infra projects and indian states

7/28/2019 Infra projects and Indian states

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Mithun Karthikeyan

PGP Student

A study on the delay in the

construction of dams and canals

by NVDA

Indian Institute of Management

5/26/2011

Submitted to


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DETAILS OF THE PROJECT

Organization Name: Narmada Valley Development Authority, Bhopal

Project Commencement Date: 1st April 2011

Project Duration: 2 months

Project Guide Details:

Mr. A.K.Srivastava (NVDA)

Secretary

NVDA

Name of Student Mithun Karthikeyan

Roll No: 2010 PGP 191Summer InternIndian Institute of Management, Indore

Email: [email protected]


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CONTENTS

DETAILS OF THE PROJECT ............................................................................................................................................. 2CERTIFICATE.......................................................................................................................................................................... 5Executive Summary.................................................................................................................................................................. 9Background ............................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Brief history on NWDT and NVDA............................................................................................................................. 10Problem Definition.................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Statement of the problem ................................................................................................................................................. 12Details of projects being included as part of this study .......................................................................................... 13Past/Related Works ............................................................................................................................................................ 18

Research Design ...................................................................................................................................................................... 19Observations ............................................................................................................................................................................. 21Conclusion and Recommendations.................................................................................................................................... 23

Type of Contract ................................................................................................................................................................. 23Item rate or Turnkey ..................................................................................................................................................... 23Pros and Cons of Low bid contract .......................................................................................................................... 25

Issues with Project Scheduling....................................................................................................................................... 25Better Scheduling practices: ....................................................................................................................................... 26Department Engineers Competency in Scheduling Techniques ..................................................................... 26Types of Schedules to be provided by the contractor......................................................................................... 27Milestones ........................................................................................................................................................................ 29Qualifications of Scheduler and Contractor Staffing.......................................................................................... 29Allowable Software for Scheduling......................................................................................................................... 29

Partnering.............................................................................................................................................................................. 29Formal Risk Assessment process .................................................................................................................................. 30Monitoring the progress of work................................................................................................................................... 33

Intermittent Progress and Pacing for Delays......................................................................................................... 34Issues with Sub-Contacting............................................................................................................................................. 35Other issues .......................................................................................................................................................................... 36Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................ 39

Scope for future work............................................................................................................................................................ 40


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Appendix:................................................................................................................................................................................... 41Details on Halon Project................................................................................................................................................... 41Details on Upper Beda Project ....................................................................................................................................... 42Details on Omkareswar Project...................................................................................................................................... 43Details on Lower Goi ........................................................................................................................................................ 45Details on ISP Project ....................................................................................................................................................... 47

Questionnaire............................................................................................................................................................................ 49Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................................. 54


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Narmada Valley Development Authority

CERTIFICATE

To whomsoever it may concern

This is to certify that Mr. Mithun Karthikeyan, an intern from MBA

Program of Indian Institute of Management, Indore was associated

with the Narmada Valley Development Authority, Bhopal under the

summer internship scheme of School of Good Governance and Policy

Analysis, Bhopal. He had undertaken a study on Delay in

construction of Dams and Canals by NVDA assigned to him by the

department. He was associated with the department for a period of

two months starting from 10th May, 2010 and has completed the

project successfully. We wish him all the very best for his future

endeavours.

(A.K.Srivastava )

Secretary

Govt. of MPNarmada Valley

Development Authority


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This study would not have been possible without the guidance and help of several individuals. First and

foremost I would like to thank Mr. O.P Rawat, VC, NVDA for his continued encouragement and support

in performing the study.

I would also like to thank the following for their contributions in successfully completing the project

Mr. A.K.Srivastava Secretary, NVDA For guiding me in completing the project

and helping me in mitigating any hurdle

in completing the project

Prof.H.P. Dikshit Director General SGPA For providing valuable suggestions and

insights on improving the research quality

Mr. A.K. Sukhla Member Engineering, NVDA For helping me in various stages of data

collection

Dr. S.M. Hyder Rizvi Director, Policy Analysis, SGPA For helping me resolve the various issues

that I faced during the initial phase of the

project.

Mr. Gaurav Khare KM, Project Officer, SGPA For his continuous support throughout the

project, and helping with any issue being

faced.

Mr. R.R. Bandari Advisor to Secretary, NVDA For reviewing my work and providing his

valuable suggestions.

Mr. G.P. Soni EE ND division -25, narmada

nagar

For taking out time from his busy

schedule and guiding me at various stages

of the project providing me with some

excellent suggestions and feedback


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I would also like to thank the following for taking out time from their busy schedule and providing me

with the information that was required in completing the project.

Mr. P.K. Paharey

Mr. C.B.Srivastav EE, Region 25, NVDA

Mr. N.K. Brahme Director, E-Tendering Cell NVDA

Mr. S.K.G Pandit CE, CWC

Mr. V.C.Avasthi Consultant, R&R

Mr. Ajay Shah EE, ISP, NVDA

Mr. Dewada CE, ISP, NVDA

Mr. S.P. Tirkey EE, ISP, NVDA

Mr. Dhamendra Consultant, Cadd Systems and services

Mr. Chongad EE, Lower Goi

Mr. T.P. Anand SDO, Upper Beda

Mr. Sanjay Joshi AE, LNZ, Indore

Mr. S.K.Sharma SDO, Head Quarters, Jabalpur

Mr. G.B. Chanderia EE, Upper Narmada Project

Mr. P.K. Jain AE, Head Quarters, Jabalpur

Mr. V.K. Pandey EE, ND Div 2, Mandla


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List of Abbreviations

NVDA Narmada Valley Development Authority NWDT Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal MoEF Ministry of Environment and Forest CE Chief Engineer EE Executive Engineer CPM Critical Path Method PERT Program Evaluation Review Technique CWC Central Water Commission NIT Notice Inviting Tender


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Almost all Dam and Canal construction projects under NVDA are suffering from huge delays in

completing the project. Delays in any infrastructure project leads to significant economic and political

implications. While the immediate effect is that the public needs to wait for the benefits being deliveredby the project, it also leads to many other secondary effects on the economy. For instance, delay in the

construction of canals leads to the benefit of irrigation being delayed to the farmers, which further leads to

decrease in the farm output, upsetting the economic growth in other sectors. Common Knowledge with in

NVDA dictates various reasons for this grave delay, one of the most prominent being issues with land

acquisition, followed by under staffing, delays on the part of CWC etc. This research concentrates on the

delays in post approval processes related to construction of dams and canals, and is based on in-depth

interviews with more than 15 Engineers from NVDA, a contractor and a consultant. Also 6 projects under

NVDA have been scrutinized for reasons that lead to the project being delayed and to explore the truth

behind the frequently stated reasons for delay.

The method being adopted by this study was to make a list of best practices in the industry which helps in

reducing the time delays in project execution, and then to check the existence of such practices during the

project execution at NVDA. In-depth interviews were conducted with Department Engineers, Contractor

and Consultant to study the practices being followed by NVDA in project execution. Also the project

document available at site has been evaluated to study the issues faced during the project execution. It has

been observed that NVDA lacks in almost all such best practices, some much grave than others. Lack of

formal scheduling techniques and failure in effectively monitoring the contractors performance with

respect to the schedule is one of the main reasons for non-performance of projects. Adding to these are

the issues of in-competence in the part of Engineers in scheduling techniques and lack of formal risk

assessment system etc.

It is recommended for NVDA to adopt detailed scheduling in its projects. A detailed approach to the

scheduling process has been provided as part of this study. In addition, there is necessity to train the

department engineers in the various scheduling techniques like CPM and PERT so that mistakes are not

made while preparing or reviewing the schedules. It will also help the engineers in close monitoring of the

progress of work by the contractors and to evaluate it on the basis of the schedule provided by them.

There is also a need to apply formal risk assessment processes in all the projects being undertaken by

NVDA. Since the projects are of similar nature, a generic risk assessment framework can be created and

can be extended for specific projects. The research also gives guidelines in preparing the risk assessment

processes.


