Background

Jai Raj Ispat Ltd. (JRIL) embarked on an ambitious ₹2000 crore expansion project to establish a 0.45 MTPA Integrated Steel Plant at Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.
The integrated complex comprising Sinter Plant, Blast Furnace, Steel Melting Shop (SMS) and Rolling Mill was planned for simultaneous completion within 18 months, targeting mid-2021.

However, as execution progressed, momentum dropped sharply. After 2.5 years into execution, the portfolio was already delayed by 9 months. By mid-phase:

• Despite the urgency, execution speed was barely 54% of required speed.
• The Rolling Mill was running 40% late.
• The Blast Furnace had slipped by 117%, taking more than twice the expected duration.

Recognizing the need for fundamental execution change, JRIL onboarded Realization Technologies to turn around the project and restore predictability.

‍Why Timely Delivery Was Critical

For JRIL, this expansion was a strategic, high-stakes investment:

• The equity component alone was equivalent to the company’s annual revenue, showing immense commitment and exposure.
• Delays not only strained finances but also affected reputation and market expectations in the steel sector.

‍Direct Financial Impact:

• Every month of delay came at a huge financial cost: about 40cr in lost profits and another 30cr in expenses, adding up to nearly 70cr lost each month.

Given these stakes, timely delivery wasn’t just desirable it was existential for JRIL’s business continuity and growth.

Challenges Before the Intervention

1. Lack of Predictability

Over 2.5 years of execution, every six months brought 2–3 months of additional delay, creating a recurring slippage cycle. There was no reliable forecast or baseline, making planning and decision-making difficult.

2. Continuous Cost Escalations

With scope additions, rework, and delayed deliveries, project costs were rising steadily, pushing the project beyond the approved capex & stressing financials and investor confidence.

3. Difficulty in Freezing Scope

Repeated design and engineering changes such as new Blower House, SGP piping, and LCSS works led to continuous churn and lack of closure.

4. Limited Resources

Available manpower and supervision hovered at 50–60% of plan across all packages. This shortage reduced productivity and created execution bottlenecks everywhere.

• Civil resources mobilized at just ~43% of requirement on average.
• Structural manpower availability was at 50–70%.
• Mechanical and piping teams operated at 20–40% of required capacity
• Supervisory resources were heavily constrained, often falling below 50% of the necessary oversight levels.

Different teams (Civil, Mechanical, Structural andElectrical) were all trying to work in same spaces, causing clashes and slowdowns.

5. Failing Commitments from Contractors and Suppliers

Suppliers missed promised delivery timelines by 150–300%,while contractors struggled to maintain progress amid incomplete inputs. Deliveries were scattered and incomplete, leaving materials lying unused and tying upcash.

6. Weak Internal Capacity

• Key Departments like procurement and stores were overstretched.
• Technical teams lacked capacity to freeze engineering and technology decisions in time.
• Planning, monitoring, and process discipline were underdeveloped for a program of this scale.

The result was multiple fronts open, constant firefighting,and low delivery reliability. Managing so many moving parts was a huge challenge, especially with 100+ vendors & 30+ contractors operating without a common plan for delivery.

‍Earlier Approach to Project Delivery

Before Realization’s intervention, the JRIL team relied on conventional management methods:

• Setting periodic targets for contractors, suppliers, and internal teams.
• Reviewing progress and gaps in periodic meetings.
• Reallocating resources based on urgency and criticality.

While these practices worked for smaller projects, they proved inadequate in a large-scale, multi-front program with chronic shortages and shifting priorities.

‍New Approach – Realization Intervention

At the start of the engagement, JRIL and Realization jointly agreed on three core principles to help the existing team deliver more with the resources they already had:

1. Resource Concentration:
       It is faster and easier to deal with more resources in 3 projects than to manage shortages across 4.
       → Focus was shifted to completing three projects first (Rolling Mill, Blast Furnace, SMS) while deprioritizing the fourth (Sinter Plant) temporarily.
2. Proper Handovers Over Premature Starts:
       It is easier and faster to ensure clear handovers between stakeholders than to micromanage pre-mature starts.
       → Teams were instructed to finish batches fully before new ones began, enforcing discipline in sequence and ownership.
3. Simple but Predictable Planning:
       In an uncertain execution environment, simple, realistic, and stable plans are better than complex, frequently changing schedules.
       → Plans were restructured into predictable, milestone-driven formats, making control easier and decision-making faster.

Execution Solutions Implemented

‍1. Focus & Finish Execution

From the beginning, the JRIL project struggled with unfinished sections and overlapping activities. To fix this, the team introduced Focus & Finish execution rules. Execution zones were reorganized to reduce overlap and coordination clutter.

The most coordination-heavy zones were identified early. Instead of spreading manpower across many half-done areas, each work area was defined for complete finish before moving to the next. In structural erection, for instance, foundations, fabrication, and erection for each grid were completed end-to-end.

This drastically reduced rework and enabled steady progress despite manpower shortages.

‍2. Resource Prioritization and Concentration

With only 50–60% manpower mobilized, resource concentration became the central strategy.

• Key resources were pulled to priority fronts like Rolling Mill foundations and Blast Furnace IPPL.
• Non-critical utility and ancillary works were deferred until the core packages were stabilized.  This approach created visible progress and restored momentum.

‍3. Full Kitting for Procurement Synchronization

Procurement was restructured to match site readiness:

• Batch-level procurement was enforced for long lead items such as dedusting systems and conveyors. Deliveries were organized in batch-level kits to ensure     complete availability for each work front at site, rather than arriving in random sequences.
• Bulk procurement of cables and other electrical items eliminated dependency-driven stoppages
• Off-site welding reduced site workload by 30% for Piping work.

4. Streamliner for Control and Visibility

Realization’s digital platform Streamliner became theexecution backbone.

• Provided real-time tracking of progress, manpower and material readiness.
• Highlighted bottlenecks early enabling rapid corrective actions.
• Shifted reviews from activity lists to velocity-based progress monitoring, driving accountability at every level

‍Results Acheived

After 2.5 years of execution, the program which was already 9 months behind with key fronts stalled. JRIL & Realization achieved one of the most remarkable turnarounds in its execution history:

For the remaining scope, Realization committed 14 months and delivered in 16 months. All four units of the 0.45 MTPA integrated steel complex were completed within this period:

• Rolling Mill: commissioned in month 8
• Blast Furnace: completed in month 11
• Steel Melting Shop (SMS): completed in month 11
• Sinter Plant: completed in month 16

All this was achieved with the same level of manpower(50–60%) and while still facing supplier delays by simply improving focus, sequencing, and coordination.The integrated plant was ultimately delivered within 1.5–2.5 months of feasible schedule, achieving predictable progress across all fronts.

‍Impact

• Execution velocity improved from ~54% to near required speed.
• Predictability and control restored across 100+ contractors.
• Enhanced reputation and stakeholder confidence due to disciplined delivery.
• Established “Project Velocity” as a new benchmark metric for monitoring future expansions.

Conclusion

The JRIL Integrated Steel Plant turnaround demonstrates that even in highly constrained environments with limited resources, delayed inputs, and complex interfaces; Execution speed and predictability can be achieved through disciplined focus, clear prioritization, and data-driven control.

By implementing the Focus & Finish methodology, resource concentration, and Streamliner-enabled visibility; JRIL delivered faster, steadier, and with far greater confidence, setting a new internal standard for how large capital projects should be managed.

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