How long have you been working in the pipeline industry for and what industry were you in prior to working in the pipeline industry?
I started work in the Australian Gas Industry as a labourer doing street works for AGL in Sydney back in 1985.
It consisted of insertion work carried out to upgrade the metropolitan gas system.
My first major pipeline was the Queensland State Gas Pipeline in 1989 where I worked in Benny Bowen’s Special Crossings crew for Saipem.
I was brought up on a commercial apple farm in Kilkenny, Ireland where we started work early.
At a young age I ran pruning and harvesting crews.
I studied Commercial Horticulture for a few years and then migrated to Australia.
My family had been involved in land reclamation and pipework back as far as 1948 when land reclamation and farm improvement was being advanced by the Marshall Plan in Europe following World War Two.
As a consequence I was brought up around heavy plant and pipework.
What is your favourite aspect of working in the pipeline industry?
The best part of what I do is getting involved in a project start-up, gearing up to commence work and then to advance the project to meet the targets of safety, quality, environment and production, all the while dealing with a multitude of different personalities and changing priorities from all parties involved.
Also, being able to work with enthusiastic young men and women in the field who are new to their task, guiding them in meeting their goals of succeeding and our goals of getting them there safely, while meeting progress targets to allow the whole show to keep moving.
I enjoy getting immersed in a project, overcoming the many obstacles that evolve during construction and driving it to completion.
What projects are you working on at present, and has there been anything interesting about working on this project?
I have enjoyed many different projects for different reasons.
I would have to say the current Origin Australia Pacific LNG Pipeline Project in Queensland, which I have been involved with since 2011, is the most satisfying to date.
The reason being that we have taken pipeline construction to a higher level where there is far greater ownership and responsibility on every member of the workforce, from the lead welder to the man running the jeeper and everybody in between.
We now have a work force that continually assesses, discusses, plans and acts on every minute detail of what they do on a daily basis to achieve our goals of safety, quality, environment and production.
We also have greater respect for every member of the work force, we encourage them to come out here, work safely, enjoy what they are doing and take that satisfaction back home with them.
What other project have you found interesting or challenging?
The QSN3 Project, a 939 km pipeline running from Wallumbilla in Queensland to Moomba in South Australia.
I would say both challenging and interesting because it was a long campaign which took us through the wettest year in a century (2010).
Major flooding occurred on the right-of-way and in the camps.
It was a major challenge to get pipe in the ground in very wet and trying conditions.
Morale was good and the crew managed with the relentless rain.
By the end of that first year we were well behind target.
Welders started back on Valentine’s Day in 2011 for the second year of Project.
With the weather on our side, the crews put in a tremendous effort and brought the pipeline in ahead of time and within budget.
It was a phenomenal achievement by every person in the field to accomplish this.
A major part of the credit must go to Hugh Boyd who was the driving force who rode us all the way to Moomba.
To be part of the team that pulled the project back on target, has given me a great sense of achievement.
Can you outline a typical day in the field?
My day as a General Superintendent is broken up between office and field.
Typically there are a lot of meetings with individual foremen from 5am to organise men, equipment and resource allocation.
By 6am all the crews are in their separate groups attending pre-start meetings, going through their work plans in detail.
I attend a number of these meetings to ensure we have consistency and understanding of the project objectives.
I would generally do a run through the yard as the crews are moving out for the day.
It is then time to go through timesheets, pre-start sheets, schedules and respond to emails.
I will also be meeting with the various discipline managers and the client representatives to discuss any issues and our targets.
Once things are in hand in the office I generally do a run through the spread, focusing on any issues that may impede production or general advancement of the project.
I make it a policy to stop and have conversations with as many people as I can, taking in what they have to say.
There can be a whole series of meetings during the day with foremen, client reps, safety, environmental people, cultural heritage people and workers to manage a multitude of matters.
Towards the end of the day the foremen return to the office and there are further discussions on progress.
Most of the foremen are back in by 6pm and if possible I like to get out of the office no later than 6.30pm.
Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
I have worked for a lot of different Superintendents, Construction Managers and clients, each one having their own way of doing things, all with a different style.
I have learned a lot from the ones that I thought had it right and learned a lot more from the ones that I thought had it wrong.
If you ask me who do I look up to in the industry, it would be the people who are actively trying to advance the new people coming into the industry and those people who aim to keep improving to ensure this industry remains viable.
Do you have any anecdotes of activities in the field?
A number of years ago we were down in New South Wales on a joint venture.
We were going through a tough piece of country and management decided to bring in a trencher from the United States at great expense.
The trencher came down the Kings Highway and commenced to dig.
The operator was an American called “˜Bear’ who stood about 6 foot 7 inches tall.
He had a great beard and wore a pair of dungarees.
On the first day this very expensive piece of equipment produced 80 m of very ugly trench.
Early on the second day the project manager and the cost controller came to site to see how it was going.
When the Project Manager saw what it produced, he commenced to rant and rave about the useless machine and the useless operator.
Bear stood back looking at the show the project manager was putting on.
When the project manager left, Bear asked me “Who was that guy?” I responded with that was such and such, the project manager.
Bear put his thumbs under the straps of his Dungarees and said “If he ever comes here again and talks to me like that I am going to throw him in that trench and hump his ass”, and from the look of Bear, I did not doubt it.
Do you have any advice from those just beginning their careers in the pipeline industry?
Yes I do. Continually seek to improve yourself.