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.

Over the last couple of weeks since returning to Curtis Island after paternity leave my world has largely been turned upside down.  Firstly was the decision to move me from the Jetty to the MOF project without any sort of discussion.  PM decision in isolation.  It was probably the right one but completely out of the blue and found out third hand….sound familiar to anyone?!?!?

Week 11 was spent trying to gain control of my areas but the incumbent engineer didn’t want to let go very easily.  I spent most of the week shadowing him and trying not to upset the apple cart.

Week 12 however was a bit different.  From Monday this week I was in the hot seat, my inbox filling up with 30-40 emails a day about stuff I had no idea about.  Steep learning curve and by Wednesday I was starting to drown.  That said, it’s now Friday and I’ve got my head above the water and I am starting to make my mark where required.

The MOF project is behind schedule, over budget and has serious challenges that need overcoming.  I will not dwell on them as they’re not in my remit but they have serious knock on effects across the whole project.  What is an issue though is the lack of coherent communication across the staff and then transferring any of it to the work force.  Major issue and I am already investing time to rectify this where I can.  There is a small “good ideas club” that seem to be talking a lot but doing very little at the management level and it all gets dumped on the junior engineers.  Not good for them and it is clearly visible how low their morale is.  A bit of Serevena banter helps but only papers over the cracks.

In terms of responsibilities, my portfolio has gradually expanded over the week to now include the following:

All king pile wall capping beam construction including reinforcement, concreting, formwork, temporary work platforms, permits, dewatering, pile cages, tie bars, cardan joints, etc

Anything to do with reinforcement.

Anything to do with concrete.

Finishing off the second bulk aggregate barge ramp and abutment.

Flood light footings.

There is more than just the above but it covers most of it.  Overall I am now happier in terms of the work BUT I am being worked doubly hard and have so far missed the ferry 3 nights this week having to catch a later one.  Not an issue but pulling a 15 hour day is tiring for me and not great support for Lisa.

Apart from the above I have hosted the CI and John Reddie on their whirlwind tour of Australia and been keeping up with the coursework schedule.  Not much time for fun stuff but this weekend we’re heading to a local festival for some decent family time.

So first day back in to work today after paternity leave to find my desk stripped out, someone else sat there and being told that I’ve been moved projects. A happy start at 0530!

I am now a project engineer on the MOF project doing a direct swap with one of the graduate engineers so that I can get some on-site experience.  Not an issue and hopefully beneficial for my DOs.

I will now be running the concrete works which is abutments, capping beams and pile caps.  Good stuff with lots of reinforcement detailing to get my head into. Transition period of 2-3 weeks as we hand over responsibilities and get up to speed.  If only there was someone on here that was sharing their lessons on RC….

More to follow once I have a clue what’s going on as there appears to have been little planning conducted so far.

WRT the desk issue I have now turfed out the individual sat there, reclaimed it and am beavering away once again!

So this week I have mostly been on paternity leave.  This has simply added a new string to my “work avoidance” bow with an upcoming TMR deadline.  That said, I have managed to do the little and often approach, although not as often as I would have liked!  Harrison is now 15 days old, doing well (as is Lisa) and Team Serevena is semi ready for my return to work.

I did spend a day in the office this week and after the many back pats and congratulatory pleasantries (I really didn’t do a great deal) spent Thursday undertaking a design review of the Jetty temporary works.  I needed to be in as one of the discussion points was the pile testing, the part of the scope that I am solely responsible for (and this ties in neatly with my thesis proposal – I love it when a plan comes together!).  As well as the pile testing, we also looked at the traveller in detail, including the construction sequence, operation and reconfiguration for phase 2 of the Jetty trestle installation.  Several areas of concern worked through but no pressing challenges relating to the traveller for me to raise in this forum.

The only potential challenge that I’m open to suggestions for is how to splice piles and their reo cages when working over the water. Concept is to drive a 30-32m section which is as long as we can drive with the likely barge/crane configuration and then have to undertake a vertical splice of the last 10-14m pile section.  Typically this would be done in a nice jig but it’s not that easy on this occasion. Thoughts welcome from one and all.

That’s about it really this week.  I return to work on Tuesday, CIs visit at the start of the following week and then pedal to the metal with pile testing for me! (Although we still don’t have any idea of a start date – we’ll be poised like coiled springs)

So I haven’t blogged for a couple of weeks, although I have maintained a heckling watch on posts, due to Lisa giving birth and our lives being a bit crazy with the change that baby Harrison has brought with him.  Time is tight, so I will be brief, but also there is very little to report in terms of “work”.

Week 7 was the 2nd week without Barry the Package Leader and our work had slowly dried up. We got to a stage where we (me and the 2 junior engineers) had done as much as we could without input from the PL and the PM didn’t really want to know.  The resultant was that we trudged through as much as we could in terms of work and had started to try to re-work some of our previous efforts.  Luckily though an opportunity arose for the end of the week to complete a lift planning package that would mean we could plan and execute the lifting of the piles on the Jetty project. As a bonus it also meant that we got a late start as the course was on the mainland and a free lunch on the company!

Before the course though was Anzac Day, 25th April.  After trying to get some sort of response from BDLS as to what was expected of us, attendance requirements, protocol (of course I received nothing as usual) I decided to attend the dawn service to pay my respects to our allied troops.  My neighbour (works for JHG on the MOF and is a veteran) took me down and I was glad that I experienced part of the Australian culture with him, although I respectfully declined the opportunity to drink many a rum toddy and indulge in the games of 2up afterwards for fear of the pain that Lisa  (39 wks, 4 days pregnant) would have unleashed on me. Well worth attending – just wish that BDLS would send some advice out on significant events in the calendar such as this).

Thursday 26th was day 1 of the lift planning course. It was split into 2 parts; Part 2 – Lift planning overview and part 3 – lift planning tool. For those clever enough to have noticed that there is no part 1, this is covered in the JHG induction and thus I’d already passed.  Part 2 was covered in the morning and was just a safety induction in greater detail.  It was interesting and gave more meat on the bones as well as a greater overall awareness. Part 3 however involved the use of a scientific calculator, determining load paths and other exciting structures mathematics so the brain got going.  The afternoon was when the learning started but the real meat was to be on the Friday.

Friday 27th did not run according to my diary and at about 0130 Lisa woke me to tell me that her contractions had started.  Immediate concern was that I was going to have a steak for lunch (JHG were paying) to make up for the healthy salad option I had embarrassingly chosen on the Thursday and that I would miss out.  Apart from this, I called the hospital whilst Lisa completed her nesting, booked us in for the morning and went back to bed (on Lisa’s instruction) as I needed my rest.

Shortly after 0600 I got up, sorted out the 2 boys, deposited them with a friend for the day and then took Lisa to the hospital at 0800.  No detail necessary for the next few hours but at 1153 Harrison was born! Weighed in at 8lbs 8oz.  After the post birth admin was completed I left Lisa and Harrison to get some rest and went for a celebratory Hungry Jacks (Burger King) which didn’t make up for the missed steak opportunity, picked up the boys and then went home before returning to the hospital at 1800 to pick up Lisa. We were home by 1930 just in time to watch the Broncos on Friday night football! So a busy day all in all.

3 brothers – Future England three-quarter combo?

Week 8 – Paternity Leave – little sleep, madness, need I say more….same again for week 9 no doubt!

This week has been quiet as the Project Leader, Barry, has taken 2 weeks annual leave back on the Emerald Isle which means that all is quiet on the Jetty front.  Barry has left me in charge by virtue of my seniority and ability to get things done but there is not that much happening.  On the Friday of the previous week we had received a letter from Bechtel stating that the project start date would be in the window of July to October.  This means that we have no certainty, no ability to commit to contracts as we don’t know when they’ll start and I have that nagging feeling that if it continues on I may be at risk of failing to complete my DOs.  That said, things may start in July and potentially the enabling works could begin before that, which is actually one of my subcontracts.  Once the birth has happened and my paternity leave over I’ll need to fully assess what is happening with this project and whether my DOs are achievable.  I suspect that this might best be discussed during the CI’s visit in late May.

The week has been spent finalising Activity Method Statements to find out that the risk assessment format has just been changed by JHG and need to be rewritten. Joy! So at least that’s something for next week.  Also, I have been working on some pile testing stuff in conjunction with the Brisbane design office.  Finally has been trying to get involved in meetings and discussions that Barry would normally be in to find that people are only interested in the organ grinder and not the monkey!  This week I have allowed it to happen but next week I will be a little firmer with them and make sure that they include me in their discussions.

One good thing that did happen was that I organised a trip on Friday to the JHG workshops in Rockhampton, an hour and a half north of Gladstone. We went and saw the pile gates for one of our piling barges and inspected their workshops as one of our suppliers.  A good trip, similar to the Civils trip to NuSteel, only with slightly less to see and nowhere near as tidy around the edges.  Some big positives though in that neither of the junior engineers had been to/seen a workshop like this so a good development opportunity for each of them.

