by Ashish Anupam, Managing Director, Tata Steel Long Products Limited
With growing requirements for commercial and residential infrastructure across the country, quality, speed of construction and a hassle-free experience are the need of the hour. Given the challenges posed by traditional brick-and-mortar construction, the government, corporates, urban planners, and individual home builders today are exploring non-conventional construction technologies, with prefabricated construction at the forefront of this revolution.
While prefabricated construction is extremely popular in developed countries, such as Japan, USA, Canada, and Germany, it is still gaining acceptance in India. Over the past few years, people are showing a greater adoption for innovative modular construction technologies, bolstered by the Government of India’s initiative to promote alternate construction methodologies.
What is Prefabricated Construction?
Prefabricated or modular construction involves constructing buildings with individual sections or modules which are manufactured offsite in a factory-controlled environment. After manufacturing the sections, they are transported to the construction site and erected on the ground readied for the final assembly.
Being a sustainable and innovative solution, prefabricated buildings have been gaining ground globally. It has the potential to increase productivity and efficiency without sacrificing quality.
How is Tata Steel ‘building value’ in the construction solutions space?
Tata Steel has been pioneering innovations that help improve the quality of life. The steel major always strives to offer top-quality offerings, including Tata Tiscon Rebars, Tata Pravesh Doors & Windows, SmartFab welded wire mesh, etc.
Taking the innovation journey forward, Tata Steel has brought steel-intensive construction solutions under the Nest-In brand, which offers top quality prefabricated offerings for building offices, residential complexes, institutions, industrial infrastructure, house extensions, etc. It has also been at the forefront of government programmes, such as the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, that directly benefit people with its sanitation solutions under the EzyNest brand. The products under the brand are currently being used in over 26 states, ensuring a better life for millions across India.
It stands out for its six key benefits from its offerings, including high-speed construction, state-of-the-art modern technologies, hassle-free customer experience, quality of offerings, reliability of service, and convenient installation even in the most challenging terrains.
Nest-In prefab construction is 2-3 times faster than conventional brick-and-mortar construction. It cuts down almost 70% of the weight of traditional construction, as it requires less foundation, less waste disposal, and redeployment costs. Nest-In structures also have a superior strength-to-weight ratio which lends them a high tolerance to adverse weather conditions, strong winds, and earthquakes.
Nest-In’s offerings
Nest-In offers solutions for large infrastructure projects through HabiNest, a Light Gauge Steel Frame (LGSF) construction technology; modular solutions for sanitation, safe water, and portable cabins; and premium home solutions to retail customers through Nestudio.
HabiNest is a light gauge steel frame solution, suitable for academic buildings, residential complexes, industrial amenities, community centres, and more. HabiNest buildings are constructed in almost 1/3rd the time it takes for conventional construction and provide environmental savings in the range of 48% to 61% over a range of life cycle categories in comparison to similar brick-and-mortar structures.
Nest-In has collaborated with IIT Hyderabad to provide structural stability certifications for its structures, which are designed for a life up to 50 years. Nest-In’s LGSF structures are designed using state-of-the-art software and consider soil conditions, seismic loads, and wind speed forces. Nest-In has constructed a hostel complex spanning 14,000 sq ft and a medical college campus with G+3 buildings spanning 2.5 lakh sq ft for clients using LGSF technology.
Nestudio is a premium PUF panel-based housing solution, suited for constructing 100% customised housing solutions such as cottages, farmhouses, and vertical home extensions. With a suite of design options and premium fittings, Nestudio offers a comfortable, hassle-free, and end-to-end service to our customers. At present, we offer Nestudio in Delhi NCR and Bengaluru markets, with up to G+1.
Nest-In also has several key offerings in the standardised modular solutions space:
- EzyNest modular toilets provide an effective end-to-end sanitation solution to counter the lack of access to clean public toilets. EzyNest ensures a safe sanitation space for the community, thus helping prevent the transmission of water-borne diseases and contributing to the mission of basic health for all. EzyNest toilets were vastly deployed during the Swachh Bharat Mission, with over 10,000 installations done across the country. Nest-In took forward the sanitation revolution with the launch of Smart EzyNest, a range of automated smart toilets that provides a one-stop solution to unhygienic toilets in India by providing smart self-clean technology.
- With the MobiNest solution, Nest-In is trying to redefine portable cabins by ensuring standardised quality and availability across the country. These cabins are traditionally used as site offices and guard huts. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Nest-In transformed and modified these cabins to function as quarantine & isolation facilities. A Covid-19 Isolation facility spanning 80,000 sq ft was completed in just 90 days using MobiNest cabins at Kasaragod, Kerala.
With such innovative and futuristic solutions, Tata Steel’s Nest-In is leaving its impact on the construction sector in the country and is working towards building a better and smarter tomorrow.
