DIMENSIONS VOL.10, ISSUE 9, SEP 2018

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

IN This Issue FROM THE MANAGING

DIRECTOR’S DESK

EDITOR’S NOTE

MILESTONES

LOVE FOOD, HATE WASTE

TROUBLE IN OUR VERY OWN

KASHMIR

LAZINESS DOESN’T PAY

GLOBAL WARMING & CO2

GRANDMA’S CORNER APPENDIX

Cover page photo: NIE Men’s Hostel, Mysore

THE ISSUE OF DIMENSIONS IS FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY

FEW TIPS FOR MANAGING ONESELF:

Increase Your Desire to Learn:

Don’t let your ego get in the

way of your desire to learn. If

you are an expert in one field,

seek out other fields where

you can transfer and apply

your expertise.

Be Open to Criticism:

Constructive Criticism is

essential for creativity,

innovation and problem

solving. Critique is a useful

approach to test ideas and

keep people and team

accountable.

Listen Better: Good listening is

not just about making the

speaker respected and

heard; it is about making sure

you understand what is really

said.

Think: Try to anticipate

conclusions. Don’t just hear

the words.

Review: Pause briefly and

mentally summarize the

points.

Listen: Watch for nonverbal

cues that could indicate what

the speaker isn’t saying. What

is not said is often as

important as what is.

Find Extra Time: Crises and

special events force us to find

extra time in our day for

crucial tasks. Don’t wait for

the next emergency. Here are

a few ways to regain wasted

time:

Analyze your calendar: Look

back and analyze about the

meetings and other

appointments you had. Then

plan your future calendar by

optimizing your time.

Ask for feedback: Find out

from your friends and

colleagues about tasks that

you could do less, delegate

or avoid completely.

In the last issue there was an article -

‘Tappers and Listeners’ where the

concept was that for anyone who

knows about any particular subject it

is difficult to understand the difficulty

of another who is new to that field.

It has happened to us this time when

the question of the month was asked.

Since we knew the answer, we could

not imagine how someone could fail

to know something so simple. And so it

happened that there were only three

answers and even they were only

partly correct.

Anyway, thanks to Dipali & Swastka

from HO & Srinivasa Rao of Ramky 1

Galaxia site, Hyderabad for having

attempted to answer the Question of

the Month. The answer is given in the

Appendix, and in this issue we have

asked a simple question that we feel

many can answer correctly.

So, Best of Luck!

FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR’S DESK Editor’s Note

DIMENSIONS VOL.10, ISSUE 9, SEP 2018 2

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

Welcome to New Employees

Mahendra Sadashiv Godbole

joined us on 13.08.2018 as Senior Project

Manager for Carl Bechem, Bangalore

Shridhar K E, joined us on

16.08.18 as Junior Engineer – Trainee ADPL

Arul Hepsily S, joined us on

20.08.2018 as Senior Project Engineer for

Fomra Hues, Chennai

Kolipaka Ramakrishna

Chaitanya, joined us on 27.08.2018 as

Project Engineer for Jayabheri, Hyderabad

Birthdays in October

JAVEED PASHA N,

B & B Opulent Spire, 6th October

VEERANNA V, Trustwell Hospital,

9th October

KOVIT KUMAR, Ramky One

Galaxia, 11th October

SHIVARAJ H M, CMR Hostel

Block, 13th October

AJAY KUMAR H R, Himatsingka,

16th October

TRINADH PENMETSA, Harsha

Developers, 16th October

RAJENDRA R, Bangalore HO,

25th October

Birthday celebrations – Sep 2018 –

Yogesh Kumar

A lot of goodies

R N Prasad wishing Yogesh Kumar on

his birthday

Prizes

The prize for the Best Answer to the

question asked in the last issue of

Dimensions being handed over by SIC

KVSS Ramakrishna of Ramky 1 Galaxia

to one of his staff, Arjun Kumar K

Condolences

Our heartfelt condolence to the

bereaved family of our employee,

Sadashiv Ramanna Lonar, whose

father passed away at the age of 70

on 24th September.

Weddings

Wedding of R Natarajan & N

Amudha’s son Santhosh with Anitha was celebrated at Chennai on the

12th September

Ceremonies before the marriage

After the marriage

At the marriage reception with

Shanthkumar & wife

DIMENSIONS VOL.10, ISSUE 9, SEP 2018 3

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

Tying the Knot

చూడండి దేవుడు వెంకటేశ్వ ర నివాసం; Look,

there is Lord Venkateswara’s abode

During Reception

In ethnic dress after the wedding

ceremonies

Felicitations:

A N Prakash was among those felicitated

for being a member of the jury for ICI

Concrete day Construction excellence

awards held at Lalit Ashok, Bangalore

Training Sessions:

Middle & Top management staff of B

G Shirke Constructions who have

subscribed to our AIMS software were

trained in its usage on the 24th Sep at

ANPCPMC office. Uday Prakash, R Suresha, Divya & Dipali were present.

