Disasters have been taking place in the Pathfinder Group before also involving loss of life/property. However, on 13 September 22 around 3:30 pm something entirely different happened i.e. experiencing a windstorm followed by rain in one of our facilities in Karachi due to which the upper story of our Majeed Camp Building was completely damaged. The wind was so strong that the entire steel structure along with CGI sheets flew in the air, some even falling beyond the outside boundary wall. In just few seconds the entire upper storey was razed and glass compartments and furniture got smashed. Luckily the ground floor comprising of our operational staff/services was safe. The silver lining being that no fatality resulted in this disaster, except for slight injuries to one individual. Maj Saeed and others who were present at that time barely escaped.
News about this incident was passed to the senior management, including Pathfinder Group’s Chairman who was out of country. Photographs were also shared.
Col Ashraf COO SMS and Mr. Imran, Admin Manager immediately moved From Kawish Crown Head Office to Jami Majeed Camp and took control of the situation.
The Chairman immediately ordered Mr. Salman, the company contractor, busy in construction work at Islamabad, to fly to Karachi and start restoration work the next morning. On being informed there was no causality the Chairman said he would be flying back to Karachi.
The first thing ensured by the senior management was ensuring security of the affected area, the senior and midlevel managers set personal example by physically clearing the debris in the upper storey and removing broken glasses/furniture. Using wipers they themselves drained accumulated water and all hurdles were removed the same night allowing others access and work in the upper storey. Electric connections were disconnected however supply of electricity was ensured in the ground floor for continuity of operations.
Initial orders which given by Col Ashraf included immediate functioning of cook house and provision of services in the mosque; this ensured that dinner was provided to the guard force in time. All operational functions also continued uninterrupted.
As per the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) all essential staff was quickly moved to its alternative location at Kawish Crown Plaza, Shahra-e-Faisal (Head Office).
To our good luck some iron structures and CGI sheets had fallen opposite/outside our camp building in an open plot of land, but there was no damage. The road immediately outside our boundary wall on the southern side also posed a hazard, however to our good fortune there was no vehicle or personnel movement.
The next day, the Chairman reached Karachi and saw the affects of the disaster at Jami and called a meeting. Committees were formed for restoration of the building and instructions given to the Finance Dept. to ensure continuous provision of funds for restoration/ construction of the building. Col Ashiq Hussain was nominated to carry out scrutiny of the expenditure to be made on account of fresh purchases and also act as the final sanctioning/signing authority.
The Chairman further shared that this incident had happened as the iron structure was not anchored properly on the ground and instructed Contractor Mr. Salman to ensure anchoring the new structure properly to avoid repetition of such disaster. The outline plan for restoration of the building comprised of the following:-
• Clear area in front of the building inside the boundary wall and upper storey of Jami Camp.
• Removal of iron structure from inside to outside the boundary wall using heavy lift crane, stripping off the fallen iron girders and CGI sheets.
• Removal of the ACs, Fans and Electric wires from the upper storey.
• Segregating different components categorized as serviceable, repairable and unserviceable.
• Covering the open roof with plastic sheets to provide shade to the workmen as well as cover entire furniture with plastic/polythene sheets to avoid further damage due to more rains.
A Restoration Committees were formed including the following:-
• Lt Col (R) Ashraf Haider
Head of Restoration committees
• Lt Col (R) Ashiq Hussain
Head of Scrutiny of Expenditure/Signing Authority
Other Committees
| Iron Structure | Mr. Salman and his technical labour. |
| Electric Works | Bilal Rasul Malik and ESS Technical Staff. |
| Wood/Glass work | Carpenter Qudoos and Private Contractor Islam |
| False Ceiling work | Private Contractor and his labour |
| Solar Panels | Bilal Rasul Malik supported by private solar |
Administration Support Committee
• Admin Manager Mr. Imran,
• Mr. Tahnoor and ADMIN Staff
• Sanitary Workers/Mess staff
On next day of disaster, the iron structure was removed and placed in the open plot of land. All material that had fallen on the road outside was also removed to facilitate traffic movement.
