A study on the delay in the construction of dams and canals by NVDA

Submitted to
Mithun Karthikeyan PGP Student Indian Institute of Management 5/26/2011

DETAILS OF THE PROJECT

Organization Name: Narmada Valley Development Authority, Bhopal Project Commencement Date: 1st April 2011 Project Duration: 2 months

Project Guide Details: Mr. A.K.Srivastava (NVDA) Secretary NVDA

Name of Student Roll No:

Mithun Karthikeyan 2010 PGP 191 Summer Intern Indian Institute of Management, Indore Email: mithun.karthikeyan@gmail.com

CONTENTS
DETAILS OF THE PROJECT ............................................................................................................................................. 2 CERTIFICATE .......................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Background ............................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Brief history on NWDT and NVDA............................................................................................................................. 10 Problem Definition.................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Statement of the problem ................................................................................................................................................. 12 Details of projects being included as part of this study .......................................................................................... 13 Past/Related Works ............................................................................................................................................................ 18 Research Design ...................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Observations ............................................................................................................................................................................. 21 Conclusion and Recommendations.................................................................................................................................... 23 Type of Contract ................................................................................................................................................................. 23 Item rate or Turnkey ..................................................................................................................................................... 23 Pros and Cons of Low bid contract .......................................................................................................................... 25 Issues with Project Scheduling ....................................................................................................................................... 25 Better Scheduling practices: ....................................................................................................................................... 26 Department Engineers Competency in Scheduling Techniques ..................................................................... 26 Types of Schedules to be provided by the contractor......................................................................................... 27 Milestones ........................................................................................................................................................................ 29 Qualifications of Scheduler and Contractor Staffing.......................................................................................... 29 Allowable Software for Scheduling ......................................................................................................................... 29 Partnering .............................................................................................................................................................................. 29 Formal Risk Assessment process .................................................................................................................................. 30 Monitoring the progress of work ................................................................................................................................... 33 Intermittent Progress and Pacing for Delays ......................................................................................................... 34 Issues with Sub-Contacting ............................................................................................................................................. 35 Other issues .......................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................ 39 Scope for future work ............................................................................................................................................................ 40

Appendix:................................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Details on Halon Project................................................................................................................................................... 41 Details on Upper Beda Project ....................................................................................................................................... 42 Details on Omkareswar Project...................................................................................................................................... 43 Details on Lower Goi ........................................................................................................................................................ 45 Details on ISP Project ....................................................................................................................................................... 47 Questionnaire ............................................................................................................................................................................ 49 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................................. 54

Narmada Valley Development Authority

CERTIFICATE
To whomsoever it may concern

This is to certify that Mr. Mithun Karthikeyan, an intern from MBA Program of Indian Institute of Management, Indore was associated with the Narmada Valley Development Authority, Bhopal under the summer internship scheme of School of Good Governance and Policy Analysis, Bhopal. He had undertaken a study on Delay in construction of Dams and Canals by NVDA assigned to him by the department. He was associated with the department for a period of two months starting from 10th May, 2010 and has completed the project successfully. We wish him all the very best for his future endeavours.

(A.K.Srivastava ) Secretary Govt. of MP Narmada Valley Development Authority

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This study would not have been possible without the guidance and help of several individuals. First and foremost I would like to thank Mr. O.P Rawat, VC, NVDA for his continued encouragement and support in performing the study. I would also like to thank the following for their contributions in successfully completing the project Mr. A.K.Srivastava Secretary, NVDA For guiding me in completing the project and helping me in mitigating any hurdle in completing the project Prof.H.P. Dikshit Director General SGPA For providing valuable suggestions and insights on improving the research quality Mr. A.K. Sukhla Member Engineering, NVDA For helping me in various stages of data collection Dr. S.M. Hyder Rizvi Director, Policy Analysis, SGPA For helping me resolve the various issues that I faced during the initial phase of the project. Mr. Gaurav Khare KM, Project Officer, SGPA For his continuous support throughout the project, and helping with any issue being faced. Mr. R.R. Bandari Advisor to Secretary, NVDA For reviewing my work and providing his valuable suggestions. Mr. G.P. Soni EE ND division -25, narmada nagar For taking out time from his busy schedule and guiding me at various stages of the project providing me with some excellent suggestions and feedback

I would also like to thank the following for taking out time from their busy schedule and providing me with the information that was required in completing the project. Mr. P.K. Paharey Mr. C.B.Srivastav Mr. N.K. Brahme Mr. S.K.G Pandit Mr. V.C.Avasthi Mr. Ajay Shah Mr. Dewada Mr. S.P. Tirkey Mr. Dhamendra Mr. Chongad Mr. T.P. Anand Mr. Sanjay Joshi Mr. S.K.Sharma Mr. G.B. Chanderia Mr. P.K. Jain Mr. V.K. Pandey EE, Region 25, NVDA Director, E-Tendering Cell NVDA CE, CWC Consultant, R&R EE, ISP, NVDA CE, ISP, NVDA EE, ISP, NVDA Consultant, Cadd Systems and services EE, Lower Goi SDO, Upper Beda AE, LNZ, Indore SDO, Head Quarters, Jabalpur EE, Upper Narmada Project AE, Head Quarters, Jabalpur EE, ND Div 2, Mandla

List of Abbreviations
NVDA NWDT MoEF CE EE CPM PERT CWC NIT Narmada Valley Development Authority Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal Ministry of Environment and Forest Chief Engineer Executive Engineer Critical Path Method Program Evaluation Review Technique Central Water Commission Notice Inviting Tender

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Almost all Dam and Canal construction projects under NVDA are suffering from huge delays in completing the project. Delays in any infrastructure project leads to significant economic and political implications. While the immediate effect is that the public needs to wait for the benefits being delivered by the project, it also leads to many other secondary effects on the economy. For instance, delay in the construction of canals leads to the benefit of irrigation being delayed to the farmers, which further leads to decrease in the farm output, upsetting the economic growth in other sectors. Common Knowledge with in NVDA dictates various reasons for this grave delay, one of the most prominent being issues with land acquisition, followed by under staffing, delays on the part of CWC etc. This research concentrates on the delays in post approval processes related to construction of dams and canals, and is based on in-depth interviews with more than 15 Engineers from NVDA, a contractor and a consultant. Also 6 projects under NVDA have been scrutinized for reasons that lead to the project being delayed and to explore the truth behind the frequently stated reasons for delay. The method being adopted by this study was to make a list of best practices in the industry which helps in reducing the time delays in project execution, and then to check the existence of such practices during the project execution at NVDA. In-depth interviews were conducted with Department Engineers, Contractor and Consultant to study the practices being followed by NVDA in project execution. Also the project document available at site has been evaluated to study the issues faced during the project execution. It has been observed that NVDA lacks in almost all such best practices, some much grave than others. Lack of formal scheduling techniques and failure in effectively monitoring the contractors performance with respect to the schedule is one of the main reasons for non-performance of projects. Adding to these are the issues of in-competence in the part of Engineers in scheduling techniques and lack of formal risk assessment system etc. It is recommended for NVDA to adopt detailed scheduling in its projects. A detailed approach to the scheduling process has been provided as part of this study. In addition, there is necessity to train the department engineers in the various scheduling techniques like CPM and PERT so that mistakes are not made while preparing or reviewing the schedules. It will also help the engineers in close monitoring of the progress of work by the contractors and to evaluate it on the basis of the schedule provided by them. There is also a need to apply formal risk assessment processes in all the projects being undertaken by NVDA. Since the projects are of similar nature, a generic risk assessment framework can be created and can be extended for specific projects. The research also gives guidelines in preparing the risk assessment processes.

BACKGROUND
BRIEF HISTORY ON NWDT AND NVDA
The Narmada Valley Development Authority is a multidisciplinary organization of the State of Madhya Pradesh and its head office is at Bhopal. The NVDA has jurisdiction over the major water resources development projects in the Narmada Basin. Formed in 1985, NVDA works for the all-round development of the Narmada basin. Narmada is the 5th largest river in Indian Peninsula and flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The disputes related to utilization of water from Narmada, between Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat led to the formation of Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT). NWDT suggested the following share of water for each state

State Madhya Pradesh Gujarat Rajasthan Maharashtra Total -

MAF 18.25 9.00 0.50 0.25 28.00

TABLE 1: NWDT ALLOCATION OF NARMADA WATER TO STATES

This allocation will be reviewed in the year 2025, and under utilization by any state will lead to reallocation of each states share appropriately. For Madhya Pradesh to make use of the 18.25 MAF of water allotted, it is planned to complete 29 major projects by the year 2025. However the delays in construction of such dams and canals have become a cause of worry for NVDA and if this issue is not addressed at the earliest, it could even lead to failure in the part of NVDA in achieving its target of 18.25 MAF water usage by the year 2025, leading to the un-tapped potential being allotted to other states. Moreover, the delay in construction of dams and canals is also hurting the state in the form of higher financial expenditure and losses in the form of delaying the revenue generation.

