The 10 Most Prominent Building Solution Provider Companies

BRAND OF THE YEAR

10 T H E

MOST PROMINENT

D Raju Managing Director Kirby Building Systems India

BUILDING SOLUTION PROVIDER COMPANIES

Tech Talk Intelligent Building Technology Empowering the Construction Industry

Mala Singh Expert’s Desk Real Estate after RERA – Collaborate, Consolidate or Exit

Chairperson & MD

Editorial

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hange is coming, like it or not, but we all have been hearing about the drastic climate change. The seasons are shifting, making a huge impact on the environment. Sea level is rising and rivers are drying.

This scenario is not only present elsewhere but is also observed in India. The glaciers feeding water of Ganga are melting faster than expected which indicates that it would run dry in the next seventy years. On the other hand, taking forestry under consideration, over 15 percent of Sunderban is thoroughly submerged into the ocean and this situation can be seen with every unique island over the globe. Equally, building industry generates second largest amount of demolition waste and GHG (Green House Gases).

Buildings have major environmental impacts over their entire life cycle and natural resources such as forests, water, and energy are heavily depleted for the construction and operation of buildings.

‘Green Buildings’ - A Safe Haven of Our Future

These concerns have created a dire need for implementing Green Building concept in the country. A recent survey showcases that if all buildings in the urban areas could embrace Green Building concept, then India could save more than 8700 MW of power which would be quite enough to light around 7 lacs houses countrywide. A green building drains very limited natural resources during its construction and operation. Hence, implementing green building design reduces the demand for non-renewable resources and maximizes the efficiency of these natural resources when in use of renewable resources.

Green building can improve the environment’s ecology in numerous ways as it can reduce the energy consumption by over thirty percent, water usage by fifty percent and can considerably lessen waste generation by recycling. This implies that Green Building is all about reducing energy waste and water use.

It is all about creating new employment opportunities and blooming economic growth along with protecting the health of current as well as future generation.

S. D Ashwini

eshpande

Ashwini S. Deshpande

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Senior Editor Shraddha Deshpande Managing Editor Shweta Priyadarshani Executive Editor

Ashwini S. Deshpande

Contributor Rahul

Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Co-designer Asha Bange Picture Editor Alex Noel Art Editor Sapana Visualiser Shweta Shinde Business Development Manager Akansha Garewal Marketing Manager Dhruv Apte Business Development Executives Vaishnavi, Divya, Sarika Research Analyst David Circulation Manager Vivek Bangade Database Management Prashant Chevale Technology Consultant Swapnil Patil sales@insightssuccess.com

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Brand of the year

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Cover Story

interview

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PEC Greening India Empowering Green Buildings, Smart Cities & Solar Energy

Brand of the year

CXO

interview

Articles

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42

24

22

20

Kirby Building Systems

Expert’s Desk

HouseOme

Tech Talk

Hochtief India

Real Estate after RERA: Collaborate, Consolidate or Exit

Designing Astounding Homes with a Prudent Mix of Art & Technology

Intelligent Building

Offering Best-in-Class Building Solutions through Digital Processes

A Global Leader in Manufacturing Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings

Technology Empowering the Construction Industry

20 30

38

28

Smarthome NX

Risk Analytics

Enriching the Lives of Customers with Smart Home Solutions

The 5 Essentials for Risk Management in the Construction Arena

NUOS Home Automation Seamlessly Integrating IoT Products and Making Homes beyond Smart

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42 34 Preca Solutions India Rendering Precast Turnkey Solutions from Designing to Delivery

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CXO

M O S T

10 Prominent

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Solution ProviderCompanies

Eminent Building Solution Providers Spearheading the Field of Construction

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dvanced technologies such as IoT are playing major role in almost every segment with which one can share data with each other and also with other information technology systems. Today, one area to watch closely from sustainability perspective is technologies associated to buildings, i.e. both commercial and residential which implies that the Internet of things (IoT) is vital for broader adoption of smart buildings. This will have big repercussions on how companies handle energy management. Also, for the next three years, IoT will be more widespread in smart commercial buildings than anywhere else.

To make the construction era more cutting-edge, leading building solution providers are working diligently to implement and automate their systems with advanced technologies so that commercial buildings can respond better to environmental or energy efficiency policies of organizations.

In the issue of “The 10 Most Prominent Building Solution Provider Companies”, we have presented the protuberant companies who have accomplished an extraordinary place in the era of construction industry with their inimitable building solutions and services.

This issue specially presents “PEC Greening India” in the cover story. PEC Greening India is is the foremost greenbuilding service providers in the country which is focused on providing green products like solar energy rooftop systems and wastewater solutions.

We have also incorporated ‘Kirby Building Systems India Pvt. Ltd.’ as the ‘Brand of the Year’ in this issue. The company is engaged in Design, Fabrication, Supply and, Construction of PEB or Steel Structures.

Besides, we have also listed; Hochtief (India) Pvt. Ltd; one of the largest construction industries in the world also known as HT India is a 100% subsidiary of the well-known construction group Hochtief AG from Germany; NUOS Home Automation which offers a wide range of IoT and automation products; and Preca Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. the leading organization which is engaged in the business of design, detail, manufacture, supply, and erection of Prestressed Precast Concrete building structures of all ranges. Among many others, we have also enlisted organizations such as ConnectM, Innovela Building Solutions Pvt. Ltd., JMC Projects (India) Ltd, Microqual, and Universal Construction Machinery & Equipment.

We have also encompassed CXO ‘Real Estate after RERA – Collaborate, Consolidate or Exit’ from the Expert’s Desk of Shobhit Agarwal, MD & CEO at ANAROCK Capital.

Apart from this, we have included ‘Interview with Insights Success’ with HouseOme, which is the leading interior designing company that delivers a wide range of home designing solutions, and Smarthome NX, the protuberant organization which is developing efficient technology solutions that enables its customers to live smarter.

To make the issue even more intriguing, we have added ‘Intelligent Building Technology Empowering the Construction Industry’ and ‘The 5 Essentials for Risk Management in the Construction Arena’ scripted by our in-house editors in the delightful pages of this magazine.

So, flip through the pages of our magazine and treat yourself by the novelties in the construction industry!

M O S T

10 Prominent

Cover Story

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uilding

Solution ProviderCompanies

We are the certified and a premier consultant for IGBC and holds the best credentials to provide Green Building certifications under GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) and the globally recognized standards like LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design)

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Mala Singh Chairperson & MD

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ndorsed with the ‘Best Smart Green Business Award 2018’ by ET Now, PEC Greening India is one of the nation’s most prominent Green building consultancy company and a total sustainability solution provider. The company was established with a perceptive vision that facilitates the developers to build resource-efficient and sustainable building structures. It also holds a resolute aim to transform existing buildings and large developments into green and sustainable communities to achieve the goal of ‘Responsible and Smart Development’ across the country.

PEC Greening has an array of the topmost clients such as Raheja Universal, K Rajeha, Rustomjee, Omkar Builders, Larsen and Turbo (L&T), Hiranandani, ICICI Bank, GIFT city, NTPC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), State Bank of India (SBI), and many more. With its vast experience in the industry, PEC Greening India has been recognized multiple times for its proven credentials in Green Building Consultancy and monumental contribution in converting building and industrial developments into Green.

The Luminary of PEC Born and raised in Himachal Pradesh, Mala Singh is the influential Chairperson and MD at PEC Greening India.

She is India’s leading Green Entrepreneur who is an Environmental Scientist (M.Sc., MPhil) from IIT Roorkee as well as an Environment & Sustainability Strategy Expert for Green Building Projects & Smart City initiatives. She keenly believes that Smart City Mission is not feasible without foreseeing the existing buildings and cities to be resource efficient and is consequently playing her leadership role as an Author and Co-Chairman of IGBC (Indian Green Building Council), Green Residential Societies (GRS) Rating System and an Advisory Board Member – (HPMF) Hospitality Purchasers Managers’ Forum of India.

