Indian Buildings Congress Surat Chapter held its Meeting on 06th August, 2022 in Room no. 607, Sixth Floor, Advanced Research Center, SVNIT at Surat to review its various activities.

Shri Mukul Patel, welcomed Shri V.R. Bansal, Honorary Secretary, IBC; Dr. Dilip A. Patel, Secretary, IBC Surat Chapter; Shri N.M. Bhatia, Governing Council Member, IBC; Shri Ashok Moitra, Governing Council Member, IBC from Gujarat State; Dr. Rajesh J. Pandya, Vice President, IBC Surat Chapter; Shri Vishal Raiyani, Treasurer, IBC Surat Chapter and all other invitees present in the meeting.

Dr. Dilip A Patel, Secretary, Surat Chapter of IBC, briefed the gathering about the history of formation of IBC’s Surat Chapter and apprised the students about the procedure to obtain the IBC Membership. He also mentioned that the IBC Seminars are a great opportunity for members as well as the students to receive practical exposure. He also encouraged the students in the gathering to introduce themselves to the panel members and further encouraged the panel members to take interest in suggesting research domains to the students for dissertation. The gathering in the meeting was also apprised about various workshops that were conducted in the CTM Section by Dr. D. A. Patel to ensure the students to receive vast exposure to the industry from various industry experts. He also informed the dignitaries in the meeting about the first batch, their dissertations and placements. He also mentioned that the current batch students are to select their dissertation domains.

Shri V.R.Bansal, Honorary Secretary, IBC addressing the gathering

Dr. Rajesh Pandya invited all the stake holders in the building construction industry to take active part in technical activities of IBC. He mentioned that though the Surat Chapter was formed only in 2019, the membership of the chapter has risen to 56 inspite of the disruption in the general life due to Covid pandemic. He further mentioned that another IBC Chapter at Gandhinagar (Gujrat) was subsequently formed. He also briefed that various technical activities have been conducted by the Chapter during the period, which are a) Seminar on “Diaphragm Wall Construction: Issues and Challenges” 20 July 2019, jointly with SVNIT and CREDAI Surat; b) One day seminar on “Health and Safety of Construction Workers” 26 September 2019, jointly with SVNIT and Bandhkam Mazdoor Sangathan; c) One week workshop on “Practice to Research and Research to Practice in Construction Technology and Management” during 2-6 August 2021, jointly with SVNIT, IPA, CDE Asia Ltd., CREDAI Surat, and ICEA Surat; d) One week workshop on “Practice to Research and Research to Practice in Construction Technology and Management” during 18-22 April 2022, jointly with SVNIT, SGPPL, IPA, and CREDAI Surat conducted in the online and offline mode, even during the Covid-19 pandemic. He stated that he is looking forward to conduct one session per quarter for ensuring that the members as well as students receive ample exposure from the industry.

Shri Moitra mentioned about the roles played by Civil Engineers in the construction industry. He also enlightened the gathering about the various other professionals that also contribute in the construction industry beside the Civil engineers. He further expressed his interest regarding enlightening the students and faculty members about elevators and lifts in the building practices.

Shri V.R. Bansal, Honorary Secretary, IBC congratulated and  thanked Dr. D. A. Patel for having successfully conducted various sessions over the past year for the welfare of the members as well the students. He elaborated the roles and vision of IBC in knowledge sharing besides being a common platform to all the stake holders in the industry. He informed the gathering and especially the students about the memberships that are offered to students and how they can further convert the membership into a lifetime membership. He briefed the gathering on the benefits of obtaining a IBC Membership and also urged them to visit the IBC website to have further information about the IBC and a glimpse of its annual, half yearly and bi-monthly publications. He suggested that technical activities by the Chapters of IBC can be held in virtual mode to ensure sharing of knowledge.

In the meeting questions raised by the audience were also replied by Shri V.R. Bansal, Honorary Secretary, IBC.

The meeting concluded with presentation of vote of thanks by Shri Vishal Raiyani, treasurer, Surat Chapter of IBC.

IBC was represented at SVNIT Surat in its Diamond Jubilee Conclave

Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT), Surat on the occasion of its Diamond Jubilee Conclave held on 6-7 August 2022 with IBC Surat Chapter as one of the partner Organizations, invited Sh. VR Bansal, Hony. Secretary, IBC as one of the Invitee Guests.

The authorities of the SVNIT, welcomed Shri V.R.Bansal, Honorary Secretary to the Conclave. Shri V.R. Bansal, Honorary Secretary, IBC on the occasion delivered his address on the topic ‘New technology and the need to upgrade the academic curriculum in line with the latest trends’. In his address, he talked about the rapid growth being witnessed in India in Housing and Infrastructure Projects, and the need to evolve and adopt new technologies for its speedy and quality implementation. He also emphasised the need for using new materials and the necessity of eliminating waste so as to economise the cost of construction as well as to preserve the natural resources and thereby, prevent environment disbalance.

Shri Bansal also informed about the developments in new technologies such as Monolithic construction, Jump-form shuttering, Aluminium form-work, Pre-fabricated Building, Pre-engineered Buildings etc. He also mentioned about various new technologies being used in various light-house projects under Global Housing Technologies challenge-India and specially the Tunnel form-work technology being used in such projects at Rajkot, Gujrat.

Shri V.R.Bansal, Honorary Secretary, IBC

delivering his address at Golden Jubilee Conclave of MNIT, Surat

He also mentioned about various new construction materials such as Self-healing concrete, modular bamboo, use of fly ash in cement and concrete, hardened slag aggregate as a replacement to natural stone aggregate, 3D Printed Bio-plastics as an alternative to concrete construction with 100% recyclability, bio-MASON bricks  which do not require firing like clay bricks, solar cells, Robotics and information technology which have the potential of  reducing burden on conventional building materials, reducing the environmental pollution in many forms and can contribute in controlling  the CO₂ generation and emission of green- house gases. He also expressed the need of integrating the robotics and information technology in construction techniques in future for improvement of quality of construction, faster construction and workmanship.

Sh. Bansal then spoke about the need to recycle the waste being generated by the construction industry as well as the household into wealth. He informed the gathering about the new technologies of recycling of huge C&D Waste so as to re- utilise the recycled product. He also informed about the new technologies available in the field for converting the solid waste being generated by house hold into manure, energy and other useful products which is the demand of the day so as to tackle the problem of garbage disposal and at the same time, harness the green energy out of it for meeting the energy demand.

Shri Bansal, expressed the need of incorporating the new technologies into the curriculum of the academics so that the students are exposed to the technology while they are graduating and contribute in further development. The views expressed by Shri Bansal were appreciated by one and all present in the gathering.