Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog

I am coming to a crunch period in my time on attachment with BP.  There seem to be a number of things coming to a head all at the same time, both from a BP perspective and a PEW point of view.

I want to complete a design phase attachment with WGPSN as  a mechanical engineer for about two months, in the same way Chris Warner did, so that I can satisfy the DO where I feel I may be weak.  It will also undoubtedly make me a better engineer, which is the whole point of this attachment.  The problem is that my role as SPA demands all my time and focus and my line manager is keen for me to do the attachement at a time when there will be no advsere affect on my projects, which is fair enough.  In true military style I forecast out what the key activities were that I needed to have in the bag so that I could genuinely feel comfortable just monitoring my projects for afar for two months.  Sadly, my plans are falling to pieces because the key activities are predicated on receiving work from other people in good time and trying to get anybody to make a decision before we are right up against a deadline is proving problematic.   As an example, I inherited a Hazard Operability (HAZOP) study report containing a number of actions relating to process engineering.  Unfortunately, the report records the actions as an SPA responsibility (cheers Imran) and not a process engineer responsibility.  So it appears that I am culpable for the action even though it is impossible for me to close it out because I know I am not competent to do so.  Depsite badgering the process engineers, the best I have got is an emailed response expalining in great and complicated detail why there shoudln’t be any actions on me but also still refusing to formally close out the action.  Thus, the situation is not resolved and I will have to keep escalating until someone finally gets told to piss or get off the pot.  This takes time and effort that I would prefer to be using elsewhere.

That said, this proactive approach has been beneficial.  I feel as though I have a good grip on the key project risks as a result of forecasting ahead and trying to anticipate what is likely to trip me up at Xmas time. 

As another example of people trying to become human teflon, there is a distinct aversion to taking responsibility for pretty much anything.  On another one of Imran’s projects that I inherited, the Minox Blower, there has been an issue with handing over a piece of kit that has a defect.  This one was not Imran’s fault at all I must add.  However, there is a cracked weld on a motor jacking point that is used to align the motor after a period of maintenance, therefore it is not requird for routine operations. 

The solution seems clear, re-weld it.  However, as a project engineer based on shore I cannot weld it and it is not in my budget to get a vendor to do this.  Nor am I empowered to get the repair or maintenace team to do the job.  Hence, we are stuck again and I cannot clse the job out because this needs to be fixed.  The reapir and maintenace team leaders have agreed they can do it but will not take it on.  I have had to raise it several levels to try and get it as a directed task.  This consumes so much more time that is necessary to complete realtively simple jobs.  This does however tick the B3 Do, which is effectively make sure that what is installed works.

Finally, the PEW deadlines are a bit rubbish overe the next two months.  We have had over 4 months between AER2 and AER3 and then we get between 20 and 25 working days between AER3 and AER4.  There is also a  TMR and probably thesis form C to complete by the end of January.  I think for next year’s students this is worth some debate at PEW as to whether this has yielded the best work or just work that would suffice.  I am trying to feedback into the embryonic modular thesis process and see what peope think. I can see a positive note though and that is that by about March time we will be able to slow down a bit and take stock of what we have achieved prior to going for CPR.

Hello everyone!

I feel as if I have finally joined the 21st Century, now that I can blog. I’m really keen, as CI, to be involved in the Blog because I want to be able to provide comment on all of the excellent experience you are getting. I feel that we can add so much more value to your discussions by providing links back to Defence as to why what you are doing is important, or why lessons you are identifying are relevant to Defence and so forth. I’ll try to be a frequent contributor; Jim and Dave please prompt me…

I’m also keen to widen the circle of participation of the blog so that more people can gain benefit from it. However, I’ll blog about my ideas first to canvas opinion; I don’t want to detract from the main purpose, which is to facilitate PET development.

Yours,

CI