And it’s a hat-trick!
Mumbai: Afcons has been named a winner of the Global, Asia, and, India MIKE (Most Innovative Knowledge Enterprise) Award in its inaugural year. With this, Afcons’ Knowledge Management (KM) initiative has been recognised at all three levels for the third year in a row.
“While we’re immensely proud of what we do, we’re not complacent,” says Rudolph D’Souza, Afcons' Chief Knowledge Officer. When asked to elaborate on this achievement, he adds, “Afcons embarked upon the KM journey way earlier than its peers. We realised long ago that completed projects are more than mere structures. They are gold mines of knowledge and expertise, which need to be harnessed effectively and strategically. So, the global awards are a recognition of what we are striving to build.”
Documentation is a natural outcome of every project, wherein every stage is captured for future reference. Can they be classified as knowledge repositories? “Do you hand over a running hosepipe to someone who asks you for a drink of water?” quips Rudolph, adding, “While documents are running hosepipes, knowledge repositories are like glasses of water. Under knowledge creation, documents are refined, processes are defined, and, learnings are captured systematically as lessons. They are enhanced in a way that subsequent projects can be executed faster and more efficiently. Every step is taken, keeping a close eye on business.”
When the Knowledge Services Group (KSG) was created in 2012, the aim was to garner the intangible (read knowledge) and use it to create maximum business impact. The idea of forming a dedicated group was two-fold - to acknowledge the power of knowledge, and, to capture this learning and put it back into circulation.
“We exist in a knowledge economy, and, I say this because every experience adds to knowledge. While the experience of project execution is the same everywhere, Afcons is many steps ahead in terms of KM because we emphasise equally on capturing and disseminating knowledge to the extent that we have refined this into an art. Building India’s first underwater Metro tunnels in Kolkata in a record time of 67 days is no mean feat. We could achieve this because we imbibed lessons we learnt while executing the Chennai Metro project,” says the Afcons's KM architect.
At Afcons, learning is not restricted to lessons in classrooms and sites. There are year-long campaigns, interactions with industry experts, video screenings and ongoing informal collaborations among Afconians to keep the buzz going. Knowledge thus becomes a culmination of people, processes, technology and innovation. “The strategy is to humanise the experiences to bring the best on the table and align our culture of engagement with business. Every Afconian is a custodian of knowledge,” says Rudolph.
The KM activities are framed in a way that they engage everyone. “While we have observed that millennials gravitate more towards campaigns, the veterans are enthusiastic about technical training and activity-based exercises. KSG always has something for everyone,” says Rudolph, adding, “Global recognitions are humbling as well as signs that we are steadily heading towards becoming a Knowledge Enterprise. Goalposts keep shifting, making the journey even more exhilarating and enriching.”
MIKE Award
MIKE (Most Innovative Knowledge Enterprise) Award is the evolution of the MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise) Award. There are eight countries, or, zones taking part in the first year of Global MIKE study. They are Australia and New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Iran, Japan and Mena (Lebanon).
The citation states, “We are pleased to inform you that Afcons Infrastructure Limited has been determined by the judging panel as one of the Asian winners of the Global MIKE Award 2018 based on overall outstanding performance in KM implementation and innovation. Your organisation’s continuous contribution and performance in KM and innovation activities have surely earned the recognition that it deserves”.
