One of the required project management processes during the turnover and closeout phase of a capital project is to complete the demobilization and site reclamation process. Demobilization consists of the work and operations necessary to disband all mobilized items and clean up the site. It includes the removal of all temporary ramps, access ways, roads, signs, temporary fencing, construction debris including rock chips, wood debris, construction stakes, and other construction‐related refuse, and temporary facilities or works and the restoration of surfaces to an equal or better than existing condition shall also be included as part of demobilization. Site reclamation includes reclamation of areas disturbed during construction, other than access and staging areas, to pre‐project conditions or better.
To ensure that all demobilization and site reclamation scope of work is done comprehensively right from the first time, it is highly recommended to have a detailed checklist of all items that need to be completed for this scope of work. The demobilization checklist will group the different items that need to be completed and inspected. For example, the checklist could include categories for waste management, erosion and sediment control, groundwater and dewatering control, vehicle maintenance, washing and refueling control, fuel and chemical storage control, water quality and marine ecology control, and welfare facilities, offices, and laydown control.
Using a Project Management Information System (PMIS) like PMWeb, a form will be created for the Environmental Demobilization Checklist. The form will have two parts for which permissions will be set to limit the Contractor’s access permission to the second part of the form titled “Section 2: Action Items” while the inspector from the project owner side will have access to the first section titled as “Demobilization Checklist”.
The first part will be for the inspection that will be carried out by the inspection team. For each inspection item, the form will include fields for the work completion status (Yes, No, or Not Applicable), observation comments made by the inspector for non-conformant works that need to be rectified by the Contractor, and the target completion date for completing the non-conformant works. It is highly recommended to take pictures for each raised observation which will be attached to the Environmental Demobilization Checklist form. When PMWeb is accessed from an iPad or any other smart device that has a camera, selecting the attach command will prompt the user to take a picture or video and attach it to the form.
The second section of the form, titled Action Items will be completed by the Contractor for which the Contractor will detail all observations that must be rectified as per the carried out inspection and list the required actions that the Contractor has taken for rectifying the reported observation, the status of the observation if it is still open or closed and the inspection date. For each closed observation, a photo will be taken and attached to the form. Each attached photo should be labeled as per the photo ID set for each observation item. When PMWeb is accessed from an iPad or any other smart device that has a camera, selecting the attach command will prompt the user to take a picture or video and attach it to the form.
All supportive documents and pictures used for the Environmental Demobilization Checklist will be uploaded into the PMWeb document management repository and then attached to the form. In addition, all relevant records including imported emails will be linked to the form.
A workflow can be assigned to the Environmental Demobilization Checklist to formalize the submission, review, and approval process. The workflow will identify the different individuals involved in the review and approval process, the duration allotted for each and the sequence to be followed in the review process.
About the Author
Bassam Samman, PMP, PSP, EVP, GPM is a Senior Project Management Consultant with more than 35-year service record providing project management and control services to over 100 projects with a total value of over US $5 Billion. Those projects included Commercial, Residential, Education and Healthcare Buildings and Infrastructure, Entertainment and Shopping Malls, Oil and Gas Plants and Refineries, and Telecommunication and Information Technology projects. He is thoroughly experienced in complete project management including project management control systems, computerized project control software, claims analysis/prevention, risk analysis/management (contingency planning), design, supervision, training, and business development.
Bassam is a frequent speaker on topics relating to Project Management, Strategic Project Management, and Project Management Personal Skills. Over the past 35 years, he has lectured at more than 350 events and courses at different locations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and South America. He has written more than 250 articles on project management and project management information systems that were featured in international and regional magazines and newspapers. He is a co-founder of the Project Management Institute- Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC) and has served on its board of directors for more than 6 years. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI), a certified Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP), and Earned Value Professional (EVP) from the American Association of Cost Engineers (AACE) and Green Project Management (GPM).
Bassam holds a Masters in Engineering Administration (Construction Management) with Faculty Commendation, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA, Bachelor in Civil Engineering – Kuwait University, Kuwait and has attended many executive management programs at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA and London Business School, London, UK.