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Our software can help in saving 30 per cent of the overall project cost

Published

10 years ago

November 30, 2014

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Nirmalya Chatterjee, COO & Business Director, Tekla India.

ICR discussed with Nirmalya Chatterjee the status of software technology adoption in the construction and infrastructure segment in India and how 4D building information modeling (BIM) technology can enhance and create better sustainability in concrete and precast construction in India.

Could you brief us on BIM?
BIM is a tool that enables combining construction models, checking for conflicts and sharing information through the BIM environment. With this technology, one or more accurate virtual models of a building are constructed digitally. They support design through its phases, allowing better analysis and control than manual processes. When completed, these computer-generated models contain precise geometry and data needed to support the construction, fabrication, and procurement activities through which the building is realised.

This helps the project participants in identifying and solving issues already in the design phase before commencing construction. For the cast in place concrete contractors and precast fabricators, Tekla?s BIM technology enhances the quality of projects by reducing errors, thereby decreasing the project cost, improving reliability and over all cutting down time required for project completion.

What does 4D refer to?
4D refers to the time factor, which is the fourth dimension. For any project-engineer, managing time and keeping the project running as per the planned schedule is very important. If the project overruns the planned time, it not only leads to delays, but also leads to monetary losses to the execution company. When someone is preparing a study model, our technology helps in saving precious time, hence the name 4D. It helps in managing the project and alerts you of steps to be taken to keep the project on track. The technology can be applied right from the designing stage. When one has prepared the 3D model, one of the applications, such as VICO can help in managing the project. The use of 4D concrete BIM technology can enhance the quality of projects by reducing errors and improving reliability. With this technology one can integrate 3D modeling, seamlessly generate construction deliverable documentation from the same 3D project model.

How do these software help in project management?
For project management operations, we offer VICO Office Suite. With this system, the builders and contractors can collaborate effectively and improve predictability. If a project is scheduled to be finished in three months, with the help of this software the key stakeholders can review what has to be executed in next 15 days, what has to happen in next 7 days, and what must be done by the fortnight. Beyond this, the software also alerts the team of the challenges that can they might face. The system helps to reduce risks and manage costs. It is an ideal solution for optimising schedules of large and complex building projects and it is equipped with highly effective cost management applications.

Tell us about the possibilities in planning a concrete pour using Tekla solutions.
We are providing end-to-end solution to the construction industry with a particular focus on the concrete user. In India concrete is a major construction material. Although, steel is an important item, 70 per cent of the Indian construction activity is concrete based. So when it comes to concrete, the engineer has to know how much of concrete will be poured, where and when. And with the concrete module, this can be done effectively. The software gives total volume of concrete and rebar that will be required for the project. This data can be exported to an excel sheet, where one can apply the prevalent rates of the construction material and keep a check on project costs.

Why is it different than other utilities that can give an estimate of concrete required?
The tool does more than material estimation. It is a unique feature of the software, and which is an added advantage to the project engineer, that is, it helps in managing the pour. It tells you where the pour will break and how should the pour be scheduled accordingly. The system lets the contractor and the developer know or decide where the concrete pour will start on the first day, how much will be poured and where will be the breaking line. The builder can see where the crane will have to be placed for pouring at different locations. These are some of the things that the software can do to make the process efficient and to help execute the project smoothly. You can plan which materials will be required on the first day and which ones you would not. One of our offering, the VICO Office Suite, provides a tightly integrated solution, set into which are multiple building integrated models that can be aggregated and analysed and can be managed a project construction solution. It also helps in project co-ordination, costing and scheduling operations. So it is a system that has integrated functions like designing, project costing, billing operations, scheduling, etc., all into one suite.

What is the kind of savings that one can expect by using your software technology?
We have received feedbacks from many of our customers. Compared to working manually with excel sheets or traditional 3D designing tools, our software systems were able to help customers improve productivity by 200 per cent. Now these are the numbers reported to us by our customers. On an average, our software can help in saving 30 per cent of overall project cost by avoiding raw material wastage and project delays. This is a huge amount. Even if the software saves only one per cent of the raw material cost, it still is a huge amount, since raw material is a major expense in construction projects.

How is the precast industry performing in India and how is that reflected on your solutions for this segment?
Precast was more popular in foreign countries, especially in European countries. This was mainly due to weather and shortage of labour where precast offered a low labour intensive building option. However, in the past few years, India too has picked up the trend. This is mainly due to mass housing demand and quick turnaround time demanded from new projects. Not only we now see the rise in precast units manufactured, we have also noticed a rise in the number of equipment manufacturers for precast industry, setting base in India. With this, the demand for the software to support such construction is growing. We have Tekla Structure for Precast module that caters to the demands of precast project management, and the demand for this solution is growing. Some of our valued customers include, B.G. Shirke Construction Technology, L&T Precast, Sobha Developers, Shapoorji Pallonji, etc.

