. I am
thankful to the entire faculty who showed us our destiny.
Now this group is called HYDERBAD GOLDEN EAGLES
and this team will develop more powerful teams in future.
I thank management for giving this wonderful opportunity
to be a learner at ELP.”
- Aziz Tayyaba, Hyderabad
SPCL Site Bags the NSCI Safety Awards
CEO-SPCL, Mr. MD Saini receiving the NSCI Golden Award from Union NSCI Award ceremony photographs, 30th October, 2010, Manager-SPCL, Mr.
Labour Minister Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge on 30th October, 2010 accompanied by Rahul Mazumdar, DGM-SPCL, Mr. KU Ramu, and Regional Head HSE. Pune-
Head HSE-SPCL, Mr. Alok Shrivastava. Also seen in the picture are DG- NSCI, SPCL, Mr. Tushar Banekar- with the honorable minister.
Mr. VB Sant, Secretary-Ministry of labor, Mr. Anup Pandey and Vice Chairman-
NSCI, Mr. Galav.
The National Safety Council of India (NSCI) aimed at innovative and fresh concepts that were enforced in totality,
recognising and encouraging establishments for achieving there was hardly any probability of an unsafe practice during
“Excellence in Occupational Health and Safety Management the execution phase and this is what happened precisely.
System in Construction Projects” by initiating the “Safety First” is a mindset which each and every employee at
“Sarvshreshtha Surakhsha Puraskar Scheme” in 2005. SPCL’s SPCL believes in and given utmost importance by our MD,
General Motors project at Talegaon, Pune won this Mr. Cyrus Mistry. It was indeed a superlative achievement
prestigious NSCI Golden Safety Award (‘Sarvshreshtha that was contributed by:
Surakhsha Puraskar’) for the year 2009. • Sheer dedication and hard work put in by the site and
The robust “Health, Safety and Environment Management regional team
System” (HSEMS) of SPCL was in place right from day one
of the project. The concept of not giving a single day’s • Absolute support and commitment of the client
leeway and HSEMS rules and procedures proved very • Decisions and actions by top management to boost the
crucial in establishing the mind set of site team. Even the HSE movement
client, General Motors, reinforced the HSEMS of SPCL by Though continuously strengthening existing HSEMS systems
further infusing it with their relevant practices and played a complementary role, it is the inherent culture
procedures that are acknowledged worldwide. which contributed towards adding one more feather in our
With the, amalgamation of these two proven safety cultures crown.
and all necessary collaboration, coupled with various
- Alok Shrivastava, SP HO
Safety Conference
To bolster the safety culture across the Company, it was
mooted by the corporate HSE department (CHSED) to
hold one-day 'Safety Conferences', involving key senior
management representatives and safety personnel from
HO, ROs as well as from the project sites.
As a result, the first safety conference was held at SP Centre
having participation from the corporate team and regional
teams represented by the Regional Head (RH) and Regional
Safety Coordinator (RSC). All RHs had made presentations
for their respective regions in the prescribed format.
Subsequently, a conference was organised for each region Participants taking the safety oath
attended by the RH, Project Coordinators, Project
Managers, RSC and Safety Officers. CHSED was Total safety conferences : 9 (one at HO, 8 at RO's)
represented in each of the regional safety conferences and a Number of sites participated : 96
training session of two hours on 'Awareness, Principles and Participants : 245
Guidelines of Safety' was imparted to the participants.
To organise the Safety Conference on a regular basis was
Project Managers made presentations on the safety aspects
unanimously agreed by all the participants. Therefore, it is
of their sites in the prescribed format. Details of the
proposed to have annual HO conference and RO
10
conferences are as follows-
conferences twice in a year.
- Alok Shrivastava, SP HO
 Happening in Delhi Region
SPCL in WODD Rally at India Gate
th
6 World Organ Donation Day
Staff of SPCL Delhi Region along with their families
participated in the Mass Awareness campaign on the
occasion of the 6th World Organ Donation Day held at India
Gate, New Delhi on 27th November, 2010. The event in
which SPCL raised the slogan “Organ Donation - A Gift for
Life”, was organised under the aegis of the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare and World Health Organisation
(WHO). Mrs. Sheila Dikshit, CM of Delhi and Mr. Ghulam
Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health were present on the
occasion which also witnessed performances from Daler
Mehndi and Raju Srivastava. SPCL, Delhi Region regularly
participates in other awareness campaigns too like World
AIDS Day and Food Safety Day.
Airtel Delhi Half Marathon
Eight staff members from Delhi also ran in the Airtel Delhi
Half Marathon on 21st November, 2010. Running under the
slogan - Safety First in Construction Industry - they all
improved on their previous timings. Delhi had also sent a
representative to run in the Stanchart Mumbai Marathon
and its Cricket and Football teams regularly participate in
tournaments held at Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh.
TMLL Site bags Award
TATA Motor Lucknow (TML) arranged the ‘Service
Providers Annual Meet 2010’ on 20th September, 2010.
The iSpace Corporate Cricket Tourney 2010
Mr. Shailesh Korgaokar with the winners.
The second edition of the iSpace Corporate Cricket Tourney
concluded at SP Infocity Pune on 17th November, 2010.
Encouraged by the success of the inaugural tourney in 2009,
iSpace Club invited entries from various companies on
11 campus to participate this year as well. The response was
phenomenal with 40 teams registering as opposed to 24 last
year, inspite of the entry fees being higher.
TML thanked SPCL for support in achieving the milestone of
34,926 numbers of Vehicles Production in FY 2009 – 2010
and presented the trophy to SPCL.
Mr. Alok Saxena, Plant Head, TML, Lucknow and
Mr. Rajeev Kumar Gupta, AGM (Commercial) also
appreciated the TMLL team of SPCL and presented the
Gold Award in Project Services for 2009 – 2010 and the
Excellent Safety Performance Award – Plant Head Service
Provider Safety Trophy for 2009 – 2010.
TMLL site team with the award.
Mr. P. K. Rakheja, Sr. V. P. (North), Mr. Kalyan Kumar Kanji, G. M.
and Mr. Sandeep Kool, Project Manager, TMLL were present at
the award ceremony held at Lucknow and accepted the trophy,
awards and recognition on behalf of TMLL site team.
- Gautam Sarkar, Delhi
Free eye testing camp
An eye camp was organized in association with Mahavir
International, a Delhi based Trust.
The camp was organized at two of the company sites in
Greater Noida (GVM and CSCT).
Preliminary vision testing was performed by the ophthalmic
team using vision charts and E type charts. Patients who had
problems with their vision were given glasses free of cost.
Clinical conditions such as external eye infection and
presence of cataract were also examined. Test findings were
evaluated and after examination, doctors made the final
diagnoses and prescribed necessary treatment.
Around 821 labourers benefited from the camp and 200
pairs of spectacles were distributed.
- Preeti Sehgal, Delhi
This year the teams donned a full cricket uniform with each
team’s color, logo, names and numbers of individual players.
The prize money was also increased to ` 40,000 for the
winner and ` 25,000 for the runner up team. There were
also individual prizes for best bowler and best batsman of
the tourney.
The event was sponsored by Croma, Sanjay Maintenance
Services, Ansec Security Services, Rajeshwari Landscaping,
Om Enterprises, Wastu Painting Services, Unique Electricals,
Adventure Plus, Sodexo, Citrus Check Inns, Vedant Facility
Services, Sabcons & Balaji Caterers.
Each team was allowed to field 7 players. All had to bowl an
over in the innings and there were fun rules for scoring runs
& declaring a batsman out. The finalist were ‘Oceans IX’ and
‘ADP A’ with the latter successfully defending their total of 46
runs.
The ‘Best Batsman’ prize went to Aniket of ‘ADP A’ and Nithi
of ‘Oceans IX’ was the ‘Best Bowler’. Nachiket of ‘SPCL
Fighters’ was recognized as the ‘Best Player’ of the tourney.
Mr. Lalchand Rajput was the guest of honor for the event.
and gave away the prizes.
- Shailesh Korgaokar, SP Infocity, Pune.
Happening in Kolkata Region
Mr. Kalpanath Banerjee and Mr. Pranob Roy with the budding footballers.
Team lead by Mr. Kalpanath Banerjee on the job
Kolkata Regions Football match for the underprivileged Pond Cleaning at Nayalanka Pond
children
Forbes, a group concern of SP, is involved in numerous
Kolkata Region conducted a friendly football match on
activities like water harvesting and cleaning of ponds. Our