NIE Men’s Hostel Opened – 8 Sep 18

The envisioned plan was to build a

toilet section between Blocks A & B of

the Men’s hostel. Later, refurbishing of

the existing toilet was approved and

since A N Prakash had by oneself

done a similar refurbishing project –

Yuvika Hostel, it was suggested that a

similar new look be given to this hostel

too.

A N Prakash being felicitated

Some of the changes made in the

Hostel are: Dark corridors were lit up

by LED lights and by use of paint of

light shade. Existing Security room &

Shop was dismantled and the same

was constructed near the entrance

with seating arrangements. The

visitor’s room has also been modified.

New additions are WiFi, IP cameras,

Hybrid Hot water system, STP and

street lights. Separate space was

allocated for LT Room & Battery room.

A walk through the completed project

During visit to the Gym (L-R) – Varsha,

Swastika, Harish, Prasad & Vijay

Mahantesh

A N Prakash with Narayan Murthy of

Infosys

Yogesh Kumar joins the team

members for refreshments

DIMENSIONS VOL.10, ISSUE 9, SEP 2018 4

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

NIE Men’s Hostel – Then & Now

Block A, seen from the Parking - Then

Block A, seen from the Parking – Now. The

drab looks has changed.

Since this building was not a framed

structure, special care was taken

during demolition wherever the

supporting walls was to be removed.

Steel sections were utilized to transfer

the loads.

Gym, seen from Dining Terrace - Then

Gym, seen from Dining Terrace – Now. The

colors match those of the Main buildings.

Parking – Then. It was open to the sky.

Parking – Now, covered & with lighting

Termite infested wooden trusses in the

Gym were changed to Steel trusses

with PUF panels in place of the existing

asbestos sheets.

Gym – Then, Looked a bit haunted

Gym – Now

Block A Corridor - Then

Block A Corridor - Now

Staff Toilet - Then

Staff Toilets – Now, Toilets have been done

with dry wall

Additional Renewable Energy Sources

implemented were: Rainwater

harvesting and recharge pit; RO Plant

for Drinking water; LED Lighting;

Sewage Treatment Plant of 80 KLD

capacity

DIMENSIONS VOL.10, ISSUE 9, SEP 2018 5

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

Know Your Project

VIJAYBHOOMI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

For those who would like a feel of

projects of about 50 years ago, this is

nearly ideal. Take away the mobile

phones too and it is as if we have

gone back in time by half a century.

Artist’s impression of the finished school

Set in the scenic landscape at

Jamrung, a village 30 kilometres from

Karjat, Maharashtra, Vijaybhoomi is an

International-Residential school, in

partnership with Singapore Global

School. The name ‘Vijaybhoomi’ is

derived from the land where the

impenetrable, unconquerable

Raigarh fort is located, the land where

the Marathas remained undefeated.

Bird’s eyeview of the finished school

The Administrative block is placed at

the entrance, with the infirmary

adjacent to it. The sports and canteen

block, arts block, and science block

are strategically placed at the highest

points of the site, acting as a division

between the academic and hostel

blocks, placed on either side of the

slopes.

Some of the Facilities are:

1. Classrooms and hostel rooms

to accommodate 960

students

2. Dining facility which can host

300 occupants in one time.

3. Library and information

Centre with the view of

mountains

4. Multipurpose Indoor sports

area with the provision for

following activities

Basketball

Tennis

Badminton

Squash court

Gymnasium

Indoor shooting range

5. Horse riding arena

6. On campus full-fledged

Infirmary.

A Reservoir about a mile away from

the school

SALIENT FEATURES:

Jali screen in classrooms provides

significant light and cross ventilation,

reducing the consumption of energy

and provides an uninterrupted view of

the landscape.

A Class Room

Each classroom opens into its own

terrace garden.

Proposed reservoir in the campus will

harness rainwater which can sustain

the school throughout the year.

The project is completely self-

sustaining in energy and water

consumption, through off grid solar

system and rain water harvesting

system in campus.

Challenges Faced in the project.

Presence of hard rock in excavation -

Quantity executed vs. estimated

increased two times, leading to delay.

The undulating terrain required the

buildings to be placed at different

level which in turn necessitated the

construction of soil retaining structures.

Being a remote place, the Local

Contractor had little exposure to a

PMC’s style & method of construction

practice.

Limited availability of skilled labor and

necessity to hire local labor caused

the efficiency of work to drop. Only

locally available Machinery could be

used due to similar constraints.

Constant supply of power & water for

construction was not available.

Site being in a very remote location,

mobile & internet connectivity is very

poor.

Daily commute of 60 km (both ways)

from accommodation to site on

poorly laid roads.

Climate - Summers get extreme

(around 38 degree Celsius) making it

difficult to work efficiently.

Rainfall for over 90 days lead to slow

progress & rework of executed works.

Project Team, photographed at the

bachelor quarters, Karjat

(From L to R): Ravindra Mikkere - Site-

in-charge, Venkatesh - Sr. Project

Engineer- MEP services, Srivatsa G -

Asst. Project Engineer- Civil, Vinod

Lobo - Project Manager - External

Infrastructure Works, (Debabratha

Pradhan - Asst. Project Engineer- MEP

Services is not in pic).

