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At Larsen & Toubro’s Tunnelling Excellence Academy (TEA) in Kancheepuram, Sekar (name changed), wearing goggles and a helmet, keenly observes his instructor describing the working of the massive tunnel boring machines (TBMs) used to drill underground metro rail corridors. He and the other trainees at the academy will soon join the large workforce involved in laying underground metro lines around the country.
India’s rapid development of metro rail systems has led to the creation of a nearly 1,000 km network across 25 cities. L&T is one of the main companies executing metro projects in India. To remedy the dearth of skilled people, the company is creating its own trained pool of human resources.
It has deployed 21 TBMs in places such as Chennai and Hyderabad to execute several metro, railway, road, and water infrastructure projects.
In-house talent
The company’s maiden metro tunnelling project dates back to 1999 — an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for Delhi Metro. However, that section of the network was mostly elevated, and the scope of work changed when underground metro projects were launched in Chennai, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
In the absence of in-house talent, the tunnelling staff were mostly hired from outside the company. That’s when the need for the academy was felt, as the company targeted becoming a major player in the tunnelling business.
Established in 2018, the TEA is the country’s first dedicated training centre for tunnelling and underground construction. It offers a mix of classroom-based learning and hands-on training, covering all aspects of tunnelling — from designing and construction to operating TBMs, says K Senthilnathan, Executive Vice President and Head-Technical Services, Heavy Civil Infrastructure, L&T Construction.
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“We have so far trained over 1,000 people at various levels, including frontline supervisors and engineers. It is only for internal use. However, the market is very dynamic and some of the people who were trained here have left. Meanwhile, we have to sustain our business and we continue training more people,” he says.
TEA also has a tie-up with Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, which has a department specialising in rock mechanics.
Trainees attend a two-week theoretical session there. In the case of middle managers, after 45 days of training at various sites, they receive practical training at TEA. Those at the junior or primary level receive training at TEA before being assigned to various sites, he says.
The minimum qualification for a tunnelling workman is 12th pass; the engineers involved in this work typically have a background in rock mechanics or geotechnical studies.
Skill Pool
The academy’s director, Puny Praya Boni, says tunnelling in India is a relatively new field of work. L&T is contributing to the growth in the number of skilled engineers and workmen to help realise the dream of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, he adds.
The TEA aims to function as a global centre of excellence for academic research in tunnelling and related underground construction technologies, Senthilnathan says. Those trained at the academy are currently deployed at various sites in India and overseas. Refresher courses are also on offer, he says.
Tunnelling is a complicated line of work, as it involves working underground with little knowledge of what to expect in the terrain. The technicians are often called upon to take split-second decisions. Any emergencies also require the personnel to act fast, with no time to reach out to superiors above the ground for instructions.
Given the intensive nature of the work, tunnelling projects call for workers with a passion for the job, says Boni.
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