Читать книгу Practical Risk Management for EPC / Design-Build Projects - Walter A. Salmon - Страница 41

A dedicated full-time Procurement Team may not have been set up quickly enough because the intended members of that Department are either busy on other Projects or have not yet been brought into the Contractor's company. This can happen on an EPC Project simply because the Procurement Department will not be required to be at full capacity until such time as a suitable number of Materials Requisitions (MRs) have been completed by the Engineering Department. This means that the staffing for the Procurement Department tends to arrive almost on a drip-feed basis until the full complement has been achieved. Consequently, even though the date will have been set for when the MR for the earliest of the critical Long-Lead Items (LLIs) is to be made available, the appropriate person may not be around in the Procurement Department in time to sound the alarm bell about the probable lateness of that MR. This may then become a major problem that is difficult to overcome. However, simple questioning of the Engineering Department's Work Package Engineer by the Procurement Department's Buyer would usually very easily establish whether or not the required MR will materialise on time.

I have experienced the above embarrassing situation occurring a number of times, and it was almost always impossible to make up the lost time for the LLIs involved. It was not the direct fault of the Procurement Department, since the delays/snags had occurred in the Engineering Department. However, the fact that the person next in line (the Buyer) was not around to chase for the completed engineering information meant that the Engineering Department's problem was allowed to drag on unresolved for too long. Nowadays, even if no EDMS has been set up for more direct communication purposes, a standard emailing alert system (such as Microsoft Outlook) can be utilised to issue reminder notices to check that essential activities are being progressed as required. This simple technique could prove of great benefit to the Procurement Manager before the full Procurement Team is in place on a full-time basis. However, I have yet to see even such simple, readily-available technology being utilised adequately. Ironically though, I have seen somebody who failed to use Outlook to remind them of an important work deadline employ it to remind them to leave work early so as to be on time for a doctor's appointment.