Coffee Table Book for Larsen & Toubro

Operations & Maintenance

Roads are national lifelines that connect people, places and regions facilitating movement of traffic and freight.

Travelling on these roads is an experience which can either be made memorable or tiresome.

This book narrates the story of how L&T idpls’s O&M team managed to uplift Indian roads, from mere elements of infrastructure to an entire service sector, ensuring safer , quicker and greener travelling experiences.

O&M’s journey and growth over the years has been shared through 15 concise sections that highlight the company’s vision, milestones and experiences.

07 10 14 18 22 26 30 34 38 42 46 50 54 58 62

an inspiring history

order in chaos

people are assets

process driven

cutting edge technology

collect all collectables

ready for emergencies

maintain all assets as if built yesterday

creating a dialogue

redefining toll plazas

design have become identity

think differently

reach out to people

pause breathe think

capturing moments

3 Pride

world’s 9th most innovative company

India’s Bell Weather

L&T, The dream

L&T is one of the largest private companies in India. It specializes in construction, technology, engineering and manufacturing.

In 2008, as a tribute to the company’s contribution to the country, a national stamp was released featuring one of its founding members (Henning Holck - Larsen), along with a sketch of L&T’s iconic project – The Lotus Temple.

L&T’s role in the Bahai Temple Project was that of a contractor. It was responsible for ensuring architect Fariburz Sahba’s dream was converted into reality.

Today, the lotus temple stands as one of the most unique structures in India. In 2010, L&T was titled ‘company of the year’ and declared the ‘Bell Weather of India’s Economic Sector’ by the Economic Times.

Finally, in 2012, Forbes declared it as the world’s 9th most innovative company, ahead of leading brands such as Google and Apple Inc.

One common factor that binds the L&T family is asense of pride. This pride is rooted in the company’s humble beginning, vision and ambition to excel. A factor that may be responsible for L&T’s rapidgrowth over the years is ‘courage’, an attribute embeded into the company by its two founder members, Henning Holck - Larsen and Soren Kristian Toubro.

Both Larsen and Toubro were child hood friends and had often read about Indian heroes in their History books. However, they had never imagined that they too would be responsible for creating Indian history!

Both were employees of F.L.Smidth & Co. As representatives of the company, Toubro came to Indiain 1934 and Larsen followed in 1937.

Here, theyread Mahatma Gandhi’s declaration in the BombayChronicles that “(I am) not leading a

movement torid India of its white colonial masters in order to substitute them with brown ones.” It clearly defined India as a nation beyond color and creed.

Even though the Danish duo was far from the comforts of their own land, Gandhi’s quote had inspired them considerably and they became motivated to help India develop its engineering capabilities.

By1938, they had set up their own company by the name of L&T (Larsen and Toubro). While Larsen was the risk-taker, Toubro was the more cautiousone.

Together, all they had was the dream to excel and the courage to dare.

Their first office in Mumbai was so small that only one person could use it at a time. This seems quite ironical now, as the company recorded a staggering 45,117 employees in 2012 of which, 38,000 were located in India itself.

L&T’s phenomenal growth rate can also be credited to its ability to adapt to changing environments.

Initially, it represented Danish dairy equipment

manufacturers in India. However, the Danish importswere restricted during World War Two and finally, post the German Invasion on Denmark, L&T,was forced to start manufacturing dairy equipment indigenously, a challenge it successfully over came.

During World War Two, it identified ship repair asan opportunity and formed a new company calledHilda Ltd. Around this time, it also started two repairand fabrication shops.At the end of the World War II, the war-surplus Caterpillar equipment was available in bulk at lowprices. However, L&T lacked the money to purchasethem. Therefore, Larsen and Toubro decidedto raise additional equity capital, and as a result,Larsen & Toubro Private Limited was establishedon 7th, February, 1946.

Post India’s independencein 1947, L&T set up offices in Calcutta, Chennai and New Delhi.

This story of two foreign nationals, leaving theirown country and contributing selflessly to India’sgrowth

acts as a source of inspiration keeping theL&T family geared and motivated, even today!

L&T, IDPL Over the years, L&T has branched into various fields and created many subsidiaries. One such subsidiary company is L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited (L&T IDPL) which, implements various infrastructure projects through Public Private Partnership (PPP).

Incorporated in 2001 as Larsen and Toubro Holdings Ltd., L&T IDPL currently handles a portfolio of infrastructure assets worth INR 450 Billion comprising of 18 Road projects, 2 Ports, one city Metro Rail (Hyderabad) and an upcoming Wind Energy project.

Its logo comprises of two elements - the L&T monogram and the name of the company in its distinctive Frutiger typeface. The L&T monogram was designed in the early 40’s by Otto Begtrup

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Hansen and was designed to symbolize the parent organization’s characters of quality, trust and reliability.

Importance of Roads India has the world’s second largest Road network system with a record of 3.34 million km, which isequivalent to going 83 times around the earth’sequator! They account for 85% passenger and 65%of freight traffic in the country.

Realizing the growing need for road infrastructure and services, the Indian government began to encourage the PPP road development model.

This opened up the door for anentirely new infrastructure sector.

L&T IDPL was amongst the first companies in India tounderstand the potential of roads and post 1999 actively began to contribute in creating a world class road network for India.

Left - Image Panipat elevated corridor Right - Image On site photo at TADA chennai

Graphics - To demonstrate the companies forward thrust, motivation and dynamism, the letters ‘L’ and ‘T’ were given a 60 degree tilt.

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8 Team O&M

7 O&M

Being India’s largest Roads Infrastructure Developer, L&T IDPL, strives hard to build, operate & maintain the country’s road assets.

Quality construction, timely completion and focus on user safety have given the company an edge over other competitors. The first three projects that L&T IDPL did were in the late 90’s based on an MOU with the government. This period is termed as phase one.

By 2004, the company began to make several independent PPP bids and entered into phase two. It was soon awarded with 5 projects of which one was Panipat Elevated Corridor.

need for operation and maintenance.

Thinking ahead of time Mr. K.Venkatesh, the Chief Executive & Managing Director of L&T IDPL, felt that if the company wanted to expand and grow in terms of projects, under the PPP scheme, there wouldbe a greater need for

operations and maintenance activities.

Under the PPP act, a private company takes loans, constructs the required infrastructure and is then allowed to collect toll in order to pay back debts.

L&T IDPL was the first company to realize the importance of this new field and its ability to think of future trends encouraged it to be the first development company to create a dedicated team for O&M activities.

In 2005, that the company hired Mr. Manoj Dave to assess O&M activities and define a future strategy.

The first task taken up by Mr. Dave was to visit existing projects and draft an O&M Implementation Methodology document. This document remains a bible for the company even today.

Mr. Dave presented his findings and research in

a meeting chaired by Mr. Y.M. Deosthalee. Most of the research hinted at the need for drastic changes that would bring order amongst chaos.

