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— Photo: Vipin Chandran

E-network: All the parameters of construction are now monitored at the click of a mouse.

These companies are tackling two areas — at the enterprise and design levels. Take the case of Srushti Constructions, for instance. The company. which was till last year having a relatively small turnover, is all enthusiastic about implementing a highly customised ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution to centralise its day-to-day workings and get real-time information.

Vivek L. Halbe, chief executive officer, Srushti Constrcutions, and Head, Design and Knowledge Engineering, says, “We are constantly faced with situations of different distributors, materials and wastage tracking at many of our sites. Collating the information and getting real-time inventory data is critical for us.”

There are other issues that dog the companies. Forecasting and supply chain management are matters of concern too. “At the team-level too, we plan to grow rapidly from our current 12-member team to about 50. The challenge thus is to define business processes along with the ERP implementations and then outsource them to a partner who can do the job for us,” Mr. Halbe says.

With the implementation of ERP solution, Srushti aims to achieve real-time availability of inventory levels of all materials across the organisation; eliminate the need for reconciliation across various branches; improve traceability in sub-contracting materials; and so on.

The company is also implementing IT is in its design and client-interaction level with a proprietary solution that it has developed that brings transparency and accountability in all the works done, including those by architects, contractors and vendors. Its Project Reporting System (PRS) combines the management practices, and is a customised web-enabled application with Srushti’s inputs to track the implementation of projects.

Every collaborator is able to log in and view the status of a project. According to Mr. Halbe, “PRS ensures complete transparency, accountability and efficiency.”

As a tool, the PRS software exemplifies how IT may be used to bring a number of participants and recipients of any industrial process — from construction to conventional manufacturing — on one platform to ensure effective control of project deliverables.

Every project follows four or five levels of traceable design and delivery processes and the document can be tracked at the end of each stage. It can be made available to the client.

The whole procedure is done in stages starting with eliciting the maximum information from the client along with 3D images and photographs from within and outside Srushti’s archives. This is then packed with client meetings, with the design brought to the “frozen dream stage.”

The project is then completely visualised and the design is available in the drawing format. This document is considered as a final signoff at the design level and becomes the parent document for the generation of the Client Commitment Document (CCD) that acts as a rule book and is followed to the T.

The ABD (As Built Document) is the final project handover document and will include all final documentation, such as relevant drawings, bills and reconciliation of accounts, with quality check inspection reports, relevant guarantees and warranties, along with photos of all stages of work, information on building and services maintenance and telephone numbers of crucial service providers who can assist in troubleshooting.

If the methodology adopted talks of accountability, transparency and traceability by outsourcing the entire enterprise resource process, this is an interaction that the IT savvy will prefer. After all, this realty business takes the pace from the mouse’s run.

RANJANI GOVIND

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