Page 249 - Sustainable On-Site CHP Systems Design, Construction, and Operations

222 C o ns truction

Gauging Contractor’s Own Strengths
One of the most overlooked risks that contractors; particularly those where majority
equity owners face uncertainties, is whether their firm has the requisite experience to
build a successful CHP plant project. Some issues to consider in that regard are
1. Was the CHP plant project now on the table a natural outgrowth of the con-
struction firm’s prior experience?
2. What role did the construction firm play in that regard as a general contractor,
construction manager, or specialty subcontractor?

From a risk management perspective, one should not assume that your particular
experience in one or more utility power generation or industrial power distribution
projects will allow you to be successful in CHP projects of any scale, or vice versa.
Experience in hydroelectric, utility type power generation and/or waste-to-energy
plants each involve their own specialties. The unique skill sets demanded of experi-
enced contractors in each market who often face differing regulatory and code issues
that must be carefully reviewed and thoroughly understood before starting the CHP
contracting process.
Furthermore, the construction firm management team must begin with a careful
and objective examination of its own key employee skill set, prior related project expe-
rience and technical capabilities in order to determine whether or not the staff and/or
in-house supervisory crew is capable of constructing the CHP project being considered.
Assume for the moment, that the initial assessment is positive but the firm is limited in
the depth of its power generation experience.
An important consideration is if any of the firm’s principal “equity stakes” execu-
tives and/or any of the firm’s key employees familiar with the location of the project?
As most experienced construction firm owners have learned from past experience, the
success of any project can be affected by local conditions, for example, needed skilled
labor availability, understanding of local codes, weather, and potential neighbor activism
toward outside construction and utility-type projects.
If after looking at your current project backlog, the firm remains comfortable with
its collective findings, namely that the firm is able to deal with the above matters, what,
if anything, still needs to be done before deciding to commit the firm’s resources to go
forward with the proposed CHP project?
For one, the firm will have to take great care when assembling a project team that
can be capable of overcoming any perceived weaknesses or lack of experience in a
particular construction trade specialty as a result of current or other foreseeable new
projects in the firm’s pipeline.

CHP Plant Contractual Organizational Structure
One of the first steps a construction firm owner or key executive must take in going
forward with a CHP project is to determine the organizational structure governing the
relationships among the team members on the project, including the client owner-
operator and/or developer, the design engineer, the architect (if new building facilities
are involved), the construction manager, the construction supervisor, the construction
inspector(s), construction trades foreman and additional subcontractors. A well-planned