Making Better Civil Engineers!

The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change…Carl Rogers

Carl Ransom Rogers was an influential American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology. What I respect about all such names is the simplest way they define the most complex terms. Like here Carl has defined Education & its exact role in our life! Recently when I was been part of a team of personnel’s who has been invited to design or define the course of Diploma in Civil Engg, I remembered these words about education & learning. Many as usual will wonder what’s relation of this terminology with our core topic i.e. Real estate or Construction Industry. Well for that we have to go through the current scene of the Industry.

Construction Industry is one of the largest employments generating industry of the country & it’s one of basic infrastructure making front of the developing country like ours. Take it making of homes or building structures like roads, dams or factories we need huge man & machine power & then we need people, trained or technically skilled people to supervise this man & machine power. And in the context what’s the scene? On one side we have hundreds of engineering as well polytechnic colleges of which seats are remaining vacant & on other side the construction industry is continuously in shortage of technically qualified manpower!

Some where it’s high time for the education which now also has become an industry; to understand the needs of construction industry & change the way they are manufacturing their product i.e. skilled qualified engineers! To that meeting there were personals from construction industry as well education field & the discussion was mainly revolving around what kind of changes are needed to be incorporated in the course so as we can produce the engineers who can be of real use of the industry. Agreed no one expect any fresh fellow from the college however good it may be to know all the work techniques at the site. As field work is something which has to be learn at site itself but what minimum is expected from a technically qualified person is to minimize the time he takes to adopt the actual work in field. Somewhere the gap between the expectation of construction industry from the young engineers & their output in the work is widening & that’s why people are wary to take fresher’s; which is not a good sign for the academics! As if no one is ready to absorb the fresher’s then how they will get good experience? Again experience is something which you learn & use it to deliver the better results & not just the years you have put it! For me experience is to get adopted to change & use it for doing the job in more improved way which in end will be in benefit of the output!

Here is where role of professionals in construction industry is important in designing the course or topics in the academics of civil engineering. The industry experts showed concern about the attitude of the youngsters getting passed out from the colleges as they are not ready to adopt new ideas neither using their own brain for the job at hand or responsibility given to them. Most present civil engineers are more like technical robots which just follow the orders & execute them without analyzing. As I have mentioned already, the construction industry still uses lots of man power for many types of site works such as concreting, plastering, tile fixing & many. And a manual supervision regarding quality control of all these acts is very important & where the supervisor or we can call him as engineer, has lots of responsibility where he has to apply his individual skills by getting tuned with the site conditions. This is something called as application of the knowledge where most of the current lot fails miserably & the problem is with the attitude & not with the degree or knowledge.

Another big problem is with communication skills is just being technically qualified doesn’t make you a successful engineer, to deliver , one must be able to convince not only the top bosses but the team down under also. And for this one must be open for a dialogue & has logical mindset to explain what he or she feels about his ideas & confidence about them. Or else with just technically perfect won’t work as if you are unable to convince others about your abilities then you will get frustrated soon. This aspect was also discussed & a strong need of generating their attitude of being communicative amongst the engineers been put forward.

One more issue with the fresh engineers is about logical application of the knowledge. Here many won’t understand that at site, may it be a building or road or any project where men & machine are at work, lot of things happens unexpectedly. For e.g. concerting is going on & suddenly rains starts; the engineer at charge has to respond the situation by applying logic & not just by books. To stop the work is the reaction any normal person can respond with but to be ready for the rains & continue even in the rains without compromising with the quality is what expected from an engineer! Indeed whatever has been learned in books is important but it can’t be cut paste type thing. A brain has to think & take from what it has learn in the books & use it at field as per the need of the situation that is what logic is! Unfortunately the major concern of today’s genre is their lacking in applying logic. Somewhere the marks based education is responsible for this, is what everybody agreed. As the brain of the student gets used to only memorize the answers to the questions asked & fails to grasp the logic behind those answers.

