APM Boiler Works Out Project on Schedule and More

“The backbone of success is hard work, determination, good planning, and perseverance ” – Mia Hamm

We applaud our APM Boiler Team and Superintendent, Mike Bush, for leading an on-time delivery at ODEC Wildcat. The replacement task of 144 HARPs may have seemed daunting, but our fearless group harnessed their wealth of knowledge to knuckle down on this project.

As part of the pre-outage planning process in June 2019, our team of experts hosted a Lean Outage Workout to hammer out an optimal execution plan. The collaboration between teams from APM, FieldCore, and GE identified opportunities to improve productivity and cost in this job.

Throughout this workout process, some key obstacles were identified. Shipping the HARPs was limited to only two loads a day, storing the HARPs would be difficult because space on the road was scarce, and the HARPs could potentially damage the pavement due to their heavy weight. Scrapping and disposing of the removed material, inspection of new material prior to installation, as well as drilling roof holes for the internal monorail is just a snapshot of the extensive duties requiring arrangements for this project.

Several Lean initiatives were developed and applied to the work scope. The successful implementation and tracking of these initiatives throughout the outage duration produced savings of roughly $430K while maintaining quality craftsmanship.

The APM Boiler team’s apt method in motion allowed them to successfully execute their initial activities for this project. The team stepped up to the plate and took on extra work when a subcontractor struggled to complete their work scope in a timely manner. 

ODEC was especially complimentary of APM’s attention to housekeeping and environmental awareness on site.

Part of the equation for success … 3 safety lunches, 16 weekly safety meetings, and 98 daily toolbox talks led by Mike Bush, which added up to produce 0 recordables and 0 lost working time at ODEC Wildcat.

The APM Boiler team’s streamlined plan and committed work practices overcame the identified challenges and sustained their ability to deliver the job safely, on time, and on budget.

We are proud to share this success story and work alongside our gifted craftspeople who boldly represent APM’s culture and execution excellence on the front line!