PM Network - June 2016

project’s most distinct requirements came as a surprise. In 2011, Mr. Brubaker’s team discovered the projectiles that contained mustard agents—liquid at the time of production some 70 years ago—had solidi;ed. ;at meant the plant would not be able to destroy these weapons by draining the mustard and neutralizing it.

;e new destruction method and its accompany-
ing equipment required a static-detonation cham-
ber that couldn’t be incorporated into the main
plant. So the team had to adjust the scope to include
a separate facility next door—which required the
Army Corps of Engineers to approve a new design.
Construction of that facility is scheduled to be
completed in November 2016. “It was a signi;cant
change,” Mr. Brubaker says. “;e static-detonation
chamber is basically a three-level apparatus. With
the ;rst facility’s layout, we just couldn’t have
accommodated that.”
;e change raised concerns for local safety advo-
cates, including the Kentucky Chemical Demili-
tarization Citizens Advisory Commission (CAC),
a stakeholder group made up of local leaders from
various industries. “;eir eyes got wide,” Mr.
Brubaker says. But his team gave CAC members a
tour of a similar static detonation chamber at the
Anniston plant and shared an environmental assess-
ment report stating that the new technique would
be safe and e;ective.

PRINCIPLE OF CONTINUITY

Although the construction project team never had to handle chemical weapons, every move it made impacted those who ultimately will. So, project managers worked hand in hand with the operations team to ensure the design and construction met all its requirements and safety preferences, Mr.

Omichinski says.

For instance, when the team was building the small explosion-containment rooms to destroy nerve-agent rockets—rooms that have ;oors that are 4 feet ( 1. 2 meters) thick, and walls and ceilings that are 2 feet ( 61 centimeters) thick—the operations team used 3-D models to replicate operators’ tasks and ensure they would have the ability to move around without damaging equipment or puncturing safety suits.

“;e one thing about this project that’s very unique is that we’ve had operations people on the design team from the beginning,” Mr. Omichinski says. “;ere’s a continual operations presence and opinion as to how the facility is going to look and work.”

COMPOUND ELEMENTS

Managing safety and compliance risks also required creating a cohesive and well-trained team. ;e team established a goal of having 800 craft laborers on-site most days, Mr. Omichinski says. But to ;nd enough quali;ed team members, he had to expand

Douglas Omichinski, PMP, corporate manager of construction and principal vice president, Bechtel

Location:

Houston, Texas, USA

Experience: 35 years
Other notable projects:

1. Mosjoen Carbon Anode Facility, Mosjøen, Norway, a commercial mining project near the Arctic Circle that was completed in 2007. Mr.

Omichinski was site construction manager.

2. Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in Avila Beach, California, USA. Mr.

Omichinski served as field engineer for the project that completed in 1984.

Career lesson learned:

“Establishing a culture of accountability on a project is paramount for success.

The project team must collectively agree to the key results they want to accomplish on the project, and then empower themselves to overcome the difficult obstacles to get the results they want, with full management support.”