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BACKGROUND

BRIEF HISTORY ON NWDT AND NVDA

The Narmada Valley Development Authority is a multidisciplinary organization of the State of Madhya

Pradesh and its head office is at Bhopal. The NVDA has jurisdiction over the major water resources

development projects in the Narmada Basin. Formed in 1985, NVDA works for the all-round

development of the Narmada basin. Narmada is the 5th largest river in Indian Peninsula and flows

through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The disputes related to utilization of

water from Narmada, between Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat led to the formation of Narmada Water

Disputes Tribunal (NWDT). NWDT suggested the following share of water for each state

State MAFMadhya Pradesh 18.25

Gujarat 9.00

Rajasthan 0.50

Maharashtra 0.25

Total - 28.00TABLE 1: NWDT ALLOCATION OF NARMADA WATER TO STATES

This allocation will be reviewed in the year 2025, and under utilization by any state will lead to re-

allocation of each states share appropriately. For Madhya Pradesh to make use of the 18.25 MAF of water

allotted, it is planned to complete 29 major projects by the year 2025. However the delays in construction

of such dams and canals have become a cause of worry for NVDA and if this issue is not addressed at the

earliest, it could even lead to failure in the part of NVDA in achieving its target of 18.25 MAF water

usage by the year 2025, leading to the un-tapped potential being allotted to other states. Moreover, the

delay in construction of dams and canals is also hurting the state in the form of higher financial

expenditure and losses in the form of delaying the revenue generation.


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Table below provide details on the major dams and canals being planned on the Narmada Basin by

NVDA

S.No.

Name of Project Benefits Power Irrigation

(Lakh ha.) (MW) Mcum)Completed Projects

1 Tawa 2.469 13.50 2386.72

2 Barna 0.548 559.82

3 Kolar 0.451 435.90

4 Sukta 0.166 170.57

5 Matiari (Dhobatoria) 0.101 88.38

6 Man Project 0.15 140.00

7 Jobat Project 0.098 112.00

Ongoing Projects8 Rani Awanti Bai Sagar 1.57 100.00 1008.00

Bargi Diversion 2.45 1853.10

9 Indirasagar Project 1.23 1000.00 1674.00

Canal Power House of ISP 15.00

10 Omkareshwar Project 1.47 520.00 1300.00

11 Punasa lift 0.323 105.00

12 Upper Beda 0.099 90.00

Proposed Projects

13 Upper Narmada 0.185 178.93

14 Upper Burhner 0.098 82.72

15 Halon 0.117 134.00

16 Ataria 0.129 112.36

17 Chinki 0.708 1969.90

18 Sher 0.647 567.96

19 Machchrewa

20 Shakkar

21 Dudhi 0.506 444.49

22 Morand 0.522 465.48

23 Ganjal24 Lower Goi 0.137 133.00

25 Raghavpur 20

26 Rosara 25

27 Basaniyar 20

28 Sitareva 15

TABLE 2: MAJOR DAMS AND CANALS IN NARMADA BASIN


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PROBLEM DEFINITION

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Decision Problem Research Problem Information Required Research Design

1. To study the

delay in

construction of

dams and canals

1.1 What are the major

factors affecting the

performance of project?

1.1.1 List of key attributes leading to

improvement in performance in the

execution of infrastructure projects

1.1.2 List of activities leading to

deterioration in the performance of

infrastructure project

implementation.

1. In-depth Interview

with Engineers and

senior officer in

NVDA

2. Literature review

and past research of

similar topics

1.2 What are the current

practices with in NVDA

during the execution of

the project?

1.2.1 Engineers knowledge about

the key attributes leading to the

success or failure of a project

1.2.2 Engineers competence in the

key attributes leading to the success

and failure of a project

1. In-depth interview

with the Engineers

1.3 What are the project

attributes missing in

NVDA leading to the

excessive delay in

completing the projects

1.3.1 How does the actual practices

in NVDA differ from the best

practices required for a speedy

construction of the project

1. Comparison of the

results obtained from

the two steps above


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DETAILS OF PROJECTS BEING INCLUDED AS PART OF THIS STUDY1

1. Indira Sagar Project:The Indira Sagar Project is the key project on the Narmada River for irrigation and power

generation. The regulated releases from Indira Sagar Project will be utilized by Omkareshwar,Maheshwar and Sardar Sarovar Projects on the downstream of Indira Sagar Project. The Narmada

Tribunal has directed that regulated releases from ISP would be made available for use at Sardar

Sarovar to the extent 8.12 MAF per year, ex-Maheshwar. Indira Sagar Project envisages

construction of 92 m. high and 653 m. long concrete dam. Near village Punasa in district

Khandwa which is the highest dam of the State and on completion has formed a lake of gross

capacity of 12.220 Mcum (9.9 MAF) the biggest in South Asia. The project offers excellent

opportunity for power generation with an installed capacity of 1000 MW and will enable

irrigation with 249 km length of the main canal over 1.23 lakh hectares in Khandwa andKhargone districts. In Khandwa district 76 villages in Khargone district 345 villages and in

Barwani district 150 villages, in all 571 villages would be benefited In May 2000 It was decided

to implement the power portion of Indira Sagar Project through the joint venture of NHPC (GOI)

& GOMP. The joint venture is named as NHDC (Narmada Hydro Electric Development

Corporation Ltd.). The works of dam and power house were entrusted to NHDC Ltd. on

25.9.2000 and were completed by June 2005 and June 2007 respectively.

The works of canal of ISP are being executed by NVDA. The work of canal is being completed

by funds under Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program (AIBP) of GOl and loan from NABARD.

The Indira Sager Project has been receiving assistance under AIBP since 1996-97. The works on

the canal system from 0 km to 248.00 kms is in progress. The canal system (cost about Rs. 2870

crore) is proposed to be completed in the 11th five year plan. Up to 2010 an Irrigation potential of

34010 ha. is created. The total expenditure of Rs.1222.45 Crore has been incurred up to

September 10, on the works of canal of ISP.

1 Vision 2015, Narmada Valley Development Authority


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S. No Phase Reach Target for completion

1 Phase-I 0 to 71 km Dec-2011

2 Phase-II 71 to 142 km Jun-2012

3 Phase-III 142 to 206 km Jun-2013

4 Phase-IV 206 to 248 km Jun-2015

TABLE 3: PROGRAM FOR PHASE WISE CONSTRUCTION OF CANAL SYSTEM AND CREATION

OF IRRIGATION POTENTIAL

S.

No.Reach

Status of constructionTarget For

CompletionMain Canal Disnet

1 0 to 58 Km Completed All Distributaries Completed

except some Minors and missinglinks

Dec-11

2 58 to 67 Km Under Progress Only one distributary which hasbeen Completed

Dec-11

3 67 to 107 Km Completed 8 Nos of distributaries & Minors

Under Progress

Jun-12

4 107 to 130 Km Under Progress 13 Nos of distributaries & MinorsUnder Progress

Jun-12

5 130 to 155 Km Under Progress L.A. Under Progress Jun-13

6 155 to 206 Km Under Progress L.A. Under Progress Jun-13

7 206 to 248 Km Under Progress L.A. Under Progress Mar-14

8 Khargone Lift

Irrigation

Survey Under

Progress

- Mar-15

TABLE 4: REACH WISE STATUS OF CONSTRUCTION OF CANAL

S.

No.

Year Targeted

I.P.

I.P.

created

Cumulative

I.P created

Targeted

irrigation

Actual

irrigation

Cumulative

irrigation

1 2007-08 21100 22236 22236 - Nil Nil

2 2008-09 19900 9287 31523 25000 15485 15485

3 2009-10 10455 2487 34010 26500 1363 16848

4 2010-11 17518 - - 17162 - -

TABLE 5: DETAILS OF POTENTIAL CREATED AND ACTUAL IRRIGATION


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2. HalonHalon irrigation project is proposed on the river Halon, a tributary of the river Narmada in the

block Bichiya, district Mandla. Total length of dam is 975 m. and maximum height is 31 m.