Not a great deal else to report without a site to actually be working on!  (Note the frustration in the writers tone tempered with the fact that his wife is about to give birth and being quiet on site is not such a bad thing when about to take 2 weeks paternity leave!)

It has been a sad week personally with the loss of not one but 2 dogs.  Jackson was put to sleep and then on Saturday I got a call saying that Blaze had started whelping! Unknown to us, Blaze had been knocked up by the foster carer’s dog, which was supposedly neutered! Blaze is 7 (70 in human years) and in no state for this and so she went to the vet for a c-section.  After Blaze had got out of the car a still-born pup was found wrapped in blankets.  The vet x-rayed her and could not see any more pups which is not surprising with her age.  So an overall sad week for Blaze and my parents who have stepped in and had to deal with all of this trauma.  It’s also been fairly hard on Team Serevena with mini-me the third due any day now as we enter week 40 of the pregnancy.

Looking ahead, next week will be fairly quiet again giving me the opportunity to finalise AER 2 and my thesis proposal. It’s also a bit stop start with Wednesday off for Anzac Day on Wed.  I have been invited to the dawn service and shall be attending to pay my respects.  Beyond that, it’s building up for another R&R break the following week so most people will be winding down from now on.

Another short week following the Easter R&R period has been jam-packed with activity as the package leader is heading home to Ireland on Saturday for a 2 week break which means we’ve been thrashing ourselves to tie up all the loose ends.  Having just been in the handover meeting I’ve ended up with a fair amount of responsibility in his absence, particularly chairing the weekly meetings and liaison with the design team.  This should not be an overly onerous task and the extra responsibility will be good for raising my profile a bit with the key players.

My main effort has been finalising a contract for the pile cut off platforms which is going to end up in the region of $110,000 and the enabling works for the project site which is about $250,000 all up.  I’ve also been investing time in the junior engineers, sweeping up their basic skills such as the production of meeting minutes through to formatting documents and improving the general professionalism of our products.

A new task this week has been investigating, researching and selecting the method for abrasive blasting over the water as well as the painting of the welded areas of the Jetty structural.  This will probably be the subject area for my first TMR and will therefore leave the meat of the detail for that.  What I will say though is that convincing people that the ecological/environmental benefits outweigh the financial is a very difficult task to which there is significant friction!

The plan for next week sees our team halved for the first part whilst the PL is on leave and our graduate engineer on a JH trg package for 3 days (opportunity to have some beers on the company is the basic aim) so I’ll be fairly busy.  When this is combined to the fact that Lisa is going to be pushing towards 39 weeks pregnant it will be a tough balancing act.  We’re all set though with friends appointed to take the kids during the birth and an escape plan hatched to get me off the island when the time comes!

The latest news I have had for a start date is that we won’t commence until 25 June 12. Whether this includes the enabling works is uncertain but I will keep PEW updated and the review of DOs due on 21 May should give a decent perspective of where I’m at.  Not an issue yet at least.

So overall, things are ticking along.  The long days are taking their toll but it makes the day off on the weekend very much appreciated and the management here are allowing me the time to undertake my coursework as and when required which means that the time off is largely dedicated to the family.

Until next week, Au Revoir!

This week was a short one with the project (all GLNG works on Curtis Island) being stood down for 6 days after cease works on Wednesday.  In typical army fashion, this meant that everyone started to close down from about mid day on Tuesday and thus next to nothing seemed to be achieved.  That said, work carried on for the Jetty team with the production of more reams of paperwork, safety plans and activity method statements! I also continued to plough on with my contractor negotiations for some enabling works which are almost sorted now…they just need to sharpen their pencils a touch more and we’ll then sign a contract for $225k.

Most importantly however was 1430hrs on Wednesday when we were stood down for R&R. For team Serevena this meant jumping in the car early doors of Thursday morning for a drive to the Sunshine Coast for a bit of sun, sea, sand and SCUBA DIVING!!!!!  So we were away for all of Easter at Noosa, which was very  nice, and had some quality family time prior to the arrival of youngling number 3 in the next 2-3 weeks (touch wood).  So to compensate for the fact that there are no site pictures as yet (mainly due to the fact that we still haven’t got access to the site!) I have added some gratuitous underwater shots of me below on the wreck of the HMAS Brisbane from Good Friday.  Enjoy!