Attain 100% efficiency in Toll Collection Differentiate L&T through technological sophistication.

Being new to the firm, Mr. Dave felt that his positive criticism might be taken negatively.

However, he was pleasantly surprised. The meeting ended well with senior management supporting Mr. Dave’s proposal. This genuine faith in employees and eagerness to excel became the foundation of L&T IDPL’s O&M activities and is propagated through out the company from seniors to juniors even today!

Professional Management approach

Objectives of O&M Centre Help, achieve, consistency, interoperability and standardization in creating an operating methodology / philosophy.

Create World Class O&M Operation

rates Biggest challenges during Construction being land acquisition and clearance from Railways for ROBs Concerns in Toll collection such as, willingness to pay issues, recent decrease in toll rates for 3-axle trucks, additional exemptions

Be socially responsible to local communities.

Role Challenges Heavy competition from small players as small time contractors have begun turning into developers Highly fragmented market with the highest market share of a single player being not more than 7-8% (Source: NHAI bid results) Limited competitive advantage for mega projects as small players get pre-qualified through strategic tie-ups with foreign players Financial Closure becomes challenging on account of aggressive bidding Increasing interest

-Recruitment and Training of O&M staff for Tolling.

-Route Operations and Maintenance -Mobilization of O&M requirements -Preparation of Operations budget -PR exercise and Pre COD preparations -Support during O&M phase -Periodic checks & audit

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-Define Tolling Strategy and write User -Requirement Specification (URS) for the Toll and HTMS system.

-Define Staffing levels/Organization Structure -Prepare Mobilization Budget -Documentation-project specific procedures writing -Define civil works and design requirements from -O&M perspective -Toll & HTMS Equipment finalization and - Ordering, installation & commissioning, including FAT, SAT

Image courtsey : O&M centre Delhi Design factory India Right image - VBTL Toll plaza Design factory india

Graphic - The O&M division aims to bring order amongst chaos as depicted in the graphic .

11 People

Selection Once the O&M team was initiated, it needed a strong force of people to spearhead activities.

Recruiting a fresh, gave the company a chance to contemplate on desired employee characteristics.

The first 10 people hired were those experienced in the field of operations. These people were given the responsibility to develop and stream line processes by, importing the world’s best systems and adapting them to the Indian context.

choose wisely, train well and keep motivated.

Through research, it had already been identified that one of the key roles of O&M, was that of a service provider. The company began to look for people who were used to serving in competitive environments. It was here that a humorous similarity between the hospitality and tolling industry was discovered.

Left Image - Chennai TADA Right Image On site photo at TADA Chennai

If the food at food joints was substituted by a toll receipt, the cashier at the counter demonstrated all the characteristics of an ideal toll collector. He was quick, handled different kinds of individuals and always kept smiling. Similarly, restaurant managers could become ideal Plaza Managers.

This observation became the key factor for recruiting employees with no experience in tolling but an upper hand in services.

The next key characteristic that was needed was discipline and the ability to act efficiently during emergencies. Here, L&T IDPL always promoted the employment of retired army men. They brought to the company a sense of pride, vigor and strength.

The remaining recruitment was done keeping in mind job opportunities for local people at the different project sites.

Training As employees were from different backgrounds, they needed to be molded into the tolling world ambience. Training is an art. It needs skill and persistenceon the part of the trainer and concentration and empathy on part of the learner.

O&M adopts various modes of training such as shadow technique. In this a trainee is requested to shadow or follow an experienced employee for a few days.

The higher the ranking the more need for empathy.

Hence, even a Project Manager is asked to live the life of each of their subordinates. One day you can see him collecting toll as a Toll Collector, the next day he will be coordinating activities as a Plaza Manager. During training, each role is experienced once. This method is described as role play and can be quite an enlighting experience. Apart from these on site methods, the company also conducts class room teaching sessions, periodic workshops

and conferences. Self made manuals also add a simple touch to all the processes that are explained in an easy to communicate manner.

Motivation In order to ensure that their employees are happy and motivated, O&M promotes brotherhood through various cultural events, social gatherings, COD celebrations, annual days and team building exercises.

A part from this it tries to ensure a pleasant and safe working ambience. Theladies at the plaza and offices are provided with adequate safety facilities and the infrastructure provided to the employees is always the best available. For example, it was felt that the work routine of Toll Collectors was getting too mundane at the plaza. So, the company began to play piped music. This gave the Toll Collectors a sense

of rhythm to carry out their tasks. In another similar case it was felt the Toll Collectors were exposed to too much of pollution, so all toll booths were provided with a constant supply of fresh air brought in through outlet pipes rising from the tunnel below.

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400+ Man Years of O&M experience with employees specializing in the field of Toll Operations, Maintenance, Architecture, Toll & HTMS Systems, Safety & Route Services, Human Resource, Analyticsand Procurement, Finance & Accounts.

The company also has a Reward and Recognition program to recognize and promote the valuable contributions made by its employees. Thisensures a positive, productive and innovative organizational climate and fosters a motivated environment stressing that each act makes a difference.

It also, showcases employees themselves as role models. The recognitions occur, monthly, quarterly and yearly. The rewards vary from being acknowledged on the wall of honor, to getting certificates and spot or cash awards.

Today, O&M can proudly claim that they have

Graphics - Choose wisely, train well and keep motivated!

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8 Key Activities

15 Processes

Over time through trial and error, O&M has established the best practices and created functional ‘process documents’ for key activities like Toll Operations, Route Operations and Maintenance.

The company has a periodic auditing Process and also conducts specialized training programs related to safety and incident management.

Toll Operations This is one of the principal functions of O&M where in it collects toll from road users with themeans of sophisticated toll systems such as the Toll Collector Terminal, Automatic Vehicle Classifiers, Incident Capture Cameras and Smart Card lane Equipment, User Fare Displays,

best practices for key activities.

Left Image : O&M centre Delhi Design factory India Right image - VBTL Toll plaza Design factory india

Traffic Lights, OHLS, Panic Alarms, Communication System and Boom Barriers.

One of the critical aspects of collecting toll is to ensure leakage proof transactions. In order to achieve this, O&M has installed a world class Toll System which has features like: 100% Auditable Automatic Post Classification System, Video Enforcement and Audit of each transaction, License Plate Image Capture System – L&T Specific, Incident Management System, Record of each acknowledged Incident and Event, Defined user rights for each access levels, Mini Shift and End of Shift Report, Event recording and reporting of Each System failure and recovery, Cash-desk and Vault system, Banking Application Record of all out ward cash flow, Power Control beyond reach, tamper switches and IP rated hardware.

Also, an efficient Management Information System built into O&M’s Toll Systems enables it

to keep track of its collectibles on a continuous basis and monitor the performance of all Toll Operations.

by the Control Room Operator at all times using sophisticated Highway Traffic Management System (HTMS).

