Interstates always strives to innovate and find better ways to serve our clients. Recently, this was demonstrated by adding a Startup Manager to our repertoire of services.
If you’re wondering why a Start Up Manager is beneficial to a project, think about the high-pressure flurry of activity near a project’s completion. Anyone who has been involved in the organized chaos of a project’s final phases can appreciate the value in having someone with expert experience navigating the moving parts. Whether it’s progressing from the construction phase to having the plant making product and revenue, or just a basic need for help in coordinating and executing the final elements of a project, a Startup Manager from Interstates is a valuable asset. Our goal is to get the plant up and running as quickly as possible.
No matter how well the construction phase of a project has gone, an inefficient startup or final phase can hinder total project success and lead to costly downtime. A Startup Manager’s purpose is to organize and execute this critical work, and clients seem to be eager for this specific help. Startup Managers work with the general contractor, mechanical and electrical superintendents, and the controls team early in the project to begin the planning phase for checkout, commissioning, and startup.
Through this early involvement, Startup Managers understand how to best execute the work and who needs to be involved, including any other vendors that are supplying major pieces of equipment. A detailed plan and schedule of work is created, and the Startup Manager gets the buy-in of everyone who will be engaged. Having a Startup Manager is also good for the budget; the role ensures that there are not too many or too few people on site, which saves the client money by allocating (instead of wasting) resources and time.
A Startup Manager can help all project teams make smart decisions about what to focus on next, when it is appropriate to move on, and when to let repair teams come in to quickly troubleshoot issues. Clients who have utilized this service have been overwhelmingly positive and can’t imagine going forward without it on future projects. Interstates continues to add more personnel to the Startup Manager group, and soon we will be able to handle not only the largest of projects but also the most complex system retrofits that we encounter.
If you would like to learn more about how this new service can positively impact your next project, give us a call at 712.722.1662.
Jeff Miller, Director of Project Management