14th August, 2010 for underprivileged children. The football
MD. Mr. Cyrus Mistry, had expressed his desire that SPCL
match was conducted in two parts. The first half was for
should also be engaged in creating a better environment.
underprivileged children from schools in the age group of
10 - 15 years. Six teams from various schools of Kolkata Motivated by his vision, the Recreation Club of SPCL,
Kolkata got involved in the cleaning of the 300 year old
participated in the match.
The event started at 9.00 am at the Salt Lake GD Block Nayalanka Pond in Barasat.
football ground where members of the recreation club On the 15th of August, 2010, staff of the Recreation Club
along with staff of SPCL and the school teams gathered. The along with local residents got into action and conducted a
matches were conducted in knockout format and each half
‘Shramdan’ to clean the pond. The enthusiasm with which
was of 15 minutes with a break of 10 minutes.
Though a friendly event, the matches were played with the local residents engaged in this activity further motivated
the club members. Everyone has committed to continue
great competitive spirit. Bidhannagar Municipality School
with the cleaning and beautification of the pond.
won the competition. Mr. Bhaskar Ganguly, renowned
footballer of West Bengal, was the chief guest. He
- Usha Venkatesan, Kolkata
congratulated the teams on their participation. Mr. Pranob
Roy, former member of Indian Cricket Test Team,
distributed the prizes. On behalf of club, Mrs Kalpanath
Banerjee presented a memento to Mr. Bhaskar Ganguly and
Health Camp, Guwahati
Mr. Pranob Roy.
In the second half a friendly match was played between KB-
XI and TSR-XI. It looked amazing when AGMs, DGMs and
VP along with engineers and officers ran after a football. At
the end KB-XI won 4-0.
Health camp for workers
A health checkup camp for workers was organized at Radisson
Hotel, Guwahati site, on 11th September, 2010.
Dr. Madhukar Choudhury (MD) of Mahendra Mohan
Choudhury Hospital, a premier govt. hospital at Guwahati,
Mr. and Mrs. Kalpanath Banerjee presenting memento conducted the checkup. He advised the workers to take
to Mr. Bhaskar Ganguly. necessary health measures and also spoke at length to them
The SP team members had also made provision for about general wellbeing.
breakfast and lunch which the children thoroughly enjoyed. - Abhilash Choudhury, Kolkata
It was overwhelming to see the joy on the faces of these
children. The memory of the sporting event will always stay
with the members of the Recreation Club.
- Usha Venkatesan, Kolkata
12
 Happening in Delhi Region
SPCL in WODD Rally at India Gate
th
6 World Organ Donation Day
Staff of SPCL Delhi Region along with their families
participated in the Mass Awareness campaign on the
occasion of the 6th World Organ Donation Day held at India
Gate, New Delhi on 27th November, 2010. The event in
which SPCL raised the slogan “Organ Donation - A Gift for
Life”, was organised under the aegis of the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare and World Health Organisation
(WHO). Mrs. Sheila Dikshit, CM of Delhi and Mr. Ghulam
Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health were present on the
occasion which also witnessed performances from Daler
Mehndi and Raju Srivastava. SPCL, Delhi Region regularly
participates in other awareness campaigns too like World
AIDS Day and Food Safety Day.
Airtel Delhi Half Marathon
Eight staff members from Delhi also ran in the Airtel Delhi
Half Marathon on 21st November, 2010. Running under the
slogan - Safety First in Construction Industry - they all
improved on their previous timings. Delhi had also sent a
representative to run in the Stanchart Mumbai Marathon
and its Cricket and Football teams regularly participate in
tournaments held at Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh.
TMLL Site bags Award
TATA Motor Lucknow (TML) arranged the ‘Service
Providers Annual Meet 2010’ on 20th September, 2010.
The iSpace Corporate Cricket Tourney 2010
Mr. Shailesh Korgaokar with the winners.
The second edition of the iSpace Corporate Cricket Tourney
concluded at SP Infocity Pune on 17th November, 2010.
Encouraged by the success of the inaugural tourney in 2009,
iSpace Club invited entries from various companies on
11 campus to participate this year as well. The response was
phenomenal with 40 teams registering as opposed to 24 last
year, inspite of the entry fees being higher.
TML thanked SPCL for support in achieving the milestone of
34,926 numbers of Vehicles Production in FY 2009 – 2010
and presented the trophy to SPCL.
Mr. Alok Saxena, Plant Head, TML, Lucknow and
Mr. Rajeev Kumar Gupta, AGM (Commercial) also
appreciated the TMLL team of SPCL and presented the
Gold Award in Project Services for 2009 – 2010 and the
Excellent Safety Performance Award – Plant Head Service
Provider Safety Trophy for 2009 – 2010.
TMLL site team with the award.
Mr. P. K. Rakheja, Sr. V. P. (North), Mr. Kalyan Kumar Kanji, G. M.
and Mr. Sandeep Kool, Project Manager, TMLL were present at
the award ceremony held at Lucknow and accepted the trophy,
awards and recognition on behalf of TMLL site team.
- Gautam Sarkar, Delhi
Free eye testing camp
An eye camp was organized in association with Mahavir
International, a Delhi based Trust.
The camp was organized at two of the company sites in
Greater Noida (GVM and CSCT).
Preliminary vision testing was performed by the ophthalmic
team using vision charts and E type charts. Patients who had
problems with their vision were given glasses free of cost.
Clinical conditions such as external eye infection and
presence of cataract were also examined. Test findings were
evaluated and after examination, doctors made the final
diagnoses and prescribed necessary treatment.
Around 821 labourers benefited from the camp and 200
pairs of spectacles were distributed.
- Preeti Sehgal, Delhi
This year the teams donned a full cricket uniform with each
team’s color, logo, names and numbers of individual players.
The prize money was also increased to ` 40,000 for the
winner and ` 25,000 for the runner up team. There were
also individual prizes for best bowler and best batsman of
the tourney.
The event was sponsored by Croma, Sanjay Maintenance
Services, Ansec Security Services, Rajeshwari Landscaping,
Om Enterprises, Wastu Painting Services, Unique Electricals,
Adventure Plus, Sodexo, Citrus Check Inns, Vedant Facility
Services, Sabcons & Balaji Caterers.
Each team was allowed to field 7 players. All had to bowl an
over in the innings and there were fun rules for scoring runs
& declaring a batsman out. The finalist were ‘Oceans IX’ and
‘ADP A’ with the latter successfully defending their total of 46
runs.
The ‘Best Batsman’ prize went to Aniket of ‘ADP A’ and Nithi
of ‘Oceans IX’ was the ‘Best Bowler’. Nachiket of ‘SPCL
Fighters’ was recognized as the ‘Best Player’ of the tourney.
Mr. Lalchand Rajput was the guest of honor for the event.
and gave away the prizes.
- Shailesh Korgaokar, SP Infocity, Pune.
Happening in Kolkata Region
Mr. Kalpanath Banerjee and Mr. Pranob Roy with the budding footballers.
Team lead by Mr. Kalpanath Banerjee on the job
Kolkata Regions Football match for the underprivileged Pond Cleaning at Nayalanka Pond
children
Forbes, a group concern of SP, is involved in numerous
Kolkata Region conducted a friendly football match on
activities like water harvesting and cleaning of ponds. Our
14th August, 2010 for underprivileged children. The football
MD. Mr. Cyrus Mistry, had expressed his desire that SPCL
match was conducted in two parts. The first half was for
should also be engaged in creating a better environment.
underprivileged children from schools in the age group of
10 - 15 years. Six teams from various schools of Kolkata Motivated by his vision, the Recreation Club of SPCL,
Kolkata got involved in the cleaning of the 300 year old
participated in the match.
The event started at 9.00 am at the Salt Lake GD Block Nayalanka Pond in Barasat.
football ground where members of the recreation club On the 15th of August, 2010, staff of the Recreation Club
along with staff of SPCL and the school teams gathered. The along with local residents got into action and conducted a
matches were conducted in knockout format and each half
‘Shramdan’ to clean the pond. The enthusiasm with which
was of 15 minutes with a break of 10 minutes.
Though a friendly event, the matches were played with the local residents engaged in this activity further motivated
the club members. Everyone has committed to continue
great competitive spirit. Bidhannagar Municipality School
with the cleaning and beautification of the pond.
won the competition. Mr. Bhaskar Ganguly, renowned
footballer of West Bengal, was the chief guest. He
- Usha Venkatesan, Kolkata
congratulated the teams on their participation. Mr. Pranob
