The Role of Technology in Infrastructure

There was a time when punching machines were looked upon as cutting edge technology but now with the electronic bar code scanners the use of technology in infrastructure has progressed immeasurably. At that time technology was made up mainly of mechanical equipment that required continual supervision by humans and tended to be unreliable when at its best. Today infrastructure technology has undergone total automation and that has become the standard. Greater efficiencies and savings in cost for companies that employ these technologies have come about. A main role is played by IT in infrastructure for tomorrow's work spot which is becoming more automated than ever.

As today's scenario is extremely competitive infrastructure needs to be streamlined and standardized for the way in which applications, business  processes and services are delivered. The realization has come to several companies that this key aspect of their business is an important contributor to their operations costs. Therefore technology in infrastructure is no more a luxury but an essential part of it because it accomplishes reduction in cost.

This realization has a classic example in the introduction of building automation systems that totally control and monitor different processes in the building. All that an employee needs to do is to swipe his ID card and the system registers his presence. From then on everything from the switching on of the corridor lights to the AC in the workplace happens automatically. Changes in the workspace are monitored by motion and heat sensors and lights and other electrical appliances are automatically switched off when not in use. At least 12-15 per cent of the utilized power is saved as a direct result in a big organization of over 60 people. Reduction in maintenance costs and reduced pollution are some of the other benefits that ensue from these systems.

The increasing adoption of automated workplace management tools is another example of IT in infrastructure management. Employees in a typical large organization are always moving as they join new groups and projects going to new stages of responsibility. The space manager traditionally would go to the desk location, make an entry in the security register, inspect the workstation and give the keys of the work spot to the employee. In the same way the telecom person would allot a phone and the IT team would allot a computer to him. Through this process 4-5 assignments could be done in a day by one person. The need for creating a more efficient solution to deal with this task caused the evolution of automated work- place management tools or asset management software. Facility managers would be helped by these tools to automate an interactive floor map and assign the employees to it with their equipment. The use of such a solution was reduced by many user-friendly features. With the coming of this a single person is now able to finish about 20 relocations in a day. The FM is enabled by extra value added features to give valuable information that could be used to forecast future trends and plans according to it. Flawless integration with other systems and databases such as Building Automation Systems and HR database improve its functionality. 

Another thrilling new development that has made the transition from theory to reality is Biometrics. This technology has already been taken up by big US companies for protecting information that is critical to the mission from unauthorized personnel. Server rooms and such areas that are crucial to global operations can be accessed only through following stringent security protocols including retinal scan and different biometric tools. 

Information technology is not the only technology involved in infrastructure. From mechanical to architectural, a wide variety of other disciplines are encompassed by it. New trends that could save facility managers another rupee and also contribute to the workplace are continually being looked out. As long as these two goals are accomplished they would gladly adopt any solution. 

To illustrate how other disciplines are used by facility managers a good example is the shift from the 'dedicated spaces' concept to the 'flexible office space' concept. Following the technique of allotting dedicated spaces the company would have to assign an employee with his own workspace, canteen space and dedicated meeting rooms to tackle his needs. Around 30-35 per cent more space than necessary would be used by the company by going according to this process. This is something the company can do without seeing the cost of real estate.

Architectural precepts are utilized by the flexible workplace idea to reduce these costs by decreasing the activity space needed for employees. The use of flexible furni- ture and wiring together with the idea of reserving space is advocated by the concept (the employee has to reserve his space-workspace, canteen space or meeting rooms before he wants to use them in a given period of time) to reduce needed activity space. The success of this concept is further augmented by new technologies such as wireless networking.

Other ideas such as layered enclosures with dynamic light- direction louvers and high visibility glass have assisted in the optimal use of daylight through out the year that has resulted 10 more cost savings. 

A significant reduction in their costs is being achieved by organizations with the help of technology but they need to emphasize the fact that technology is not a solution for all ills. A company needs to fully assess the need for such solutions before investing money in new technology. If they do not do these little will be done by technology to reduce costs and it may be increased instead. The need must first be studied by the companies and then the relevant solutions should be adopted to tackle that requirement to utilize infrastructure technology in an effective manner. If space pooling is the right approach, for instance then it may not be useful to spend on space reservation tools and then get GSM/IP converged gadgets to provide flexibility to the employees. 

At times a simple method such as employing one key receptionist with mobile phone/s who can take calls from anyone, anytime and confirm a space to the requestor by looking at her spread sheet, is a more affordable and flexible answer. 

The usual workplace is being reshaped by the evolution of technology. Technology is playing a much greater role from reducing costs to making our offices more comfortable. The advantages gained by using technology rightly outweigh the costs incurred in getting it. The imperceptible advantages of taking up technology besides cost, like employee comfort and productivity are all in its favor. Before long you may be going to work and getting a retinal scan and having the system take care of all your needs.

