The introduction of the COVID-19 virus has changed our world overnight. This frightening event has shut down our economy, closed schools, put new rules into our society and as of today resulted in more than 74,000 deaths in the US. To put this in perspective just over 58,000 Americans died in the Vietnam war. The […]
– Achieving Excellence in Any Project – The old saying in managing projects was Cost, Schedule and Quality. Pick two. This is because it is very difficult to do a good job on all three of these critical aspects of any project. If we highly control cost, the quality of the finished project may suffer. […]
OR – Keeping Your Expert Witness Sane – Litigation is extraordinarily expensive. Legal and expert witness fees can quickly mount up and become a significant percentage of the amount in dispute. I worked on a cost dispute on a plant estimated to cost $68MM but was significantly over expended. The litigation and expert fees were […]
We work in an industry where there is very little tolerance for errors since we deal with highly hazardous, flammable chemicals. Normally our plants operate with exceptional safety records since they are built to exacting standards, inspected frequently to monitor changes in integrity and personnel are highly trained. However, sometimes human error, cutting corners or […]
A key element in an effective Due Diligence study is to be able to quickly identify the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) on a current, historical and projected basis. These KPI’s include safety statistics, operational performance, status of maintenance programs and overdue activities. The KPI’s can be presented in numerical or graphical format however it is […]
Are Your Wires Crossed? By Rick Hoffman and Joe Rammage We recently evaluated a 15kV, 5000 hp, induction motor in a WPII enclosure manufactured by a foreign company. During an on-site inspection of the main terminal box it was discovered that the high voltage leads were touching. This raised significant concerns about the long-term reliability […]
Just the Facts Ma’am The famous phrase, “Just the facts, Ma’am,” was often linked to Los Angeles Police Department Sargent Joe Friday who wore badge 714 on the TV show Dragnet. However, according to several sources, the facts are Joe Friday never said this exact phrase on the long running TV show. The statement “Just […]
or “Kidnapped By My Own Business Team” A number of years ago I worked closely with an Operating Company Business Team and Mergers and Acquisitions group performing due diligence assessments. I often led these assessments and my input on reliability, maintenance, mechanical integrity and inspection was incorporated into a multi discipline team of legal, environmental, […]
A few years ago I conducted what might be the world’s cheapest, fastest and most cost effective due diligence study ever done. This study took one hour and cost the client about $500. I was approached by two new members of a well-recognized financial institution. They were assigned to evaluate opportunities to capture low cost […]
On February 1, 2003 the Space Shuttle Columbia, while entering the earth’s atmosphere at 10,000 miles per hour, disintegrated killing all 7 astronauts. A $4 billion spacecraft was destroyed, spreading debris over 2000 square miles and grounding the Space Shuttle program for 2-1/2 years. The cause, normalization of deviance. Insulating foam strikes which had been […]
