Volume X - Issue II - February 2008
PM Industry News
Mega Projects Conference announced for MegaProjetos 2008 International Seminar and Exhibition has been announced for São Paulo, Brazil in April 2008. The conference will feature keynote presentations by leading authorities and experts on the construction and management of mega projects around the world. Lessons from such mega projects as Boston’s Big Dig and Pan American Games 2007 in Rio will be presented and discussed.  According to conference organizers, a mega-project is a special type of project, generally defined as a very large enterprise that requires an investment of over a billion dollars (frequently several billion). These projects attract a high level of public attention and political interest due to their strong direct and indirect impact on the community, on the environment and on public and private budgets. More and more mega projects are being developed throughout the world in various industries, like transportation, infra-structure, energy, oil and gas, telecommunications, information technology, aerospace, automotive, heavy construction, international events, defense, research & development, among others.  The International Seminar MegaProjetos 2008 is the first event in Brazil that will bring a wide view of key issues that are involved in major projects. Of great relevance to the success or failure of such projects, subjects related to the management, environmental, financial, technological, organizational, communications, and political aspects will be discussed. Case studies of finished and on-going mega projects from Brazil and abroad will be presented and critical factors involved will be analyzed from the perspective of promoters, contractors, suppliers, managers, and other stakeholders. Attendance is expected to be around 600, including Professionals involved with construction, engineering, IT, telecommunications, political science, manufacturing, research & development, sales, and others; Project stakeholders, such as owners, sponsors, clients, senior and middle management, planners, promoters, project managers, team members, suppliers, solution providers, public officers and consultants; and Anyone who wishes to explore the strategic, operational, financial, environmental, and organizational issues and pressures that influence mega project performance. Benefits to attendees will include:
 The Mega Projetos 2008 International Seminar and Exhibition will be conducted on April 3rd and 4th, 2008 (Thursday and Friday) at the Frei Caneca Convention Center, Rua Frei Caneca, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The event promoter is Projectlab. For more information, visit www.megaprojetos2008.com.br. Contact info@megaprojetos2208.com.br if your company would like to participate, sponsor or provide support to the event. Projectlab, a Brazilian project management training and consulting company, promotes the International Seminar MegaProjetos 2008 as part of its mission to promote PM best practices, elevate the PM maturity level of professionals and organizations, and stimulate the discussion of project management within the society. For information about Projectlab, visit http://www.projectlab.com.br/ or contact roberto.pons@projectlab.com.br.
PMForum named Media Partner for MegaProjetos 2008 International Seminar & Exhibition in Sao Paulo  PMForum has been selected as a Media Partner for the Mega Projects Conference to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil during 3-4 April 2008. PMForum will promote and report about their 2008 International Symposium to the global professional community. According to Roberto Pons, Executive Director of Projectlab in Brazil, “PMForum is a globally recognized source of project management news and information. We expect this relationship to provide more exposure for the Mega Projetos 2008 conference, especially among English-speaking professionals and executives around the world. We are excited to have this global news coverage.” A mega-project is a special type of project, generally defined as a very large enterprise that requires an investment of over a billion dollars (frequently several billion). These projects attract a high level of public attention and political interest due to their strong direct and indirect impact on the community, on the environment and on public and private budgets. More and more mega projects are being developed throughout the world in various industries, like transportation, infra-structure, energy, oil and gas, telecommunications, information technology, aerospace, automotive, heavy construction, international events, defense, research & development, among others.  The International Seminar MegaProjetos 2008 is the first event in Brazil that brings a wide view of key issues that are involved in major projects. Of great relevance to the success or failure of such projects, subjects related to the management, environmental, financial, technological, organizational, communications, and political aspects will be discussed. Case studies of finished and on-going mega projects from Brazil and abroad will be presented and critical factors involved will be analyzed from the perspective of promoters, contractors, suppliers, managers, and other stakeholders.  Established in 1995, www.pmforum.org was the world’s first website devoted to professional project management and continues to be one of the world’s most popular sources of project management news and information. PMForum, Inc. is a company formed to operate and administer the pmforum.org website. PMForum also produces the monthly online PM World Today eJournal where articles, case studies, papers and viewpoints by leading PM authorities from around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at www.pmworldtoday.net. Other examples of PMForum partnering efforts and media coverage can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/events/partner_program.htm.
