Winter 2003 (11.4)
Page 83

McDermott
Youth Strengthen the Construction Work Force

Rashad Musayev is in his early 20s. He grew up in the countryside in the Kazakh region. Rashad is not used to public attention and when we told him that his photo would appear in an international magazine, initially he was a little nervous. Nevertheless, he began to relax and put down his welding torch and flipped up his visor and smiled for the camera. Then he picked up his welding torch, pulled his visor back down and turned again to his work.

At that moment nothing was more important to him than ensuring that his work is done accurately and safely.
"I feel responsible for every seam I make and for every pipe I weld," explains Rashad. "It's not just a pipe or a tube for me. Those magnificent topside decks are all composed of pipes that we weld here. I work hard to ensure that we deliver perfect pipes."

Left: Central Azeri topsides, one of the main projects that is currently being fabricated by MCCI for AIOC's Azeri Development.

Special Training
Rashad Musayev is one of the first group of 12 youth between the ages of 18 and 23 years old who were recruited by McDermott Caspian Contractors Inc (MCCI) as part of a bold experiment initiated in November 2002. With this initiative, MCCI was able to demonstrate that it's possible to train young inexperienced people to become competent craftsmen with a suitable training program. The young men have undergone a five-day company and safety orientation training, an eight-day craft theory training, and a two-month practical craft training. Six of the trainees have qualified to flux-cored arc welders - gas shielded (FCAW - GS) and the other six have qualified as shielded manual arc welders (SMAW).

Alex's Babes
To date, 75 trainee welders known as "Alex's Babes" have passed through the welding school. They got this nickname because Alex Wylie, the MCCI Fabrication Manager, pushed for young Azerbaijanis graduating from schools or returning from the army to be given the chance for these jobs. "I'm proud of 'Alex's Babes'!" says Wylie. "Out of all the trainees, none of them failed to qualify, and a number of them excelled far beyond our expectations to become highly skilled welders with multiple qualifications."

"I'm honored to be a member of the MCCI family", says Rashad. "It was a real challenge and a great opportunity for me and my fellow countrymen to start working in a well-known international company. I'm sure I can learn from them and become as good a specialist as some of the best of them. I hope that MCCI will have more projects to implement throughout the region and that I get a chance to stay with this company for many years."

Below: Rashad Musayev, young structural welder, who is involved with helping to construct topside decks with MCCI.

Emphasis on Safety
When asked why he likes to work for MCCI, Rashad answers with no hesitatation: "Safety! I can concentrate on my work because I feel well taken care of. I've been given relevant training and necessary protective equipment to keep me safe at work. I was happy to learn that we recently completed 10 million safe manhours and that the hours that I worked really counted towards this."

MCCI's scope of work for the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) has included the successful accomplishment of upgrades, at the BDJF yard for the construction and fabrication of the topsides for the Phases 1 and 2 Development of the AIOC's Azeri project, as well as pipelay and installation work for the AIOC's Azeri development.

"We're very proud of this accomplishment of 10 million safe manhours," said Clint Anderson, MCCI Vice-President. "It means that for the past 22 months, we haven't experienced any incident that resulted in serious injury which required time away from work. All of our fabrication and marine operations personnel have worked with immense care and commitment to safety, while maintaining project progress."

From just a handful of project staff, the MCCI workforce has grown enormously to 2,700 employees. Approximately 80 percent are Azerbaijani personnel. "MCCI takes necessary measures to ensure that its employees have the right skills to work safely and efficiently and to achieve this goal we provide employees with rigorous safety and craft related training," said Clint Anderson. "We have also introduced a number of initiatives to improve productivity and deliver outstanding Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) performance."

"By implementing professional training and development programs while maintaining high quality and safety standards, McDermott adheres to in our operations worldwide we can help young employees like Rashad develop and realize their full potential for their own advantage, for the benefit of MCCI and for the future Azerbaijan," concluded Anderson.


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