Technology, the greatest enabler: Hiranandani

From a global perspective, there have been breakthroughs in 2016, but these will take some time before we see them being exhibited in India.

Technology is having a positive impact on construction by reducing the time taken to finish a project, as also by ensuring consistent quality levels through the entire project believes Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-Founder & CMD, Hiranandani Group. It also helps in terms of a ‘better finish’ and ‘safe and secure’ end product. In terms of costs, there is a set-off between labour cost saved and additional cost of mechanisation. “I see the increased role of technology in construction as adoption of global best practices in Indian construction. In Gujarat, in India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in GIFT City, we have completed a commercial tower 12 months ahead of the original schedule, without compromising on quality of construction or the finish – we had done a project in Dubai, ‘23 Marina’, and technology which was used to construct the same in the United Arab Emirates was also used to complete Signature a full 12 months before the scheduled date of completion. This is an apt example of how Indian construction is adopting global best practices, in terms of technology,” he adds.

Greater acceptance of tower cranes
Highlighting about the greatest breakthrough of technology of 2016 Hiranandani said, “In terms of Indian construction, I would place ‘greater acceptance of tower cranes during the under construction stage’, at projects being done by all segments of real estate developers – across tier 2 and tier 3 cities as well – as among the best examples of a ‘breakthrough’ in terms of technology and its use in Indian construction. From a global perspective, there have been breakthroughs in 2016, but these will take some time before we see them being exhibited in India.”

Further when asked about how this technology has added value to the business Hiranandani stated, “The Hiranandani brand is synonymous with global levels of quality construction, and to ensure that we complete these within the scheduled timeframe, various aspects of technology are leveraged at our construction sites. I would give the example of something rather simple, the tower crane. This is among the options that helps save time during construction. This in turn, helps save costs – and in effect, adds value to business.”

The company is using tower cranes across its ongoing projects in Chennai, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Thane and Panvel.

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