Shankar Lakshmanan: Renovating Indian Structural Engineering Industry With Revolutionary Design Starndards
Shankar Lakshmanan
CEO & MD
As a regal professional belonging to the civil engineering industry of India, Shankar Lakshmanan's prominence as an impeccable Structural Engineer is honed by his prolifically long industry expertise and experience. Intending to cater to one of the most basic necessities of human life ‘shelter', Shankar entered into the field of civil engineering to construct homes for people rather than mere buildings. Acknowledged and appreciated for introducing some innovative infrastructure developments across the prefabricated building structures both at a local and global level, Shankar is predominantly engaged in crafting contemporary and exclusive engineering solutions through his brainchild `VIJLAK'. As an innovative and leading structural steel detailing company that aims to provide the highest quality of steel detailing services such as BIM services, PEB services, Precast panel detailing services, MEP services and more, VIJLAK has carved a niche for itself in the field of structural steel detailing, completing over 50+ projects till date. Reigning in the industry for more than two years, is not only equipped with the necessary techniques and standards to meet the current demands but also has successfully completed an array of projects globally under the guidance of Shankar and his team of experts. Below is an excerpt of Shankar's interview with CEO Insights.
What keeps you going as an industry leader? Where do you draw your inspiration from?
The structural engineering field is a challenging domain, and it is quite common to have some good as well as bad experiences during the expeditions. Being a challenge lover, I also face critical days, but I have always managed to over come the hurdles by crafting the simplest solutions for complex problems. So far, that has always been my motto.
I usually don't quit until the work is done. I know that failures are
inevitable and we have to face them a few times,even if we giveour best. Ultimately, what matters the most is bouncing back with a determination of succeeding and that's what I always do.
How VIJLAK is currently positioned in the market? What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to the clients?
Currently, we are present in the top seven cities in India and we would soon like to have a global presence as well. We are also planning to do structural engineering consultation, outsourcing and projects for more than 30 countries in the future. As per the USP of our organization, we are more concerned about the safety of our clients and whenever we are designing a structure, we tend to give much more importance to their safety. Similarly, we also give a lot of priority to their future expansion plans and try to handover them simple designs which can be easily expanded in the future.
What were the hurdles you faced pertaining to COVID? Describe your role in tackling those challenges.
During COVID, we faced some obstacles when it came to dealing with onsite project management as well as workforce retention. We lost many precious lives as well during this period and the void it has created in our hearts was massive and irreplaceable. Another major trait of the COVID-infected market was the unpredictability we had to endure as the industry came to a temporary halt. We had to economically establish everything, starting from getting a financial grip over our economical expenses to giving salaryto our employees, managing our clients, and so on. Balancing everything was a tough task for us, and operating in this post-pandemic world we have already started planning for the next five years, to remain on a safer side.
Which are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction, both at a personal and professional level?
India is one of the most populated countries in the world job scarcity is easily visible in our country. As an individual I feel a lot of satisfaction in giving direct as well as indirect employment to a lot of professionals. Officially, we are also engaged in doing some outsourcing to our foreign clients, particularly focusing on more than three continents as of now. So, that it is also one of our noteworthy milestones. We are planning to establish ourselves across other continents and countries, which will also boost employment opportunities offered by us. For our contribution to this domain we have also been bestowed with various awards in the last two years including the best structural engineer award from our clients'
How VIJLAK is currently positioned in the market? What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to the clients?
Currently, we are present in the top seven cities in India and we would soon like to have a global presence as well. We are also planning to do structural engineering consultation, outsourcing and projects for more than 30 countries in the future. As per the USP of our organization, we are more concerned about the safety of our clients and whenever we are designing a structure, we tend to give much more importance to their safety. Similarly, we also give a lot of priority to their future expansion plans and try to handover them simple designs which can be easily expanded in the future.
Ultimately, what matters the most is bouncing back with a determination of succeeding and that's what I always do
What were the hurdles you faced pertaining to COVID? Describe your role in tackling those challenges.
During COVID, we faced some obstacles when it came to dealing with onsite project management as well as workforce retention. We lost many precious lives as well during this period and the void it has created in our hearts was massive and irreplaceable. Another major trait of the COVID-infected market was the unpredictability we had to endure as the industry came to a temporary halt. We had to economically establish everything, starting from getting a financial grip over our economical expenses to giving salaryto our employees, managing our clients, and so on. Balancing everything was a tough task for us, and operating in this post-pandemic world we have already started planning for the next five years, to remain on a safer side.
Which are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction, both at a personal and professional level?
