I have been engaged in construction for the past 18 years; of which 11 years is in planning / scheduling; dealing with multi disciplinary projects, from inception through commissioning and ramp-up. My career has progressed (Aug ’94 to Aug ’00) from doing the physical work in the field (ie. pipefitting, boilermaking & mechanical fitting), junior planner to the current post of Master Scheduler. Experience has been gained in design, production, process plant, petro-chemical, mechanical, piping, electrical, instrumentation as well as the building industry. Currently I am employed with BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa, and form part of a site based project team, managing EPCM contractors from Design Phase through to Commissioning and Ramp-up, in order to meet the required deliverables.
While working for BHP Billiton on the MWR Project, I was also assigned to run all the "Small Projects", seeing that we were waiting for Environmental Approval on the MWR Project. These small projects consist out of numerous smaller projects on all five the BHP Billiton mines in the area. Currently, there is 54 active projects and the annual budget for "Small Projects" is R500, 000, 000. For the first six months, I had to run all these projects singlehandedly, seeing that we got rid of the company that supplied BHP Billiton with Planners for these projects. This was a huge challenge, but I managed to do it.<?xml:namespace prefix = o />
Since February '12 I managed to get three planners to help me on these projects. I divided the current active projects among the planners based on their geographical area and they report to me. I am responsible for all planning and month-end reporting on all these projects. Progress and progress payment are determined by utilizing the Earned Value method.
These projects are all in various phases, varying from Feasibility Study, all the way through to Ramp-up and Close-out. They also consist of various disciplines including Earthworks, Civils, Building Works, Structural Work, Mechanicals, Piping, Electrical and Instrumentation.
Claim resolutions also form a integral part of my duties.