Covid crisis: Balco embraces smart technologies to combat challenges, boost productivity

RAIPUR: Driving innovations and infusing new capabilities at the workplace amid the pandemic, the Chhattisgarh-based Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd (Balco) has been one of the first companies to deploy a smart combination of high-end technology and indigenous innovations to ensure health and safety of employees. As a result, the organisation simultaneously maintained the continuity of business operations.

“The safety and security of our people and assets are of paramount importance. Balco explored the field of smart technologies in its operational set-up. We are gearing-up as a future-ready organisation that can sustain production against all odds for a self-reliant India", said Abhijit Pati, CEO & Director (Balco).

For integrating smart automation in its plant operations and to cease any manual intervention, Balco has set up end-to-end ‘digital dashboards’ for real-time data and trend monitoring of power plant operations, ensuring digitisation of the entire process.

Balco has also established a central control command room to avoid hampering of operations in case of any emergency due to the pandemic. There is an automated highly sophisticated centralised security operations centre (CSOC) put in place offering citing-edge solutions ranging from security analytics for incident detection to response on effective management of security resources to help in an agile decision making on the ground.

Balco is further ensuring 24x7 helpdesk facility for Covid-19 support, responds to queries of their community members and provide swift services of medical team and ambulance in need. 

London-based Vedanta Resources owns a 51 percent equity share and management control of Balco, remaining 49 percent remains with government of India.