In the Field
Engineering department reduces costs, improves efficiencies

It’s no secret that Alyeska is on a mission to provide better, more cost effective services in light of declining throughput. One example of how the company is retooling itself is the engineering department.

Brian Tuminello, pictured below, joined Alyeska as engineering director in December 2008, with a goal of making the department more efficient through consolidating engineering services and reducing use of outside contractors.

“One of the changes we’re implementing is to move from a “business as usual” approach to a value-added approach,” said Tuminello. “By re-organizing with a dedicated design team, we can take on more work internally as opposed to using outside contractors. Not only does that save money, but it also takes maximum advantage of having our own talented and knowledgeable engineers on staff.”

For example, the Integrity Management group consisting of Right-of-Way Integrity and Integrity Management engineers worked especially hard this past year to overcome challenges associated with lower throughput, resulting in a very successful Inline Inspection of the main pipeline this fall. Also, a recently conducted audit of the Integrity Management Plan by JPO and DOT praised the IM team for “in house resident expertise and extensive program development.”

The engineering department has also initiated a review of technical requirements to validate and/or reduce current written requirements, a move toward simplification that is being undertaken throughout the organization.

“I tell my folks we’re not going to have any more ‘sprinklers in the rain,’” said Tuminello. “By this I mean we’re not going to waste time and resources doing stuff that’s not needed.”

Reduce costs, improve efficiency, protect safety and environment—the engineering department has taken Alyeska’s mantra to heart.