Implementing a Construction Strategy – Playbook Review Part 7

In part six, we discussed the various elements of an effective communication strategy when implementing a resilience program. Now, we will explore how to implement a construction strategy. This step is discussed in chapter five of PDi2’s Utility Infrastructure Resiliency Playbook.

Ideally, defining program scope, assessing resourcing implications, and contracting strategy should be discussed in the planning phases. Internal or contractor scope of work would normally be defined when the program or project concept is defined. The project concept then becomes the lens through which the resourcing strategy, contracting strategy, sourcing strategy, and project delivery tactics are selected.

Resourcing Strategy

Once the resiliency program is defined and the phasing pace identified, an assessment of needed resources can take place. Key among these resources are construction labor and supervision. Many electric utilities maintain significant internal construction and crew resources and utilize contractors when peak capacity warrants. As the resource needs are defined, a later decision on the use and application of internal crews versus contractor crews is required. 

Contracting Strategy 

The first steps of a contracting strategy should be setting a sourcing strategy for the design, right of way acquisition, and construction services associated with the resiliency program. Next comes the selection of project delivery tactics, followed by making an insourcing versus outsourcing decision (discussed more fully in the next post). One of the drivers of the insourcing versus outsourcing decision is an estimate of resources needed and the implications of the utility to building or hiring this workforce.

Sourcing Strategy 

A sourcing strategy involves first deciding whether the owner prefers a more arms-length or collaborative/integrated relationship with service providers to execute the resiliency program. A more arms-length approach or traditional approach is easier to implement and understand. A collaborative or integrated sourcing strategy offers the potential for lower long-term cost, risk reduction, and process improvement. Given the visibility of these types of programs, the long-term nature of them, the opportunity for process refinement or improvement, and the regulatory oversight, a sourcing strategy offering risk reduction may prove beneficial.

Project Delivery Tactics 

Once a decision is made on a sourcing strategy, the next major decision is to select a project delivery system for the resiliency program. The project delivery system defines how individual projects or bundles of work will be undertaken. There are three tactical decisions to answer and the combination of all three of these decisions equals a project delivery system.

  1. What contract vehicle or method will you use to select a price?
  2. How will you manage the design/construction process?
  3. How will you build the job?

Download the Playbook

Once the various strategies are in place, the next part of resiliency program implementation involves insourcing vs outsourcing tactics, field productivity reporting, and implementing program KPIs. For a deeper look at the nuances of developing a resiliency program and relevant case studies, download a free copy of PDi2’s Utility Infrastructure Resiliency Playbook.

October 2019

Utility Resiliency Playbook

Developed by PDi2

Mr. Rezutko joined Southwire Company as a Design Engineer focusing on HV and EHV cable system design in 2015. In 2019 he took over leadership of the HV cable engineering team. Since 2022, he has led the engineering, commercial and project management teams for the Southwire HV division. Prior to joining Southwire, Mr. Rezutko worked for ABB as a cable design Engineer; there he was responsible for creating proposals for HVAC and HVDC cable system designs.

Joe Rezutko

Southwire

Executive Board/Voting Member PDI2

Joe leads the High Voltage Cable Solutions team for Southwire and brings a wealth of experience in the field of underground cable systems. In this role he oversees commercial, engineering, and project management for the HV/EHV cable systems group. He has extensive knowledge in the areas of project management, cable systems, manufacturing installation, repair, and cable system qualification testing.

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Ben Lanz

Director of Applications Engineering, Osmose
Chair/Voting Member PDi2

After 20 years in the power cable industry, Mr. Lanz currently holds the position of Director of Applications Engineering at Osmose and has technical oversight of power cable life cycle consulting. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE Power & Energy Society, a voting member of the IEEE Standards Society, and a member of the IEEE Dielectrics and Industrial Applications Societies. He has served as Chairman of the Insulated Conductors Committee (ICC) technical committees responsible for cable testing, cable reliability and surge arresters, Chairman of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) O&M Balance of Plant technical subcommittee, a UL technical study committee member for MV and HV DC cables and is a reviewer and voting pool member for InterNational Electrical Testing Association (NETA) standards. Mr. Lanz received his electrical engineering degree from the University of Connecticut (UCONN) under mentorship of Director of the Institute of Material Science Electrical Insulation Research Center (EIRC), Dr. Matthew Mashikian. He has published over a dozen papers on power system reliability, asset management, and diagnostics and regularly presents on the topics.

Monica Perez-Therese joined ABB in 2013 and is the Senior Director, Market Development, for the Installation Products division.

Throughout Monica’s career, she has held leadership positions both supplying electric utilities and working for electric utilities, including Prysmian Group (formerly General Cable), Ericsson, Bell Microproducts, Eversource and Exelon. In these positions, Monica has worked with the North American, Latin American and European markets traveling extensively to these geographies.

