Thursday 19 March 2015

Safety Has No Holiday - A Case Study !

Safety Has No Holiday - A Case Study !

A group workers (helper category) of Sub-contractor were assigned the job of housekeeping in under construction Tower on Sunday at about 8:00 am by main contractor. Injured Person was working alone in OTS shaft for debris removal, while accessing the chajja at other side of OTS the victim lost balance and had fall at about 8.40am from 2nd floor level (approx. 5.15 mt from gr floor) leading to right leg & right hand mid finger fracture & minor cuts & scratches on face. Injured Person was wearing his all PPE's safety helmet, safety shoes and safety harness, however he didn't anchor his harness and hence there was free fall to ground. Also the primary protection safety net at first floor level OTS was partly left open by the victim after cleaning of the debris and hence could not arrest the person from free fall.

Assumption No 1

pic11The victim may have tried to reach chajja from the top opening of toilet. At the time of passing from that opening he may have lost his grip from brick wall of  toilet and fell from that point.

2 Nos broken bricks were available as shown in the figure. But it is doubtful since1.9m height is difficult for the victim to go down until he decided to jump and there was no ladder available at vicinity of that area.

Assumption No 2
The victim might climbed by any means (which later may have taken out from that area) and at the time of climbing down to the other side of toilet he jumped and lost control.pic12
If anybody tries to jump from 2.4m and at the platform of 0.5m it is very much possible to be topple.



Assumption 3
pic14Another assumption was made that the victim may be have tried to reach the chajja by means of a 100mm channel section,which was available at the adjacent unit of the area. The victim and his crew member may be placed the channel at that  opening and after that victim tried to reach the area from over the channel.During going from the channel he may have lost  his control and  fall down
The victim may have fallen the channel but there were no evidence available that shows the channel has been put on the opening.Here also it was doubtful that the channel weight is approx . 25kg which is not possible for one person to put  at place  whereas all other gang members told the victim was alone at that place.

Events leading to the incident/accident


1.Unplanned work - Work without work permit  and prior intimation is not permissible but Contractor violated this protocol and conducted the work without giving any prior intimation to PMC and without obtaining any valid work permit

pic15

2. Lack of Supervision - The work was planned a night before without any prior intimation to PMC and the supervisor allowed the work to happen in his absence and left the activity unsupervised.

3. Negligence of Safety Equipment - Although the victim was wearing full body safety harness but he didn't anchor the safety belt.


Findings on overall approach and safe work practices adopted at site


The victim was working without work permit for the net/chajja cleaning work under the instruction of supervisor of Contractor. As per Client safety guideline no work should be executed without written work permit and written permit always requires authorization of work by concern Contractor’s project personnel and thereafter, approval of PMC personnel. In this regard the Client safety guidelines for work permit system was violated.

In addition to this, the work was carried out in absence of any supervisor which is also a major failure of site management of Contractor.

As per established system, if any work other than routine maintenance and housekeeping work at ground level, is  required to be executed on Sundays and other Holidays, the Contractor is supposed to inform the same in advance to PMC so that in turn, PMC also makes necessary arrangement to ensure their presence at site. In this case, no such prior intimation was given to PMC and established practice was bypassed.

While working, the victim was wearing full body safety harness but he didn’t anchor the hook of safety harness anywhere and therefore, the fall from height was not arrested.

It is also noticed that because of unplanned work, no hook locking arrangement was provisioned at work place and the working area was unsafe.

Learning from Case Study


1. All work whether routine or non-routine on holidays (productive/ non-productive) shall be given equal importance and supervision and safety measures must.

2. Critical height work with difficult approach shall be well planned after HIRA and permit to work.

3. Passive protection safety measures (safety nets, hard barricading, lifelines, shaft & cut-outs enclosures etc.) shall not be tampered or removed without permission of Tower In charge and Safety In charge. This is life threatening offense and punitive action must.

4. Emergency support services like first aid, firefighting aids, emergency vehicle, operators/ drivers etc. shall be operative/available for holiday or odd working hours.

5. Ensure that the Contractor, PMC and Client are conducting self-safety assessment through corporate/ cluster safety head/ safety coordinators frequently at least quarterly and improvements are factored and evaluated.