Ms Mala Singh is currently associated with the ‘City & Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO)’ and ‘Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC)’ as the Member of Environmental Cell to appraise building proposals for sustainability aspects. She is also an Executive committee member of the Indian Green Building Council and a Core committee member for various Green Rating Systems in

“

Integrating sustainability in our lives is not just a beneficial strategy, buta moral obligation towards the generations to come

India. Under her splendid leadership skills, PEC Greening India is transforming more than 2000 million square feet of construction footprints and the existing developments into ‘Green’ across the country.

Awards and Accolades Ms Mala Singh has been awarded the ‘Best Smart -Green Business Award 2018’ by ET Now. She is also recognized by the ‘Top 50 Green leaders in 2017’ by World CSR Congress and the ‘Best Woman Entrepreneur of the year 2016’ awards. She is not only an accredited Green Building Professional but has also been bestowed with the title of ‘IGBC Fellow’ for her outstanding contribution to the Green building movement in India in 2016.

A Cluster of Unique Building Solutions and Services PEC Greening renders resourceful solutions for each

project along with a better understanding of the uniqueness of its geographical location, functionality, and climate, etc.

The company is a certified, premier consultant for IGBC and holds the best credentials to provide Green Building certifications under GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) and the globally recognized standards like LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design), which promotes green movement at large scale. It also deals in Green Building Design Consultancy, Climate Responsive Architectural Analysis, Smart City Advocacy, Sustainability advisory for Large Townships & Industrial Parks as well as IT Parks. PEC Greening India is a certified partner for Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and also India Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) certified company.

PEC Greening India also deals with energy-concerned domains such as Energy Modeling & Building Simulation Studies to achieve high performance in buildings and building commissioning services for achieving the energy efficiency. It also has prowess in Energy Audits, Water Audits, Waste Audits, IAQ Audits, Sustainability Reporting, Advisory for Green Products & Technologies, and Consultancy for Environmental Regulations.

Laying the ‘Green’ Foundations by Confronting Tough Challenges It has not been an easy task for PEC Greening to break the myth - ‘Green Buildings are very expensive and claims an additional 10-15% cost’. This notion threw a negative impact on constructing the green buildings and was considered as a major hiccup in the path towards sustainable building technology. For them, convincing the client/developer that Green buildings were actually the better choice was a major challenge.

The present environmental regulations are an integral part of the project design and green products are easily available in the market at a low-cost, nowadays. The green building incentives provided by the Government in most states of the country presently are definitely giving the boost to promote green buildings, even to the builders with a conventional approach mindset. A few prominent builders undertake the green initiatives as a part of their social responsibility towards the environment. Being a green building consultant, PEC Greening strived hard to allay all the client

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The increasing demand for the Green products by the customers has boosted the market in an effective way, which has created green job opportunities in the long run

fears by proving the cost efficiency of green buildings. The cost of adopting the Green building principles in the residential sector is negligible. “Even though the capital cost of efficient technology is higher in commercial buildings, we now have analytical proof that operational cost ensures payback within a couple of years and savings for the rest of the building’s lifetime”, asserts Ms Mala Singh while explaining the challenges.

PEC’s Distinctive Strategies Beating the Diverse Building Disciplines Besides the standards that are currently in place with the diverse building disciplines such as fire-safety, security, building automation, lighting, and so on, there are separate directives to govern the sustainability of any project. Today, the perception towards the environmental sustainability has drastically changed; which was considered as least important initially. Also, nowadays, people are becoming

“

We think beyond certification and strive to make any building exemplary

more aware of the climate change due to environmental degradation and are driven towards green construction.

PEC Greening India offers a universal as well as an integrated design approach from scratch to provide Green building services to the customers, and leading to the ample amounts of energy and water savings to achieve sustainability. “We provide continuous support to our customers from project planning stage through passive design approach, vetting of green construction materials & technologies through ROI approach enabling them to comply green construction management practices to conserve natural resources”, says Ms Singh. This approach observes the sustainability parameters throughout the entire development of the project to achieve the target of green building certification with set credentials.

The company also implements capacity building programs and green education for all stakeholders associated with the

project, validation process of green standards, and regular green audits to attain the objective along with the successful delivery of certification program and customer feedback. It works consistently to make better inventions each day and to provide the best services that could be offered in the green consultancy. Its expert team of professionals, consisting of sustainability architects, engineers, energy managers, and auditors who always think beyond certification and give their consistent efforts to provide the best services that could be offered in green building consultancy.

Words of Inspiration for the New Entrepreneurs PEC’s success mantra lies in imbibing green compliances along with recognizing the feasibility of innovative technologies that would guarantee optimum savings and an enhanced quality of life. “Absolute integrity towards our work and belief in our potential to change the future would be the key drivers in the path towards impending development. Integrating sustainability in our lives is not just a beneficial strategy, but a moral obligation towards the generations to come. Green professional services must be your passion and not just a profession”, asserts Ms Mala Singh on advising the young entrepreneurs.

Expanding the Horizon with its Innovative Services PEC Greening India is the foremost green-building service providers in the country which is also focused on providing green products like solar energy rooftop systems and eco-friendly wastewater solutions. The company is an authorized MNRE channel partner for the solar energy services and have partnered with the International company BioCleaner to bring the alternative technology for providing effective wastewater solutions in India. This technology has been proved as the first eco-friendly STP technology in the world having a green patent by EPA. Currently, the company is setting up pilot models in its on-going smart city projects in Maharashtra.

“We, at PEC Greening India, intend to continue our upward transition in the field by persistent efforts at delivering the most viable solutions to all developers, new and established”, says Ms. Singh while articulating the future plans of the company.

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Green professional services must be your

passion

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and not just a

profession

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M O S T

10 Prominent

uilding

Solution Provider Companies

Company Name

Management

Brief

ConnectM connectm.com

Sriram Chidambaram CEO

ConnectM build solutions with a far-reaching, positive impact and deals with facilities managers, HVAC equipment manufacturers, IAQ sensor manufacturers, HVAC service companies to take advantage of advanced technologies.

HOCHTIEF India Private Limited (HTI) hochtief-india.com

Gopan Pillai Managing Director

Hochtief India is one of the leading Engineering Solution providers in the construction industry.

Innovela Building Solutions Pvt. Ltd. innovela.in

Saurabh P Director

Innovela Building Solutions is a consulting engineering group operating in the niche segmant of Precast Concrete Technology.

JMC Projects (India) Ltd jmcprojects.com

Sh. S K Tripathi Dy. MD & CEO

JMC has proven its capability for executing all types of projects involving comprehensive construction services that include design, procurement, supply, installation, testing and commissioning etc.

Kirby kirbyinternational.com

D Raju Managing Director

Kirby India is the prominent organization which is into Design, Fabrication, Supply and, Construction of PEB or Steel Structures.

Microqual microqual.com

Mahesh Choudhary Owner

Microqual Techno Ltd. has been a pioneer and market leader, in manufacturing and supply of products, services and solutions impacting the global communications world.

NUOS Home Automation nuos.in

Neil Sawant CEO & Founder

NUOS Home Automation offers a wide range of IoT and automation products.

PEC Greening India pecgreeningindia.com

Mala Singh Chairperson & MD

PEC Greening India is the foremost green-building service providers in the country which is focused on providing green products like solar energy rooftop systems and wastewater solutions.

Preca Solutions India Pvt Ltd preca.in

Satish Gottipati Managing Director

Preca Solutions delivers prestressed precast turnkey solutions right from design to delivery of projects.

Universal Construction Machinery & Equipment uceindia.com

Ranjit More Managing Director

UCME’s is the pioneer in the field of construction equipment and manufacturing whose products range from concreting solutions, lifting solutions to mechanization solutions.

