Did you know, Mumbai’s Bandra-Worli Sea link has helped people reduce 50-80 minutes of their precious time which was used for commuting to 8-10 minutes?
The Bandra-Worli Sea Link idea was conceived in the late ’90s. It is India’s first eight-lane, cable-stayed freeway above the open sea. The weight of the bridge is equal to the weight of 56,000 African Elephants altogether, as 90,000 ton of cement was used at the time of building the bridge.
Also, the steel that was used manufacturing the bridge came majority from the Steel Authority of India Ltd. The steel cables used on the bridge are as long as the circumference of the earth. Each of them is as strong as to hold 900 tons of weight.
Teams from 11 different groups spread across 11 different countries including Egypt, China, Canada, Switzerland, Britain, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Serbia were involved in making this bridge.
A total of 2850 workers and 150 engineers have worked together on this project for 8 years. Total man-hours utilized in those 8 years were 2,57,00,000. This is the first bridge of South-East Asia which is a cable-stayed bridge in an open sea and longest bridge of India so far. This bridge truly reflects the Human skills, Enterprise and Determination for manufacturing this masterpiece.
The bridge is not just made on the technical aspects, but the aesthetic aspects have been given just as much importance as the technical aspects. The people of the teams were from different countries and cultures, but the masterpiece which has been made has come out with flying colors. This bridge has helped people save on an average 50-80 minutes of their precious time which was used while commutating from Bandra to Worli. The actual time taken while traveling from Bandra to Worli, if one uses the old road was from 60-90 minutes.
Although there was a vast difference in language, methods of work & culture, the challenges team faced technically kept them involved in the group creatively. Despite of these differences, this masterpiece was not possible if the teams would not have been managed properly to work in alignment with the final goal. In any organization, you will always find people coming from different backgrounds, different cultures and different places. It is the responsibility of the leader to manage the entire team in such a way that the team is working together towards the organizational goals. Bandra-Worli sea link is one such example of brilliant project management and team management skills that led to a remarkable masterpiece.
Progressive organizations always work towards team alignment through excellent project management to achieve goals and succeed.
Is your team working towards building alignment?
Compiled by Faber Priyal & Faber Mayuri