1938.50 ha., land will be affected due to submergence out of which 109.80 ha. of land is under

forest. Forest clearance in principle is received, 11,736 ha area is proposed for Irrigation by the

project. The hydrology of dam was approved by Central Water Commission in 1991. Detailed

Project Report (DPR) was submitted to Central Water Commission in 1999. The CWC has

approved the cost of the Halon project at Rs. 221.60 crore. The cost is revised now to Rs. 321.11

crore. The State Narmada Control Board has recommended granting of administrative approval to

the project at this cost in the 33rd meeting held on 31.08.2008. Proposal for environmental

clearance has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests after public

hearing for clearance. Forest clearance in principle has been received on 20.12.07. Environment

clearance was obtained on 4th Jan 2010 and Investment clearance from planning commission

obtained on 15 Apil 2011. The tender for the project has been prepared and send for approval to

Member Engineering NVDA.

3. Upper NarmadaThis project is proposed on the river Narmada at village Reenatola; district Dindori which is 72

km from Amarkantak (origin of the Narmada). Maximum height of dam is 31.80 M and length is

2112 M. Proposed irrigation is 18,616ha, 89 villages of Dindori district and 27 villages of

Shahdol district will be benefited from this project, 2952 ha. of land is coming under

submergence. There is no forest land in submergence. Hydrology of the project was approved in

1991 by Central Water Commission. The detailed project report was submitted to CWC In 1996.

For pre-construction work of the project, administrative approval of Rs. 41.0 Lakhs was given in

1980. The CWC has approved the cost of the project at Rs. 345.77 crore. The State Narmada

Control Board has recommended granting of administrative approval at this cost in the 24th

meeting held on 24.3.2003 with a proviso that work should be started only after getting funds

from outside. The cost of the project is now revised to Rs. 56959 Crore and got approved from

the Narmada Control Board in the 33rd meeting held on 31.08.2008. Proposal for environmental

clearance has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest for approval.

Approval from planning commission has been obtained on 5th

Dec 2010. The project is awaiting

design specifications from CWC. The tender has been prepared and has been submitted to

Member Engineering, NVDA for approval.


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4. OmkareshwarThe Omkareshwar multipurpose project is proposed below the Indira Sagar Project. It is proposed

to construct the dam upstream of Mandhata Island across Narmada River for the utilization of

regulated releases from Indira Sagar Project for the production of 520 MW power and to provide

irrigation facilities to an area of 1.47 lakh ha. on both the banks of the Narmada river.

The project envisages construction of 949 M. long 73.12 m high dam with 8 units of 65 MW.

Total installed capacity for power generation is 520 MW. The dam and power house works are

entrusted to NHDC Ltd.

The canal system will be completed by the State by about 2014-15, with funds under AIBP and

NABARD; financial assistance under AIBP is being received since FY 2003-04, Grant of Rs.

220.53 crore has been received up to March 2008. The work of Narmada Aqueduct costing Rs.

31.5 crore has been taken up and completed before water is stored in the Maheshwar dam under

construction. Cost of canal system is Rs. 2175.59 crone. The work of the canal is in progress in a

total length of 218.40 km in 3 phases. The right bank lift canal is being taken up in the fourth

phase. The work is likely to be completed in the 11th plan. Target dates are as given below

S No Year Financial

target

Target

Achieved

Targeted

Irrigation

Actual

irrigation

1 2010&11 244-34 244-34 3940 3940

2 2011&12 426-77 671-11 27040 30980

3 2012&13 377-58 1048-69 23860 54840

4 2013&14 320-00 1368-69 49330 104170

5 2014&15 200-00 1568-69 18500 122670

6 2015&16 140-00 1708-69 24130 146800

TABLE 6: DETAILS OF FINANCIAL AND IRRIGATION TARGET AND ACTUAL ACHIEVEMENT

5. Upper BedaUpper Beda irrigation project is proposed on river Beda near village Nemit, Tehsil Jhiranya,

district Khargone of Madhya Pradesh. Project envisages the construction of 208 m. long and 37 m

high masonry dam and 2206 m long and 23.83 m. high earth dam. It is proposed to irrigate 9900

hectares land in Khargone district comprising 58% tribal population. The Planning Commission

has accorded investment clearance for the project on 10.9.1998. Administrative approval for the

Project amounting to Rs 87.86 crores has been accorded by Govt. of M. P. in May 2001. The

survey work of dam, command area survey, property survey and soil survey has been completed.


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An expenditure of Rs. 104.95 Crores has been incurred on the project up to 3/2008. Work of the

dam is completed. R&R is also carried out pari passu. Canal work is in progress.

For the construction of the project NABARD sanctioned loan of Rs. 80.32 crores in March 03.

Agency has been fixed for main dam. The construction of the dam has been completed. The

project has been sanctioned under AIBP and grant started in FY 2008-09.

6. Lower GoiLower Goi Irrigation Project is proposed on Goi River near village Pachpula tehsil & district

Khargone (Badwani), 13760 ha. Area is proposed for irrigation through 5.71 km. long tunnel.

Estimated cost of the project is Rs. 360.37 crore. The survey work was completed and detailed

project report was submitted to Central Water Commission in 1992. There is no forest area in the

submergence due to the project. The tunnel for taking irrigation water, however, passes through

forest area for which clearance is obtained. The project is cleared by the Planning Commission on

12.8.2008. The work is taken up and is to be completed in the 11th plan. The project has been

accepted for AIBP grant during FY 2008-09, and grant of Rs. 499 crore received. The project has

been awarded to IVRCL on November 2008 and work is in progress


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PAST/RELATED WORKS

Various studies have been conducted in the past to study the time delays in completion of infrastructure

projects. While some of them concentrated on delay aspects in execution of specific steps involved in the

project, others took a more comprehensive view of the project and studied the delay in the all-inclusive

conclusion of the project. Few of the past researches conducted to study the delay in completion of

infrastructure projects are

Risk Assessment and Best Practices in Schedulingby PinnelStudies the importance of a good scheduling practice in reducing the delays and claims associated

with an infrastructure project. The report comes up with a strong correlation between the presence

of an effective scheduling practice and the extent of delays being observed in infrastructure

projects. It continues to explore the role of various stake holders in developing the schedule and

brings out the importance of the partnership between the various parties involved in theimplementation of the project. Finally the report also identifies formal risk management

techniques, or rather uncertainty management, which is a better term for risk management of

infrastructure projects, in reducing the time delay in the implementation of infrastructure projects.

Delays and Cost Overruns in Infrastructure Projectsby Ram Singh, Department of EconomicsThis study was based on the time and cost over-runs of publicly funded infrastructure projects in

India. The research identifies contractual and institutional failures as two of the major reasons

behind time and cost overruns.

Factors effecting cost performance: evidence from Indian construction projects by K.C.Iyer andK.C. Jha

The research focuses on the critical success and failure factors in terms of cost performance of

Indian construction Industry. Few of the salient results that came out as part of the research was

the role of Project managers competence in the success of the project and also conflict among the

project participants being major reason for failure of a project.

Study for Expeditious Processing of Environment Clearances for Projects of Narmada ValleyDevelopment Authority (NVDA) by K V Gopakumar

The study focuses on the huge delay in getting environmental clearances for variousinfrastructure projects under NVDA. Further the recommendations from this study have helped in

reducing the time required to get environmental clearance for various projects under NVDA.

