Structural Engineer Shirish Atchuta Kamat opens up about his experiences in the field of engineering, his novel venture Ansh Structural Laboratory Pvt. Ltd. and the variety of ways in which it intends to benefit the construction industry.
Early life and Education
I was born on the 14th August 1966, in the village of Cuncolim as the third son of four siblings to Atchuta and Jayanti Kamat. My father worked at the Mormugao Port Trust and my mother was a home maker. My parents were always adamant and believed that all their children must be educated, and that education was the key to success.
I grew up at the MPT colony in Vasco with two older brothers – Anand, Manohar and one younger brother, Vishwesh and lived through a normal childhood – going to school, studying and playing sports, especially cricket, which I excelled at. I completed schooling at Mata Secondary High School and following that, with Higher Secondary at MES College, Vasco. I got admission at the Goa College of Engineering, Ponda, and in 1989, I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree (B.E) in Civil Engineering.
Choosing Structural Engineering and early days in the profession
I answered my final exams on 28th July 1989, following which the prestigious Kamat Constructions offered me a job that I was scheduled to start from 1st August, that same year. I worked on site in Tonca, Miramar on the project ‘Kamat Complex’ as site engineer. After about a month, I was transferred to another project, ‘Alfred Apartment’ at Caranzalem as site in-charge and then to ‘Durga Chambers’ in Panjim city. During this time, I learnt a lot from my bosses Ramesh Kamat and Uday Kamat.
By the end of April 1990 I requested Uday Kamat to relieve me from their company since I wanted to keenly pursue the field of structural design. I must mention here that Kamat Constructions Pvt. Ltd. gave an excellent start to my career as an engineer.
On 2nd May 1990, I joined Ramesh Kamat & Associates as Design Engineer. I am really thankful to Late Ramesh Kamat, Prakash Kamat and Sriram Kamat for their continuing guidance during my journey with them, where I worked for about three and half years.
Thereafter, on 2nd February 1993, I began my own practice at Nizmar Center, Panaji. Mohandas, who was a contractor, offered me his office space for free! In return, I was to keep notes of all the calls that he would receive on his landline phone at the office!
Motivation to start the Ansh Structural Laboratory at Porvorim
In 1993, I started my practice as a Structural Consultant. During the course of my practice, I realized the necessity of checking quality of reinforced cement concrete. In 2008, I established ‘Ansh Structural Lab Pvt. Ltd.’ to check the quality of concrete by use of non-destructive testing equipment. I always dreamt of having a material testing lab which finally came to life on 24th September 2020.
According to me, it’s all about trying to grow as a businessman and not putting yourself in a bubble of comfort. Many business persons in the engineering field tend to be happy with what they have and do not seek to take risks, thus inhibiting their growth. I always had the mindset to push myself forward and to keep on growing. I love to work and being productive brings joy to me. My wife Anjali has supported me in all my endeavours. She took care of my home and children. During our early days, she would help me in my office work. I have an elder son, Sajal, who has graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering and is now pursuing his Master’s degree in Foundation Engineering. My younger daughter, Sachi, is currently pursuing her final year of Diploma in Civil Engineering. I believe that our new venture of setting up this material testing lab has added value to our consultancy services.
How does the local construction industry intend to benefit from this lab?
This facility will help structural consultants, architects, builders, contractors and project management consultants to ensure that the quality of materials procured and used at their site are of top quality.
It often so happens that the faulty works and bad quality material go unnoticed, as contractors and suppliers do not have this facility at the site. My aim through Ansh is to provide this facility and the instruments/machinery in our lab are ‘top of the line’ with everything being automated (computerized systems requiring no manual calculations) thereby providing accurate results.
What services are offered by the lab?
Ansh Structural Lab Pvt. Ltd. provides two laboratory services. Non-destructive testing – which I set up by acquiring the suitable instruments like rebound hammer, ultra-pulse velocity meter, cover meter, half-cell potential meter and thickness gauge indicator that facilitates assessment of old buildings and aids in monitoring deterioration of existing structures. This facility may be used by owners or builders to check the existing condition of older buildings.
The other service deals with building material testing. We have set up a laboratory at Porvorim where samples of concrete, coarse aggregates, fine aggregates (sand), autoclaved aerated blocks (AAC blocks), burnt clay bricks, fly ash bricks, concrete paving blocks, solid concrete blocks, reinforcement steel and water are tested. At Ansh Lab, we conduct 81 different types of tests in the 10 disciplines as mentioned above.
How do you intend to expand this business over time?
Our goal for the future is to expand our horizons by adding concrete mix design, testing of cement and soil testing to this facility.
Any specific experiences you would like to share in this regard?
When I first started out as an engineer supervising construction sites, I found that the quality of the building materials like concrete and steel were not up to expected standards, but the construction took place regardless, which could have been dangerous if the materials used were of poor quality.
Advice for various stakeholders
My advice for stakeholders is that, instead of carrying out tests after the structure is already constructed, it will be infinitely better if the fundamental ingredients used in concrete such as cement, aggregates and water are initially tested; because if the quality of these are excellent then by default the quality of the concrete will also be excellent – it will also save time and money.
It is always beneficial if the qualities of the materials are tested for every construction activity as the stakeholder can be assured that there won’t be any consequences that will affect the structure being constructed and there will be a sense of safety