Roy, former member of Indian Cricket Test Team,
distributed the prizes. On behalf of club, Mrs Kalpanath
Banerjee presented a memento to Mr. Bhaskar Ganguly and
Health Camp, Guwahati
Mr. Pranob Roy.
In the second half a friendly match was played between KB-
XI and TSR-XI. It looked amazing when AGMs, DGMs and
VP along with engineers and officers ran after a football. At
the end KB-XI won 4-0.
Health camp for workers
A health checkup camp for workers was organized at Radisson
Hotel, Guwahati site, on 11th September, 2010.
Dr. Madhukar Choudhury (MD) of Mahendra Mohan
Choudhury Hospital, a premier govt. hospital at Guwahati,
Mr. and Mrs. Kalpanath Banerjee presenting memento conducted the checkup. He advised the workers to take
to Mr. Bhaskar Ganguly. necessary health measures and also spoke at length to them
The SP team members had also made provision for about general wellbeing.
breakfast and lunch which the children thoroughly enjoyed. - Abhilash Choudhury, Kolkata
It was overwhelming to see the joy on the faces of these
children. The memory of the sporting event will always stay
with the members of the Recreation Club.
- Usha Venkatesan, Kolkata
12
 Focus on group companies
Projects by AFCONS
Ghazipur Project
View of underpass and flyover
Construction of main flyover, underpass, slip roads, bridge
widening over drain, footbridge, bus bays, cycle tracks,
drainage, electrical, landscaping, and allied works at
Ghazipur crossing of NH – 24 and Road No. 56, is one of
Mukarba Chowk Project
View of main flyover from Rohini end
Construction of the Grade Separator at Mukarba Chowk at
GT Karnal Road on Outer Ring Road junction, New Delhi,
was the first Common Wealth Game project to be
completed by AFCONS. It won the best project award
from the Ministry of PWD. The completely Signal Free
Junction comprised the Construction of Main Flyover
including Loops, Slip Roads, Bridges, Subway, Cycle Tracks,
Drainage, Electrical, Landscaping and allied works.
The value of the project at completion was ` 173 crores and
it was inaugurated on 1st March, 2009.
Mukarba Chowk Intersection on GT Karnal Road-Outer
Ring Road in North Delhi is the gateway to five states of
India viz. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh
and Jammu & Kashmir and also to Delhi. It is one of the
busiest junctions of Delhi. Access to the capital city of India
through this constructed Grade Separator at the said
intersection provides a pleasing view, soothing effect and a
profound respite to the eyes and mind of the people.
The project consisted of:
• Completely Signal Free Junction
13 • Flyover joining on Outer Ring Road with viaduct on RCC
piers over pile foundation and composite steel structure
of tub shape.
the prestigious Common Wealth Game projects to be
completed by AFCONS.
The project worth ` 183 Cr at completion was inaugurated
on schedule on 29th June, 2010 by the Chief Minister of
Delhi.
The scope of work included 770 m long main flyover with 8
lanes for vehicular traffic, 6630 m underpass with 4 lanes
plus 3 m carriageway on each side for non-motorized
vehicles, rotary of 80 m, surface level 8 numbers of slip road
each of 3500 m length and 11m width on either side of
flyover and underpass.
The construction of the PSC slab was done by using Balance
Cantilever Bridge Builder Technique. This technique has
been implemented for the first time in a Delhi flyover.
The Maximum length of Single Span of Carriage way is 75 m
& width 15.2 m which is also a first in Delhi. The record
time cycle of 6 days was achieved with balance cantilever
bridge builder technique in the complete construction of
segments of 3 mtrs. each.
• Four Slip Roads for left turns and Four Clover Leaves for
right turns with three lane carriageway (9.0 meter each)
on integrated and continuous Voided Slab avoiding
bearing usage and minimizing expansion joints / RCC
Box / Re-Wall / Embankments.
• 2950 meter long and 4 meter wide dedicated Cycle
Track / Footpath.
• Bus bays on Flyover and Ground Level below Flyover.
• Staircase and Ramps (For physically challenged and
senior citizens), Subway for crossing for both cyclists and
pedestrians and future provisions for Lifts and Escalators.
• Landscaping, Street Lighting etc.
• Aesthetically pleasant Electric Poles on Slip Roads and
Cloverleaves providing better lux level on carriageway.
• Extensive use of imported GOMACO Slip Form Paver
for construction of RCC Crash Barriers.
• Managing huge volume of traffic.
Achievements:
• Appreciation from Client for completing 1450 cum of
continuous concreting of voided slab in the loop of
4th quadrant in a record time of 24 hours.
• Appreciation from Client for completing 200 nos of
1200 mm diameter piles in a month.
• Unique shape of piers, pier caps & voided slabs in
various loops, slip roads & main flyover.
• Appreciation from Client for fabricating 2460 MT of Steel
Tub Girder at Ropar Workshop.
• Mobile Arrangement for Anti-Carbonation paint
application underneath the deck.
• Successful use of slip form pavers for construction of
RCC Crash Barrier-First time in Delhi.
- Team AFCONS
ACP Cladding: the new trend in architecture
Introduction
Cladding in the context of building construction refers to the
application of one material over another to provide a skin or
layer intended to control the infiltration of weather elements
or for aesthetic purposes.
Aluminium Composite Panel (ACP) or Aluminium
Composite Material (ACM) is a widely used term describing
flat panels that consist of a non-aluminium core bonded
between two aluminium sheets. Aluminium sheets can be
coated with PVDF or Polyester paint. ACPs are frequently
used for external cladding of buildings (building facades), for
insulation and for signage. ACP is very rigid and strong
despite its light weight. Aluminium can be painted in any kind
of colour and ACPs are produced in a wide range of metallic
and non-metallic colours as well as patterns that imitate
other materials, such as wood or marble. Applications of
ACPs are not limited to external building cladding, but can
also be used in any form of cladding such as partitions, false
ceilings etc. The core is commonly low density Polyethylene
or an insulating material.
History
Cladding in construction has existed through the early times
when, in Norway, it was used on large barns to protect the
bare walls from the natural elements. However, more
formal research into cladding and its use as a weather
elements excluder was a more recent process initiated in
the 1940’s. The Alcoa Building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
was one of the first very large buildings to utilise modern
rainscreen cladding.
In 1969, through a joint invention between Alusingen and
BASF, the first ACP was introduced to the world. In spite of
the invention of the product in 1969, it was not until the mid
80s that mainstream architecture discovered the use of the
material. Since then the process of ACP cladding has
progressed in leaps and bounds and now along with
aluminium curtain-walls and glass, ACP materials dominate
the facade industry.
There are many modern cities that have been built with
these materials. The impressive Burj al Arab, symbol of the
city of Dubai is a prime example and a benchmark project
for ACP cladding.
Advantages of ACP
• Light weight and impressive strength-to-weight ratio
• Material adaptability and flexibility
• Durability
• Harmony with the environment
• Variety of colours
Disadvantages of ACP
• Fire Hazard
• Poor Impact Resistance
Preparation for Installation
Prior to installing the ACP system, verify that the building is
properly protected with a weather resistant barrier (WRB).
Ventilation spaces should allow for uninhibited vertical
airflow. The design of the ACP rain screen system allows it
to be fastened directly to the wall framing or furring strips.
Achieving a ventilation compartment is accomplished by
spacing the system from the wall. Without this essential
spacing, the system will not breathe correctly and will likely
trap water, condensation, or other moisture.
High Level Steps
• The bracket layout is marked
• Brackets are fixed & aligned.
a) Position bracket
b) Fix Fasteners
c) Provide packing using Shims
• The ACP Cladding panels shall be lifted up to respective
floors by using an internal material hoist and then
distributed outside the building vide openings i.e.
windows.
• Panel Installation
a) Fix grids
b) Position panels using plumb line to ensure alignment
of panels
c) Lock panels into the grid using locking arrangements
Note: An electrical gondola / cradle shall be used for all the
external façade.
Design Loads
The ACP cladding is subjected to various loads, generated
by the environment and occupancy, including windloads, self
weight and impact loads. Inappropriate design can lead to
cladding collapsing or being torn from the structure.