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Table below provide details on the major dams and canals being planned on the Narmada Basin by NVDA S. No.

Name of Project

Benefits (Lakh ha.)

Power

Irrigation

(MW)
13.50

Mcum)
2386.72 559.82 435.90 170.57 88.38 140.00 112.00

Completed Projects 1 Tawa 2 Barna 3 Kolar 4 Sukta 5 Matiari (Dhobatoria) 6 Man Project 7 Jobat Project
Ongoing Projects 8 Rani Awanti Bai Sagar 9 10

2.469 0.548 0.451 0.166 0.101 0.15 0.098 1.57 2.45 1.23 1.47 0.323 0.099 0.185 0.098 0.117 0.129 0.708 0.647

100.00

1008.00 1853.10

Bargi Diversion Indirasagar Project Canal Power House of ISP Omkareshwar Project

1000.00 1674.00 15.00 520.00 1300.00 105.00 90.00 178.93 82.72 134.00 112.36 1969.90 567.96

Punasa lift 11 12 Upper Beda Proposed Projects Upper Narmada 13 Upper Burhner 14 Halon 15 Ataria 16 Chinki 17 Sher 18 Machchrewa 19 Shakkar 20 Dudhi 21 Morand 22 Ganjal 23 Lower Goi 24 Raghavpur 25 Rosara 26 Basaniyar 27 Sitareva 28

0.506 0.522 0.137 20 25 20 15

444.49 465.48 133.00

TABLE 2: MAJOR DAMS AND CANALS IN NARMADA BASIN

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PROBLEM DEFINITION
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Decision Problem

Research Problem

Information Required

Research Design

1. To study the delay in construction of dams and canals

1.1 What are the major factors affecting the performance of project?

1.1.1 List of key attributes leading to improvement in performance in the execution of infrastructure projects 1.1.2 List of activities leading to deterioration in the performance of infrastructure project implementation.

1. In-depth Interview with Engineers and senior officer in NVDA 2. Literature review and past research of similar topics

1.2 What are the current practices with in NVDA during the execution of the project?

1.2.1 Engineers knowledge about the key attributes leading to the success or failure of a project 1.2.2 Engineers competence in the key attributes leading to the success and failure of a project 1.3.1 How does the actual practices in NVDA differ from the best practices required for a speedy construction of the project

1. In-depth interview with the Engineers

1.3 What are the project attributes missing in NVDA leading to the excessive delay in completing the projects

1. Comparison of the results obtained from the two steps above

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DETAILS OF PROJECTS BEING INCLUDED AS PART OF THIS STUDY 1

1. Indira Sagar Project: The Indira Sagar Project is the key project on the Narmada River for irrigation and power generation. The regulated releases from Indira Sagar Project will be utilized by Omkareshwar, Maheshwar and Sardar Sarovar Projects on the downstream of Indira Sagar Project. The Narmada Tribunal has directed that regulated releases from ISP would be made available for use at Sardar Sarovar to the extent 8.12 MAF per year, ex-Maheshwar. Indira Sagar Project envisages construction of 92 m. high and 653 m. long concrete dam. Near village Punasa in district Khandwa which is the highest dam of the State and on completion has formed a lake of gross capacity of 12.220 Mcum (9.9 MAF) the biggest in South Asia. The project offers excellent opportunity for power generation with an installed capacity of 1000 MW and will enable irrigation with 249 km length of the main canal over 1.23 lakh hectares in Khandwa and Khargone districts. In Khandwa district 76 villages in Khargone district 345 villages and in Barwani district 150 villages, in all 571 villages would be benefited In May 2000 It was decided to implement the power portion of Indira Sagar Project through the joint venture of NHPC (GOI) & GOMP. The joint venture is named as NHDC (Narmada Hydro Electric Development Corporation Ltd.). The works of dam and power house were entrusted to NHDC Ltd. on 25.9.2000 and were completed by June 2005 and June 2007 respectively. The works of canal of ISP are being executed by NVDA. The work of canal is being completed by funds under Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program (AIBP) of GOl and loan from NABARD. The Indira Sager Project has been receiving assistance under AIBP since 1996-97. The works on the canal system from 0 km to 248.00 kms is in progress. The canal system (cost about Rs. 2870 crore) is proposed to be completed in the 11th five year plan. Up to 2010 an Irrigation potential of
34010 ha. is created. The total expenditure of Rs.1222.45 Crore has been incurred up to

September 10, on the works of canal of ISP.

Vision 2015, Narmada Valley Development Authority

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S. No 1 2 3 4

Phase Phase-I Phase-II Phase-III Phase-IV

Reach 0 to 71 km 71 to 142 km 142 to 206 km 206 to 248 km

Target for completion Dec-2011 Jun-2012 Jun-2013 Jun-2015

TABLE 3: PROGRAM FOR PHASE WISE CONSTRUCTION OF CANAL SYSTEM AND CREATION OF IRRIGATION POTENTIAL

S. No. 1

Status of construction Reach Main Canal 0 to 58 Km Completed Disnet All Distributaries Completed except some Minors and missing links Only one distributary which has been Completed 8 Nos of distributaries & Minors Under Progress 13 Nos of distributaries & Minors Under Progress L.A. Under Progress L.A. Under Progress L.A. Under Progress -

Target For Completion Dec-11

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

58 to 67 Km 67 to 107 Km 107 to 130 Km 130 to 155 Km 155 to 206 Km 206 to 248 Km Khargone Lift Irrigation

Under Progress Completed Under Progress Under Progress Under Progress Under Progress Survey Under Progress

Dec-11 Jun-12 Jun-12 Jun-13 Jun-13 Mar-14 Mar-15

TABLE 4: REACH WISE STATUS OF CONSTRUCTION OF CANAL

S. No. 1 2 3 4

Year 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Targeted I.P. 21100 19900 10455 17518

I.P. created 22236 9287 2487 -

Cumulative I.P created 22236 31523 34010 -

Targeted irrigation 25000 26500 17162

Actual irrigation Nil 15485 1363 -

Cumulative irrigation Nil 15485 16848 -

TABLE 5: DETAILS OF POTENTIAL CREATED AND ACTUAL IRRIGATION

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2. Halon Halon irrigation project is proposed on the river Halon, a tributary of the river Narmada in the block Bichiya, district Mandla. Total length of dam is 975 m. and maximum height is 31 m. 1938.50 ha., land will be affected due to submergence out of which 109.80 ha. of land is under forest. Forest clearance in principle is received, 11,736 ha area is proposed for Irrigation by the project. The hydrology of dam was approved by Central Water Commission in 1991. Detailed Project Report (DPR) was submitted to Central Water Commission in 1999. The CWC has approved the cost of the Halon project at Rs. 221.60 crore. The cost is revised now to Rs. 321.11 crore. The State Narmada Control Board has recommended granting of administrative approval to the project at this cost in the 33rd meeting held on 31.08.2008. Proposal for environmental clearance has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests after public hearing for clearance. Forest clearance in principle has been received on 20.12.07. Environment clearance was obtained on 4th Jan 2010 and Investment clearance from planning commission obtained on 15 Apil 2011. The tender for the project has been prepared and send for approval to Member Engineering NVDA. 3. Upper Narmada This project is proposed on the river Narmada at village Reenatola; district Dindori which is 72 km from Amarkantak (origin of the Narmada). Maximum height of dam is 31.80 M and length is 2112 M. Proposed irrigation is 18,616ha, 89 villages of Dindori district and 27 villages of Shahdol district will be benefited from this project, 2952 ha. of land is coming under submergence. There is no forest land in submergence. Hydrology of the project was approved in 1991 by Central Water Commission. The detailed project report was submitted to CWC In 1996. For pre-construction work of the project, administrative approval of Rs. 41.0 Lakhs was given in 1980. The CWC has approved the cost of the project at Rs. 345.77 crore. The State Narmada Control Board has recommended granting of administrative approval at this cost in the 24th meeting held on 24.3.2003 with a proviso that work should be started only after getting funds from outside. The cost of the project is now revised to Rs. 56959 Crore and got approved from the Narmada Control Board in the 33rd meeting held on 31.08.2008. Proposal for environmental clearance has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest for approval. Approval from planning commission has been obtained on 5th Dec 2010. The project is awaiting design specifications from CWC. The tender has been prepared and has been submitted to Member Engineering, NVDA for approval.