Some of the key reports generated using this system include Traffic Report, Revenue Report, Incident Report, Discrepancy Report, Violation Report, Exemption Report, Toll Collector Performance Report, Productivity Report and Audit Trail Report.

Route Operations personnel are trained to handle all kind of exigencies, incidents and accidents ensuring quality and speed. Apart from this, the Route Operations crew Is also responsible for removing encroachments, to ensure the safety of road users.Every incident/ accident occurring on its projectstretch gets captured in an in-house developed software application called Route Operations Management System (ROMS) on a real time basis. Using this software they can analyze accident trends, blackspots, and causals. These analyses help them takenecessary actions.

Route operations Safety of road users is one of primary concerns for the organization hence Route Operations become a key activity. Organized incident management and rescue operation systems go a long way in making its roads safer and encumbrance free. All O&M projects are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities like 24X7 Route Patrolling, free ambulance services and free recovery crane service which is monitored

systemic processes that work as enablers. Performing scheduled maintenance activities help in enhancing the life cycle of assets resulting in long term cost saving. The highway network is regularly inspected for the purpose of safety of road users and identifying the need for periodic maintenance tasks to be carried out. The maintenance team works round the clock infixing pot holes, defective safety guards, lightings, sign boards and other damages that occur alongthe project highway due to vagaries of weather, modified / overloaded vehicles, reckless driving and vandalism. Apart from this, they also ensure 100% uptime of all equipments, through regular maintenance and the use of backup power utilities.

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Maintenance In order to maintain their assets as if they were built yesterday, it is essential to ensure

Graphic- The team strives to follow well defined and updated processes

19 Techonology

L&T IDPL has always been keen on adopting technology to its advantage. Be it the state-ofthe-art Toll Collection System or Highway Traffic Management System or in-house developed software, setting standards and providing highest degree of safety and comfort to its road user is the underlying objective behind all such undertakings.

Toll Collection System Toll Collection System, an integral part of the Plaza Operations, ensures efficient and effective traffic management at the toll plaza. It enables collecting all collectable revenue. Efficient Traffic Management includes proper lane allocation along with various methods of payment for the road users. It also manages various fare types and helps reduce processing time and queue length enhancing user satisfaction. The collectables are secured through robust Automatic Vehicle Classification System, incident management, audit and temper proofing. Use of open system

international solutions adapted to Indian context

architecture industrial grade sub–systems ensures enhanced performance, high equipment uptime and maintainability.

In its new Avatar the Toll system comprises of upgraded Incident Management capable of capturing video at full resolution. This enables the shift in-charge to take correct necessary action at all times. The new Document System configuration has scanner attached with Point Of Sales and Incident Management Work Station, so that all relevant document can be scanned and attached with a new account sales and incidence then and there. Advance servers with quad core processor ensure better performance of applications running across toll plaza and reduce maintenance cost. Advance Back up Device has seven backup tapes mounted on it eliminating any daily manual intervention. The new hardware configuration is capable of adapting RFID technology, which is recently approved by GOI. Even in case of disaster when the server is not available the

POS Operations and Lanes Operations remain unhindered. The Management Information System provides unlimited freedom and possibilities of report generation, trend analysis in form of text and graphs without any additional cost.

Automatic System

Vehicle

Classification

The new Infrared Vehicle Classification System scans the complete graphical image of every vehicle from both sides and then after matching with the internal intelligence immediately sends the correct classification to the Plaza Supervision.

This new technology assures 98% accuracy. As it has a non-intrusion type of transducer, it has a lesser maintenance cost but a higher uptime.

Exempt Processing System Certain vehicles are exempted from paying toll fee.

Processing of such vehicles was done manually by

checking the registration plate, passes, identity documents etc. This process was found to be time consuming and bound to cause leakage. This is where the exempt processing system plays a crucial role in easing the bottleneck and minimizing the vehicle processing time. Using this system one can clearly and quickly identify the vehicles and personnel that can avail the exempt facility thereby reducing the transaction time and easing pressure on traffic operations. A complete back-up of exemptions given is stored in the form of pictures for later audit and checks.

Electronic Toll Collection Electronic Toll Collection automates the toll collection process in such a way that drivers do not have to stop and pay cash at a toll booth. It improves the plaza throughput by reducing the processing time and helps improve customer service and satisfaction by letting drivers speed through the toll plaza.

Highway Traffic Management System The Highway Traffic Management System intends to improve safety, optimize the real capacity of the highway and provide a better level of service to motorists without the addition of more traffic lanes. This is achieved by faster detection and response to incidents on the highway.

Highway traffic management system comprises of several sub-systems such as Emergency Call Boxes, Radio Communication System, Automatic Traffic Counters and Classifiers, Met/Weather Stations, Variable Message Signs, CCTV, Data Transmission System and Control Room.

Left Image - Chennai TADA Right Image - On site photo at TADA chennai

Emergency Call Boxes enables a road user to directly communicate with the Control Centre in case of an emergency. Radio Communication System facilitates dedicated and speedy communication of mobile ambulances, cranes, and patrolling vehicles with the Control Room.

Variable Message Signs conveys important information to the road users. Automatic Traffic Counters and Classifiers collect the traffic information along the highway. This information

is used for audit purposes and also to inform the road users about traffic conditions like road occupancy, headway, average speed etc. through the variable message sign. Met/Weather Stations collect the weather information like wind direction and speed, visibility, humidity, air temperature and surface temperature along the highway. This information is used to warn the road user regarding the existing driving conditions through the Variable Message Signs.

CCTV provides live images between cameras located along the highway and monitoring equipment at the Control Centre. The primary purpose of CCTV is to facilitate incident management. CCTV provides continuous video coverage of the Highway helping in monitoring activities. Control Room is the focal point for all communications and control.

It receives information on traffic conditions, analyses and evaluates data, and makes decisions as to what controls should be used.

Highway Traffic Management System has undergone technological up gradation based on past learnings and challenges faced during implementation and Operations. Introduction of wireless ECB to overcome dependency on implementation in case road crossing provision is not made available and potential treat of theft of expensive copper cable. The solar panel is flushed with ECB enclosure to eliminate the possibility of solar panel theft. Solar power VMS have been installed leading to elimination of sub – centres.

The ATCC and way in motion are clubbed together to avoid additional cost and installation time. The new improved Control Room software design provides complete freedom to modify HTMS component placement across project stretch and project layout. The real time status monitor to Control Room Operation through dedicated event reporting module, trend analysis, retrieval of archived data for the complete project cycle and reporting are the additional new features.

O&M One In order to meet various service level agreements and keeping the future in mind, O&M developed customized solutions such as SMS, ROMS, TAS and HMS. All of these systems would be accessible

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through a central dashboard called O&M One.

