equipment procurement | industrial projects The fourth challenge resides in the proper planning and development of a preliminary yet robust program of works. A program that should identify, though often times built at concept design stage, two major milestones: the first milestone is the expected installation time on site (and consequently the expected equipment delivery time) and the second milestone is the expected time for design information provision by the supplier, for the sake of design development and completion by the design consultant. Equipment delivered very early would necessitate a lengthy storage on site, with an increased risk of damage due to improper storage or handling. Furthermore, various suppliers limit their performance guarantee to a specific period following delivery and a specific period following installation, whichever comes first. Thus, in early deliveries performance guarantees could expire even before equipment installation. Late deliveries could delay construction works on site which would trigger contractor’s claims for time extension and additional cost. The fifth challenge is the proper integration of construction contractor’s duties associated with this equipment, in the construction contract. Those duties include, without being limited to, insurance provisions to such equipment when taken over by the construction contractor, storage and proper handling, as well as the duty to provide timely notification of the expected installation date, to allow for the supplier to supervise equipment installation, testing and commissioning. This provision ensures proper installation of the purchased equipment and the validity of the supplier’s guarantee and effective warrantees. Equipment procurement does not end with the placement of purchase orders with suppliers but also necessitates equipment expedition, until taken over by the contractor. This expedition exercise spans over shipping, insurance, custom release, demurrage and finally delivery to site. It requires skills and experience beyond those normally appropriated by the design consultant’s staff such as being conversant with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) rules and terms. Equipment procurement on behalf of our clients is a crucial service that we render for successful completion of industrial projects. It is a service not without its challenges many if not minutely dealt with could derail a project’s outcome no matter how good and complete the design. The general challenge, actually framing all the challenges discussed in this article, arises from our ability as design consultants to act outside of our traditional realm of services, in other words outside our ‘comfort zone’. By being familiar with such challenges, and carefully laying them out at the project’s onset and bringing them to the attention of the working team, is how we maximize the chances for success. 9