Tata Power Limited: Company General Use

Challenge  I work at the research and development department of a petrochemical and energy company. Our ever- growing team has hit a growth stagnation point due to limited work space, where a small number of the  team constantly fell short of delivery due to conflicting experiment schedules with other members. The  team had acquired a new building with an office space, and an unprepared storage place to be converted  into a lab. Luckily, the department had a surplus that was announced mid-November which was to be  used before the end of the year. Through scouring efforts, we found a company to implement the changes,  which had a lab furniture ready that fit our space perfectly. As soon as we thought the solution to our  stagnation problem had arrived, we faced the real problem at hand; we needed to go through a large  corporate chain of approvals, as well as rebuilding the infrastructure of the storage area to properly  support the lab.

Selection  The team in charge of leading the change decided to not be discouraged, and to go ahead with the  hopes of either implementing the change, or learning what we can to further expedite the changes  down the line. Our approach was a two-part solution of visualization and learning launch. Instead of  waiting for the approval cycles and with the hopes of minimizing the iterations as they took very long,  we worked with the service company that would implement the change, as well as communicate with  the stakeholders and approvers.

Application  We built visuals of the lab and the infrastructure and promptly held meetings with the approvers ahead  of the approval meetings. These iterations of impromptu meetings yielded a lot of information and  triggered the approvers to point out where they disagree without failing the approval workflow and  have us repeat the process. The suggestions were incorporated into further visual builds and further  optimized for the lab worker. While a normal approval chain can take anywhere from a month to a year,  we managed to significantly change our design and approach to get the approvals in 2 weeks’ time.

Insight  One of the most important findings of the visual iterations was knowing that the existing office space in- fact has all the necessary lab infrastructure built in, as conversations and iterations showed that it was  previously a lab turned to offices. This drastically changed the plan and the phrasing used in the  discussions. Instead of saying retrofitting, we started saying reverting back, which in comparison is a  much shorter and easier process. We also realized our real problem is not to get the change approvals,  but finding offices for our relocated team members.

Approach  Our approach allowed us to better understand all the details necessary to be provided to approvers to  both expedite the process of change, as well as identify key safety parameters to be addressed in the  work to come. The work is still under progress, but the progress is much faster than the norm due to the  fast iterations of visual stimulation by building models of the lab and the infrastructure, while looking at  the “what is” aspect of how the building currently is. Our next step is to implement internally any parts

Tata Power Limited: Company General Use

of the change until a separate contracting approval chain is completed. This is to help set the stage for  the service company to quickly implement the changes and calibrations they need while helping them  deliver on-time. Our next step is to focus more on the learning launch, as we need to just implement  some changes and test them as part of the approval chain.


Tata Power Limited : Company General Use Challenge I work at the research and development department of a petrochemical and energy company . Our ever- growing team has hit a growth stagnation point due to limited work space , where a small number of the team constantly fell short of delivery due to conflicting experiment schedules with other members . The team had acquired a new building with an office space , and an unprepared storage place to be converted into a lab . Luckily , the department had a surplus that was announced mid - November which was to be used before the end of the year . Through scouring efforts , we found a company to implement the changes , which had a lab furniture ready that fit our space perfectly . As soon as we thought the solution to our stagnation problem had arrived , we faced the real problem at hand ; we needed to go through a large corporate chain of approvals , as well as rebuilding the infrastructure of the storage area to properly support the lab . Selection The team in charge of leading the change decided to not be discouraged , and to go ahead with the hopes of either implementing the change , or learning what we can to further expedite the changes down the line . Our approach was a two - part solution of visualization and learning launch . Instead of waiting for the approval cycles and with the hopes of minimizing the iterations as they took very long , we worked with the service company that would implement the change , as well as communicate with the stakeholders and approvers . Application We built visuals of the lab and the infrastructure and promptly held meetings with the approvers ahead of the approval meetings . These iterations of impromptu meetings yielded a lot of information and triggered the approvers to point out where they disagree without failing the approval workflow and have us repeat the process . The suggestions were incorporated into further visual builds and further optimized for the lab worker . While a normal approval chain can take anywhere from a month to a year , we managed to significantly change our design and approach to get the approvals in 2 weeks ’ time . Insight One of the most important findings of the visual iterations was knowing that the existing office space in- fact has all the necessary lab infrastructure built in , as conversations and iterations showed that it was previously a lab turned to offices . This drastically changed the plan and the phrasing used in the discussions . Instead of saying retrofitting , we started saying reverting back , which in comparison is a much shorter and easier process . We also realized our real problem is not to get the change approvals , but finding offices for our relocated team members . Approach Our approach allowed us to better understand all the details necessary to be provided to approvers to both expedite the process of change , as well as identify key safety parameters to be addressed in the work to come . The work is still under progress , but the progress is much faster than the norm due to the fast iterations of visual stimulation by building models of the lab and the infrastructure , while looking at the “ what is ” aspect of how the building currently is . Our next step is to implement internally any parts Tata Power Limited : Company General Use of the change until a separate contracting approval chain is completed . This is to help set the stage for the service company to quickly implement the changes and calibrations they need while helping them deliver on - time . Our next step is to focus more on the learning launch , as we need to just implement some changes and test them as part of the approval chain .