Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V.

Successfully Managing a Dredging Project.

The project

Region: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

In 2018, LNG Canada, part of Shell, is planning to build a new LNG terminal in Kitimat (Canada). For this project, a jetty will have to be constructed for LNG’s safe loading and bunkering. Royal Boskalis, a licensed dredging company, is contracted to undertake the necessary dredging work.
Projects of this scale are often difficult to oversee, and managing the practical planning of such a production is an art in itself. As such, Boskalis opts to contract an external party to work out all the details included in the contracts. This external party, Critical Minds, appoints Co-Waves founder Thomas Combe as contract planner.

Duration

OUR ROLE

Combe’s main focus in this context is to plot a ‘critical path’ as a contract planner. It will come as no surprise that plotting such a critical path involves more than making sure that the suitable materials are in the right place at the right time. After all, to be able to set a meaningful timeline, in addition to all regular scheduling, all possible risks and bottlenecks must also be assessed and clarified. These risks can, for example, be related to materials, facilities, money, time, but also to less tangible elements, such as unworkable weather conditions. All these individual parameters constantly influence each other.

Complexity

WHY US

In the contract planning phase, all these matters should be considered most clearly and constructively possible by someone who can keep an eye on the bigger picture. It is essential that the contract planner understand the art of balancing conciseness and comprehensibility – while also striving for completeness.
Combe shows he has a fine sense of capturing the essence of his contribution to this project without leaving out details. His approachable and social attitude makes him a pleasant point of contact. His experience with contracts and planning on the one hand, and his substantive involvement due to his experience as an engineer on the other, make him the ideal person in this role.