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DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
IN This Issue
• FROM THE MD’S DESK
• EDITOR’S NOTE
• MILESTONES
• BENDABLE CONCRETE
• AVOID THE 4Fs SYNDROME
SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION
KNOWLEDGE SHARING
BIRDY LESSONS
PEB TERMINOLOGY
MANAGEMENT TOOL – KANBAN
RAISED PAVEMENT MARKERS
THERMAL IMAGING / SOCIAL
DISTANCING TO CONTROL
COVID -19
WHY ARE BUILDINGS WITH
SHEAR WALLS PREFERRED IN
SEISMIC REGIONS?
• APPENDIX Cover page photo: Manjushree, Baddi
THE ISSUE OF DIMENSIONS IS FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY
The country is in ‘lockdown’ mode, initially
one week and subsequently three further
weeks. An appropriate and timely decision
take by the government to combat and
stop the spread of deadly COVID-19 virus.
All of us are confined to our respective
abodes. Please abide by GO.
By the time this issue of “Dimensions”
reaches you, there will still be 14 days of
lockdown.
Is Lockdown a bane or a boon? Have you
mulled over this aspect?
Some of the bane points I can think of are:
Families living in small
accommodation feel cooped
up.
Restricted movement within
confined space.
Stepping on each other’s toes
within the house.
Challenges to control bottled up
energy of young children.
Convincing children that parents
are at home not on holiday but
have work to do.
Let us look at the brighter side of the
prevailing situation.
I am of the opinion the lockdown has been
equally a boon too.
During my frequent conversation with
some of you, whenever I asked general
knowledge or engineering related
questions or enquired about your reading
habits or hobbies you pursued, the most
common or universal answer I got has
been “No time, sir”.
Now that all of us have 14 more days of
time how do you plan to spend this time
apart from time spent on sleeping, eating
and ablution.
Please utilise the available time usefully;
spend time with your family and children
(within the house), gaining knowledge,
learning a new language, playing a
musical instrument, pursue a hobby.
This is a golden opportunity; you will never
get this back (unless of course we have
another deadly virus 😱).
Take care of yourself and your family. Stay
inside and stay safe.
Since all talk these days is about COVID-19
virus, we give below an observations made
by Jerome Roos about the spread of the
virus.
Jerome Roos says:
This very interesting finding hints at the
potential seasonality of Coronavirus:
community-to-community outbreak had
initially been limited to “a narrow east-west
distribution roughly along the 30-50 N”
corridor at consistently similar weather
patterns (5-11°C and 47-79% humidity).”
If you have any such
observations/suggestions, do join the
Innocentive.com challenge to help out in
controlling the pandemic.
FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR’S DESK EDITOR’S NOTE
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020 2
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
Birthdays
April Birthdays
DIVYA K, Bangalore
HO, 7th April
MURALI M, Bangalore
HO, 10th April
MOHAMMED
SHARUKH, Zuari Rain Forest, 10th April
PALANI PRASAD M,
JAYABHERI THE CAPITAL, 27th April
DEBENDRA DAS, USL –
NIMAPADA, 20th April
MAHENDRA GODBOLE,
Carl Bechem, 28th April
HARSHITHA G V, PES
University, 30th April
Birthday Celebrations, in BC –
Before Covid (shaking Hands allowed in those days):
Thejesha’s birthday was celebrated
on the 4th March. Vijaymahantesh
wishing Thejesha on the birthday
Naveen C wishing Thejesha on his
birthday
Mary wishing Roy Zacharias on his
birthday, on the 16th.
In Happier Days
ANP with granddaughter Vanessa
sightseeing in Bangalore in early
March
News from the Sites
SIC Chetan (of Manjushree, Baddi)
with Rudresh L at Nayana Devi, near
Ananthpur , Himachal Pradesh
Prize for correct answer to Question asked in the newsletter
The prize for the correct answer asked
in the previous issue of Dimensions
went to Guruprasad B S of Himalaya
Drugs, Tumkur
GURUPRASAD B S,
Himalaya Drugs,
The prize cheque
MILESTONES
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020 3
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
Nemmadi Franchisee Training
Program
Nemmadi appointed a Franchisee for
South Chennai; training for 3 members
was done from 7 to 14 Mar.
Anwar demonstrating the measuring
of distances with Laser Measure
R Suresha showing how the verticality
of a wall is checked
Divya having an introductory talk with
Pradeep
Megha explaining about Marketing
aspects to Pradeep
Dipali explaining about methodology
of writing snag descriptions
Pradeep checking hollowness of wall
tiles
Karti checking the quality of door
frames
Sathish practicing laser measurement
Uday Prakash explaining about the
path forward
R Suresha giving the closing address to
the group
Karthi receiving the Nemmadi Kit from
A N Prakash
Pradeep being given the packet
Sathish receiving the packet from A N
Prakash
Group photo before winding up of the
week long program
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020 4
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
Know Your Project:
PES University
Prabhath V, PESU
At PESU, it was proposed to have 3
basketball courts, each of dimension
as given below.
Dimensions of a Basketball court
The proposed size of the structure for
housing the basketball court was 62M
X31.75M. Beam span was 33 M and
clear height was 12.6M (triple height).
Staging in progress for the roof.
The beam size was 1.25M X 1.9M with
each beam requiring 78.375 m3 of
concrete. Each beam had a steel
reinforcement of 17MT. The total
weight of each beam being 202.625
MT.
Shuttering design was made by
structural consultant AEDBM.
Cup-lock staging started
Arrangements of cup lock will be as
shown in the picture above: Below the
beam support will be of 750 mm X
750mm grid and below Slab support
will be 1500mmX1500mm grid.
Close-up of staging
Cup lock system shuttering is made
with NB-40 Circular hollow sections –
YST 310 grade, 4mm thick, of weight
4.37KG/M. On either side will be 40mm
circular hollow sections of 3.2mm
thick, 3.56 KG/M, medium sections.
Checking of reinforcement in progress
Steel Reinforcement of beams tied
before start of side shuttering.
Concreting in progress
M40 SCC suggested by the Consultant
AEDBM was used; concrete was done
in 3-layers of 600mm depth, each
layer well compacted. Total volume
of Basketball roof is 1450 m3 of
concrete, which is executed by 4 Line
pumps and 1 Boom pump.
Later: De-shuttering of roof completed
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020 5
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
BENDABLE CONCRETE
SURESH B L, HO
Making Bendable Concrete
The product is 400 times more
bendable than conventional
concrete, yet has similar strength and
is also far less polluting.
Unlike conventional concrete, engineered
cementitious composite (ECC) can
bend under pressure without
rupturing.
Unfortunately, concrete is a brittle
material: Placed under stress, it
cannot bend very far before it
fractures. Some pavements that are
being poured now will crack within a
few years and require expensive
repairs. New concrete will be mixed,
and the cycle will start again.
But a better solution is in view. It is
possible to make concrete more
ductile — that is, bendable without
fracturing. Bendable concrete makes
infrastructure safer, extends its service
life and reduces maintenance costs
and resource use.
Civil infrastructure very rarely fails
because it lacks compressive strength.
