time and cost overruns, many contracting companies are facing severe financial strain, which may impact the performance of future construction projects. There is an urgent need to focus on building competence, skills and professionalism to handle large projects. Formal training programs cover less than 5 percent of the Indian construction industry, as compared to 80 percent in major economies. The Indian government’s strong emphasis to improve training is somewhat stalled due to the complexities of the environment and to multiple government departments handling this important subject. Private companies are also putting no or minimal efforts in training activities; therefore, the lack of training remains grim in the near future. Time has come now for the Indian government and private organizations to work hand-in-hand to rectify the situation on urgent basis. All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is planning to completely revamp the syllabus of technical courses to improve the employability of students after graduation. The new syllabus will be industry oriented and would make it compulsory for the students to spend two months in any industry every year. Using this opportunity, industry also needs to step forward to provide the best orientation to budding engineers. Our Role The deep foundations industry is one branch of the construction industry, and it, too, is besieged with its own problems. DFI of India intends to put its earnest efforts to professionalize this part of the construction industry by undertaking the implementation of new technology initiatives and organizing training programs to enhance the skill levels of operators, engineers and other categories of human resources. CFA Pile Technology Initiative Our continuous flight auger (CFA) pile technology project, funded through the DFI Committee Project Fund, is in the implementation phase. We are thankful to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) for providing the site, support and encourage- ment for implementing this project at its new project site near Delhi. We have received a considerable amount of support and collaborative efforts from members of DFI as well as from DFI of India members such as I.V. Anirudhan, Dr. Sunil S. Basarkar, Dr. Kumar Pitchumani, Prof. Shailesh R. Gandhi, Y. Harikrishna, Ravikiran Vaidya, Jaykumar Shukla, Jayson Samuel, Sanjoy Chakrabarty and Dr. B.S. Siva Rama Sarma. Recently, we completed the soil investigation and site characterization, and are in the process of finalizing the pile design, installation and concrete mix design, and testing program to be able to proceed to installing and testing six CFA piles by February or March 2018. After this demonstration project, we expect to develop guidance manuals for the use of CFA piles in India. At this time, we are soliciting additional funding and in-kind contributions from major equipment manufacturers and other stakeholders in the industry to assist with the expenses and services needed to execute this project. Rig Operators Training Another initiative being undertaken is drill rig operator training. We formed a committee comprising representatives from equipment manufacturers (Bauer, Soilmec and Mait), from a few major contractors and from other organizations within the industry. The objective is to develop and implement appropriate training programs to enhance skill levels of about 3,000 rig operators (target goal) in India over time. DFI-India 2017 India Events Since my last report, we held our third quarterly workshop and our annual conference. The workshop, “Foundations for Power Systems: Electric Transmission and Hydropower,” was held in association with Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) and Chennai Chapter of Indian Geotechnical Society on October 5, 2017, one day before the DFI of India annual conference at IIT Madras, Chennai. The two-day annual conference, DFI-India 2017, was held at IIT Madras, Chennai on October 6-7, 2017, in association with IIT Madras and Chennai Chapter of Indian Geotechnical Society. Participant feedback indicated that the conference met its intended purpose and was very successful. 46 • DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2018
