India fails Again to Efficiently Manage Infrastructure Projects.

 

Workers remove debris from the site where a partially built bridge, part of the city’s new metro rail system, collapsed in New Delhi,

 India is on the move to catch-up with the years of neglect to focus infrastructure development. Now when the focus clearly in past decade is on infrastructure development, our ministries, and authorities seem to have taken the whole process of world class infrastructure projects coming up in metros of India lightly, as it is evident from the way they are handled for quality control, safety norms, counter inspection methods, co-ordination with various departments involved during construction.

 

 

 

 

 The Basic Format of Construction of any International Quality Infrastructure Project.

 The Active players involved in such project are mainly five.

a)      The Client – in the Case of our type of set up in India it is the Govt. or the Govt Authorities or Corporations.  Like in the case of Delhi Metro Project it is DMRC Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The govt or its agency is owner of the project. It is the responsibility of the Owner in our type of responsibility structure, to make sure the implementation is to the mark as per the design in best possible co coordinated effort of all bodies involved in coordination with the underground utilities depots, police, roads and local bodies.

b)      The Designer – One who designs the said project on the given parameters? This is a purely technical work which is the most crucial aspect of the project.  There should be no reason why a designer fails to design correctly with approved safety considerations and detailed working of the method of design specifications and the processes to checks and measures.

c)      Consultant – Who is given the responsibility to carry out the work as per the design and norms dictated by the designer, with in the limits of the quality standards given by the Designer? Consultant is the key to quality control and a perfect check on the Contractor and his UN compromised compliance following the design strictly.  No act is unsupervised in tough checks and measures enforce by the Consultant. The consultant is answerable to the Client the Owner of the Project.   

d)     The Contractor is an approved agency which is expected to do the job under the strict supervision of the Consultant, and the Client i.e. the Owner in of the Project.  All the responsibility for the quality, security, and performance of the project on its completion is solely on the Contractor, and the Consultant and the Designer.

e)      It is the duty of the Owner Govt agency to make sure that all the bodies assigned are performing to the at most adherence to the International Norms and procedures and specifications laid out in the design. An independent design and consulting team is to be parallel be monitoring the stages of work in progress.  

 Now coming back to the issue of how the failures take place killing innocent worker and general public.  There is no way this can taken as mere failure of the structure accidentally.  The cases in which Delhi Metro Bridge Collapse is not an accident, it is failure by one or all the parties involved in the construction of the Metro Rail Project.

The Public has the right to information on the quality of design, and the quality of construction and the manner it is handled by the consultants and the client that is the Delhi Govt. and its officials.

It is not always right to link it to corruption, or performance under pressure this is absurd to speak like this.  There are no way any of the agencies and the govt can risk taking such a view of the situation.  And the alleged pressure due to dead lines to complete the project in time can be the reason for failure.

 

 Real Possible Areas of Failure by DMRC.

  

      Negligence

    

     The Field Staff of the Contractor, Consultant and Client DMRC looks like failed  

      To assess the intensity of the crack apparent, in the structure this collapsed   

      Killing 6 people, as reported in media by the eye witness that a crack was seen   

      Three months ago and the work was stopped in that that particular

      Span and latter was taken up for the structure which collapsed exposing the   

      Authorities.     

 

      Coordination Failure

    

     In this area our departments of under ground utilities (like sewer lines, 

     Water lines, tel. ducts, electrical cables) roads, local municipalities,

     And traffic and law and order police coordination essential for safe

     And proper construction of any infrastructural project.

 

     Like in the Case of Panjagutta Fly Over Accident in Hyderabad which

     Killed 2 people, the failure was due to un coordinated excavation of a 

     Water line by the Sewage and Water Board of Hyderabad right below

     The scaffolding of the structure which was under construction and the

     Scaffolding gave way to the structure and it fell for the people and the

     Cars below the fly over and killed people and damaged property.

 

     This was the example of shear failure on the part of the contractor and

     The Department to coordinate with the under ground utilities 

     Departments.