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4. Omkareshwar The Omkareshwar multipurpose project is proposed below the Indira Sagar Project. It is proposed to construct the dam upstream of Mandhata Island across Narmada River for the utilization of regulated releases from Indira Sagar Project for the production of 520 MW power and to provide irrigation facilities to an area of 1.47 lakh ha. on both the banks of the Narmada river. The project envisages construction of 949 M. long 73.12 m high dam with 8 units of 65 MW. Total installed capacity for power generation is 520 MW. The dam and power house works are entrusted to NHDC Ltd. The canal system will be completed by the State by about 2014-15, with funds under AIBP and NABARD; financial assistance under AIBP is being received since FY 2003-04, Grant of Rs. 220.53 crore has been received up to March 2008. The work of Narmada Aqueduct costing Rs. 31.5 crore has been taken up and completed before water is stored in the Maheshwar dam under construction. Cost of canal system is Rs. 2175.59 crone. The work of the canal is in progress in a total length of 218.40 km in 3 phases. The right bank lift canal is being taken up in the fourth phase. The work is likely to be completed in the 11th plan. Target dates are as given below S No 1 2 3 4 5 6 Year 2010&11 2011&12 2012&13 2013&14 2014&15 2015&16 Financial target 244-34 426-77 377-58 320-00 200-00 140-00 Target Achieved 244-34 671-11 1048-69 1368-69 1568-69 1708-69 Targeted Irrigation 3940 27040 23860 49330 18500 24130 Actual irrigation 3940 30980 54840 104170 122670 146800

TABLE 6: DETAILS OF FINANCIAL AND IRRIGATION TARGET AND ACTUAL ACHIEVEMENT

5. Upper Beda Upper Beda irrigation project is proposed on river Beda near village Nemit, Tehsil Jhiranya, district Khargone of Madhya Pradesh. Project envisages the construction of 208 m. long and 37 m high masonry dam and 2206 m long and 23.83 m. high earth dam. It is proposed to irrigate 9900 hectares land in Khargone district comprising 58% tribal population. The Planning Commission has accorded investment clearance for the project on 10.9.1998. Administrative approval for the Project amounting to Rs 87.86 crores has been accorded by Govt. of M. P. in May 2001. The survey work of dam, command area survey, property survey and soil survey has been completed.

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An expenditure of Rs. 104.95 Crores has been incurred on the project up to 3/2008. Work of the dam is completed. R&R is also carried out pari passu. Canal work is in progress. For the construction of the project NABARD sanctioned loan of Rs. 80.32 crores in March 03. Agency has been fixed for main dam. The construction of the dam has been completed. The project has been sanctioned under AIBP and grant started in FY 2008-09.

6. Lower Goi Lower Goi Irrigation Project is proposed on Goi River near village Pachpula tehsil & district Khargone (Badwani), 13760 ha. Area is proposed for irrigation through 5.71 km. long tunnel. Estimated cost of the project is Rs. 360.37 crore. The survey work was completed and detailed project report was submitted to Central Water Commission in 1992. There is no forest area in the submergence due to the project. The tunnel for taking irrigation water, however, passes through forest area for which clearance is obtained. The project is cleared by the Planning Commission on 12.8.2008. The work is taken up and is to be completed in the 11th plan. The project has been accepted for AIBP grant during FY 2008-09, and grant of Rs. 499 crore received. The project has been awarded to IVRCL on November 2008 and work is in progress

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PAST/RELATED WORKS
Various studies have been conducted in the past to study the time delays in completion of infrastructure projects. While some of them concentrated on delay aspects in execution of specific steps involved in the project, others took a more comprehensive view of the project and studied the delay in the all-inclusive conclusion of the project. Few of the past researches conducted to study the delay in completion of infrastructure projects are Risk Assessment and Best Practices in Scheduling by Pinnel Studies the importance of a good scheduling practice in reducing the delays and claims associated with an infrastructure project. The report comes up with a strong correlation between the presence of an effective scheduling practice and the extent of delays being observed in infrastructure projects. It continues to explore the role of various stake holders in developing the schedule and brings out the importance of the partnership between the various parties involved in the implementation of the project. Finally the report also identifies formal risk management techniques, or rather uncertainty management, which is a better term for risk management of infrastructure projects, in reducing the time delay in the implementation of infrastructure projects. Delays and Cost Overruns in Infrastructure Projects by Ram Singh, Department of Economics This study was based on the time and cost over-runs of publicly funded infrastructure projects in India. The research identifies contractual and institutional failures as two of the major reasons behind time and cost overruns. Factors effecting cost performance: evidence from Indian construction projects by K.C.Iyer and K.C. Jha The research focuses on the critical success and failure factors in terms of cost performance of Indian construction Industry. Few of the salient results that came out as part of the research was the role of Project managers competence in the success of the project and also conflict among the project participants being major reason for failure of a project. Study for Expeditious Processing of Environment Clearances for Projects of Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) by K V Gopakumar The study focuses on the huge delay in getting environmental clearances for various infrastructure projects under NVDA. Further the recommendations from this study have helped in reducing the time required to get environmental clearance for various projects under NVDA. However the scope of this research was restricted to the Environmental clearance aspect of the project. The current study has it focus on the post approval processes, beginning from the tender preparation till the final commissioning of the project 18

RESEARCH DESIGN
Activities Deliverables

Key reasons for delay Phase 0 This phase will involve secondary research data analysis to understand Helpful research tools the reasons for delay in construction activities Project Implementation steps and Phase 1 Discussion with key members of the department: possible delay factors This will help in identifying the processes specific to NVDA in implementing a project and insights on delay factors Questionnaire Phase 2 Questionnaire formulation: Quantitative data on delays Phase 3 Site Document Review and discussion with Engineer in Charge: This will be a primary data collection phase by reviewing the documents at site and discussion with Engineer in Charge Report detailing critical bottle necks Phase 4 Analysing data and arriving at critical bottle necks and implementable solutions.

PHASE 0 The main purpose of this phase is to understand the key attributes involved in the implementation of an infrastructure project, which either leads to successful completion of the project on time, or which leads to excessive delays in completion. A lot of research has already been conducted on this topic and detailed surveys conducted to identify such key attributes. According to a study conducted by Pinnel, one of the major reasons for delay in the construction of infrastructure projects is the improper or the lack of scheduling techniques, and improper monitoring of the project. Based on extensive research and literature review, the following aspects were arrived up on as the main attributes which make or break a project 1. Conflict among project Participants 2. Ignorance and lack of knowledge of the Engineers 3. Reluctance in Timely decision 4. Improper or Lack of formal scheduling techniques 5. Aggressive completion at tendering stage 6. Short Bid preparation time 7. Hostile Social and Economic Factors 8. Dispute resolution practices

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PHASE 1 Before visiting the construction sites to collect data, it was required to understand clearly the steps involved in the project implementation at NVDA. It was also required to discuss the relevance of the various attributes identified in Phase 0 with respect to the practices in NVDA. Detailed discussions were held with Engineers in Narmada Bhavan and CWC. Based on the discussions the results obtained in Phase 0 was further fine tuned and additions made. PHASE 2 A questionnaire was prepared on the basis of the attributes that was finalized in Phase 1 PHASE 3 Field visits were made to Sanawad, Indore and Jabalpur and documents available at site was studied to identify the reasons for delay in the specific projects. Also indepth interviews were conducted with the Engineers at site on the factors leading to delay. The extent of delay caused by the various attributes arrived in phase 1 was identified PHASE 4 Analysis of the data collected during field visit and the outcome of the indepth interview with the Engineers. The Method of analysis was to compare the best practices required for reducing the delay, and compare it with the practices within NVDA. The study does not focus on in-depth analysis of any particular project, but only identifies the practices in each of the 6 projects.

