It is
reported that collapsed
pier/pier cap had earlier
developed cracks and work
had to be stopped for 2 months at this location. The work
was resumed on P-67 only about 2 weeks back after a committee that
inspected the cracks ruled out anything serious.
Possible
Cause:
Going by the details available at this time, design
fault appears to be Prima-Facie cause. It is understood
that design of
pier cap on P-67 is different from other pier caps in this stretch as
it has to
cater to design
requirements of a curved alignment.
Why
Mr Sreedharan
resigned?
In normal course an expert committee/enquiry committee would
(possibly/probably) have placed the responsibility of this accident on
designers & corrective actions would then have been taken by
DMRC
accordingly.
ConcreteBasics tried
to look into factors that might have led to
Mr Sreedharan submitting his resignation owning up moral responsibility
for
this accident. It seems hard to believe that a man of his stature
&
competence would do so purely on emotional grounds.
Few
points to ponder over:
1.
It was a Multi layered Failure: The contract for this
portion is a “Design & Build” Contract. By
their very nature, these contracts are convenient for clients
& expedient for
contractors. A pre-requisite for successful
(& safe) execution of such contracts is a real & proper
“Proof Check”
of the submitted designs.
In this
particular case, there appears
to be a multi-layered failure:
- Designer
failed to adequately design
- Proof
Checker (if there was one) failed to adequately proof check
- DMRC
failed to competently examine the cause of cracks in pier/pier cap;
inspite of
having plenty of time to do so & instead gave a go ahead to the
work.
2. Not an isolated accident:
Since early 2008, accidents have been occurring with alarming
regularity at DMRC work sites. In hindsight, it appears that there were
advance indications of DMRC’s high safety standards/policies
of DMRC getting diluted day by day.
3. Questions to be answered by
DMRC management:
- Has
the pressure to complete the targeted work within time played
a role in the occurrence of “Multi layered
Failure”?
- Has
DMRC increased its number of construction sites without commensurate
increase in its “High Quality” man power?
- Has
diversion into other consultancy projects made DMRC lose its focus?
- Has
complacency set within DMRC?
- Is
leaving every check in hands of Third Party Certifiers a wise policy in
Indian Context? (remember
the case of Satyam auditors)?
- Are
DMRC officials being taken for a ride by contractors in name of
“Pogress” & “Target”?
4. Does DMRC
lack engineers who can say “No”?:
The
answer, unfortunately, at least in
this case seems to be “Yes”.
It seems hard to believe that a whole chain of
command was not able to comprehend the possible fallouts of cracks in
pier/pier
caps. Still, no engineer chose to put his foot down & say
“No”.
We have
heard instances of whole of prefabricated segments being rejected by
DMRC
engineers on grounds of poor quality. Here, a cracked pier/pier cap was
dealt
with in an apparently indifferent manner…so uncharacteristic
of DMRC.
An
organization like DMRC should have engineers who have authority to say
“no”. As Dan
Millman says “ Unless
someone truly has the power to say no, they never
truly have the power to say yes”
These
issues are suggestive of
responsibility of DMRC management for this accident; something that
might have pained
Mr Sreedharan & played a role in Mr Sreedharan submitting his
resignation.
Why
Mr
Sreedharan should take back his resignation & continue?
ConcreteBasics feels
that DMRC top management
needs to seriously address the issues discussed
above in order to avoid recurrence of such accidents. An “Accident”
is after
all never just an accident.
The
issues are
serious enough & their redressal would require the skills
& vision of a
living legend that Mr Sreedharan is.
Quitting
may
the easiest option for a “Performer”
like Mr Sreedharan for this man of integrity
has no other agenda/vested interest.
But Mr
Sreedharan, society has great
expectations from you; you are not merely an engineer…you
are a role model for
young generation who get inspired by your technical competence ,
courage of
conviction & integrity .
DMRC, for
sure,
needs serious mid course correction. While, responsibility for the
circumstances leading to present state squarely lies with
DMRC’s top
management, Mr Sreedharan, we do not expect you to take the easy option of quitting. It would be quite
“Un-Sreedharan”
to do so. You have been a fighter
…..fight & strike against the rot that seems to have
creeped in DMRC as
well…..
We hope
& are pretty confident that you will pick up the gauntlet
again
*
* * * *
& yes! he
did..........