Marketing In Building Materials Industry

In building trade launching of new product was not frequent as in other sectors e.g. Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Industrial products in the early part of the last century. However, for the past three decades the number of new products being launched is on the increase; because of the technological revolution in raw materials and change in consumer tastes. Some example are UPVC pipes, medium Density, fiber Density, Fiber Boards, RIBCON, copper pipes in plumbing, fibers such as Recron 3S. The importance of adopting innovative marketing techniques is being realized increasingly by the building material manufacturers. 

Unfortunately not much literature or Indian cases are available from which some guidance. Most of the marketing literature available in the country has been on FMCG. A Little bit of write-up exists on Industrial products. But in the building materials area it is as good as nothing. The reasons are not difficult to guess. For a long time there existed a number of factors in the country, which did not force the manufacturers and the suppliers to feel the need for marketing. First and the foremost is that at the beginning of last century, there was practically no middle class.

 There were a few rich and the rest were poor with low or no purchasing power. The middle class which was 3 percent of the population in 1900 had reached 20% by the year 2000. Most of the materials used in construction were local materials except for steel and cement. Both steel and cement as indigenously manufactured products appeared on the scene around 1920s. Throughout the four decades of independence, steel and cement were in severe shortage. 

Hence, there distribution was placed under control. An ordinary consumer had to move form pillar to post to get a few bags of cement or a few bundles of steel. Even for urgent defence requirement one had to beg quotas and releases from controller of cement and joint plant committee. Cement marketing association of India and some bigger companies did issue some advertisements and distributed some technical literature amount professional before 50s. This activity was curtailed after the introduction of controls.

SAIL and TISCO did issue some advertisements but they were more in terms of messages of patriotism and their participation in social issues. In fact, I remember TISCO signature statement in those days were "We also make Steel." As the price was fixed by the Government on considerations other than the cost of production there was little enthusiasm to improve the products. Cement companies did not go beyond manufacture of 33 grade, the technology imported in thirties. Steel had very little of new products.

In fact steel companies concentrated in hiving of activities such as rolling, etc. to small companies to minimize the problem of managing labour and the militant unions. The rest of the building materials manufacturers also followed suit. I remember it was almost impossible to get a decent sanitary fitting other than drab pale yellow earthenware closets and basins. 

The local materials suppliers were small players and scientific marketing was beyond their comprehension. In the wake of opening of the Indian market to global players, new challenges will emerge. The question is whether the indigenous players will throw down the gauntlet and fight or throw in the towel and make hasty retreat. The challenges could be import of more advanced manufactured materials or setting up wholly owned subsidiaries,

manufacture more sophisticated materials under license and sell.

In both the cases the loss will be to the local entrepreneurs. Construction though a service sector, is arge market. One ADB estimate projects $ 1 million as the investment requirement of power and highway sector for India and China. In the housing too there is a shortage of 40 million units and if we take that around 15% of it in the category of high and middle income group, housing market for the building materials is large. Then there is repair and renewal market. 

Service sector is different from manufacturing, because it demands quality, better service and more unique customerisation (variability to suit a customer) Value addition and unique packaging for one self is what a customer looks for unlike standardised assembly line approach. 

In housing the customer has added requirement of long life, durability, ease of maintenance and repair. The customer perception is that house is built forever. Nothing which is incorporated is of the "Use and Throw" variety.    On what doctrine shall the building material manufacturer devise his marketing strategy? The oft quoted Marketing Mantra by which the marketing executives swear is the "4 P's" which is attributed to the famous marketing duo Jerry Me Carthy and Phillips Kotler, Viz.,

Product Price Place Promotion (Channel) This Mantra has withstood the advances in marketing science for over 3 decades when it was first enunciated.

Recently a new mantra has gained popularity attributed to Prof. R.Lauterborn of University of California and it goes by the name 4 Cs., Viz., Customer wants (study) Convenience to buy Cost to satisfy Communication Again some studies done in service

sector abroad indicated that a service industry has better chance to prosper if it Fulfills the customer needs fully Technology savvy Develop an active service of value, quality and service of sales and It is self powered. 

To me all these later statements are attempts to put old wine in a new bottle. What they bring out is that customer is the king. Find out his requirement, taste, purse and the value for money he expects. Catch his eyes and attention by whatever media he looks at. But my 3 decades of experience in the industry mainly as a user makes me believe that many entrepreneurs miss these gut sense parameters. The first and the foremost is to identify who is your customer. 

I shall illustrate with an example borne out of my experience. After the end of control regime on cement, I had suggested to some business executives of the companies, in one of those glittering cocktail parties which they host for architects and engineers that there is vast market outside the usual places like DGS & D, Government Departments, architects and that the market comprises of Individual home builders which has remained under exploited.

But it took us good 3 years to make one company devote a part of the time and budget to this market. Once it tasted success, it is now going whole hog to customer with holding one day awareness programme offering technical advice, lab facility, etc. Now, some of the other companies have also followed suit. Market research in this area comes naturally to MNCs. First Newsflash I heard about Lafarge, a MNC entering the market in East India was the opening of a state of the art display show room for the Indian show room equipped with material necessary to guide him in building a house for himself.