Then comes the leadership skills, which needs to be induced in the engineers along with technical knowledge. An engineer is like king at the site & he has to understand his posture & it has to be reflected by his behavior. And for that right from the college days he has to be trained for this aspect as being in charge is not just a position or post but it’s a lifestyle which one needs to adopt & understand the responsibilities comes along with that post!

Lastly the sincerity & loyalty with the job at hand; as not turning up for the job without informing or to change the job for a meager rise in salary are some of the  examples of current trend of engineers. And it’s very damaging to the job as well moral of the entire team if someone especially the leader in role of an engineer suddenly leaves the job. This again is attitude as nothing wrong in aspiring for a better prospect but at the same time understand our own responsibility towards the job at hand is equally important. A better prospect doesn’t necessarily means a better salary; rather it lays in better exposure to the verity of work as well responsibilities. This the younger generation should be made to understand & right from their education days that a good engineer needs to be a good human being also who is responsible towards not only his job but for the people around too!

The construction industry of the country needs good engineers & they don’t get born in single day, one has to work on the boys to convert them in grown up experienced engineers. And for this the industry people also have to contribute their expertise to the academics which unfortunately isn’t happening. Also the education institutes should open up for the new ideas & pulse of the industry for which they are making the engineers. Especially real estate needs the skilled people as leaders & not only as supervisors but as entrepreneurs too, as these are the people who will make homes for the millions of needy population of the country. And if they are good as an engineer then they will be good at whatever they built & what more real estate can ask for than more & more people coming in the industry who are responsible for what they build!

Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

MSEDCL (Power) Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2013/01/identifying-good-builder.html


Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

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Happy B'day Aai!

Frds,

why we share our personal things on public forum or on media like inet/mail? Is it wrong or right, I am no judge on this but what I think in today's era of work & work, is to reach out & share with your friends is very imp & one can use electronic media for that, instead just updating routine on fb like things, its better to share something which you have really enjoyed, some thoughts , some images or even your views! As its the sharing which make your friends know what you are within! So sharing a letter which i wrote to my mom, as its exchange of thoughts which makes your close ones to understand u better, so do go thru.
Also an appeal to go reach to your close ones with your thoughts & feelings on such occasions as that's very imp for other person, may not be for you, I always realize it whenever I have done so!

Sanjay

19 10 13

Dear Aai,
 

Most rather my all letters or write-ups starts with a quote but today I don’t need any as can’t think of one such when writing to you! What’s most important date in any man’s life? Well there can be many answers but what I feel is a man’s mom’s birth date is the most important! Many women especially wife’s (even my own) won’t like it much but that’s fact. As had this date not been there, no man’s future would have been written! And if each woman looks at what I said from the angle that to some person her birth date is important & who is her son or daughter, then she will understand the depth. Whenever it comes to relations or expectations, a woman always looks at it from the role of a wife or mother in law or sister in law but never from role of a mother!
 

May be that’s why whenever it comes to expectation then though she will feel most happy if its fulfilled by her child yet she won’t ever show it or acknowledge those expectations. There are many stories about mother & their affection for their child but Aai what I have learn is every mother child has their own stories, just the way we have & for me ours is the best! So many things since I remember my childhood & now when I myself am father of two grown up sons, I realized how important it was& is to have a mother who in her own way taught me life.
Aai, you have many a times asked me that you write letters to your friends as well others but why not me? Well the answer is our dialogue don’t need words & more important is writing a letter is something which comes from within & today I realized, so many words comes to me that I get confused which of them to use & how! Yet the best part in our relation is you never shown expectation but made me realize that people around me does have them from me & I need to keep my mind open for them & always try to fulfill them. But when it comes to your expectation then it’s like, you tried to always see me first in any queue & when it comes to queue of people close to me around me for their expectations in relations, then you become last! I think that’s greatness of nature of any mother & you are no exception, I am glad & lucky for that.
 

On your birthday & in my first letter which isn’t demanding anything because I have wrote you many in my college days but always for asking something, so here I won’t say you were extraordinary woman & had done this or that for us & how you cut down your desires to give us what we wanted while growing up! As that’s something which is too personal for you & I don’t want to dishonor your feelings by mentioning that, rather what I will say is whatever you have lived for us, we will try & live on the track which will always make you proud! Whenever you will hear my name it may not be for doing great things but you will never hear it for doing bad things, at least that I can promise! I think that’s the best & most precious gift I can give you, & my all life is the return gift is what you have already given to me

So go on & live the best days of your life now is my entire wish! I am writing this on behalf of Neeta also as I know if I keep saying I, Me , Myself then it’s not right, rather she loves you more than what I do is a fact, so it’s from us!

Sanjay , Neeta
Ashwini, Rohit, Rohan,
Nikhil, Ketki & Kiran

Vaishali Rupali, Our Social Heritage Sites!

I like to go out and see what a city's all about….Estella Warren

Estella Warren is a Canadian actress, former fashion model, and a former international synchronized swimmer too, who has traveled across the world because of her profession! And what she has said can be in millions of peoples mind or dream as being traveler is a natural human instinct. A man is always curious of new places & going to them in search of many things. Some travel for just sake of it, some for acquiring new knowledge, some for search of the fortune & some even search of their own self! Reasons may be any but a man is a traveler & in that zest only the new cities are explored.

It’s always said that a city is known by the people & places it has! Obliviously whenever we think of any city what comes to our mind is the people it has & the famous places it offers! As that’s what gives any city its image or face will be a proper term. Like Londoner’s are khadus in nature by our Marathi language while dealing with outsiders & Hyde Park is the place which comes to our mind when we think London. Similarly think of New York, it represents typical American arrogance of ignoring others & Time Square & the fun over there. Think Paris & lay back attitude of French people & Eiffel Tower is what we see in our mind.  While going in our own great country, think of Delhi & we have teri bahendi types language & Palika Bazar or Jama Masjid. If its Chennai then Rajnikant, Lungi & Idly Sambhar & you can’t think of Kolkata without Bengali Mithai & Howrah Bridge! On the same track think of Pune, though we are not as popular as above cities neither as big as them yet Punekar’s have now reached all over the globe & are in various fields of trades & with IT as well Automobile Industry along with Education facility, Pune is much known now on the world map is a fact. So what we think when it’s Pune? Well first comes to the mind is typical Puneri attitude which matches with khadusness of British, yet slight humor mixed in it with arrogance of Americans of “I know all‘ type  & Chitale bandhus stories of insulting customers  & Shaniwarwada as icon & mention of Vaishali-Rupali!

This last criteria of being Punekar is what intrigues me a lot as Shaniwarwad is Punes monument & Chitale bandhu mithaiwalas attitude represents punekar’s typical attitude then from where a south Indian named Jaganathh Shetty become part of Pune heritage that a legacy of jokes & stories have been created on Vaishali-Rupali? By the way for those, however little their number may be who don’t know what are Vaishali-Rupali, these are not names of some twin sisters but are restaurants serving south Indian dishes in Pune at Fergusson College road which is a main road in central part of the city. But for a diehard Punekar these names are like two monuments that are part of city heritage, such are their role in the city life! It’s said that there are only two types of Punekars, one who goes to Vaishali-Rupali & other who don’t! This one kissa is enough to explain the kind of popularity or importance or role of VR & Jagannath Shetty & his team in Pune’s image.

Started way back in 1950’s now together the joints are serving for 3^rd generation of Pune teen agers then, who are now grandparents & yet enjoying the taste as well ambiance of the places along with their grand children! It is said that marriages are set in heaven but here these two joints especially Vaishali has been playing role of heaven for many now & still on! As many college goers have seeped first tea or coffee on their date here on tables of Vaishali & the waiters were the date setters. Many a waiters who are here since years have been witnessed teen agers coming with shyness of first outings with opposite sex & then welcomed them when they have tied the knot! Many of the well known citizen of the city proudly shares that when they are gone for a long vacation or work trip out of town, first thing they do after coming back to Pune is visit Vaishali & have a cup of tea here, even before going to their own home! I myself have been experiencing Vaishalis charisma since my college days i.e. 25 years now; here again within Vaishali & Rupali there are diehard fans divided between the two joints & have their own reasons. Some like Rupalis sambhar more & coffee too, where as some prefer Vaishalis chay & ambiance more over Ruplai.  Speaking personally I am a Vaishalian but then loves the aura of both places equally & on some cozy Sunday afternoon do enjoy that sambhar of Ruplai also! In my college days also with limited money supply from home, Vaishali was a luxury & I could visit the place hardly once in few months. Yet the thrill & excitement in going there is same even when today I can go there almost every day.

Any city which boasts about its culture & social life needs such places rather these are the backbone of our society. As if there would not be such places then where the people will socialize? A look at the tables here & listening the discussions on the groups who are inherent part of the vibrant surrounding, will tell us why Pune is cultural capitol! Right from the "lovy dovy" talks of couples to discussion about the world’s economy, no topic is barred here & you will see some real top brasses in the fields making their point in such discussion! There can be Kalyanis, Bhosles, Pawars, Bajaj’s & even Thakerey’s too! City top officials, businessmen, political as well social leaders & NGO runners, all are part of Vaishali-Rupali & adds silver lining to its glory by their regular presence! Many groups start their day from Vaishali & have their fixed tables also at a particular hour of the day. Not only social gatherings but the place is popular joint for the business meetings too, for many. Though one can wonder how one can discuss business within such a hustle, yet that’s truth.

One may wonder what’s big deal in this as even the smallest towns in country like India where people like to express their opinions about everything has such places, so what so special about Vaishali & Rupali? Well many have been wondering over this question but to me no place’s reputation is built in a day. It’s over six decades the place has been not only serving the South Indian food but its serving a platform for the society to get together & socialize. And it’s the consistency in everything what the place offers makes it so special! Full credits to the man Jagannath Shetty who may not be a Harvard pass out & may not be having any plans to convert the brand in to worldwide chain. Rather he is quite happy & contended with just these two outlets & managing them with fullest dedication & it’s this dedication which gets converted in consistent service is what the trade secret of Vaishali Ruplai! As there may be thousands of joints across this city serving the dishes you get here & may be better quality too. But it’s not just the idly sambhar or dosa getting served to you in a plate, it’s a culture of which you are becoming part & that’s what make the customer feels from within who visits here. Right from the cleanliness to efficiency in service to maintaining the taste of the recipes Jagannnath sheth personally has build not only the restaurants but a system which includes the men working over here. The entire organization of cooks too  the personnel’s who all the day are engaged in swiping the floors of the dining areas, everybody is so dedicated to his job that you can sense it in the atmosphere. He has been called at many institutes for the success of making Vaishali Rupali a brand without a single advertise in any media. I am fortunate to have been closely associated with him like a family & in lighter mood he has once shared that when he has been asked how come there is no union of workers & things like that at Vaishali? He said, I replied, who says there is no union at my place, there is & I am the union leader of that union! Even a hard core management Guru couldn’t have given such an answer, just because it’s not the face saving intelligent reply but it’s the truth! He takes care of his team like a family right from the workers children’s education too their health care, so there are no demands from them as most are already covered! He once told me that he don’t cut any money from the manager or the waiter even some cutlery gets damaged as  well he has told to his entire staff  for never to argue with the customer & accept whatever they say with smile! You can experience this at Vaishali, just to take trial order a masala dosa & when it comes tell the waiter that you have ordered sadha dosa! In any other hotel he will refuse to take the masala dosa back but not in Vaishali; the waiter will politely smile at you & take it back & will serve you sadha dosa! This aspect of Vaishali-Rupali I have mentioned deliberately here as we always see the success of a system but rarely analyze & acknowledge the reasons behind that success, leave apart learning or adopting the same!

Recently on the eve of Jagannath sheth completing eighty years, a small celebration has been kept in Vaishali & city’s who’s who had been there to greet him. Write-ups’ of many individuals were published in media about their memories at these places. What more a place can give to the city? I always wonder what real success of any place is. Is it in making money or other people copying that place or the foot print of visitors? What is it that a place can seek? I think the status in which Vaishali Rupali are presently holds the answer As they exists like a living character & what more a place can achieve than people recognize it as a living personality!

This is generation of MacDonald & KFC’s & such big names who claim to serve all kind of world cuisine & offers best happening ambience & yet Vaishali Rupali has stood all such competition & has carved their own brand! For Punekar’s, Vaishali Ruplai are not just the restaurants where they can dine or meet people but it’s like visiting a friend with whom they can share their few moments which can be very personal too! Blessed we are to have such places with us & it’s the duty of the society to conserve them & make them immortal as then only we deserve them around us! That will be the tribute to efforts of Jagannath sheth & his team for giving this city our very own Vaishali- Rupali!

Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

MSEDCL (Power) Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2013/01/identifying-good-builder.html


Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx

Think Green, Think Life

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Roti, Kapada, Makan aur Elctricity!

What is a soul? It's like electricity - we don't really know what it is, but it's a force that can light a room…..Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson was an American singer-songwriter, musician and; he was a pioneer in the genre of soul music & as the quote suggests he was a good thinker too! And though in real estate many developers will be sharing his opinion about this so important aspect that is electricity! No fault of them either as even many qualified civil engineers have very less exposure to this science, reason may be two fold, one it’s not part of their academics & second is in the compartmentalized form of today’s working, most civil engineers don’t consider its part of their job at site.

Since long back our nation has accepted three main necessities of the life & they are “Roti, Kapada aur Makan” i.e. Food, Clothing & Home; as these three represents three basic parameters of our civilized life without which its incomplete! In recent time one more parameter has to be required to add & that is Electricity! Just imagine one has all three i.e. roti, kapada & makan but not electricity, & we will imagine how miserable our life will become without this fourth parameter! Unfortunately the Real Estate as well the Govt who is supposed to be the infrastructure provider has been always neglected the importance of this parameter or else we would have been discussing this topic. Look around & you will find especially in towns & rural, maximum jokes on MSEB i.e. our power supply provider organization by State Govt. Right from the full form as “Monday to Sunday Electricity Band” & many such jokes have been formulated on the service regarding the electric supply. Though leave apart the humor, the popularity of such jokes in itself is evident how much a common man’s life is depending on the electricity.

Especially in city life we are too much dependent rather slave to power i.e. electric supply as every our daily needs like charging of our cell phone needs electricity. The real estate is growing as the ever growing population needs homes & these homes needs electricity is a fact. We are short of power supply & so every unit available has to be used with precision & care. When its electricity there are two aspects which needs to be looked after & they are Safety & Saving! As a common man knows little about electricity obliviously while using it there is every chance of accidents & most of them are fatal is what history of such accidents says. If you study the history of accidents caused by fire then for majority of the fires in commercial or residential complexes the main cause of the start of the fire was poor workmanship of electrical wiring which eventually caused short circuit & do mind electricity is a ruthless thing! There is no mercy when it’s wrong or faulty wiring & if we try to save on basic materials like wires & switches then eventually we may lose in multiples. Yet many a developer just out of ignorance compromise with the quality of electrical goods used at site is a fact.

Rather if you observe the trend in real estate except some few builders, most strait way outsource the entire electrical work, eventually loosing the quality control on this front. By outsourcing they feel that they have got reed of the responsibility regarding wiring work but it’s not a good way to do. Even if you outsource, you should be very much specific about the specifications & design of the electric work & if you are not technically qualified for the same then best way is to appoint an electrical consultant who has experience in your types of projects. Again unfortunate thing about real estate is it rarely acknowledges the knowledge leave apart respecting the same! Keeping in tune with this tradition rarely any builder appoints electric consultant & mostly goes with the electric contractors advise who himself wasn’t technically qualified many a times! Though the trend is changing & many large size projects are having special electrical consultant who is qualified & doing the entire wiring accordingly yet the rate is slow.

As the consultant not only assures safety in designing by considering proper sizes of cables & wires but saves electric losses also. Whereas the contractor if not technically competent then can choose faulty cable size which might be a major cause of accidents in coming future. Also the wiring diagram as well cable path & workmanship specifications are equally important as a separate electrical layout of all such wiring needs to be made. This will ensure a technically perfect electrical job making the building safe from any mishap. Then there is saving in electricity consumption also, as a study is necessary that how much light is essential for a particular area & it depends up on various parameters like purpose or use of the space. Commercial buildings will have separate lighting requirements for the same area in compare with residential buildings. A consultant does consider all such aspects of electrical designing of a building. Energy is a costly thing in our country & it has to be used it with precision & for that proper designing of electrical wiring is a must.

Another important aspect when its electricity is lisoning with MSEDCL i.e. MSEB officials as the supply of power is being made by this organization. Today the board (nickname for MSEB) is under tremendous pressure with the task of fulfilling huge demand for the electric load from all segments of the society. The resources are limited & infrastructural works costs are very high. This affects the supply vs. demand relation especially in metros like Pune & you will find clashes amongst officials & developers over costing of electric supply per meter! Here role of electrical contractor is vital as many consultants don’t take responsibility of getting the load sanctioned from MSEB. Right now there are no fixed norms  for load sanctioning for any project but it varies from area wise load availability & as per infrastructure available in that area. This is not a healthy situation for industry as there can’t be transparency about costing involved for electric supply & finally the end sufferer is the flat holder as he has to pay the burden. The electrical contractors’ should take the lead & become a bridge between the board & the developers for working out amicable solution for the norms of load sanctioning. As upcoming projects coming up in a particular area can join hands & share the burden of infrastructure of MSEB in that area & here is where electrical contractor’s/ consultant’s associations can play a vital role. Also lots of awareness is required about the load calculations & the way it’s worked out as many developers go blindly as per the contractor says. The consultants can definitely help here as well they can supervise the quality of electrical works also.

Another vital issue is civil engineers or site supervisors’ attitude towards the electrical works; it’s like they are not concerned with electrical & agreed the academics don’t allow them much knowledge of electrical but then one needs to be curious & ask questions as then only one can get knowledge about the same! Here too lot of training is essential & electrical contractors as well consultants associations can conduct one such. As after all the site in charge is the one who is final authority on certifying the work at site.

One more lacuna is in awareness about energy saving devises & technology as that’s need of the times. But here again both sides i.e. contractors as well developers are poorly informed & we still go by conventional methods & equipments when it’s come electricity. Things like LED lighting which are energy saving, requires very perfect wiring network design or else maintenance costs becomes very high. Similarly things like battery operated vehicles are future so we will have to consider their charging load as well charging facility also while designing our electricity plans. Also all these plans of internal & external wiring should be made in record form after completion of the building & given to the residents so as in case of maintenance they won’t have problem. The end user also should get aware about this important aspect & ask questions to the developer about the specifications of the same, as this is something which is directly related to safety of the building.

Just giving ample electric points doesn’t mean we have done a good job, as the quote says that will light up only the rooms, what we need to do is lighten the faces of people living in those home as well their future, then only we can say yes we have understood the term Electricity!

Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

MSEDCL (Power) Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2013/01/identifying-good-builder.html


Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157628805700569/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com