Jim Thompson

Email Jim at jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com

It helps to have OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) in order to plan a capital project, even a small one. Or as the joke says, OCD should be CDO, so the words are in the correct alphabetical order.

I can tell you this--if you don't have a touch of OCD, you will never be a successful capital project manager.

You must define every task and assign every task to an individual. There is no such thing as group responsibility.

The most poorly planned project in which I was ever involved was because the two engineers assigned--another one and me, thought the other one was pulling the five tiny bolts, lock washers and nuts needed from the storeroom before they closed at 6 pm on Friday night (this was a converting plant that worked five days a week). We started our project about 7 pm that Friday night and we were immediately stopped dead in our tracks for the lack of these little items (For want of a nail, a shoe was lost, for want of a shoe, a horse was lost, and so forth). We had some explaining to do Monday morning.

The best planned small project in which I was ever involved was the installation of an electric air conditioner chiller replacing a steam powered (absorption) one. We had worked for six or seven weeks, taking out the wall, installing the electrical service, planning and designing the main chilled water pipes so that we had only one cut and one weld on each pipe on the day of the swap. Hottest day in August. Operations shut down the sheet plant at morning shift change and gave us the chiller. We had hooked chain falls to it the night before and were pulling the old one out within fifteen minutes. Operations day shift went off to training. I had promised we would have them back up by the end of first shift. I found out later that they were taking side bets we would not have them back up in 24 hours. We had them back up by 1 pm (I was really shooting for noon). Then they were upset we got done early and they had to rush back to their normal day job. Smile.

The first project we thought was going to happen on its own. The second project I assumed nothing, and I instilled the same attitude in the team that was working for me.

Bigger projects just require the assembly of a lot of smaller projects, done in correct order and with the attention of the chiller project cited above. Bigger projects do have another complication--avoiding "trade stacking." Trade stacking is where the pipe fitters are in the way of the electricians for instance. In the new mills where I have been involved in the construction, it is often typical to do, for instance, electrical on the night shift. This helps avoid trade stacking. Simply, whatever trades are going to be on top of one another, make sure they are not on the same shift.

Planning your capital projects early and thoroughly will make the difference in a successful project and a successful career.

Be safe and we will talk next week.

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