Is the Indian construction industry primed adequately to shift to high end software solutions?
Construction is the second largest contributor to the country?s GDP after agriculture. The current government is giving more attention to infrastructure building activities, with plans to build airports, highways, etc. This is definitely much needed and is going to uplift the construction sector. However, for such schemes to be successful the companies involved in project execution will have to invest in high end software solutions. Today, these companies are using tools that are fragmented. But yes, they have realised the benefit of using integrated solutions. They have general knowledge of the kind of software that can benefit them, such as those that can help in coordinating between the architects, structural engineers, contractors, in managing communication between design office and site office. They have realised the benefit that one can reap by applying modern technology.

We are getting lots of queries from the construction industry, who wants to know more about such solutions. The awareness and the demand for such software are growing and will continue to grow as we go ahead.

TEKLA INDIA
Tekla, a part of Trimble?s Building Group, develops model-based software products for the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) market. The company also works with educational institutes worldwide to provide students with a firm foundation in the use of the most advanced software that helps guarantee integrated project delivery and their future in the construction industry. Tekla has global presence with offices in over 20 countries, a worldwide partner network, and has customers in over 100 countries. Tekla was acquired by Trimble in 2011.

Some of Tekla?s renowned projects in India

The expansion and construc-?tion of Mumbai Airport Terminal 1B
Expansion and decolorisation of the Chennai Airport – the Tekla BIM Awards 2010 winner for the best steel project
Rabale station (Navi Mumbai)
NPCC Offshore, India
The Chenab Bridge – world?s highest railway bridge crossing over the Chenab river in India

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Price hikes, drop in input costs help cement industry to post positive margins: Care Ratings

Published

3 years ago

October 21, 2021

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Region-wise,the southern region comprises 35% of the total cement capacity, followed by thenorthern, eastern, western and central region comprising 20%, 18%, 14% and 13%of the capacity, respectively.

The cement industry is expected to post positive margins on decent price hikes over the months, falling raw material prices and marked drop in overall production costs, said an analysis of Care Ratings.

Wholesale and retail prices of cement have increased 11.9% and 12.4%, respectively, in the current financial year. As whole prices have remained elevated in most of the markets in the months of FY20, against the corresponding period of the previous year.

Similarly, electricity and fuel cost have declined 11.9% during 9M FY20 due to drop in crude oil prices. Logistics costs, the biggest cost for cement industry, has also dropped 7.7% (selling and distribution) as the Railways extended the benefit of exemption from busy season surcharge. Moreover, the cost of raw materials, too, declined 5.1% given the price of limestone had fallen 11.3% in the same aforementioned period, the analysis said.

According to Care Ratings, though the overall sales revenue has increased only 1.3%, against 16% growth in the year-ago period, the overall expenditure has declined 3.2% which has benefited the industry largely given the moderation in sales.

Even though FY20 has been subdued in terms of production and demand, the fall in cost of production has still supported the cement industry by clocking in positive margins, the rating agency said.

Cement demand is closely linked to the overall economic growth, particularly the housing and infrastructure sector. The cement sector will be seeing a sharp growth in volumes mainly due to increasing demand from affordable housing and other government infrastructure projects like roads, metros, airports, irrigation.

The government’s newly introduced National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), with its target of becoming a $5-trillion economy by 2025, is a detailed road map focused on economic revival through infrastructure development.

The NIP covers a gamut of sectors; rural and urban infrastructure and entails investments of Rs.102 lakh crore to be undertaken by the central government, state governments and the private sector. Of the total projects of the NIP, 42% are under implementation while 19% are under development, 31% are at the conceptual stage and 8% are yet to be classified.

The sectors that will be of focus will be roads, railways, power (renewable and conventional), irrigation and urban infrastructure. These sectors together account for 79% of the proposed investments in six years to 2025. Given the government’s thrust on infrastructure creation, it is likely to benefit the cement industry going forward.

Similarly, the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana, aimed at providing affordable housing, will be a strong driver to lift cement demand. Prices have started correcting Q4 FY20 onwards due to revival in demand of the commodity, the agency said in its analysis.

Industry’s sales revenue has grown at a CAGR of 7.3% during FY15-19 but has grown only 1.3% in the current financial year. Tepid demand throughout the country in the first half of the year has led to the contraction of sales revenue. Fall in the total expenditure of cement firms had aided in improving the operating profit and net profit margins of the industry (OPM was 15.2 during 9M FY19 and NPM was 3.1 during 9M FY19). Interest coverage ratio, too, has improved on an overall basis (ICR was 3.3 during 9M FY19).

According to Cement Manufacturers Association, India accounts for over 8% of the overall global installed capacity. Region-wise, the southern region comprises 35% of the total cement capacity, followed by the northern, eastern, western and central region comprising 20%, 18%, 14% and 13% of the capacity, respectively.

Installed capacity of domestic cement makers has increased at a CAGR of 4.9% during FY16-20. Manufacturers have been able to maintain a capacity utilisation rate above 65% in the past quinquennium. In the current financial year due to the prolonged rains in many parts of the country, the capacity utilisation rate has fallen from 70% during FY19 to 66% currently (YTD).