System Maintenance Software (SMS) Systems are pivotal to the Toll Collection Business, to make them work efficiently, route-cause analysis and corrective actions thereof is mandatory. The in house developed System Maintenance Software functioning at our projects not only gives us a real time status of the Toll and HTMS equipment but also helps maintain the asset life cycle and optimizing the spare requirement.

Route Operations System (ROMS)

Management

Route Operations Management System, a web based application was designed to automate various activities pertaining to Route Operations to offer ease of use as well as efficient and real time data capture, collation and analysis and to provide a tool for assessment of performance and/or ensuring levels of service. ROMS has further helped in reduction of paper work and most importantly, timely implementation of accident prevention measures at projects, hence saving lives.

Toll Analytics System (TAS) It is essential to keep track of the collectables on a continuous basis. In order to achieve this, online Toll Analytics system is designed to compare actual traffic and revenue with financial model and budget figures. It also helps monitor trends, seasonality and forecast traffic and revenues.

Highway Management System (HMS) Highway Management System brings efficiency, transparency and accountability into the Maintenance activity. HMS also provides an opportunity to eliminate paper based working and is a real time system from input of data during inspections to providing reports to the top management on their dashboards.

Graphics - Technology has to respond to the variety in the Indian context

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8 23 Toll Collection

toll plaza: it’s a battlefied!

Why do we pay toll?

Climate

One of the most difficult aspects of running an operation and maintenance division is asking for money. People often wonder why they have to pay toll, what happens to the money collected and whom it benefits. When the government gives L&T IDPL road projects to develop through a BOT (built operate and transfer) agreement, the company takes loans from Banks/ Financial Institutions so that they can build required infrastructure and provide adequate services. Then, in order to be able to pay back the investors and their own employees, they are allowed to collect toll. If the total lifetime of a project is 20 years, 3 years goes in construction while the remaining 17 years go in O&M where collection of collectable revenue needs to be ensured in order to get the desired return on investment.

No one has control over the climate. At times the weather can be calm and peaceful and at times it can play havoc on the roads.

On the 14th of May 2009, a tornado struck the Plaza at project WATL, leaving behind a trail of devastation. However given the resilience of the team, tolling operations commenced within 10 minutes of damage.

In another similar instance, rain pounded the region for 5 continuous days. The rivulets that had been parched for decades were suddenly flooded.

A major bridge was washed away in the adjoining stretch resulting in vehicles being stranded mid way. The team ensured that the stranded vehicles were attended to as soon as possible.

The V.I.P Power can sometimes be misused; an aspect witnessed many times at the toll plaza. Dealing with those who are supposed to be setting an example rather than breaking laws is quite tiresome. For example, in 2012, on being asked for an ID card, an MP in Gujarat was caught on camera pulling out a gun and threatening employees. The MP refused to apologize, justifying his action by saying that he acted in self-defense. However, no other person was seen anywhere near him on camera.

In another shocking incident, a toll collector was kidnapped from the Panipat toll plaza in the wee hours of the morning by a drunken politician who refused to pay toll. A panic ridden plaza manager quickly informed the local police who finally caught the law breaker. The poor toll collector had to be morally counseled before he resumed duty.

One more unforgettable case at Panipat occurred when a stream of political cars in a hurry to rush passed the tollbooths, entered a closed lane.

Realizing the VIP status of the cars, a hesitant toll collector quickly tried to make the lane functional to avoid wastage of time. However, the impatient VIP parade in hurry to pass requested the toll collector to quickly open the boom barrier. Unfortunately, the boom barrier fell on the flag tip of one of the cars resulting in the VIP filing a case against the plaza. 3 personnel’s from the plaza had to spend a night behind the bar even though they had requested the VIP to enter through a functional toll lane.

agitations. For example, the demand for a separate state of Telangana has been a cause of several agitations, “Rasta Roko”, strikes etc. At times, the agitations are due to government rules regarding toll collection too. Such as that seen at project KWTL where the local community in rebellion to the government’s new toll collection rates decided to create a bypass from the toll plaza. After many discussions and negotiations with the local people and authorities, the side lane was removed and normalcy was regained.

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jugaad and a variety of people. The elements that are considered standard are often personalized and hand painted. All these things resulted in classification discrepancies. Hence, there was need to develop context specific solutions. Over the years, the O&M team has streamlined their technology to respond to local environment and even writes its own User Requirement specification (URS).

Hooves and wheels

To increase efficiency during toll collection, the O&M team initially imported the best technology that boasted of 100% automatic The agitated human vehicle classification. However, it proved to be inadequate for the local context. Indian Roads Sometimes, the plaza becomes a victim to local have cars, trucks, bikes, three wheelers, animals,

Left Image - O&M centre Delhi Right Image - VBTL Toll plaza

Graphic - The human touch during toll interaction

27 Saving Lives

Road accidents According to WHO, “road traffic crashes are responsible for nearly 1.3 million deaths every year while injuring 20-50 million “. Of all the countries, India is known to record the maximum accidents. Some of the reasons credited for this are poor road infrastructure, failure to comply with speed limits, growing drinking and driving habits, and refusal to use proper motorcycle helmets and child safety seats.

Human lives are valuable and hence team O&M has taken several initiatives to spread safety through safety drives, educating users and especially young minds about road safety and preventive methods. They have installed Delineations such as Raised Pavement Markers, Chevron Signs, Reflective MBCBs, Advance warning signs, traffic blinkers, median markers,

first to reach, last to leave.

antiglare on the median etc. These installations have been done over and above the requirement of the Concession Agreement. In addition to this, ECB (Emergency Call Box) units are installed at an interval of 2 km on either side of the highway to avoid road crossing. Finally, VMS (Variable Message System) are used to communicate safety messages to the commuter. At project L&T WATL, emergency numbers and safety slogans were put up at every dhaba, bus shelter and post on their stretch. They also conducted workshops with truck and lorry drivers at the village of Janampet.

Through small initiatives, they have been able to make a substantial difference as projects like VBTL have recorded a 41% reduction of accidents. However, emergencies still take place, usually due to the negligence of drivers. In such cases, team O&M are the first to reach the site and help save lives.

Rescue operations Since every second is important for a dying person, team O&M keeps struggling to reduce their response time as much as possible, even beyond the specifications of the concession agreement. They are the first to respond to emergency calls and the last to leave the site after cleaning up the mess. The most agonizing phase post an accident is watching a person bleed and waiting for an ambulance. Realizing this, team WATL decided to equip each route vehicle with pre prepared bandages. These are used by the army to immediately stop blood loss in the case of gunshot wounds and are very effective. In addition to this every employee is trained in first aid.

At project KWTL, two major fire accidents were averted when Route operation members were

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successfully able to respond to panic calls from observing travelers informing them that vehicles had caught fire and were still continuing to ply on the road. Combining the two cases 78 lives were saved.