Excessive deformation may compromise the effectiveness of
weather seals. Wind flowing round a building causes
pressure and suction on the surfaces. The cladding should
be designed to have adequate strength, both in the panels
and their connections to the structure.
Computer Associates, Hyderbad
Performance testing of cladding
In buildings where the cladding system is complex,
performance testing for weather tightness may be required
as part of the contract conditions to demonstrate
compliance with specified performance criteria. The testing
regime depends on the type of cladding system. 14
 Focus on group companies
Projects by AFCONS
Ghazipur Project
View of underpass and flyover
Construction of main flyover, underpass, slip roads, bridge
widening over drain, footbridge, bus bays, cycle tracks,
drainage, electrical, landscaping, and allied works at
Ghazipur crossing of NH – 24 and Road No. 56, is one of
Mukarba Chowk Project
View of main flyover from Rohini end
Construction of the Grade Separator at Mukarba Chowk at
GT Karnal Road on Outer Ring Road junction, New Delhi,
was the first Common Wealth Game project to be
completed by AFCONS. It won the best project award
from the Ministry of PWD. The completely Signal Free
Junction comprised the Construction of Main Flyover
including Loops, Slip Roads, Bridges, Subway, Cycle Tracks,
Drainage, Electrical, Landscaping and allied works.
The value of the project at completion was ` 173 crores and
it was inaugurated on 1st March, 2009.
Mukarba Chowk Intersection on GT Karnal Road-Outer
Ring Road in North Delhi is the gateway to five states of
India viz. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh
and Jammu & Kashmir and also to Delhi. It is one of the
busiest junctions of Delhi. Access to the capital city of India
through this constructed Grade Separator at the said
intersection provides a pleasing view, soothing effect and a
profound respite to the eyes and mind of the people.
The project consisted of:
• Completely Signal Free Junction
13 • Flyover joining on Outer Ring Road with viaduct on RCC
piers over pile foundation and composite steel structure
of tub shape.
the prestigious Common Wealth Game projects to be
completed by AFCONS.
The project worth ` 183 Cr at completion was inaugurated
on schedule on 29th June, 2010 by the Chief Minister of
Delhi.
The scope of work included 770 m long main flyover with 8
lanes for vehicular traffic, 6630 m underpass with 4 lanes
plus 3 m carriageway on each side for non-motorized
vehicles, rotary of 80 m, surface level 8 numbers of slip road
each of 3500 m length and 11m width on either side of
flyover and underpass.
The construction of the PSC slab was done by using Balance
Cantilever Bridge Builder Technique. This technique has
been implemented for the first time in a Delhi flyover.
The Maximum length of Single Span of Carriage way is 75 m
& width 15.2 m which is also a first in Delhi. The record
time cycle of 6 days was achieved with balance cantilever
bridge builder technique in the complete construction of
segments of 3 mtrs. each.
• Four Slip Roads for left turns and Four Clover Leaves for
right turns with three lane carriageway (9.0 meter each)
on integrated and continuous Voided Slab avoiding
bearing usage and minimizing expansion joints / RCC
Box / Re-Wall / Embankments.
• 2950 meter long and 4 meter wide dedicated Cycle
Track / Footpath.
• Bus bays on Flyover and Ground Level below Flyover.
• Staircase and Ramps (For physically challenged and
senior citizens), Subway for crossing for both cyclists and
pedestrians and future provisions for Lifts and Escalators.
• Landscaping, Street Lighting etc.
• Aesthetically pleasant Electric Poles on Slip Roads and
Cloverleaves providing better lux level on carriageway.
• Extensive use of imported GOMACO Slip Form Paver
for construction of RCC Crash Barriers.
• Managing huge volume of traffic.
Achievements:
• Appreciation from Client for completing 1450 cum of
continuous concreting of voided slab in the loop of
4th quadrant in a record time of 24 hours.
• Appreciation from Client for completing 200 nos of
1200 mm diameter piles in a month.
• Unique shape of piers, pier caps & voided slabs in
various loops, slip roads & main flyover.
• Appreciation from Client for fabricating 2460 MT of Steel
Tub Girder at Ropar Workshop.
• Mobile Arrangement for Anti-Carbonation paint
application underneath the deck.
• Successful use of slip form pavers for construction of
RCC Crash Barrier-First time in Delhi.
- Team AFCONS
ACP Cladding: the new trend in architecture
Introduction
Cladding in the context of building construction refers to the
application of one material over another to provide a skin or
layer intended to control the infiltration of weather elements
or for aesthetic purposes.
Aluminium Composite Panel (ACP) or Aluminium
Composite Material (ACM) is a widely used term describing
flat panels that consist of a non-aluminium core bonded
between two aluminium sheets. Aluminium sheets can be
coated with PVDF or Polyester paint. ACPs are frequently
used for external cladding of buildings (building facades), for
insulation and for signage. ACP is very rigid and strong
despite its light weight. Aluminium can be painted in any kind
of colour and ACPs are produced in a wide range of metallic
and non-metallic colours as well as patterns that imitate
other materials, such as wood or marble. Applications of
ACPs are not limited to external building cladding, but can
also be used in any form of cladding such as partitions, false
ceilings etc. The core is commonly low density Polyethylene
or an insulating material.
History
Cladding in construction has existed through the early times
when, in Norway, it was used on large barns to protect the
bare walls from the natural elements. However, more
formal research into cladding and its use as a weather
elements excluder was a more recent process initiated in
the 1940’s. The Alcoa Building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
was one of the first very large buildings to utilise modern
rainscreen cladding.
In 1969, through a joint invention between Alusingen and
BASF, the first ACP was introduced to the world. In spite of
the invention of the product in 1969, it was not until the mid
80s that mainstream architecture discovered the use of the
material. Since then the process of ACP cladding has
progressed in leaps and bounds and now along with
aluminium curtain-walls and glass, ACP materials dominate
the facade industry.
There are many modern cities that have been built with
these materials. The impressive Burj al Arab, symbol of the
city of Dubai is a prime example and a benchmark project
for ACP cladding.
Advantages of ACP
• Light weight and impressive strength-to-weight ratio
• Material adaptability and flexibility
• Durability
• Harmony with the environment
• Variety of colours
Disadvantages of ACP
• Fire Hazard
• Poor Impact Resistance
Preparation for Installation
Prior to installing the ACP system, verify that the building is
properly protected with a weather resistant barrier (WRB).
Ventilation spaces should allow for uninhibited vertical
airflow. The design of the ACP rain screen system allows it
to be fastened directly to the wall framing or furring strips.
Achieving a ventilation compartment is accomplished by
spacing the system from the wall. Without this essential
spacing, the system will not breathe correctly and will likely
trap water, condensation, or other moisture.
High Level Steps
• The bracket layout is marked
• Brackets are fixed & aligned.
a) Position bracket
b) Fix Fasteners
c) Provide packing using Shims
• The ACP Cladding panels shall be lifted up to respective
floors by using an internal material hoist and then
distributed outside the building vide openings i.e.
windows.
• Panel Installation
a) Fix grids
b) Position panels using plumb line to ensure alignment
of panels
c) Lock panels into the grid using locking arrangements
Note: An electrical gondola / cradle shall be used for all the
external façade.
Design Loads
The ACP cladding is subjected to various loads, generated
by the environment and occupancy, including windloads, self
weight and impact loads. Inappropriate design can lead to
cladding collapsing or being torn from the structure.
Excessive deformation may compromise the effectiveness of
weather seals. Wind flowing round a building causes
pressure and suction on the surfaces. The cladding should
be designed to have adequate strength, both in the panels
and their connections to the structure.
Computer Associates, Hyderbad
Performance testing of cladding
In buildings where the cladding system is complex,
performance testing for weather tightness may be required
as part of the contract conditions to demonstrate
compliance with specified performance criteria. The testing
regime depends on the type of cladding system. 14