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OBSERVATIONS

S T A G E S I N V O LV E D P O S T AP P R O V A L O F TH E P R O J E C T B Y P L A N N I N G C O M M I S S I O N

Tendering Process Tender Preparation Tender Processing

Tender Award

Tender Signing

Contractor activities

Department Activities Work Order Issue Monitoring Work Progress Allocation of sufficient funds Approval of Schedules Levying of penalty in cases of non compliance

Survey

Alignment

Approvals

land Acquisition cases

Work Execution

FIGURE 1: VARIOUS ACTIVITIES F FROM TENDERING STAGE

No Schedule prepared by Department Engineers during or afte after r the Tender preparation Department engineers rely on contractors to prepare the schedule for the project. This lack of involvement is leading to failure in monitoring of the projects by the engineers and causing the delays. In the case of lower Goi, the i initial nitial schedule provided by the contractor was a quarterly schedule. It took 1.5 years for the department to alert contactor and notifies them that they were falling behind on schedule and warn them on levying penalty. A monthly recovery schedule was prepared red by the contractor, which was again approved by the department. Neither did these schedules have details on a weekly basis, nor did it specify the critical processes in the

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construction nor did it have the sequencing details of specific events in each month on a day to day, or atleast weekly basis. Schedule prepared by the contractor only name sake, and no strict adherence followed The schedule being prepared by the contractors are also not very uselful. These are mostly Quarterly schedules with no detailed specification of work provided. It also fails in providing the sequencing of activities nor does it provide information on the critical aspects of the project. The schedule also does not identify the amount of labourers that are required to complete each aspect of the project. Department Engineers not very well versed in Scheduling Techniques like CPM or PERT Department Engineer needs to be competent in these techniques for them to be able to review the schedules provided by the contactors, and also to be able to monitor the work. They will also need to identify areas where the contactor will not be able to perform as per the schedule and suggest changes in such cases. Complete lack of risk assessment processes in all the projects There are no formal risk assessment processes being followed in any of the projects. Any issue is taken up as and when it arises. Since NVDA only deals with the construction of dams and canals it would be fairly possible to develop a risk assessment guideline for all the projects of NVDA. The formation of such a guideline is out of the scope of this study due to time limitations. However if the various risks like, land acquisition cases, risk due to adverse climatic conditions, non-availability of raw materials etc are brought under a risk assessment framework, a better management of such issues will be possible. Also it will help in having a formal issue resolution guideline when such events occur.

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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

TYPE OF CONTRACT ITEM RATE OR TURNKEY
Historically NVDA followed item rate type of contract in the construction of dams and canals. However recently, they have started following floating contract on the turnkey basis. While contracts on turnkey basis have its inherent advantages, it is not free of issues. Turn key based contracts shifts a lot of risks from the NVDA side to the contractor side. But it is required to be analyzed if such a shift in risk is beneficial for NVDA or detrimental to the project. A study conducted by J.R. Turner and S.J. Simister indicates a relationship between the uncertainty in projects deliverable and the best suited type of contract. An attempt is made to relate this study with the current projects undertaken by NVDA, and to analyze if the move to turnkey projects were desirable. The below graph indicates the relationship between the cost of managing different types of contract at different levels of uncertainty2

Cost of administering the product

Cost-Plus Contract Preferred Re-measurement Contract Turnkey Contract Preferred Uncertainty of the product
Cost of managing fixed price contract Cost of managing cost plus contract Cost of managing re-measurement contract

Project contract management and a theory of organization, J R Turner, S J Simister

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The graph clearly indicates that as the uncertainty of the product increases it is desirable to go for costplus type of contract, and turnkey or fixed price contract is best suited in cases when there is not much uncertainty in the end product. The study was further extended to include the effect of Uncertainty of process and Ability of client to contribute in the choice of contract. Below is a pictorial representation of the selection of contract types with all variables included Uncertainty of Product Lo Hi Uncertainty of the process Lo Re-measurement Lo Fixed price/Turn Key Hi Cost Plus Design and Build No research done Hi Hi Complexity Lo

Ability of Client to Contribute Fig. 2. Selection of contract types.3

Extending this research to the construction activity undertaken by NVDA, dams and canals are construction activities with very less uncertainty regarding the final product. The size, type and dimensions of the final product is known before hand, and there is no scope for any confusion at that end. However there is very high uncertainty in the process that needs to be followed in the construction process. It will vary from project to project depending on the actual site conditions and an array of other factors. The optimal process for one project might not turn out to be the best for another. Hence Fixed Price/Turn Key contracts would be the best suited for the projects undertaken by NVDA, which is inline with the current practice. One of the main features that Turnkey contracts bring along is the contractors freedom in designing the process best suited for delivering the product. Without providing this freedom to the contractor, turnkey products will turn out to be quite detrimental, and could only further aggravate the delay aspects. The contractor should be given the opportunity to gain from any innovative solutions that he comes up with.

Project contract management and a theory of organization, J R Turner, S J Simister

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However this does not mean free hand for the contractor to do as he wish. The progress of the construction still needs to be monitored constantly and verified to be in par with the schedule.

PROS AND CONS OF LOW BID CONTRACT

NVDA follows process of low bid contract for finalizing the agency for construction. The logic is quite simple. To maximize the value of the project, it needs to be executed in the lowest possible price and for this the owners tend to exploit the competition in the market to obtain the best price. However this approach as its disadvantages associated with it. One of the main flaws with this line of thought is that, it completely ignores the dependence of value of the project on the quality of work done, the timely delivery of the project and the ability to meet the needs of the users. Agencies in a struggle to win the contract, bid with the lowest possible amount to such an extent that, it becomes impossible for them to effectively complete the work. The end result is bad quality work, lower commitment levels and delayed works. This leads to increase in the amount of claims and legal actions that eat up valuable project time and money. One of the merits of the process being followed by NVDA is the pre-qualification process where strict guidelines have been put forward in selecting the agencies eligible in bidding process. However the process lacks in two aspects. No guidelines on the extent of minimum bid (% below the initial estimate) No restrictions on the level of subcontracting Every tender being invited needs to have a minimum bid amount which should be a % of the initial cost estimate of the project. If there are bid with lower amount than this threshold amount, then the contractors must be required to establish how they would be completing the project within the bid amount. The Engineer in Charge for the project should have the authority to decide whether or not to award them the contract. He will be liable to verify the facts provided by the contactor, and certify that the contractor will be able to complete the project within the bid amount.

ISSUES WITH PROJECT SCHEDULING

There is failure in the part of Engineers in identifying the cause of delay in completing the project on time. 11 out of the 15 engineers who were interviewed claimed land acquisition delays as the primary reason or the delay of the project. However after analyzing the data available at site, it was clear that land acquisition was not the major reason for delay. While land acquisition cases did account minor delays, it

25

was not the predominant factor. Moreover in most cases such delays could have been avoided by better scheduling techniques and effective enforcement of such schedules.

BETTER SCHEDULING PRACTICES:

The first step in reducing the delay is to adopt an efficient and robust scheduling system. At present Quarterly schedules are being prepared for project, and in almost all cases, the role of department engineers in the preparation of such schedules are minimal. There needs to be a more active role by department engineers in the preparing of project schedules. The schedule needs to be prepared for each week. In case of lapse in the part of contractor in adhering to the schedule, for reasons attributable to either department or the contracting agency, or external factors, a fresh schedule needs to be prepared, detailing on how the lost time will be made up, or in case it cannot be made up, then what the new scheduled completion time will be. Critical Path Method (CPM) or PERT are two very popular methods that can be used for preparing such schedules. There are no guidelines from the department in the use of scheduling techniques and its application.

DEPARTMENT ENGINEERS PROFICIENCY IN SCHEDULING TECHNIQUES

One of the main reasons for delays in the construction of dams and canals has been due to the lack of adequate capacity in part of department engineers in various scheduling techniques. While almost everyone knew the purpose of CPM or PERT, very few could effectively apply it for arriving at a comprehensive schedule for the project. For effective monitoring of a project, scheduling to the least time interval is the best. However NVDA follows quarterly or in few rare cases monthly schedules. This clearly indicates an inadequate capacity in the part of engineers in the various scheduling techniques. Department engineers need to be provided training on the various scheduling techniques. While it is not essential to train them on the scheduling software, it will be useful if they are competent in such software.

