With the Covid-19 situation in Bengaluru, like several other parts in the country, worsening, many companies in the city are again opting for work-from-home option.

As the practice of work-from-home has its own pros and cons, Bengaluru-based companies have varied views regarding the productivity and office absorption in the new normal.

Darshan Govindaraju, Director of Vaishnavi Group feels that although the pandemic has adversely impacted many businesses, some of the sectors witnessed major growth around the same time.

“Covid and its continuous impact since early last year has undoubtedly forced businesses across all industries to adapt. The absorption of office spaces today is lower when compared to pre-Covid numbers for a few sectors. Having said that, some sectors such as healthcare, cloud computing, video conferencing, digital content or home entertainment, online educational platforms, payment gateways or any such companies building the digital infrastructure have seen phenomenal growth this past year. Growth in some sectors coupled with de-densification, which has now become a standard Covid safety protocol, we are noticing steady absorption,” he said.

“Today an occupant is looking at more than just the rental costs. An occupant is keen on safe, well ventilated and Grade A buildings with a reputed builder. Given that most developers have slowed down infusing new supply in the market and given the occupants preference, rentals/ leasing of good quality developers has remained the same,” he added.
When asked about if work-from-home has any impact on the overall productivity, Govindaraju said that companies that mostly rely on personal interactions, suffered a hit.

“Work from home has enabled a certain section of the workforce to work at the same efficiency levels as before. For individual contributors and smaller startup companies, the king’s effect has been marginal. However, for companies that need teamwork, collaboration and interpersonal skills such as sales, relationship management etc., it has been detrimental. Building new relationships with new colleagues or clients has been a challenge. Most companies today admit that wherever team effort is required, productivity levels are down substantially,” he said.

Errol Fernandes, Secretary of CREDAI Bengaluru, feels that the second wave of Covid-19 will result in a lot more work being outsourced to India, creating further demand for office space.

“While the absorption of smaller units from the mid-size software companies has stagnated, the absorption of large spaces by the Googles, Amazons and Microsofts of the world has actually increased. This is largely due to India becoming the digital capital of the world and the migration to the cloud is rapidly increasing, which is being facilitated by companies working out of India,” Fernandes said.

Fernandes further said that while the lease rates have remained stable for the mid-size office spaces, rent has increased by 5 per cent for the larger office spaces over the last one year.
Regarding productivity under work-from-home system, Fernandes feels that while productivity and efficiency has improved, it has its own side effects with people being cloistered together not just for hours but for days, weeks and months on end.

Prashanth Reddy, Managing Director of Fundermax India said that his company foresees at least 20 per cent drop in office absorption. He also feels that it is difficult to carry out certain activities from home.

“March ending quarter 2021, demand side and supply side is stable for office absorption. With the increase in Covid cases, we foresee at least 20% drop in office absorption. All the functions can’t be conducted from home as some functions require reporting to office to ensure smooth operation of the organisation. There are challenges like internet connectivity, privacy, online classes of children, etc. This set up is a temporary situation and offices are going to stay. By Q3, we expect at least 75% of the workforce to comeback to offices,” Reddy said.

This method of construction ensures greater efficiency and faster completion of projects, says C.N. Govindaraju

Not too long ago, a large-scale construction project site would be milling with workers, working arduously with a host of materials for completion of the project. Cut to the present and what one is beginning to witnessis a smaller labour force and what is more, large developments being completed on schedule or ahead of time. The game changer: precast construction.

However, this can be taken to the next level where the concrete elements are fabricated offsite using state-of-the art technology, saving not only time and labour on site, but also improving the quality of construction manifold while ensuring timely completion of projects.

Technology-driven offsite companies are currently implementing the integrated offsite manufacturing technology, where the concept of DFMA (Design For Manufacturing and Assembly) is introduced. This ensures 50 per cent faster completion time while reducing pollution on site by over 60 per cent.

Since the elements are manufactured in an assembly-line fashion in a dedicated factory, there is significant saving in the input material, as well as in use of water used since the curing process is done through steam. The design efficiency and precision of the product is also far superior given the controlled planning and machine manufacturing, while ensuring the quantum of material usage at the construction site is reduced.

The factory-finished concrete elements have all the mechanical, electrical and plumbing conduits built into them, not only guaranteeing quality, but also an unmatched finish of the final product. In a few projects are incorporated bathroom pods which are completed in totality offsite (including internal finishes) and merely plugged into the designated slots on a floor plate.

These pods have wall and floor tiling, taps, basin, commode, shower cubicle, exhaust and even a mirror, with each merely requiring to be plugged into the utility lines. The toilet pods also ensure that there are no leakages in the bathrooms, which addresses a major pain point for the customers.

The adoption of the integrated offsite manufacturing technology not only results in unmatched quality of the finished apartment units but also completion of the project way ahead of schedule.

Higher efficiency of space

A point to note about the use of precast elements is the increased efficiency in the interior spaces. A conventional solid block internal wall comes with a standard thickness of 150 mm while the precast load bearing internal wall comes at 120 mm thickness. This results in larger carpet area for the square feet of residence or commercial space. The precast internal walls also serve as load bearing walls, adding to the strength of the built-up space as a higher load factor can be integrated.