DIMENSIONS VOL.10, ISSUE 9, SEP 2018 6

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

LOVE FOOD, HATE WASTE

by G R Narasimhan

Thiruvalluvar’s wife, Vasuki Amma was

on her deathbed. She was very ill.

Thiruvalluvar asked her if there was

anything he could get her. She said

there was just one question she

wanted to ask him so that she could

pass away peacefully.

“Since we got married, you always

placed a cup and a needle beside

your food. Why did you do that?”

He said, “I did not want to waste any

food. The cup and needle were

placed beside the food so that if ever

a grain of rice fell while you were

serving food, I could use the needle to

pick it up, and use the water to wash

it and eat it, so as not to waste it.

However, in all the years we have

been married, it has never been

needed. ”

Hearing that answer, she passed

away peacefully.

The point of the story is to show that

we should never waste food. Even a

grain of rice is valuable. When we cook, this is something we should

keep in mind. We should only make as

much as we/our family will eat.

But why do we waste food?

There are three possibilities, among

others, to explain this negligent

attitude:

Possibility 1: We don’t respect food

and feel that since we’re paying for it,

we have every right to waste it.

Possibility 2: We are self-centered and

selfish and we don’t give a hoot

about who is dying for lack of food.

Possibility 3: We are ignorant and we

don’t know how wasting our food is linked to people dying across the

globe.

Whatever the reason may be, the

result is the same: wastage of food is a

threat to the lives of many.

Here are a few recommendations

that would help you decrease food

wastage:

Take only what you can eat on your plate.

Make finishing the food on your plate a habit. Try to

inculcate it further in as many

people around you as you

can.

Respect food. Consider yourself lucky for getting it

every day. Make sure to

thank God before you begin

eating.

Try to feel or imagine what it’s like to truly starve. Then you’ll

think twice before wasting

food.

An inspiring example from Denmark

Denmark's first supermarket selling

surplus food was opened in Amager,

officially inaugurated by Princess

Marie.

With the opening of WeFood,

Copenhagen is now home to the nation's first supermarket selling only

food that would be otherwise

destined for the rubbish bin.

Princess Marie (on the left) during

inauguration of WeFood

WeFood is the first supermarket of its

kind in Denmark and perhaps the

world as it is not just aimed at low-

income shoppers but anyone who is

concerned about the amount of food

waste generated. Many people see

this as a positive and politically

correct way to approach the issue.

Another Inspiring Example

Would You Eat Food Made With

“Trash”?

Would you eat ketchup made from

tossed-out tomatoes? Drink beer

made with stale scraps of bread?

A growing number of companies are

making food and drink products out

of ingredients traditionally considered

waste. And, according to new

research, consumers increasingly

accept—and even prefer—such

products.

“Consumers are actually willing to pay

more for food made from surplus

products,” says Jonathan Deutsch, a

professor of culinary arts at Drexel

University, who led a study.

Deutsch and his colleagues presented study participants with different food

products labeled either

“conventional,” “organic,” or “value-

added surplus”—their term for foods

normally destined for the dumpster.

Participants were not, as food

manufacturers have long assumed,

disgusted by the idea of using “trash”

in their food, but felt positively about

the opportunity to help the

environment.

Deutsch hopes this study, recently

published in the Journal of Consumer

Behavior, will help manufacturers feel

DIMENSIONS VOL.10, ISSUE 9, SEP 2018 7

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

more confident about incorporating

food waste into products.

“Rather than composting or donating

scraps for pig feed or secretly carting

it off to a landfill, manufacturers are

going to own the fact that they’re

keeping this nutrition in the food

system,” says Deutsch.

The problem of food waste has been

getting more attention in recent

years. Globally, up to a third of all

food is spoiled or lost before it can be

eaten. America wastes about 62

million tons of food annually, and this

waste amounts to some $218 million.

Yet one in seven Americans is food

insecure, which means they lack

consistent access to healthy food.

Waste can happen anywhere along

the food chain—farms fail to harvest

crops due to lack of labor, food spoils

during transport, manufacturers toss

trimmings too small to use,

supermarkets reject produce for

imperfect looks, restaurants throw out

food after its use-by date, consumers

let meals rot in the back of the

fridge.

As consumers become increasingly

aware of the problem, a number of

companies are betting on surplus foods. Washington, DC-based Misfit

Juicery sells cold-pressed juices made

from aesthetically flawed product

and the scraps of fruits and veggies

that come from cutting baby carrots

or watermelon squares. Britain’s Toast

Ale brews beer from surplus bread -

unsold loaves from bakeries and

scraps from companies that make

ready-to-eat sandwiches. Dutch

company Barstensvol makes heat-

and-eat soups from surplus veggies.

Some of these companies are

meeting with major corporate

success.

In 2010, Jenny Costa was working at a

London hedge fund when she read

an article about dumpster divers -

people who rummage through

industrial trash bins outside

supermarkets and restaurants after

hours, looking for discarded-but-good

food. It got her reading more about

the food system, and learning about

how difficult it is to match supply to

demand.

“I thought, this is just unsustainable,”

she says. “We’ve got a planet that

actually has the resources to feed

everyone, and yet so many go

without.”