None of the projects studied for this research had a schedule that was prepared by the Department. A few recent projects had schedule prepared by the consultants, but those were also not up to the mark. Preparation of schedule by the Department Engineer becomes all the more important when there are various contractors involved in the completion of a project and coordination between such parties is required. Listed below are few of the activities that needs to be included in the schedule created by the department engineer Obtaining permits, submittals for early procurement, and long lead time items. Mobilization and preliminary activities. Initial site work. 26

Specified work sequences, constraints, and milestones, including substantial completion. Major equipment design, fabrication, factory testing, and delivery. Delivery dates for department-furnished products. Site work, concrete, structural steel, architectural features, conveying systems, equipment installation, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and control, and interfaces with department furnished equipment. Equipment and system startup and testing. Final inspection and punch list. Project closeout and cleanup. Demobilization. Permitting and design activities. Procurement activities shall include: submittal and departmental review and approval

TYPES OF SCHEDULES TO BE PROVIDED BY THE CONTRACTOR

a. Preliminary Schedule Preliminary schedule is prepared by the contractor immediately after the issue of work order. This would detail the schedule of activities to be performed for the first few months (2 months normally). It will contain detail of work activities until the baseline schedule will get approved. This is done so that the contactor will have sufficient time to come up with the baseline schedule after finalizing the sub-contractors and planning the project in detail. The preliminary schedule should detail on the machinery and labour mobilization details, Land acquisition case submission schedules, site preparation schedules, contract mile stones, contract completion etc. Once the Contractor is ready with the preliminary schedule, a pre construction meeting has to be held with all the project stake holders, which includes contractors, department engineers, consultants, revenue officials and the district collector. Before the meeting is conducted, the schedules prepared by the contractor needs to be verified by the Engineer in Charge and any corrections required needs to be communicated to the contractor. The following points need to be verified while reviewing the schedule All contract-specified milestones: notice to proceed, interim milestones, non-work windows, substantial completion, and final completion. Specified work sequences. Specified Owner-furnished equipment delivery dates or activity durations.

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Specified submittal review times, except for early, critical materials that can be reviewed faster. A reasonable calendar for workdays, holidays, and expected non-work days for inclement weather.

The Schedule will then again be scrutinized during the pre-construction meeting and inputs from all the stake holders will be sought for. b. Baseline Schedule4 The Baseline Schedule is created by adding the remaining activities through to completion of the Preliminary Schedule. Upon acceptance, it is the official contract schedule, against which progress is measured, until replaced by a revised baseline as part of a global settlement of all changes up until that point. The Engineer in charge will have the final authority in accepting or rejecting the Baseline Schedule. The baseline schedule needs to be reviewed jointly by the Engineer and Charge and the contractor, so that any issues can be ironed out. c. Recovery Schedules and Narrative Reports5 If the project falls behind schedule more than 14 days or 10% of the remaining duration, whichever is less, for non-excusable delays or when requested by the Owner, the Contractor shall prepare a Recovery Schedule and Narrative Report that demonstrates how the lost time will be recovered. The Recovery Schedule will be subject to review and acceptance by the Engineer in Charge. Narrative reports should have a cover letter stating the name of the project, date submitted, reporting period, and name of the report author. Narrative reports for updates need include only new and revised activities and should include: The Contractors plan for management of the site (laydown, etc.), use of equipment, buildup of trade labour, and potential change proposals. A brief description of the more important critical and near-critical activities and how they will be accomplished Description of potential delays including their cause and steps to mitigate.

4 5

Pinnell/Busch Master Scheduling Specification Pinnell/Busch Master Scheduling Specification

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MILESTONES
Milestones are major events with zero days duration and mark the beginning or end of an important phase of the work. Except for contract-specified milestones the selection of milestones are up to the contractor. A reasonable number of additional milestones are helpful in tracking progress and the department should encourage the contractor to do so. All project schedules should have milestones for work order issue, substantial completion and final completion. If a project has critical interfaces with other contracts, the Owner should specify interim milestones with liquidated damages to avoid interfering with those other contracts and to inform the Contractor when certain areas will be available. Interim milestones can also be used to ensure that progress is adequate.

QUALIFICATIONS OF SCHEDULER AND CONTRACTOR STAFFING

The tender document should specify the Qualification required by the Scheduler at contractor end. For a medium sized project, the scheduler should have a minimum qualification of 3-4 years experience in scheduling projects of this magnitude. Unless the scheduler has sufficient experience with such large scale projects, he will not be able to come up with an efficient schedule for the project. Also care should be taken so that the contractor doesnt under staff the Scheduler post.

ALLOWABLE SOFTWARE FOR SCHEDULING

There needs to be clear guideline on the type of software that can be used by contractor for scheduling purpose. For the projects of magnitude undertaken by NVDA, MS Projects or Primavera would be a good candidate. Care should also be taken to make use of the latest version of the software so as to avoid any compatibility issues. Taking in to consideration the lack of competence in the part of department engineers in the use of such software, it is highly recommended to hire a consultant who is well versed with the use of such software.

PARTNERING
Partnering is a technique useful in reducing the time delays associated with almost all major construction projects. Partnering can be termed as a commitment between the owner, the consulting engineer and the contractors to avoid improve communication and avoid disputes by working together towards shared and common goals and objectives on a project. However this does not include relaxing the contract terms or circumventing the process to achieve quicker turnaround time. Past researches conducted on the use of

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partnering in construction projects indicate an average increase in profitability by 25% and a reduction in project completion time by 20%. Typical workshop agenda for partnering workshop typically includes6 Overview of partnering Project overview Project organization and lines of communication Team communication flows Goals for the project Key expectations and needs of each stakeholder group Identification of potential project challenges Develop strategies and action plans to address key challenges Develop an issue resolution process Partnering follow-up tools and methods Identify celebrations throughout the life of the project Select partnering champions from each major stakeholder group Develop partnering charter

The typical time frame when a partnering workshop of this nature will bear the best result would be just before the beginning of the project construction activities, or 1-3 weeks in to the beginning of the project. Not only will such an activity give clarity on the deliverables expected from each party, but it will also lead to better communication between the various stake holders, resulting in quicker problem resolutions and faster turnaround times. It is highly recommended for NVDA to adopt partnering technique in any one of its upcoming projects. Upper Narmada would be a good candidate to be a pilot project given that the Tendering process is only about to begin, and hence sufficient time would be available to finalize on the agency to conduct partnering workshop.

FORMAL RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Any major project should have a formal risk assessment exercise done before implementation of the project. This is a process by which the critical areas and processes in the project are identified, the possible issues and threats likely to develop during the course of the project is predicted and prioritizing the available resources for uninterrupted operation of such critical functions. If a detailed schedule has
6

Source: http://www.allanlowe.com/partnering.htm

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been prepared using CPM, then the critical processes in the project would already have been identified. There could be additional processes with high level of uncertainty which can be formulated based on the past experience of the engineers in the department. Given below is a 6 step risk assessment process developed by Critical Incident Protocol Community Facilitation of Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice.

Identify Functions and Processes List the separate functions and processes involved in implementing the project Determine Criticality Of the processes listed in Step #1, which are the most critical to the continual operation. The following definitions may be used as a general guide and should be modified to meet the requirements of each specific process or function: Critical necessary and/or vital. Will completely stop all work and delay the project completion Essential important but not critical. Disruption would cause difficulties and could lead to delays. Non-Essential disruption is merely inconvenient. Determine Recovery Time Determine the recovery time for each critical process listed in Step #2. In determining recovery time, consider the following: Time from loss or disruption of process to the point when continued disruption or loss is detrimental to the mission of the project; Special circumstances that may delay or prevent recovery actions, i.e., designation of an area as a tribal area, or presence of NBA activists Identify Threats Identify threats that may halt or disrupt each of the critical functions identified in Step #3. In identifying threats consider: Natural disasters (tornados, floods, severe weather); Human-caused events (workplace violence, terrorist attack, sabotage, critical information theft); Facility-related emergencies (hazardous materials, loss of utilities, proximity to other threats); Asset protection incidents (inadequate systems, untrained personnel); Machinery difficulties (lack of backup); 31

Employee-related problems (training, attitude, misconduct/grievances); Other events and incidents (nearby threats, political activities).