Moreover, being a factory-manufactured product, the life of the precast structure is up to 100 years. There is also a 60-70 per cent decrease in the requirement of project site managers and engineers while the hiring of unskilled construction workers is virtually eliminated after the erection of the building foundation. There is no scope for human error in the factory-fitted precast concrete elements.

While the precast technique augurs well for the construction industry, the use of onsite precast is possible only when the construction site is very large as it requires a specific area to be assigned for it. This is where offsite factory-fitted technology aids in meeting the needs.

(The author is former President, CREDAI Bengaluru)

Vaishnavi Group has successfully completed their 896 unit apartment project, Vaishnavi Serene in Yelahanka, way ahead of the scheduled time, 20 months ahead to be precise. This astounding achievement comes in the wake of habitual delays that the construction industry has been dogged with for the last decade.

In 2019, Vaishnavi Group had joined hands with Katerra, a technology-driven offsite precast Construction Company, to introduce the next generation construction technology in their project Vaishnavi Serene. Katerra, which adopts the integrated offsite manufacturing technology and the concept of DFMA (Designor For Manufacturing and Assembly), ensured 50 per cent faster completion time, besides reducing pollution on site by over 40 per cent.

C.N Govindaraju, Chairman & Managing Director, Vaishnavi Group, says, “This achievement stands as a testimony to what new age technology can do to construction. Our collaboration with Katerra was in keeping with our aim of ‘Building from the Heart’ where we have created homes that offer the best functional use of the living spaces.

Our meticulously planned spaces offer the homeowner in Vaishnavi Serene the experience and efficiency of a 1400 Sq ft residence for a given space of 1118 Sq ft 3-bedroom unit. Besides, the project has not only been completed way ahead of schedule but the build quality and finish of the spaces come with an unmatched standard, thanks to the technology opted coupled with our ethos. Additionally, the technology is in line with our green thinking as the impact on the environment in the form of construction debris, water consumption, wastage and noise is substantially reduced.”

The project also comes with 100 percent offsite manufactured bathroom pods that merely have to be plugged into the designated area on a floor plate. Because of the offsite manufacturing of the precast elements, there has also been a substantial saving on material used, besides the conservation of water given the steam curing adopted in the factory. The factory finished precast concrete slabs come with all the built in mechanical, electrical and plumbing conduits.

Despite the pandemic, Bangalore’s realty sector saw an increase of 45% of sales in the October-December 2020 quarter. The regions that saw a rise in property sales Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai in Oct-Dec 2020, sales anywhere between 10-45%. The traction that has seen an increase is especially in the low budget segment such as apartments that were priced anywhere between 50-80L owing to lesser home loan interest rates and reduction in stamp duty. Watch the video to know mo

By Darshan Govindaraju Director, Vaishnavi Group

February 21, 2021: Advanced technology has penetrated every sector and real estate is not far behind. One such technology which is altering the dimensions of construction today is offsite pre cast technology.

While conventional construction is good for small size projects, the use of offsite pre cast technology is proving to be a game changer today in large format construction projects.

Not only is off site pre-cast technology ensuring 50% faster completion time, it also ensures over 60% reduction in pollution through minimised vehicular movement and nearly 40% material conservation. Water is saved through steam curing, there is 100% design efficiency and factory planning reduces input material wastage at construction sites. This also ensures the impact on the environment is minimal across the board.

How offsite pre-cast technology works

Many offsite pre- cast technology driven companies like Katerra are taking construction to another level by implementing the integrated offsite manufacturing technology, where the concept of DFMA (Design For Manufacturing and Assembly) is introduced.|

The design efficiency and precision of the immaculately finished product is high given the controlled planning and machine manufacturing while ensuring that the quantum of material usage is significantly reduced. The factory finished concrete elements include in-built mechanical, electrical and plumbing service which guarantees quality and also an unmatched finish of the final product.

The pre-cast internal walls serve as load bearing walls, adding to the strength of the structure. Moreover, being a factory manufactured product, the life of the pre-cast slab is up to 100 years. There is also a 60 – 70 per cent decrease in the requirement of project site managers and engineers, while the hiring of unskilled construction workers is almost eliminated after the completion of the building’s foundation. The scope for human error in the factory fitted pre-cast concrete slabs is non-existent.

In one of our projects, we went a step further and incorporated the fully offsite manufactured bathroom pods which merely have to be plugged into the designated slots on a particular floor plate. These bathroom pods are complete with wall and floor tiling, taps, basin, commode, shower cubicle, exhaust fans and even a mirror, with each merely requiring to be plugged in to the utility lines at site. The toilet pods also ensure that there are no leakages in the bathrooms, which addresses a major pain point for the customers.

The adoption of the integrated offsite manufacturing technology in our project not only resulted in unmatched quality of the final finished apartment units but also completion of the project way before schedule by an unbelievable 20 months.
The Vaishnavi Group is a leading Bangalore-based real estate and construction group