Driven by the pandemic and resulting lockdown, we migrated to new digital tools and processes both on and off ground to improve efficiency. We embraced remote working methods to meet the needs of our customers and learned to operate with minimal overhead expenses. These measures helped us to enhance our performance amidst crisis; in fact, we built a greenfield hospital comprising 550 beds in a short period of three months. As an organisation, we learnt how to leverage digital work processes, IT tools, operate with minimal overhead expenses – keep organisation thoroughly engaged by running a daily rhythm.

Infrastructure projects have long gestation periods mainly ranging from three to six years and therefore short-term disruptions did not have a major impact on the overall industry during 2020.

Year Ahead
If India has to attain the government’s goal of becoming a $5 trillion GDP by 2024, then we have to look beyond challenges of 2020 and grasp opportunities in 2021 so that the full potential of the nation’s economy can be reached. As most infrastructure projects are government funded and the nation needs good quality infrastructure to keep accelerating India’s progress, the forthcoming year and mid- to long-term scenario looks promising.

In the year ahead, there will be increased deployment of machines at project sites towards ensuring timely completion. There will be enhanced adoption of technology to find solutions.

For example, we have used drones for undertaking stringing operations at our power transmission projects. This has led reduction of time and costs while lowering the need for manual intervention. We have also started using cutting-edge digital technologies such as 3D and 4D Building Information Modelling (BIM) across many of our projects.

BIM is revolutionising the way the construction industry works worldwide and our endeavour is to replicate the same in India. Such technology adoptions shall increase across the industry in 2021. India needs many strong construction companies, and our endeavour during 2021 and beyond shall be to ensure Tata Projects is a class apart - a smart engineering and construction company that is technology-driven, highly innovative, and one that pursues an altogether fresh way of doing business.

Author: Vinayak K Deshpande is Managing Director, Tata Projects Ltd.