Merlin Wins MacWorld Editor's Choice Award! Reported by Manfred Rieck in Wiesbaden, Germany German Project management consultants ProjectWizards have announced that their project management application Merlin has won Macworld’s 2007 Editor’s Choice award (Third-Party Software of the Year category) and a Golden Cube award from IT Enquirer (Software category). “We've achieved this together,” says ProjectWizards’ CEO Frank Blome, “and I am really happy to see others finally recognize the superior position of Merlin.” MacWorld’s 23rd annual Editor’s Choice awards (“the Eddies”) recognized the best Mac products to hit the marketplace between November 1, 2006 and November 1, 2007. Of the 18 winning software applications, Merlin is the only project management software. Merlin also received a 2007 IT Enquirer’s Award of Excellence (“The Golden Cube”) in the Business Applications category. ProjectWizards is a Germany-based company that has combined its project consulting experience and Macintosh development expertise to create Merlin 2.5, professional project management software designed exclusively for the Macintosh operating system. For more information or a free demonstration version of Merlin, visit www.projectwizards.net. URS acquisition of Washington Group creates Reported by Miles Shepherd in London, UK  The British Computer Society (BCS) have announced their annual Project Excellence awards. These cover the implementation of a range IT related projects across Government and industry, ranging from a major vehicle related project that affects all cars in the country over 3 years old to a Braille translation project. Awards are not confined to UK entrants and although most winners are British, the Social Contribution winner comes from Denmark.  The flagship Business-to-Business Project award, sponsored by IBM, went to the Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA) which completed the introduction of a new computer system into all 18,700 private Ministry of Transport (MOT) testing garages throughout GB. This was achieved in conjunction with Siemens IT Solutions & Services. This initiative has delivered significant benefits for other government bodies, MOT garages, the owners of 23m vehicles in GB covered by the MOT Scheme and VOSA itself. At July 2007, only 16 months after installation completed, 61m MOT records had been entered onto the database. Full details may be found at www.motinfo.gov.uk. The Entertainment & Media Project and the Mobile Technology Project Awards went to SpinVox for their Voice-to-Screen Messaging project. SpinVox is the founder and global leader of a new category of messaging which it calls Voice-to-Screen™. Voice-to-Screen encompasses a range of features that have been designed to appeal to the consumer, business and network operators. Since the launch of SpinVox flagship product, Spin-my-Vmail™, in 2005 the Voice-to-Screen portfolio has grown considerably to encompass a range of other consumer products including; Spin-my-Blog™; Spin-my-Memo™ and Spin-my-Broadcast™. It is estimated that 6 million people across the globe will have experienced SpinVox by the end of 2007. Further details are available from www.spinvox.com.  BT scoped the award for Best Use of Green Technology for its 21CN Data Centre which change the way it builds and maintains data centres with the goal of reducing the carbon footprint by 80 per cent by 2016. With rising energy costs and the responsibility to reduce carbon emissions, IT companies are especially poised to take advantage of green energy to power data centres. BT is one such company that is currently reaping the benefits of increased energy efficiency and cost savings through innovative use of green design. Further details are available at www.bt.com. This award was sponsored by Ranier PR.  In addition to their own entry, BT sponsored the Flagship Award for Innovation. This year the award went to University of Hull & Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust for their Virtual Environment Radiotherapy (VERT). This project is a response to the government report that identified a national training crisis for the radiotherapy treatment of cancer. Virtual Environment Radiotherapy Training system (VERT) aims to increase clinical training capacity whilst reducing training demands on clinics. VERT achieves this by providing a virtual reality training environment, faithful to its real world counterpart, which provides learning and training for students in a "safe" environment. VERT operates both in "demonstrator mode" for classroom style teaching and "hands-on / flight simulator mode" for practical skill acquisition. Details are available from www.hull.ac.uk | www.hey.nhs.uk. An extensive list of medalists can be seen at http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.16275