Most failures occur because structures
do not have enough capacity to
carry tensile load — the ability to
deform or stretch without rupturing –
even though steel reinforcements
often are added to concrete to
prevent catastrophic structural failure.
Cracks in concrete can reduce a
structure’s usable life. They also weaken it and make it less resilient
against natural forces, such as
earthquakes or tornadoes, or man-
made forces, such as bomb blasts in
terrorist attacks.
Repeated infrastructure repairs and
rebuilds use enormous quantities of
materials and energy. Studies have
shown that the carbon and energy
footprints of frequent repair events,
and the social and economic costs
they generate, far exceed those
associated with initial construction.
We all pay these costs in time stuck in
traffic jams, higher taxes and polluted
air.
Making concrete bend
To develop ductile concrete, idea was borrowed from nacre, also known
as mother of pearl — the iridescent
material on the inside of abalone
shells.
Mollusks make nacre from aragonite,
a natural form of calcium carbonate,
which by itself is extremely brittle. But
nacre is ductile because of its
architecture at the nanoscale, which
looks like a brick wall. The “bricks” are
thin layers of aragonite platelets, and
the “mortar” between them is a
natural polymer that is very elastic.
The polymer holds the rigid aragonite
layers together, but allows them to slip
from side to side under stress. This
structure makes nacre both strong
and flexible.
Concrete is a composite mixture that
normally consists of gravel and sand
particles bound together with
cement. To design ductile concrete,
we imitated nacre’s “give” by
dispersing tiny fibers inside the
composite. When properly controlled,
the interfaces between fibers and
cement recreate the controlled
slippages in nacre.
Nacre, the
coating on the inside of abalone shells, is
highly ductile, allowing the shell to resist
impacts without fracturing. It protects
abalone from sea otters that try to break
shells open by banging them on rocks.
We call the resulting ductile concrete
engineered cementitious composite (ECC) or strain-hardening
cementitious composite. It can
deform up to 3% to 5% in tension
before it fails, which gives it 300 to 500
times more tensile strain capacity than
normal concrete. This allows a slab of
it to undergo a lot of bending without
fracturing into pieces, earning it the
nickname of flexible or bendable
concrete.
Uses for bendable concrete
Making concrete bendable addresses
several of conventional concrete’s
key flaws. First, suppressing brittle
fracture prevents the formation of
wide cracks that allow water and
other aggressive agents like road salt
to penetrate easily into concrete structures and attack their reinforcing
steel.
Bendable concrete also enables
structural elements to absorb a lot of
energy.
How bendable concrete can heal
itself
Our concrete composite can also
learn new tricks. For example, when it
is damaged, the hairline cracks that
form can undergo healing just
through exposure to water and air.
Self-generating reactions create
healing products through continued
hydration and carbon mineralization,
binding crack surfaces together in
much the same way that our skin
heals from a paper cut. Self-healing
concrete can make structures such as
roads and bridges more durable.
Bendable concrete also can adjust its
own thermal capacity, so that it stores
more heat when the outside
temperature is high, keeping building
interiors cool. Encapsulated micron-
sized wax-like materials within the
concrete change from solid to liquid
form, like tiny ice cubes melting into
water, when temperatures reach
levels that are uncomfortable for
humans.
ECC is being now made to neutralize
pollutants, thereby helping to
maintain clean air in urban
environments. Embedded nano-
titanium particles in the composite
break down pollutants into harmless
substance via reactions catalyzed by
sunlight.
These autonomous and adaptive
functional features can contribute to
the development of future smart cities with infrastructure that responds to
environmental changes. The goal is to
create a new generation of smart,
bendable concrete that will help build
and maintain a resilient, sustainable
and healthy living environment.
Reference: Article by Victor Li, Professor of
engineering at the University of Michigan.
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020 6
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
AVOID THE FOUR Fs SYNDROME
Shankara C S, Himalaya
Most training & learning (including
counselling and performance
discussions) doesn’t last.
No stickiness. We attend a seminar or
come out of a performance
discussion and vow to transform our
lives but two days later it’s back to
business as usual – seeing the
negative, playing the victim and
being cranky. I have identified four
main reasons why people resist
change and often don’t take the
steps to elevate their career and their
lives even when they have the
opportunity to do so. With greater
awareness of these four factors you
can make better choices .When you
make better choices you are certain
to experience better results .
First F FEAR: People fear
leaving their safe harbour of the
known and venturing off into the
unknown.
Most of us don’t like trying something
new – it brings up our discomfort. The
key here is to manage your fear by
doing the very thing that frightens
you. Do it until you are no longer
scared. Please remember that behind
every fear wall lives a precious
treasure.
Second F FAILURE: No one wants to fail. So most of us don’t even
try. Sad. We don’t even take the first
step to improve our health or deepen
our working relationship. In my mind
the only failure in life is the failure to
try.
And I deeply believe that the greatest
risk you can ever take is not to. Take
that small step and do it fast. Failure is
just an essential part of realizing
success. THERE CAN BE NO SUCCESS
WITHOUT FAILURE!
Third F FORGETTING: Sure we
leave the seminar room after an
inspirational workshop ready to
change the world. But then we get to
the office the next day and reality sets
in.
Difficult teammates to deal with.
Unhappy customers to satisfy.
Demanding bosses to appease. No
time to act on the commitments we
made for personal and professional
leadership. SO WE FORGET THEM. Here
is a key to success: Keep your
commitments on top of your mind.
Heighten your awareness around
them. Better awareness – better
choices. Better choices – better results .Keep yourself promises front and
centre. Don’t forget them. Talk about
them a lot. Write about them each
morning on your journal.
Fourth F FAITH: Too many
people have no faith. They are
cynical “This leadership training and
personal development stuff does not
work “or “I am too old to change“.
Cynicism stems from disappointment.
Cynical and faithless people were not
always like that. They were filled with
possibilities and hope as kids. But they
tried and perhaps failed. And rather
than staying in the game, recognizing
that failure is the highway to success,
they shut down and grey cynical.
So these are the four
F’s of why we resist transformation and
showing real leadership in our lives.
Understand them and you can
manage and overcome them.
Ordinary people can craft
extraordinary lives. You truly can get
to greatness .Trust me. But you have to
start. And how will you know if you
don’t even try.
Thanks to: Robin Sharma, considered to be
one of the top 5 leadership experts in the
world.
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020 7
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
SRIDHAR K E, NEMMADI
Recycled metal
Builders rely heavily on metals such as
aluminum and steel, which are
durable, lightweight and versatile.
But there’s a challenge:
A lot of energy goes into mining and
manufacturing the metal, which takes
its toll on the environment. Keep in
mind; ore is a finite resource that
already shows signs of being in short
supply.
Recycling provides a feasible
alternative, by lowering the energy
used in the overall manufacturing
process.
And the best part?
Metals keep their properties, even
after being recycled multiple times –
that’s an infinite number for aluminum
and steel!
This means that 75 per cent less
energy is used every time that steel,
for example, is repurposed.
Recycled metal tends to be strong,
durable and long-lasting, as well as
water and pest resistant. It doesn’t
need to be replaced frequently, so it
can be used to construct roofs,
bridges, roads, building facades and
roofs.
