TANAP’s General Manager Saltuk DÜZYOL’s training in our committee contained important messages for many sector employees. We wanted to share with our members what we’ve learned in this report.
- What is a megaproject? Projects over $ 1 billion are called megaprojects. 65% of them exceed their costs. 73% cannot be completed within the foreseen period.
- 65% of these problems are due to non-technical reasons. These are problems that mainly arise as a result of human, organizational and managerial problems. 21% from project management, and 14% from environmental factors.
- The mega-plant itself is a whole set of problems awaiting solving. Problems such as size, economy, timing, health and work safety standards, funding sources and contractual issues remain to be solved throughout the process.
- When the project is large you may need to work with an experienced project management company. It is crucial for these companies to properly oversee the management.
- One of the most important points is to stop engineering designs at some point. Because if the design is constantly changing, operations on the field will slow down or even stop, as parts may need to be re-supplied.
- The milestones are very important. These milestones should be identified at the beginning of the project and monitored daily by a team if possible. If there is a delay, on the spot intervention it may be necessary.
- One of the most crucial points is the health and safety of the people working in the major projects. Even though security training is given every morning, there can still be problems caused by human error. Registration of these is very important. It’s important to note even “near misses”, even if there was no accident. The cases where an accident was avoided in the last minute actually forms a warning statistic. For example; 300 possible accidents can cause 10 accidents, which can cause 1 fatal accident. For this reason, possible accidents must be recorded, and their development must be monitored.
- Social benefits are an important aspect of big projects. TANAP frequently encounters archaeological remains as a result of its wide geography. At such point, it is necessary to get expert advice and consultancy services from museums each step of the way. The natural life in the region, the breeding periods and the protection of the species, are vital to these efforts.