So Costa launched ‘Rubies in the

Rubble’, a company that produces

jams and chutneys from surplus fruits

and vegetables. Suppliers of Costa’s

products include the British

supermarket chain Waitrose, the

luxury food halls at Harrods and

Fortnum & Mason as well as the

Marriott Hotels group and Virgin Trains.

Jenny Costa (on the right) welcoming

a visiting dignitary to her

manufacturing facility

“People are starting to value food so

much more,” Costa says. “Food is

seen as a precious resource rather

than a cheap commodity.”

Companies that want to use surplus

foods in their products sometimes

face technical or regulatory

challenges.

When Dan Kurzrock began brewing

beer as a hobby in college, he

learned that the leftover “spent

grains” from the brewing process

made excellent bread. Plus, since the

brewing process stripped them of their

sugars while leaving the fiber and

protein, these grains were highly

nutritious. But when he decided to try

to use these grains on a commercial

scale, it wasn’t so easy.

“The stuff as it comes out of the

brewery is really wet, and it goes bad

really quickly,” Kurzrock says. “When it

first comes out, it smells like oatmeal.

But come back a day later...”

So he and his team came up with

technology to dry out the grain and

make it suitable for commercial food

production. Their

company, ReGrained, now makes

cereal bars in several flavors and is

coming out with savory snacks soon.

Eventually they hope to partner with

food companies who’ll use their

processing technology to add spent

grains to their own foods. With millions of tons of spent grain produced by

breweries each year, it’s a huge

potential market. ReGrained sources

its grains from urban breweries, which

have a difficult time getting rid of their

spent grain.

As ReGrained has attempted to

rebrand spent grain as a sustainable

superfood, they’ve needed to add a

bit of PR spin.

“‘Spent grain’ is a terrible food name,”

Kurzrock says. “We’re trying not to say

things like ‘waste’ on a package. The

phrase we’ve coined is ‘edible

upcycling.’”

Deutsch cautions that transparency is

key when using surplus food.

Consumers like the idea of helping the

environment, but they don’t like

feeling a company has something to

hide. This kind of potential reaction is

one reason manufacturers keep

waste products out of their food, Deutsch says.

“Even if it costs more money to

prepare food less sustainably, there’s

a conception that that’s what

consumers want,” he says.

But, as companies like Rubies in the

Rubble and ReGrained are showing,

that perception is changing.

“Consumers want to support products

that help the environment and are

sustainable and make the world a

better place,” Kurzrock says. “And you

can create some amazing, really

nutritious, delicious food products out

of the stuff companies leave behind.”

DIMENSIONS VOL.10, ISSUE 9, SEP 2018 8

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

TROUBLE IN OUR VERY OWN KASHMIR From an article by Harini Nagendra,

professor of sustainability, Azim Premji

University and also based on an article in

‘The Hindu’ of Sep 23, 2018

Nicknamed the Kashmir of Karnataka

and once known for serene hilly

landscapes, eye-catching coffee

estates and its sacred groves, Kodagu

is now in ruins. Birthplace of River

Cauvery, the entire district is now reeling from the disaster caused by

rains, multiple landslides and incessant

flooding. Twelve people have been

killed, thousands have lost their homes

and entire villages have caved in or

have been submerged.

Very recently, hearing a Public Interest

Litigation (PIL) on polluted water due

to quarry mining in Karkala taluk,

Udupi, Chief Justice of Karnataka,

Dinesh Maheshwari, commented,

“These are not done overnight, but

degradation has been happening

over the years. In case of an

earthquake, we could have assumed

it as sudden, but floods, landslides

among others, are nothing but man-

made. We have to be more careful in

future on man-made disasters.”

What more needs to be said?

’Home-stays’ built on the edges of

slopes collapsed

The need to change our development

approach

In 2011, the Western Ghats Ecology

Expert Panel, chaired by the

internationally renowned ecologist

Madhav Gadgil, submitted a report to

the Indian ministry of environment and forests. The report warned that an ill-

thought focus on development was

impacting the sustainability of the

Western Ghats hill chain, one of the

world’s most bio-diverse areas that

runs along the west coast of India. The

expert report urged a number of

states, including Karnataka and

Kerala, to adopt an approach of

thoughtful conservation, limiting

activities such as quarrying, dams,

and construction near protected

forests in hilly areas. The report was

rejected by the Ministry as well as by

both states.

With the experience of hindsight, it is clear that the worst flood damage

took place in those regions where the

Gadgil committee recommended

protection.

Buses too were not spared

In Kodagu, for instance, tens to

hundreds of thousands of large trees

were felled in 2015 to construct a

high-tension electric wire line.

Uncontrolled sand mining has

constrained river flows, while the rapid

spread of high-rise buildings on

unstable hill slopes has weakened the

soil.

Reversing the trend

In the era of climate change we have

just entered, extreme rainfall events

are going to become increasingly

common. Uncontrolled growth at the

expense of the environment will

severely exacerbate the impacts of

climate change. Our cities are simply

not prepared for extreme weather

events.