KIRBY BUILDING SYSTEMS A GLOBAL LEADER IN MANUFACTURING PRE-ENGINEERED STEEL BUILDINGS

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pioneer organization which was the first one to introduce the concept of Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings (PEB) in India is Kirby Building Systems India Pvt. Ltd. The company was incepted in 1999 and has been the market leader in the Indian PEB industry for more than eighteen years. Kirby India is specialized in accomplishing many large and complex projects across diverse applications such as factories, warehouses, cold storages, showrooms, workshops, offices, supermarkets, shopping malls, and high rise buildings - commercial & residential. The company is also specialized in the applications of shipyards, metro stations, aircraft hangars, sports stadiums, auditorium, power plants, steel plants, heavy industrial structures, etc. spread across different industry segments & sub-segments.

Kirby Building Systems (Kirby India) is a part of the multinational billion-dollar business conglomerate - Alghanim Industries based in Kuwait. The company is one of the world’s largest producers of quality

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We are leading the path through its new and innovative designs, systems, processes, and construction techniques thereby making the industry well equipped

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steel buildings with five state-of-the-art facilities located in Kuwait, Ras-al-Khaimah (UAE), Vietnam and Hyderabad & Haridwar (India).

The company has a wide range of renowned as well as diverse clientele such as ABB India, Phoenix Group, Kansai Nerolac, Berger Paints, Cipla Ltd, BASF, Oppo India, Nokia, Kia Motors, Skoda, Tata Group, Reliance Industries, Bisleri, Bata India, Hindustan Unilever, Godrej & Boyce, Colgate Palmolive, Indospace Logistics, UNICEF, Tube Products, BMW, Renault-Nissan, Royal Enfield, JCB India, Danfoss Industries, Meenakshi Energy, Trident Ltd, Cargill India, Danieli India, Dr. Reddy’s, Aurobindo Pharma, Mankind Pharma, Suzlon Group, Birla Tyres, Apollo Tyres, MRF Ltd, JK Tyre, Bridgestone, Pipavav Shipyard, L&T, Toshiba-JSW, Pepsico, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Dabur India, ITC Ltd, Delhi Metro, Bangalore Metro, Hyderabad Metro, Essar Steel, JSW Steel, JSPL, Gati, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Honda Motors, Asian Paints, Hindusthan National Glass, Shimizu Corporation, Soma Enterprise, Siemens Ltd, Sterlite Industries, Alstom Bharat Forge, POSCO, Madhucon Projects, Ruchi Group, BRG Group, Base Corporation, SEL Manufacturing, PRP Exports, Kohler, NCC, ABB, Jain Irrigation, Ministry of Defense, DRDO, MIDHANI, IMTMA, Flash Electronics, Cheyyer SEZ, Amazon, Writer Business Services, Iron Mountain, Future Supply Chain, Hindustan Coca-Cola, etc.

An Avid Leader D Raju is the Managing Director at Kirby Building Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. He is the key person of the company who is a Civil Engineer as well as a Management professional. He has a result-driven experience of over three decades with various reputed MNC’s in India as well as international markets. He holds a proven track record in customer relations, project management, strategic marketing, and new business development.

Delivering Economical and Safe Building Practices PEB industry as a whole maintains world-class safety standards as it involves working at very high heights

|October 2018|

Brand of the year

sometimes reaching over 30 meters. Kirby India has implemented many innovative approaches for safe practices across all its job sites. These approaches are implemented through a network of Certified Builders by training all the manpower on safe erection practices over these years of operations and continues to do so to have zero accidents at sites. This has enabled the company to get ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications besides continuously bagging 'British Safety Council’ award for the last four years which is well known for its stringent safety standards and practices.

All the buildings completed by Kirby till date are economical and efficient in nature D Raju which has resulted in the company to attain the Managing Director sheer annual capacity of 200,000 MT along with the two plants located at Hyderabad & Haridwar.

The company also possesses a large network of more than twenty-three offices across India, 100+ certified builders to cater to installation services and execution of more than 18,000 different types of buildings spread over 30 million sq. m. of area for various industry segments.

This huge achievement of Kirby has increased the popularity of PEB industry as a whole and has enabled the industry to grow by creating an entry for many players across India. This has also generated employment which has elevated the visibility of these buildings thereby reaching to different target respondents.

Unlocking Opportunities by Surpassing Every Challenge

|October 2018|

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Kirby India takes various industrial and urban infrastructure projects across India to transform the economic progress of the country with a footprint on the global map

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Kirby India introduced this concept in the year 1999 and faced many challenges during the initial phase. The major challenge was the lack of acceptability of steel as a building material as the Indian construction industry had not evolved and most of the construction was done with regular brick and mortar or other traditional construction. Also, steel construction was completely new and most of them were not aware of PEB construction technology. Moreover, Indian economy was opening up to the international market thereby leading to the entry of various MNCs which gave preference to PEB for setting up their facility as this concept was much more prevalent in the developed countries.

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A Sight of PEB Segment and Kirby’s Remarkable Contribution India has world’s fastest growing economy and its rapidly growing younger population is driving the domestic consumption to evolve the ways of sustainable growth including construction. PEB is one of the first choices when it comes to sustainable and eco-friendly construction. These buildings are also referred to as green buildings which have caught the attention of many builders, developers, etc. across India and are making inroads across all types of construction.

Kirby is leading the path through its new and innovative designs, systems & processes and construction techniques thereby making the industry well equipped. This approach overcomes the limitations to handle any complex project across different industry segments which will reduce the overall project completion time and generate faster return on investment. Kirby India is at the forefront of this innovation and is leading the revolution of green construction in the country through its PEB technology thereby contributing to the green building movement.

Kirby’s Imminent Projects There are many projects that are under execution at different stages of the project cycle such as design, drafting, fabrication, construction, etc. One of these unique project is currently under construction stage is for ABB India Ltd. This project consists of different buildings at two project locations for power transmission from one location to another location being executed for Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL). Valve Hall Supporting Structure is the main building which is being constructed at a height of 25 m with 40 m clear span. It consists of very heavy loadings in the form of valves which are directly hanging from the rafters. Each valve is further having two mono-rails which are resting on the rafter with each rafter

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Kirby provides 100% leak-proof building and Racking Systems bundled with PEB

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Kirby India took this as an opportunity despite many hurdles and aggressively promoted the concept to consultants, architects, contractors, etc. through seminars, conferences, advertisements, etc. This led to an increase in awareness about PEB industry. Since then, the industry has overcome many challenges at each and every stage of its project cycle until the final handover of the building to the customer. Kirby India introduced this innovative concept by challenging the conventional steel construction and ventured into many new industry segments such as Metro Rail, Shipyard, Power Plant, Steel Plant, Heavy Industrial Structures, etc. where PEB was never heard of.

weighing approximately 25 MT and designed with very stringent deflection criteria. This structure is a completely dust free and air tight and is provided with 2-hour fire rated wall panels.

Visualizing an Outstanding Future with Unceasing Advancements Kirby India has already ventured into construction of residential and commercial buildings either completely in steel or composite form which is slowly being accepted by builders & developers as being witnessed in major cities across India. The company has already executed many high-rise buildings for commercial & residential segments and is currently executing over G+20 floors commercial office buildings and many more are in the pipeline. This will definitely lead to increase in demand for steel structures in coming years and Kirby India being a leader will continue to achieve excellence and create new benchmarks for the industry as a whole. Thus, a huge opportunity awaits this industry especially in segments such as high rises, power, steel, etc. besides regular industrial infrastructure and this growth story is poised to continue in coming years to the next level of growth trajectory.