Source:moneycontrol.com

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Wonder Cement shows journey of cement with new campaign

Published

3 years ago

October 21, 2021

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The campaign also marks Wonder Cement being the first ever cement brand to enter the world of IGTV…

ETBrandEquity

Cement manufacturing company Wonder Cement, has announced the launch of a digital campaign ‘Har Raah Mein Wonder Hai’. The campaign has been designed specifically to run on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

#HarRaahMeinWonderHai is a one-minute video, designed and conceptualised by its digital media partner Triature Digital Marketing and Technologies Pvt Ltd. The entire journey of the cement brand from leaving the factory, going through various weather conditions and witnessing the beauty of nature and wonders through the way until it reaches the destination i.e., to the consumer is very intriguing and the brand has tried to showcase the same with the film.

Sanjay Joshi, executive director, Wonder Cement, said, "Cement as a product poses a unique marketing challenge. Most consumers will build their homes once and therefore buy cement once in a lifetime. It is critical for a cement company to connect with their consumers emotionally. As a part of our communication strategy, it is our endeavor to reach out to a large audience of this country through digital. Wonder Cement always a pioneer in digital, with the launch of our IGTV campaign #HarRahMeinWonderHai, is the first brand in the cement category to venture into this space. Through this campaign, we have captured the emotional journey of a cement bag through its own perspective and depicted what it takes to lay the foundation of one’s dreams and turn them into reality."

The story begins with a family performing the bhoomi poojan of their new plot. It is the place where they are investing their life-long earnings; and planning to build a dream house for the family and children. The family believes in the tradition of having a ‘perfect shuruaat’ (perfect beginning) for their future dream house. The video later highlights the process of construction and in sequence it is emphasising the value of ‘Perfect Shuruaat’ through the eyes of a cement bag.

Tarun Singh Chauhan, management advisor and brand consultant, Wonder Cement, said, "Our objective with this campaign was to show that the cement produced at the Wonder Cement plant speaks for itself, its quality, trust and most of all perfection. The only way this was possible was to take the perspective of a cement bag and showing its journey of perfection from beginning till the end."

According to the company, the campaign also marks Wonder Cement being the first ever cement brand to enter the world of IGTV. No other brand in this category has created content specific to the platform.

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In spite of company’s optimism, demand weakness in cement is seen in the 4% y-o-y drop in sales volume. (Reuters)

Published

3 years ago

October 21, 2021

admin

Cost cuts and better realizations save? the ?day ?for ?UltraTech Cement, Updated: 27 Jan 2020, Vatsala Kamat from Live Mint

Lower cost of energy and logistics helped Ebitda per tonne rise by about 29% in Q3
Premiumization of acquired brands, synergistic?operations hold promise for future profit growth Topics

UltraTech Cement
India’s largest cement producer UltraTech Cement Ltd turned out a bittersweet show in the December quarter. A sharp drop in fuel costs and higher realizations helped drive profit growth. But the inherent demand weakness was evident in the sales volumes drop during the quarter.

Better realizations during the December quarter, in spite of the 4% year-on-year volume decline, minimized the pain. Net stand-alone revenue fell by 2.6% to ?9,981.8 crore.

But as pointed out earlier, lower costs on most fronts helped profitability. The chart alongside shows the sharp drop in energy costs led by lower petcoke prices, lower fuel consumption and higher use of green power. Logistics costs, too, fell due to lower railway freight charges and synergies from the acquired assets. These savings helped offset the increase in raw material costs.

The upshot: Q3 Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of about ?990 per tonne was 29% higher from a year ago. The jump in profit on a per tonne basis was more or less along expected lines, given the increase in realizations. "Besides, the reduction in net debt by about ?2,000 crore is a key positive," said Binod Modi, analyst at Reliance Securities Ltd.

Graphic by Santosh Sharma/Mint
What also impressed analysts is the nimble-footed integration of the recently merged cement assets of Nathdwara and Century, which was a concern on the Street.

Kunal Shah, analyst (institutional equities) at Yes Securities (India) Ltd, said: "The company has proved its ability of asset integration. Century’s cement assets were ramped up to 79% capacity utilization in December, even as they operated Nathdwara generating an Ebitda of ?1,500 per tonne."

Looks like the demand weakness mirrored in weak sales during the quarter was masked by the deft integration and synergies derived from these acquired assets. This drove UltraTech’s stock up by 2.6% to ?4,643 after the Q3 results were declared on Friday.

Brand transition from Century to UltraTech, which is 55% complete, is likely to touch 80% by September 2020. A report by Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd highlights that the Ebitda per tonne for premium brands is about ?5-10 higher per bag than the average (A cement bag weighs 50kg). Of course, with competition increasing in the arena, it remains to be seen how brand premiumization in the cement industry will pan out. UltraTech Cement scores well among peers here.

However, there are road bumps ahead for the cement sector and for UltraTech. Falling gross domestic product growth, fiscal slippages and lower budgetary allocation to infrastructure sector are making industry houses jittery on growth. Although UltraTech’s management is confident that cement demand is looking up, sustainability and pricing power remains a worry for the near term.