Most infra projects already sweat human capital in multiple shifts

Beyond 11 to 5, infra projects break limits, navigate local realities, industry execs react to N R N Murthy's fireside remarks

India’s infrastructure (infra) sector is already sweating out its human capital, according to executives in the field reacting to Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy’s recent comments urging the industry to increase shifts.

Last week, Murthy, during a fireside chat moderated by Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of the brokerage platform Zerodha, said, “People in the infra industry must work three shifts a day.”

Infra executives point out that, where feasible, most infra projects are already operating different shifts.

“Infra project agencies already work day and night on mega projects, depending on the regulations in different city limits,” said R A Rajeev, former Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) commissioner, who supervised the construction of Mumbai’s Metro network system during his tenure. MMRDA is responsible for several infra projects in Mumbai, including under-construction Metro projects.

“Almost all girders for the Metro project in Mumbai were launched at night. Major elements are precast outside but cannot be transported and launched during the daytime due to traffic and can only be done at night,” he said.

Girders are metal structures used to build bridges.

Murthy, in his comments, further said, “Merely working a single shift from 11 am to 5 pm is not sufficient.”

Rajeev, however, added, “Staff at many engineering companies are already putting in 12 hours.”

Amit Uplenchwar, director of Kalpataru Projects International, commented, “In most cases, projects operate on a single shift of eight hours. Depending on project priority, working hours may be extended to 10-12 hours per shift. We also have project sites where we operate with two to three shifts, ensuring non-stop 24-hour operation. This is based on favourable site conditions and tight timelines for those specific projects.”

Another executive from a major road construction company added, “Most projects already operate in two shifts. One can consider increasing shifts if it does not translate into more man-hours per person.”

He added, “Three shifts are largely doable but may not be feasible in all projects. It will need a change in mindset, including local conditions that have to be conducive to adjust to continuous work going around.”

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s infra performance report for September listed 10 reasons that led to slow progress/shortfall in road construction. In addition to slow progress from contractors, the others were related to litigations, approvals, utility shifting, cash flow crunch, and other force majeure events.

Others from the industry note that there is a clear incentive to complete projects in the least time possible. For instance, in the new engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model, projects are contracted for a fixed term, fixed time, and fixed cost. There is a shift from an item rate construction contract to an EPC (lump sum) contract to minimise time and cost overruns, as noted in the latest National Highways Authority of India annual report.

“In general, all infra companies are working 24x7 to achieve targets and project timelines mentioned in the agreement. Currently, all projects are required to be completed within a 24-month time limit, so if we do not work 24x7, the project will not be completed in 24 months,” said a senior executive from an infra company.

He added that earlier project timelines were longer than 36 months, which has been revised downwards, requiring companies to finish 90 per cent of the project within 24 months, except for critical construction activities involving tunnels or major bridges.

Uplenchwar highlighted additional challenges associated with 24-hour operations.

“The cost economics of running a full-fledged second or third shift will always be on the negative side. This is due to the expected lower output during nighttime hours and the additional costs associated with appropriate illumination of project working locations, as well as additional manpower mobilisation, etc,” he said.

The recent Silkyara Tunnel collapse in Uttarakhand is also reported to have occurred while 41 workers were completing their night shift.

H1FY24 performance

1,733 km Length of roads constructed by state public works department and Border Roads Organisation, up 11.71 per cent year-on-year

1,517 km Length of roads NHAI widened, strengthened, down 2.86 per cent year-on-year

Source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s Infrastructure Performance Report (September)