Hill International Acquires John Shreeves in UK Reported by Miles Shepherd in London, UK Hill International, the worldwide construction consulting firm based in the USA, has acquired John Shreeves Holdings Ltd. and its operating subsidiary John Shreeves & Partners Ltd. (collectively "Shreeves"). Shreeves is a London-based firm that provides project management and cost consultancy services on private- and public-sector projects throughout the United Kingdom. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Shreeves' clients include some of the largest tenants, developers and public entities in the United Kingdom, including Westfield Shopping Towns, Hermes Property Asset Management, Delancey Estates, Land Securities, Grafton Property Advisors, F&C Property Asset Management, Bank of Scotland, Reckitt Benckiser, Woolworths, KPMG, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the Abbey School Reading and the College of North West London. The acquired business will continue to operate under the Shreeves brand name until its operations have been consolidated with Hill's. For its last fiscal year, ended April 30, 2007, Shreeves had revenues of approximately GBP 2.4 million ($4.9 million).  "We are very excited about the acquisition of Shreeves, which gives us a well-respected project management practice in the key UK market," said Irvin E. Richter (pictured), Hill's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Shreeves has an excellent group of highly-regarded construction professionals, and we believe that they will be a great addition to the Hill team," Richter added. "I am excited by the combination of Hill International and Shreeves which results in an experienced force with strength in depth that has the ability to address all management and cost control issues of major projects," said John W. Shreeves, Chairman and founder of Shreeves. Shreeves provides project management, cost consultancy, building surveying and planning supervision services on private- and public-sector developments throughout the United Kingdom. Shreeves is involved on a wide range of projects including offices, shopping centers, residential schemes, fit-out works, business parks, educational buildings and leisure facilities. For more information about Shreeves, please visit www.shreeves.co.uk. Hill International, together with Shreeves, has 1,600 employees in 70 offices providing program management, project management, construction management, and construction claims services worldwide. Engineering News-Record magazine recently ranked Hill as the 10th largest construction management firm in the United States. For more information on Hill, visit www.hillintl.com.
PMForum named Media Partner for PMForum has been selected as a Media Partner for the 3rd annual Project Management Seminar @ Sea cruise from Galveston, Texas, scheduled for March 27-31, 2008. The PMI Clear Lake Galveston (PMI-CLG) and PMI Houston chapters are Co-Sponsoring this unique 4-day Project Management seminar aboard a cruise ship. PMForum will promote and report about the cruise to the global project management community.  According to AJ Collier (pictured), PMI-CLG chapter president and executive sponsor of this year’s cruise, “Our cruise is one of the most unique and enjoyable events in all of PMI. Now we want the rest of the world to know about it, so we are teaming with PMForum for more global visibility. It’s a great learning event too!” Under the banner of “Smooth Sailing Through Project Leadership”, the cruise will feature 8 exciting speakers and some great special guests, including PMI Founder Eric Jenett. Attend the informative seminars and earn up to 14 professional development units (PDU’s) for PMP recertification. The cruise will offer beautiful scenery, a relaxing time, 24 hour dining, and non-stop entertainment, while sailing from Galveston, Texas to Cozumel, Mexico.