Some cities are seeking to reverse this

trajectory of unplanned construction.

Nairobi is in the midst of an extensive

demolition drive, uprooting thousands

of buildings built on riparian land that

choke the flow of water and

contribute to severe annual floods.

In Seoul, between 2002-2005, the city

municipality tore up an elevated

highway that had been built over

the Cheonggyecheon stream. This

internationally famous urban-renewal

project reduced traffic, reduced air

pollution and cut the urban heat-

island effect.

Urban river day-lighting projects

are gaining traction in cities around

the world. Zurich has been an early

pioneer, developing

the Bachkonzept (stream concept) to

create, restore and uncover a

number of streams and springs.

London, which built over a number of famous rivers, has now uncovered

and restored a number of these

waterways, while Sheffield, having

experimented with daylighting, is now

considering uncovering sections of

the local Sheaf river.

The demonstrated ecological and

environmental benefits are clear - as

are the social and economic returns.

For example, Seoul’s iconic

Cheonggyecheon stream restoration

led to a more than six-fold increase in

biodiversity, a 35% decrease in air

pollution, and a growth in property

prices that is double of that in other

parts of the city.

The restored stream attracts tens of

thousands of visitors daily who

contribute significantly to local

economy. Such ideas of restoration

need to become more widespread,

and embedded in routine climate

change and disaster management

planning. The investment made is

amply repaid many times over in

economic security and growth,

biodiversity, local health and quality

of life, and resilience against future

disasters.

Once the emergency relief is

attended to, Kochi and Kodagu

would do well to use their recent

experience as a warning of future

disasters to come in a world of

increasingly uncertain climate.

The focus must be on long-term

restoration projects that can reverse

some of the environmental and

ecological damage that has led to

the current situation. But such learning

need not be confined to the areas

that have experienced the worst. The rest of the world has much to learn as

well.

For those who would like to see Kodagu

before the age of commercialization set in,

watch this song starring Vishnuvardhan &

Suhasini, click on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo0KrZRAIc8

DIMENSIONS VOL.10, ISSUE 9, SEP 2018 9

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

LAZINESS DOESN’T PAY

Thejesha MM

Laziness lead to extinction of Homo

erectus and it is important that we

learn from their mistakes.

New archaeological research from

The Australian National University

(ANU) has found that Homo erectus,

an extinct species of primitive

humans, were wiped out in part

because they were 'lazy'.

An archaeological excavation of

ancient human populations in the

Arabian Peninsula during the Early

Stone Age, found that Homo

erectus used 'least-effort strategies' for

tool making and collecting resources.

The site at Saffaqah in Saudi Arabia.

This 'laziness' paired with an inability to

adapt to a changing climate likely

played a role in the species going

extinct, according to lead researcher

Dr Ceri Shipton of the ANU School of

Culture, History and Language.

"To make their stone tools they would

use whatever rocks they could find

lying around their camp, which were

mostly of comparatively low quality to

what later stone tool makers used," he

said.

"At the site we looked at there was a

big rocky outcrop of quality stone just

a short distance away up a small hill.

"But rather than walk up the hill they

would just use whatever bits had

rolled down and were lying at the

bottom.

"When we looked at the rocky

outcrop there were no signs of any

activity, no artefacts and no quarrying

of the stone. "They knew it was there,

but because they had enough and

adequate resources they seem to

have thought, 'why bother?'."

Homo erectus investigating a bush fire

This is in contrast to the stone tool

makers of later periods, including

early Homo sapiens and

Neanderthals, who were climbing

mountains to find good quality stone

and transporting it over long

distances.

Dr Shipton said a failure to progress

technologically, as their environment

dried out into a desert, also

contributed to the population's

demise.

"The sediment samples showed the

environment around them was

changing, but they were doing the

exact same things with their tools.

By far the most important and the

biggest reason to study history is

because history repeats itself. It is

important to read and learn about

others’ mistakes in the past so that we

do not commit the same mistakes in

the future. It is believed that those who

cannot learn from history are doomed

to repeat it!

So, what do we learn from the

mistakes of Homo erectus?

That there’s no escaping

technological advancement and its

impact on the world. As the saying

goes, ‘If you can’t beat them, join

them’!!

What are the main reasons why

keeping up with improvements in

technology is crucial to your

business?

Here are some of them:

Everyone is doing it.

When everyone is embracing

technology, keeping yourself from

doing so will only be detrimental to

your business.

You will lose out on a lot of things if

you don’t use technology – If you

have a computer and you are

connected to the rest of the world via

the internet, you are opening yourself

up to a lot of possibilities. If you do not

embrace this fact however, you will

definitely get left behind in many aspects.

You become more efficient –

Efficiency is what many companies

aim for, and this is for a very good

reason. When your company and the

people who work for it are efficient,

you actually end up saving money

and making more revenue.

Worker Productivity

With the implementation of the right

technology and software solutions,

staff feel less overwhelmed. Worker

motivation and productivity increase

and staff turnover decreases.

Staying Organized

Technological innovation has been

instrumental in assisting companies

with reducing mundane paperwork,

enabling them to use the time saved

more effectively.

Fall behind. If everyone else is moving

forward and your business is standing

still, you’re actually falling behind. You

may be able to sustain revenue for a

few months, but you won’t last long in

a competitive market.

Become irrelevant. When you fall

behind, you start to become

irrelevant. People stop talking about

your business, press coverage dies,

and marketing effort falls on deaf

ears.

Missed opportunities. Even if you still

have value to offer customers,

lagging behind on the technology

front means you’re missing out on

opportunities to grow.

Technology will continue to advance

and customers will find new and

exciting ways to use it. If an

organization continues to resist

progress and decides not to keep up

with technology, they are likely to

fade away into obscurity.

If you think about it, obscurity is the ultimate death sentence.

DIMENSIONS VOL.10, ISSUE 9, SEP 2018 10

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

GLOBAL WARMING & CO2

Vamsi Anand S P, HO

Why not convert carbon dioxide into

solid carbonate rocks?

As we have kept on burning more

and more of organic fuel, such as

coal and crude oil, over the last

century across the world, the amount of the oxidation product, carbon

dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has

reached alarming levels, causing

global warming and climate change.

Given this scenario, why not capture

the CO2 from the atmosphere and

convert it into something inescapable,

such as solid carbonate rocks? Such

direct air capture (abbreviated as

DAC) of the gas and converting it

from the biosphere (obtained from

biological sources such as burning fuel

by us) to the geosphere (as rocks and

minerals) has been done by a

company in Switzerland, called

Climeworks. They have put up a plant

in Iceland, where they bury CO2 (or

sequester it) into solid calcium

carbonate (CaCO3) rocks, just as

basalt; they also sell the CO2 to

greenhouses and beverage makers.

An experimental drill core held by Sandra

Snaebjornsdottir is laced with solidified

carbonate, produced by a new process

that turns carbon emissions to stone when

pumped underground.

An even better method would be to

convert it back into hydrocarbon fuel

through a reverse reaction, a process

termed as air to fuel or A2F. And a

group of scientists led by Dr David

Keith of Harvard have put together a

company called “Carbon

Engineering”, with such a conversion

of DAC into A2F.

The team has been working for the

last several years on this problem.

What is being done is to capture the

undesirable product CO2, run it

through a reactor in an efficient

manner and use it to combine with

hydrogen (obtained through

electrolysis of water) and generate the hydrocarbon fuel. The whole

process is what is termed as ‘carbon-

neutral-fuel production’.

Capturing CO2 from ambient air itself

is not new. This was attempted as

early as the 1950s, as a pre-treatment

of air; and in the 1960s, it was

attempted to use as feedstock for the

production of hydrocarbon fuels in

mobile nuclear power plants. What

Carbon Engineering has done is to

describe the nuts and bolts of the

process, the engineering steps, and

the cost-benefit analysis.

What about concrete?

Concrete is the most abundant man-

made material on earth. But concrete

has an emissions problem. Its essential

ingredient, cement, has a huge

carbon footprint.

Cement is the glue that makes

concrete strong, but the process of

making cement requires superheating

calcium carbonate, or limestone, and

releases massive amounts of carbon

dioxide into the atmosphere.

Cement is responsible for 7% of global

man-made greenhouse emissions,

making it the world's second largest

industrial source of carbon dioxide.

But a Canadian startup has invented

a new system for making concrete

that traps CO2 emissions forever and

at the same time reduces the need

for cement.

CarbonCure's system takes captured

CO2 and injects it into concrete as it is

being mixed. Once the concrete

hardens, that carbon is sequestered

forever. Even if the building is torn down, the carbon stays put. That's

because it reacts with the concrete

and becomes a mineral.

"The best thing about it is the mineral

itself improves the compressive

strength of the concrete," says Christie

Gamble, the director of sustainability

at CarbonCure.

"Because the CO2 actually helps to

make the concrete stronger,

concrete producers can still make

concrete as strong as they need to

but use less cement in the process."

And using less cement is how

producers can really reduce emissions.

Atlanta-based Thomas Concrete, a

concrete producer, has been using

CarbonCure's system since 2016.

Thomas Concrete says it has since

prevented 10 million pounds of CO2

emissions.

Justin Lazenby, a manager of

technical operations at Thomas

Concrete, said the move toward

greener tech is a long-term decision

the concrete industry should

embrace.

"The industry as a whole has always

kind of looked at trying to solve

today's problems with yesterday's

technology, which doesn't really

work," he said.

Thomas Concrete pays to use

CarbonCure and buys captured CO2

from a fertilizer plant where it's

emitted, but the company says those

costs even out with what they save by

using less cement.

"We understand that to make

environment impact, you have to

make business sense," Gamble said.

CarbonCure's technology utilizes CO2

that would otherwise be a waste

product from factories. Finding uses

for captured CO2 is an economically-

friendly way of incentivizing

companies to capture their emissions.

"We're leading that movement right

now by showing it is possible to take

CO2 and turn it into something that

makes financial sense," Gamble said.

"This concept of beneficial reuse of

CO2 is expected to be a one trillion

dollar industry by the year 2030."

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A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

A monthly contribution by Mary A

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is an extremely important

vitamin that has powerful effects on

several systems throughout your body.

Unlike other vitamins, vitamin D

functions like a hormone, and every

single cell in your body has a receptor

for it.

Your body makes it from cholesterol

when your skin is exposed to sunlight.

It's also found in certain foods such as

fatty fish and fortified dairy products,

though it's very difficult to get enough

from diet alone.

The recommended daily intake is

usually around 400–800 IU, but many

experts say you should get even more

than that.

Vitamin D deficiency is very common.

It's estimated that about 1 billion

people worldwide have low levels of

the vitamin in their blood.

Here are 7 common risk factors for

vitamin D deficiency:

Having dark skin.

Being elderly.

Being overweight or obese.

Not eating much fish or dairy.

Living far from the equator where there is little sun year-

round.

Always using sunscreen when going out.

Staying indoors.

Most people don't realize that they’re

deficient, as the symptoms are

generally subtle. You may not

recognize them easily, even if they’re

having a significant negative effect

on your quality of life.

Here are 8 signs and symptoms of

vitamin D deficiency.

1. Getting Sick or Infected Often

One of vitamin D's most important

roles is keeping your immune system

strong so you're able to fight off viruses

and bacteria that cause illness.

It directly interacts with the cells that

are responsible for fighting infection.

If you often become sick, especially

with colds or the flu, low vitamin D

levels may be a contributing factor.

2. Fatigue and Tiredness

Feeling tired can have many causes,

and vitamin D deficiency may be one

of them.

Unfortunately, it's often overlooked as

a potential cause.

3. Bone and Back Pain

Vitamin D helps maintain bone health

in a number of ways.

For one, it improves your body's

absorption of calcium.

Bone pain and lower back pain may

be signs of inadequate vitamin D

levels in the blood.

4. Depression

A depressed mood may also be a sign

of vitamin D deficiency.

In review studies, researchers have

linked vitamin D deficiency to

depression, particularly in older adults.

5. Impaired Wound Healing

Slow healing of wounds after surgery

or injury may be a sign that your

vitamin D levels are too low.

6. Bone Loss

Vitamin D plays a crucial role in

calcium absorption and bone

metabolism.

Many older people who are

diagnosed with bone loss need to

take more calcium. However, they

may be deficient in vitamin D as well.

7. Hair Loss

Hair loss is often attributed to stress,

which is certainly a common cause.

However, when hair loss is severe, it

may be the result of a disease

or nutrient deficiency.

8. Muscle Pain

The causes of muscle pain are often

difficult to pinpoint.

There is some evidence that vitamin D

deficiency may be a potential cause

of muscle pain in children and adults.

The Bottom Line

Vitamin D deficiency is incredibly

common and most people are

unaware of it.

That's because the symptoms are

often subtle and non-specific,

meaning that it's hard to know if they're caused by low vitamin D levels

or something else.

If you think you may have a

deficiency, it's important that you

speak to your doctor and get your

blood levels measured.

Fortunately, a vitamin D deficiency is

usually easy to fix. You can either

GRANDMA’S CORNER

DIMENSIONS VOL.10, ISSUE 9, SEP 2018 12

A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

increase your sun exposure, eat

more vitamin-D-rich foods, such

as fatty fish or fortified dairy products,

or simply take a supplement.

Fixing your deficiency is simple, easy

and can have big benefits for your

health.

Fixing your deficiency

The two main ways to get vitamin D

are by exposing your bare skin to

sunlight and by taking vitamin D

supplements. You can’t get the right

amount of vitamin D your body needs

from food alone.

The most natural way to get vitamin D

is by exposing your bare skin to

sunlight (ultraviolet B rays). This can

happen very quickly, particularly in

the summer. You don’t need to tan or

burn your skin to get vitamin D. You

only need to expose your skin for

around half the time it takes for your

skin to begin to burn. How much

vitamin D is produced from sunlight

depends on the time of day, where

you live in the world and the color of

your skin. The more skin you expose

the more vitamin D is produced.

You can also get vitamin D by taking

supplements. This is a good way to get

vitamin D if you can’t get enough

sunlight, or if you’re worried about

exposing your skin. Vitamin D3 is the

best kind of supplement to take.

The amount of vitamin D you get from

exposing your bare skin to the sun

depends on:

• The time of day – your skin

produces more vitamin D if you

expose it during the middle of the

day.

• Where you live – the closer to

the equator you live, the easier it is for

you to produce vitamin D from

sunlight all year round.

• The color of your skin – pale

skins make vitamin D more quickly

than darker skins.

• The amount of skin you

expose – the more skin your expose

the more vitamin D your body will produce.

The above is explained in more detail:

The time of year and time of day:

When the sun’s rays enter the Earth’s

atmosphere at too much of an angle,

the atmosphere blocks the UVB part

of the rays, so your skin can’t produce

vitamin D. This happens during the

early and later parts of the day and

during most of the day during the

winter season.

Your skin type

Melanin is a substance that affects

how light or dark your skin color is. The

more melanin you have, the darker

your skin color. The amount of melanin

you have in your skin affects the

amount of vitamin D you can

produce.