However the scope of this research was restricted to the Environmental clearance aspect of the

project. The current study has it focus on the post approval processes, beginning from the tender

preparation till the final commissioning of the project


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RESEARCH DESIGN

Activities Deliverables

Phase 0

This phase will involve secondary research data analysis to understandthe reasons for delay in construction activities

Key reasons for delay

Helpful research tools

Phase 1

Discussion with key members of the department:This will help in identifying the processes specific to NVDA inimplementing a project and insights on delay factors

Project Implementation steps and

possible delay factors

Phase 2

Questionnaire formulation:

Questionnaire

Phase 3

Site Document Review and discussion with Engineer in Charge:This will be a primary data collection phase by reviewing the documents

at site and discussion with Engineer in Charge

Quantitative data on delays

Phase 4

Analysing data and arriving at critical bottle necksReport detailing critical bottle necksand implementable solutions.

PHASE 0

The main purpose of this phase is to understand the key attributes involved in the implementation of an

infrastructure project, which either leads to successful completion of the project on time, or which leads to

excessive delays in completion. A lot of research has already been conducted on this topic and detailed

surveys conducted to identify such key attributes. According to a study conducted by Pinnel, one of the

major reasons for delay in the construction of infrastructure projects is the improper or the lack of

scheduling techniques, and improper monitoring of the project. Based on extensive research and literature

review, the following aspects were arrived up on as the main attributes which make or break a project

1. Conflict among project Participants2. Ignorance and lack of knowledge of the Engineers3. Reluctance in Timely decision4. Improper or Lack of formal scheduling techniques5. Aggressive completion at tendering stage6. Short Bid preparation time7. Hostile Social and Economic Factors8. Dispute resolution practices


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PHASE 1

Before visiting the construction sites to collect data, it was required to understand clearly the steps

involved in the project implementation at NVDA. It was also required to discuss the relevance of the

various attributes identified in Phase 0 with respect to the practices in NVDA. Detailed discussions were

held with Engineers in Narmada Bhavan and CWC. Based on the discussions the results obtained in

Phase 0 was further fine tuned and additions made.

PHASE 2

A questionnaire was prepared on the basis of the attributes that was finalized in Phase 1

PHASE 3

Field visits were made to Sanawad, Indore and Jabalpur and documents available at site was studied to

identify the reasons for delay in the specific projects. Also indepth interviews were conducted with the

Engineers at site on the factors leading to delay. The extent of delay caused by the various attributes

arrived in phase 1 was identified

PHASE 4

Analysis of the data collected during field visit and the outcome of the indepth interview with the

Engineers. The Method of analysis was to compare the best practices required for reducing the delay, and

compare it with the practices within NVDA. The study does not focus on in-depth analysis of any

particular project, but only identifies the practices in each of the 6 projects.


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OBSERVATIONS

STAGES INVOLVED POST

FIGURE 1: V

No Schedule prepared by DDepartment engineers rely

involvement is leading to

delays. In the case of lowe

schedule. It took 1.5 years

falling behind on schedule

prepared by the contracto

schedules have details on

Tenderi

Tender

Preparation

Tender

Processing

Con

21

PPROVAL OF THE PROJECT BY PLANNING C

RIOUS ACTIVITIES FROM TENDERING STAGE

epartment Engineers during or after the Tender pre

on contractors to prepare the schedule for the pr

ailure in monitoring of the projects by the enginee

r Goi, the initial schedule provided by the contract

for the department to alert contactor and notifies t

and warn them on levying penalty. A monthly reco

, which was again approved by the department.

a weekly basis, nor did it specify the critical

ng Process

Tender Award Tender Signing

tractor activities

Survey

Alignment

Approvals

land Acquisition

cases

Work Execution

Departmen

Activities

Wor

Mon

All

suffi

A

S

Levyin

ca

c

MMISSION

aration

ject. This lack of

rs and causing the

or was a quarterly

em that they were

very schedule was

Neither did these

processes in the

t

k Order Issue

itoring Work

rogress

ocation of

cient funds

proval of

chedules

g of penalty in

ses of non

mpliance


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construction nor did it have the sequencing details of specific events in each month on a day to

day, or atleast weekly basis.

Schedule prepared by the contractor only name sake, and no strict adherence followedThe schedule being prepared by the contractors are also not very uselful. These are mostly

Quarterly schedules with no detailed specification of work provided. It also fails in providing the

sequencing of activities nor does it provide information on the critical aspects of the project. The

schedule also does not identify the amount of labourers that are required to complete each aspect

of the project.

Department Engineers not very well versed in Scheduling Techniques like CPM or PERTDepartment Engineer needs to be competent in these techniques for them to be able to review the

schedules provided by the contactors, and also to be able to monitor the work. They will also

need to identify areas where the contactor will not be able to perform as per the schedule and

suggest changes in such cases.

Complete lack of risk assessment processes in all the projectsThere are no formal risk assessment processes being followed in any of the projects. Any issue is

taken up as and when it arises. Since NVDA only deals with the construction of dams and canals

it would be fairly possible to develop a risk assessment guideline for all the projects of NVDA.

The formation of such a guideline is out of the scope of this study due to time limitations.

However if the various risks like, land acquisition cases, risk due to adverse climatic conditions,

non-availability of raw materials etc are brought under a risk assessment framework, a better

management of such issues will be possible. Also it will help in having a formal issue resolution

guideline when such events occur.


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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

TYPE OF CONTRACT

ITEM RATE OR TURNKEY

Historically NVDA followed item rate type of contract in the construction of dams and canals. However

recently, they have started following floating contract on the turnkey basis. While contracts on turnkey

basis have its inherent advantages, it is not free of issues. Turn key based contracts shifts a lot of risks

from the NVDA side to the contractor side. But it is required to be analyzed if such a shift in risk is

beneficial for NVDA or detrimental to the project.

A study conducted by J.R. Turner and S.J. Simister indicates a relationship between the uncertainty in

projects deliverable and the best suited type of contract. An attempt is made to relate this study with the

current projects undertaken by NVDA, and to analyze if the move to turnkey projects were desirable. The

below graph indicates the relationship between the cost of managing different types of contract at

different levels of uncertainty2

2 Project contract management and a theory of organization, J R Turner, S J Simister

Costofadministeringtheproduct

Uncertainty of the product

Re-measurement Contract

Turnkey Contract Preferred

Cost of managing re-measurement

Cost of managing cost plus contract

Cost of managing fixed price contract

Cost-Plus Contract Preferred


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The graph clearly indicates that as the uncertainty of the product increases it is desirable to go for cost-

plus type of contract, and turnkey or fixed price contract is best suited in cases when there is not much

uncertainty in the end product. The study was further extended to include the effect of Uncertainty of

process and Ability of client to contribute in the choice of contract. Below is a pictorial representation of

the selection of contract types with all variables included

Uncertainty of Product

Lo Hi

Uncertainty of

the process

Hi Fixed price/Turn KeyCost PlusDesign and Build

Hi

ComplexityLo Re-measurement No research done Lo

Lo Hi

Ability of Client to Contribute

Fig. 2. Selection of contract types.3

Extending this research to the construction activity undertaken by NVDA, dams and canals are

construction activities with very less uncertainty regarding the final product. The size, type and

dimensions of the final product is known before hand, and there is no scope for any confusion at that end.

However there is very high uncertainty in the process that needs to be followed in the construction

process. It will vary from project to project depending on the actual site conditions and an array of other

factors. The optimal process for one project might not turn out to be the best for another. Hence Fixed

Price/Turn Key contracts would be the best suited for the projects undertaken by NVDA, which is inline

with the current practice.

One of the main features that Turnkey contracts bring along is the contractors freedom in designing the

process best suited for delivering the product. Without providing this freedom to the contractor, turnkey

products will turn out to be quite detrimental, and could only further aggravate the delay aspects. The

contractor should be given the opportunity to gain from any innovative solutions that he comes up with.

3 Project contract management and a theory of organization, J R Turner, S J Simister


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However this does not mean free hand for the contractor to do as he wish. The progress of the

construction still needs to be monitored constantly and verified to be in par with the schedule.

