WORKING IN REMOTE LOCATIONS

Nearly all of the projects that Drakken has executed in the last ten years have been installed in remote locations and extreme environments. In fact, most of the oilfield sites in Canada are remote by definition.

 There is ‘three hours in the Mexican jungle’ remote, ‘six hours in an armoured convoy in Iraq’ remote, ‘rural Thailand’ remote and possibly the most remote - ‘an offshore platform 100km from land.’

 Going to a multi-week stint in an extremely remote worksite is a challenging endeavour. There is adventure, a challenge and finally the welcome relief that arrives on returning home. From a project perspective, you need to think about things differently, however. As an Electrical and Instrumentation (E&I) Service Company, we are usually the last to arrive on-site and the last off-site. Last on, last off, quite intimidating.

 That is just the way it is, however. First the Civils, then the Structural, then the Process and Piping, then Mechanical, then us. As such we need to make sure that we remember every single thing that we will require to complete the project. Failure to bring everything you need leads inevitably to cost overruns, increased logistics costs and schedule impacts. Such an operation requires the most meticulous planning to guarantee you bring all the equipment required - tools, materials, documentation, spare parts, PPE, and test gear.

 We executed a project in the Yucatan Peninsula at one point where the project team was on-site for three months. Knowing that the supply chain was substantially different in Mexico and the logistics schedule presented all kinds of delays, it was crucial we brought everything we could possibly need. Above and beyond all the required project equipment and materials we brought our own stationery, printers, signage, chairs, radios, PPE for thirty people for three months - no detail was overlooked. We even brought a four-stage blender and a Panini maker so that each afternoon the Project Manager could send out a radio announcement for ice-cold virgin Pina Coladas for everyone.

 A lot of the places in which we have executed installation projects have had several logistical issues. In areas of geopolitical instability, there are several import and customs delays. You will also have to wait for the local delivery cartel to drive your delivery to some remote location. There is also a physical risk to the shipments as they are prone to “inspection” at several different checkpoints - we have witnessed sealed crates of controls hardware broken open for inspection in the pouring rain, leading to water exposure.

 Offshore projects are also subject to weekly utility boat delivery schedules, or occasionally even helicopter deliveries with complex size and weight dimension limitations.

 Drakken was brought in once to clean up a mess after an electrical installation went horribly wrong in Southern Iraq. I had been to the site for a survey and found the workforce on site extremely limited in their technical abilities. One of the main issues was that there were simply not enough hand tools for the workers. I showed up in Basra with six large moving boxes full of loaded toolboxes, enough to arm thirty-six of the best workers with a full set of hand tools. As this was my first time travelling to Southern Iraq however I was not yet savvy to the intricacies involved with moving this kind of equipment into the country.

 I showed up at the airport and loaded two full airport trolleys and then met up with Paul – the client - who looked at me with some dismay. The departure was as scheduled but when we landed in Basra the atmosphere rapidly changed. We were flagged down and questioned regarding all of the documentation for the tools. After waiting around for the customs agent for several hours the client left me to it so that he could catch a ride to the camp and relax. He gave me $800 US and said that if it cost more than that then I should simply leave the equipment and head for camp myself.

 In the end, it cost $600 and they refused to even consider a receipt. It would have taken four to six weeks to get the tools into the country through the proper channels, however, so I was told to consider myself lucky.

 For the next eight months, we had personnel moving in and out of the country and must have hand-carried thirty suitcases of materials and equipment through the airport as additional luggage. Based on the lessons learned we streamlined the documentation and usually had to travel with some cash also. Those hand-carried shipments played a huge part in getting that facility to first oil. I remember Paul’s eyes lighting up the first time they lit the flare stack after First Oil was introduced to the facility. “We did it!” He yelled. He had spent a lot of time on that project. It was very satisfying to get things done.

 Having personnel in your organization who have been stuck on-site without the right materials, equipment, tools or even personal items makes a big difference to the construction and commissioning phase of the project. These personnel have been there in the worst conditions with an unprepared team and forced to deal with the situation and make the project work. They have been hung up on eight meters of tray installation after running out of unit strut so the next time they have a team going to site they spend an extra few hundred dollars on strut to go to site. They have been stumped with no technical direction before due to a lack of specific details on an engineered document, leading them to spend many hours reviewing the doc packs before the guys end up on-site the next time.

 Having people on the team that have field experience in remote locations is a distinct game-changer as that experience leads to an appreciation of attention to detail. They are therefore motivated to participate, if not lead, the required planning and brainstorming to get all of the right stuff to site for when it counts.

DRAKKEN PROJECT LOCATIONS: