"OBSERVE"
Year: 2004
Location 1: Kajang, Sg Chua
Company: Sunway Construction Bhd
Working on the site in Kajang, Sg. Chua was nearing its completion. There were only a few tasks left before handing over to the developer/buyer.
From 5 people (including the Project Manager - PM), only 2 remained (myself and the Site Foreman).
The others had moved to different new sites. Work was more relaxed now. Not like before.
One day, I saw the PM entering the site office to meet the Site Foreman. After that, he left.
Then the Site Foreman told me, "Earlier, the boss asked when I could release Hamizi to move to Presint 15 Putrajaya? I replied not yet, as there's still a lot of work."
The PM had a new site in Presint 15, Putrajaya. At that time, I heard he had around 20 staff under him there. I wasn't sure why he needed so many, to the point that I might have to move there too.
Time passed. Again, after some time, the PM met the Site Foreman and requested me to move to Presint 15. "I want Hamizi in Presint 15. Later, I'll send another engineer to replace him here," the PM said firmly to the Site Foreman.
The PM met me and said, "Hamizi. You can take a week off. Then report to Presint 15, Putrajaya."
Location 2: Presint 15, Putrajaya
After a week off, I joined the site at Presint 15, Putrajaya.
The setup here was extensive. Under the PM, there were 2 Site Agents, 1 Site Foreman, 1 Senior Engineer, 1 Design Manager - all senior staff, and many more junior staff.
As usual, I was the only Malay Engineer.
On the first morning, the PM instructed me, "Hamizi. Your job is to observe. Why is it that this site, with 8 blocks in operation (with 8 sets of machinery) and enough workers, isn't running smoothly and is facing many delays?"
This instruction was peculiar. Considering the 5 senior staff under the PM, why did a junior like me seem to understand better than them?
During the first week, I attended all meetings, patrolled the site, and observed what issues were causing the site to not run smoothly.
Finally, I understood why.
This was a design and build project. The design team was supposed to follow our planning during the design phase, but they designed as they pleased. In a meeting, I provided a list and deadline for the drawings to be completed to the design department. They weren't pleased with me. I said, "If you don't want to comply, you'll have to answer to the boss." After hearing my warning, they complied.
One problem solved.
The second problem. Many piling cases were off position. So, we had to propose adding points or enlarging the pile caps. Because there were too many, the subcontractors were in chaos trying to resolve them. So, I issued a checklist for each block. There were a total of 14 blocks. And I asked them to follow my schedule. After they complied, we were able to smoothly complete the pile caps and ground beam/slab.
Second problem solved.
The rest is history.
Looks like a great opportunity!