Construyendo N 49 English - Skanska

ProjectREPAR PropyleneProduction UnitBraZilCuritiba is the Capital City andeconomic heart of the State ofParaná, Brazil, and after SanPablo and Río de Janeiro, it stands as thethird municipality with the best infrastructureacross the country. It is hometo a population of almost three millioninhabitants. Only 25km away from thisCapital City lies Araucaria, the site whereSkanska is currently developing – inconsortium with Engevix – the REPARPropylene Project for Petrobrás, forUSD 109M (our share amounting to70%).The project led by Fernando Freire andCarlos Magno –both as Project Managersreporting to Orlando Gavilanes (Head ofOperations, Brazil )- consists of the constructionof a new Propylene ProductionUnit within President Getúlio Vargas –REPAR Refinery.In order to thoroughlydescribe the challenge ourBusiness Unit is confrontedwith, we paid a visit to thesite seeking testimonies fromtheir own role players. Wehope to transmit the intensitywith which each of them referred to therole they play in their team, in midst ofan energetic environment with passionfor what they do, an environment thatdescribes the Skanska Doer.Fernando, who has been in theThe Five Zero Goal is our mainstay to developthis project successfully. Our focus is specificallyoriented to safety, ...”company for over fifteen years, and hasbeen Project Manager in Brazil for thepast four years in different sites, brieflydescribes the extent of Skanska’s role inthis contract, “Even though we are workingin consortium with Engevix, who owns30% of the share, our responsibility impliesthe construction of a Propylene Unit withcapacity for 180,000 tons per year in aperiod of 740 days, covering the following:detailed engineering, supply, constructionand mounting, commissioning andassistance for the plant’s start-off. We arealready working with a team of 300 collaboratorsthat will amount to 750 duringactivity peaks, thus meeting the deadlinesagreed upon with our client. The FiveZero Goal is our mainstay to develop thisproject successfully. Our focus is specificallyoriented to safety, priority both forSkanska and Petrobrás, who is as demandingas we are regarding this value.”Carlos Magno joined Skanska to leadthe team on site, and tells us what theincorporation and integration processhas been like, since this has been the firsttime in the company for most of the teammembers. “In order to be part of the project,those who work in the rural areas hadto go through training sessions that includedan admission exam and an integrationsession, in which Engevix collaboratorsalso participated. Thus, all of them start bybeing aligned towards a shared goal, andthe results can be seen in the developmentof their work. We also have a varied teamlocated at the site, formed by professionalsfrom different expertise areas, includingthree collaborators from the local YoungProfessionals Programme. We are also takingpart in an exchange programme withother Business Units. This is why we haveincorporated a team member from Swedenand another one from Norway. Professionaland personal integration by all ofthem allows breeding a team characterizedby diversity in many aspects, besides theprofessional.” With reference to the project’sexecution phase, Carlosassures, “We started in Marchwith a higher demand in thework load due to constructionand mounting activities, whichwill result in the incorporationof new collaborators. Eachphase we undertake poses newdemands, and we are very watchful so asnot to neglect the reliance the client hasentrusted us with”.10Construyendo Latinoamérica Nº 49 | March 2008