5 Most Commonly Recycled Scrap
Metals and their Sources
Scrap metal recycling is a wonderful
way to reuse resources and avoid the
high economic and environmental
costs of mining. Because metal is
present in many products and items
that we use in our everyday lives,
scrap metal is plentiful. Even so, much
more recycling could be done than
what is currently actually happening.
Only about 30% of metals are
currently recycled, meaning that 70%
of metals could be recycled, but aren’t.
Learn more about the 5 most
commonly recycled scrap metals and
their sources so that you can make
sure that you’re recycling as much as
possible. The more awareness about
recycling there is, the more scrap
metal can be recycled, reducing our
impact on humans on the
environment.
Iron
This metal, once used commonly for
pipes, gas heaters and more can be
found in older items around the home
or industrial site. Because iron is highly
corrosive, newer, more resistant
metals such as steel have replaced
iron as the top pick for many items.
But, it is still useful for scrap metal. It
can be melted down and used for
creating new items.
Steel
Steel is one of the most widely used
metals in large appliances and
products. Cars, chairs, shelves and
household appliances are just a few
of its many uses. It is also often used
for construction purposes. You’d be
surprised to know that many cans you
find in the supermarket are also made
of steel. Both steel and iron have
magnetic properties, making them
some of the easiest metals to recycle.
This is because impurities are easily
separated from the metal with the use
of a strong magnet.
Aluminum
Aluminum is popularly known for its
use in making aluminum cans for
beverages. However, this versatile
metal can also be found in car parts,
window pieces, siding, gutters, doors and more. This common metal is also
frequently recycled. It’s especially
known for its quick turnaround time
from scrap metal to consumer
product or packaging.
Brass
This heavier metal is a combination of
zinc and copper. It is popular for
making light fixtures, bathroom fixtures
(faucets), door handles, keys and
other plumbing pieces. Brass typically
commands a higher price than other
common metals due to the presence
of copper, which is quite valuable.
Copper
Copper is a valuable metal that commands good prices as a scrap
metal. It is used in a variety of
applications such as pipes, electrical
components, and electric wires. This is
the third most used metal in
manufacturing, which shows how
common it is.
While there are many other metals
that can be recycled as scrap metal,
these are the ones you’re most likely
to find in your home or business.
Scrap Metal you can recycle after a
Home Remodel
It doesn’t matter if you’re replacing
your kitchen or adding a bathroom to
your master suite. There are a wide
variety of materials used—and
materials thrown away. One of the
most common materials used in home
remodeling is scrap metal. From
modern shower walls to office
furnishings, scrap metal is in many
different parts of the home as sturdy,
durable material and can provide a
modern touch.
Focusing on where we put our debris
while we fix up our homes should be
part of the remodeling process.
Recycling all types of metal is
beneficial to the environment in
multiple ways. As a result, this is
something we should consider
contributing to regularly.
This isn’t just about reusing old
materials either. When we discard
certain metals carelessly, there are
chemicals (like mercury and lead)
that can leak into nearby soil and
water systems. This can lead to the
contamination of drinking water.
Recycling metals can also conserve
energy. It takes much more energy to
create metal from raw materials. Instead, using recycled materials to
build a wide variety of things requires
much less. So, try and reduce
greenhouse emissions, conserving
energy, and contributing to a
healthier environment.
Source: Ecology Recycling &
Transportation Services
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
KNOWLEDGE SHARING – SITE: K DINESH
Naveen Kumar N
During BBMP’s inspection at site for the
purpose of issuing the
commencement certificate, it was
noticed that the Building width as
constructed was 230mm more than
that given in the sanction plan.
Instead of 16.73 mts, we had
constructed 16.96 mts.
BBMP refused to issue
Commencement certificate due to
the deviation from sanction plan.
ROOT CAUSE
Actual site dimension was 915.12 sq
mts , whereas land record and
sanction plan area was showing
891.58 Sqmts. The net
difference or excess area is 23.54
Sqmts.
The Architect prepared all GFC
drawing based on actual site
dimensions, but by keeping the
setback dimensions as per sanction
plan, which cause an increase in
building width by 230 mm.
MITIGATION PLAN
The building width was reduced by
230 mm in the basement roof and
retaining wall by doing structure
modifications at the West side of the
retaining wall as per Structural
Consultant’s suggestions.
(Refer: In the below shown Site layout
plan, highlighted in Green and Red -
colored lines & Section.)
Extended the existing Retaining wall
column width to 230mm by doing Hilti
lockset fixed Reinforcement, formwork
and RCC done for all the 6 columns
and existing retaining wall columns.
Reinforcement was connected to slab
and beam (Refer: Yellow color box in
Site layout plan). BBMP re-inspected
this work and issued Commencement
certificate to further carry out the
structure works.
IMPACT FROM THIS ISSUE
(a) Rs. 1.80 lakhs spent on
structural modifications.
(b) Overall Time lost - 39 days.
LESSONS LEARNT:
Any dimension or figure given
anywhere in the drawing should be
cross-checked. For example, in this
case, if the area shown in the sanction
plan is x sq.mts., then check if the
actual area is less or more.
SUGGESTION:
Add a point in the SOP checklist to
take care of such issues.
Discussion: Nothing damages
someone’s professional credibility as
quickly as an error, even a minor one.
While a simple calculation error or
typo can seem trivial in the scheme of
things, it implants doubt into your
customer’s mind. The customer now
thinks if this person can make these
simple errors, they can also make
larger errors. No matter the root
cause, errors suggest a lack of caring
or attention. Conversely, people
notice attention to detail. Even in
areas that are seemingly less
significant, such as how products are
packaged.
It is the same at a site. Any dimension
given in a drawing should be tested
from all possible angles and check
should be done to see if the Client,
Architect or any other Consultant has
made any blunders or errors. This is
because it is finally the PMC’s
responsibility that all should end well.
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020 9
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
BIRDY LESSONS
Divya K, Nemmadi
In the article ‘Are you a Goose or a
Gull’ published in the last issue of the newsletter, it was mentioned that if we
look to the animal kingdom for models
of leadership, we find that we can
learn from the behavior of many
species, in particular birds. The lessons
are there for the taking if we pay
attention. In that article we had
looked at the behavior of seagulls
(bad) and geese (good) and
compared them.
This time let us look at two good
examples, where birds could teach us
valuable lessons – the common
rooster and the exotic flamingo.
Rooster
A rooster begins his day with a ‘cock-a-doodle-doo’. Your
child too should learn to wake up
early every day and be filled with joy.
He should internalize the mantra, ‘I am
going to maintain my happiness no
matter what happens today,’ that will
help him or her start every day on a
positive note.
You must have heard the proverb: The
early bird catches the worm. The
statement advises us to act in time.
The bird that rises earlier than the
other birds goes in search of prey and
it gets as many worms as it requires.
But the bird that arrives late may not
get a single worm and may have to
go hungry. Similarly, a person who is
late in doing his duties may not get
the desired results. When we postpone
our duties or acts, we lose the
opportunities of success.
We should work hard, and in time. If
we are lazy, we will not attain success.
When we try to work hard at a later
stage, it may be is of no use. So, we
should be careful in life from the
beginning. Life is full of competition.
