Yangtze River Tunnel – A Project Of E&C ... - Roof & Facade

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Thruway Authority involving a $130
million rehabilitation project for the
Tappan Zee Bridge, the first major PLA
after the Boston Harbor Decision. Hill
was given the task to explore the feasibility
of a PLA and to enter into negotiations
with the Building and Construction
Trades Councils, local unions
and other appropriate parties to determine
whether a PLA could be agreed
upon which would:
• Provide economic savings in the construction
process through changes in
work rules and practices and improve
productivity, safety, efficiency
and timeliness of construction.
• Provide for the enhancement of employment
opportunities for minority,
women and disadvantaged persons.
• Allow for all successful bidders, including
open-shop contractors, to
utilize a portion of their regular work
force on a project.
For example, a PLA was executed,
extended and remained in effect for the
seven year duration, saving the NYSTA
(New York State Transport Authority)
an estimated $6.5 million in labour
costs. A more recent Hill PLA project
in 2004 resulted in an estimated savings
in excess of $400 million to the New
York City School Construction Authority
on the $6.8 billion, 5 year NYCDOE
Capital Program.
ICA: Project Neutral – Is there any approval
and certification for Hill’s mediation
teams?
Mr. Brells: Other than our staff being
engineers, attorneys, certified arbitrators
and mediators etc, there is no specific
certifications that are required to
engage in a Project Neutral implementation
so long as the parties agree on
the individuals and approach.
ICA: What mechanism oversees updating
the software structure of Hill and how often
does it happen?
Mr. Brells: We have a great IT department
that keeps our teams worldwide
up to date on the most recent versions
of software and upgraded hardware.
They are a 24x7 technical support operation
that can access our servers and
desktops from the USA installed updates
and resolving technical issues remotely.
There are also mobile groups who
come to our project sites and regional
offices to set up risk management, cost
and time control systems for our various
projects and assignments.
In the UK, we also have a knowledge
sharing library that provides us
with monthly bulletins on decisions on
new case law. If we have a particular
case that says it has a “constructive acceleration”
or “time at large” issue,
they can provide any of our offices or
personnel with recent and historical
data on those topics.
ICA: When you mention optimizing resources
and reducing time wastage, do you
intend to brand Hill’s services as promoting
sustainability?
Mr. Brells: Yes. Our services allow us
to assist our clients with optimization
of their resources producing a savings
in time and cost, in quality, procurement
and construction means and
methods etc. These savings, innovative
processes, etc. can then be put to use
on other client projects, resulting in
similar savings to them. As a result, the
whole process could be termed ‘Sustainable’.
I believe that Hill International’s
expertise leads to resource optimization
in the processes, and therefore,
Hill International, I believe, could
be termed a ‘Sustainable’ company in
infrastructure.
ICA: A cross sectional view of Hill’s
projects shows extensive participation in
US, Europe and Middle East. What are the
plans to establish Hill in Asia?
Mr.Brells: Our staff is already established
in the region through our recent
acquisitions of James R Knowles and
Pickavance Consulting - companies
that already have a presence in the region
for the past 10 years or more. Hill
has worked in the region on projects
such as the Petronas Twin Towers
through staff who were sent to the region
to work for a particular project.
We now have a physical presence in
Asia-Pacific with eight offices, not to
mention the Project Management offices
across the region.
The next big step is to raise the profile
of Hill International and get our
name out there through advertising,
marketing and generally doing a bang
up job with our existing and new clients
so they help to get the word out.
After all, it is about relationships in
Asia Pacific. As a matter of fact, most
of our clients we are currently working
for we’ve had relationships with a
number of years. We go onto every assignment
with the intent to develop a
long term relationship with the client
and therefore want to do the best we
can for them.
ICA: What are the plans of Hill International
for floating a funding and financing
arm?
Mr. Brells: We have entered into a joint
venture agreement with Makan Capital
Group, a merchant banking and investment
management firm. The
Makan Hill JV intends to develop commercial,
mixed-use, residential and infrastructure
projects throughout the
Middle East and North Africa. This is
our first venture to develop projects as
a principal. The combination of Hill’s
Project Management expertise and
Makan Capital Group Financial experience
together with our local market
knowledge will allow us to develop
successful projects with the returns
demanded by our investors. We have
yet to identify a partner or look at this
type of entity for Asia-Pacific.
ICA: With the growth potential of Asia
centered on China and India, what are
Hill’s plans for these two power houses?
Mr. Brells: We have already established
a presence in China with Hill
Jianke Project Management, based in
Shanghai, Hill International HK, and
the regional SVP for Project Management
is based in Beijing.
We are currently investigating PM
and Consultancy opportunities on the
Indian sub-continent.
ICA: What are the diversification plans for
Hill?
Mr. Brells: From a staffing perspective,
Hill is looking at developing a Hill
University that will take bright young
students fresh from college and introduce
and train them in specific areas
of consultant services. We will put
them on our PM projects so that they
gain onsite project experience.
For instance, we are, as are many
others, in need of good planners/delay
analysts, contract administrators
etc. this college will help these individuals
develop the expertise that the
current and future markets will demand.
Additionally, we are in the process
of developing strategic alliances with
firms to supplement the services that
they are offering and getting involved
in project development side of the industry
is probably the highest priority
right now. ICA
Volume 2 Issue 7 2008 ICA 9