The company also continues to promote the industry by continuous knowledge sharing across seminars, conference, industry forums, colleges, education curriculum, etc. to the target audience and younger generation thereby increasing the popularity of PEB to bring more advancement for the industry.

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HOCHTIEF INDIA Offering Best-in-Class Building Solutions through Digital Processes

Gopan Pillai Managing Director

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eing a part of one of the largest construction industries in the world, Hochtief (India) Pvt. Ltd, also known as HT India is a 100% subsidiary of the well-known construction group Hochtief AG from Germany. It is a part of the ACS Group and has big conglomerates like TURNER construction Company from US and CIMIC from Australia under its umbrella.

HT India was established in 1999 with a vivid purpose of supporting the parent company in its activities by providing engineering at an optimum cost. The main motto of HT India is to provide all kinds of engineering solutions from under one roof.

About the Compassionate and Dedicated Duo of Hochtief Gopan Pillai is the Managing Director at HT India and heads the Indian office for its global operations. He is an experienced Civil engineer who has pursued his post-graduation in Structural Engineering. Besides this, he is also a management professional. Gopan has been in the construction industry for over three decades and has equal exposure to domestic as well as international markets with his involvement in designing, project management, and operations of various prestigious projects. Gopan joined Hochtief in 2010 as the CTO (Chief Technical Officer), thereafter, taking the operations as the COO (Chief Operating Officer) in 2012 and has been a Board Member since 2014.

Nanda Kumar, the Managing Director (Former) who had engaged in various roles during his tenure of thirty-six

20

years, served right from a Management Trainee to the Commercial Manager and Director. He was instrumental in establishing the Indian office and developing it into a self-standing organization. Upon his retirement in 2016, he continued to be the whole-time Director till March 2018 and opted complete retirement from active services.

Unique Services under One Roof Under the Digital Engineering Solutions banner, HT India provides the following services: • Building Information Modeling (BIM): Here the company engages in virtual construction with a philosophy to construct digitally first by developing engineering 3D model coordinating various disciplines, visualize practical issues, identify clashes, resolve them and finally come out with an optimum engineering solution which can be constructed without hindrance.

This philosophy is further extended till completion of the construction and to facility management stage thus providing comfort of maintaining the facilities. Along with this, other areas of support are provided for animations, tender support, fly through videos etc.

• Detailed Engineering Services: Design development, Detailed Structural Engineering, Demolition and Temporary work solutions, Bar Bending Schedule, Precast engineering etc.

• MEP Services: Designing, Modeling, CoBie Enrichment, Detailing, Shop Drawing, Pre-bid & Post-bid services etc.

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10 Prominent

• Project Management Services: Conceptual Planning, Design, Budgeting, Peer Review, Preparation of drawings, Pre-bid & Post-bid services, Tender stage support, Bid support, technical support at site, quality management, testing and commissioning.

HT India operates on a digital platform for all its services and apply new technologies and provide end benefits to the user / owner by optimizing the cost, early completion and commissioning and mitigating common risks involved in the construction sector.

Tackling Hurdles and Shining among the Peers “Making our mark itself was the biggest challenge we had ”, asserts Gopan. Even after being a part of a legacy, Hochtief India found it difficult to pitch in during the earlier days of its operations in the Indian market. The brand value of Hochtief has always reflected in every aspect including costing which was an untouched concept in the local market those days.

HT India has always been serving its customers with the best service through high quality and timely actions. The company also offers an optimal solution and encourages recurring business with the clients. The business motto remains with priority on quality and timely delivery above budget. Over years it has become a mantra to Do it Right First Time (DRIFT).

Success Mantra that Ensures Client Satisfaction Asking Gopan about the secret strategy, he proudly says, “HT India does not look at the competitive part but ensures that the Client or the Ultimate user get the maximum benefit within the best possible time and enjoy the quality.” He also shares his piece of advice to his budding entrepreneurs by articulating, “The simple advice is to understand the basics, whatever is the

|October 2018|

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Deliver a quality product on time and expect a repeat Client for a consistent business’

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uilding

Solution Provider Companies

field of involvement, practice regularly, and use the tools after understanding the pros and cons. Practice makes the perfect professional.” HT India believes that a project delivered within a stipulated time with the desired quality leads to multiple advantages and generates a long-lasting impression on the customer base.

The Sturdy Team Over the last eighteen years, Hochtief has grown to a well-grouped 213 engineers with rich exposure to the international engineering practice. A small team of over twenty engineers in the beginning has grown into a robust team of engineers from various fields like Civil, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire-fighting, etc.

They also have diversified areas of involvement like engineering support, design development, peer review, construction-related supports, pre-tender support, technical coordination, and overall project support.

HT India is spearheading with its experienced professionals who are practicing the latest available tools in the market and remains constantly updated with the advent in each field.

This way, the company meticulously provides the latest technology solutions to every space and transfers the benefit to the end users efficiently.

Future Prospect Hochtief is foreseeing a bright future with high tech-advancements. The company also believes that the construction industry has moved a lot from the Client-Contractor setup to an advanced level which is process oriented and accommodating multiple stakeholders. It believes that various developments, different products, latest technology, green building solutions, and cost-effective means of approach will drive the market towards a glorious future.

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Intelligent Building

Technology Empowering the Construction Industry D

iversified adoption of smart technologies can mean only one thing for the Building Solution Provider

Industry – Transformation.

Builders and Developers across the globe are taking prominent strides to embrace smart building trends. Thanks to the technology advancement, the construction industry is beginning to catch a glimpse of every next big thing. Today, the industry players have been successful in connecting the dots of innovation and creativity, which led to the discovery of Intelligent Building. A structure which is no longer a dream, an integration of communication and control systems which offers a flexible, comfortable, effective, and secure environment for both the occupant as well the building professional. This smart building technology is helping automate building operations and adding extra perks to the lifestyle of an individual. In simple words, Intelligent Building is a network-enabled building management system enhancing the building environment for the occupants, while controlling the costs. This in turn will surely empower the end-user security, accessibility, and control.

The advent of intelligent building technologies are enabling construction world with cost-effective operations. It will surely be a helping hand in passing-on a better earth for the next-gen. A few such intelligent technologies are discussed below which are playing a pivotal role in transforming the world to dismantle the complexities of 21st century: Automatic Control Systems One of the key features which the intelligent building technologies comprise is – Building Automation Systems (BAS) – comprehensive and automatic control of one or more important building system functions. It offers exclusive facilities like air conditioning, ventilating, and heating systems. It effectively determines the status or condition of the parameters like pressure, temperature, and relative humidity with its group of censors.

High-Speed Wiring Intelligent building technologies empower the residents to have an enhanced control. This is promising due to the high-speed wiring feature responsible for controlling the building data. Its network of data and voice communications over the same wiring infrastructure, enables real-time communication, services, and integration at its best.

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Tech Talk

Earthquake Sensors Intelligent building technologies grant easy earthquake detection. It makes use of the sensors that can be connected with national geological service, thereby securing the earthquake prone regions. If an earthquake occurs, this integrated system will notify the occupants automatically.

Augmented Fire Securities Intelligent Buildings offer an enhanced security in an emergency situation resulting from fire with the help of its sensor technologies. These sensors will activate and open the exhaust dampers in an event of a fire. This will fuel the instructions given to the building occupants via the intercom and IP paging, and doors will be unlocked by the access control system, thus enabling fast evacuation.

Improved Security The most competitive advantage which the intelligent building technology offers is enhanced personal security. It offers web-enabled security systems and wireless surveillance avoiding the risks of unwanted intrusions in the buildings.

Simplified Property Management The smart building technology is a boost to the clients making the process of property management easier. This technology assists in connecting to control center which in turn will save maintenance crews’ time and effort to manually adjust a valve or take pressure readings. The intelligent building includes a standardized building wiring system which notifies the main control center in the case of any maintenance emergency. Even adjustments can also me made from the main control center in order to mitigate the risks of human intervention.

