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𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵: 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗗𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 ♻
Today, India is discussing two (2) different news. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for offshore wind energy projects at a total outlay of Rs. 7453 Crores, including an outlay of Rs. 6853 Crores for installation and commissioning of 1 GW of offshore wind energy projects (500 MW each off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu), and grant of Rs. 600 Crores for up-gradation of two ports to meet logistics requirements for offshore wind energy projects. The successful commissioning of these offshore wind projects will produce renewable electricity of about 3.72 billion units annually, which will result in the annual reduction of 2.98 million tons of CO2 equivalent emission for a period of 25 years.
Earlier today, the Hon’ble PM inaugurated the new campus of Nalanda University at Rajgir in Bihar, close to its ancient remnants. He also planted a sapling as he inaugurated the campus. The inauguration ceremony was attended by several distinguished individuals, including heads of missions from 17 countries. The campus is designed as a ‘Net Zero’ Green Campus, making it self-sustaining with the help of solar plants, domestic and drinking water treatment plants, a water recycling plant for reusing wastewater, 100 acres of water bodies, and numerous other environment-friendly facilities.
The common thread in both the news illustrated above, is the focus on a bright future for the people – education and environment – technology being an enabler. Contemplating these events of hope, the sight of a thermal power plant emitting harmful gases to the environment flashed, captured while visiting the city of Jhansi, more than a decade ago on an official assignment. It again reminds us of an urgent need to take urgent steps to abate the harmful impacts of the pollution by fossil by implementing suitable De-SOx or FGD, Decarbonisation measures, etc.
Incidentally, June 18 is a day of remembrance for Jhansi (and Bharat), famous for being the princely state whose legendaryQueen Laxmi Bai, dressed as a man, got killed in the combat while leading the war for independence against the British empire 166 years ago. Some believe that the Rani (Queen) did not want the British forces to capture her body and told hermit to burn it. She, among others, inspired generations of freedom fighters whose resolute struggles led to India’s independence.
The contemporary challenges facing us are diverse, and we, the society and our leadership, must strive for a sustainable habitat, cleaner air, and healthy living conditions for progenies. This will be our real tribute the ‘Rani’ 👸
Credits to Owners
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Cost of Quality (COQ) in the Journey of Excellence for an Organization 📈
We always find people looking for quality in the products and services they acquire. Professionals define ‘quality’ as something which meets or better still, exceeds the specification originally envisaged. Any organization would aspire to be known as a provider of such offerings for its stakeholders – the people, the government or regulatory bodies, the customers, the suppliers, and the society, at large.
There are various measures of organizational improvement and many methodologies and tools are employed to assess and work upon the areas to move up in the journey toward excellence by any organization. Taking up transformational initiatives help companies become fit for the future by implementing effective and efficient processes by overcoming the blind spots in their functioning.
Executives are cautious in opting for Quality measures in their operations as there is cost involved in anything not understood properly. Therefore, it is important to understand the Cost of quality (COQ), which is defined as a method to assess the cost of ensuring offerings meet quality standards, as well as the cost of creating goods or services that fail to meet such standards. The COQ can be categorized into four (4) major types:
📍Preventive: Associated cost for reducing the potential for defective products/ services. (Re)Skilling and Training, Knowledge sharing, etc.
📍Assurance: Inspection of products, parts, processes would need a quality assurance plan. Costs associated with the evaluation and assessment of offerings like laboratories, inspecting personnel, testing, etc. are examples of such costs.
📍Internal failure: Producing defective components or services (before delivery to intended clients) would need corrective measures such as rework, rejection, resultant downtime of production processes, and add to the cost to quality.
📍External failure: Returned or rejected equipments, loss of goodwill, loss of brand name, etc. (no repeat order or punitive action by client, etc.) are some of the cost aspects which come to light after delivery of the goods or services to the clients.
The costs associated with external failure are difficult to assess and many times, have worse intangible impact than the tangible one. Professionals have to deal with the factors affecting the Cost of Quality in more than one way, so as to deliver value to Customers in their journey to excellence.
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Image courtesy to the owner
👑 Leadership 🌟 – My 2 Cents
We often come across discussions about leadership skills among budding professionals. However, it is more critical for senior professionals as they do influence their juniors.
I would like to share my bit of understanding in this regard especially for professionals entering the public domain. Though my view is predominantly shaped and influenced as and for engineers, I believe the same would be apt for others as well. This is primarily because behavioural traits are profession agnostic to a large extent.
Taking the Ownership and exhibiting Empathy – are two (2) most important attributes for anyone to grow as a leader in their chosen field of life.
Owning the responsibility is foremost prerequisite to see and execute the tasks as envisaged. Ownership simply means taking the charge of the situation as and when it occurs and then the magic starts. It is always preferred that a professional ‘consistently exceeds the requirement of the job’ than assessed as someone who just ‘consistently meets the requirement of the job’ or even ‘sometimes exceeds the requirement of the job’ and accordingly gets evaluated in the performance appraisal. The urge to consistently exceed the requirement set forth would certainly come from the ownership trait.