6. Permit is strong administrative control tool and if adhered strictly work will proceed safely after spot inspections/ corrections. There shall be zero tolerance approach to PTW procedural deviations.

About Masters

Masters is a leading Project Management company providing end-to-end solutions to the Construction Industry using the best of global standards and practices with primary focus on Real Estate sector.

Since its inception in 2004, the Company has evolved as a one-stop-shop service provider, offering a range of services to its Clients taking the project from start to finish – ranging from assisting them during per-development stages to feasibility analysis, pre-construction and construction & installation management services to all the way to a successful close out. In addition, Masters also specializes in Cost Consultancy and Design Development (Architectural as well as MEP) through their in-house team. Besides, Masters also offers Programme & Process Review Services and Quality, Cost & Safety Audit/ Monitoring Services and is well equipped to offer range of Development solutions (like turnkey, design & build, construction management at risk) to its Clients.

To know more about Project Management Consultancy, Contact us at :

Masters Management Consultants (India) Private Limited
New Udyog Mandir,
Kamanwala Chambers No.2,
Unit No. 7, Ground Floor,
Mugal Road, Mahim (West),
Email - connect@masterspmc.com
Phone : +91 22 64567600

Tuesday 17 March 2015

Importance of Cost Management in Project Management

Importance of Cost Management in Project Management

Project management success depends on the ability to manage customer expectations, as well as the capacity to maintain a calibrated approach to all projects within the portfolio. And while time and resource issues are always significant, the factor that often has the biggest influence on project success or failure is whether or not the project team can – or cannot – optimize project outputs with effective cost management.

Construction cost is one of the most important criteria of success of project throughout the lifecycle of the project and is of high concern to those who are involved in the construction industry. In order to manage construction project successfully various procurement strategies have been introduced. In spite very rarely projects are completed within estimated budget.

Keeping construction projects within estimated costs and schedules requires sound strategies, good practices, and careful judgment.


Factors affecting Construction Cost Performance

There are several factors that affect the construction cost and various studies have been conducted to address these factors.

Low quality materials cause higher construction cost than expected because of the loss of materials during construction. This results from a lack of standards for materials and management systems. Lack of ability to prevent cost overruns or to control construction costs causes many construction companies to fail.

A major factor contributing to the time-delay and cost-increase is the inadequacy of money and time allocated to the design phase. The three main causes of time-delays are, in order, the number of change orders, financial constraints and owners’ lack of experience in construction.

Design changes, inadequate planning, unpredictable weather conditions; and fluctuations in the cost of building materials are other common factors causing cost overruns.


To sum up, following are the factors affecting Construction Cost management:

  • Fluctuation in prices of materials
  • Frequent design changes
  • Unforeseen ground conditions
  • Change in the scope of the project
  • Low speed of decisions making
  • Lack of communication among parties
  • Delay in Material procurement
  • Underestimate project duration resulting Schedule Delay
  • Owner interference
To avoid the above, project needs special knowledge and expertise to handle it ,which is most efficiently provided by Cost Managers of an effective PMC.

About Masters

Quite simply, Masters completely and clearly understands the importance of cost management as a subset of project management. It demonstrates this by enabling organisations to efficiently and effectively assess all costs associated with a construction project, including (but not limited to): original budget cost, current approved cost, forecasted vs. actual cost, and committed cost.

Our Cost Consultancy services are classified into four typical stages:

  • Pre contract
  • Tendering & Documentation
  • Post contract Cost Control & Monitoring
  • Post contract Financial Management

Some of our Cost Consultancy Projects are:


- Project management & Cost Consultancy for Novotel Hotel Mumbai
- Project Management & Cost Consultancy for The Imperial, Mumbai 
- Project Management & Cost Consultancy for Trilium Mall, Amritsar
 


Friday 13 March 2015

Masters as Cost managers for the Pizza Express restaurants at the Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj & Gurgaon

The popular high street chain (with over 400 restaurants in Europe, Asia and the Middle East) is brought to India in a joint venture by UK based Pizza Express and Bharti group fronted by Rakesh Mittal’s elder son Ramit Mittal. Masters, associated with the outlets in Delhi, as a PMC also undertook Cost Management as a part of their overall responsibility on the projects. 