Future with Intelligent Buildings The next generation would witness building automation systems that will continue to grow in usage and are centralized. Embracing change is a way towards interlinked networks of hardware and software that monitor and control the environment in commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities in a better way. Smart buildings would prominently empower the construction space with expert operational performance and efficiency. The future would also observe an environment based on intelligent and energy-efficient framework. This would transform the human lifestyle into a cosmos of comfort and safety.

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HouseOme

Designing Astounding Homes with a Prudent Mix of Art & Technology

T Pradeep Singhvi Founder & CEO

o build the finest interior and to give homes a unique look, HouseOme organization comes with a plethora of splendid interior designing options. The company is well-known for its cuttingedge home-designing styles and immaculate customer service.

In an interview with Insights Success, Pradeep Singhvi, the Founder and CEO of HouseOme, gave his insightful and thorough views which highlights the unique, innovative, and high quality interior designing solutions the company offers to its customers.

1. Answers to the following interview questions.

• Tell us something about your company?

Buying a property is everyone’s dream and designing it to suit their personality is ours. We help customers to understand their requirements and provide them end to end solution, viz., designing to planning to procurement to execution. While deciding the name for our company, our initial idea was to have a single word that would describe a ‘beautiful home’ and should also appeal to the end-consumer. After coining various names we zeroed down on ‘Houseome’, which means an AWESOME HOME. All credit

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Interview with Insights Success

goes to my wife Garima Singhvi (Vice President, Bank of America – Merrill Lynch) for suggesting this name.

Interior Designing space in India is most unorganized sector which is worth USD 30 Bn (as per Technopak) and online share is mere 5%.

Houseome started its journey in June 2016 in Mumbai and got good traction. We have expanded to Ahmedabad and Chandigarh in 2018 and looking for few other cities by the end of 2018.

• What kind of ‘unique interior’ solutions, services or products are offered by your company at par with the current industry standards?

We have a virtual reality tool application where floor plan of the customer’s place can be created and he can visualize the final outcome before the work has even begun. It helps customer to understand the ideas that are shared and also saves their time. This is also important from a point that initially customer is confused on placement of furniture and other stuff, with our VR tool he can immerse into layout and visualize possibilities.

Once customer is clear at ideation stage we prepare complete working plan so that work can be done at smooth pace. It help us in controlling time line as well.

• Tell us something about the Founder/CEO of your company.

Pradeep Singhvi (age 39 years) is the Founder and CEO of Houseome.com - an interior designing platform that leverages technology to create dream home for new-age buyers. Pradeep, originally from Jodhpur, is a seasoned Finance professional turned Entrepreneur with the aim to disrupt the current interior designing space in the country.

Prior to commencing his entrepreneurial journey, Pradeep was spearheading the business planning and budgeting of the Trent Hypermarket Ltd. - Star Bazaar - a TATA & Tesco Enterprise. He is a Chartered Accountant and has worked as Finance-head for financial and corporate companies including Times Television Network, Capgemini and Raymond Apparel.

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• What is the current scenario of ‘Interior Solutions’ segment according to you? How are you contributing to making it better?

As per Technopak market size of Interior Designing space is $30B and online share is mere 5%, which is growing at CAGR of over 25%.

Interior Designing space is most unorganized space in India, these are the segments under which it can be classified further – 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Conceptualization Designing Execution Well Managed time lines Best material sourcing

Getting one person providing all services along with standard processes & technology with well managed time lines is difficult. We ensure that customer needs to have one point of contact that understand his requirements and ensure that all work is done as per agreed scope of work with best quality.

• What tool/technique does your company use to deliver the safer, economical, and efficient Interior solutions to the customers?

We have VR application using that customer can visualize their dream home and it help us in understanding their requirement as well. We use latest material which are environmental friendly and safe. We also do home automation to ensure that home designed by us has lesser carbon footprint.

• What strategies/techniques do you follow to surpass the various building disciplines such as fire-safety, security, building automation, lighting, and more?

How are you shaping yourself to become extraordinary in this sector?

We use latest material which are environment friendly for designing our home. We also see that company is ISO certified so that products have good shelf life and is safe. We have collaborated with Coimbatore based company for our home automation segment. They also

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provide products that sync with voice command and provide better user experience.

• What were the major challenges you faced at the initial phase and how did you overcome it? What were the opportunities that came your way through these challenges?

On a micro level, while designing our first Website we shared complete plan/ prototype with one designer. The outcome was not satisfactory and we had to shelve that piece. We were looking for a platform that will be the one stop shop for all kind of customized home designing solution. Later, we met with Mr. Avnish Sharma of Syscraft Information System and shared our idea. He took the challenge and shared the first draft in next 2-3 weeks. Then it was easier for us to focus on other aspect of business, like hiring right talent, marketing etc.

On a macro level, Interior Designing space is an unorganized sector in India. Challenges like lack of professionalism from contractors to carpenters who take up the work but do not have requisite skill of designing and eventually they end up giving product, which consumers do not like.

At Houseome.com, the first step is to understand our customer’s requirements. We ensure to give them a realistic cost estimate of the work and timeline to complete the project. Once the cost estimate is approved we move onto the designing phase, providing the complete design on a virtual platform. Once this is approved we commence with the on-ground execution of the design.

• Where is your company heading? How your company is benefiting your clients in this competitive world? What is your success mantra?

We have created our own cliental who believe in our services and know that we do not stretch time lines. We have many customers who have recommended us since we have finished their work within agreed time lines with best quality. For any customer there are 3 important factors, viz, Designing Options or ideas, Times Lines and Finishes basis which he decides whether he should get work done by us or not.

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We use these strength to our benefit while suggesting time lines. We have regular contractors who works with us for many years and know how to ensure that work is finished in agreed time lines with best quality.

• Share with us your piece of advice to the young entrepreneurs in the Interior Decoration Solutions space.

Interior Designing market is huge and people look for professionals who manage time lines and provide best output. For young entrepreneurs who are joining this space, it is advisable that they should use latest technology to show case their talent and ensure that time and quality is not compromised at any cost. If they are able to master this mantra then getting good customer will be easier.

• How do you see the future of ‘Interior Decorations’?

Tell us something about your upcoming products/services/plans.

Home is the basic need of a man and everyone wants to design it at its best, as per their budget. We believe in customization in this space so that customer has infinite options. We have tied up with few real estate agents and developers so that customer get best services.

To have wider reach, we have opened our offices in Ahmedabad and Chandigarh, these are franchise model offices where customer gets the same experience and services even setting thousands of miles away.

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NUOS HOME AUTOMATION Seamlessly Integrating IoT Products and Making Homes beyond Smart Neil Savant CEO & Founder leading organization leaving its sturdy benchmarks with its cutting-edge products and solutions in the home automation space is NUOS Home Automation. NUOS is a brand with a passion to create IoT products offering solutions that are beyond smart. Its holistic home and office automation solutions those are thoughtful and intuitive. NUOS renders high tech as well as affordable products which are manufactured in India right from the initiation to the production. Its core focus has always been on making cutting-edge products that are within the reach of everyone.

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Astounding Services of NUOS

The company has its presence in seven cities all over India along with two international cities and have close to 700+ customers.

The company has perfect retrofit products which are completely wire-free. NUOS’s switches replace the normal ones and work on the same wiring as the normal switches.

The company has overcome a major issue regarding the ease of adoption. Without any rewiring or civil-work, using a local electrician the space gets automated in less than 20 minutes per switchboard. Its entire switch products are compatible with all the switch brands in the market.

About the Head Honcho of NUOS The magnificent CEO and Founder, Neil Savant heads the NUOS Home Automation. He has completed his Masters in Engineering (Electrical) from the Ohio State University and has worked for four years in the U.S.A. He left his lucrative corporate job to give a kick-start to his idea of taking automation to the masses in India.

NUOS Home Automation designs and manufactures unique and distinctive products for the home and office automation. The company’s products are modular, miniature, perfect retrofit and help in beautifying the interiors of homes. Its products are completely international grade having CE class A compliance with the extreme understanding of power electronics and embedded systems.

These products can be operated from anywhere in the world through the Android and iOS apps.

“Hardware skills being rare and missing all over the world is our biggest entry barrier”, says Neil.

Unique Techniques to Achieve Extraordinary Outcomes

He possesses diverse skills that include sound people management skills, power electronics, embedded systems and embedded firmware expertise. Neil has also been accredited by the VP of Engineering at Cummins Inc. for his best performance.

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NUOS follows single yet ultimate technique of understanding the customer’s needs accurately and then striving hard to surpass their expectations. The company has kept cognizance of the Indian customer psyche and has done a thorough base lining of various successful and failed

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brands as well as products before it could move towards designing the product.

Also, its smart modular switch has helped to create products at a very high speed. “Today, we possess more than 18 products within a span of two years where many companies have taken decades to reach here. This has been our biggest differentiator and game changer that has made us truly extraordinary”, states Neil proudly.

Each of its products withstands through rigorous 5-level testing by its in-house experts before they are packed and shipped to the channel partners.

Profiting the Clients with its Advanced and Cost-Effective Products NUOS create products that are high on technology and appearance at affordable pricing. The company constantly focused on making robust products with good aesthetics at the same time since its inception.

“The ease of installation is the cherry on the icing. Our customers believe on the fact that a product with international-level features comes at an affordable pricing without rewiring and civil work hassle. They can use the products manually like their traditional system and at the same time use our app to control the system from anywhere in the world ”, asserts Neil.

The average installation time requires three hours for a three-bhk and setup or commissioning takes another 20 mins and one could instantly start controlling one’s home within a few seconds from any corner of the world.

NUOS has a strong faith in interpreting impeccable customer service which means the products should not need

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We believe in serving impeccable customer service and delivering CE Class A Compliant products

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any extra service once it is installed.

Also, its products are CE Class A compliant which makes them adhere to the international standards of robustness as well as safety.

A Piece of Advice for the Young Entrepreneurs Neil believes that a great team needs a great culture to stick around and perform to the potential. A healthy team culture can take the product ahead to the world. While advising the budding entrepreneurs, Neil expresses, “PATIENCE is the key element! One may have any degree but without patience this could be juggling with hot pieces of coals. Second - there is the TEAM. Without a great team, a great idea can only impress people sitting inside a room for your pitches.”

Future Prospect NUOS believes that as the time progresses, there would be a lot of dependence on automation to take care of the mundane daily activities. This will increase the demand of smart products and related services making building solutions providers critical for planning a smart and green building.

This is how, the industry will see an upward trend in coming time and is expected to drive consolidation and more structured approach.

With its incessant progressions in the Home Automation space, NUOS has recently launched its new line of commercial automation products that cater best to the offices and hospitality requirements. The company is on its way to closing few B2B customers in the new segment which is quite reassuring that its products have been designed keeping in mind a large set of use cases.

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Dhaval Doshi Founder

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Interview with Insights Success

SMARTHOME NX ENRICHING THE LIVES OF CUSTOMERS WITH SMART HOME SOLUTIONS

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oday, Smart home automation has a huge demand as the construction industry is constantly transforming.

It allows you to step into high-tech functionality and luxury that was out of reach in the past. As the technology development continues to enlarge, so will the possibilities for consumer home automation to make life easier and convenient. Smarthome NX is one such leading organization which renders unique and cost-effective smart home automation solutions.

In an Interview with Insights Success, Dhaval Doshi, the Founder at Smarthome NX, shared the unique solutions the company offers to its customers. He has also shared his views and success mantra in making the company one of the leading organizations in the building solutions space.

1. Tell us something about your company?

Smarthome NX is a discovery platform for Smart home solutions. We deal in home automation, sustainable living and connected solutions that can help consumers live better by saving effort, saving money and saving energy.

Adopting a Smart home solution is a challenging task.

Consumers need to know what technologies are available out there and also evaluate several brands.

We make this process easy utilizing the 3 Cs: Community, Content and Commerce.

Content: We write about interesting solutions from the perspective of a user’s lifestyle. Therefore, our aim is to educate and evangelise the idea of living ‘Smart’ with technology. There is too much happening in the home design space as far as interiors are concerned but little being done to educate them about technology solutions when they are designing their home. We are doing exactly that for new homeowners and buyers so they can set aside a budget to build a smarter home and not just a prettier one.

Community: We have tied up with over 200 service providers across

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India who help consumers with consulting, customization and installation of Smart solutions. We also collaborate with manufacturers to help them find new system integrators and we help system integrators in turn find new business.

Commerce: This has been long due but we are on the verge of starting our ecommerce store as well for DIY smart products which consumers can buy and use right out of the box. These are plug and play devices like cameras, smart speakers and so on. Our aim is to be a unique destination for all ‘smart’ devices for homeowners.

2. What kind of ‘unique building’ solutions, services or products are offered by your company at par with the current industry standards?

We provide a diverse range of solutions: the age-old and classic wired solutions that provide infinite possibilities for a stable Smart home, wireless retrofit solutions that work for old and newer homes and are more affordable, hubless smart home solutions that are easy to use and can be shifted easily as well; we also deal in Smart locks, curtain automation, custom audiovideo solutions.

3. Tell us something about the Founder/CEO of your company.

Dhaval Doshi, the Founder of the company is a serial entrepreneur with 11 years of experience in marketing, brand communication and e-commerce. In his career, he has led digital initiatives for brands such as Amazon , Bajaj , Axis Bank to name a few.

The inspiration to start Smarthome NX came when he was fed up as a consumer to find the right information and products to automate his home.

4. What is the current scenario of ‘Building Solutions’ segment according to you? How are you contributing to making it better?

There is a huge impetus on technologies when it comes to making buildings better, greener and efficient.

Rightly so, because of several reasons such as cost

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operational efficiencies and more. A lot of this is a combination of evolved MEP methodologies, BIM systems and sustainable materials. However, these are the macro aspects of the building which may or may not impact the end user of that building.

We are contributing to making the life better for the end user. Be it a guest at a hotel or a resident in his home or even an office-goer, smart technologies impact them in the things they do on a day-to-day basis.

To give you some simple use-cases: occupancy sensors can save electricity not requiring the resident to ‘switch off' the lights when he is not in the room. Smart speakers are making a wave in the US and are now being adopted in India because of the ample convenience that they offer with the most easy to use interface i.e. your voice! We can provide solutions that can help consumers to just say ‘alexa, turn off the bedroom lights’ or ‘alexa, turn on the fan’/ 5. What tool/technique does your company use to deliver the safer, economical, and efficient building solutions to the customers?

We are a digital first company. We follow a discovery journey of a consumer as follows: 1) a consumer typically learns about a new technology, 2) he wants to know more about it 3) he then speaks to experts and tests a demo 4) he then adopts the technology.

Therefore, at each stage of this journey, we help through a one-on-one consultation with the consumer.

6. What strategies/techniques do you follow to surpass the various building disciplines such as fire-safety, security, building automation, lighting, and more?

How are you shaping yourself to become extraordinary in this sector?

Currently, we are focussed on smart connected technologies that enable automation of lights, fans and all the appliances in the home. Typically, one can also set scenes (basically a combination of settings) that one may want to put on at the tap of a button. This would mean that a user can have a setting for when he or she just returns home from work and then another mode which has a specific temperature setting with the lights switched off during sleeping hours.

In addition, we are now also planning to enter the solar integrators space. Therefore, we are now entering other areas of “smarter” living which is a very underserved market.

were the opportunities that came your way through these challenges?

One of the major challenges for us was to understand how to approach the problem. It is a highly unorganized sector (surprisingly one may think technology would be a more structured industry); however, the industry is extremely fragmented and scattered. For us, it was a challenge to get all of them together on one platform. As an entrepreneur, generally you are just working on hunches and market data. At the end of the day, you will not know what works until you try it. Therefore, our first experiment was to provide value to customers and we started doing that i.e. writing content that spreads awareness to consumers. This eventually led to customers asking us about these solutions. At the backend therefore we started building our network of solution providers to service these needs. So, to put it simply, we kept our ear to the ground and did what the market wanted us to do. Of course, this required us to also build a business model around it.

8. Where is your company heading? How your company is benefiting your clients in thiscompetitive world? What is your success mantra?

We are entering an evolved space of home design and technology. Therefore, our company will not be just focussed on smart connected solutions anymore. Our grand vision is to become a go-to platform for customers to build a more functional and efficient home with solutions ranging from green building materials and contemporary windows etc.

9. Share with us your piece of advice to the young entrepreneurs in the Building Solutions space.

I think there is a tremendous amount of innovation happening across the world; we should take inspiration and try to see how we can make solutions that are more accustomed to the Indian home. Most of all, I would encourage entrepreneurs to think about how to solve the problems of an Indian homeowner. At the center should be the homeowner and his day-to-day issues and entrepreneurs should be building solutions around it.

10. How do you see the future of ‘Building Solutions Providers’? Tell us something about your upcoming products/services/plans.

I think this has already been answered in an earlier question.

7. What were the major challenges you faced at the initial phase and how did you overcome it? What

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PRECA SOLUTIONS INDIA Rendering Precast Turnkey Solutions from Designing to Delivery Satish Gottipati Managing Director

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ncepted in 2012, Preca Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. is the leading organization which is engaged in the business of design, detail, manufacture, supply, and erection of Prestressed Precast Concrete building structures of all ranges. The company provides turnkey solutions for executing various challenging structures using advanced and proven engineering technologies.

Today, Preca Solutions is firmly established as a specialist in Precast Technology and making strides towards expanding its reach. The company takes pride in its achievement and also believes that it has made a difference in the development of various segments such as commercial, retail, residential, hospitality, industrial, and warehousing.

Preca Solutions is run by professionals with extensive technical experience in Precast industry from various countries like Israel, Malaysia, Dubai, and other Gulf regions. The company has its plant & machinery and infrastructure in one of the southern & eastern state capitals which are outfitted with state-of-the-art European technology.

The Helm of Preca Solutions Satish Gottipati is the Managing Director at Preca Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. Satish is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountancy and has more than fifteen years of business experience in the field of manufacturing, infrastructure, and real estate sectors. He has also served many organizations in every segment along with the Indian outfits of foreign companies. He holds

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successful business association with the reputed international business groups in implementing various projects.

During his overseas visits, Satish witnessed the immense advantage of employing precast concrete for faster and stronger infrastructure. Being a futurist, he predicted the tremendous potential of employing such an advanced technology in a developing country like India. He, then, collaborated with Israeli and African business associates to found Preca Solutions and developed the pioneering leadership by introducing precast pre-stressed concrete construction technology in India.

The Initial Challenges and Preca’s Approach to Crack them The major challenge faced by the company was the acceptance of advanced technology in the country’s scenario. Preca’s first project was to finish half of a building in tandem with a conventional contractor. The company was accredited the construction of the rest of the project due to its fine performance within the stipulated time. Also, the same company gave them their second project after witnessing Preca’s achievements. The company’s professionalism and high capabilities soon paved way for their several future prospects.

Rigorous planning, another challenge the company faces on a daily basis, is intrinsic to Precast technology and is essential for providing smooth operations. Preca has qualified and experienced members including foreign technicians and foreign returned Indian experts who deliver

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high performance and consistent contribution to the organizational growth and development. However, in the last few years in a positive trend, the acceptance of the technology is exponentially increased. Now, Preca Solutions has the unique niche in the industry as pioneer and possesses the most extensive experience in the sector.

Precast Technology: The Cornerstone of Preca Solutions Precast Technology in its inheritance has the distinct advantage over regular construction practices as it vastly reduces the wastage of construction materials, has a stricter control over quality and uses a fraction of the workforce. All these measures increase the efficiency of the work which means there is a lower consumption of energy towards producing a product of superior quality. Prestressed Precast solutions are tailor made to meet the requirements of the customer.

For instance, the industrial sector has high demands for the better quality and requires excessive elements at large scales which would meet the rigorous tasks of industrial production. For this purpose, Pre-stressed Precast Concrete is the best construction solution, as it can be designed to take vigorous load.

Additionally, industrial warehouses can be built using turnkey precast construction or by the integration of precast products as walls and slabs with a steel frame for a lighter building. Prestressed Precast construction offers swift solutions to achieve large scale constructions with high standards of safety.

Success Strategies of Team that Made a Difference In addition to in-house expertise, PRECA has a vast network of highly qualified subcontractors who work closely with the project team to consistently hit scheduled milestones

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We, at Preca, rmly believe that the success of an organization depends on the prociency, diligence and dedication of the team

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and to produce quality products through their hard work, dedication, and pride. Its services team takes pride in their relationships with the subcontractors as well as other project partners. The team works hard to foster cooperation and mutual respect on all its project sites. The company’s philosophy emphasizes on the continuous development by ensuring that its team has the appropriate mix of qualifications, skills, and experience.

“Our complete faith in the capabilities of our team, even though modest in numbers, enables us to handle several demanding jobs concurrently.

Currently, we are over 600 people strong with professionals working at various levels of expertise across a variety of profiles”, asserts Satish.

Envisaging the Future Full of Opportunities Preca Solutions is completely focused on broadcasting the internationally applauded technology of Precast Pre-stressed concrete system in the construction market of the country.

This will contribute towards the increase in the efficiency of infrastructure and real-estate industry along with the safer construction practices, higher quality, and lower consumption of resources. The company aims to strictly follow its values of integrity, consistency, and reliability to become the eminent leading organization in the industry.

“Following the unmitigated success of our pilot plant in Hyderabad, our ambition is to take forward our vision by expanding our reach to cater to a larger region by setting up production facilities at key locales. We are immensely proud of our progress in this direction as we have already set-up a facility in Bhubaneshwar and are making strides towards the set-up of another near the new capital region of Andhra Pradesh”, says Satish while sharing his plans for future expansions.

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The

Essentials for Risk

Management in the Construction

Arena

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Risk Analytics

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isk management is one of the most important duties of project managers in the construction space. A little negligence over risk management results into plenty of problems. Effective risk management requires the application of a systematic methodology, and more importantly, it the indulgence of knowledge and experience. The core purpose of risk management in construction projects is to provide a safe work environment for the workers which lead to the better accomplishment of goals.

For years, eroding risk management in construction projects has led to unwanted results and poor quality. Let us consider, if the management inefficiency and incorrect analysis of cost and time factors occur then it may lead to delay in the project and may impose further costs. Also, recent studies disclose the lack of systematic risk management methods in most of construction projects which lead to negative consequences in implementing the given task. Hence, these issues in the construction space can be resolved by considering the following factors each time with sheer attention. These elements are cost, time, quality, environmental, and security.

Cost Element Today, managing the construction is confronted with unforeseen situations in programming and construction of private and public accommodations.

Few causes of delay and gradual pace in projects occurs due to improper understanding of the project's size, inappropriate estimation of obligatory resources, fragile cost calculations and budget assessment as well as weakness in project’s cost management. Hence, it is obvious that keeping a flow with the times and employing modern

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science and techniques ensure better management of project costs.

