Practical challenges which quite often get faced by project engineering companies while executing EPC Projects.

These are the practical challenges which come up during projects ,especially EPC construction projects.

To deal with such challenges we need to address the mistakes that are done either unknowingly or due to lack of proactiveness .

Although there are many mistakes that are done during work execution , the listed ones (covering End to End)are the mistakes which lead to significant loses and work tension-

1)     Contractual obligations not well understood & Scope of work was not well defined to the construction managers and supervisors . ( reason : loop holes were not proactively looked and meetings were conducted with no clear agenda )

2)      Hired Equipments and machines were kept idle due to improper resource management . (reason :  independent and dependent activities were not segregated well , conflict of interest , work permits were not planned in advance because of insufficient documentation & convincing skills to support ) .

3)      Vendors overcharged for  extra works that had to be done to do quailty execution , but were out of scope as per the contract . (This was due to improper work breakdown structure and missing proactiveness) .

4)      Unplanned hiring which lead contract Engineers & consultants with big salaries to be hired untimely and given out of discipline jobs just for the sake of maximum usage of their time for the salaries which they were being given . ( reason : roles were not decided based on competency , weak planning )

5)      Wrong project bid in the very beginning phase of the project because of improper estimation and less time being spent by design engineers and design consultants on actual construction site to prepare the layouts and construction plan. This gives immense stress to the project manager & site engineers while executing the actual job because of the actual planning that was done in the very beginning was based on the drawings and documents which may have provided insufficient data for qualitative decision making   . ( Result : After construction lot of time gets wasted in getting approvals for as built drawings, modifications in the existing drawings and in turn in getting work permits for commissioning phase )

If you will understand these cases well , then you might work progressively with not much unanticipated hurdles on the way  . Feel free for any clarification . There are many mistakes that happen on actual site, but the mistake listed above are so significant that an EPC company/ project company loses millions of dollars due to these mistakes . Thus I listed vital few out of trivial many .

regards,
DEVESH

How to influence others by our content ?

EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION SKILLS

From time to time you may be called upon to present to higher management your views, feelings or knowledge. This may be done through a verbal presentation or by writing a report.In either case it is important that you be:

Objective -Short and to the point -Positive in what you say

EFFECTIVE SPEAKING

The purpose of this is to:

-Convey information -Make recommendations -Sell a proposal

THREE – STAGE METHOD

Stage 1: Preparation

Your purpose : What is your objective?

Your subject : know your facts/collect useful examples.

Your listeners : know your audience, their attitudes, present, knowledge,capacity.

Your time limit : how long have you got?

Stage 2: Shape of Talk

State your proposition : state subject, arouse interest and show enthusiasm.

Face the snags :weigh up what is against you,concede flaws,graciously,anticipate objections.

Prove your case: select and highlight strong points.

Summary : restate main points, finish on conclusive note.

Stage 3: Delivery

Be natural : no affected voice, distracting mannerisms.

Be confident : know your subject, do not show nervousness.

Show your evidence : illustrate your facts with examples.

Be enthusiastic : show that you are keen on your subject.

Be friendly : like your audience.

We wish you all the best…..

Is Global Warming so serious ?

Is It Happening?

Yes. Earth is already showing many signs of worldwide climate change.
• Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius) around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades, according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
• The rate of warming is increasing. The 20th century's last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia, according to a number of climate studies. And the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that 11 of the past 12 years are among the dozen warmest since 1850.
• The Arctic is feeling the effects the most. Average temperatures in Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Russia have risen at twice the global average, according to the multinational Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report compiled between 2000 and 2004.
• Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier. Polar bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from the sea-ice loss.
• Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting—for example, Montana's Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910. In the Northern Hemisphere, thaws also come a week earlier in spring and freezes begin a week later.
• Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature, suffered the worst bleaching—or die-off in response to stress—ever recorded in 1998, with some areas seeing bleach rates of 70 percent. Experts expect these sorts of events to increase in frequency and intensity in the next 50 years as sea temperatures rise.
• An upsurge in the amount of extreme weather events, such as wildfires, heat waves, and strong tropical storms, is also attributed in part to climate change by some experts.



Are Humans Causing It?

 

The report, based on the work of some 2,500 scientists in more than 130 countries, concluded that humans have caused all or most of the current planetary warming. Human-caused global warming is often called anthropogenic climate change.
Industrialization, deforestation, and pollution have greatly increased atmospheric concentrations of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, all greenhouse gases that help trap heat near Earth's surface. (See an interactive feature on how global warming works.)
• Humans are pouring carbon dioxide into the atmosphere much faster than plants and oceans can absorb it.
• These gases persist in the atmosphere for years, meaning that even if such emissions were eliminated today, it would not immediately stop global warming.
• Some experts point out that natural cycles in Earth's orbit can alter the planet's exposure to sunlight, which may explain the current trend. Earth has indeed experienced warming and cooling cycles roughly every hundred thousand years due to these orbital shifts, but such changes have occurred over the span of several centuries. Today's changes have taken place over the past hundred years or less.
• Other recent research has suggested that the effects of variations in the sun's output are "negligible" as a factor in warming, but other, more complicated solar mechanisms could possibly play a role.

What's Going to Happen?

 

A follow-up report by the IPCC released in April 2007 warned that global warming could lead to large-scale food and water shortages and have catastrophic effects on wildlife.
• Sea level could rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 to 59 centimeters) by century's end, the IPCC's February 2007 report projects. Rises of just 4 inches (10 centimeters) could flood many South Seas islands and swamp large parts of Southeast Asia.
• Some hundred million people live within 3 feet (1 meter) of mean sea level, and much of the world's population is concentrated in vulnerable coastal cities. In the U.S., Louisiana and Florida are especially at risk.
• Glaciers around the world could melt, causing sea levels to rise while creating water shortages in regions dependent on runoff for fresh water.
• Strong hurricanes, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, and other natural disasters may become commonplace in many parts of the world. The growth of deserts may also cause food shortages in many places.
• More than a million species face extinction from disappearing habitat, changing ecosystems, and acidifying oceans.
• The ocean's circulation system, known as the ocean conveyor belt, could be permanently altered, causing a mini-ice age in Western Europe and other rapid changes.
• At some point in the future, warming could become uncontrollable by creating a so-called positive feedback effect. Rising temperatures could release additional greenhouse gases by unlocking methane in permafrost and undersea deposits, freeing carbon trapped in sea ice, and causing increased evaporation of water.

Personal Ethics vs Professional Ethics , Are they really different ?

Personal Ethics vs Professional Ethics , Are they really different ?

Today,  many  professionals believe that Personal Ethics and Professional ethics are different and a distinct approach is required for each of them when it comes to pragmatism  . The matter of fact is that both personal ethics and professional ethics have their distinct places in one’s life but they are deeply interrelated. Because Personal ethics come into existence in the very early phase of an individual’s  life  and essentially get governed by instinct  , this is crucial to understand  that  many of the major values  of Professional ethics  are the values that are inherited from Personal ethics .
         Personal ethics play a unique role in refining an individual’s character by making him/her mature enough to appreciate the alignment of the deeds with well established checklist of actions for their correctness .Personal ethics include the principles which are extremely crucial in driving a person’s social status . This status essentially decide about   how distinctly he/she is likely to be seen and respected in the society . Personal ethics have a broader vision and include key values such as  honesty  , benevolence, truthfulness,  politeness ,commitment  , trustworthiness and respect for people’s emotions . Personal  ethics ,  if followed in a disciplined way, rightly lay foundation stones for building honourable  professional ethics to which an individual gets linked at the beginning of professional career whether as a lawyer ,doctor ,engineer or teacher etc .
         Professional ethics relate more with inculcated values which influence the work ambience and include elements such as diligence,  dedication  , integrity , punctuality , loyalty  and respect towards the code of conduct of the organization for which anybody works . For example- In an industry , the breach of professional ethics especially in a manufacturing set up might even cost the industry , an employee’s  life  or legal penalty with a defamed brand image .If we study conceptually ,  then we can find that the vital common elements between personal ethics and professional ethics are  honesty ,accountability for actions and respect for people . Thus,  professional  ethics are cultivated by having a holistic approach towards one’s mindset &  behaviour , and for this needful approach personal ethics essentially pave the way forward .
        One of the few areas where both personal ethics and professional ethics are challenged sometimes is Work Life balance with time as a  constraint . Where professional ethics call for the duty to be performed diligently  & qualitatively , personal ethics  on the other hand may call for the required time to be given to family while respecting the emotions of the family members. The reinforcement  to the point of serious correlation between personal ethics and professional ethics in this regard is the fact that highly reputed companies all over the world respect the concept of Work Life balance at workplace. Especially when time is a constraint and duties are coincident  then , prioritization of duties giving due regard to both personal ethics and professional ethics is crucial in having the required duties done in the most ethical & satisfactory manner  .
     In conclusion , to have adorable professional ethics ,one must  also try to align his/her actions with  well  established  personal ethics, while laying stress on the point that the preached principles of life  are never bypassed .

Written by :

Devesh Sharma