Begin Well!

Begin Well! Dr. O.P. Kharbanda May 7, 2003

Project Management

OK Tedi project ranks as one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken in the mining industry. The greatest challenge was just getting to the site. Mount Fubilan, in the heart of Papua New Guinea, has steep slopes. Absolutely everything required had to be shipped to the site from suppliers from around the world.

OK Tedi Mining Limited is owned by a consortium of mining interests. It is a joint venture formed by Bechtel Civil and Minerals Inc. and Morrison-Knudsen International to provide design engineering, procurement and construction services required to implement the mining project.

Materials and supplies entered Papua New Guinea at Port Moresby. At that port, the materials were transferred to barges and shipped some 500 km across the gulf to the mouth of Flu River, a further 800 km up that river to the town of Kiunga, and finally another 160 km up a steep mountain road to the construction site.

The grinding mill, probably the most important item of equipment and the heart of the process, came from Canada. But because of its size and weight, over 200 tons and some 10 meters in diameter, it had to be shipped in pieces and hauled in special multi-wheel trailers. Just to let you “taste” the construction problems he was facing, let’s quote the contractors’ project manager: “It was a mega-project, a one-of-a kind challenge... [It was] more than a new mining complex... [We had a] tremendous amount of satisfaction... [It was] just a hell-of-a-good feeling for all of us to see the job come together, knowing what was accomplished to get it there.”

Most projects do not make such extreme demands on the project manager and his team, but all projects should be approached with the same resolution and determination!

Bechtel often teams with customers, partners, and even suppliers on projects worldwide. Last year (2002), their new contracts were worth $12.7 billion and their earned revenue was of a similar order ($11.6 billion). A privately owned company, Bechtel is currently in its fourth generation of family ownership. Bechtel is one of the few engineering and construction companies to use Six Sigma, a unique problem-solving technology to identify and eliminate errors in the critical processes. What is the secret of Bechtel’s success? Perhaps it’s the proverbial “Begin well!”

For our project manager, by far the best way to start a new project day is to go around the project site with some of the key members of the team. For one thing, it gives him an instant first-hand status of the project. No report, however detailed, can really convey the "feeling" of just an hour or so spent walking around the site. Just by observing, questioning and cajoling his people, the project manager not only can get answers to his questions, but also can make a mental (or a scribbled) note of actions to be taken once he gets back to the office. In fact, this quick “once around the site” walk, is not only good exercise, but it also sets up the agenda for the day!

About the Author

A chemical engineer and management guru, Dr. O.P. (“Om”) Kharbanda teaches at the Bajaj (Management), Indian Institute of Technology, Powai (India) and at Rushmore University (PhD in Management program). Students worldwide use his 29 finance and management books as reference works. Nearly half of these titles relate to project management. Dr. Kharbanda has over a half century of experience on projects in the USA, United Kingdom, and particularly in the Middle East and his native country of India. If you have questions and comments about this article, or are a project manager in need of encouragement and wisdom, please email Om at mailto:kharbanda@vsnl.net.

reviews

"All, Ok Tedi will turn out to be one of the Greatest environmental/ social disasters of the last twenty years. I don't think this is the greatest advertisment for Projevt Management and Social/ Environmental Management example. The Social/Environmental impact and necessary compensation that will occur as a result of poor project m,anagement at the start up is the opposite of what is portrayed in this article."
Stephen Haas - Jun 2, 2003