 Family and friends are welcome to participate in all activities. For further information and registration visit t www.pmiclg.org Formed in 2000, the PMI Clear Lake / Galveston (PMI-CLG) Chapter is a component of the Project Management Institute (PMI®), the world’s largest membership organization for project management professionals. The PMI-CLG chapter is dedicated to providing professional development and networking opportunities for project management professionals throughout the Clear Lake and Galveston areas of south Texas. Chapter membership comes from a diverse array of industries, including Oil & Gas, Chemical, Engineering & Construction, Aerospace, Insurance, and Communications. The Chapter president for 2008 is AJ Collier. For more information, visit www.pmiclg.org. Established in 1974, the PMI Houston Chapter is was the first Chapter to receive a charter from PMI®. The PMI Houston Chapter is one of the largest PMI components in the world, with more than 2600 members from all sectors where Project Management plays a crucial role, including Engineering and Construction, Industrial, Information Systems, Oil and Gas, Healthcare, Education, Telecommunications, Government, Marketing and Advertising, and Service/Support sectors. The Chapter holds regular meetings at various locations in the Houston metropolis area. The Chapter president for 2008 is Ms. Caroline Gormley, PMP. Visit www.pmihouston.org.
 Established in 1995, www.pmforum.org was the world’s first website devoted to professional project management and continues to be one of the world’s most popular sources of project management news and information. PMForum, Inc. is a company formed to operate and administer the pmforum.org website. PMForum also produces the monthly online PM World Today eJournal where articles, case studies, papers and viewpoints by leading PM authorities from around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at www.pmworldtoday.net. Examples of PMForum partnering efforts and media coverage can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/events/partner_program.htm.
PMForum named Media Partner for PMSA 2008 Reported by Jaycee Kruger in South Africa PMForum has been selected as a Media Partner for the Project Management South Africa (PMSA) International Conference 2008: From Strategy to Reality, to be held at Gallagher Estate in Gauteng (Johannesburg region), South Africa from 26 - 28 May 2008. PMForum will promote and report about their International Conference to the global professional community.  According to Elmar Roberg, PMSA President, “Our conference takes place every two years, so each one is a big event for the association. We bring the entire project management professional community in South Africa together, so the presentations and workshops are tailored for diversity but also to be as useful and practical as possible. The conference is important for South African industry, but also attracts an increasing number of international speakers and participants.” Robert Best, Chair of the PMSA Board, added, “With PMForum as a Media Partner, our 2008 conference should attract the attention of project managers everywhere. We’re proud of our project management accomplishments and abilities in South Africa. Come to our conference and learn why!” Project, programme and portfolio managers and those seeking to enter these professions are invited to attend this May 2008 event and benefit from a tried and tested conference format, which includes three bumper conference days featuring invited plenary speakers and reviewed papers. Half-day and one-day hands-on workshops dedicated to enhancing specific project management skills, and an exhibition showcasing the latest products and offerings in the project management realm will also be included. Among the goals and objectives of the 2008 Conference are to:
The PMSA 2008 Conference streams and workshops will cover:
Project Management South Africa (PMSA) is a not-for-profit professional association serving more than 1,000 project management practitioners in South Africa. PMSA hosts a conference every second year that features invited international and local speakers, and a broad range of reviewed presentations. For more information abut PMSA, visit http://www.pmisa.org.za/. Detailed information about the 2008 conference is available at www.pmsaconference.co.za.
Established in 1995, www.pmforum.org was the world’s first website devoted to professional project management and continues to be one of the world’s most popular sources of project management news and information. PMForum, Inc. is a company formed to operate and administer the pmforum.org website. PMForum also produces the monthly online PM World Today eJournal where articles, case studies, papers and viewpoints by leading PM authorities from around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at www.pmworldtoday.net. Examples of PMForum partnering efforts and media coverage can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/events/partner_program.htm.