PROS AND CONS OF LOW BID CONTRACT

NVDA follows process of low bid contract for finalizing the agency for construction. The logic is quite

simple. To maximize the value of the project, it needs to be executed in the lowest possible price and for

this the owners tend to exploit the competition in the market to obtain the best price. However this

approach as its disadvantages associated with it. One of the main flaws with this line of thought is that, it

completely ignores the dependence of value of the project on the quality of work done, the timely delivery

of the project and the ability to meet the needs of the users.

Agencies in a struggle to win the contract, bid with the lowest possible amount to such an extent that, it

becomes impossible for them to effectively complete the work. The end result is bad quality work, lower

commitment levels and delayed works. This leads to increase in the amount of claims and legal actions

that eat up valuable project time and money.

One of the merits of the process being followed by NVDA is the pre-qualification process where strict

guidelines have been put forward in selecting the agencies eligible in bidding process. However the

process lacks in two aspects.

No guidelines on the extent of minimum bid (% below the initial estimate) No restrictions on the level of subcontracting

Every tender being invited needs to have a minimum bid amount which should be a % of the initial cost

estimate of the project. If there are bid with lower amount than this threshold amount, then the contractors

must be required to establish how they would be completing the project within the bid amount. The

Engineer in Charge for the project should have the authority to decide whether or not to award them the

contract. He will be liable to verify the facts provided by the contactor, and certify that the contractor will

be able to complete the project within the bid amount.

ISSUES WITH PROJECT SCHEDULING

There is failure in the part of Engineers in identifying the cause of delay in completing the project on

time. 11 out of the 15 engineers who were interviewed claimed land acquisition delays as the primary

reason or the delay of the project. However after analyzing the data available at site, it was clear that land

acquisition was not the major reason for delay. While land acquisition cases did account minor delays, it


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was not the predominant factor. Moreover in most cases such delays could have been avoided by better

scheduling techniques and effective enforcement of such schedules.

BETTER SCHEDULING PRACTICES:

The first step in reducing the delay is to adopt an efficient and robust scheduling system. At present

Quarterly schedules are being prepared for project, and in almost all cases, the role of department

engineers in the preparation of such schedules are minimal. There needs to be a more active role by

department engineers in the preparing of project schedules. The schedule needs to be prepared for each

week. In case of lapse in the part of contractor in adhering to the schedule, for reasons attributable to

either department or the contracting agency, or external factors, a fresh schedule needs to be prepared,

detailing on how the lost time will be made up, or in case it cannot be made up, then what the new

scheduled completion time will be. Critical Path Method (CPM) or PERT are two very popular methods

that can be used for preparing such schedules. There are no guidelines from the department in the use of

scheduling techniques and its application.

DEPARTMENT ENGINEERS PROFICIENCY IN SCHEDULING TECHNIQUES

One of the main reasons for delays in the construction of dams and canals has been due to the lack of

adequate capacity in part of department engineers in various scheduling techniques. While almost

everyone knew the purpose of CPM or PERT, very few could effectively apply it for arriving at a

comprehensive schedule for the project. For effective monitoring of a project, scheduling to the least time

interval is the best. However NVDA follows quarterly or in few rare cases monthly schedules. This

clearly indicates an inadequate capacity in the part of engineers in the various scheduling techniques.

Department engineers need to be provided training on the various scheduling techniques. While it is not

essential to train them on the scheduling software, it will be useful if they are competent in such software.

None of the projects studied for this research had a schedule that was prepared by the Department. A few

recent projects had schedule prepared by the consultants, but those were also not up to the mark.

Preparation of schedule by the Department Engineer becomes all the more important when there are

various contractors involved in the completion of a project and coordination between such parties is

required. Listed below are few of the activities that needs to be included in the schedule created by the

department engineer

Obtaining permits, submittals for early procurement, and long lead time items. Mobilization and preliminary activities. Initial site work.


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Specified work sequences, constraints, and milestones, including substantial completion. Major equipment design, fabrication, factory testing, and delivery. Delivery dates for department-furnished products. Site work, concrete, structural steel, architectural features, conveying systems, equipment

installation, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and control, and interfaces with department

furnished equipment.

Equipment and system startup and testing. Final inspection and punch list. Project closeout and cleanup. Demobilization. Permitting and design activities. Procurement activities shall include: submittal and departmental review and approval

TYPES OF SCHEDULES TO BE PROVIDED BY THE CONTRACTOR

a. Preliminary SchedulePreliminary schedule is prepared by the contractor immediately after the issue of work order. This

would detail the schedule of activities to be performed for the first few months (2 months

normally). It will contain detail of work activities until the baseline schedule will get approved.

This is done so that the contactor will have sufficient time to come up with the baseline schedule

after finalizing the sub-contractors and planning the project in detail. The preliminary schedule

should detail on the machinery and labour mobilization details, Land acquisition case submission

schedules, site preparation schedules, contract mile stones, contract completion etc.

Once the Contractor is ready with the preliminary schedule, a pre construction meeting has to be

held with all the project stake holders, which includes contractors, department engineers,

consultants, revenue officials and the district collector. Before the meeting is conducted, the

schedules prepared by the contractor needs to be verified by the Engineer in Charge and any

corrections required needs to be communicated to the contractor. The following points need to be

verified while reviewing the schedule

All contract-specified milestones: notice to proceed, interim milestones, non-workwindows, substantial completion, and final completion.

Specified work sequences. Specified Owner-furnished equipment delivery dates or activity durations.


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Specified submittal review times, except for early, critical materials that can be reviewedfaster.

A reasonable calendar for workdays, holidays, and expected non-work days for inclementweather.

The Schedule will then again be scrutinized during the pre-construction meeting and inputs from

all the stake holders will be sought for.

b. Baseline Schedule4The Baseline Schedule is created by adding the remaining activities through to completion of the

Preliminary Schedule. Upon acceptance, it is the official contract schedule, against which

progress is measured, until replaced by a revised baseline as part of a global settlement of all

changes up until that point. The Engineer in charge will have the final authority in accepting or

rejecting the Baseline Schedule.

The baseline schedule needs to be reviewed jointly by the Engineer and Charge and the

contractor, so that any issues can be ironed out.

c. Recovery Schedules and Narrative Reports5If the project falls behind schedule more than 14 days or 10% of the remaining duration,

whichever is less, for non-excusable delays or when requested by the Owner, the Contractor shall

prepare a Recovery Schedule and Narrative Report that demonstrates how the lost time will be

recovered. The Recovery Schedule will be subject to review and acceptance by the Engineer in

Charge.

Narrative reports should have a cover letter stating the name of the project, date submitted,

reporting period, and name of the report author. Narrative reports for updates need include only

new and revised activities and should include:

The Contractors plan for management of the site (laydown, etc.), use of equipment,buildup of trade labour, and potential change proposals.

A brief description of the more important critical and near-critical activities and how theywill be accomplished

Description of potential delays including their cause and steps to mitigate.

4 Pinnell/Busch Master Scheduling Specification5 Pinnell/Busch Master Scheduling Specification


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MILESTONES

Milestones are major events with zero days duration and mark the beginning or end of an important

phase of the work. Except for contract-specified milestones the selection of milestones are up to the

contractor. A reasonable number of additional milestones are helpful in tracking progress and the

department should encourage the contractor to do so.

All project schedules should have milestones for work order issue, substantial completion and final

completion.

If a project has critical interfaces with other contracts, the Owner should specify interim milestones with

liquidated damages to avoid interfering with those other contracts and to inform the Contractor when

certain areas will be available. Interim milestones can also be used to ensure that progress is adequate.

QUALIFICATIONS OF SCHEDULER AND CONTRACTOR STAFFING

The tender document should specify the Qualification required by the Scheduler at contractor end. For a

medium sized project, the scheduler should have a minimum qualification of 3-4 years experience in

scheduling projects of this magnitude. Unless the scheduler has sufficient experience with such large

scale projects, he will not be able to come up with an efficient schedule for the project. Also care should

be taken so that the contractor doesnt under staff the Scheduler post.