When assessing the various threats it is important to consider: 1. What can occur; 2. The damage it is likely to cause. Determine Vulnerability Determine which of the threats identified above have the greatest likelihood of disrupting or attacking each critical function. When assessing how vulnerable a process or function is to the various threats, it is important to consider: 1. How likely it is that a threat will occur; 2. How often a threat is likely to occur. The following descriptions are suggested as a guide: Highly Vulnerable Functions that are most likely to experience threat. Vulnerable may experience the threat or threat. Not Vulnerable not likely to experience the threat or threat. Select Action Plans Determine if there are appropriate plans and resources to address the threats that are most disruptive to the critical functions. It is imperative that these plans and capabilities are current and adequate. If gaps or shortcomings are discovered, determine: What do I have and what do I need? Solution areas include: o Planning. o Organization. o Facilities o Equipment. o Training. o Exercising. Can the issues be addressed using available company personnel and resources or will outside personnel and/or resources be required of other businesses and/or public organizations? If solutions require coordination with public agencies, do the businesses and public agencies involved need to develop or enhance a public-private partnership? Developing a risk assessment process for the projects under NVDA was outside the purview of this research owing the lack of time. Hence only the lack of such a process is being pointed out here, and a framework is being provided. It is strongly recommended to develop a Risk Assessment Process for the construction of Dams and Canals being implemented by NVDA. 32

MONITORING THE PROGRESS OF WORK

Along with better scheduling practices, it is also required to have a better monitoring for the project. In almost all cases, department waited a minimum of 2-3 months before intimating the contractor on the delay on part of him in executing the project. However along with developing a weekly schedule, the department should also monitor the progress of the project on a weekly basis confirming it to be in line with schedule. In case it finds any deviations from the schedule, then the contractor needs to be intimated immediately and recovery schedule for lost time need to be come up with. For department engineer to be able to do this they need to be well competent in scheduling techniques and hence proper training is very important. Department Engineers should independently verify the actual start and finish dates. Contractors sometimes fail to report the correct date, and sometimes misreport dates in order to hide their delays or set up for a claim. Department Engineers also need to remember that the percent remaining times the original duration is not necessarily the same as the days remaining. Therefore a mere comparison of the percentage of work completed against the percentage of time elapsed is not an appropriate method to evaluate whether the project is within schedule or not. However, in almost all projects in NVDA, this is the method that is used to verify the delay of the project. The actual comparison has to be with respect to the baseline schedule prepared during the commencement of the project. The Contractor should also submit a daily field report. The report shall include, but not limited to: Weather: rainfall, high and low temperatures during working day, wind or other environmental factor, and the impact. List of the general contractors separate crews, the size of the crews, and activities performed. List of subcontractors on the site, their crew size, and activities performed Total number of personnel working on site. List of equipment on site and used. Start and finish dates of network activities and milestones. Extra work being performed. Delays, disruptions, and loss of efficiency with the reason. Meetings, conversations with owner, designer, or other party. Accidents and unusual events. Meetings

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The daily field reports may be vital in analyzing time extension requests and claims for delay, acceleration and impact. They should be reviewed at least weekly, to identify developing delays and other problems, so that prompt corrective action can be taken. There could be two possible kinds of delays that arise. Minor delays of less than a week, which can be made up by the contractor in the course of work. Major Delays of more than 2 weeks In the case of Major delays, the contractor will be required to submit a recovery schedule which needs to be accepted by the Engineer in Charge. The recovery schedule should clearly specify how the contractor will make up for the lost time, by means of increasing crew size and machineries. Care should be taken by the contractor to ensure that he is not siphoning of labour from other critical processes to speed up the work in this specific process.

INTERMITTENT PROGRESS AND PACING FOR DELAYS

Intermittent progress is when contractors reduce their crew size or pull a crew off of an activity, in order to perform other work on this project or another. This isnt normally a problem on non-critical activities but should not happen on the critical path. Owners need to record the crew size and note fluctuations in the crew size, in case there is a later claim for impact, as a smaller crew size may be the reason for activities taking longer than planned. Pacing occurs when there is an unavoidable delay to the critical path and the contractor reduces the crew size or shifts workers off of previously critical activities in order to avoid completing all available work for a specified trade and having to disband the crew. That would result in later inefficiencies as the personnel may not be available later and a reconstituted crew would start with a lower efficiency than the current crew. Contractors need to notify Owners when they are pacing previously critical path activities, to avoid later charges of concurrent delay. The contractor needs to strictly get the acceptance of the Engineer in Charge before pacing reducing the crew size. The Department Engineer on the other hand should try and identify other processes in the critical path where this extra crew can be accommodated. Once the cause of delay in the original activity is rectified, then the crew can be pulled back to the original work. This normally happens when there is obstruction to the construction by the inhabitants of the village, who oppose the construction of dams and canals. In such instances, the contractor will be forced to reduce the crew size so as to minimize the loss due to idling of crew.

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ISSUES WITH SUB-CONTACTING

NVDA has detailed guidelines for pre-qualification of Contractors. However there is no such guideline available when the contractor decides to let out the work to sub-contractors. While it is true that its the contractors responsibility to adhere to the schedule and the quality aspects of the project, irrespective of subcontracting the work, there is an inherent flaw in this logic. When strict pre-qualification has been done during the tendering stage to make sure that only the capable contractors is awarded the contract, the later subcontracting by the agency to below par agencies undermines this whole purpose. Even though the main contractor requires the consent of the Engineer in charge before appointing any subcontractor, the lack of any formal guidelines in evaluating such subcontracting agencies could lead to below par agencies being part of the project. Also, the little guidelines available can be easily circumvented to the advantage of the contractors. For instance, in-spite of clear guidelines that the work cannot be assigned to a different agency but only subcontracted in specific cases where the subcontracting agency has competence in the specific activity. However in case of Phase 3 of Omkareswar project, even though an initial attempt by the Main contractor to assign part of the work to a different agency was rejected by the department, however later on work was assigned to the same contractor but this time, rather than directly assigning the section of work to the agency, all the different individual aspects of the construction activity was sub contracted to them, and this was approved by the department. This is clearly assigning the work to the agency, but under the pretext of subcontracting individual construction activities. Few of the areas where crisp guidelines are required are Limiting the number levels of sub-contracting Better qualification criterion for sub-contractors

Approve sub-contracting only if the agency is found to have superior expertise in the specific activity, and only sub-contract the specific activity. It is also important that the sub-contractors are aware of the schedule being committed by the Main contractor, so that sub-contractors are not forced to accelerate owing to un-realistic schedule that they were not aware of. It is a good practice to get the written agreement from the sub contractors regarding the schedule that they are required to follow, so as to avoid any claims or cost over runs towards the later stage.

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OTHER ISSUES
1. Staffing Issues For effective monitoring of any project, it is required for adequate staffing of the project, and in certain cases over staffing is desirable. However there is a shortage of engineers being staffed in a project which is leading to in-effective monitoring of the project. A review of the staff position in Upper Narmada project was performed and was found to be understaffed. There is not only a need to fill these vacant posts for effective monitoring of the work, but the recruitment should be done in a manner which attracts candidates who are proficient in the latest construction management techniques. 2. Use of consulting agency and strict monitoring of work While NVDA has begun employing the use of consultants for monitoring the progress and quality of work done by the contractors, but there is a need to better scrutinize and monitor the work done by consultants. In the case of Lower Goi, it was observed that the schedule being prepared was on quarterly basis, and only monthly review of the projects was being performed. There was also no risk assessment process being done by the consultant. Though employing consultant is a desirable aspect in effective monitoring and controlling the project and is helpful in reducing the work load on the Department Engineers, strict guidelines needs to be enforced on the nature and quality of work being done by the consultants and the department engineers should monitor the work being done by the consultants. There is also a need for stricter prequalification criteria while selecting the consultants, so as to ensure prior experience of the consultants in work of similar nature, and also to make sure that engineers being employed by the consultants are competent enough in construction management and monitoring project of such large scale. 3. Proactive Decision making by the engineers All the recommendations provided above rely heavily on the active participation of the Department engineers. On the one hand, engineers should actively monitor the progress of the work and at the same time they should be proactive in taking action against contractors who falter in adhering to the schedule. Engineers should be able to identify delays early on, and take corrective action to bring it back on schedule. This would also require effective enforcement of authority endowed up on the engineers. For instance, when an Engineer in Charge can take action for non compliance with the schedule, the same need not be referred to Chief Engineer for action, and un-necessarily cause delays. The Engineer in Charge needs to be proactive in taking such actions and enforcing his authorities. 36

4. Lack of motivation among Engineers Contactors and consultants enjoy incentives for the early completion of the project. The department gain in the form of overall cost savings and early revenue generation. But there is no such motivation for the Department engineers. With the exception of few self-motivated personals, there is a serious lack of motivation among the engineers in working towards completing the project on time, if not ahead of schedule. Exceptional work in a project by any engineers needs to be acknowledged and some form of recognition needs to be awarded for the Engineer. 5. Short Bid preparation time In-order to gain time for execution, it is observed that bid preparation time is kept to the minimum. Ideally reasonable time should be allowed for proper site investigation, and collection of relevant details required for estimation purpose. The short bid preparation time leads to a number of errors and omission on the part of the contractor which they try to settle through claims, leading to disputes and schedule over runs. Almost during all the recent tenders that were invited by NVDA, contractors had requested for time extension for extension of last submission date. These requests were even made by construction giants like HCC, Gammon India, L&T etc. However in almost all cases, such requests were denied forcing good companies to not submitting the bid, thus reducing the competition during bidding.

