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Partnership Together Update
T
he telltale signs are many but only a
few may venture near to inspect. For
just beyond the scaffolding walls, un-
derneath the imposing high yellow cranes, and
well below the majestic century old Thomson
building is another little city. Dozens of make-
shift white cubicles make up two floors and are
well hidden at first. But there, just to the left
of the dazzling construction site, dotted with
construction workers, is the hustling bustling
‘city’. Engineers, architects, safety inspectors,
secretaries and project managers are racing
against the clock to guide the grand formation
of IC’s three-building elementary school.
A microscopic view of the ‘city’ finds
Richard El Cham, the site’s project man-
ager from MAN Enterprise, studying the
month’s progress report.
“I have it right here,” he said as he turns
page after page of intricate details. “We’re
on time. We’re on time except for this.”
He points to the drawing of the south
building, “and the slight delay of this is
because of the excavators before we came,”
he said. “Still, still, we will deliver the
classrooms and keep working on the south
building. I’ll figure out a way.”
He stared at the blue print pensively. A lot
rides on El Cham’s shoulder. He and his
team are basically in charge of the project
from A to Z, including indoor finishings or
to the “turned key” as he puts it.
Outside his cubicle, hammering sounds
drone on incessantly. The 200 workers
have made headway in constructing the
basements of the buildings. One basement
(of the west building) will be used as the
school’s central plant (electricity, generator,
boilers, chillers, water tanks, etc) while the
other two - including a covered pass way
between all three buildings - will serve as
the much needed bus and car park area.
The underground and the ground level
parking lots will greatly relieve some of the
traffic congestion caused by the school dur-
ing drop off and pick up times.
The contractual time – the date of delivery to
IC – is October 1st 2012. El Cham is keenly
aware of the looming date. “This is a school,
and classes have to start on time,” he said. “So
any delay is out of the question. We can’t be
late.”
But in a volatile Middle East region, ‘surprises’
can be common but even he didn’t foresee half
of his construction workers disappearing a few
months ago. A large number of the Syrian
workforce fled the country at one point during
the neighboring country’s ongoing turmoil.
“We suddenly found ourselves with very few
laborers,” he said.
In desperation, El Cham even considered
getting in Indian workers (Lebanese appar-
ently refused the work). Finally, after some
pay incentives, El Cham managed to lure
back his workers.
To say the least, it was stressful. “Work-
ing in Lebanon is never a sure guarantee.
Things keep happening,” said El Cham.
“But in this project, we just cannot have an
extension of time.”
The manager and his group sometimes find
themselves pulling all-nighters. Laborers, as
dictated by law, stop working at 8pm. Super-
vising engineers work 13 hour shifts. Every
safety measure for workers has been taken
(there is a safety officer on site) but still El
Cham remains cautious. “In a fast track proj-
ect like this, accidents can easily happen.”
Suddenly the project manager grins. “But
we will deliver the school on time,” he said.
“Come back at this time next year and you
will tell us: great job!”
over
Issue #2 | October 2011