Working around the
clock WORLDWIDE
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IVORMATIE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2015
Infrastructure & Ports
Let’s go back in time, to 2009. Iv-Groep signed a contract to design
sixteen new lock gates as part of the Panama Canal expansion project.
The contract also covered the design of the drive mechanism and the
control systems for the gates, an integrated RAMS analysis of the entire
locks complex, and QA support during the construction and installation
phase. This has certainly been a ‘mega’ undertaking, and not only in
terms of the physical dimensions of the immense lock gates.
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A huge number of people have been involved in the project
in various capacities, representing many different countries in
Europe, Asia and the Americas. A large, international project
like this one demands effective teamwork. International
teamwork has its advantages. The work can continue around
the clock, for example. But there are also challenges, not least
ensuring good coordination and maintaining the ‘helicopter
view’. As the completion date of the project draws near,
project manager Léon Tuunter and design manager Jeremy
Augustijn look back on a long but rewarding period of
intensive cross-border collaboration.
Large-scale
international
collaboration demands
good coordination
Global collaboration
At the peak of the project, no fewer than eighty people in
various parts of the world were involved. The design process
for the new Panama Canal lock gates took approximately two
years. There were teams active at three Iv-Groep locations in
the Netherlands, the Iv-Groep office in Malaysia, in Ukraine,
Argentina, Panama, Italy and two locations in the United
States. Overall responsibility for the construction and
installation of the lock gates falls to GUCP, a consortium of
companies from Spain, Italy and Belgium. Needless to say,
Panamanian organisations have also played a significant role
in the project. So how did that work?
It was hectic, concede Léon and Jeremy, certainly in the early
stages. Jeremy was involved in the project from the outset
in 2009. The project was already ‘up and running’ and the
client had stipulated a very tight schedule, with the various
activities to be undertaken in quick succession. Jeremy and
his team worked very long days. By mid-2010, Léon joined
the team to help in coordinating the various activities.
Because he had not been involved in the project up to that
point, Léon was able to take an objective view and introduce
greater structure to the process.
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IVORMATIE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2015
Expanding the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal expansion project involves the installation
of a third set of locks in addition to the existing complexes
at Miraflores and Pedro Miguel. Each complex consists of
three chambers, which lift vessels 27 metres from sea level
to that of Lake Gatun. The new locks are 60% wider and 40%
longer than the existing locks. Each has three chambers
separated by double gates, whereupon a total of eight new
gates were required for each lock. In 2009, Iv-Groep began
working on the design of those gates as a member of the
CICP consortium, alongside MWH Global and Tetra Tech.
However, our contact with Tetra Tech dates from 2006 when
Iv-Groep worked on the tender design for the new storm
surge barrier in New Orleans. At the time, Tetra Tech was a
member of a competing consortium. They were impressed
by our expertise in steel structures, and were therefore
keen to involve Iv-Groep as a partner in the Panama project
consortium.
Infrastructure & Ports
Clear responsibilities thanks to the project quality plan
In the beginning, both structure and coordination were
difficult to achieve, recalls Léon. In order to establish
responsibilities and priorities, a quality assurance plan was
produced in association with partner MWH. This ensured
that each team member was aware of his or her personal
responsibilities and exactly what was expected. Various
assessment moments were introduced: first between
colleagues, followed by a more formal inspection by Jeremy,
and finally peer and interdisciplinary reviews by MWH or
Tetra Tech. At the same time, ACP carried out regular ‘overthe-shoulder’ reviews: workshops examining the current
status of the design process. Iv-Groep would then report on
progress to date and any problems. Although this approach
demanded additional input at the time, it reduced pressure
on the project team in the longer term because having
a clear plan enabled everyone to focus on the client’s
requirements. A project of this magnitude will always have
certain ‘grey areas’: it may not be immediately apparent
precisely who is responsible for what. It is important to rectify
any such omissions, not only to ensure progress but because
working outside one’s own scope brings certain risks. Under
Panamanian law, a company is directly responsible for
everything it designs or constructs, regardless of whether
it was formally contracted to do so. For this reason, CICP
engaged American legal advisors to ensure that everything
remained within scope.
From one time zone to another
The Panama Canal expansion project involved working
around the world and around the clock. Having various
teams working in different time zones provided continuity:
at the end of a long day, staff in the Netherlands could pass
on certain questions to their American, Panamanian or
Malaysian colleagues, and vice versa. “The only time zone
not represented was Australia,” states Jeremy. “We did try
to involve partners ‘down under’ with a view to maximising
capacity, but in hindsight it is perhaps better that this didn’t
happen. We wouldn’t have known what day it was!” Global
working does have its advantages.
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“The tight schedule meant that some deadlines were difficult
to meet. On occasion, we would upload all our documents
at two o’ clock in the morning in the Netherlands, which is
of course too late in our time zone. In Panama, however, we
were on time because it was still the day before.”
With team members all over the world, holding regular
face-to-face meetings is difficult. Nevertheless, efforts were
made to maintain ‘live’ contact, with regular scheduled
consultations in person between the various partners.