Mac Solutions, Hyderabad
In sealed systems (such as many forms of curtain walling) a
representative sample of the wall, a minimum of one bay of
the building, including all the details of the intended design is
constructed. The tests generally include:
Static pressure and water flow - A vacuum is applied to the
rear of the sample and water flow is directed using a series
of spray bar nozzles. The inside of the wall is then inspected
for water leakage.
Dynamic testing - The static test creates a positive pressure
across the cladding, the dynamic test endeavours to create
more realistic conditions by developing a turbulent pattern
of wind driven rain across the external face of the cladding.
In some test arrangements an aircraft engine is used to
provide a dynamic wind pattern.
SP Initiatives in Junagadh
The mobile dispensary
The Shapoorji Pallonji Group is investing over ` 100 billion,
one of its largest investments, in the development of an
integrated port and power facility in Junagadh District of
Gujarat.
SP Group has won a concession through competitive
bidding for setting up a deep draft, all weather, multi-user
and multi-cargo port at Chhara with an investment of
approximately ` 12 billion in the first phase. On completion,
it would be one of the few ports in India that can berth
cape-size vessels, large container vessels apart from current
generation LNG carriers and liquid cargo.
The Group is also implementing a coal based thermal
15 power project with an initial capacity of 1,320 MW with
capacity to expand to 2,640 MW. The first phase is being
implemented at an investment of over ` 70 billion.
Trends:
Self Cleaning Facades
Aluminium composite panel consists of two sheets of
aluminium bonding a layer of LDPE (low density
polyethylene) core in a continuous high pressure and
thermal compositing process. In self cleaning facades the
surface aluminium is roller-coated with quality NANO PVDF
lacquer with the back coated in anti-rust PET coating.
Surface plastic film for protecting surface of panels can be
peeled off.
- Team SPFAB
Tishman, Hyderabad
The power plant has already executed an agreement for
sale of 800 MW to Gujarat and active steps in
implementation of these projects are in progress. The plant
will have latest super critical technology boilers for power
generation together with use of low ash and low sulphur
coal and an extensive green belt with environment
conservation measures.
The land for these projects are being procured directly from
the land owners and inline with the philosophy of the SP
Group promoters, noteworthy efforts are being made to
ensure that these projects benefit the local communities.
The following initiatives, undertaken at the project location,
have received overwhelming response from the
villages/local communities:
1. A Mobile Dispensary with full time qualified doctor and
assisting staff is operational since November, 2010.
Medicines are distributed free of cost to those treated by
this primary care dispensary. A grand function was
organized at Central Kodinar to inaugurate this van. As of
date, on average, over 90 persons are being treated
everyday as the dispensary travels to the four villages
covered by the projects.
2. SP Group have entered in a MOU with BAIF, a leading
NGO based on Gandhian Principles, for a period of
5 years to take up activities for cattle breeding, cattle
health camp, and training of locals in income generating
schemes. Subsequently, a BAIF team is already operating
in the villages.
SP Group, being a socially responsible corporate, will
continuously endeavor to promote the welfare of local
communities through such activities.
- Bevin Mathews, SP Infra
Your Space
European Holiday (A travel log by Mukesh Rao, SP HO)
In mid September, my wife and I toured Europe. The 15
day package tour organised by a reputed travel company
covered 9 locations - Italy, Vatican City, Austria, Switzerland,
Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, France and United
Kingdom. On completion of the tour, we extended our stay
in the United Kingdom by two weeks.
It would be a gross understatement to say that we enjoyed
the trip. We loved every minute of it and the memories will
stay with us throughout our life. I strongly urge you to make
the trip if you get an opportunity.
The tour started in Rome. In our three days in Italy, we also
covered Florence, Pisa and Venice. These places are noted
for their history and culture. The Colisseum in Rome may
not impress us Indians who are used to magnificent ruins,
but the paintings in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican as well as
interiors of the St. Peters Basilica will blow your mind away.
Mt Titlis, Switzerland
More magnificent renaissance art follows in Florence till the
richness of it all leaves you hoping for a change of scene.
Venice and its canals were unique though the water was Our next stop was Germany. We had a cruise down the
Rhine admiring the pretty houses and the odd castle on the
dirty.
banks. We spent some time at the Black Forest - black
We were happy to see the rich greens of mountain because of the thick density of trees. German villages are
meadows, the quaint hillside houses and the bubbling picturesque. We saw the awesome cathedral at Cologne. A
streams as we climbed into Austria. We stayed in Innsbruck massive traffic pile up on the Autobahn reduced our stay at
which is a ‘hill station’. Wonderful old style buildings. Heidelberg Castle. German towns are clinical in their looks
Graceful people. It seemed a different world. Pity, we and architecture. Very modern and efficient.
stopped for just a day there. Austria is definitely worth
returning to and would compete with Switzerland for the We drove into the flat and tiny countries of Belgium and The
most enchanting scenery. Netherlands. We were now in Western Europe. The
weather is colder, the scenery is less wild. There are more
people and English is widely understood. At Brussels, we
saw the grand buildings lined along the aptly named ‘Grand
Place’ and enjoyed eating waffles. We cruised along the
canals in Amsterdam. As a Civil Engineer, I tend to enjoy
The River Inn in Inbnsbruck
The three days in Switzerland were the best. All lake and
mountain country. We took a train to the top of Europe-
Jungfraujoch - which, at 11,500 feet, has perennial snow
and ice. It felt great to play in and slide down the snow -
something that we would never experience here. The
scenery is breathtaking. We also got to see waterfalls inside a
mountain. The covered wooden bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland
these cruises more because of the architecture of the
buildings along the banks.
Our last stop in continental Europe was Paris in France - the
most visited nation on Earth. The Eiffel Tower did not
disappoint nor did the most famous road in Paris - Champs
d’Elysees. We warmed up to Paris as it reminded us of
Mumbai - full of life and variety. We took a cruise on the
Seine and wished we had more time at the Louvre, one of
the world’s greatest museums. Frankly, I felt Leonardo Da
Austria
Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” was over hyped.
16

Mac Solutions, Hyderabad
In sealed systems (such as many forms of curtain walling) a
representative sample of the wall, a minimum of one bay of
the building, including all the details of the intended design is
constructed. The tests generally include:
Static pressure and water flow - A vacuum is applied to the
rear of the sample and water flow is directed using a series
of spray bar nozzles. The inside of the wall is then inspected
for water leakage.
Dynamic testing - The static test creates a positive pressure
across the cladding, the dynamic test endeavours to create
more realistic conditions by developing a turbulent pattern
of wind driven rain across the external face of the cladding.
In some test arrangements an aircraft engine is used to
provide a dynamic wind pattern.
SP Initiatives in Junagadh
The mobile dispensary
The Shapoorji Pallonji Group is investing over ` 100 billion,
one of its largest investments, in the development of an
integrated port and power facility in Junagadh District of
Gujarat.
SP Group has won a concession through competitive
bidding for setting up a deep draft, all weather, multi-user
and multi-cargo port at Chhara with an investment of
approximately ` 12 billion in the first phase. On completion,
it would be one of the few ports in India that can berth
cape-size vessels, large container vessels apart from current
generation LNG carriers and liquid cargo.
The Group is also implementing a coal based thermal
15 power project with an initial capacity of 1,320 MW with
capacity to expand to 2,640 MW. The first phase is being
implemented at an investment of over ` 70 billion.
Trends:
Self Cleaning Facades
Aluminium composite panel consists of two sheets of
aluminium bonding a layer of LDPE (low density
polyethylene) core in a continuous high pressure and
thermal compositing process. In self cleaning facades the
surface aluminium is roller-coated with quality NANO PVDF
lacquer with the back coated in anti-rust PET coating.
Surface plastic film for protecting surface of panels can be
peeled off.
- Team SPFAB
Tishman, Hyderabad
The power plant has already executed an agreement for
sale of 800 MW to Gujarat and active steps in
implementation of these projects are in progress. The plant
will have latest super critical technology boilers for power
generation together with use of low ash and low sulphur
coal and an extensive green belt with environment
conservation measures.
The land for these projects are being procured directly from
the land owners and inline with the philosophy of the SP
Group promoters, noteworthy efforts are being made to
ensure that these projects benefit the local communities.
The following initiatives, undertaken at the project location,
have received overwhelming response from the
villages/local communities:
1. A Mobile Dispensary with full time qualified doctor and
assisting staff is operational since November, 2010.
Medicines are distributed free of cost to those treated by
this primary care dispensary. A grand function was
organized at Central Kodinar to inaugurate this van. As of
date, on average, over 90 persons are being treated
everyday as the dispensary travels to the four villages
covered by the projects.
2. SP Group have entered in a MOU with BAIF, a leading
NGO based on Gandhian Principles, for a period of
5 years to take up activities for cattle breeding, cattle
health camp, and training of locals in income generating
schemes. Subsequently, a BAIF team is already operating
in the villages.
SP Group, being a socially responsible corporate, will
continuously endeavor to promote the welfare of local
communities through such activities.
- Bevin Mathews, SP Infra
Your Space
European Holiday (A travel log by Mukesh Rao, SP HO)
In mid September, my wife and I toured Europe. The 15
day package tour organised by a reputed travel company
covered 9 locations - Italy, Vatican City, Austria, Switzerland,
Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, France and United
Kingdom. On completion of the tour, we extended our stay
in the United Kingdom by two weeks.
It would be a gross understatement to say that we enjoyed
the trip. We loved every minute of it and the memories will
stay with us throughout our life. I strongly urge you to make
the trip if you get an opportunity.
The tour started in Rome. In our three days in Italy, we also
covered Florence, Pisa and Venice. These places are noted
for their history and culture. The Colisseum in Rome may
not impress us Indians who are used to magnificent ruins,
but the paintings in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican as well as
interiors of the St. Peters Basilica will blow your mind away.
Mt Titlis, Switzerland
More magnificent renaissance art follows in Florence till the
richness of it all leaves you hoping for a change of scene.
Venice and its canals were unique though the water was Our next stop was Germany. We had a cruise down the
Rhine admiring the pretty houses and the odd castle on the
dirty.
banks. We spent some time at the Black Forest - black
We were happy to see the rich greens of mountain because of the thick density of trees. German villages are
meadows, the quaint hillside houses and the bubbling picturesque. We saw the awesome cathedral at Cologne. A
streams as we climbed into Austria. We stayed in Innsbruck massive traffic pile up on the Autobahn reduced our stay at
which is a ‘hill station’. Wonderful old style buildings. Heidelberg Castle. German towns are clinical in their looks
Graceful people. It seemed a different world. Pity, we and architecture. Very modern and efficient.
stopped for just a day there. Austria is definitely worth
returning to and would compete with Switzerland for the We drove into the flat and tiny countries of Belgium and The
most enchanting scenery. Netherlands. We were now in Western Europe. The
weather is colder, the scenery is less wild. There are more
people and English is widely understood. At Brussels, we
saw the grand buildings lined along the aptly named ‘Grand
Place’ and enjoyed eating waffles. We cruised along the
canals in Amsterdam. As a Civil Engineer, I tend to enjoy
The River Inn in Inbnsbruck
The three days in Switzerland were the best. All lake and
mountain country. We took a train to the top of Europe-
Jungfraujoch - which, at 11,500 feet, has perennial snow
and ice. It felt great to play in and slide down the snow -
something that we would never experience here. The
scenery is breathtaking. We also got to see waterfalls inside a
mountain. The covered wooden bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland
these cruises more because of the architecture of the
buildings along the banks.
Our last stop in continental Europe was Paris in France - the
most visited nation on Earth. The Eiffel Tower did not
disappoint nor did the most famous road in Paris - Champs
d’Elysees. We warmed up to Paris as it reminded us of
Mumbai - full of life and variety. We took a cruise on the
Seine and wished we had more time at the Louvre, one of
the world’s greatest museums. Frankly, I felt Leonardo Da
Austria
Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” was over hyped.
16
 We then crossed under the tunnel in the “Eurostar” to
London. We can’t feel the high speeds - 200 kmph, I guess.
London is home for us Indians. The language is familiar, the
culture and customs are not strange and Indians and their
restaurants are everywhere. After nearly 2 weeks, I got to
read English papers and scan the cricket scores.
Here, my wife was thrilled to be photographed with Sachin
at Tussauds. We saw London from the giant wheel - London
Eye - and had a tour on the ground. Anyone who has
played ‘Monopoly’ in his childhood will be thrilled at
discovering Trafalgar Square, Euston Road, Piccadilly, Bond
Street etc. The
Tower of London
was a bit dull and
many in our group
were griping about
the ‘Kohinoor ’
being stolen from
our country. We
also saw the
ornately carved
Swaminarayan
temple in the
suburbs.
From hereon, we
stayed back in UK.
We were put up in
Eiffel Tower - Paris Reading, 64 kms
from London. The trains cover the distance in 25 mts. but
the return fare is as much as a 2 tier AC train ticket from
Mumbai to Bengaluru. In our 14 days here, we explored
scenic towns like Oxford, Bath and Salisbury; historic
Stonehenge; and the Thames at Henley. We saw more of
London - its museums (British Museum, Greenwich),
gardens (Kew), Westminster Abbey and even a musical at a
West End Theatre. But the highlight undoubtedly was a 2
day trip to Scotland. We stayed in Edinburgh - the whole
city is a UNESCO heritage site - and took a tour to the wild
highlands and Loch Ness. Remote and grim like our Ladakh,
but ethereally beautiful.
We can’t recall a single bitter experience in our trip. We
never regretted taking a package tour despite the fact that
we had no control over the itinerary. But the advantages are
many:
Prehistoric Stonehenge, England
17
1) Vegetarian Indian breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout
though we did sample local delicacies like apple strudel,
potato rosti, etc.
2) Accommodation in good hotels.
3) No standing in queues anywhere. All entries were
arranged.
4) No language problems as we had a tour manager.
5) No time wasted in locating sights or restaurants.
6) Discipline as we had to be off at 8 a.m. On solo trips,
we may have been lazy.
Street View - Rome
Europe is beautiful and orderly. The roads are excellent.
They go to great lengths to preserve their environment. It’s
not difficult to move on your own as signages, guide maps
and public transport are excellent. I felt more at home in
London than in Kolkata. The intricate underground ‘tube’ is
easy to use. Language is not much of a problem except in
Paris. Seven of the nine countries share one currency -
Euro. After immigration in Rome, our only other border
control (Passport Check) was at Paris as we boarded the
Eurostar. Infact, you can’t make out the border when you
cross from The Netherlands to Belgium. But Europe is also
extremely expensive and you are likely to be shocked by the
prices.
But it’s all worth it. Go for it. It’s bound to be an experience
of a lifetime.
Guild Halls, Brussels
Mobile Computing - New platforms, Newer possibilities.
Mobile computing has been around for a decent period now
and we all know about the signature gadget in this field – the
laptop computer or the notebook. Laptops transformed
computing trends as they allowed the computer to be carried
out of office or home and this opened up immense
possibilities. Today, laptops have taken over the corporate and
home computing world in a big way. However, mobile
computing has advanced further and newer platforms and
devices with more focused use have emerged. We take a look
at a couple of these devices in this article.
The Netbook
The Netbook is like a
mini version of the
laptop – it is smaller
and lighter and is called
so because it is like a
small notebook or
laptop and is primarily
used to connect to the
net and for basic
computing needs.
H o w e v e r, n o w
Netbook have grown
significantly in terms of
their processing capabilities and features.
The device is increasingly becoming popular as it offers better
mobility and ease due to lower weight compared to full
fledged laptops. Things have been changing rapidly and now
dual core processor Netbook is entering the market; hard disk
capacities have gone over 200 GB and multimedia capabilities
have increased tremendously.
Netbook does not have CD/DVD drive but it does feature
multiple USB ports, WiFi, Blutooth, Camera and many other
features found on laptops. External CD/DVD drives can be
connected via USB. A Netbook can by and large do almost
everything that a laptop can; with some limitations for
applications requiring high processing capabilities. Netbook
has very good battery life. A 6 - cell battery can give anywhere
between 4-7 hours of life to the Netbook. The battery life for
dual core processor Netbook may be lesser due to higher
power requirement of these processors. Netbook, due to the
very form and purpose of providing portability and
connectivity on the move, has smaller screens and lower
resolutions than a laptop. Netbook screen is generally of
around 10-12 inches as against a laptop screen of 14-15
inches.
So if your computing requirements are not very demanding in
terms of processing power and you need to be on the move, a
Netbook is a very good option.
As Netbook are growing in terms of processing power, so are
the prices. Today, a top of the line Netbook from a leading
brand could set you back by almost ` 30,000. However, there
are a number of decent netbooks in the range of ` 15,000 to
` 20,000. So you need to take a call on price-performance
ratio based on your usage and requirements. Netbooks are
available from various reputed brands such as Lenovo, HP,
HCL, Dell, Asus, MSI and others.
Tablet PC
Tablet PCs, mostly referred to as Tablet are different from
Netbook and laptops. These are basically flat pad design
gadgets. Tablet PCs generally
have two formats, a convertible
model with an integrated
keyboard and display that rotates
180 degrees and can be folded
down over the keyboard, or a
slate style flat panel design.
Central to a tablet’s design is a
touch screen interface that allows
the user to navigate easily and
quickly. Although there are
versions of tablets that have a
keyboard, the main input source
is still the touch screen, using handwriting recognition. Touch
screens are also very handy in case you want to draw. With
multi-touch input points, these touch screens are very capable
surfaces. The screen sizes of tablet PCs are usually in the range
of 6 inches to 10 inches. Since tablet computers are meant to
be used on the move, they are always exposed to tougher
environments. However, now most tablet PC manufacturers
have taken steps to further strengthen their devices and are
even producing rugged versions.
The main feature or USP of the tablet PC is portability.
Weighing approximately between 800 gm to 1.3 kg, the tablet
PC can be used as a high powered PDA or trimmed-down
notebook, depending on your point of view. The tablet PC
hopes to fill a niche market for executives on the go. It is not
very high in terms of processing power but is able to carry out
all activities which one would require while being on the
move. Wireless internet browsing, emails, video
conferencing, e-book reading, GPS, games, music, videos,
document viewing and editing are all possible on a tablet. In
addition a number of other applications can be downloaded or
installed. Most new tablets use the latest rage – Google’s open
source operating system for mobile devices – Android.
However, iPad, the tablet from Apple, uses their proprietary
OS. The tablet can also run on a specialized version of
Windows XP operating system. Most tablets have small inbuilt
storage space compared to a Netbook but allow memory
cards to be used for additional space. With high processing
power, long battery life, wireless connectivity and very light
and small form factor, the tablet is here to stay and is rapidly
gaining popularity across the world.
iPad is the tablet that created a buzz around the world. It is still a
fast selling product. Samsung has recently launched a very
capable tablet called Samsung Galaxy Tab which has an
amazing processor speed of 1Ghz. Tablets are available from
other brands such as Sony, HP, Dell, Archos etc. However,
these may not be officially available in India. The grey market
price of an iPad is approx. ` 35,000. Samsung Galaxy Tab is
officially available at ` 38,000. Another tablet launched in India
is the Olivepad which is available at an official price of approx.
` 25,000. A number of unbranded tablet PCs are also available
in the market. Most of them are of Chinese make and are
available in the price range of ` 7,000 to ` 14,000. These,
however, do not have any warranty and are not as powerful as
Samsung or Apple in terms of processing. However, they do
suffice many requirements of mobile computing and are
becoming quite popular, especially amongst students.
- Saurav Chaturvedi, SPRE HO
18
 We then crossed under the tunnel in the “Eurostar” to
London. We can’t feel the high speeds - 200 kmph, I guess.
London is home for us Indians. The language is familiar, the
culture and customs are not strange and Indians and their
restaurants are everywhere. After nearly 2 weeks, I got to
read English papers and scan the cricket scores.
Here, my wife was thrilled to be photographed with Sachin
at Tussauds. We saw London from the giant wheel - London
Eye - and had a tour on the ground. Anyone who has
played ‘Monopoly’ in his childhood will be thrilled at
discovering Trafalgar Square, Euston Road, Piccadilly, Bond
Street etc. The
Tower of London
was a bit dull and
many in our group
were griping about
the ‘Kohinoor ’
being stolen from
our country. We
also saw the
ornately carved
Swaminarayan
temple in the
suburbs.
From hereon, we
stayed back in UK.
We were put up in
Eiffel Tower - Paris Reading, 64 kms
from London. The trains cover the distance in 25 mts. but
the return fare is as much as a 2 tier AC train ticket from
Mumbai to Bengaluru. In our 14 days here, we explored
scenic towns like Oxford, Bath and Salisbury; historic
Stonehenge; and the Thames at Henley. We saw more of
London - its museums (British Museum, Greenwich),
gardens (Kew), Westminster Abbey and even a musical at a
West End Theatre. But the highlight undoubtedly was a 2
day trip to Scotland. We stayed in Edinburgh - the whole
city is a UNESCO heritage site - and took a tour to the wild
highlands and Loch Ness. Remote and grim like our Ladakh,
but ethereally beautiful.
We can’t recall a single bitter experience in our trip. We
never regretted taking a package tour despite the fact that
we had no control over the itinerary. But the advantages are
many:
Prehistoric Stonehenge, England
17
1) Vegetarian Indian breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout
though we did sample local delicacies like apple strudel,
potato rosti, etc.
2) Accommodation in good hotels.
3) No standing in queues anywhere. All entries were
arranged.
4) No language problems as we had a tour manager.
5) No time wasted in locating sights or restaurants.
6) Discipline as we had to be off at 8 a.m. On solo trips,
we may have been lazy.
Street View - Rome
Europe is beautiful and orderly. The roads are excellent.
They go to great lengths to preserve their environment. It’s
not difficult to move on your own as signages, guide maps
and public transport are excellent. I felt more at home in
London than in Kolkata. The intricate underground ‘tube’ is
easy to use. Language is not much of a problem except in
Paris. Seven of the nine countries share one currency -
Euro. After immigration in Rome, our only other border
control (Passport Check) was at Paris as we boarded the
Eurostar. Infact, you can’t make out the border when you
cross from The Netherlands to Belgium. But Europe is also
extremely expensive and you are likely to be shocked by the
prices.
But it’s all worth it. Go for it. It’s bound to be an experience
of a lifetime.
Guild Halls, Brussels
Mobile Computing - New platforms, Newer possibilities.
Mobile computing has been around for a decent period now
and we all know about the signature gadget in this field – the
laptop computer or the notebook. Laptops transformed
computing trends as they allowed the computer to be carried
out of office or home and this opened up immense
possibilities. Today, laptops have taken over the corporate and
home computing world in a big way. However, mobile
computing has advanced further and newer platforms and
devices with more focused use have emerged. We take a look
at a couple of these devices in this article.
The Netbook
The Netbook is like a
mini version of the
laptop – it is smaller
and lighter and is called
so because it is like a
small notebook or
laptop and is primarily
used to connect to the
net and for basic
computing needs.
H o w e v e r, n o w
Netbook have grown
significantly in terms of
their processing capabilities and features.
The device is increasingly becoming popular as it offers better
mobility and ease due to lower weight compared to full
fledged laptops. Things have been changing rapidly and now
dual core processor Netbook is entering the market; hard disk
capacities have gone over 200 GB and multimedia capabilities
have increased tremendously.
Netbook does not have CD/DVD drive but it does feature
multiple USB ports, WiFi, Blutooth, Camera and many other
features found on laptops. External CD/DVD drives can be
connected via USB. A Netbook can by and large do almost
everything that a laptop can; with some limitations for
applications requiring high processing capabilities. Netbook
has very good battery life. A 6 - cell battery can give anywhere
between 4-7 hours of life to the Netbook. The battery life for
dual core processor Netbook may be lesser due to higher
power requirement of these processors. Netbook, due to the
very form and purpose of providing portability and
connectivity on the move, has smaller screens and lower
resolutions than a laptop. Netbook screen is generally of
around 10-12 inches as against a laptop screen of 14-15
inches.
So if your computing requirements are not very demanding in
terms of processing power and you need to be on the move, a
Netbook is a very good option.
As Netbook are growing in terms of processing power, so are
the prices. Today, a top of the line Netbook from a leading
brand could set you back by almost ` 30,000. However, there
are a number of decent netbooks in the range of ` 15,000 to
` 20,000. So you need to take a call on price-performance
ratio based on your usage and requirements. Netbooks are
available from various reputed brands such as Lenovo, HP,
HCL, Dell, Asus, MSI and others.
Tablet PC
Tablet PCs, mostly referred to as Tablet are different from
Netbook and laptops. These are basically flat pad design
gadgets. Tablet PCs generally
have two formats, a convertible
model with an integrated
keyboard and display that rotates
180 degrees and can be folded
down over the keyboard, or a
slate style flat panel design.
Central to a tablet’s design is a
touch screen interface that allows
the user to navigate easily and
quickly. Although there are
versions of tablets that have a
keyboard, the main input source
is still the touch screen, using handwriting recognition. Touch
screens are also very handy in case you want to draw. With
multi-touch input points, these touch screens are very capable
surfaces. The screen sizes of tablet PCs are usually in the range
of 6 inches to 10 inches. Since tablet computers are meant to
be used on the move, they are always exposed to tougher
environments. However, now most tablet PC manufacturers
have taken steps to further strengthen their devices and are
even producing rugged versions.
The main feature or USP of the tablet PC is portability.
Weighing approximately between 800 gm to 1.3 kg, the tablet
PC can be used as a high powered PDA or trimmed-down
notebook, depending on your point of view. The tablet PC
hopes to fill a niche market for executives on the go. It is not
very high in terms of processing power but is able to carry out
all activities which one would require while being on the
move. Wireless internet browsing, emails, video
conferencing, e-book reading, GPS, games, music, videos,
document viewing and editing are all possible on a tablet. In
addition a number of other applications can be downloaded or
installed. Most new tablets use the latest rage – Google’s open
source operating system for mobile devices – Android.
However, iPad, the tablet from Apple, uses their proprietary
OS. The tablet can also run on a specialized version of
Windows XP operating system. Most tablets have small inbuilt
storage space compared to a Netbook but allow memory
cards to be used for additional space. With high processing
power, long battery life, wireless connectivity and very light
and small form factor, the tablet is here to stay and is rapidly
gaining popularity across the world.
iPad is the tablet that created a buzz around the world. It is still a
fast selling product. Samsung has recently launched a very
capable tablet called Samsung Galaxy Tab which has an
amazing processor speed of 1Ghz. Tablets are available from
other brands such as Sony, HP, Dell, Archos etc. However,
these may not be officially available in India. The grey market
price of an iPad is approx. ` 35,000. Samsung Galaxy Tab is
officially available at ` 38,000. Another tablet launched in India
is the Olivepad which is available at an official price of approx.
` 25,000. A number of unbranded tablet PCs are also available
in the market. Most of them are of Chinese make and are
available in the price range of ` 7,000 to ` 14,000. These,
however, do not have any warranty and are not as powerful as
Samsung or Apple in terms of processing. However, they do
suffice many requirements of mobile computing and are
becoming quite popular, especially amongst students.
- Saurav Chaturvedi, SPRE HO
18
 OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2010 VOLUME - 12, ISSUE 4

