Mobile strategy helps State corporation significantly improve its efficiency
After implementing the ‘Vodafone Location Tracker, the Bihar State Building Construction Corporation now has better visiblity with respect to work status, expenditure and contractor assignments
By Mohd Ujaley
Bihar State Building Construction Corporation Limited (BSBCCL), famously known by its vernacular name – Bihar Rajya Bhavan Nirman Nigam Limited, is a state enterprise established in 2008 by the Government of Bihar under the Building Construction Department. The mandate of BSBCCL is to construct big and prestigious buildings, take care of their maintenance, administer townships and other constructions which the state government may assign. Within a short span of time, BSBCCL has delivered some key projects such as construction of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Gandhi Maidan, Adhiveshan Bhawan, Ghulam Sarwar Memorial Hall, and Loknayak Jayaprakash Institute of Technology in Patna. It is currently working on Kishanganj Agriculture University and some other notable projects.
It is interesting to note that BSBCCL is among one of the few profitable state PSUs in Bihar and its success story has been hailed as a major achievement for any state public sector corporation in the country. From a turnover of merely Rs 3 crore and project outlay of about Rs 100 crore in 2012, today it has managed to achieve a turnover of Rs 4800 crore with a project outlay of about Rs 8000 crore. Presently, it is executing work for over 25 government departments and various bodies, valuing over Rs 4,500 crore, covering nearly 1100 sites.
To smoothly manage its projects, BSBCCL has adopted technology as part of its core operational strategy. Today, the state corporation has a well established system in place for e-monitoring, e-procurement, project management, financial accounting, e-leave management and managing security of the network and the devices. However, with the continued rise of smartphones, mobility and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) becoming a reality, BSBCCL decided to overhaul its traditional strategy of using technology just for governance. The firm realised the need to go beyond e-governance and decided to adopt a mobile platform for ensuring transparency and accountability in the execution of the projects and its operations.
“Since the past one year, efforts are being made to move the entire structure from e-mode to m-mode. Our e-governance systems are in place, and now the focus is to take it to the mobile platform and use it for the benefit of the people and the organisation,” says Ganga Kumar, Managing Director, BSBCCL.
As part of this objective, the firm wanted to have the ability to track its field force, which in turn, could help it monitor and execute projects at a faster pace. After evaluating various mobile based solutions available in the market, the firm decided to implement a location tracker solution from Vodafone. The ‘Vodafone Location Tracker’ (VLT) solution helps the firm in tracking the field force and their movements. The solution is a GSM network-based location tracking service where the location of the SIM or mobile number is identified on the basis of the cell tower it is latched on to. “The data, captured by a Vodafone backend server, is then transferred to a secure, user-friendly web portal so that the organisation can manage and control its assets with ease,” informs Ajay Sehgal, senior vice president, SME business, Vodafone India.
The teams from Vodafone India and BSBCCL collaborated to create the necessary accounts and dashboard from where real time reports could be accessed. The mobile monitoring tool has been operational for the past one year, and in this period, the tool has helped the firm in improving its operational efficiency and reducing cost of operations. “Today, our decisions are more data driven and we know things in real time,” informs Kumar.
Currenly, the BSBCCL is using VLT, to monitor the status of employees and projects. All the 2G connections of the corporation have been mapped with this application and the real time status of the project and the workforce is available instantly. The application has helped in monitoring each and every scheme with respect to fund allotment, work status, expenditure, contractor assignment and work details. In addition, the leave request is now being managed with the help of this application. An employee can apply for leave and see the status of the request on the mobile app.
“It is essential for state corporations like us to set high standards for quality, timeliness and efficient delivery of the projects to succeed. In order to achieve these goals, BSBCCL has taken various initiatives in the area of project management, financial management, and offered incentive schemes for employees. Solutions such as VLT have helped us in fulfilling these objectives,” says Kumar.
With the success of the mobile monitoring system, the firm is looking to create a bigger role for ICT in its day to day operations. For example, it recently automated the process of tendering for ensuring a smooth and corruption free tendering process. Now, the contractors do not need to come the office of the firm, as everything is on the website and the same is being provided on the mobile app.
Also, in the area of project management, which is very critical for the success of any project, the firm’s Project Management Information System (PMIS) is embedded with a GPS monitoring tool for monitoring and updating exact physical progress of the projects. The state corporation is also using the G-FACTS system, which is considered to be one of the best financial protocol and government accounting systems for transparent, accurate and error free account management.
With the government’s renewed focus on digitisation, BSBCCL, which works like the central government’s National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), is now working to set-up a new IT infrastructure for automating a huge number of processes. For example, it is looking at implementing e-office for creating a paperless office. Similarly, it is looking at establishing an e-library for saving and viewing files online. Additionally, an online examination form for registration for jobs, and an online HR management system is also envisaged. The ultimate goal, according to Kumar, is to create a self-sustainable model for m-governance.
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The article first appeared in print edition of Express Computer magazine, February 2016 issue. Read it here : Express Computer, February, 2016
