This partnership is intended to help DRA Homes track site-level activities and spot potential delays in advance. Further, DRA Homes is also hoping that the alliance with Slate Technologies will facilitate proper guidance in terms of project execution.
Rising cost pressures caused due to war in West Asia, particularly affecting gas-dependent manufacturing, have pushed DRA Homes to rethink its execution strategy, said Ranjeeth Rathod, Managing Director, DRA, at a press conference in Chennai. This had led the company to partner with Slate Technologies Inc., he added.
“Cost pressure is 100 per cent there,” he said. Due to cost impact on materials such as tiles and sanitary ware, factories dependent on gas had not been operating at optimum levels, he said. “We have faced significant cost increases and also delivery pressures,” he added. The key inputs such as steel, aluminium and copper had also seen price increases, resulting in an overall 8 to 10 per cent rise in construction costs, he said.
According to him, the disruption is also affecting execution on the ground. “Some materials come early and sit idle, while others are delayed. That mismatch affects timelines and working capital,” he said.
To manage this, the company is tightening its approach to procurement and execution. Critical materials that can delay projects are being identified early and prioritised. Non-essential items are deferred. “There is now a clear pecking order,” Rathod said. The focus was shifting towards just-in-time ordering to avoid unnecessary inventory and logistics costs, he added.
This shift, he said, had accelerated the need for adoption of AI-led project management. Hence, the partnership with Slate Technologies.
Rathod said that one of the biggest advantages was in reducing rework, a major cost driver in construction. The system helps identify whether issues arise from design gaps, labour execution or material quality and recommends corrective action. It also helps to prioritise activities by identifying which ones could delay the overall project timeline.
DRA said that the platform was currently being deployed across its projects in Chennai, covering about 3.3 million square feet and supporting nearly 2000 workers.
Highlighting the broader shift, Senthil Kumar, Global Head of AI, Slate Technologies Inc., said that the construction sector was entering a phase where traditional systems were no longer sufficient. “AI-powered execution will enable faster decisions, stronger predictability and better outcomes for all stakeholders,” he said.
While cost pressures had triggered the move, the larger objective was to improve the predictability and execution discipline in a volatile environment, Rathod said.