Those who come first will win. We
should remember the fact that there
are other people who start everything
early and they naturally get the best
and the earliest benefits.
Those who delay in their actions are always the
losers. This proverb is a good piece of
advice to those who are late or do
not act promptly.
Flamingo
For a bird, traveling hundreds or thousands
of miles between its breeding and
non-breeding ranges is difficult. It is a
perilous journey, one that not all birds
survive. So why do birds migrate?
What reasons send millions of birds
into the risky skies every spring and
fall? There is more than one single
reason for different birds to migrate,
but it all comes down to survival, not
just for each individual bird, but also
for the families they hope to raise.
What if No Birds Migrated?
Without a reason to migrate, birds
would have even more challenging
lives than making these excruciating
journeys. If no birds migrated, food
supplies in their ranges would be
rapidly depleted during the nesting
season, and many chicks and adults
would starve. Competition for nesting
sites would be fierce, and predators
would be attracted to the high
concentrations of breeding birds and
easy meals of vulnerable nestlings. It is
for those two reasons - food and
breeding that many birds migrate, but
those reasons are far more
complicated than they seem.
People usually avoid changes and
prefer to stay in their comfort zones,
but once you get the courage and
take the first step to change, your life
will become much better. A few
benefits of change are:
1. Personal growth: You grow and
learn new things every time something
changes even if that did not lead you
to where you wanted to be.
2. Flexibility: Frequent changes make
you easily adapt to new situations,
new environments, and new people.
3. Improvements: We all have things in
our lives we’d like to improve—
finances, job, partner, house, etc. All
of us know that nothing will improve
by itself. We need to do things
differently to make that happen.
4. Life values: Changes make you re-
evaluate your life and look at certain
things from a different perspective.
5. Strength: Not all changes lead you
to pleasant periods of life.
Unfortunately we do not live in fairy
tale and sad things happen, too.
Overcoming the tough period will
make you stronger.
6. Progress: Changes trigger progress.
Things move forward and develop
because of them.
7. Opportunities: One never knows
what each change may bring. When
you turn from your usual path there
will be plenty of different opportunities
waiting for you.
8. New beginnings: Each change is a
turning page. It is about closing one
chapter and opening another one.
So next time you get the temptation
to avoid or resist the change, aim
instead to initiate the ones that will
lead you to where you want be.
And remember—if there were no change, there would
be no butterflies!
Thanks to the Blog by Ani Alexander
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020 10
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
PEB TERMINOLOGY
Article suggested by ANP
Since Pre-Engineered Buildings are
quite common these days, it is
important to lean what the terms
mean, some of which are given here:
Bird Screen: Wire mesh used to
prevent birds from entering the
building through ventilators and
louvers.
Built-Up Section: A structural member,
usually an "I" shaped section, made
from individual flat plates welded
together.
Bumper: An energy-absorbing device
for reducing impact when a moving
crane or trolley reaches the end of its
permitted travel, or when two moving
cranes or trolleys come into contact.
Sag Member: A tension member such
as rods, straps or angles used to limit
the deflection of a girt or purlin in the
direction of its weak axis.
Sandwich Panel: A panel used as
covering consisting of an insulating
core material with inner and outer
metal skins.
Seaming Machine: A mechanical
device that is used to close and seal
the side seams of standing seam roof
panels.
Self-Drilling Screw: A fastener that
combines the function of drilling and
tapping.
Self-Tapping Screw: A fastener that
taps its own threads in a predrilled
hole.
Shop Primer Paint: A temporary
coating designed to protect the steel
during shipping and erection until the
building exterior and interior finish
coverings have been installed. This
coating may or may not serve as a
proper prime coat for other finishing
paints.
Soldier Column: An intermediate
column used to support secondary
structural members; not part of a main
frame or beam and column system.
Standing Seam Roof System: A roof
system in which the side laps between
the roof panels are arranged in a
vertical position above the roofline.
Wind Column: A vertical member
designed to withstand horizontal wind
loads, usually in the end wall.
Thanks to Bhagwati Steel Building
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
MANAGEMENT TOOL - KANBAN
Rudresh L
Personal Kanban
If you were a caveman (or
cavewoman), the work you needed
to do may have been quite simple.
For example, for a caveman it may
have been – Hunt, cook, eat, sleep
and then repeat. Not for modern
humans, life is too complicated and
requires special tools to do things
efficiently. This time we will discuss
about one such tool – KANBAN.
Even though Kanban is widely used in
IT and software, it can be applied to
all knowledge work wherever there is
a workflow involving knowledge
discovery/ value addition till it is
delivered to its intended customer.
This applies even to things that we do
in our day-to-day lives, which can be
done much more efficiently just by
implementing the Kanban principles.
This adaptation of Kanban for
personal use is called Personal
Kanban.
What is Personal Kanban?
Personal Kanban is a simplification of
the original Kanban method and was
created by Jim Benson and Tonianne
DeMaria Barry. It can be used by
individuals – knowledge workers,
students, professional home makers,
etc., – to improve their own personal
efficiency in completing work they
need to do and become much more
productive.
We all have a bunch of things we
need to accomplish. Being optimistic
by nature, we tend to take on more
things than we can handle. Paying a
bill, shopping for groceries, little – and
big – personal projects, the list goes
on. We WANT to do them but we
procrastinate, postpone, forget – until
we can’t. We have too many things
we need to do, we take on too many
things (too many balls in the air), and
the result? – nothing gets
accomplished. Things get pushed out,
forgotten or, worse, done poorly!
Personal Kanban to the rescue!
This is where Kanban – or Personal
Kanban – shines. Personal Kanban
has just 2 basic principles – (a)
Visualize your Work (b) Limit your work-
in-progress
1. Visualize your Work
It is said that 90% of the information processed by our brain is
visual, and we tend to process images
60,000x faster than text. So, having
something that is visual always works
for us humans and Kanban is
essentially a visual management
process.
In Personal Kanban – you visualize
your work on a Kanban board. A
basic Kanban board consists of 3
columns, “To Do” (or “Options”),
“Doing” and “Done”.
The first step is to list all the tasks that
you have in your mind and those you
would want to complete in the “To
Do” column. When you decide to
execute any specific task from your list
of items, you move it to the “Doing” or
“In progress” column. Once it is done,
you move it to the “Done” column.
The Done column lists all completed
tasks. Seeing everything we’ve
accomplished presented on a visual board marked as “Done” gives us a
strong sense of motivation to keep
going and keep accomplishing!
2. Limit your work-in-progress
This is the critical rule. We all have too
much to do. We believe we can
successfully multitask – take on
multiple work items and complete all
of them to everyone’s satisfaction.
However, the latest research shows
that the human brain is not adept at
multitasking! The more we try to
multitask, the worse our quality of work
becomes.
Kanban encourages you to limit the
amount of work you do at any time,
and finish what you have already
started before taking up anything
new. “Stop Starting! Start Finishing!” is
the Kanban mantra. It helps you
(forces you!) to select the most
important – and not just the most
urgent – work and complete it first.
