December 15, 2021
Honoring Contracts


Mill Project Engineers are always under a lot of pressure. Management thinks everything cost too much, takes too long and should really be simple. If you are a project engineer, you know this is not true. 

One mistaken idea for relieving the pressure is to shave on the commitments with in the project. Push the contractor on scope, time and/or money.

Do this at your own peril. If the contractor is one you use on a regular basis and you pull some fast moves on them, expect them to find a way to get back at you later on.

If you are dealing with a large regional or national contractor, word gets around if you or your mill are less than straight up honest and fair dealing. You may have a problem getting a qualified contractor or machinery vendor down the road.

Fast moves lead to problems. There are no shortcuts.

What is your opinion? Drop me a line at jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com. I would like to hear from you.


 
Young Engineering Manager of the Year, call for nominations

We are looking for an individual who has done an extraordinary project, one that almost defies belief. Its extraordinary features can be schedule, technology, cost or all three. There is an age limit on the manager eligible for this award: they must be under 35 years old when they completed the project.
 
We have often gotten nominees that go something like this, "I nominate Joe because he has done a great job of running our engineering department for the last fifteen years." Quite frankly, we are not interested in such nominees.
 
However, if you know someone who has led a very exceptional project in the recent past (the last two or three years) and meets our age requirement, we want to know about it. We want to honor them and hold them up as an example for Engineering Managers in every pulp and paper mill around the world.
 
Just send your nomination, with as much details as you can provide, to jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com. We will seriously consider it.
Current Patent Activity is available here.


Please write when we tickle your brain cells! Email jthompson@taii.com