Building a Sustainable Future for EPC – Exclusive Interview with Kiewit
At our upcoming North American Gas Forum, energy trailblazers will be discussing the rising demand for gas in energy markets. To provide a glimpse into the quality of dialogue that will be held, we interviewed Dan Lumma, President of Kiewit Engineering Group, who is responsible for engineering and design across power, oil, gas, and chemical, and infrastructure segments.
Dan is highly respected in the industry for his comprehensive EPC background and market knowledge. During our conversation, we spoke about Kiewit’s dedication to a sustainable future, and the technological innovations that he anticipates seeing in the coming years.
Here’s what Dan Lumma had to share with us ahead of his upcoming presentation at the North American Gas Forum:
ED: Kiewit’s core values are centered on people, integrity, excellence, and stewardship. Which recent project initiative or innovation are you most proud of and feel is most reflective of Kiewit?
DL: Kiewit’s core values are fundamental to everything we do, including how we pursue, engineer, and build projects of all types across North America. A recent, great example was the successful completion of the Cove Point LNG export terminal with Dominion Energy. We have had the opportunity to work with Dominion on a number of key projects — and at Cove Point, we had a strong partnership from the start. A big part of that was our shared values, which are focused on people, integrity, excellence and stewardship.
In addition, Cove Point was a success in large part due to the excellent communication across all levels of management, from our most senior executives to those running the project. The team was constantly looking at the project holistically to identify the best processes and approach for all parties involved. We all had a vested, personal interest in the success of the project, and what it meant for our respective organizations, but decisions were always made with the greater whole first. A successful outcome meant we all would win.
LNG projects are not exactly commonplace in North America, so I’m extremely proud of how our collective team successfully reached project completion. It’s definitely an example we use to showcase Kiewit’s ability to construct and engineer highly complex energy projects.
ED: What are the positive impacts you have seen as a result of the collaboration with other leading energy companies? For example, have you seen technological breakthroughs and contributions to a stronger energy future by combining resources and expertise with other organizations?
DL: Over the last several years, we definitely have seen the benefits of partnering and collaborating with other organizations in the energy space, from EPC contractors and leading technology providers, to equipment providers, experienced subcontractors and other key suppliers.
Virtually every time we’ve approached the development of a new project, those partnerships have paid big dividends in how we look at scheduling, cost and quality management – even safety. I’m consistently impressed and amazed at the innovative thinking that comes out of our bidding and development processes. It can really take costs and time out of project delivery.
ED: This may be something you can’t discuss, but is there a specific technological breakthrough you’ve had with a partner that you’re proud of?
DL: Specifics aside, some of our most recent technological innovations have involved greater modularization or creative commercial models. Many of these innovations don’t have to be large in size to have a big impact on lower costs in the design and construction phases. What’s been exciting to see is how the blended thinking between partners — especially between technology providers and Kiewit as a contractor — uncovers ideas or innovations we may not have thought about independently.
ED: How exactly does Kiewit participate in the sustainable energy future?
DL: We are actively engaged with our clients in a wide spectrum of development, whether it’s the older-school fossil program or in renewables, battery storage, electric vehicles, grid, microgrids and so on. Our success has been based on being committed and focused on what we’re engineering and building today, and having a wide array of people in our company looking at and learning about what’s coming in the next few years, as well as the next few decades. Kiewit’s known for being a strong contractor, and it’s an exciting place to work because we are always pushing the boundaries of what we do, from the markets we enter to diversify our business, to the geographies where we pursue work if we believe the opportunities outweigh the risks. That has always allowed Kiewit to be looking ahead at what’s coming next, especially as we look at sustainable energy and the potential opportunities it provides. If we’re not looking at what’s possible in 2030, we know that’s being short-sighted.
ED: Over the next few years, as EPC projects evolve and become more complex, how can the industry expect projects to change? And, how can the industry work together to override any complexities by using technology?
DL: Kiewit has made a significant investment in technology over the last decade to help run our business and operations much more efficiently, and to collect and leverage data to make better decisions in virtually everything we do. We take data analytics very seriously.
At the heart of that is a core set of technology solutions we developed through our InEight subsidiary. These are powerful solutions that are fully integrated, and help us visualize, estimate, manage, control and connect all aspects of our projects. It starts with an estimate created in InEight Estimate, which is then converted into a control budget. From there, we convert all the costs, schedule and quantity information in a database for use by the project team. Through InEight, we also have powerful field execution, contract, document management and reporting tools. EPC contractors need to do a better job of leveraging this kind of technology to handle the complexities of the projects we work on and find better ways to deliver projects on budget and schedule.
Kiewit has more than 25,000 InEight users worldwide. All of them are focused on leveraging technology to reduce the cost on projects, whether it’s better planning to reduce craft employee hours or for a more effective supply chain. I would say the EPC industry as a whole is way behind other industries in terms of leveraging technology. This is an area where we need to improve.
ED: Are you able to provide a sneak peek into what you’ll be presenting at the North American Gas Forum this October?
DL: I’m excited about the topic we’re covering — what the energy infrastructure of the future will look like. It’s a big, broad, complex topic to cover. There is so much to look at, given the pace of change in the energy sector, and how we’re addressing the demands of a growing population. We’ll take a closer look at the impact environmental and regulatory pressures will have on new energy solutions. New technologies are also changing the game for energy demand, generation and delivery.
I’ll also be sharing some thoughts on key areas Kiewit and other companies are closely looking at, such as the role small-scale LNG will play in gas distribution, given the great difficulty with permitting pipelines. For example, will LNG export terminals in North America continue to be large, 5 MTA-plus facilities, or multiple smaller 1 MTA facilities? I’ll also address how we’re viewing electric vehicles and their impact on the overall energy infrastructure, including the natural gas industry. We have plenty of ground to cover at the Forum, and I’m looking forward to sharing and discussing with everyone in attendance.
Join Dan Lumma and more of the energy world’s senior leaders to discuss the impact of the energy transition and the role regulatory pressures will play on project development at the North American Gas Forum – October 2018
The North American Gas Forum is dedicated to bringing together an impressive line-up of industry decision makers from across the natural gas value chain. The forum will be held on October 14-16 in Washington D.C. Join us for high-level discussion and debate, with topics ranging from the future of energy, to LNG project advancements, and transitional requirements of the current infrastructure.
To learn more, and to reserve your spot, please visit http://energy-diagloues.com/nagf/