India is one of the most populated countries in the world job scarcity is easily visible in our country. As an individual I feel a lot of satisfaction in giving direct as well as indirect employment to a lot of professionals. Officially, we are also engaged in doing some outsourcing to our foreign clients, particularly focusing on more than three continents as of now. So, that it is also one of our noteworthy milestones. We are planning to establish ourselves across other continents and countries, which will also boost employment opportunities offered by us. For our contribution to this domain we have also been bestowed with various awards in the last two years including the best structural engineer award from our clients'
side.
Currently, we are planning to incorporate some advanced design patterns in our offerings, such as constructing structures that will not be affected by bomb blasts, earthquakes, or heavy floods. Having published our journals and gearing up to get some patents at present, we have completed about 90percent of the work in this regard. This is also one of our significant achievements so far.
Post-COVID, what are the major changes in market behavior that you anticipate, and what are the opportunities that you foresee? In accordance with that, what is the future roadmap of VIJLAK?
Covid has severely impacted every sphere of our lives and we are witnessing some drastic changes at present such as smartphones in the hands of small children for online classes. Amidst the hardships and unexpected happenings, it's not unlikely to face an economic recession globallywhich could affect some businesses severely. But if we are strong enough and well prepared, such calamities can be avoided.No matter how severe the recession is, if a businessman is well-prepared, he can keep his business afloat even at such turbulent times.
Technically, we are having some goals for the future, and we are planning to achieve them within the next few years such as being able to fabricate a thousand structures per year. Also, our aim is to give employment for nearly two lakh engineers in the next 20 years. Also, we recently signed an agreement with the US for $25 million.
What will be your advice for the budding industry leaders of this domain?
I would advise them not to run away from failures. Instead of trying to succeed in ten different fields, I would request them to try in one field ten times. That's my mantra, and this should be the mantra for the budding professionals of this domain as well. Since, technologies are changing every day you have to keep learning continuously and consistently. To sustain in the field of structural engineering, having a detailed education is necessary. In the structural field, the emergence of advanced technologies contemporary software, and innovative structures have become quite common. To remain aligned with the current industry trends, we all have to keep learning and stay updated.
Shankar Lakshmanan,CEO & MD, VIJLAK
Shankar got his strong professional experience through his studies background which includes a B.E in Civil Engineering, M.E in Structural Engineering and finished his MISTE from IIT Delhi. By taking civil engineering as his passion, he wanted to utilize his entrepreneurship skills for this strong industry and its client needs.
Hobbies: Listening Classical Music
Favorite Book: Ring of Fire by Eric Flint & Legendary Lives by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam
Currently, we are planning to incorporate some advanced design patterns in our offerings, such as constructing structures that will not be affected by bomb blasts, earthquakes, or heavy floods. Having published our journals and gearing up to get some patents at present, we have completed about 90percent of the work in this regard. This is also one of our significant achievements so far.
Post-COVID, what are the major changes in market behavior that you anticipate, and what are the opportunities that you foresee? In accordance with that, what is the future roadmap of VIJLAK?
Covid has severely impacted every sphere of our lives and we are witnessing some drastic changes at present such as smartphones in the hands of small children for online classes. Amidst the hardships and unexpected happenings, it's not unlikely to face an economic recession globallywhich could affect some businesses severely. But if we are strong enough and well prepared, such calamities can be avoided.No matter how severe the recession is, if a businessman is well-prepared, he can keep his business afloat even at such turbulent times.
Technically, we are having some goals for the future, and we are planning to achieve them within the next few years such as being able to fabricate a thousand structures per year. Also, our aim is to give employment for nearly two lakh engineers in the next 20 years. Also, we recently signed an agreement with the US for $25 million.
What will be your advice for the budding industry leaders of this domain?
I would advise them not to run away from failures. Instead of trying to succeed in ten different fields, I would request them to try in one field ten times. That's my mantra, and this should be the mantra for the budding professionals of this domain as well. Since, technologies are changing every day you have to keep learning continuously and consistently. To sustain in the field of structural engineering, having a detailed education is necessary. In the structural field, the emergence of advanced technologies contemporary software, and innovative structures have become quite common. To remain aligned with the current industry trends, we all have to keep learning and stay updated.
Shankar Lakshmanan,CEO & MD, VIJLAK
Shankar got his strong professional experience through his studies background which includes a B.E in Civil Engineering, M.E in Structural Engineering and finished his MISTE from IIT Delhi. By taking civil engineering as his passion, he wanted to utilize his entrepreneurship skills for this strong industry and its client needs.
Hobbies: Listening Classical Music
Favorite Book: Ring of Fire by Eric Flint & Legendary Lives by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam