Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog

First, I must apologise for not blogging of late.  Work has turned into 16 hour days, 6 days a week and time has been a rare commodity.  This has been caused primarily by the pile of s*!t that I have taken on having now fully moved across to the MOF project. To summarise this, an average engineer has 1 or 2 work packs/lots that they are solely responsible for. Over the last 4 weeks I have managed to pick up 7, yes 7 of the things, all of which are either unplanned, in disarray or have severe contractual issues.  I am not complaining about this as i have gone from zero to hero and am one of the “go to” engineers on site if you need something doing. Also, I’ve started to enjoy it a bit more although listening to the wrath of the construction manager is getting a little tiresome every day as he attacks me about something that has happened before me taking over the reins.  Out of public view though he often has a quiet chat expressing his gratitude for my efforts and that he knows how bad a situation I’ve been dropped into.  Winning his trust has been a quick win and despite his dislike for me slowing things down to get it right first time, he acknowledges that I am the only engineer able to produce anything that doesn’t require a NCR (non-conformance report) produced after completion!

Week 12 was a classic week on the GLNG MOF; set unrealistic targets, fail to meet them and then look like idiots in front of the client.  We (JHG) failed yet again to get our own house in order for the majority of our works with only 1 element of the works programme actually achieved which was the Bulk Aggregate Berth (BAB) approach slab.  This is a 13x10m RC slab ranging from 400mm deep to 500mm to create a natural run-off.  At the start of the week the civils crew were also asked to place 8 pile cages complete with tie bar joints installed.  This was never going to happen as Bechtel would not sign off the cages due to the fact that a) they weren’t as per the submitted design, b) they had been welded without JHG having a weld procedure in place (12 months into a project!), c) the welds completed were not certified nor undertaken with a crayon or any other sort of quality control mechanism!  The plot thickens even further into weeks 13 and 14.

My main other focus points were to complete the admin and direct on the electrical works and installation of a light pole footing, attempt to track down the status of procurement for all of my work lots and manage an issues tracker for the project.  There are some serious issues!

Week 13 was a short week as at 1430 on Wednesday started a 5 day R&R break.  However….on the Tuesday afternoon the construction manager called a snap meeting with the engineers and had decided that because we were so behind in our work and failing to meet any targets that our R&R had been cancelled. Brilliant I thought to myself and as he finished his speech, justifying what he’d decided upon, the floor was opened to discussion.  After the awkward silence that followed I thought I’d take the lead and asked outright whether JHG were willing to refund my non-refundable accommodation costs, rugby tickets et al i had booked for the R&R.  Following his silence he said he’d need to speak to the PM but I knew that they wouldn’t. Strangely enough I was told an hour later that i wouldn’t have to come in over the R&R!  Whilst the opportunity was there I also got in my excuses for the rest of the R&R blocks as we’ve got plans for all of them…I think he was actually pleased to hear that one of us could actually plan!

The Wednesday was a cracking day though for not being able to pour a simple light pole footing.  For the last few weeks there had been deliberation about the depth and placement of the mast anchor bolts but the mast designers were content. Ironically, only an hour before we were due to pour, the designers emailed to say that they were no longer happy and that we had to increase the embedment depth! Pour cancelled, desperate scrabble to find longer threaded bar or couplers only to realise that it was never going to happen. Even during the R&R this continued (some were working) only for the client to turn round and refuse to accept the pour as the couplers that had been procured were not galvanized and only 4.6 as oppose to the bar at 8.8 grade steel.  How i chuckled to myself from a distance but this exactly what happens all of the time…rush, rush, rush to get the job done but not get the detail right.  As I keep saying to my supervisor “if this was the army, men would die due to these decisions!”

So I took my R&R, although I came back very tired, and  enjoyed the metropolis of Brisbane, saw the Welsh lose to the Wallabies and bagged a couple of dives to test my new kit.

Week 14 was mostly about damage limitation with the light pole debacle and issues with the pile cages.  By the end of the week i was glad it was over for 2 reasons. First, only 1 of the 4 planned concrete pours happened due to the usual lack of attention to detail and secondly the hangover from the build up to the previous R&R was still hanging around like a bad smell.  So why only one pour? Easy…the management team had not sent a design change to Bechtel 12 months ago when it happened and just as we were about to pour they called a halt to the proceedings.  Net result is that we now need to wait for the design change to be approved by the Bechtel design team in Houston, Texas which typically takes 2 weeks.  That explains 2 of the pours which were for the piles and tie bar joints. I was very frustrated by this.

The 4th pour was halted due to more “on the bus, off the bus” decision-making over the light pole mast anchor bolts.  Hindsight is great as it turns out that my predecessor had been doing dodgy “verbal” deals with the Bechtel engineers about the attached distribution board slabs, failed to red-line any drawings for submission and had we proceeded would have been in a world of pain as elements had been omitted that weren’t actually authorised to.  Key learning point for Serevena the engineer, trust no-one, check everything 3 times and make sure that all of these “dodgy deals” are in black and white before proceeding.

So the above covers the main bits out of 2 of my work lots.  The other 5 are potentially equally as well flawed so stay posted. The client wishes they never hired us (JHG), the JHG engineers all want to leave and the project has just announce a delayed completion date to the tune of 44 days, from August to mid-October.  If this project is finished before I leave in early December I would be very surprised and may need to eat humble pie.

There are some positives though. I’m getting loads of good commercial experience, problem solving and covering most of the DOs fairly well. I actually enjoy the challenge of it all but most importantly is that the civils crew (my mob) are now the go-to team on the project which generally means I get the engineer lead, giving me the opportunity to shine.  The senior project engineer has told me he’d employ me in a heart beat which was nice although I did have to remind him of my day job and it’s contract!

Apart from work, Team Serevena are all well.  Baby Harrison is now 7 weeks old and we almost have a UK birth certificate for him which means we can apply for a passport, visa, etc. Austyn has moved up to level 2 in swimming lessons and can do doggy paddle (well), front crawl (badly), breast stroke (almost) and back stroke (lazily).  Elliot talks complete gibberish as he tries to make sentences and is currently trying to master Tyrannosaurus rex but comes out with dinosaurus rex! Lisa is coping, looking after 4 boys (I include myself in that) is taking its toll but she’s heroically fighting through. Finally, Blaze is back on her feet at my parents following the trials and tribulations of losing Jackson and her whelping and is going for a week-long camping holiday to Scotland. Lucky girl!

That’s all folks.