They also came up with a web display. The other important point is the channel and promotion. What is the channel and where is it. Many building material manufacturers think that technical journals are the channels of promotion. Some may make an occasional foray into the newspapers. We always thought the best channels of promotion for the materials are the mastery and humble mason (Plumber, etc). But when we say this, not many are the takers. In the mid seventies a new company in Faridabad, I think came up for the manufacture of UPVC pipes which was to be promoted as cheaper, easier to lay and neater alternative to GI pipes.

This pipe was to be joined with an adhesive. The company, I found, was not clear about the accessories and how they will be joined to the pipe. A top executive contacted me and explained the virtues of the new product and its extensive use abroad. I asked him about the Indian experience in which he was circumspect.      I found his main purpose was to find ways and means of getting in to the approved list of the department. I told him that one could look into that aspect if he undertakes to lay the pipe in a few of the residential quarters of a get a fair report from the users. The executive declined to take this suggestion with the plea that they are manufacturers and not a contracting firm. 

There ended our meeting. A couple of years later I got adverse reports of cracks and leaks at the joints with the accessories from else where. On investigation it was found that main causes were installation by untrained plumber, use of improper tools and methods and lack of supervision. The acceptance of UPVC pipe as an alternative was, in my opinion, was delayed by a decade by this misadventure. The company, of course, has vanished. The importance of mason as a channel of communication was experimented by a well known cement company in whose efforts we were associated. Now I am told fortnightly masons meet in many districts have become common with many cement companies vying with one another

and luring them with Gifts. Initially, when it was started we had the dual purpose, namely to educate him and to motivate him. The first set of gifts was a set of good tools. We now go on to another important requirement "technologically savvy". In our service we have seen many instances of failure due to lack of appreciation of this quality. Many Indian manufacturers pay scant respect to research. They believe that the money spent on it is a waste. The amount of money spent on research in India is less than I %; even in big companies; except In some pharmaceuticals. An Indian entrepreneur, basically hailing from trader class, believes in going abroad scouting for products which he thinks has the potential, gets into technical collaboration; to get technical know how; purchases second hand machinery either from him or somewhere else and comes into the market. 

Many of these products have to be conditioned to our climate and usage. But that is time consumingand involves expenditure. He would rather experiment and learn at the expense of some hapless customer. In building industry, such customers abound in Government departments. In one instance laminated prefabricated doors and windows were introduced which in the summer heat of the north, warped within months. In another instance a water proofing membrane used in between the basement and superstructure melted and caused slight displacement of the superstructure. The case of ultraviolet rays affecting the Pv C pipes is well known. Plywood doors in which layers are glued with Urea, peeling off after some time is also well known. It pays to have user trials, observing the performance for at least two years and carrying out research for adoption to our needs. If a product does not perform initially it has slim chances of a success at second introduction.

Price: What price the customer is willing to pay is also an important area, which requires proper esearch One has to probe into the

psychological bent of mind of the customer. The price; a customer is willing to pay is derivative of complex concoction of value, status associated with the product, etc. An example is the introduction copper pipe for plumbing, which is fairly common in western countries. But here, in India, it has failed to take off even though it is relatively easy to install and maintain. It is slightly costly but it has the right status to compensate.

There are also some very successful stories in new building products. One of them is the plastic Water storage tanks, introduced by "SYNTEX". The product did not exist in 1960s. Now it has wiped out its competitive rivals like asbestos cement tank, ferro cement tanks, brick tanks, etc. 

It was the first to introduce it and has maintained its leadership. In fact, it has become a generic name for the water storage tank. As it boasts, made out of selected materials, subject to stringent quality control to give total reliability; has ushered in a whole new era of convenience and 1005 hygienic water storage. In my opinion, the leadership has not come out of chance; but by a well formulated strategy based on the 4P's stated elsewhere.

Maybe the owner's saw the importance of application of professional management and hired the right type of professionals. 

Some of the building materials do not have separate identity but ride on a product that is common in use. To this category I attribute many construction chemicals in the market. They exist as admixtures to concrete, mortar, etc. In fact many of them find their use mainly because of the wrong practices of artisans. 

A plasticisizer is recommended to prevent mason using more water than required and weakening the concrete or to facilitate the pumping of concrete. How should they be marketed?

I was on an assignment in the northern part of Karnataka and I found majority of the engineers were not aware of the products and their use. A few who were associated with large constructions like irrigation structures, etc. knew about them. So what strategy a company, which is dealing in chemicals, has to adopt if it wants to familiarize the products and increase its spread? A question that has come in mind. 

Summing up, it appears that appreciation of basic principles of marketing, viz. 4Ps has not been properly internalized by many Indian manufacturers and sellers of building products. May be there is a need for greater use of professional management techniques if they have to survive competition in a liberalized economy.