Budget planning is one the most important task of project programmers.

Also, providing the required credit for the development of project objectives is one of the difficult tasks of the project managers’, especially in large-scale projects. Additionally, providing credits, organizing arrangement of activities, and determining their fundamentals play a weighty role in the effective application of the project about the financial credits schedules.

Time Element One more factor that plays a key role in accomplishing goals of construction projects, is, the time element. Time management is the main principle of construction projects execution; and if neglected, the project falls into degradation and further costs is imposed on the project. The major issue in handling large-scale projects is the delay in completing its various phases which creates a delay in completion of the project. If a project’s operation is delayed, national resources would be wasted and sometimes, the project may lose its technical and economical acceptability.

Quality Element After the time factor, the most important principle in construction projects is Quality. Since low quality execution of construction projects causes the investments to go to waste, on the other hand, increase in quality leads to project durability, prevents investment, and financial waste. Also, apt management of project safety prevents probable damages.

However, the chief concern is to provide a high-quality product and service that satisfies the client’s

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expectations. For this, the total expense of achieving this purpose must also be considered wisely and these expenses would be acceptable only if the long-term effects of the costs for quality work on the organization are positive. This ensures that the most important ingredient while implementing quality management systems is the accurate knowledge of quality costs. Observing this significance, identifying required resources and accurate control and well management of costs along with the analysis of quality costs have emerged as the crucial factors to be considered.

Environmental Element The working environment is more prone to dangers and risks. Hence, it is always recommended to establish order in workshops, collect and construction waste, and to take precautionary measures to avoid low performance.

Additionally, adjacent buildings and urban areas must be taken into consideration.

Underground projects are closely related to geotechnical issues. For instance structure collapse must be given high priority. Let’s consider the preventive measures in the geotechnical project that undergo three stages: short term (at the beginning of the project), medium term (during the operation of vibrating machines), and long term (after the project and during revenue operation). Thus, on the basis of the project and its concerning issues, a detailed project safety operation must be set and regulations must be established for proper project execution, repairing and maintenance, and regular examinations.

Safety Element Safety comprises three major elements i.e. security, health, and peace. Safety in construction projects consists of the

security and health of all the workers along with the security and health of every individual who lives or passes through adjacent areas of construction project environment. It also deals with observing buildings, vehicles, structures, and equipment inside the project’s worksite. However, an accident is the most harmful incident caused by an unsafe action or unsafe situation or a combination of both; which has an adverse effect on the completion of an activity.

Nevertheless, to attain desirable standards in construction safety, social as well as cultural backgrounds need to be introduced in the community. Later on, technical and executive infrastructures should be implemented in organizations that are active in the field of construction. Last but not least, all levels of construction projects, including employers, consultant engineers, project managers, and contractors must be given appropriate technical knowledge. Apparently, this task requires special attention from top managers of the industry along with a determined programming.

To achieve success, right from the laborers to the managers is equally responsible as responsibility is the main component in the safety concern.

A recent study reveals that various factors such as employees’ work environment, project timing, scheduled programming, skilled workforce, fulfilling client’s expectations, and credible managers are the important elements to cultivate risk management in construction projects. This makes us believe in the fact that risk control and risk management are the preeminent ways to avoid possible losses and damages while constructing projects.

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REAL ESTATE AFTER RERA Collaborate, Consolidate or Exit mergers, acquisitions, and joint developments with organized bigger players.

Factors Prompting Collaboration or exit post-RERA The elimination of pre-launches and the associated ‘rolling’of funds collected from customers from one project to the other have come to an almost complete halt under RERA. This has exacerbated the liquidity crunch of smaller developers.

Shobhit Agarwal MD & CEO

In fact, rising non-performing assets (NPAs), lower profits in the real estate sector and RBI labelling the sector as a high-risk business have made banks cautious about lending to developers. Bank lending went down from 68% in 2013 to a mere 17% in 2016, and other sources of funding such as private equity, financial institutions, and pension funds gained prominence.

eMo, RERA and GST struck at the heart of the previously unregulated practices widespread in the Indian real estate. RERA has been responsible for smaller and often immoral developers taking a major hit not only in terms of existing business but future business viability.

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However, private equity players are now conducting thorough due diligence and investing only in ‘clean’ and viable projects by established developers with strong track records for compliance and completion. Under-equipped players, on the other hand, are finding it increasingly difficult to raise funds.

This is largely because of the radical change RERA has enforced in terms of the ways in which real estate business must now be conducted. From the need for verified documentation to increased complexity of business operations and the compulsion to upgrade their billing systems, smaller players were initially clueless about how to proceed.

The strict penalty-clause for project delays under RERA is also daunting for many tier II and tier III developers. In fact, the stalled projects of some of these players will inevitably have to be sold on an ‘as-is’ basis to large developers.

Not surprisingly, Indian real estate post-RERA has witnessed major consolidation. Lower sales coupled with financial incapability also prompted several small-size developers to either exit or consider consolidation via

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To cut to the chase, large-scale consolidation of real estate assets and players is afoot, and very much on the cards in the foreseeable future as well. This trend will eventually benefit consumers, as unscrupulous and financially undisciplined developers will be wiped out and buyers will get better products without the hitherto notorious delays, and with vastly reduced risks on their investments.

|October 2018|

Expert’s Desk

Consolidation in Commercial Real Estate Major consolidation is not limited to the residential sector, though it has seen the lion’s share of consolidation moves.

Commercial real estate is also likely to follow suit.

Increasing demand for Grade A office space, which is already seeing lowest vacancy levels across the top cities, is the prime reason for consolidation within this space.

Another emerging trend is the increasing demand of institutional investors, including private equity, sovereign wealth and pension funds for matured yield-producing assets in India, particularly in the commercial space. Most of these matured and ready projects have established rentals and occupiers, for which the global entities are willing to write hefty cheques.

Besides bringing in much-needed governance into the commercial space, this new trend will make it more structured and transparent. Invariably, only the big developers will be able to survive this change.

The rising prominence of institutional investors in the Indian commercial space will also bring a change in the ownership pattern. Unlike earlier, this segment will no longer be driven by the whims and fancies of single owners.

With increasing demand for Grade A office space, rents will most likely see a steady rise and the contractual terms will become more structured. Besides, for developers who currently incur huge expenditure in commercial real estate - be it on land, construction or interior fit-outs - REITs can be a safe bet to exit the property and focus on their core area of developing.

Consolidation in IT Companies Meanwhile, IT companies are shutting down small centres and consolidating their workforce in bigger cities. Several corporates including IT companies are reviewing their real estate strategies and monetising assets wherever possible.

Additionally, companies across sectors are firming up their relocation and consolidation plans and tenants are locking in large office spaces at favourable lease terms.

Notably, it is not just the IT sector that is seeing consolidation - it is equally evident in the BFSI and telecom sectors, as well.

|October 2018|

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shobhit Agarwal is the MD & CEO at ANAROCK Capital. Shobhit Agarwal has been a prominent deal-maker in Indian real estate capital markets for over two decades. His capital markets team consists of well-honed industry experts who are adept at handling multimillion-dollar capital mandates. Shobhit has traded capital in excess of US$ 10 billion in his previous assignments.

To conclude: Despite the churn it causes, consolidation in real estate is inherently positive as it results in a more streamlined and customer-friendly landscape and also helps players to become more efficient and effective in conducting their business. While the consolidation trend has been an ongoing phenomenon for quite a while, the recent policy upheavals have put this trend front and centre.

It is certainly an interesting trend which benefits the real estate industry as a whole by opening up multiple opportunities for companies, developers and real estate consultancies. However, the fact that consolidation also involved the rather brutal elimination of few smaller players can, of course, not be ignored either. Like most change, this one involves a considerable amount of pain for the stakeholders involved.

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