   

     Quality Failure

     Another major reason for failure of such a scale is failure to check the Quality  

     Of Precast Structure that are precast and prestressed members in controlled

     Conditions in a recast factory in the precast yard few kilometres away from

     The site where the precast members are placed using special cantilever cranes

     Installed on the piers of the bridge.   The failure can be for two types here, one  

     Quality of and proportions of the material used, and the manner and the

     Procedure adopted for casting in the controlled conditions. This does not  

     Happen with out the approval of the Consultant, and the Client stationed full

     Time to administer the full process of casting and quality control. 

     This is done by trained technical staff with no areas of error unless

     There is collision.

 

    Failure during handling and transportation

 

     This involves movement of the structural members by 1. Lifting using cranes and    

     Placing them on the floor after casting in the yard, then 2. Lifting them again and

     Placing of the bed of the trailer to transporting to the site, then travelling to the site,

     3. Unloading on the site on ground by using crane then again 4. Lifting to place on    

     The span using special cranes. This is the area where it is possible if the handling is

     Not with at most care the structural members if under huge impact due to rough

     Handling of the crane could develop hair cracks in the structure.

 

    Design Failure

The Second possible reason for failure could be the Design it self, which I personnel wish to doubt if that happens to be case then we are in for a major catastrophic situation.  As major projects in the Country are handled by Gammon India and it has an excellent record but if it has failed to design in the with available high levels of design tools, this will be a major problem. I don’t think there is a mistake in the design.

  What is the Remedy and How to make sure that such things do no    Happen again and again.

 a.      The areas of concern listed and discussed above should be followed and   

       Monitored very religiously.

 b.      Have a parallel Monitory agency to overlook the whole process and   

      Report to the Govt. and Peoples Body of Technical Expertise in the Field   

      Formed by the Govt periodically.  With proper site visits and making the   

      Findings public to the media and the general public.

 c.       Making the Design of the Project and its costing and specification Public

     For any Non Govt Technical Organization to access and probe in to it and

     Raise concerns if noticed by them to the govt. for timely action. 

 The Structure on Completion should be tested  in Full Load Conditions before to Open for Public.

 India is in the midst of many major Infrastructural Projects in our Metros.

     It is important that when concerns are raised by the authorities themselves about  

     The Design, Quality and Functioning of the Structures.  As we know,

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Tuesday announced that all cantilever structures built during the ongoing Phase-II of the Delhi Metro project that have been constructed so far would be re-checked from safety and quality point of view by independent structural experts.

Media Reported Concern

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Tuesday announced that all cantilever structures built during the ongoing Phase-II of the Delhi Metro project that have been constructed so far would be re-checked from safety and quality point of view by independent structural experts.

The move comes in the wake of widespread concern over the safety and the quality of work being carried out by the Corporation following the launcher girder crash at a construction site in Jamrudpur in South Delhi on Sunday.

DMRC Managing Director E. Sreedharan, who visited the accident site twice on Tuesday, said Shirish Patel and Associates, “experts in the field,” were appointed for this purpose.

The company would be responsible for checking cantilever structures as well as for checking other pillars or civil structures as specified by the DMRC.

 Ministry and the State Govts to Act to save further damage to life’s and Property.  

Under the Conditions we are functioning that even the Managing Director E Sreedhran who is the asset of our infrastructural development is not confident about the quality and safety of the structures how do we expect the common man to be comfortable using the structures when he knows there is doubt raised on the quality and safety of the structure.

The Union Minister for Urban Development Jaipal Reddyand the State Govts in Respective States to be put on Alert to abide by Strict Measure to check the full Project before it open for public.

Thus it is Important that the Govt takes all precautionary measures and makes it obligatory to test the structures which will be opened for public are tested on full load conditions after completion of the project by loading it with vehicles and dead loads to prove its stability in full live load conditions with movement. 

Inquiry Commissions Should not be our Goal we have become a Nation of Commissions

Why we should prepare for one more commission to investigate one more failure, our easiest way to satisfy people   and masses  of India is order a commission and get rid of the responsibility.