The Iron structure was stripped off. The CGI sheets were separated and placed inside the boundary wall. Serviceable, partially damaged and unserviceable ones were separated.
ESS Team removed ceiling fans and disconnected electric wires. Air conditioners were also removed. All computers which had become wet due to rains were collected by IT Team and shifted to Kawish Crown Plaza (HO) to be made dry and serviced before handing over back to Jami Management.
Meanwhile the entire affected roof area was cleared of wreckage. Rain water was drained and broken glasses/other items were removed. In order to provide shade to staff working on the roof under open sun and to protect wooden furniture from further rain, sofas were wrapped in plastic covers while the mosque and Guards’ mess were also covered with the same. Officers who had offices on the upper story kept on working on make shift arrangements on daily basis. Despite facing considerable hardship, along with the labor force, the work continued displaying a spirit of comradeship and oneness. After dismantling complete iron structure of the roof and i.e. iron girders, CGI sheets, wood/glass (serviceable/repairable/unserviceable) the same were sorted/stored separately.
All items which were outside the outer boundary wall were also shifted inside the wall and outer area in front of the building was cleared.
Major chunk of the work included preparation of modified iron structure which took most of the time. Great commitment/team work was shown by this team under the leadership of their Head, Mr. Salman, an honest and a trusted person. Their work continued almost till the end.
This included:-
• Preparation of the girders according to the modified structure design.
• Straightening of CGI Sheets.
• Welding/Painting of iron girders.
• Construction of the roof using girders and CGI sheets.
• Anchoring of the roof structure.
In the entire restoration work most of the old items were used and only a bare minimum of additional items were purchased as replacement of damaged ones. The intensity of preparatory iron structure work at the initial stage was so high that all the cars/other company vehicles had to be parked outside the Jami Camp premises. The weather was so hot that all the labour force had to be provided cover against sun and given cold Lemonade water regularly during day. Initially the workforce continued their work on the weekend as well. Side by side with the work on structure, the ESS Team also started its electric cabling work along with installation of air conditioners; they worked very smoothly and with great dedication. Simultaneously, the IT started restoration of the server and handed over the computers which were removed from Jami.
This was followed by the false ceiling work; this was the only area which required total repeat of expenditure as nothing was useable after disaster. This work was completed by a private contractor with great speed; this became possible only due to the timely completion of cabling work by ESS Team. After this restoration of the wooden /glass work in various rooms/ compartments started. Side by side, the new sanitary equipment was also installed in bathrooms which were damaged. In addition, the car parking in front of the building was further extended towards the North East by making more covered space for visitor’s car parking. The last phase of the restoration was replacement of damaged solar plates.
The entire work which was estimated to be completed in about three months was completed in one month at minimum cost. Having seen the damage with my own eyes I can say with full conviction that completion of this project with such smoothness and speed was the result of great team work starting from the Chairman down to every field worker. The Chairman remained cool as always and guided/supervised the management from the start till the end. Not a single day passed when he did not visit Jami reconstruction site and on every visit he had kind words of appreciation for the good work being done by the teams. This certainly raised morale of the entire work force. The outstanding feature of this team was that the routine business operations of Pathfinder Group continued uninterrupted. Jami staff participated in Chairman’s daily Zoom meeting held Pan Pakistan regularly.
Finally, the Jami building was not just restored but it was greatly improved, this proved that whenever there is a challenge, one should look for the opportunities. I have seen such spirit only in the Army and nowhere else but having experienced such model in a private sector this can be followed by other business entities in the corporate sector by studying this case. This has been possible only due to a great struggle over a long period of time and the introduction of the family culture by our Chairman. He himself demonstrated the same by taking complete care of his workforce and their families always during difficult times. He over the period of time proved that Pathfinder Group is a family. This manner of recovery from this disaster and how its recovery was managed is proof that every employee in Pathfinder Group considers himself/herself as part of this GREAT Family.
WELL DONE, ALL THE TEAMS
WELL DONE PATHFINDER GROUP