Monica holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University (Summa Cum Laude) and a Master’s degree in Power Engineering from The George Washington University. She is a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) and is bilingual (English and Spanish).

Monica is an avid soccer fan of Spain’s “La Liga”, UEFA’s Champion’s League and FIFA’s World Cup.

Monica Perez-Therese

ABB Installation Products
Executive Board/Voting Member PDi2

Mr. Fluharty is a third generation utility contractor and has been developing large, complex electrical projects for the last 15 years. His leadership and vision in the underground construction sector in pipeline, broadband and electrical, gives him a unique perspective on the industry from a lot of different perspectives.

Mr. Fluharty is a board member of the Power and Communications Contractor Association (PCCA), and the American Pipeline Contractors Association (APCA) and Vice chairman of the Common Ground Alliance.

John W Fluharty, II is currently working as part of Troy Companies, LLC providing expertise in the underground electric industry.

John W. Fluharty, II

The Troy Companies, LLC
Chair/Voting Member PDi2

Matt Spalding is the VP of Commercial Development at Quanta Infrastructure Solutions Group, LLC (QISG) (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quanta Services), one of the largest end-to-end solutions provider in North America for the power and infrastructure industry. Mr. Spalding’s electrical power industry experience spans almost 40 years with exceptionally broad leadership expertise from President/COO, R&D Core Team Leader, International Sales, Marketing, Product Management, Business Development, and Standards Engineering. He holds fifteen patents for electrical power devices, materials, and manufacturing. Mr. Spalding has dedicated the majority of his career improving LV, MV, HV & EHV underground systems with reliability through better component design, training and standards development. He has accomplished this through his roles and active participation in IEEE, ICC, and craft skills training organizations.

QISG offers the full spectrum of service capabilities that critical infrastructure owners need to design, build, operate, and maintain vital networks. QISG’s turnkey service capabilities provide our customers with efficiency, consistency, attention-to-detail, and safe execution. The QISG team brings together Engineering, Safety, Quality, Material Procurement, QA/QC, Right-of-Way Acquisition, Scheduling, Environmental Planning, Permitting, and Title & Land Management expertise that ensure outstanding results for our clients.

Matt Spalding

Quanta Services
Executive Board/Voting Member PDi2

William maintains an active role within the wire and cable industry. He is currently Past President of ICEA (Insulated Cable Engineers Association). He is also an active member in various technical organizations such as UL (Underwriters Laboratories), CSA (Canadian Standards Association), and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers).

William currently resides in Northern New Jersey with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys many activities which include running, biking, fishing, traveling, and watching his daughters grow up.

William A. Crawford

Vice President Engineering, The Okonite Company
Voting Member PDi2

William A. Crawford is Vice President Engineering at The Okonite Company. He received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Bucknell University. Since beginning his career at Okonite in 2005, he has participated in cable design, calculations, testing, product development, and technical support. In his current role, William is responsible for the oversite of the Applications Engineering Department and the Cable Evaluation & Development Laboratory.
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In addition to his technical expertise in energy engineering, he is also a strategic professional with a strong business acumen. He has demonstrated the ability to identify and evaluate opportunities, and has successfully developed and implemented complex solutions in the design, analysis, and construction management of utility scale energy systems. He is skilled in engaging with senior leaders and other key stakeholders in IOU, municipal and Federal agencies to ensure that projects are delivered on time and within budget. He is committed to delivering high-quality work and is always looking for ways to improve his skills and knowledge.

James Codling

Sr. Practice Manager – Actalent
Voting Member PDi2

With over 30 years of experience in electrical, energy and water engineering, Jim has had the privilege of working with a variety of clients, including government, utility, and municipal organizations. His expertise in large scale energy engineering programs and projects has allowed him to deliver successful outcomes on complex projects. He is proud of his ability to work collaboratively with teams and stakeholders to ensure that projects are aligned with the overall business strategy and objectives.

Paul Brigandi

Application Technology Leader, Power Cables - DOW
Executive Board/Voting Member PDi2

Dr. Paul Brigandi is Application Technology Leader for Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics Wire & Cable business in North America based in Collegeville, PA.  Paul has experience in the power transmission and distribution as well as telecommunication markets focused on research and development of new insulation, jacket, conductive composites, and polymer modifier material developments.  His technical expertise includes formulation and processing of polyolefins, elastomers, and polymer composites.  Paul is active in several industry organizations including Insulated Conductors Committee, Communications Cable and Connectivity Association, and Fiber Broadband Association technical committees.  He also serves as 1st Vice President and on the Board of Directors of the Society of Plastics Engineers Palisades-MidAtlantic Section.  Paul earned a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from Lehigh University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware. He is also an active Adjunct Professor at Lehigh University in the Material Science & Engineering department.  