Consortium wins US$220 Million Oil & Gas Contract in Nigeria Reported by O. Chima Okereke in Port Harcourt A consortium of AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, JAGAL and NETCO has been awarded a five-year contract by Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), part of ExxonMobil, for the upgrade and expansion of offshore and onshore oil and gas production facilities in south-east Nigeria.  The US$220 million (£107m) Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCm) "Major Integrity Projects" programme is a 5+ year arrangement comprising multiple contracts that will be fully implemented in Nigeria and will exceed the Nigerian Content Directive. The consortium will provide project management, project services and engineering design for the programme, which will not only ensure continuing operations but also extend the life-span of production facilities and supporting infrastructure in this major oil-producing region. AMEC will primarily provide project management and procurements skills, NETCO will primarily provide engineering skills, and JAGAL will primarily provide logistics and support services. "We are naturally very pleased that MPN has selected the AMEC-JAGAL-NETCO consortium for this contract, which forms an important part of our plans in Nigeria and reinforces our capability in brownfield projects," said Neil Bruce, Chief Operating Officer, AMEC's Natural Resources business. "In keeping with our policy of developing local resources, the work will be undertaken in-country providing job and training opportunities and delivering maximum value for MPN and Nigeria." In effect, training and jobs will be provided for staff of Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), National Engineering And Technical Company (NETCO), and Jagal Nigeria, a major construction company in Nigeria. Nigeria is among the world's top 10 countries for oil reserves and oil exports and is an important part of AMEC's global development strategy. AMEC has been established in the country for well over 20 years, with long-standing relationships with both international and national customers, and has provided both asset development and asset support services to offshore developments, not only in shallow water but also those located in deepwater and ultra-deepwater.
India based Reliance Industries announces big plans Reported by Raju Rao in Chennai India A Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani is all set to revive his father’s plans of building an engineering, procurement and construction services (EPC) powerhouse, modelled on the same lines as one of L&T’s core businesses. The blueprint for a separate global EPC business — which will bid for a variety of infrastructure projects within India and overseas — has been on the drawing board for nearly three years. But now, the building blocks are finally falling in place for a venture that may equal 75% of Larsen & Toubro - India’s premier engineering and infrastructure group $5-billion turnover. RIL plans to tie up with a global engineering major like Bechtel and bid for large-scale infrastructure projects either by directly bidding for it and managing it or subcontracting it to domestic engineering firms like Punj Lloyd. In a small way, Reliance has already tested out the concept in the US through an initiative called Crest with US major Chevron. Across the western world and in the Middle East, almost all major petrochemical and refinery projects are running behind schedules, thereby leading to huge cost overruns. The reason: an alarming shortage of engineering talent. The idea behind the Chevron tie-up was to leverage Reliance’s engineering design skills to ensure that these projects can be completed on time. Similar to L&T which signed up joint ventures for separate verticals with global majors like Chiyoda of Japan and the USbased Sargent and Lundy, Reliance too is eyeing JVs to bring in global best practices on engineering process automation. In 2006, Reliance had signed a 50:50 engineering JV with Bechtel, the $20.5-billion US-headquartered engineering, procurement and construction firm to form BecRel Engineering. The new plan is predicated on the country’s strength as a high quality, low cost destination for global engineering, procurement and construction services. But building overseas projects using engineering talent is easier said than done. One, tighter local immigration rules -among other things-will make it more difficult to send large teams of Indian workers to build dams and airports. So, Reliance is actually examining the option of a unique onsite-offshoring model – by sending small teams of engineers for either the finishing touches or testing and interconnecting, but bring back much of the fabrication work to its own facilities in India and thereby modularise the construction at a relatively lower cost. The Challenges A big challenge for all these initiatives is to recruit and retain engineers as they get better monetary opportunities in the IT sector Even hiring engineers at the entry-level isn’t easy as most engineers take up jobs in the financial, consulting services and IT because they pay more than double that of any engineering firm. So, how does Reliance hope to cope with the staffing challenge? There are three routes that Reliance will take to staff its EPC business. One, it hopes to initially get a pool of experienced people through its collaborator. Two, it plans to offer an option for many of its experienced mid-career engineers in its operations, maintenance and technical functions, who want to seek a change. Three, it plans to continue hiring 