On the Kanban board, you define the
maximum number of tasks that you
will take up at a time. That number is
referred to as your WIP Limit (Work-in-
progress Limit) – and by putting it up
on the board, you are forcing yourself
to not take up more work than you
can truly handle.
Initially it might feel strange – and
constraining – to define and live within
– WIP Limits. They might even seem counter-intuitive as you might feel you
will do less work and accomplish less.
However, over time, you will find
yourself completing more work than
you did in the past – and with better
quality and better outcomes.
Limiting your work helps you reduce
the number of things you say “Yes” to
– and help you say “No” when it
matters. It helps you focus on things
that are truly important to you, and
get them done in a timely manner.
Setting up your Personal Kanban
Board
Setting up your personal Kanban
board is simple. All you need is a
whiteboard and some Stickies/ Post-
it’s to get started. Just draw 3
columns, with “To Do”, “In Progress”
(or Doing) and Done”.
Before you get into Kanban at the
office (softwares are SwiftKanban,
Kanbanize, Jira, Hubspot etc) it is a
good thing to practice Personal
Kanban as it gives you a feel of the
stuff.
Source: SwiftKanban MobileApp
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
RAISED PAVEMENT MARKERS
Veeranna V, Science Gallery
Raised Pavement Markers or Cat's
Eyes is a low cost safety gadget that
can be installed at various locations
to warn the road users of safety
hazards.
Cat's eyes Safety markings are used to
control traffic and encourage safe
driving conditions and are particularly
valuable in fog.
The inventor of cat's eyes was Percy
Shaw of England. When the tram-lines
were removed in the route he
regularly drove, he realized that he
had been using the polished strips of
steel to navigate at night. This inspired
his invention and the name "cat's eye"
comes from the light reflecting from
the eyes of a cat.
The blackouts of World War II (1939–
1945) and the shuttered
car headlights then in use
demonstrated the value of Shaw's
invention and helped popularize their
mass use in the UK.
They are also known as traffic
delineators, raised pavement
markers, road markers, road
reflectors, cat eyes or road studs.
Though most of them have a
reflective lens that reflects the light
from vehicle headlights, some do not
have reflective lenses on them and
thus serve only to regulate the speed.
They are usually made from ceramic,
plastic or metal.
Based on the simple principle of the
law of reflection these simple road
safety gadgets are known worldwide.
Through a small facet, the cat's eye
road signs work wonders in guiding
the drivers way ahead especially at
night. The Cat's eye Studs should be
bright enough to illuminate the road
at night and should be tough enough
to withstand all weathers and vehicles
driving over the top of it. Raised
pavement marker's installation rules
out the impractical availability of
traffic lights, thus, helping in the
conservation of energy as well.
In efforts to make the roads safer and at the same time address traffic
problems, metal road studs
individually called "cat's eye" are
installed on the lane dividers along
many corridors and major arterials in
cities. The installation of the cat's eye
is in response to the increasing
number of vehicular accidents in the
cities. But sadly most of the cat's eyes
are stolen; drug addicts are mostly
involved in the theft of these road
safety gadgets or they have
weathered prior to their expected life
cycle due to poor quality or lack of
maintenance. For areas where traffic
movement is high or for a more
permanent placement of the cat's
eyes, epoxy or bituminous adhesive
should be applied which is a better
way to adhere the reflector to the
asphalt.
Raised pavement markers are used
for a variety of purposes, and are especially important for making traffic
lanes visible to drivers at night, making
dangerous curves visible and guiding
the drivers of the alignment of the
road. Cat's eyes are used to control
traffic and encourage safe driving
conditions. Cat's Eyes Road lights can
be installed in specific patterns to
create various traffic control solutions.
When ceramic road reflectors are
placed close together in rows,
spanning the width of a road, they
can form a traffic calming rumble strip
which helps in reducing speed.
Pedestrian crossing zones are also
sometimes created with reflectors to
facilitate both the pedestrians and
drivers.
Other purposes of installing cat's eye is
to separate out vehicular lanes, avoid
frequent changing of lanes and more
importantly, prevent swerving which is
the most common cause of
accidents. The presence of the cat's
eye would ensure that the vehicles
stay within their designated lanes, and
would therefore limit their speed. The
Cats Eyes are originally white in color
and are installed above the
pavement marking that separates
lanes or separates the middle of the
road. However they are available in
other colors and each color specifies
a different function.
Color Usage in Cat's Eye Road
Reflectors
Red studs are used to warn drivers
that they are nearing the edge of the
road. Amber studs are installed along
a dual carriageway. Green: entry to
gated community available for emergency vehicles
Some colors cue police officers,
emergency personnel or
maintenance workers, showing
them where they can find things like
pull-offs, fire hydrants or stop valves. A
few variants even feature reversible
colors, conveying different messages
based on direction of travel. But these
meanings — like reflector designs —
vary from place to place.
Visual lane marking – using white in
the middle and red on the left edge
means that road users can follow
these to stay in the lane. Using yellow
where there are yellow no overtaking
lines add visual reinforcement to the
rule.
Tactile lane marking – if you drive over
the road studs, you can feel it through
your vehicle’s suspension and
steering, therefore it’s a tactile
reminder that you are straying from your lane
Special feature marking – Fire
hydrants are marked with blue road
studs and, in some areas, culverts and
drains are marked with green road
studs.
These insignificant pieces of metal
contribute a lot in the field of
transportation; even if the reflectors
lower the risk of accidents by 1/100th
of 1 percent they fulfill a necessary
role in saving human lives.
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
THERMAL IMAGING / SOCIAL
DISTANCING TO CONTROL COVID -19
Dipali A D, Nemmadi
We shall look at two aspects here (1)
Thermal imaging to control COVID-19
outbreak and (2) Social Distancing to
control spread of diseases in general.
Part 1: Thermal imaging to control
COVID-19 outbreak
Coronavirus outbreak: Can machine
vision and imaging play a part?
To slow the spreading of Coronavirus
Disease 2019 (COVID-19), many
people around the world have turned
to machine vision and imaging
technologies. Some of these may
prove more effective than others.
Mainland China, the initial epicenter
of the coronavirus outbreak, has seen
a huge drop in the number of COVID-
19 cases recently, a sign that it has
successfully managed to contain the
deadly virus that continues to spread
rampantly around the world.
Technology has played an important
role in the country's containment of
the disease from smart helmets, to
thermal-camera equipped drones as
well as facial recognition software.
Recently they have added one more
device to its coronavirus-fighting
resources – AI-powered smart glasses.
Smart glasses that can measure
temperature
Security personnel in China have
started AI-powered smart glasses to
wearing single out people with a
fever, which is one of the main
symptoms of the coronavirus. The
glasses are equipped with thermal
imaging cameras that can measure
an individual's temperature from up to
a meter away.
Continuous check of people being done
Each device is capable of checking
the temperature of several hundred
people in just two minutes, as
reported by the South China Morning
Post. Once the device detects
someone with a fever, it automatically
sends a notification to the staff and
makes a digital record. The glasses
also support real-time facial
recognition and remote collaborative
tasks.
Who is using these glasses?
The eyewear is currently being used
by security guards in the Hongyuan
Park in the city of Hangzhou. The park
is among the growing number of
public places in China that have
reopened since the number of
COVID-19 cases started to dwindle.
Is thermal imaging technology
effective?
Although thermal imaging systems are
being used at hospitals, airports,
railway stations etc., to screen people
that could potentially be infected with
COVID-19, the technology is only
capable of measuring skin
temperature, which isn't always the
same as one's core body
temperature, a tell-tale sign of a fever.
Moreover, the glasses are unable to
detect infected individuals who are
asymptomatic, which means they
haven't started showing any
symptoms yet. We already know that
COVID-19 has an incubation period of
about 2-14 days during which one
can infect countless others.
Tear duct temperature
Thermal imaging
Numerous airports have installed
thermal cameras to screen for people
with elevated body temperature, as
fever is a main symptom of COVID-19.
However, the use of thermal imaging
should be used cautiously.
When the immune system detects an
infection, the core body temperature
rises. Based on recent research, the
best spot on the face to detect core
body temperature is the inner tear
duct. When someone wears glasses,
however, this creates a problem since
thermal cameras cannot see through
glass, thus occluding the important
temperature locations in the face.
A thermal camera also cannot detect a particular virus. It can only identify
an elevated body temperature, and
for that to work well, a very high-
resolution thermal image across
somebody’s face is needed.
Infrared imaging check at airport
If thermal cameras are just pointed at
a large crowd, it will not provide
enough resolution over the tear ducts
for an exact body temperature
measurement.
Other tech in use
Numerous other imaging and/or
technologies tangentially related to
imaging are also currently being
deployed. For example, as part of a
thermal imaging system in Shenzhen,
China, an artificial intelligence
program not only measures visitors’
body temperature, but also checks
their identity and if they are wearing a
mask.
Chinese tech firm Baidu also
reportedly developed an algorithm
for Beijing subways that uses video
feeds from subway cameras to single
out commuters not wearing masks.
While we ultimately await the arrival
of a clinically tested vaccine, such
technologies and research aid in the
equally important goal of suppressing
the disease.
Watch the videos showing how a drone /
hand-held thermal imagers can be used to
detect persons with fever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NyU
0bHujiU and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJy2869i_K8
Thanks to the article by James Carroll
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020 14
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
Part 2: Social Distancing to control
spread of diseases
For many people, the most distressing
part of the coronavirus pandemic is
the idea of social isolation. If we get ill,
we quarantine ourselves for the
protection of others. But even among
the healthy, loneliness may be setting
in as we engage with pre-
emptive social distancing.
There is some great advice out there
about how to stay connected at such
times. But why is the act of social
distancing so hard for so many of us?
The answer probably has more to do
with our evolutionary history than
people might think.
Humans are part of a very sociable
group, the primates. Primates are
distinguished from other animals by
their grasping hands and various ways
of moving around, and because they
show a high level of social interaction.
Compared to other mammals of the
same body size, primates also
have larger brains. There are several
hypotheses about why this is. We
know, for instance, that within the
primates, species which face
ecological challenges like accessing
hard-to-reach foods have slightly
larger brains. Doing these things may
require more sophisticated brains.
Our large brains seem to be as much
about managing our social
relationships as our survival skills. Brain
size in all mammals is linked to
understanding and intelligence. In
primates it is also positively correlated
with social group size.
Living in groups requires us to
understand relationships, both
amicable and conflicting, with those
around us. For primates, remembering
how two individuals have interacted
in the past, and how they might feel
about each other now, is necessary
knowledge when deciding who to
approach for help. Social skills are
therefore fundamental for survival in
group situations.
Human brains are even larger than
those of other primates. If we apply
the scaling rule to ourselves, we would
predict an average social group size
of around 150 people. This prediction
seems to be true. Workplaces, for
example, have been shown to
function better when there are no
more than 150 employees.
Why live in groups?
Living in a group offers various
advantages. Larger groups have
better defenses against rivals and
predators. They are often better able to find food – more pairs of eyes
searching for fruit trees means more
success – and they are more able to
defend that food from competitors.
There are reproductive advantages,
too. The larger the group, the more
likely any individual is to be able to
find a suitable mate.
In more social species, there is also the
potential availability of alternative
care-givers to babysit or teach the
young. Infant primates have lots
of complicated social and physical
skills to learn. Living in a group gives
them more opportunities to develop
those skills in a safe environment
under the watchful eye of an elder.
Finally, larger social groups have more
capacity to generate, retain and
transmit knowledge. Older members
are more numerous in larger groups.
They may remember how to access
difficult or unusual resources, and be able to show others how to do it. This
can mean the difference between
survival or death. For instance in a
drought, only the oldest members of
the group may remember where the
remaining water holes are.
How are we different?
All this goes some way to explaining
why being socially isolated can be so
very uncomfortable for us. Modern
humans are one of the most social
species of all mammals.
As we evolved since our split with
chimpanzees, our brains have
continued to expand. These increases
seem to fit with even more intense
reliance on community.
Several of our distinctive features,
including language and culture,
suggest that modern humans are
particularly dependent on social
living. The most convincing evidence,
however, may come from our
characteristic division of labor.
Wild animals also practice social
distancing to avoid getting sick
Some species, such as chimpanzees
and honeybees, enforce strict
measures to prevent the spread of
disease.
Social distancing is not a novel
concept in the natural world, where infectious diseases are
commonplace. In fact, several social
species will expel members within their
own community if they are infected
with a pathogen.
Through specialized senses animals
can detect certain diseases—
sometimes before visible symptoms
appear—and change their behavior
to avoid getting ill.
Honeybees and chimpanzees, for
instance, can be ruthless when it
comes to ousting the sick.
Bacterial diseases that strike
honeybee colonies are particularly
devastating, liquifying honeybee
larvae from the inside. Infected larvae
emit certain telltale chemicals that
older bees can smell, like oleic acid
and β-ocimene, a bee pheromone.
Once identified, the bees will
physically toss these diseased
members from the hive.
In 1966, while studying chimpanzees in
Gombe Stream National
Park, Tanzania, Jane
Goodall observed a chimpanzee
named McGregor who had
contracted polio, caused by a highly
contagious virus.
His fellow chimps attacked him and
cast him out of the troop. In one
instance, the partially paralyzed
chimp approached chimps grooming
in a tree; starved of social contact, he
reached out a hand in greeting, but
the others moved away without a
backward glance.
“For a full two minutes. old McGregor
sat motionless, staring after them,”
Goodall notes in her 1971 book In the
Shadow of Man. "It's really not that
different to how some societies react
today to such a tragedy," she told
the Sun Sentinel newspaper in 1985.
Thanks to National Geographic, Sarah
Lawrence for the inputs
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
WHY ARE BUILDINGS WITH SHEAR
WALLS PREFERRED IN SEISMIC
REGIONS? Article Suggested by A N Prakash
What is a Shear Wall Building
Reinforced concrete (RC) buildings
often have vertical plate-like RC walls
called Shear Walls (Figure 1) in
addition to slabs, beams and
columns. These walls generally start at
foundation level and are continuous
throughout the building height. Their
thickness can be as low as 150mm, or
as high as 400mm in high rise
buildings. Shear walls are usually
provided along both length and width
of buildings (Figure 1). Shear walls are
like vertically-oriented wide beams
that carry earthquake loads
downwards to the foundation.
Advantages of Shear Walls in RC
Buildings
Properly designed and detailed
buildings with shear walls have shown
very good performance in past
earthquakes. The overwhelming
success of buildings with shear walls in
resisting strong earthquakes is
summarised in the quote:
“We cannot afford to build concrete
buildings meant to resist severe
earthquakes without shear walls.”
:: Mark Fintel, a noted consulting
engineer in USA
Shear walls in high seismic regions
require special detailing. However, in
past earthquakes, even buildings with
sufficient amount of walls that were
not specially detailed for seismic
performance (but had enough well-
distributed reinforcement) were saved
from collapse. Shear wall buildings are
a popular choice in many earthquake
prone countries, like Chile, New
Zealand and USA. Shear walls are
easy to construct, because
reinforcement detailing of walls is
relatively straight-forward and
therefore easily implemented at site.
Shear walls are efficient, both in terms
of construction cost and effectiveness
in minimizing earthquake damage in
structural and non- structural elements
(like glass windows and building
contents).
Architectural Aspects of Shear Walls
Most RC buildings with shear walls also
have columns; these columns primarily
carry gravity loads (i.e., those due to
self-weight and contents of building).
Shear walls provide large strength and
stiffness to buildings in the direction of
their orientation, which significantly
reduces lateral sway of the building
and thereby reduces damage to
structure and its contents. Since shear
walls carry large horizontal
earthquake forces, the overturning
effects on them are large. Thus,
design of their foundations requires
special attention. Shear walls should
be provided along preferably both
length and width. However, if they are
provided along only one direction, a
proper grid of beams and columns in
the vertical plane (called a moment-
resistant frame) must be provided
along the other direction to resist
strong earthquake effects.
Door or window openings can be
provided in shear walls, but their size
must be small to ensure least
interruption to force flow through
walls. Moreover, openings should be
symmetrically located. Special design
checks are required to ensure that the
net cross- sectional area of a wall at
an opening is sufficient to carry the
horizontal earthquake force.
Shear walls in buildings must be
symmetrically located in plan to
reduce ill-effects of twist in buildings.
They could be placed symmetrically
along one or both directions in plan.
Shear walls are more effective when located along exterior perimeter of
the building – such a layout increases
resistance of the building to twisting.
Ductile Design of Shear Walls
Just like reinforced concrete (RC)
beams and columns, RC shear walls
also perform much better if designed
to be ductile. Overall geometric
proportions of the wall, types and
amount of reinforcement, and
connection with remaining elements
in the building help in improving the
ductility of walls. The Indian Standard
Ductile Detailing Code for RC
members (IS: 13920-1993) provides
special design guidelines for ductile
detailing of shear walls.
Overall Geometry of Walls: Shear walls
are oblong in cross-section, i.e., one
dimension of the cross-section is much
larger than the other. While
rectangular cross-section is common, L- and U-shaped sections are also
used (Figure 3). Thin-walled hollow RC
shafts around the elevator core of
buildings also act as shear walls, and
should be taken advantage of to
resist earthquake forces.
C-Shaped
L-Shaped
RC Hollow Core around Elevators
Rectangular
Figure 3: Shear walls in RC Buildings – different geometries are possible.
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020 16
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
Reinforcement Bars in RC Walls: Steel
reinforcing bars are to be provided in
walls in regularly spaced vertical and
horizontal grids (Figure 4a). The
vertical and horizontal reinforcement
in the wall can be placed in one or
two parallel layers called curtains.
Horizontal reinforcement needs to be
anchored at the ends of walls.
The minimum area of reinforcing steel
to be provided is 0.0025 times the
cross-sectional area, along each of
the horizontal and vertical directions.
This vertical reinforcement should be
distributed uniformly across the wall
cross-section.
Boundary Elements: Under the large
overturning effects caused by
horizontal earthquake forces, edges
of shear walls experience high
compressive and tensile stresses. To
ensure that shear walls behave in a
ductile way, concrete in the wall end
regions must be reinforced in a
special manner to sustain these load
reversals without losing strength
(Figure 4b). End regions of a wall with
increased confinement are called
boundary elements.
This special confining transverse
reinforcement in boundary elements is
similar to that provided in columns of
RC frames (See IITK-BMTPC
Earthquake Tip 19).
Sometimes, the thickness of the shear
wall in these boundary elements
is also increased. RC walls with
boundary elements have substantially
higher bending strength and
horizontal shear force carrying
capacity, and are therefore less
susceptible to earthquake damage
than walls without boundary
elements.
Reading Material
IS 13920, (1993), “Indian Standard
Code of Practice for Ductile Detailing
of Reinforced Concrete Structures
Subjected to Seismic Forces,” Bureau
of Indian Standards, New Delhi
Paulay,T., and Priestley,M.J.N., (1992),
“Seismic Design of Reinforced Concrete and Masonry Buildings,”
John Wiley & Sons, USA
Authored by:
C.V.R.Murty
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Kanpur, India
Sponsored by:
Building Materials and Technology
Promotion Council, New Delhi, India:
Why are Buildings with Shear Walls
preferred in Seismic Regions?
Tension Compression
Closely spaced confining reinforcement in boundary
elements
Proper anchoring of vertical
reinforcement into foundation
(a)
Boundary Element
Boundary Element
Confining reinforcement in boundary elements:
135 hooks, closely spaced ties
(b)
Anchoring of wall reinforcement in boundary
element
Figure 4: Layout of main reinforcement in shear walls as per
IS:13920-1993 – detailing is the key to good seismic performance.
Boundary Elements without increased thickness
Boundary Elements with increased thickness
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020 17
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
APPENDIX
Good Manners and Etiquette: Eighth in
the Series - Phone etiquette.
Megha Muppadi, Nemmadi
Why is Phone Etiquette so Important?
According to NewVoiceMedia’s
study, 42% of consumers switch brands
because they are put off by rude or
unhelpful staff.
No more than three rings. Most of the
customers or leads will hang up if they
have to wait for you to pick up the
phone for more than three rings.
Whenever you answer a professional
call you have to be like a top-notch
radio presenter. Your voice is the only
thing that connects you to your
customer. It is the only way for him to
judge you, to like you, and to make
his own opinion on you.
Keep the tone of your voice
equal throughout the whole phone
call. Do not shout, neither lower your
voice too much. This way you’ll make
sure that your recipient understands
everything you say, so you won’t have
to repeat yourself over and over.
Keep in mind that every phone call
might be the last one. If the customer
feels like the service he received is off-
point he might go and search for
another company which can keep up
with his standards. That’s also the main
premise for why phone etiquette plays
such a crucial role.
You should always introduce yourself
first so the caller gets assured that he
or she is talking to the right person.
Then, finish with warm “How can I help
you?” You’ve probably heard sales
reps and customer service agents
going faster than the Formula 1 car
when introducing themselves. Don’t
cultivate such behavior.
It is important to avoid sounding
salesy, pushy, aggressive or anxious.
This – unfortunately – happens a lot
and people are likely to become less
eager to talk to you. Make sure you
sound confident. The customer wants
to feel like he’s talking to the
appropriate person who’s
knowledgeable.
