Power Plant Construction Management: A Survival Guide 2nd Edition by Peter G. Hessler.
Contents:
1 Preplanning to Planning
2 Bidding
3 Preparing the Numbers
4 More on Planning the Process
5 Terms and Conditions
6 Risk Management
7 Setting Up the Job Site
8 Ensuring Quality
9 Safety
10 Managing the Financials
11 Managing the Site Activities and Cost Control
12 Information for Decision Making
Preface by Peter G. Hessler: This book, the second edition of the original Power Plant Construction Management: A Survival Guide has been written to update and upgrade its predecessor. Almost a decade has passed since the first edition. A lot has transpired, and sometimes re-transpired, during those years. As discussed in more detail in the introduction, since the first edition was published the construction industry in general, and the power plant construction industry in particular, have had several ups and several downs. The construction industry went through major shifts in the availability and cost of labor, supervision, equipment, and materials. It has started to embrace advanced technology, tools, and processes made available with the exponential advance of computers (especially their downsizing) and computing power, intelligent cell phones, and the Internet. And during this same period, the power plant industry has seen shifts to and from coal-fired generation, gas-fired generation, solar, wind, nuclear, and other renewables. In other words, the only constant during this intervening decade has been change.
As was the case for this book’s first edition, this second edition has also been written to provide economic guidance and support to those involved in the management of power plant construction activities, whether these activities are the building of a new plant or the rebuilding, repowering, or modification of existing components. This book is not intended to be a technical “how to” manual on performing construction work, on selecting the mechanical tools and equipment for executing the construction activities, or on directing the day-to-day activities of the work. Instead, this edition, just like its predecessor, is intended to provide a stimulus to perform these tasks in a cost effective manner—to think outside of the box—to think about the financial stakeholders of the project/s at hand. In other words, this book will not help the reader to select the right crane for a particular lifting task, but it will offer the reader support in deciding whether using a crane in the first place is the most economic thing to do.
Although the book title and its supporting examples are specifically power plant oriented, the fundamental theories and practices discussed within are applicable to any construction endeavor, from power plant construction to road building, from refinery construction to chemical process plant expansions, and for commercial and municipal projects. The underlying premise is that the construction activities being undertaken are being performed for the ultimate benefit of the owner/stakeholder, and this owner/stakeholder expects a return for investing in this endeavor.
Still today, too many projects, within and outside of the power plant industry, do not meet the expectations of their stakeholders from an economic perspective. Some of the reasons for this can be traced back to events that preceded the start of site activities, and for this reason this second edition includes information and provides examples of what to do, and not to do, early in the project cycle. It goes into the initial decision-making process of whether a project should even be undertaken from a construction risk point of view. It covers the development and understanding of construction specifications. And it drives deep into the budgeting and estimating phase of preparing for a construction project. The first edition only covered this material from a 30,000-foot level.
As pointed out by many of the contributors to this book, maintaining awareness of the finances of the site construction activities is extremely important, but being able to predict—and correspondingly impact—the outcome, early during the project, is even more crucial. As one contributor, John Long, who is now retired from Constellation Energy, put it, “Surprises are not acceptable.” In other words, the outcome may be inevitable, but it is crucial to be able to predict this early on; the owner/stakeholder must be afforded the opportunity to mitigate.
The first edition was written to provide support for several different circles. First, it was a treatise on managing the economics of power plant construction, intended to be useful for the site superintendent to get from today to tomorrow. Second, it was intended for the site general manager to direct his staff in performing their duties in a coordinated and focused manner. But third, it was also written to provide the management of all site personnel a primer on what to expect from their charges and how to offer them ideas and support. The first edition book provides detailed formats for accomplishing many of the tasks of performing construction management, and it offers examples of how to use these formats in various settings.
This second edition does the same, even using some of the same language and examples, but it also enhances the information in the first edition by extending the circles to include much more of the pre-site work. Both are designed to be useful in teaching environments. In fact, the first edition has been used as the foundation for many one- and two-day construction management workshops ever since it hit the bookshelves in 2005. It is intended that this new revision will be the foundation for many more workshops, both in academia and in industrial settings. As a final note, this second edition does not specifically address working outside of North America. The first edition did. That is not to say that the information in this second edition is not applicable to working elsewhere in the world. It is. But when planning and managing construction projects beyond our borders, a lot more is required. There are cultural impacts. There are different legal implications. There are skill level challenges. There are distances, terrain, and seasonal hurdles to overcome. The list goes on and on. Therefore, if one is seriously considering a project outside of North America, the first edition of this book is still a must-read.
As the author, I hope you, the reader, benefit from the contents of the book you are now holding. I hope you will share the contents with your peers. As a former coworker Gary “Red” Wilcoxon once said about the first edition: “Many can bid and win, but few can track and execute. If you find the problems fast you have time to react, even if the work is fast-paced. The tools are in this book—Read it and use them.” I look forward to meeting some of you as time marches forward, and I look forward to hearing from you—to hear how some parts of this book made your jobs successful as well as where things did not work out so well. Please let me know at [email protected].
From the book cover:
“More than just generating megawatt hours, the power
plant also has to generate profits for the investor!”
— Peter G. Hessler
This timely second edition of Power Plant Construction Management: A Survival Guide is revised and updated to include new technologies, evolving regulations, and the changing power generation mix between gas and coal plants. Hessler expands upon the First edition and provides a thorough plan for managing the Financials of building a power plant. He covers the entire process from preplanning to contingency planning to the business of on-site construction management. The book includes checklists, guidelines, photos, and examples that serve as useful tools in the decisionmaking process. With a focus on Finances, management skills, regulations, technology, and much more, this book is a must-read for anyone with a stake in the power plant construction process.
FEATURES OF THE 2ND EDITION:
• New examples of the shifting power generation mix
• Updated data on technology trends
• Guidance on how to pursue and ensure a manageable contract
• Construction management and financial awareness tools
• Risk management and the “Deadly Dozen”
• Managing with technology
Book Details:
⏩Edition: 2nd Edition
⏩Author: Anthony Giampaolo
⏩Puplisher: PennWell Corp
⏩Puplication Date: December 1, 2014
⏩Language: English
⏩Pages: 419
⏩Size: 13.2 MB
⏩Format: PDF
Download Power Plant Construction Management: A Survival Guide 2nd Edition by Peter G. Hessler in pdf format for free.