ALLOWABLE SOFTWARE FOR SCHEDULING

There needs to be clear guideline on the type of software that can be used by contractor for scheduling

purpose. For the projects of magnitude undertaken by NVDA, MS Projects or Primavera would be a good

candidate. Care should also be taken to make use of the latest version of the software so as to avoid any

compatibility issues. Taking in to consideration the lack of competence in the part of department

engineers in the use of such software, it is highly recommended to hire a consultant who is well versed

with the use of such software.

PARTNERING

Partnering is a technique useful in reducing the time delays associated with almost all major construction

projects. Partnering can be termed as a commitment between the owner, the consulting engineer and the

contractors to avoid improve communication and avoid disputes by working together towards shared and

common goals and objectives on a project. However this does not include relaxing the contract terms or

circumventing the process to achieve quicker turnaround time. Past researches conducted on the use of


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partnering in construction projects indicate an average increase in profitability by 25% and a reduction in

project completion time by 20%.

Typical workshop agenda for partnering workshop typically includes6

Overview of partnering Project overview Project organization and lines of communication Team communication flows Goals for the project Key expectations and needs of each stakeholder group Identification of potential project challenges Develop strategies and action plans to address key challenges Develop an issue resolution process Partnering follow-up tools and methods Identify celebrations throughout the life of the project Select partnering champions from each major stakeholder group Develop partnering charter

The typical time frame when a partnering workshop of this nature will bear the best result would be just

before the beginning of the project construction activities, or 1-3 weeks in to the beginning of the project.

Not only will such an activity give clarity on the deliverables expected from each party, but it will also

lead to better communication between the various stake holders, resulting in quicker problem resolutions

and faster turnaround times.

It is highly recommended for NVDA to adopt partnering technique in any one of its upcoming projects.

Upper Narmada would be a good candidate to be a pilot project given that the Tendering process is only

about to begin, and hence sufficient time would be available to finalize on the agency to conduct

partnering workshop.

FORMAL RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Any major project should have a formal risk assessment exercise done before implementation of the

project. This is a process by which the critical areas and processes in the project are identified, the

possible issues and threats likely to develop during the course of the project is predicted and prioritizing

the available resources for uninterrupted operation of such critical functions. If a detailed schedule has

6 Source: http://www.allanlowe.com/partnering.htm


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been prepared using CPM, then the critical processes in the project would already have been identified.

There could be additional processes with high level of uncertainty which can be formulated based on the

past experience of the engineers in the department.

Given below is a 6 step risk assessment process developed by Critical Incident Protocol Community

Facilitation ofMichigan State University School of Criminal Justice.

Identify Functions and ProcessesList the separate functions and processes involved in implementing the project

Determine CriticalityOf the processes listed in Step #1, which are the most critical to the continual operation. The

following definitions may be used as a general guide and should be modified to meet the

requirements of each specific process or function:

Critical necessary and/or vital. Will completely stop all work and delay the projectcompletion

Essential important but not critical. Disruption would cause difficulties and could leadto delays.

Non-Essential disruption is merely inconvenient. Determine Recovery Time

Determine the recovery time for each critical process listed in Step #2. In determining recovery

time, consider the following:

Time from loss or disruption of process to the point when continued disruption or loss isdetrimental to the mission of the project;

Special circumstances that may delay or prevent recovery actions, i.e., designation of anarea as a tribal area, or presence of NBA activists

Identify ThreatsIdentify threats that may halt or disrupt each of the critical functions identified in Step #3. In

identifying threats consider:

Natural disasters (tornados, floods, severe weather); Human-caused events (workplace violence, terrorist attack, sabotage, critical information

theft);

Facility-related emergencies (hazardous materials, loss of utilities, proximity to otherthreats);

Asset protection incidents (inadequate systems, untrained personnel); Machinery difficulties (lack of backup);


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Employee-related problems (training, attitude, misconduct/grievances); Other events and incidents (nearby threats, political activities).

When assessing the various threats it is important to consider:

1. What can occur;2. The damage it is likely to cause.

Determine VulnerabilityDetermine which of the threats identified above have the greatest likelihood of disrupting or

attacking each critical function. When assessing how vulnerable a process or function is to the

various threats, it is important to consider:

1.How likely it is that a threat will occur;2.How often a threat is likely to occur.

The following descriptions are suggested as a guide:

Highly Vulnerable Functions that are most likely to experience threat. Vulnerable may experience the threat or threat. Not Vulnerable not likely to experience the threat or threat.

Select Action PlansDetermine if there are appropriate plans and resources to address the threats that are most

disruptive to the critical functions. It is imperative that these plans and capabilities are current and

adequate. If gaps or shortcomings are discovered, determine:

What do I have and what do I need? Solution areas include:o Planning. o Organization.

o Facilities o Equipment.

o Training. o Exercising.

Can the issues be addressed using available company personnel and resources or willoutside personnel and/or resources be required of other businesses and/or public

organizations?

If solutions require coordination with public agencies, do the businesses and publicagencies involved need to develop or enhance a public-private partnership?

Developing a risk assessment process for the projects under NVDA was outside the purview of this

research owing the lack of time. Hence only the lack of such a process is being pointed out here, and a

framework is being provided. It is strongly recommended to develop a Risk Assessment Process for the

construction of Dams and Canals being implemented by NVDA.


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MONITORING THE PROGRESS OF WORK

Along with better scheduling practices, it is also required to have a better monitoring for the project. In

almost all cases, department waited a minimum of 2-3 months before intimating the contractor on the

delay on part of him in executing the project. However along with developing a weekly schedule, the

department should also monitor the progress of the project on a weekly basis confirming it to be in line

with schedule. In case it finds any deviations from the schedule, then the contractor needs to be intimated

immediately and recovery schedule for lost time need to be come up with. For department engineer to be

able to do this they need to be well competent in scheduling techniques and hence proper training is very

important.

Department Engineers should independently verify the actual start and finish dates. Contractors

sometimes fail to report the correct date, and sometimes misreport dates in order to hide their delays or set

up for a claim. Department Engineers also need to remember that the percent remaining times the originalduration is not necessarily the same as the days remaining. Therefore a mere comparison of the

percentage of work completed against the percentage of time elapsed is not an appropriate method to

evaluate whether the project is within schedule or not. However, in almost all projects in NVDA, this is

the method that is used to verify the delay of the project. The actual comparison has to be with respect to

the baseline schedule prepared during the commencement of the project.

The Contractor should also submit a daily field report. The report shall include, but not limited to:

Weather: rainfall, high and low temperatures during working day, wind or other environmentalfactor, and the impact.

List of the general contractors separate crews, the size of the crews, and activities performed. List of subcontractors on the site, their crew size, and activities performed Total number of personnel working on site. List of equipment on site and used. Start and finish dates of network activities and milestones. Extra work being performed. Delays, disruptions, and loss of efficiency with the reason. Meetings, conversations with owner, designer, or other party. Accidents and unusual events. Meetings


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The daily field reports may be vital in analyzing time extension requests and claims for delay,

acceleration and impact. They should be reviewed at least weekly, to identify developing delays and other

problems, so that prompt corrective action can be taken.

There could be two possible kinds of delays that arise.

Minor delays of less than a week, which can be made up by the contractor in the course of work. Major Delays of more than 2 weeks

In the case of Major delays, the contractor will be required to submit a recovery schedule which needs to

be accepted by the Engineer in Charge. The recovery schedule should clearly specify how the contractor

will make up for the lost time, by means of increasing crew size and machineries. Care should be taken by

the contractor to ensure that he is not siphoning of labour from other critical processes to speed up the

work in this specific process.

INTERMITTENT PROGRESS AND PACING FOR DELAYS

Intermittent progress is when contractors reduce their crew size or pull a crew off of an activity, in order

to perform other work on this project or another. This isnt normally a problem on non-critical activities

but should not happen on the critical path. Owners need to record the crew size and note fluctuations in

the crew size, in case there is a later claim for impact, as a smaller crew size may be the reason for

activities taking longer than planned. Pacing occurs when there is an unavoidable delay to the critical path

and the contractor reduces the crew size or shifts workers off of previously critical activities in order to

avoid completing all available work for a specified trade and having to disband the crew. That would

result in later inefficiencies as the personnel may not be available later and a reconstituted crew would

start with a lower efficiency than the current crew.