Burns & McDonnell is a full-service engineering, architecture, construction, environmental and consulting solutions firm with more than 10,000 engineers, architects, construction professionals, planners, estimators, economists, technicians and scientists, representing virtually all design disciplines. We plan, design, permit, construct and manage facilities all over the world, with one mission in mind: make our clients successful. Being 100 percent employee-owned, we are each personally dedicated to making every client project a success. It drives our teams to provide tailored solutions that solve some of our customers’ greatest challenges.Intelligence Initiative. 

Frank Morrissey

Burns & McDonnell
Executive Board/Voting Member PDi2

As the Director of Underground & Submarine Cables at Burns & McDonnell, I work with Electric Utilities and Developers to support them in their goals of enhancing resiliency, upgrading and replacing aging infrastructure, overcoming major regulatory changes and permitting requirements, and achieving decarbonization goals with the installation of offshore wind, onshore wind, battery storage systems and solar plants. Underground electric infrastructure is paramount to the future of the electric grid and Burns & McDonnell's Engineering and Construction teams provide a customized solution to make each of our clients successful in achieving their goals to provide safe, reliable and affordable power for their customers.



Tony Hemling

Earthgrid
Voting Member/PDi2

Troy Helming is a modern-day industrialist and Unicorn founder. He’s an innovator, inventor, author, an elite athlete (invited 4x to compete on American Ninja Warrior), and a clean energy executive. As a creator, he’s founded clean energy & climate-tech companies that have generated more than $30 Billion of economic impact to date and invented 2 technologies that have led to over 60 clean energy patent claims.

Mike Beehler

National Spokesperson/PDI2

Mike Beehler has 40 years of electric T&D experience at Tucson Electric Power, Hawaiian Electric Company and Burns & McDonnell.  He is educated as a civil/structural engineer and is a registered professional engineer in eight states.  He currently is the founding member and Chief Opportunity Officer of Mike Beehler & Associates, LLC and serves as the National Spokesperson for the Power Delivery Intelligence Initiative. 

Mike is a Fellow in ASCE and a Member of IEEE and CIGRE.  He has been married for 40 years and has four adult children and some delightful grandchildren.  He lives on Singer Island, FL.

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Tim Wagner, Executive Director

Tim Wagner has nearly thirty years of association management experience, including positions as President & CEO, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Director of Finance. He has been instrumental in the financial and program success of several associations in the power, energy, and broadband industries. He has vast experience at national trade associations, including association governance, grant management, workforce development, planned giving, meeting planning, accounting, investment management, employee benefits, building operations, and information systems. Tim is a graduate (summa cum laude) of the University of Virginia, where he presented his thesis on the Economic Impact of the Rural Electrification Administration.

Landry Molimbi

Head of Asset Management and Prysmian Electronics
Prysmian Group North America
Voting Member PDi2

Landry Molimbi is responsible for leading all Asset Management and Product Development activities for High Voltage & Medium Voltage Partial Discharge testing/monitoring services, optical sensing products (DAS, DTS) and innovative solutions for the North America Business Units (High Voltage, Power Distribution, Industrial, Telecom).

In this role, Landry is focused on business development, project management, technical sales support, and Partial Discharge measurement services for the Prysmian Group proprietary and revolutionary PRY-CAM technologies for the asset management of electrical systems, helping utilities increase uptime, asset longevity and safety while reducing maintenance costs & risks.

Landry started his career with General Cable (Silec) in 2007 and joined NKT Photonics in 2011. He moved to the Prysmian Group as Vice President for the Prysmian Electronics BU in 2018.

Born in Paris, France, Landry holds a master’s degree in Engineering from the ENSEM, a school of the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine in Nancy. Landry is also a member of various industry committees and an active member of CIGRE.

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David Lindsay

Marketing Manager – Energy Borealis Compounds, Inc.
Immediate-past Chairman/Voting Member PDi2

David Lindsay is currently Marketing Manager for the Energy business of Borealis Compounds, Inc. in North America. He has over 20 years in the US wire and cable business, working at manufacturers, non-profit organizations and electrical contractors. His experiences range from research and product development, to manufacturing, construction and installation of EHV cable systems. At Borealis he is responsible for customer and end-use marketing, and strategic planning of all wire and cable related product lines.

David serves on the NEETRAC Advisory Board, is actively involved in IEEE Insulated Conductor Committee and is past US representative to Cigré SC B1. He holds a Bachelors of Materials Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Masters of Business Administration from the University of West Georgia.