Project Storm Clouds

We are considering a project with a client and I must say that it should be a great project. The project itself is right in our sweet spot. The client is solid with the two basics that every client must have. They want to build something and they have a lot of money. And I should add that they also possess the great intangible that is necessary in a great client. They like working with us and the personal relationship is solid, at least so far.

It should be a situation where everybody comes up a winner and life is beautiful. But my honest assessment is that we are both getting ready to walk into a deep and dark canyon of perilous events. It would be tragic to watch a good relationship turn into a sour and contentious one because we place people in impossible situations, i.e. projects beyond hope of redemption. I have seen it happen so many times and I would hate to see it happen again. People that once enjoyed each others company and trusted each other become bitter and vindictive. People and companies that once thought well of each other and operated in an atmosphere of trust spread vicious rumor and delight in finding fault.

Just as a strong wind and dark clouds on the horizon are a warning to the prudent traveler, so the prudent project manager watches the client's weather. The storm clouds on this client horizon are ominous and dark.

One of the storm clouds centers around the old standbys, budget and schedule. Of course the client will not share the details of his CAPEX. God forbid that we actually know anything about those deep secrets. But we listen when the client talks and we see the project stop and start. It is almost certain that the budget is being deliberately starved to meet a needed rate of return by reducing the cost and shortening the time before revenue starts. This fits because the schedule is being shorted significantly below what reasonable people would estimate.

Of course, most projects don't have enough money or enough time. That is just business as usual. We all know that if you give a project team adequate money or time they will just waste it. But what really concerns me is the evidence of fear within the client organization. I have been on many projects with clients driven by fear. I don't have any memory of where we, or they, were successful.

The second major storm center on the horizon is the client procurement group. They have enormous power within the client organization and they will buy everything on the project. They are all nice people and of good moral character, but they exist in their own world. They buy on price and do not see the need to involve engineers in purchasing decisions. While I have no evidence, I would be willing to wager fairly large amounts of someone else's money that they see expediting and shop inspections as a waste of money. I would also bet that client procurement hasn't the people or resources to do so even if they thought it necessary, having previously earned brownie points with their executive management by cutting waste.

The third major storm center on the horizon is the client operations group. It is a pretty safe bet in an operating company that Operations is an important player. Experience to date indicates that operations won't be involved in any meaningful way in the design of what is to be built. While this is pretty much SOP, we usually get at least lip service from the client about how important and necessary operations input is. With this client, the operations group is silent and headquarters is cavalier about the silence.

This makes me worry about how much good will or understanding exists between operations and the "home office." In the absence of good will or understanding, I have usually found either active hostility or indifference. Both are deadly to projects. Unless the project is a true "greenfield" project, there is an established operating entity that will take over the operation of the project to be built. Once the project moves to construction in the field, that project starts to move under the control of the operating folks. They can delay it, they can change it or they can use it to get what they want from the "home office". Any of these possibilities are catastrophic to a project already on the margin.

But all the above is not fact, it is only my guts rumblings. Brave and bold men operate on their gut. I am just a timid engineer trying to manage the storms of the energy business. There are many good people who rely on this company for their livelihood. If we just do cream puff projects, we will soon run out of work and those good people will have to look for another job. At the same time, some of the best projects we do are those we don't do.