Bidyut Bhattacharya, Technical Director, Sinoma International Engg Co India

There are ample challenges in putting up a cement plant these days. Scope changes during the implementation phase can be a big drag. It is extremely important to review capability and past credentials of the engineering firm, says Bidyut Bhattacharya, Technical Director, Sinoma International Engg Co India. Excerpts from the interview.

Which are the geographical regions that are driving demand in your sector?

Generally speaking, overall the scenario is a bit muted these days. In spite of overcapacity issues, we still see movement in the Andhra- Karnataka belt.

What are the major challenges that you face when it comes to the design, erection and commissioning of a cement plant?

There are ample challenges in putting up a cement plant these days. Scope changes during the implementation phase can be a big drag. Sometimes, not-so-clear regulatory requirements also lead to changes in scope. Then there are instances of revision on plant capacity during execution. Often, such changes are the result of inadequate feasibility studies done at the project planning stage. It is extremely important to review capability and past credentials of the engineering firm.

Availability of construction labour force (skilled/semiskilled) also is a major challenge these days. These workers mostly come from the eastern part of India. Maintaining adequate site strength during or just after the festival seasons becomes a nightmare. Productivity is also an issue and falls far below the levels achieved in even other emerging economies.

Another aspect is basic awareness about health and safety requirements on construction sites. Unfortunately, in India, safety consciousness is rather limited even up to the technician level, and falls very short of the expectations of multinational companies.

Getting final regulatory clearances before commissioning could also be a challenge, particularly if you are not so well versed in handling such issues in a prudent way. Finally, the sluggish economy is taking its toll on the clients and their ability to clear the monthly dues and other payments on time. Such a scenario and delayed payments become a real challenge for the project progress and time/cost overruns may be unavoidable in spite of all good intentions.

Changing the layout, in many cases, seems to be a major issue. Does it indicate the inadequacy of project management team?

In extreme cases, we have seen layout changes happening during the execution phase. This is frustrating for anyone involved in the project, and leads to time and cost overruns, apart from possible disputes with the client. Quite often, such layout changes can be attributed to land acquisition problems or to geo-technical reasons. Considering long term requirements for the finalisation of land acquisition, some amount of work is done on a parallel track. You cannot always blame the project management for inadequate risk perception.

However, when it comes to layout changes due to inadequate geo-technical investigations upfront, project management cannot avoid the blame. It is important to conduct a detailed soil investigation and firm up foundation requirements during the feasibility phase of any project. My experience says that multinational companies are generally more demanding in terms of feasibility study requirements.

What is the scenario regarding the repair / retrofitting of existing plants?

We, as Sinoma, are less involved in this particular field directly, as far as India is concerned. However, LNVT India, our subsidiary in India, has a vast experience in retrofit jobs.

How do you assess the interface between a consulting agency, cement manufacturers and various plant and machinery OEMs and auxiliary equipment suppliers?

The consultant is almost always employed by the owner and plays a vital role as the interface between the client and the contractor. In spite of that, it is important on the part of the consultants to project a more neutral stance. I strongly believe that an impartial consultant actually aids the overall implementation of the project to a great extent. In that sense, the FIDIC concept seems more productive to the interests of the project.

How do you tackle unforeseen problems while executing big projects?

Project execution is not a cakewalk and the project management needs to be on their toes throughout. Unexpected problems are bound to crop up, and the team needs to consider all possible options, one by one, and select the optimum. Pressures due to time/cost overruns makes life more difficult. For successful project delivery, promptness and proactive action is the key. For example, in a recent project, while excavating for the deep wagon tippler pit, we encountered an isolated patch of extremely hard rock. The geotechnical investigation conducted earlier a few meters from the spot, did not identify it. Various sizes of rock breakers were employed but they failed to achieve the desired result. Considering the project being implemented inside an operating plant and in an extremely congested layout, an alternative decision was not easy. Layout change was absolutely out of question. Eventually we had to think about not just controlled blasting but super controlled blasting – which did work. Swift and proactive decision- making in terms of the best available option was the key.