Contractors need to notify Owners when they are pacing previously critical path activities, to avoid later

charges of concurrent delay. The contractor needs to strictly get the acceptance of the Engineer in Charge

before pacing reducing the crew size. The Department Engineer on the other hand should try and identify

other processes in the critical path where this extra crew can be accommodated. Once the cause of delay

in the original activity is rectified, then the crew can be pulled back to the original work.

This normally happens when there is obstruction to the construction by the inhabitants of the village, who

oppose the construction of dams and canals. In such instances, the contractor will be forced to reduce the

crew size so as to minimize the loss due to idling of crew.


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ISSUES WITH SUB-CONTACTING

NVDA has detailed guidelines for pre-qualification of Contractors. However there is no such guideline

available when the contractor decides to let out the work to sub-contractors. While it is true that its the

contractors responsibility to adhere to the schedule and the quality aspects of the project, irrespective of

subcontracting the work, there is an inherent flaw in this logic. When strict pre-qualification has been

done during the tendering stage to make sure that only the capable contractors is awarded the contract, the

later subcontracting by the agency to below par agencies undermines this whole purpose. Even though the

main contractor requires the consent of the Engineer in charge before appointing any subcontractor, the

lack of any formal guidelines in evaluating such subcontracting agencies could lead to below par agencies

being part of the project. Also, the little guidelines available can be easily circumvented to the advantage

of the contractors. For instance, in-spite of clear guidelines that the work cannot be assigned to a different

agency but only subcontracted in specific cases where the subcontracting agency has competence in the

specific activity. However in case of Phase 3 of Omkareswar project, even though an initial attempt by

the Main contractor to assign part of the work to a different agency was rejected by the department,

however later on work was assigned to the same contractor but this time, rather than directly assigning the

section of work to the agency, all the different individual aspects of the construction activity was sub

contracted to them, and this was approved by the department. This is clearly assigning the work to the

agency, but under the pretext of subcontracting individual construction activities.

Few of the areas where crisp guidelines are required are

Limiting the number levels of sub-contracting Better qualification criterion for sub-contractors

Approve sub-contracting only if the agency is found to have superior expertise in the specific activity, and

only sub-contract the specific activity.

It is also important that the sub-contractors are aware of the schedule being committed by the Main

contractor, so that sub-contractors are not forced to accelerate owing to un-realistic schedule that they

were not aware of. It is a good practice to get the written agreement from the sub contractors regarding

the schedule that they are required to follow, so as to avoid any claims or cost over runs towards the later

stage.


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OTHER ISSUES

1. Staffing IssuesFor effective monitoring of any project, it is required for adequate staffing of the project, and in

certain cases over staffing is desirable. However there is a shortage of engineers being staffed in a

project which is leading to in-effective monitoring of the project. A review of the staff position in

Upper Narmada project was performed and was found to be understaffed.

There is not only a need to fill these vacant posts for effective monitoring of the work, but the

recruitment should be done in a manner which attracts candidates who are proficient in the latest

construction management techniques.

2. Use of consulting agency and strict monitoring of workWhile NVDA has begun employing the use of consultants for monitoring the progress and quality

of work done by the contractors, but there is a need to better scrutinize and monitor the work

done by consultants. In the case of Lower Goi, it was observed that the schedule being prepared

was on quarterly basis, and only monthly review of the projects was being performed. There was

also no risk assessment process being done by the consultant. Though employing consultant is a

desirable aspect in effective monitoring and controlling the project and is helpful in reducing the

work load on the Department Engineers, strict guidelines needs to be enforced on the nature and

quality of work being done by the consultants and the department engineers should monitor the

work being done by the consultants.

There is also a need for stricter prequalification criteria while selecting the consultants, so as to

ensure prior experience of the consultants in work of similar nature, and also to make sure that

engineers being employed by the consultants are competent enough in construction management

and monitoring project of such large scale.

3. Proactive Decision making by the engineersAll the recommendations provided above rely heavily on the active participation of the

Department engineers. On the one hand, engineers should actively monitor the progress of the

work and at the same time they should be proactive in taking action against contractors who falter

in adhering to the schedule. Engineers should be able to identify delays early on, and take

corrective action to bring it back on schedule.

This would also require effective enforcement of authority endowed up on the engineers. For

instance, when an Engineer in Charge can take action for non compliance with the schedule, the

same need not be referred to Chief Engineer for action, and un-necessarily cause delays. The

Engineer in Charge needs to be proactive in taking such actions and enforcing his authorities.


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4. Lack of motivation among EngineersContactors and consultants enjoy incentives for the early completion of the project. The

department gain in the form of overall cost savings and early revenue generation. But there is no

such motivation for the Department engineers. With the exception of few self-motivated

personals, there is a serious lack of motivation among the engineers in working towards

completing the project on time, if not ahead of schedule.

Exceptional work in a project by any engineers needs to be acknowledged and some form of

recognition needs to be awarded for the Engineer.

5. Short Bid preparation timeIn-order to gain time for execution, it is observed that bid preparation time is kept to the

minimum. Ideally reasonable time should be allowed for proper site investigation, and collection

of relevant details required for estimation purpose. The short bid preparation time leads to a

number of errors and omission on the part of the contractor which they try to settle through

claims, leading to disputes and schedule over runs. Almost during all the recent tenders that were

invited by NVDA, contractors had requested for time extension for extension of last submission

date. These requests were even made by construction giants like HCC, Gammon India, L&T etc.

However in almost all cases, such requests were denied forcing good companies to not submitting

the bid, thus reducing the competition during bidding.

Most of the recent tenders from NVDA are being invited based on turnkey basis. In any turnkey

project, the contractor shares a major portion of the construction risk. Hence it calls for a detailed

site investigation from the part of the contractor before he can arrive at a bid amount. However

except for Omkareswar, NVDA has refused to extend the Bid submission time, in-spite of

repeated request from multiple agencies including HCC and L&T. This has led to many such

agencies staying away from bidding and in turn leading to lesser competition in the bidding

process.

In addition, short bid preparation time could also lead to under bidding by the contractor, due to

improper site investigation. Once the contractor realizes that it will not be possible to complete

the project under the bid amount, the construction progress will begin to slack and will finally end

in huge delays and work with lower quality. So it is best in the interest of both NVDA and the

contractor that sufficient time is provided for them to perform site investigation. A period of 2

months would be appropriate for the contactor to perform site investigation and come up with a

competitive bid.


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6. Huge Mobilization advance paid even before beginning the construction activityWhen there is provision to make payment in the form of Machinery advance for any expenditure

incurred by the contractor in procuring machineries there is no need for a separate provision for

an interest free Mobilization advance, which is 10% of the total project cost. Not only does this

practice encourage under qualified contractors to take part in the bidding, but it also aggravates

the issue of delay in the construction. Once the interest free payment is made to contractors, it is

pure business logic to extend the period of time till which they are able to hold on to such a

payment so as to maximize their profit. For this reason, they will come up with reasons for the

non-performance from their side, and try to get extension as much as possible. On the other hand,

if the initial interest free payment is not made, then the contractors have all the more reason to

complete the work as per schedule and claim the payment.

If it is required to make the payment to contractors then it is advisable to provide it to them at the

prevailing market interest rates, so that they do not make any

7. Delay in obtaining the design from CWCThis issue is being faced by Upper Narmada project, were CWC has not yet provided the design

for dams and canals. While the primary reason for this is due to the failure in part of department

in providing the soil investigation results, the base reason is that there is only one soil testing

institute being approved by CWC and they are not in a position to provide the results rapidly. So

the main bottle neck here is the lack in CWC approved soil testing institutes. It is recommended

to have a list of soil testing institutes across India approved by CWC so that the department can

allot the work to the institute which will be able to provide results in the lowest possible time

8. Land Acquisition issuesThis had been one of the most frequently cited reasons for delay by departmental engineers.

There had been instances where the construction was delayed due to the agitation by the local

population and the issues with land acquisition due to which the complete work came to a halt.