A good practice is to sit up in the chair
or stand up if you’re more
comfortable talking on a phone this
way. At all cost do not lean back in
your chair as it will automatically
change the way you talk. You’ll get
too relaxed and instead of sounding
like a professional you’ll sound like a
random person, friend or worse,
someone who doesn’t care.
Use proper language. Using casual
language, swear words and slang is a
no-no. On the other hand, if you keep
your language professional you’ll
sound like a professional.
Remember to always be respectful
and act accordingly to the situation.
Even if the customer gets angry at
something don’t try to keep up with
his anger. Rather stay calm, use
peaceful language, and try to calm
him down. The situation like this is
more than likely to happen and you
have to be ready for it.
The second thing to
remember is to always remain
cheerful and friendly. Positivity just as
negativity spreads from one person to
another. Don’t allow a negative
customer to influence you with his
negativity. Instead, do what you can
to make him happy! You won’t
believe how grateful a customer can
be if the call with you made him smile
or laugh.
Actively listen, and take notes. Both of
the above are crucial.
Second, staying active during the call
helps you not drift away, which – sadly – happens. If you get distracted for
even a few seconds you might not
hear a customer’s question or
comment. You know how
unprofessional it would sound if you
ask a customer to repeat his question.
You should never ever interrupt a
customer while he or she is talking.
Listening to complaints might be
annoyingly painful, but it can also
come in useful in a later process. On
the other hand, if the customer is
simply cursing at a customer service
agent for no particular reason (as
often it’s not the fault of the agent
himself), such an agent should be
allowed to interrupt the customer or even hang up if things go too far.
Lastly, listening to the whole
customer’s story is also beneficial from
a psychological point of view as the
customer feels taken care of when
you let him speak and listen to him
carefully.
Another good practice is to find a
quiet and peaceful place when you
can make and take calls with no
interruptions at all.
When a customer calls you’re
supposed to know the answer to any
question he asks, but in reality, it might
happen that you’re simply not sure or
you just don’t know the answer. In
such case don’t try to get away with
half of an answer or by trying to
change the topic of the call.
Instead of prevaricating, you should
admit that you’re not sure about the
answer. The best solution, in that case,
is to put the customer on hold (if
you’re able to get to know the answer
relatively quick). In such case always
inform that you’re going to put the
customer on hold and ensure that it
won’t take too long. After coming
back to the call thank the customer
for the time spent waiting.
Another solution might be to transfer
the call. If there is another employee
who you know is capable of providing
the answer let him take the call and
give a proper answer. You should also
inform the customer that you’re going
to transfer the call. A good practice is
to say that you’re going to let him talk
to a higher-tier employee. It will make
him sure that he is properly taken care
of.
In case you make a mistake,
remember that after all we all make
mistakes, and forget about various
things. The same can happen to you and unless it is the matter of lack of
preparation, it is totally excusable.
Reference document: Blog by Jakub
Kliszczak, Marketing Specialist @ CrazyCall
DIMENSIONS VOL.12, ISSUE 3, MAR 2020 18
A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td
Question of the last Month:
At a particular project, the Client who
is supplying the reinforcement steel
informed that rolling margin would not
be considered while making bill
payments to the Contractor. Do you
agree with the decision of the Client?
If not, in a brief letter, explain why you
do not agree, so that the Client may
change his mind.
There was only one answer this time –
from Vasim Mujawar of Nemmadi
(who was in charge of reinforcement
reconciliation in his last project)
The right word for rolling margin is
"Tolerances in Nominal Mass".
If the Client will not consider Rolling
Margin for compensation to the
Contractor, he will consider the worst
case of increase in the Nominal Mass
of steel and hike the rate while
quoting in the Tender. For example, if
the steel supplied for a project is 1000
MT and the Contractor’s assumed
increase in weight is 4% or 40 MT (in
1000 MT) due to rolling margin for the
complete project. Assuming a rate of
supplying and fabricating steel to be
Rs. 60,000 (this will change based on
market rates), the Contractor would
hike the rate by Rs. 24 lakhs (40 MT x
60,000/MT).
Suppose the project was to run for 2
years and the rate paid for an
Engineer is Rs. 50 K per month, the
total payment done to him/her will be
Rs. 12 lakhs. At the end of the project
if it is found that the actual increase in
nominal mass is only 2%, the amount
to be paid as compensation to the
Contractor would be only Rs. 12 lakhs
(2% of 1000 MT x 60,000/MT) if it had
been allowed in the contract (which is
the same as the amount paid for the
Engineer).
The time spent by the Engineer to
check the Nominal Mass is only about
5% of the total time spent working and
the other hours would be utilized for
other works such as checking the Bills
etc. It means that by spending Rs. 60,
000 (5% of Rs. 12 lakhs) a saving of Rs.
11.4 lakhs is made. Hence, checking for Nominal mass and compensating
the Contractor is of advantage to the
Client as a more competitive rate is
received.
Question of this Month
In the article by Dipali AD we see how
infrared imagery can be of assistance
in combating the COVID 19 outbreak.
Can you name a living being which
uses infrared imaging to hunt its prey?
Millets
by Mary A
Millets are a group of small-seeded
grasses, widely grown around the
world as cereal crops/ grains. Millet is tiny in size and round in shape and
can be white, gray, yellow or red.
Millets are very high in their nutrition
content. Each millets are three to five
times nutritionally superior to rice and
wheat in terms of proteins, minerals
and vitamins. Millets are rich in
vitamins, calcium, iron, potassium,
magnesium, zinc, also gluten-free and
has low-GI (Glycemic index).
For thousands of years, millets has
been grown, such as Pearl millet,
Barnyard millet, Sorghum, Foxtail
millet, Little millet, Kodo millet, Proso
millet and now ANI (Millet Network of
India) promotes millets as Nutri-cereals
instead of Coarse Cereals. Some
interesting facts about millets other
than that they are gluten-free is that
they are highly nutritious, millets need
very little water for their production,
short growing period under dry, high
temperature conditions and that's
why in India, Africa & Asia millets are
more popular. Millets also required
rich soils for growth, no millet attracts
any pest hence they have no or low
fertilizer usage and are pest-free
Where to buy and store - Millets are
available in Organic shops and also in
some super markets. Store millet in an
airtight container in a cool, dry and
dark place, where it will keep for
several months.
Millet Dosa
Millets Benefits
Helps to lower type 2 diabetic and
reduces the risk of heart diseases.
Millets are a great source of starch,
making it a high-energy food. It is also
an excellent source of protein and
fiber.
Millets are mostly pest-free and low
fertilizer is used in its growth (widely
comes in Organic form).
Millets Recipes - Millets can be
cooked as we make rice and serve
with dal, sambar, rasam or any curry of our choice. We can also make
various dosa, idli, upma, pongal,
pulao & sweets from millets; they can
also be use in baking.
Editorial team
Roy Zacharias, Editor
Editorial Board: R Suresha, Divya K
We welcome your suggestions, comments
and articles. Mail it to:
academy@anpcpmc.com
Publication of comments and articles are
subject to editorial control and discretion.
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