Melanin protects against skin damage

from too much UVB exposure, so

darker skins with more melanin allow

less UVB to enter the skin. With less UVB getting through the skin, less vitamin D

is produced each minute. This is why if

you’re dark skinned, you need more

sun exposure to make vitamin D than

if you’re fair skinned.

Other factors

There are other factors which can

affect the amount of vitamin D your

body makes from exposure to the sun.

These are:

• How old you are. As you get

older, your skin has a harder time

producing vitamin D.

• Whether you’re wearing

sunscreen. Sunscreen blocks a lot of

vitamin D production.

• The altitude you’re at. The sun

is more intense on top of a mountain

than at the beach. This means you

make more vitamin D the higher up

you are (at higher altitudes).

• Whether it is cloudy. Less UVB

reaches your skin on a cloudy day

and your skin makes less vitamin D.

• Air pollution. Polluted air soaks

up UVB or reflects it back into space.

This means that if you live somewhere

where there is lots of pollution, your

skin makes less vitamin D.

• Being behind glass. Glass

blocks all UVB, so you can’t make

vitamin D if you’re in sunlight, but

behind glass.

Indoor tanning

Your skin can also make vitamin D if

you use an indoor tanning bed. As

with natural sunlight, making the

vitamin D you need from a tanning

bed happens within minutes. You

don’t need to tan your skin, or use a

tanning bed for a long time to get the

vitamin D you need.

Vitamin D supplements

In the 21st century, it’s hard to get

daily full body sun exposure. On the

days that you can’t get enough sun

exposure, taking a supplement is an

effective way to get the vitamin D

your body needs. It‘s also a good way

to get vitamin D if you’re worried

about exposing your skin to the sun.

Actually, to gain more vitamin D neither morning nor

evening sunlight is good. The best time

is noon. UVA rays of sunlight are

constant during the whole time but

UVB rays which are required for

development of vitamin D are high at

noon.

So to use sun to provide you with

maximum vitamin D, middle of the

day is best.

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A Journal of A N Prakash Construction Project Management Consultants Pvt. L td

APPENDIX

Question of this month

In the Article titled ‘Love Food, Hate

Waste’, Jenny Costa the Founder of

‘Rubies in the Rubble’ is seen

welcoming a dignitary to her facility.

Who is this visitor? (The first correct

answer wins the prize but we shall be

publishing in the next issue of the

newsletter the names of all who have

answered correctly.)

Answer to Question of the last month.

The Nilgiris covered with Neelakurunji

Question of the last Month was:

The mass blossoming of Neelakurinji

flowers is a spectacle which occurs

once in 12 years (see photo above).

What is this phenomenon called in

biological terms and which proverb in

English best describes it?

Since there is every possibility of

receiving more than one correct

answer, whoever replies first,

answering both the questions

correctly will be declared the winner.

Dipali & Swastka from HO & Srinivasa

Rao of Ramky 1 Galaxia site,

Hyderabad had answered but their

answers were off the mark. The

correct answer is: The phenomenon is

called Predator Satiation and the

proverb which best describes it is:

‘There is safety in numbers’. This is

explained in more detail below:

Sandhill crane& Northern Pintail &

Mallard

Predator satiation is an anti-predator

adaptation in which prey briefly occur

at high population densities, reducing

the probability of an individual

organism being eaten.

When predators are flooded with

potential prey, they can consume

only a certain amount, so by

occurring at high densities prey

benefit from a safety in

numbers effect. This strategy has

evolved in a diverse range of prey,

including notably many species of

plants, insects, and fish. Predator

satiation can be considered a type of

refuge from predators.

Blue & Yellow snapper fish move in

vast schools along the reef in Fiji

So, what is this ‘Safety in Numbers’

mean?

Safety in numbers is the hypothesis

that, by being part of a large physical

group or mass, an individual is less

likely to be the victim of a

mishap, accident, attack, or other

bad event.

In a study of wild hyenas in Kenya, it

was found that when playing

recordings of hyenas from other parts

of Africa, the hyenas listening to the

voices were more likely to approach

the source of the sound when they

were in groups and more likely to flee

when they were alone.

Group of adelie penguins begin to dive

into the sea together to go fishing. They

typically gather in large groups on the

shore, then all jump in at the same time to

reduce their chances of being eaten by

an ocean predator.

Similarly, Adelie penguins wait to jump

into the water until a large enough

group has assembled, reducing each

individual's risk of seal predation.

Wildebeest crossing a river in Kenya

Humans, when alone, see threats as

closer than they actually are. But mix

in people from a close group, and

that perception disappears.

In other words, there’s safety in

numbers, according to a study by two

Michigan State University scholars.

“Having one’s group or posse around

actually changes the perceived

seriousness of the threat,” said Joseph

Cesario, lead author on the study and

assistant professor of psychology. “In

that situation, they don’t see the

threat quite so closely because they

have their people around to support

them in responding to the threat.’”

Walking dead War - Safety in Numbers

Editorial team

Roy Zacharias, Editor

Editorial Board: R Suresha, Divya K

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