Most of the recent tenders from NVDA are being invited based on turnkey basis. In any turnkey project, the contractor shares a major portion of the construction risk. Hence it calls for a detailed site investigation from the part of the contractor before he can arrive at a bid amount. However except for Omkareswar, NVDA has refused to extend the Bid submission time, in-spite of repeated request from multiple agencies including HCC and L&T. This has led to many such agencies staying away from bidding and in turn leading to lesser competition in the bidding process. In addition, short bid preparation time could also lead to under bidding by the contractor, due to improper site investigation. Once the contractor realizes that it will not be possible to complete the project under the bid amount, the construction progress will begin to slack and will finally end in huge delays and work with lower quality. So it is best in the interest of both NVDA and the contractor that sufficient time is provided for them to perform site investigation. A period of 2 months would be appropriate for the contactor to perform site investigation and come up with a competitive bid.

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6. Huge Mobilization advance paid even before beginning the construction activity When there is provision to make payment in the form of Machinery advance for any expenditure incurred by the contractor in procuring machineries there is no need for a separate provision for an interest free Mobilization advance, which is 10% of the total project cost. Not only does this practice encourage under qualified contractors to take part in the bidding, but it also aggravates the issue of delay in the construction. Once the interest free payment is made to contractors, it is pure business logic to extend the period of time till which they are able to hold on to such a payment so as to maximize their profit. For this reason, they will come up with reasons for the non-performance from their side, and try to get extension as much as possible. On the other hand, if the initial interest free payment is not made, then the contractors have all the more reason to complete the work as per schedule and claim the payment. If it is required to make the payment to contractors then it is advisable to provide it to them at the prevailing market interest rates, so that they do not make any 7. Delay in obtaining the design from CWC This issue is being faced by Upper Narmada project, were CWC has not yet provided the design for dams and canals. While the primary reason for this is due to the failure in part of department in providing the soil investigation results, the base reason is that there is only one soil testing institute being approved by CWC and they are not in a position to provide the results rapidly. So the main bottle neck here is the lack in CWC approved soil testing institutes. It is recommended to have a list of soil testing institutes across India approved by CWC so that the department can allot the work to the institute which will be able to provide results in the lowest possible time 8. Land Acquisition issues This had been one of the most frequently cited reasons for delay by departmental engineers. There had been instances where the construction was delayed due to the agitation by the local population and the issues with land acquisition due to which the complete work came to a halt. NVDAs move to turnkey contracts, under which the responsibility of preparing land acquisition cases got transferred to the contractor, has relieved the department from the delay arising out of this reason. However keeping in mind the greater good of the whole project, it would be advisable for NVDA to acquire the land required for dam seat. This is make sure that once the construction work starts, until the baseline survey is prepared, the contractors work does not get stopped completely. 9. Detailed review and documentation After each phase of a project is completed, a review of the progress along with the issues faced during the implementation is necessary. It will form as a basis for learning and innovations that 38

can help in better implementation of future projects. The fact that, it is required to go through almost 300-400 pages of general correspondence , which is available only at a particular site office, to get information on aspects of a project is a serious concern and a detrimental factor in passing on the learning from implementing a project to the new projects. There is also a serious need for better documentation from department engineers on the tacit knowledge and major incidents during the course of implementing a project.

CONCLUSION
The main reason for the delay in projects being implemented by NVDA is due to the lack of a robust and efficient scheduling technique. The inadequate capacity in the part of engineers in preparing and reviewing such schedules, and in monitoring the progress of the work based on such schedule is a major concern and needs to be addressed if any improvement in the project timelines needs to be obtained. A short training for the department engineers on the various scheduling techniques like CPM, PERT etc needs to be taken up. The monitoring mechanism at NVDA also needs to be improved by monitoring the progress every week, and in case the project falls behind schedule by more than 2 weeks, then a revised schedule to be requested from the contractor detailing on how he plans to complete the project in stipulated time. The quality of schedules provided by contactor also needs to be improved from a mere formality document to an effective document detailing on each and every aspect of the project including the sequencing of processes.

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SCOPE FOR FUTURE WORK

A framework for the risk assessment process has been provided as part of this study. However the specific aspects of the process for NVDA were out of the scope of this study due to lack of time. It is recommended to further study on the risk assessment processes for projects undertaken by NVDA and in preparing a formal guideline for the same.

While there is certainly a need for improving the scheduling practices with in NVDA, at the same time the same should not be overdone. This might lead to contractors staying away from the bidding process resulting in lesser competition. A future survey among the major bidding contractors for NVDA to determine their expectation on the scheduling processes will help NVDA in arriving at an effective scheduling guideline.

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APPENDIX:

DETAILS ON HALON PROJECT

Construction Schedule for Halon S.No. 1 2 3 4 5 Year up to 3/10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 % Proposed to be completed 0.5 21.72 24.14 24.14 29.5 Cumulative % 0.5 22.22 46.36 70.5 100

Activity Clearance of R&R Plan In Principle Approval for diversion of forest land Environmental Clearance Approval from Ministry of Water Resources Investment Clearance

Date 25/01/2007 20/12/2007 04/01/2010 12/05/2010 15/04/2011

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DETAILS ON UPPER BEDA PROJECT

Activity Investment Clearance Administrative Approval NIT Sale Begin Sale End Last date for submission Pre Tender Conference Bid Opening Work Order Issue

Date 10/09/1998 01/05/2001 11/05/2003 05/06/2003 18/06/2003 19/06/2003 12/06/2003 18/08/2003 01/10/2003

Time Based incidents post issue of Work Order Incident Work Order Issued to Gurmeet Singh and Co GS complaints about no Department Engineer present at site GS Points out delay in payment to be made for acquired land Detailed land acquisition status prepared GS informs Department on the following issues No Bench mark and boundary pillars erected nor precommencement joint levels taken SE not visited the site even once EE visited only once Agitation issues 2.5 Acre camp land provided Letter to collector for discussion on the issue of agitations Begin working of central line and boundary pillars Protestors obstruct the work and manhandle engineers Discussion with Collector Work still at stand still with no progress Letter from GS to SE, pointing out that, even if the demarcation work is started now, monsoon will delay the progress Entry to dam site made Center Line marked Date 01/10/2003 22/12/2003 26/12/2003 29/12/2003 08/01/2004

19/01/2004 20/02/2004 18/02/2004 20/02/2004 24/02/2004 15/03/2004 29/03/2004 23/05/2004 30/05/2004

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Following issues pointed to CE No construction drawing issues Borrow area of land not yet available Land Acquisition of last 7 villages not complete Trial pits yet to complete Following Concerns raised by GS Scope of work revised Change in design Payments getting abnormally delayed First drawing of L.S.Regulator obtained on 24-04-2006, 31 months after issue of work order Issue of non availability of land pointed out by GS Notifies the following to CE Increased the speed of construction Escalation provided by department not inline with increase in cost or raw materials Following concerns raised by GS Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, Settlement - 9 months to possess few land Drawing o Masonry Dam - 04/11/2004 o Earth Dam - 01/01/2005 o Under Sluice - 20/04/2006 Incumbency - Change of office in the last 36 months o Chief Engineer - 6 times o SE - 6 times o EE - 5 times Abnormal escalation

30/05/2004

30/03/2007

06/04/2006 03/06/2006

Consideration of request for time extension 79% progress 93% completed 4th time extension till 30/06 2010 Work Completed