NVDAs move to turnkey contracts, under which the responsibility of preparing land acquisition

cases got transferred to the contractor, has relieved the department from the delay arising out of

this reason. However keeping in mind the greater good of the whole project, it would be advisable

for NVDA to acquire the land required for dam seat. This is make sure that once the construction

work starts, until the baseline survey is prepared, the contractors work does not get stopped

completely.

9. Detailed review and documentationAfter each phase of a project is completed, a review of the progress along with the issues faced

during the implementation is necessary. It will form as a basis for learning and innovations that


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can help in better implementation of future projects. The fact that, it is required to go through

almost 300-400 pages of general correspondence , which is available only at a particular site

office, to get information on aspects of a project is a serious concern and a detrimental factor in

passing on the learning from implementing a project to the new projects. There is also a serious

need for better documentation from department engineers on the tacit knowledge and major

incidents during the course of implementing a project.

CONCLUSION

The main reason for the delay in projects being implemented by NVDA is due to the lack of a robust and

efficient scheduling technique. The inadequate capacity in the part of engineers in preparing and

reviewing such schedules, and in monitoring the progress of the work based on such schedule is a major

concern and needs to be addressed if any improvement in the project timelines needs to be obtained. Ashort training for the department engineers on the various scheduling techniques like CPM, PERT etc

needs to be taken up. The monitoring mechanism at NVDA also needs to be improved by monitoring the

progress every week, and in case the project falls behind schedule by more than 2 weeks, then a revised

schedule to be requested from the contractor detailing on how he plans to complete the project in

stipulated time. The quality of schedules provided by contactor also needs to be improved from a mere

formality document to an effective document detailing on each and every aspect of the project including

the sequencing of processes.


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SCOPE FOR FUTURE WORK

A framework for the risk assessment process has been provided as part of this study.However the specific aspects of the process for NVDA were out of the scope of this study

due to lack of time. It is recommended to further study on the risk assessment processes for

projects undertaken by NVDA and in preparing a formal guideline for the same.

While there is certainly a need for improving the scheduling practices with in NVDA, at thesame time the same should not be overdone. This might lead to contractors staying away

from the bidding process resulting in lesser competition. A future survey among the major

bidding contractors for NVDA to determine their expectation on the scheduling processes

will help NVDA in arriving at an effective scheduling guideline.


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APPENDIX:

DETAILS ON HALON PROJECT

Construction Schedule for Halon

S.No. Year % Proposed tobe completed

Cumulative %

1 up to 3/10 0.5 0.5

2 2010-11 21.72 22.22

3 2011-12 24.14 46.36

4 2012-13 24.14 70.5

5 2013-14 29.5 100

Activity Date

Clearance of R&R Plan 25/01/2007

In Principle Approval for diversion of forest land 20/12/2007

Environmental Clearance 04/01/2010

Approval from Ministry of Water Resources 12/05/2010

Investment Clearance 15/04/2011


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DETAILS ON UPPER BEDA PROJECT

Activity Date


Administrative Approval 01/05/2001

NIT 11/05/2003

Sale Begin 05/06/2003

Sale End 18/06/2003

Last date for submission 19/06/2003

Pre Tender Conference 12/06/2003

Bid Opening 18/08/2003

Work Order Issue 01/10/2003

Time Based incidents post issue of Work Order

Incident Date

Work Order Issued to Gurmeet Singh and Co 01/10/2003

GS complaints about no Department Engineer present at site 22/12/2003

GS Points out delay in payment to be made for acquired land 26/12/2003

Detailed land acquisition status prepared 29/12/2003

GS informs Department on the following issues

No Bench mark and boundary pillars erected nor pre-commencement joint levels taken

SE not visited the site even once EE visited only once Agitation issues

08/01/2004

2.5 Acre camp land provided 19/01/2004

Letter to collector for discussion on the issue of agitations 20/02/2004

Begin working of central line and boundary pillars 18/02/2004

Protestors obstruct the work and manhandle engineers 20/02/2004

Discussion with Collector 24/02/2004

Work still at stand still with no progress 15/03/2004

Letter from GS to SE, pointing out that, even if the demarcation work isstarted now, monsoon will delay the progress 29/03/2004

Entry to dam site made 23/05/2004

Center Line marked 30/05/2004


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Following issues pointed to CE

No construction drawing issues Borrow area of land not yet available Land Acquisition of last 7 villages not complete Trial pits yet to complete

30/05/2004

Following Concerns raised by GS Scope of work revised Change in design Payments getting abnormally delayed First drawing of L.S.Regulator obtained on 24-04-2006, 31

months after issue of work order

30/03/2007

Issue of non availability of land pointed out by GS 06/04/2006

Notifies the following to CE

Increased the speed of construction Escalation provided by department not inline with increase in

cost or raw materials

03/06/2006

Following concerns raised by GS Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, Settlement - 9 months to

possess few land

Drawingo Masonry Dam - 04/11/2004o Earth Dam - 01/01/2005o Under Sluice - 20/04/2006

Incumbency - Change of office in the last 36 monthso Chief Engineer - 6 timeso SE - 6 timeso EE - 5 times

Abnormal escalation

Consideration of request for time extension 31/10/2006

79% progress 31/03/2007

93% completed 20/10/2008

4th time extension till 30/06 2010 10/04/2009

Work Completed 25/05/2010

DETAILS ON OMKARESWAR PROJECT


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Activities Date


R & R Clearance 08/10/1993

Environmental Clearance 13/10/1993Forest Clearance 05/11/1993

Approval of CEA 11/11/1993

Clearance from CWC 18/11/1993

Clearance by NCA 01/09/1994

Revised Administrative Approval 17/06/1996

Investment Clearance from Planning Commission 15/05/2001

Clearance for revised cost by CWC 15/07/2009

Clearance by TAC, CWC, GoI 05/09/2009


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DETAILS ON LOWER GOI

Activities Date

Environmental Clearnace 17/01/2008

R&R Clearance 05/03/2008


TAC Clearance 28/07/2008


NIT 22/08/2008


Sale End 25/09/2008

Bid Opening date 26/09/2008

Price Bid opening date 20/10/2008

WO issue 21/11/2008Completion Time 48 Months

Time Based incidents post Investment clearance

Incident Date

NIT 22/08/2008


Sale End 25/09/2008

Gammon India, HCC and 6 other contractors requested for extension

Bid Opening date 26/09/2008Price Bid opening date 20/10/2008

WO issue to IVRCL 21/11/2008

10% Mobilisation advance granted 18/02/2009

Letter from SE demanding immediate action 27/06/2009

Letter from CE as work not started yet 03/07/2009

Letter from SE requesting MIS every month 14/07/2009

Letter from CE requesting utilization certificate of paid mobilization 21/07/2009

Letter from SE requesting MIS 27/08/2009

Reply from IVRCL on activities done and mobilization advance utilization 28/08/2009

IVRCL points out land acquisition issues 20/12/2009

Letter from SE asking for balance land acquisition proposals 06/01/2010


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Review done by consultancy in theprogress of the work

First six Months (30-03-09 to 30-09-09)

Target 434.45 Lacs

Achieved 147.31 Lacs

Short fall 288.14 Lacs

Second Six Months (30/09/09 to 31/03/10)

Target 2675.8 Lacs

Achieved 1231.18 Lacs

Short fall 1444.62 Lacs

Only 17% work completed till 31/03/11


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DETAILS ON ISP PROJECT

Time Based incidents post Planning Commission approval

Incident Date

NIT 24/12/2007

Sale

infra projects and indian states

Documents