Once Upon a Summer! InsIghT, IIT Bombay Summer Intern at Larsen-Toubro, ECC DivisionWhen I joined school, my teachers said, “Beta, till now, what you’ve been doing at home, was useless. With education, life starts.” When I joined coaching, my teachers said, “School life is such a waste. It is all rote learning. Now is the time to learn.” When I joined college, my professors said, “Till now, you’ve learned nothing. The knowledge that fetches you a handsome salary is taught here”. And just as I was thinking, that I’m in the best academic institution of the country, and what I will learn now, would actually be useful, during my learning intern in Larsen & Toubro Ltd, I was told, “Son. Education is nothing. Practical knowledge comes with experience, which you will get here.” Kya Fart Hai. 20 yrs of education, and I still don’t know anything worthwhile. ;-) In L&T, my project was based on the construction of the Mumbai International Airport, both landside and airside, and ancillary facilities. The entire construction work is being carried out by L&T, having done similar works successfully in Delhi and Bangalore. L&Ts construction division is the largest in India, with the most advanced technologies available in the country being used for the construction processes. The construction of this Mumbai Airport is actually an extension to the existing terminal, which is fully operational. Even from L&Ts point of view, this is the toughest contract they’ve ever handled, as it is the largest brown-field project in Asia (a project, where work has to be carried out in such a manner, where the existing operations do not get disrupted). This means, no flight would get cancelled, all passengers would board planes as usual from the terminals, and by phasing and scheduling the different works, the contractor has to manage to repair both the runways, renovate the terminal building, construct a multi-level car parking, and manage taxiways and apron works. Every kind of safety measure possible was taken into account, and strict penalty on failure of norms was levied, keeping in mind the risk involved. For example, just as the project had started, within a week, an L&T truck while moving on a taxiway (the road adjacent to the runway via which aircrafts go to terminals and apron areas), in an attempt to move to the opposite taxiway, took a shortcut and crossed the runway. Obstructing the runway, even when empty, is a CRIMINAL OFFENCE. By the end of the day, L&T had to pay INR 80 Lacs as a fine. Forget the first profit, the project started with this loss… Since the project was very large, my stay was so arranged, that I could witness working procedures of maximum departments, and hence, I stayed for 5 days each, in 5 different departments, namely 1) Health, Safety and Environment Department – maintenance of elaborate documents regarding safety measures to be taken, before starting as well as for the ongoing contract 2) Quality Assessment and Quality Control – to keep a tab on the quality of work done, with respect to the International Code of Standards 3) Project Control – handling of the project, as a super-set to all other departments, and conducting audits to ensure proper working of all departments 4) Project Planning – planning everyday’s work, in advance, for the next 5 years, and ensuring that the work is carried out in schedule, day-by-day 5) Basics of Civil Engineering – included site visits, and explanation of several terms, materials, machines, their usages, handling etc. The total cost of the project at the time of bidding was INR 5,500 Crores, which could reach upto INR 6,500 Crores, by the end of the project, that is, 2013. I got to learn details of the works of each of the departments. But more importantly, it was the exposure to the official working environment, which made my month-long stay exciting and fruitful. The basic ethics of office, the headache of completing a day’s job before the deadline, the work load and how it was handled, and achieving targets, which more than satisfies your boss, to be able to witness all this, is an experience in itself. The attitude, with which the employees work, their mindsets and their way of work, is beyond the scope of expression with words. This intern taught me, that no matter how much we know, there is always a scope of improvement, and that knowledge is nothing, if you do not know how to apply it.
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 18:07:39 +0000
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