On the 14th of January, 2013, a private bus carrying 25 passengers began its journey from Vellore. The bus driver had consumed alcohol and was drunk. He began to drive rashly and though the passengers objected, he did not stop. When the bus reached 10 Km ahead of ‘airport road’, the driver lost control and the bus toppled. 4 people died on spot, while the others were rescued by team O&M’s timely aid.

2 of the projects own ambulances, the Highway patrol, and Local police then finally shifted the injured to nearby hospitals. One of the victims was a pregnant lady who lost her child during the traumatic experience.

However, her own life was saved.

GO SLOW

Left - Chennai TADA Right - On site photo at TADA chennai Graphic - Their task is not only to save lives but ensure prevention

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8 The role of Maintenance

31 Maintaining Asset

As the project revenue collection lasts for a number of years, one of the guiding principles of O&M, is to ‘maintain assets as if they were built yesterday’. In order to do this , it is essential to ensure the functioning of systemic processes that work as enablers. Also, performing scheduled maintenance activities help in enhancing the life cycle of assets, resulting in long term benefits.

The highway network is regularly inspected for the purpose of road safety and identifying periodic maintenance tasks to be carried out.

The maintenance team works round the clock in fixing pot holes, defective safety guards, lightings, sign boards and other damages that happen along the project highway due to irregularities in weather, modified/overloaded vehicles, reckless driving, vandalism etc.

good maintenance creates sustainable systems.

Besides, they also ensure 100% uptime of

all equipments, by regular maintenance of backup power utilities. There are broadly three activities in maintenance, the first is to conduct routine inspection of assets, the second is to fix defects and damages and the third is to conduct preventive maintenance.

A Dedicated and competent Maintenance team is placed at every project who inspect and maintain project assets in a cost effective manner.

Their responsibilities include : • Ensuring Service Levels are adhered to by carrying out defect rectification activities on time.

• Scheduling and implementing Routine Road Maintenance activities for the upkeep of assets and safety of road users.

• Conducting periodic tests on the pavement

to ascertain the riding quality and strength of pavement.

•Executing major maintenance activities on the pavements and structures in an organized manner keeping in mind safety and minimal inconvenience to the road users.

•Standardized work methodology for defect rectification.

•Comprehensive and streamlined documentation that aid us in keeping track of our project assets, inspection and maintenance routine, recurring defects and service levels.

•Harnessing technology for achieving higher productivity levels and cost savings like introducing road sweeping machines, hydraulic man hoist, power saving devices etc.

Proactivism The team is also encouraged to be proactive in emergencies. For example, in an accident on the VBTL stretch, two ECBs were damaged. Normally, a new ECB would take 3 to 4 months to reach the site.

However, the team managed to cannibalize parts from previously damaged ECBs and make the ECBs functional within 48 hours. To add to the time saved, there was zero cost liability on the company for the damage suffered.

Theft and vandalization The road is a public space and always open, it is highly susceptible to theft and vandalism. Lack of proper and indigenous measures can result in loss of valuable property. Hence, the employees of L&T IDPL are encouraged to aim for excellence with ingenious, simple and cost effective measures. For example, Protecting solar panels and batteries is a

nightmare for Highway Projects. To prevent this, employees at L&T WATL installed a combination of saw teeth on poles containing solar panels to discourage vandals from climbing. They also devised innovative methods for securing the panels and batteries.

the keenness to reuse and recycle waste. L&T IRCL, successfully accomplished the recycling of operational waste and other scrap materials to produce road furniture such as Jumbo Bollards, street lights, poles, delineators, spacers and various other similar expensive assets.

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Remote Location Most of the projects are not centrally located and may be far away from commerce centers. To try and make projects self sufficient, the O&M team keeps taking small initiatives. Many times when accidents occur, there is loss or damage to plants, especially in the median. L&T WATL made use of prerogative branches to grow new plants resulting in their very own nursery.

RECYCLING Another interesting aspect of the projects is

Left Image - O&M centre Delhi Right Image - VBTL Toll Plaza

Graphic - A daily affair

35 Identity

Creating a dialogue

Uniform

Branding

News letter

The critical part of any organization’s image is the communication messages it sends out and with which it is identified with. A “brand” is established through the consistent and frequent use of distinctive forms, images and messages.

O&M’s uniforms are designed to represent a set of people working together in a department or area. They ensure consistency in work and bring standardization. Ranks and designations are depicted through color while roles, work involved and place of working are reflected through design.

Making the maximum use of toll tickets, VMS machine, user fare boards and toll gates, O&M communicates informative and useful information creating a visual dialogue with the commuter.

Considering the spurt in growth witnessed by the company over the last few years, there was a need to update everyone with the latest developments and share experiences across various plazas. To facilitate this, O&M launched ‘One For The Road’ at the O&M centre, on the 20th of October, 2010.

Many times commuters, are unsure who is responsible of the operation and maintenance of roads. As O&M’s role is that of a service provider, it is essential to create a rapport with commuters. For this, the creation of an identity that people can relate to is important. It also creates an image of the company and what it stands for. Realizing this, O&M have consciously begun attempting to create an identity through various initiatives.

brand communication becomes a necessity.

Right from the Toll Supervisor to the Toll Collector to the route patrol vehicle driver, to the civil supervisor and the electrician, everybody’s work has been given due thought and deliberation creating a sense of pride and unity amongst employees. The colours, the incandescence and the designs ensures high visibility and public interface work wear requirements. The final uniforms have been designed by NIFT graduates in as distinct and unique a manner as the organization, itself.

The stationary used across all the offices and SPVs of L&T IDPL have a common design helping build the brand. Even the documentation in form of manuals, formats and reports have a standardized design. The consistency of these documents such as the Toll Operations, Route Operations, Maintenance, SoWo and SPAN manuals make them interoperable across all the SPVs. The smart card designs used for various SPVs depict the local environment and the culture helping the SPVs to connect with the local road users.

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Colours Reflecting from their O&M Centre interiors, newsletter and signature plaza, RED is definitely the color that stands for the image of the O&M setup today. The next prominent color being black. This has also added a sense of continuity.

Red is considered to be energizing.

uniform designed by National Institute of Faishon Technology students

Graphic - Reflected in the uniform is the heart beat of an employee Left Image - Chennai TADA Right Image - On site photo at TADA chennai

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8 Creating History

39 Design

As team O&M maintain and operate projects over a long duration of time, their understanding of the implications of design and construction is valuable. Their involvement at the design stage as end users is vital and an aspect they fondly indulge in. Infact, Mr. Pankaj Gupta a senior structural engineer vouches that O&M provides its consultants the best working briefs!

Design for O&M began only in phase two where the main emphasis was on building functionality.