PIZZA EXPRESS
Founder Peter Boizot, brought real Italian pizza to the UK in 1965. Today, PizzaExpress is a much loved brand, all over the world, and now in India. Dine-in Restaurants offer a complete PizzaExpress experience. All restaurants have spacious sit-down dining area and a separate ‘theme’ for every outlet, which makes each of them unique in ambience. With an area of 2500-4000 sq. ft., these restaurants are present in places with a good mix of local and floating population, in malls & multiplexes and close to offices & residences. These restaurants offer complete experience full of fun, food and relaxation.


Every outlet, which comes with a separate theme, is designed in a unique way creating interesting design features using local elements. The local Architects create a concept which is then approved by the Pizza Express, UK before further Design and Development. 

With too many parties involved for a decision making process, right from design stage up to it get’s operational, a strong PMC is a necessitate to ensure that the project meets with all its requisites including time and quality. Masters, as a PMC for Pizza Express’ outlets in Delhi, did exactly that!! Masters other than a PMC, also played the role of a Cost Manager on the project which helped the project completion not only in time but also in budget!

Here, we will talk about Masters Involvement in the project as Cost Managers:


About Masters


Masters is a leading Project Management company providing end-to-end solutions to the Construction Industry using the best of global standards and practices with primary focus on Real Estate sector.

Since its inception in 2004, the Company has evolved as a one-stop-shop service provider, offering a range of services to its Clients taking the project from start to finish – ranging from assisting them during per-development stages to feasibility analysis, pre-construction and construction & installation management services to all the way to a successful close out. In addition, Masters also specializes in Cost Consultancy and Design Development (Architectural as well as MEP) through their in-house team. Besides, Masters also offers Programme & Process Review Services and Quality, Cost & Safety Audit/ Monitoring Services and is well equipped to offer range of Development solutions (like turnkey, design & build, construction management at risk) to its Clients.

To know more about Project Management Consultancy, Contact us at :

Masters Management Consultants (India) Private Limited
New Udyog Mandir,
Kamanwala Chambers No.2,
Unit No. 7, Ground Floor,
Mugal Road, Mahim (West),


Wednesday 11 March 2015

Safety Has No Holiday

Safety Has No Holiday

This communication is to share the importance of supervision in effective safety management system in construction industry.

Even though fall of person / material from height is the biggest challenge and about 40% violations recorded on this account however inadequate passive protections, controls, failure to provide preventive safety equipment’s or   removing of such equipment’s, sub-standard materials etc. are repeat violations and unless stopped the probability will  remain as concern.

Prevention of incident is highly possible if hazard & risk involved in respective activity is communicated and verified by immediate supervisor of workmen. Effective supervision helps to ensure / minimize the severity & Probability together while safely execution at site. This is possible through processes of risk mitigation as below:


Hierarchies of safety controls shall be followed:
1st StepElimination / SubstitutionIf practicable,Eliminate the hazards altogether, or combat the risk at
source For example ・ Use a safe substance instead of dangerous one
2nd StepEngineering controlsMachine guarding,proper platforms, Acoustic enclosures, automation
instead of manual operations
3rd StepAdministrative controlsWork permit systems,Barricading, Limited access,providing training,
display of signage’s etc.
4th StepPersonal Protective
Equipment’s (PPEs)
If hazard cannot be avoided,protect yourself (It’s a last tool)


Read entire article at - http://www.masterspmc.com/blog/99-safety-has-no-holiday



About Masters


Masters is a leading Project Management company providing end-to-end solutions to the Construction Industry using the best of global standards and practices with primary focus on Real Estate sector.

Since its inception in 2004, the Company has evolved as a one-stop-shop service provider, offering a range of services to its Clients taking the project from start to finish – ranging from assisting them during per-development stages to feasibility analysis, pre-construction and construction & installation management services to all the way to a successful close out. In addition, Masters also specializes in Cost Consultancy and Design Development (Architectural as well as MEP) through their in-house team. Besides, Masters also offers Programme & Process Review Services and Quality, Cost & Safety Audit/ Monitoring Services and is well equipped to offer range of Development solutions (like turnkey, design & build, construction management at risk) to its Clients.

To know more about Project Management Consultancy, Contact us at :

Masters Management Consultants (India) Private Limited
New Udyog Mandir,
Kamanwala Chambers No.2,
Unit No. 7, Ground Floor,
Mugal Road, Mahim (West),