On 15 July, M.R. Jaishankar, Managing Director of the Brigade Group, spoke to a gathering of 80 people on ‘ISO-9000: A developer’s experience’.  

This talk was organised by INSTRUCT (Institute for Research, Development and Training of Construction Trades and Management), at the Institution of Engineers.  

Prior to his talk, M.R. Jaishankar answered a questionnaire on the ISO process, the need for it and its benefits. This was circulated during the talk. Extracts from the questionnaire.  

Why did Brigade Group opt for third party certification of quality when at the time of initiating these moves, the real estate market was booming ?  

Both CRISIL rating and ISO helps the buyer in separating ‘grain’ from the ‘chaff’. Moreover, they can be good self-evaluation and improvement techniques.  

There are 2 contrary opinions—one that ISO increases production costs, another that ISO will result in savings. Which is true ?  

Both are true. The ISO process costs the company time and money initially. But once the systems are established and followed religiously, savings result by way of reducing reworking, reducing supervisory overheads and in bringing out better quality products. Thus, better customer satisfaction and more business in the long run.  

What are the benefits of ISO & CRISIL certification ?  

They help in gaining customer confidence initially, and subsequently bring about customer satisfaction.

The gathering of 150 people included apartment owners of Brigade Retreat, clients of the other Brigade projects in Mysore, consultants, associates and officials of the KEB, MCC.  

A meeting was held prior to the celebrations to help the apartment owners at Brigade Retreat form an association. 

In an earlier interview with India Abroad, the most popular Indian weekly in the United States, M.R. Jaishankar said that the real estate prices in Bangalore have “stabilised during the last few months.” He also added that the new credit policy notified by the RBI and the reduced interest rates on various deposit schemes for NRIs will inject “a new vigour into investments.” He said that the fact that Bangalore is known all over the world, the benign climate of the city, its cosmopolitan populace and the short distances of intra-city travel beckon investors.

Although the cost for ready mix concrete is approximately 30% more than concrete cast in situ, the benefits far outweigh the cost. These benefits include assured quality, mixing under controlled conditions (since mixing operations are computer controlled), and drastically reduced time and effort.

Swabhimana - Promoting People’s Participation  

One of the NGOs associated with Swabhimana is CIVIC, an organisation concerned with the planning and development of Bangalore. CIVIC conducts workshops and training programmes to spread awareness on the Nagarapalika Bill and on the Comprehensive Development Plan of Bangalore. It also co-ordinates the sub-group on city planning and implementation.