700-800 engineers every year from engineering colleges across the country. The pitch: the sheer variety and hands-on experience of directly working in some of the biggest projects in the world-from building a retail and logistics supply chain to complex deep water exploration projects - and of course, a chance to also travel to other parts of the world. These trainees first get trained for six months to a year working on Reliance’s own projects. And even though exact numbers are hard to get, billing rates are reckoned to be very hefty-making it far easier to pay a lot more to these engineers. Summing Up There are very sound reasons why Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani is excited by the opportunity of building an engineering services business. At one level, this enables him to harness Reliance’s core competency of building large-scale projects at an aggressive pace and cost and institutionalise it for the future. There’s another critical reason and it is linked to Reliance’s new-found accent on partnerships and inorganic growth. In the global M&A game, as Reliance sees it, having a robust EPC business is likely to be seen as a differentiator. Across the developed world, there is a huge shortage of engineering talent. So a partner who brings critical resources - the availability of low-cost, high quality engineering skills-to the table will gain the upperhand over, say, private equity firms. Source :CO TO BUILD RIVAL TO L&T - RELIANCE SET TO ENGINEER ANOTHER GIANT Economic Times Dated Jan 28 - by Indrajit Gupta & Piyush Pandey PMForum named Media Partner for the PM-04 The Network of Project Managers in Greece (PM-Greece) and co-organizers of the 4th SCPM and 1st IPMA/MedNet Conference on Project Management have selected PMForum as “media partner” for their 2008 International Conference which will be held on the Greek Island of Chios during 29-31 May 2008. So far, contributions from 20+ countries have been received from European, Mediterranean, Arabic countries, the USA and Far East.  The Conference is organized by the Centre for Construction Innovation, National Technical University of Athens & the Dept. of Financial & Management Engineering, University of the Aegean. The Conference is officially sponsored by the profPM project (Network of Project Managers in Greece – Sustainable Professional Development), IPMA/MedNet and the 22nd IPMA World Congress. The PM-04 Conference is a joint venture between the Scientific Conferences on Project Management (SCPM) which have been organized in Greece since 2001 and the 1st IPMA / Mediterranean Network (MedNet) Conference. The theme of the Conference is “Project Management Advances, Training & Certification in the Mediterranean”. The deadline for the submission of abstracts has been extended to 4 February 2008. This 4th SCPM will be combined with the 1st conference for the recently established Mediterranean Network (MedNet) established by the International Project Management Association (IPMA). This is expected to create new prospects and challenges for the promotion of project management profession, education, cooperation, organizational maturity and certification in the Mediterranean area. The conference will support the IPMA/MedNet objectives of fostering closer cooperation, business relations and knowhow exchange between Mediterranean and neighbouring countries. The mission of the Scientific Conferences on Project Management (SCPM) is to facilitate communication between international multi-disciplinary team, and to provide a forum for the discussion of topics related to the development of new knowledge in project management and related disciplines. According to conference organizers:
 Researchers, professionals and firms active in the Mediterranean basin and neighboring countries who are keen to expand their activities in the area are invited to participate in this event. The conference has been designed with a view to professional careers and offers the basis for developing closer cooperation, networking and common initiatives among organizations and people with common interests, cultures and visions. The International Conference is supported by IPMA/MedNet (http://www.ipma.ch/resources/events/Pages/default.aspx)!
 The Network of Project Managers in Greece, PM-Greece, is a professional project management society affiliated with the International Project Management Association (IPMA), the global network of national PM associations. PM-Greece was founded in 2005 to link together people from universities, contractors, construction management companies, designers, specialized software houses and others with an active interest in the application of project management procedures and practices in Greece. PM-Greece is one of the largest PM organizations in Greece, with strong relations with major Greek universities and industrial organizations. For more information, visit http://2008.pmgreece.gr or contact Dr. J.P. Pantouvakis (Conference Chair, http://paris.pantouvakis.gr) or Dr. K. Kirytopoulos (Local Co-Chair, http://www.kirytopoulos.eu).  stablished in 1995, www.pmforum.org was the world’s first website devoted to professional project management and is now one of the world’s most popular sources of project management news and information. PMForum is a company formed to operate and administer the pmforum.org website. PMForum also produces the monthly online PM World Today eJournal where articles, case studies, papers and stories by leading PM authorities from around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at www.pmworldtoday.net.
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