What kinds of energy efficiency measures do you recommend to your clients?

In terms of overall energy efficiency, at Sinoma we strongly recommend waste heat recovery from both kiln and grate cooler. For the coolers themselves, we recommend fourth-generation walking floor type or moving bar/S- type grate coolers. High efficiency high momentum burner pipes are a must. Modern design, low pressure drop – high efficiency pre-heater cyclones also plays an important part. For grinding, we recommend roll press and vertical mills depending upon the process and materials.

The amount of energy saving varies on a case- to- case basis depending on the actual selection of process and equipment, quality and consistency of fuel, raw material characteristics, etc. However, it is important to understand here that long- term plant energy efficiency cannot be guaranteed based on the mere selection of the most efficient individual equipment alone. Rather, over a long term, energy (fuel and power) efficiency is largely driven by uniformity of the kiln feed chemistry, mastery of the burning zone which is primarily a kiln operation, and plant reliability factor i.e, avoiding stoppages due to incidents; all this in turn, relates to plant preventive maintenance.

What is your take on the lack of highly skilled technicians and experienced engineers in your sector?

We do not see a lack of skilled technicians or engineers as a real problem in India. Particularly in the field of construction, the right supervisory people are available at a reasonable cost. We feel the real problem here is availability of a sufficiently skilled labour force. Thanks to the MGNREGA scheme, a large shortage has been created. The majority of these construction workers come from the eastern part of India these days, and their availability during or after the festive season also affects site activity. Site productivity per unit of manpower deployed remains a bottleneck. Also, a serious problem is the lack of knowledge/understanding of basic health and safety requirements. In the highly skilled sector, the issues have to do with attitude/motivation rather than technical skills or knowledge.

Opportunities and challenges for EPC companies in India

Firstly, with promoters like multinational companies such as Lafarge, Holcim, Heidelberg, ItalCementi etc, EPC projects in the cement industry has now become widespread in the Middle East, African continent, south-east Asia, China, Russia and South America. However, EPC has not yet taken root in India. In the past ten years, most of the new cement production line projects were tendered and executed in a number of packages. However, in order to avoid potential risks to the owner (such as delayed project schedule, missed interfaces, etc), and to cap the investment during the execution of the project, these international leaders still look for EPC. The Holcim Group’s recent 9000tpd project could probably be a milestone project for the future of the Indian cement industry, one which all the EPC companies are keeping a close eye on. If the project is a success, it may usher in a new era for the Indian cement industry.

Also, smaller-sized cement producers, especially new entrants, will have a better appetite for EPC, unlike leading cement companies who have full- fledged project engineering and management teams. Clients in this segment are keen to minimise their overheads, while focusing on faster returns on investment with minimum risk. EPC will be a good choice for them. On the other hand, for plants requiring repair/retrofitting projects and new installation of WHR system, EPC will be the best solution. We strongly believe that in the near future, the Indian cement industry will replicate the most popular international model i.e, EPC. It may not be very prudent to assess the bottomline before the start of the project alone. Delays and cost overruns at the end of most of the projects will prompt clients to rethink their contracting mode. A successful project goes beyond mere mix- and- match of best available equipment, timely completion and capping on cost is vital. Clearly, more EPC players will emerge, catering to the needs of the new age Indian cement industry. The biggest challenge, however, to the contractors, is the actual strength in integrating EP and C. Typical equipment manufacturers look for a pure EP as they often lack major construction experience or are reluctant to take the risk. Quite often, the OEMs have to form a JV for the execution of a real EPC project. Other challenges involve delays in regulatory clearances, high inflationary trends and a high interest rate scenario resulting in serious cost overruns of delayed projects, availability of a sufficiently skilled labour force throughout, reduced economic growth resulting in the client’s ability to clear its payment obligations on time and of course, the complicated prevailing tax regime, till GST rollout.