The key elements of a plaza were identified as, 1)

The Control Room and building,

2)

The office building,

3)

The toll booth, lane, canopy , plaza and tunnel.

The customer service area/point of sale

4)

5)

Maintenance yard

Out of which each element was strategically located to increase visibility, reduce cost of wiring and enhance privacy . Finishes were selected keeping in mind easy maintenance such as concrete and terra kota. Toll plazas act as an important interface between O&M and the traveller. Over time, they have become, an apt tool to communicate the vision and intent of the company.

When the Vadodara Bharuch toll plaza (VBTL) was to be built on the NH 8 in Gujarat, L&T IDPL, took advantage of its strategic location and decided to create a new bench mark in the tolling industry. They set out to redefine the visual language of toll plazas and create a landmark that would soon become their signature plaza.

O&M, based on their experience of running toll plazas came up with an elaborate brief that was

given to a design consultation company by the name of Archohm to realize. Both O&M and Archohm acknowledged the strong visual impact created by canopies and decided to create the ‘best canopy’ ever made.

After experimenting with various concepts its was felt that the notion of canopy itself needed to be re questioned. The final design removed the canopy altogether and provided independent winged shelters. The wing-like membrane structures were devised so that they could be vertically aligned for most of the months with a mechanically controlled system for weather protection.

For the additional safety of the employees, concrete booths were designed and exaggerated to a height of 10 meters. Functionally, these tall dramatic structures provided an increased visibility for the approaching traffic and their colored signage centric lighting helped enhance

the entire visual experience of the plaza.

The two prominent building blocks namely the control block and the office block also reflect the ‘wing’ concept as they both comprise of wings jutting out of central glass towers. The control block has been positioned centrally for better visual access and future expansion options of the plaza. The office block stands adjacent to the site which gives it more privacy. The blankness of the façades is to reduce the impact of smoke and sound on the buildings due to heavy vehicular traffic. Also, courtyards and side windows have been well placed to capture natural light.

Experientially, Vadodara Bharuch toll plaza is like an oasis on the highway and marks the next generation of design in the tolling industry.

Phase two PECL is an excellent example of the ‘phase two’ type and is used by NHAI as a ‘show project’

even today. It follows a ‘hindged’ concept as every building is interconnected with the help of bridges. This lets the same concept be rotated as if made of hindges to form a new, site specific layout.

Not only does O&M play an active role in the overall design, it also emphasises and contributes to the smaller elements along their stretch like, VMS design, street light design, substations and even the use of modular tailor made furniture for their employees!

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Then came the iconic VBTL, which is known as the Signature Plaza of L&T, idpl. Discussed farther in the next section.

Post this, the company entered into ‘phase three’ where they used the ‘wall’ concept as seen at PNG. The wall concept was more linear as they realised land was scarse. This concept placed a wall between the main buildings and the road so as to protect the offices and control room from unwanted pollution and disturbance. At PNG, stone quaryed from the land itelf was used. However, large stone walls resulted in the formation of deep butresses. As a result in future projects like CTTLR, the wall was made from brick.

Left Image - O&M centre Delhi Right Image - VBTL Toll plaza

Graphic - The O&M logo depicts order in chaos with red highlighted amongst black hinting at a bright future

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43 Signature

Toll plazas act as an important interface between O&M and the traveller. Over time, they have become, an apt tool to communicate the vision and intent of the company.

When the Vadodara Bharuch Toll Plaza (VBTL) was to be built on the NH 8 in Gujarat, L&T idpl, took advantage of its strategic location and decided to create a new bench mark in the tolling industry. They set out to redefine the visual language of toll plazas and create a landmark that would soon become their signature plaza.

vbtl marks a new generation in toll plaza design.

O&M, based on their experience of running toll plazas came up with an elaborate brief that was given to a design consultation company by the name of Archohm to realize. Both O&M and Archohm acknowledged the strong visual

impact created by canopies and decided to create the ‘best canopy’ ever made.

After experimenting with various concepts its was felt that the notion of canopy itself needed to be re questioned. The final design removed the canopy altogether and provided independent winged shelters. The wing-like membrane structures were devised so that they could be vertically aligned for most of the months with a mechanically controlled system for weather protection.

For the additional safety of the employees, concrete booths were designed and exaggerated to a height of 10 meters. Functionally, these tall dramatic structures provided an increased visibility for the approaching traffic and their colored signage centric lighting helped enhance

the entire visual experience of the plaza.

Interesting Facts

d) Major Bridge

10

The two prominent building blocks namely the control block and the office block also reflect the ‘wing’ concept as they both comprise of wings jutting out of central glass towers. The control block has been positioned centrally for better visual access and future expansion options of the plaza. The office block stands adjacent to the site which gives it more privacy.

The blankness of the façades is to reduce the impact of smoke and sound on the buildings due to heavy vehicular traffic. Also, courtyards and side windows have been well placed to capture natural light.

Total no. of street light poles and high masts on the stretch a) Street Light poles – 877nos

e) Minor Bridge

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f) Pedestrian Underpass

20

b) High Mast – 21nos

g) Cattle crossing

Total number of saplings and trees: 10500

Experientially, Vadodara Bharuch toll plaza is like an oasis on the highway and marks the next generation of design in the tolling industry.

b) Rail Over Bridge

The two prominent building blocks namely the control block and the office block also reflect the ‘wing’ concept as they both comprise of wings jutting out of a central glass tower. The control block is positioned centrally for better visual access and future expansion options of the plaza. The office block stands adjacent to the site that gives it more privacy. The blankness of the façades is to reduce the impact of smoke and sound on the buildings due to heavy vehicular traffic. Also, courtyards and side

Total No. of Lanes: 6 lane Total no of Vehicular and pedestrian passes a) Vehicular Under Pass

c) Flyover Bridge

1

3 11

windows have been well placed to capture natural light.

VBTL has won much acclaim and several awards such as the IIA award for best infrastructure project, 2012.

8 Experientially, it is like an oasis on the highway and marks the next generation of design in the tolling industry.

Left Image - Chennai TADA Right Image - On site photo at TADA chennai

Graphic - To demonstrate the companies forward thrust, motivation and dynamism, the letters ‘L’ and ‘T’ were given a 60 degree tilt.

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8 A unique plaza

47 Out of the box

Being the first Toll Plaza to be completely run by ladies, PNG is considered as O&M’s most experimental and ‘out of the box’ initiatives.

Nashik is one of the largest producers of onion, grapes and tomatoes with Pimpalgaon playing a major role in production. Before the construction of the toll plaza, commuting to the Mandi was tiresome. When the road was developed, locals who used non commercial vehicles were given passes but commercial vehicles had to pay toll.

This was objected by the local farmers who valued the improvement in road condition but felt daily toll was a burden. A hostile situation was anticipated. As the date of operation commencement approached, O&M began to think of peaceful ways to initiate negotiations.

During this time, the ladies of neighbouring areas expressed a keen interest in becoming financially independent and being able to provide for their

pimpalgaon nashik first all ladies toll plaza.

family. It was also seen that women in that region were treated with a high degree of respect.

Assessing the situation, a unique solution was reached. L&T IDPL had always believed in equal gender rights and though the toll plaza is often considered a battlefield, it decided to take an experimental risk.

PNG toll plaza was announced as the first lady toll plaza in India. Every employee was to be a lady. There was to be no discrimination, ladies were to do everything and hold every post at the plaza. Once this decision was implemented, the company began to find ways to provide these ladies adequate services and facilities. Pick up and drop facilities were provided with ladies being escorted till their doorsteps in the case of late hours and 24 hour security was set up at the plaza. The O&M uniform was especially tailormade for the employees and reflected their duty with a feminine touch. Also, an in house crèche facility was provided for letting young mothers

work with a sigh of relief.

Though initially O&M had feared agitations, PNG surprised everyone as being the only plaza to have never been vandalized. The way the ladies handled riots and agitations left many amazed.

Through their gentle smiles and stern looks they were able to win battles forcing aggressive commuters to calm down and smile back.

Though subtle in their methods they remain firm when it comes to collecting toll. From physically standing in front of boom barriers to staling culprits, they have always been able to prevent leakages.

PNG also boasts of the first O&M lady project manager, Mrs. Vasundhara P, a jovial leader who prides her team. Her faith that ladies can match men in any field becomes stronger day by day when she sees them amicably deal with difficult commuters in an efficient and effortless manner.

Another interesting aspect about the project

is the number of smart cards it has issued. Till date the project has issued 8500 smart cards.

The ladies work hard processing nearly 1000 applications per day and issuing 400 smart cards daily. Though the number of smart cards issued may depend on the population of people in the neighbouring area and use of road, their quick and timely processing of application forms is credible.

Average No. of commuters passing the plaza per day: 17000 Difference made in commuting time post project: from two hours to one hour Total no. of direction signage’s on route: 674 Total no. Of street light poles: 660 Total No. Of High Masts: 24 Total number of saplings /trees: 37160 Total No. Of Lanes: 16

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The plaza has also proven to be a life line for widows, disabled ladies and single women all of whom wish to be acknowledged as equals.

PNG though experimental has demonstrated that ‘out of the box’ ideas can sometimes strike gold with the ladies at the toll plaza proving to be equivalent if not better than their male counterparts.

Interesting Facts Total stretch of project: 60 km

Left Image - O&M centre Delhi Right Image - VBTL Toll plaza

Graphic - The two sides of a lady, the coy female and the bold professional

55 Empathy

Reaching out to the locals Learning from experience, O&M tries to maintain a good camaraderie with local authorities.

Tie ups with local police and health facilities greatly help during emergencies. Many times, Route operation reaches the site of accidents much before the ambulance or police can. This relationship of mutual trust and faith boosts good will and strives for a better social ambience.

Faith

generate good will by helping others.

In many cases when people have left behind goods, such as wallets , bags etc. members from the project have ensured that the items are returned to their dutiful owners. In one such case that took place at PECL , Mr. Satish Kumar was thrilled when he got back his wallet and house keys. He immediately wrote a letter of gratitude and expressed how he was returned the exact

items that he had lost including cash worth Rs. 7,500. Such small initiatives go a long way in creating a trusting bond with commuters.

Helping the Law Playing a part beyond the role of mere toll collection, the local police were amazed when members of L&T KWTL, Pallikonda Toll Plaza helped bust a fake note scandal by helping catch one of the culprits when he offered fake notes at the plaza.

Empowering Woman On 29th January 2013, L&T PECL successfully concluded one of its most ambitious initiatives in the field of Women Empowerment at the village of Babel. The initiative comprised of imparting vocational training in the field of Tailoring, to twenty village ladies. The training lasted almost

4 months, and on culmination of the training program each of these twenty women were gifted with a tailoring machine, so that they could become economically self sufficient.

Panipat Hi Fest To live up to the promise of ‘Elevating Standards’ and connecting with the local population, the Panipat Hi Cultural Festival was conceptualized in the year 2010. A four days celebration of the city’s heritage and culture has now become an annual event with participation from school students, college students and the civic society.

Street plays, heritage walks, debate competitions etc are organized during the event to spread the message of safety, clean environment and social consciousness. The four day fest has now become an annual event.

Environment

Society

Trees have many advantages. They help purify the air, reduce noise pollution and create an uplifting ambience. Realizing this, O&M has participated in several tree plantation initiatives such as the one at Miyagaon Village in Vadodara district.

O&M also realizes their responsibility of replenishing the green belts removed during road construction.

During the construction of the highway at KTTL, about 5,798 trees were cut. To compensate, the O&M team planted 28,870 avenue plants.

Effectively, this translates to 5 trees planted for each tree felled during construction. Additionally, 1,08,900 flowering shrubs were planted along the median. This has made KTTL, the greenest project on any National Highway.

The use of solar power is also another green initiative taken by O&M as they have begun using solar panels as electricity sources on road stretches where the sun is in abundance.

As a tribute to society each project tries to contribute towards a social cause. For example, KWTL Reached out to 45 old age people and 26 orphan children. On 29th Nov, 2012 – UPS invertors and blankets were donated to old age homes run by the Red Cross in Vellore .

Similarly, at KTTL, they took advantage of the large expanse of land available within their Right of Way (ROW) and made kitchen gardens at the plaza and sub center. The result was a miniature farmland with a structured garden space and a design based on repetitive geometric patterns of perennial, annual and 87 biennial regional plants. Each employee in the project dedicates an hour on weekends to help maintain this garden. The fresh produce is then distributed to an orphanage at Dharamapuri.

Relooking at negative urban spaces, L&T JKTL installed 40 benches under their two flyovers at Jadcherla & Bhootpur so as to make these spaces more welcoming and remove the chance of encroachments.

Education When members of the project HSTL, found out t When members of the project HSTL, found out that students of Shri BD Patel U.M Vidyalaya, did not have text books for nearly half of the academic year, they immediately approached the Gujarat Raajya Pathya Pustak Mandal at Andhi Nagar and arranged for the distribution of the needed books.

Similarly, many projects have distributed school bags, stationary, text and other aids to schools.

Bharathana Gram School was even provided with 100 steel plates and a carpet. If the school itself needed a specific item like the Zila Parishad School, which needed water purifiers they too were provided for.

56

communicate a safer lifestyle.

Various contingency drives have also been arranged where reflective tape has been distributed or informative videos have been screened to different vehicle audiences such as truck drivers.

Health To promote the importance of health, KTTRL in association with a well known Eye care hospital, Dr. Agarwal Eye Hospital in Chennai, conducts a ‘Free Eye Screening Camp’ every year for the entire staff and their families. Staff members who needed medical attention were then provided with necessary treatment.