Shapoorji Pallonji Exhibiting 145 Years of Construction Excellence

Our gallery, of course, is the globe

The Imperial, Mumbai

We@Shapoorji Pallonji Corporate Magazine

The Seat of Government, Accra, Ghana

Park Tower, Dubai Head Office Annual Day Celebrations

International Strategy Conclave at Dubai

An Overview of Damac Park Towers

European Holiday Travel Log

145 years, 20 sectors and over 22,000 employees

The Shapoorji Pallonji Group continues to grow stronger
Construction & Real Estate
Residential Buildings & Townships l Commercial Complexes
IT/ ITES l SEZs l Hospitals l Hotels l Multi Storeyed Towers
Happy
New Year
Metro Stations l Plants for Steel, Power & Automobile
Infrastructure
Ports l Jetties l Wharves l Roads l Bridges

2011
Tunnels l Expressways l Toll Ways l Transmission Lines
Other Businesses
MEP Services, DG Sets, HVAC l Facades & External Cladding
Business Automotion l Desalination Plants
Interiors & Fitouts l Water Purifiers & Vacuum Cleaners Shipping & Logistics

A Legacy of Landmarks

www.sp-group.co.in
DESIGNED AND PRINTED BY 3BF

Editorial Team
Mukesh Rao
Prabal Kansal
41/44, Minoo Desai Marg, Colaba, Mumbai 400 005. Saurabh Chaturvedi
Tel:+91 22 6749 0000 • Fax:+91 22 6633 8176 Prashanti Kutty
Email: we@shapoorji.com
Disclaimer: We@SP is for private circulation only. The views and opinions expressed or implied herein are of the contributors and may not necessarily reflect those of SPCL.
Material in this publication should not be reproduced, in part or in whole, without the consent of the editorial team.