ing having someone available on site. With that in mind, and in keeping with suppliers’ changing requirements, we developed an effective quarantine plan that places our rep’s security and the project’s schedule in high priority. Currently, marine vessels are considered bubbles – they are self-contained ecosystems and, in most cases, some of the safest environments since the start of the pandemic. To maintain that security, every supplier has quarantine rules for preparation time prior to boarding any vessel. Typical quarantine times range from one to two weeks prior to boarding a vessel. At the outset of a call for a rep, the WFN Project Team identifies appropriate candidates for the in-field work, based on their experience, location and of course, availability. With these new quarantine requirements, we aim to provide reps that are either already in country or are within driving distance of the port of call. Our regular pool of reps and their priority status has been reorganized based on an entirely new criterion. As a result, we operate an entirely agile, international and regional rep pool.
In our specific slice of the world, this niche of a niche industry, client representation has taken on new challenges with a roar of defiance. The submarine cable market is more important today than it has in recent memory, as it’s relied upon to provide the literal lifeblood of a world still reeling from this pandemic. By rising to these challenges, our industry is stronger, more efficient, and most importantly, safer than ever before. Virtual Representation may be a stop-gap measure in some rights, but the lessons learned, and logistics protocols will likely not be lost or forgotten in this generation. STF
JUNE ‘TIL NOW - THE NEW NORMAL
KRISTIAN NIELSEN is Quality Manager at WFN Strategies and a Project Management Professional (PMP™) and ISO 9001:2015 specialist and possesses more than 12 years’ experience and knowledge in submarine cable systems, including Arctic and offshore Oil & Gas submarine fiber systems. As Quality Manager, he supports the Projects Manager and reviews subcontracts and monitors the prime contractor, supplier, and is astute with Change Order process and management. He is responsible for contract administration, as well as supports financial monitoring and in-field logistics. He has worked in-field, at-desk and everywhere in between.
There are things that are beginning to come back to normal – in-person shopping, dining rooms at restaurants are starting to fill in again, children are going back to school. Life finds a way. There are things that will never be the same again, businesses have optimized processes and protocols that, as it turns out, are bring more efficient fruit to bear, with less overhead and less risk.
HECTOR HERNANDEZ is Projects Manager at WFN Strategies and a Project Management Professional PMP™) specialist and possesses more than 20 years’ experience and knowledge in submarine cable systems, including Arctic and offshore Oil & Gas submarine fiber systems. He possesses extensive experience in ICT (Information & Communications Technology), including data networking/hosting (Data Centers), information technologies, fiber optic and wireless networks/services. As Projects Manager, he is responsible for on-going project supervision, and Engineering of all other WFN Strategies staff and is the primary point of contact with customers.
NOVEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 115
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