On the 30th of June, 2012, L&T SGTL decided to pleasantly surprise the children of Shiv Shakti Primary School by sending a dentist to propagate good oral care and provide free checkups for 310 children and teachers.

Blood is an important resource during accidents.

L&T VBTL has undertaken a special initiative where they provide blood donation on call for victims of road accidents. They have a database of 140 donors and staff volunteers.

Through numerous such initiatives distributed throughout the year, O&M tries to envision a healthier and greener future!

Safety Left - Image courtsey - Chennai TADA Design factory india.

Right - Image courtsey - On site photo at TADA chennai Design factory india

O&M has gone on a mission to reduce accidents on roads. As prevention is better than cure, every project runs safety drives where they approach schools and colleges. Through various fun and interactive programs they try to gently

Graphic - The company unites to aid the community

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8 If one observes the growth curve, unless O&M keeps re assesing and reinventing itself, there will be a stagnation. To prevent this from happening and also ensure that quality is not lost in gaining quantity, the company has decided to label 2013 – 2014 as their year of introspection. This year they will relook at all their activities, asses where they went wrong what could have been done better and how to improve in the future. Several positive outcomes of this movement have already occurred.

59 Introspection

Cost reduction When people were asked to purposefully think of ways to reduce expenditure, a very intresting thing happened at project WATL. For years, the plantation on the median for the entire stretch of the project was watered every day as the gardener wanted the plants to look fresh and green for the commuters. However, this special cost cutting drive made the project members wonder, did the plant

sustained growth needs moments of contemplation.

really need to be planted every day? After sending a sample to the Andhra Agricultural university, it was found that the plant was a special kind of hard plant that contained latex which ensured that cattle did not eat it. This unique aspect also made it self sufficient and it did not need to be watered so frequently. The project immediately revised their watering strategy and the result was that in 10 months they saved 12 lakhs.

In another initiative by team WATL, they questioned why the power given by the state electricity board for street lights should be based on Commercial rates as it was a public facility.They approached the state admisnistrative and were succeefully able to convince them to allow the project to pay non – commercial rates of rs. 3 per unit as compared to their earlier rate of rs. 10.

Conclave

As most of their operation and maintenance staff

are situated at SPV’s(Special purpose vehicles) through out the country, many of them have only seen the employees at their own projects. Most had no idea that the O&M family is so large. Also so that people from different projects could interact and share experiences as well as be informed about the latest trends in Operation and management, O&M have recently begun periodic Conclaves. These meets bring together people from equipment, operation and maintenance seperately. In 2012, the first Maintenance conclave was held followed by 2 more in 2013, under the topic of equipment and maintenance.

With each project, these manuals are updated to specific requirements and distributed to project members so as to ensure complete transparency in work environment.

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Orientation program team Realizing that people are their strength it is very important to train them well. This has led the O&M team to create a dedicated training team that will create an entire plan of how to approach training as a systematic art.

Manuals After intensive research, the O&M team have come up with in detail manuals that define every rule, regulation, activity, element at the plaza. These manuals are no less then a thesis on operation and maintenance of Indian roads.

Left Image - O&M centre Delhi Right image - VBTL Toll plaza

Graphic - One needs to constantly keep looking back in order to reach higher levels

63 The Book

64 Every book is meant to convey a story or journey.

This book takes a glimpse into the initiation and Operation and Maintenance of roads and bridges.

L&T IDPL is an infrastructure developer, they develop various they are responsible for the operation and maintenance of this book is meant to do both. They felt that a lot had happened over the last decade and it needed to be filtered into a concise source for reading purposes. At the same time, they were dealing with issues like safety, local intervention, a growing industry and most importantly a basic infrastructure – the road. All these things affect the common man and in many cases, these issues hardly ever are given their due importance.

documentation and story telling are key ways to propagate experiences and record journeys.

Making of the book In order to capture the essence of the O&M team, Design Factory India were requested to create an inspiration book for the company.

The DFI, design team comprised of 5 designers from various design fields and the project lasted 2 months. The first month comprised of research in two aspects, understanding L&T IDPL, O&M as well as exploring the notion of book design and its various processes. Once the team had filtered all the data collected, 18 main aspects were decided to be highlighted. These eventually became the 18 chapters of the book.

Mood boards were created, to develop book themes and decide color schemes. Eventually, it was decided, that black and white were iconic colors that represented roads and went well with the O&M image of leadership, discipline and boldness.

Another aspect which came out in the research was the strong contrast in what people know about

Left Image - Chennai TADA Design factory india.

Right Image - On site photo at TADA chennai Design factory india

the toll plazas and the kind of things that actually happen. This dual characteristic and multi persona of the tolling industry encouraged the team to use duality as a theme. Every chapter has a ‘known’ side and an ‘unknown’ side. A concept the team fondly calls the shadow technique. As the shadow is not always there but it appears when there is an external source of light. Similarly, things change in the tolling industry depending on external situations.

At the end of the process the team was quite surprised at how their notion of L&T, IDPL, O&M had changed from a simple road developer to a fire fighting team that is always ready to take challenges. It is hoped that the respect inculcated in the book during the process of making it is reflected in the reaction of the reader while reading it. shadow is not always there but it appears when there is an external source of light. Simillarly, things change in the tolling industry depending on external situations.

Each section has one ‘inspiration’ page with an initiation quote followed by one docuemnetation page that is divided into three components. A bold text that highlights the main theme, a central text and image area that documents the topic and an intresting graphic that has a dual meaning or story related to the section topic.Font type, sizes, location and column widths have all been decided based on research conducted on book design.

The over all compilation aims to bring a fresh new perspective to the tolling industry and create a greater awareness about the company and its activities.

Graphic - A memorable process

66

Our journey began in 1998 when we developed our first PPP project. Since then we have commissioned 16 road projects. The journey has been exciting and over the years we have evolved in terms of our processes and technology. We have matured as an organization and have learnt from our experiences-both good and bad.

This was the time, when we felt that we should pause, look back at what we have done and introspect. This inspired us to write a book that would encompass our growth story and would showcase our work to the entire world. We hope that this book will not only inspire people within the company but also our clients, vendors and of course our lifeline-the road users.

We would like to thank Design Factory India, who have helped us develop this Coffee Table Book that surely represent the DNA of the company.

The entire L&T IDPL team and their families need to be given credit who have put in their heart & soul for the organization. Our SPV teams, who are the face of the company, need to be thanked for their relentless efforts.

Last but not the least, we would thank our Clients, Suppliers and Architect who have played important role in helping us develop these assets.

Graphics - To demonstrate the companies forward thrust, motivation and dynamism, the letters ‘L’ and ‘T’ were given a 60 degree tilt.