Breda, 20 July 2022
The day kicks off with a department meeting. All installation engineers get together for this meeting to discuss the activities and planning for the upcoming week. Agreements are made and tasks are divided. Since it is important for a supervisor to be fully aware of the latest developments with regard to projects, it is then time for a Project Meeting. During this meeting, the project managers discuss the current status of their ongoing projects. After all, any changes made to the project plan or the planning can impact the installation engineers. It is therefore essential to implement such changes as quickly as possible to ensure that engineers always have access to up-to-date and correct information.
As a work planner, it is important to oversee everything pertaining to PlateButler platforms and projects and to make sure no aspect of development or installation gets overlooked. Last-minute surprises should be avoided at all costs. In preparation of the development or installation of a platform, a kick-off meeting is scheduled to inform the engineers about the various ins and outs of the project. Nick's job is to go over the many steps, tasks and agreements with the team so the engineers have all the information they need to not only do a good job, but also to provide input and even anticipate potential challenges they may encounter along the way. One of the elements of this meeting is the provision of cutting lists for the many cable ducts, so the preparatory work can begin quickly. There are also weekly meetings during which the team discusses and reviews the various systems that are being developed. This allows us to gather input from our engineers, which we can then incorporate into the next operational process.
To make sure the information provided to the installation team is as comprehensive as possible, Nick may have to visit a client in person. While there, he can check whether the segmented platform can actually go ahead everywhere and discuss any final details with the client to ensure the on-site installation can proceed as smoothly as possible.
After the project meeting, Nick begins the preparations for a new project. This includes such tasks as marking the locations of cable ducts, PCs, waste management, cable outlets and drawing up a “build-up document.” This critical document contains all relevant information about a project, such as planning schedules, agreements made with the client, lists of communication ports, power distribution and labels.
Nick concludes his day by making some preparations for an installation. In addition to being a supervisor and work planner, Nick also occasionally lends a hand to the installation engineers. He very much enjoys being able to go back to the job that started it all when he first joined the organisation as a junior engineer. This variety helps him maintain his feel for the systems. The experience you acquire during one installation can be put to good use as you begin preparing the next platform.