Another equally important attribute is empathy i.e., the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. This brings to the fore the emotional quotient of the professionals in appreciating the other’s point of view. Once we are aware of the situation of our counterpart (be it junior, peer or superior; associate or customer, etc.), it becomes easier to converge and agree for action in order to achieve larger goal.
Ownership and empathy complement each other and reinforce the leadership skills and guide professionals in achieving success in their chosen career.
This post is in sheer appreciation for two of my valued colleagues who demonstrated the above-mentioned attributes in an assignment today.
Best wishes!! Vinit K Verma GIRIJESH PRASAD
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🏭 Peer Learning – A Critical Aspect in Learning Journey
🕯Learning is not just about certifications; it basically is about being better than before.
🕯An important aspect of the learning journey is ‘peer learning’ and it is equally relevant either in formal educational classes or training sessions.
🕯Adequate cohort strength and multi-faceted discussions, including on social media platforms like WhatsApp, bring opportunities for everyone to accumulate knowledge as much as possible.
🕯Various classwork or syndicate groups help to carry out various assignments during the program channelize the collective wisdom of the group for the benefit of everyone.
🕯In the post-Covid19 world, we see a hybrid/ blend of physical and virtual interventions. When planned meticulously, they leave no room for any regret concerning the delivery and grasp of the program topics.
Anything you like to add….
Winning with Ordinary Resources – A resolution for 2024! 🚵♀️
Traditional Resource Based View suggests Firm should build a Strategy on ‘Rare’ and ‘Valuable’ Resources for Competitive Advantage. Should a case not be made to build our company’s strategy around the ‘innovative’ use of quite ‘ordinary’ resources and not necessarily run behind acquiring the exceptional ones? Generally, an organizational set-up aims to utilize strategic resources to deliver at their level, whereas ordinary resources are leveraged to achieve the outcomes.
As per the typical bell curve of performance assessment, we find ~80% of resources would be categorized as ‘non-extraordinary’ but still needed and to be nurtured for achieving organizational goals.
Rahim’s couplet appreciates the importance of every resource in realizing our goal.
रहिमन देख बडिन को, लघु ना दीजिये डारि|
जहा काम आवे सुई, का करी है तरवारि||
In 2024, let us resolve to achieve success even with seemingly ordinary resources in our personal and professional journey.
AADIM-SANSKRITI – Promoting Indian Tribal & Folk Music, Art and Culture
Let me introduce you to ‘AADIM-SANSKRITI’, a not-for-profit organization headquartered in New Delhi, working since February 2017 to promote Tribal & Folk music, Art and Culture as well as creating awareness among the tribal communities about the richness of the heritage we possess on pan-India basis.
It was a pleasure interacting with Mr. Rudra Mani Patra, the Founder and General Secretary of the organization. He holds a doctorate in Hindusthani Vocal Music, from Faculty of Performing Arts at BHU, Varanasi, my alma mater as well. He has dedicated himself to the cause.
AADIM-SANSKRITI is organizing 3rd edition of ‘Banbasi Mahotsav’ (Festival of Tribal Dance and Music Forms) in a remote village in Keonjhar district on 29-30 December 2023.
This is a call to support the organization and their efforts by way of sponsorship, and this will be great fillip to the participating artists and motivate them to do better in their pursuit of preserving and promoting India’s tribal culture.
Relevant information including verified bank details are available in the enclosed document. The organization is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. Will share more details of organization/ events if anyone wishes to.
You may revert to me on inbox or directly contact Mr. Patra on aadimsanskriti@gmail.com for any further information.
Nothing is Impossible – Guts & Glories from Asian Games ‘23 🏅
From boasting to host the inaugural edition of the Asian Games in 1951 to securing the highest-ever tally of 107 medals, India and our sports ambassadors have come a long way in the journey. Sharing my article from our in-house magazine ‘EKAM’ with my friends.
The tales cited are representational of the true sports spirit with which our athletes have not only just performed and won laurels but also of the process of dedication and practice they undergo and transform from being merely a ‘commoner’ to an ‘achiever’. Each of the 249 medallists in the Asian Games 2023, has a story to tell and a determination to inspire millions of young Indians.
Not to forget, the performance of 16 years old ‘golden girl’ Sheetal Devi, the only current female international archer who shoots with her feet. Her incredible performance at the Para Games (India finished with the best-ever medal tally of 111) shall remain an inspiration and a glimmer of hope for millions. Watching her take the shot is a feat to the eyes.
Credit: Various media reports
Engineering Drawing – A Quintessential Discipline 💯
Engineering Drawing, essentially a Mechanical Engineering subject, is probably the most talked about subject in any engineering institution. Maiden experience with Drafter & instruments, A1 sheet, First/ Third angle, Levels, Elevation/ Plan/ Side views, Scale/NTS and many more we encountered in the very first year of college. It is the language engineers and technicians use to interact with one another and deliver the desired product.
The technical drawings, conveying information about an object, can be categorized into various types, and a few are listed as:
1. Assembly: Popularly known as General Arrangement Drawing (GAD), It specifies the final product in a completely assembled condition. The drawing can have a Bill of Material (BOM) on the same/ separate sheet, as per the practice and extent of information shown in the drawing. Part drawings show the sub-assemblies, components etc. to be used in an assembly.
2. Layout: It depicts the placement of various facilities and equipments in a plant.
3. Piping & Instrumentation: Popularly known as ‘P&ID’, it shows the process piping, valves and instrumentations arranged in a sequence/ schematic. It, however, does not explain the arrangement/ dimensions of these components. Single-line diagram is its electrical equivalent.
4. Fabrication: A fabrication drawing provides information suitable for fabricating the component from raw materials like plates etc. Even, casting/ forgings can be kept in this category.
5. Machining: Information pertaining to converting a fabricated component into the machined component of the required dimensions in a machine shop is provided in this type of drawing. It also shows the surface conditions of the components.
6. Erection: Also, termed as Installation drawing, it is used by Site engineers to erect the components at a project site.
7. Architectural: It provides the detailing of any facility/ building and/or its elements from architectural aspects, such as how it will function and look, like type of materials used, doors/ windows/ shutters/ stairs/ elevators etc., when constructed.
8. Isometrics: It is a 3D representation of the piping routes across the equipments and interconnections. A 2D representation of an object is termed as Orthographic drawing.
9. Foundation: It specifies the requirements of casting a foundation of equipment/ facility and is a ‘Civil’ engineering domain. “Released for Construction (RFC)’ drawing is a final deliverable by the project team for use at site.
Sometimes, we use sketches or outlines for references. Companies employ 2D or 3D platforms to work on engineering drawings, as applicable. There is a set of standard Drawing Office Practices (DOP), integral to their winning strategy, being followed by every engineering organization.
This post is to disseminate the learning gathered over a period and any suggestion for improvement is most welcome.
Manager with the Team – A Fire Breathing Dragon 🐉
Indian team beat Australian team in World Cup Men’s Cricket match yesterday, October 8, 2023. It was a convincing win, and the scoreboard would illustrate it did see exciting moments the game is known for. It was no surprise, and the odds were equal for win or lose. More than a decade in history, a match against Australia used to be a big thing. We have read and heard several editorials and commentators that Indian team lacks the ‘Killer Instinct’ Australians were especially famous for.
The scenario changed with the legendary captain Sourav Ganguly – the ‘Dada’ of Indian cricket. He instilled a champion mentality, nurtured young talent, and transformed the Indian Cricket team in his captaincy into a formidable force to reckon with at the world stage. The Natwest Trophy Triumph of 2002 and Dada’s iconic T-shirt celebration at Lords against England team is recorded in history.
In a similar context, the biography on Elon Musk published in September ’23 mentions about non-suitability of Parag Agarwal as CEO of Twitter (now renamed as ‘X’). “What Twitter needs is a fire-breathing dragon and Parag is not that,” Elon Musk told Walter Isaacson after his meeting with Parag in March 2022. Musk termed Parag as “a really nice guy” and quipped that managers should not aim to be liked. We can debate on what a manager should be or not, leader versus manager traits, etc. It also depends on the organizational and cultural requirements and many other aspects of team building, survival & transformational needs, agency problem between executives and owners etc.
Whatever be the case, a manager with the team, must be A-Fire-Breathing-Dragon. In the mythological stories, a-fire-breathing-dragon has been a symbol of power, strength, good fortune, fear, & destruction. The dragons are believed to possess magical powers and they are revered in some cultures (Chinese) and feared in some (European). Irrespective of their place in cultural milieu of various geographies, the dragons are go-getter and possess the ‘killer-instinct’ we just talked about.
It is right that the managers need not aim to be liked; rather they are required to become an example of getting the things done for realizing the organizational objectives. Manager and the team are one in the pursuit of the goal.
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Be more polite as you grow in life!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Around a decade ago, I got into an argument with my superior over whether to follow an instruction which was strictly not in my area of responsibility. If i remember correctly, perhaps, it pertained to preparing a document which otherwise should have been prepared by another department. The difference of opinion led to a heated argument between the two of us and I got a very nuanced and polite response: “I will do it if you don’t, as I have committed to our superior.”
For a while, I felt like a victory. The moment later, I realized the blasphemous act I had just committed by not only not accepting to do the task but to raise my voice at the epitome of politeness the person he was. Realizing it, I went to his chamber where he started to prepare the document.
I apologized for my uncourteous demeanour and offered to finish the task as needed.
The piece of advice I received at that moment changed the course of my life thereafter. He said: “Be more polite as you grow in life.”
I will always remember that one incident and the lesson learned. I try to follow the advice of being polite as ‘universal truth’ and not pollute my mind with whatever success I got.
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