Additionally, weekly conference calls were held between
Iv-Groep staff in the Netherlands and their counterparts in
the United States. Iv-Groep also maintained a permanent
presence in Panama, with two staff ‘on the ground’ during
the initial project phase, reduced to one staff member at a
later stage. Similarly, an Iv-Groep staff member was on hand
during the manufacture of the lock gates in Italy to provide
advice and assistance as necessary. The installation, testing
and operationalisation phase began in early 2015, and once
again an Iv-Groep staff member was stationed in Panama.
On-site assistance during this phase is extremely important,
since any unforeseen problems or queries can be resolved
right away.
It can be concluded that ‘live’ real-time contact, whether in
person or by phone, is generally most effective and ensures
that the process runs smoothly. While e-mail is a very useful
means of communication, it must be used in moderation.
First call, then mail if necessary was the motto during the
project. Even so, a tremendous amount of e-mails were
exchanged.
A project with great cultural diversity
Although the project’s ‘contract language’ is English, the
members of GUPC frequently communicate with each other
in Spanish given the many Spanish, Latin American and
Italian staff involved. Also within Iv-Groep, staff of various
nationalities have worked on the project, representing the
Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Spain, Morocco, Malaysia,
Ukraine, the Antilles and the United Kingdom, among
other countries. People of various cultural backgrounds
live and work in Panama itself. There is a sizeable Chinese
population, the descendants of the immigrant labourers
who built the Panama Canal in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. While the design of the new locks was
very much an international undertaking, the construction
phase involved many local workers. To protect its labour
market, Panama has a law which stipulates that at least nine
Panamanians must be employed for every foreign worker.
10 IVORMATIE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2015
Within such an international team, cultural differences are
inevitable. For example, our American colleagues had to get
used to the Dutch mentality of ‘what you see is what you get’.
It was appreciated, but it is fair to say that it took time for
mutual trust to develop. Cultural differences have an impact
in other areas, too. Léon recalls a board meeting in Panama,
in the early stages of the project. Unaware, he entered the
room and sat down at the head of the large U-shaped table.
This was something of a faux pas: the head of the table is
reserved for ‘the board’, with the chairman in the very centre.
All other participants are expected to sit elsewhere. “All rather
formal and hierarchical,” says Léon, “but a little bit of give
and take works wonders. You have to get used to each other.
Trust will develop as the project progresses, especially if you
keep the agreements you make. If that is really not possible,
you must say so as soon as possible. Cooperation is then very
much more effective.”
Growing
mutual trust
The project itself provided great team building
Now that the end is in sight, Jeremy and Léon can look
back on the project with justifiable pride. Success has been
achieved through hard work by all concerned. As Léon puts
it, “the entire team pulled out all the stops.” During the six
years that the project took to complete, Iv-Groep organised
a number of internal teambuilding events, such as building
rafts with about 50 people. These activities certainly helped
promote a shared sense of purpose.
However, perhaps the best teambuilding exercise of all
was the project itself. It provided many valuable learning
experiences for the team and the organisation as a whole,
both of which have achieved significant growth from having
taken part in such a major project. Looking back, Jeremy
concludes that it is crucial to define everyone’s tasks and
responsibilities in advance. Who is expected to do what
and when? It then becomes possible to focus on the end
product: what is to be delivered and when? What do we need
in order to do so? Every now and then, you must take a step
back to review progress. Most importantly, stay calm and be
adaptable. There is an old saying in the construction industry:
“If it can't be done as it should be, then it must be done as it
can be.”
Infrastructure & Ports
Dignitaries in Panama
Source: ANP/Koen van Weel
Earlier this year, Iv-Groep showed the Prime Minister of the Netherlands,
Mark Rutte, around the project location. A delegation of Iv-Groep staff
will also attend the official opening ceremony next year. It is possible
that we will sail through the locks in the company of His Majesty
King Willem-Alexander. That would be a wonderful way to end a
marvellous project.
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Looking back on last year
19 January 2015
12 April 2015
28 April 2015
Installation of the first eight lock
gates in the new Pacific lock
complex.
Iv shows Prime Minister Mark
Rutte around the site of the new
lock gates of the new Panama
Canal during the Summit of the
Americas in Panama.
Installation of the sixteenth
and last lock gate in the lock
complex.
12 IVORMATIE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2015
Infrastructure & Ports
Time flies! It’s been two years
since the first four lock gates for
the Panama Canal expansion
project arrived in Panama. It
was Tuesday, 20 August 2013,
to be precise. Since then, the
Panama Canal Expansion
project has made great strides.
The past year marks some
major milestones: the new
lock complexes were flooded,
testing of the lock gates began
and the two sets of locks on
either side of the lock complex
were named traditionally after
the area in which they were
built: the Atlantic lock is known
as Agua Clara and the Pacific
lock is known as Cocoli.
11 June 2015
22 June 2015
23 June 2015
Flooding of the Atlantic lock
commences with water from the
Gatún lake.
Flooding of the Pacific lock
commences with water from the
Miraflores lake.
The beginning of an exciting new
period for Iv: testing of the lock
gates has started!
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