Next on the agenda at Emerson Exchange is a keynote from Alan Boeckmann the chairman and CEO of Fluor Corporation.
"Every time David Farr said the word 'win' the thunder rolled outside-- Berra, that's process control!"We are in the strongest capital investment cycle in the past 30 years and our industry and profession are under stress.We have to create solutions for higher productivity. At Fluor, the energy business represents over 80% of our backlog. National oil companies will control the future of supply. Fluor has been selected to help develop the first two nuclear plants built in the US in over 25 years.We will see a substantial loss of talent-- it will take a long-term solution, not a quick fix.We have to work faster, better, smarter. We needed to reduce the number of engineers and technologists we need, and we at Fluorhave radically revised our workprocesses in the last decade. While the plants we build may look the same, how we design them and build them has changed. Today it is normal for global workforces using secure collaborative work websites to be the model of how we work.Thus, our global execution offices have access to the 3-D models that have replaced physical models, and the integrated SmartPlant databases worldwide. We follow a consistent work template that is in operation worldwide and 24/7. It is our vision for engineering to reduce EPC cycle time and costs by 50% while exceeding the quality requirements of our clients.We designed a knowledge management system to make up for the loss of expert knowledge as experienced engineers leave the workforce.We designed a project management and collaborative worksite.Fluor and Emerson collaborate to leverage collective SRA resourcea around the globe; maximize effectiveness of marquee relationships; drive ewxcellwnce in project execution; and increase overall supply-chain performance.Fluor gifted Clemson to establish a chair for a program in logistics and supply chain management.We need to embrace new technologies and work processes. We need to optimize the use of critically scarce resources. We need to develop resources in areas large in numbers and short on experience.The greater the challenge, the greater the opportunity.Our situation is like the redwoods with shallow roots and intertwined branches. When the winds blow, all the trees support each other so that none of them falls.
