Use of Technology is the need of the hour

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Ar. Manish Dikshit- Aum Architects shares his insights on the Co-vid 19 crisis and the way ahead. In view of the current health crisis, Work from home (WFH) has become almost a necessity. How are you managing the situation? Have you implemented WFH in your Firm? While the outbreak has already created inconveniences for millions of people in the form of travel restrictions, health scares and stock market turmoil, it has been a rather unexciting time for most employees working in the private sector. Aum Architects have implemented work from home since 18th of March. As responsible citizens of the country we should support all the efforts and initiatives by the Central and State governments to fight Coronavirus. For the first time in history the business hub of the country, Mumbai is in a state of lockdown. We had been xercise. The challenge was in terms of how the core design team would interact amongst each other and amicably communicate the designs. For that, our company has been using a lot of softwares to help us with cloud based storages which aided our work from home to the best of our ability. There are ways to deliver results and avoid going stir-crazy, from setting up a good workspace to the way you talk to your team. According to you, what are the major challenges that architects & designers face in WFH? The major challenge for architects and designers in WFH is the inability to collaborate and work as a team. Physically we are not present with each other to communicate but by using softwares like zoom and google hangout we are able to connect virtually 3-4 times a day. This helps us interact and give specific inputs for a project. Even though this might be a challenge but looking at the current scenario we urge everyone to take the necessary precautions and play a significant part in controlling this pandemic. In addition to this, architects and designers may face difficulties in being their creative self. Quarantine or Self isolation can have its negative impact over time but we need to remember it is for the greater good. Staying optimistic in these hard times is very important for all of us. Diligence, faithfulness and commitment towards your work will definitely get you through this time and massively help in working from home. Any success mantra related to tips, tools, techniques you would like to share for WFH? I would highly recommend the use of technology as much as possible as it is the need of the hour. Also, looking at the bright side, one positive thing that we can learn from WFH is that we can now decongest our offices and try to work with essential and limited resources available. Mental health is an important aspect which needs our full attention. We need to have a healthy state of mind while engaging in work from home. We are in physical isolation from the world but we can use technology to connect with our loved ones. Make sure you use this time to get back to long lost hobbies or learn new things. This time of isolation can be used in a variety of ways to accomplish long-forgotten goals for oneself. As part of an architecture and design firm, how would you ensure a fruitful work-from- home experience for your team? We believe and trust our team to be responsible. Each one of us during this crisis has to think collectively which is what we have expressed to our entire team. They have agreed and accepted the future as we are experiencing. Having said that, we have daily virtual meetings where the task for the day or the week is explained to various team heads, thereafter they are allocating work to the individuals in their department. What are the plans after the situation returns to normal? Our plan as of now is to work 6 days a week without any further casual holidays including festivals. This is to ensure we compensate for the loss of business days and to get back to normalcy faster. We are following what Japan did after world war II.