31/10/2006 31/03/2007 20/10/2008 10/04/2009 25/05/2010

DETAILS ON OMKARESWAR PROJECT

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Activities Administrative Approval R & R Clearance Environmental Clearance Forest Clearance Approval of CEA Clearance from CWC Clearance by NCA Revised Administrative Approval Investment Clearance from Planning Commission Clearance for revised cost by CWC Clearance by TAC, CWC, GoI

Date 20/08/1991 08/10/1993 13/10/1993 05/11/1993 11/11/1993 18/11/1993 01/09/1994 17/06/1996 15/05/2001 15/07/2009 05/09/2009

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DETAILS ON LOWER GOI

Activities Environmental Clearnace R&R Clearance Investment Clearance TAC Clearance Administrative Approval NIT Sale Begin Sale End Bid Opening date Price Bid opening date WO issue Completion Time

Date 17/01/2008 05/03/2008 02/08/2008 28/07/2008 26/09/2008 22/08/2008 15/09/2008 25/09/2008 26/09/2008 20/10/2008 21/11/2008 48 Months

Time Based incidents post Investment clearance Incident NIT Sale Begin Sale End Gammon India, HCC and 6 other contractors requested for extension Bid Opening date Price Bid opening date WO issue to IVRCL 10% Mobilisation advance granted Letter from SE demanding immediate action Letter from CE as work not started yet Letter from SE requesting MIS every month Letter from CE requesting utilization certificate of paid mobilization Letter from SE requesting MIS Reply from IVRCL on activities done and mobilization advance utilization IVRCL points out land acquisition issues Letter from SE asking for balance land acquisition proposals Date 22/08/2008 15/09/2008 25/09/2008 26/09/2008 20/10/2008 21/11/2008 18/02/2009 27/06/2009 03/07/2009 14/07/2009 21/07/2009 27/08/2009 28/08/2009 20/12/2009 06/01/2010

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Review done by consultancy in the progress of the work First six Months (30-03-09 to 30-09-09) Target Achieved Short fall 434.45 Lacs 147.31 Lacs 288.14 Lacs

Second Six Months (30/09/09 to 31/03/10) Target 2675.8 Lacs Achieved 1231.18 Lacs Short fall 1444.62 Lacs

Only 17% work completed till 31/03/11

46

DETAILS ON ISP PROJECT

Time Based incidents post Planning Commission approval Incident NIT Sale Begin Sale End Last date for submission Pre Tender Conference Bid Opening Work Order Issue to IVRCL Letter for payment of mobilization fee CE inquest about the reason for no project activity IVRCL raises issue with non availability of fuel Advance granted for purchasing machinery Land acquisition activities Stay order from HC suspending excavation work of canal CE Request for schedule for completion of project by 27-03-2012 Stay lifter after 253 days Following concerns raised by IVRCS Payments not yet made Forest clearance not yet obtained Land acquisition beyond RD 181km not done NHAI demands 262 Lakhs for construction of crossing of canal of NH3 EE approves the payment Letter from NHAI stating that the amount has not been received Part payment of 50 Lakhs made to NHAI Meeting of project coordination committee Reviews the work completed during the time sep-08 to feb-09 Only 38.4% of the schedule work has been completed. Second Installment of 2.1 crores to NHAI NHAI request for submission of undertaking and deed Time extension of 271 days granted IVRCL request for issue of fresh NOC from BP Limited SE instructs EE to deduct 40% of penalty amount from work done IVRCL - Penalty not acceptable Date 24/12/2007 01/01/2008 01/02/2008 01/02/2008 11/02/2008 28/02/2008 29/02/2008 19/05/2008 19/09/2008 16/09/2008 31/07/2009 09/09/2009 08/04/2010 09/03/2010 15/03/2010

12/04/2010 23/04/2010 12/05/2010 19/05/2010 30/06/2010

12/07/2010 13/07/2010 13/07/2010 25/11/2010 08/03/2011 31/03/2011

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Following observations made by SE Excuse of hilly terrain not accepatable as the contractor should have surveyed bfore bidding Govt Land of 4.5 km provided. Entire pvt land provided from Jan 09 to Mar 09 Out of 46 Km only 4 Km held in want of clearance from forest Excuse of monsoon is not acceptable

29/03/2011

8.46 crores deducted from running bill

30/03/2011

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QUESTIONNAIRE
Hostile socio economic and climatic conditions Had there been instances were adverse climatic conditions caused delay in the project? Had there been instances were adverse social conditions caused delay in the project? Had there been instances were adverse political conditions caused delay in the project? Presence of poor project specific attributes and non existence of cooperation Were there instances of conflicts between the contractors and the department? Has this project been unique in any way, from the other projects being implemented by NVDA? How often is budget updates prepared for the project? Is there a lack of authority to take decisions on the day to day activities which could lead to delay? Could project formulation in the beginning be a probable cause for future delays? Aggressive competition at bidding stage Do you think aggressive bidding has caused delay in any aspect of the project implementation Is there a need for stricter guidelines for screening participants in low-bid contracts Has there been specific instances where the contractor failed to perform because of low bid amount? Have such instances lead to disputes and what was the outcome? What was the bid preparation time Do you think this was adequate? Was the contractors given an opportunity to make a detailed site study before bidding Was land acquired before bidding was opened so that contractors could perform an effective site study? Conflict among project participants Labour strikes Vested interest in not completing the project in time Land Acquisition problems, Farmers agitation, NBA agitations Environmental issues Miscellaneous Has the contract been awarded before land acquisition Were utilities shifted during the construction phase? Incentives for contractor if he completes on time Scheduling What ar the scheduling processes normally followed Are you satisfied with your scheduling specifications? Do your specs require CPM for projects Do your specifications require monthly updates? Do your specifications require monthly narrative reports? Do your specifications require time impact analyses? 49

Has funds been made available in a timely fashion Has the department reviewed the scheduling of procurement of machinery and material Does the contract deals with failure in adherence to these scheduling aspects?

Owner Evaluation of Contractor Scheduling Practices* Do your contractors submit monthly updates? Do you carefully review the schedule updates? When delayed, do your contractors provide recovery schedules? Do your contractors generally finish on time? What Type of Contract Results in Fewer Delays and Schedule-Related Claims? Are owner representatives fully trained in scheduling? Do they meet with the contractor to review schedules Do they fully enforce the scheduling specifications? Do they keep detailed records of progress and delays? Owner View of Their Owner Representatives Response Time to Contractor RFIs and Questions Do they respond timely and reasonably? Risk Management Do you follow Risk Management Processes? Owner Best Practices to Reduce Delays and Schedule-Related Claims (Five Point Scale) Better design with fewer errors and omissions Constructability reviews and other contractor input Different contracts than low bid (e.g. CM, design/build, etc.) Better scheduling by general contractors Partnering, timely payment, better communication, etc. Better schedule input and fewer delays by subcontractors Stricter prequalification of contractors while tendering and limitation on the extent of low bids Stricter enforcement of scheduling specifications Better scheduling specifications Schedule training for construction managers and/or contractors Recordkeeping and contract administration Better general conditions that distribute risk fairly to all parties Better general conditions that protect the owner from claims Other Contractual changes Had there been contractual changes in the middle of the project?

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What was the reason for such changes? Scope Changes Design Errors Differing Site Conditions Owner Delays & Impact Estimated Qty Too Low Contractor Errors Weather and Other What had been the extent of such contractual changes? (As a percentage of the total project size) Dispute resolution practices What are the dispute resolution practice being followed Claim Litigation Arbitration Negotiation Terms and Guidelines in the contract General condidtions in the contract appropriate? The clause of final and binding power appropriate?

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FIGURE 2 MAP OF NARMADA BASIN

`FIGURE 3: MAP OF ISP AND OSP

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Steven S. Pinnell (2005), Risk Assessment and Best Practices in Scheduling J Rodney Turnera and Stephen J Simisterb, Project contract management and a theory of organization K.C. Iyer a, K.N. Jha b (2004), Factors affecting cost performance: evidence from Indian construction projects Ram Singh (2009), Delays and Cost Overruns in Infrastructure Projects: An Enquiry into Extents, Causes and Remedies Allan Lowe & Associates Inc(nd), Construction Partnering retrieved on 27-04-2011 from http://www.allanlowe.com/partnering.htm Anna Klemetti (2006), Risk Management in Construction Project Networks K V Gopakumar, Study for Expeditious Processing of Environment Clearances for Projects of Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA)