Tata Housing presented a case study on its real estate project, Myst, in the Himalayan foothills in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh. The project had won the PMI India Project of the Year (Small) award in 2017.

 

Raghvendra Singh Bisen laid out the objectives the company had set for the project, how they achieved those, the challenges they faced, and how project management helped the company overcome those challenges.

 

Among the key objectives was to strike a balance between project profitability and conservation of the local flora and fauna. The project faced a number of challenges such as the hilly terrain, unpredictable weather conditions, health and safety of workers, and adhering to the company’s zero-harm policy. The location of the project made it difficult to acquire skilled manpower; besides, the project site was not connected to municipal services.

 

“To design the project masterplan, we chose one of the best consultants who had the required expertise and had conducted a lot of research on the environment. The design plan set the tone for the project development,” said Bisen. Tata Housing conducted an aerial survey of the site to understand the extent of forest cover. Once the project was completed, they doubled the green cover.

 

All the design parameters and specifications were set according to the gold certification standards of the Indian Green Building Council. There was a conscious effort to choose local material.

 

To minimize work disruption due to the fast changing weather in the hills, the project team used a weather monitoring system to measure weather conditions frequently so that project activities went on as planned. 

 

Tata Housing also took a number of steps to ensure the safety of workers at the site. It used nets on the slopes to ensure there were no landslides. To reduce worker attrition, the project team conducted a root cause analysis to understand the main issues. Based on the findings, the team set up a workers’ camp with safe drinking water facility, a crèche and health screening.

 

“We created a strong project management framework that covered the business plan and the project development plan, and clearly laid down project challenges. Within the project execution plan, we carved out the baseline schedules, cost schedules, the construction phase, and the recovery plan, in case it was required,” said Bisen.

 

He added that though each project is unique, some factors remain the same. “What remains constant across projects is the expectations of project delivery and the role of project management. The challenge is to create a balance in cost, time, and quality. If you focus more on time and cost, it hampers quality and safety. Focus more on cost and quality, then time suffers; and if you focus more on time and quality, the cost suffers,” he said.

 

He said the answer lies in planning. “What gets planned, gets measured, and gets done. Keep the processes simple and align them to your project goals,” he added.