Past AIST Committee Activities
Current Activities
The Project & Construction Management Technology Committee (PCMTC) met on May 3 during AISTech 2010 in Pittsburgh. Tom Zacharewicz of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc. opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and thanking them for their attendance. Ken Buker of CDMG volunteered to take the meeting minutes. The AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines were reviewed and agreed to. The attendees were asked to introduce themselves. The minutes from the March 25–26 PCMTC meeting were reviewed and approved as written. The PCMTC expressed their appreciation to V&M Star for hosting a tour of their facility. The consensus for future meetings is to have a half-day of specialized technical material to help educate the committee on specific subjects and also attract younger professionals. Tom Sloan of General Physics Corp. reported on the status of nominations for the 2010 Project Excellence Award. The committee elected their officers for the 2010–2011 term as: Al Riebel of JNE Consulting, chair; Tom Sloan, vice chair; George Atlija of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc., papers chair; and Dave Brace of Paul Wurth, program chair. The PCMTC mission statement was reviewed and accepted as written: “To improve the implementation, safety, and start-up of steel industry projects via improved project and construction management techniques. The Project & Construction Management Technology Committee shall provide opportunities for publication, training, technology exchange, and networking to personnel serving the steel industry as producers, suppliers, contractors, and consultants.” The officers will meet during the summer to decide when and where the fall and spring meetings will be, drawing from a number of suggestions given during this meeting.
The Project & Construction Management Technology Committee (PCMTC) met in Boardman, Ohio, on March 25–26, 2010. The committee chair, Tom Zacharewicz of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc., welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for their time. Mr. Zacharewicz reviewed the AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines, and everyone agreed to abide by them. Ken Buker from CDMG agreed to take the meeting minutes. Gary Hauck, performance manager of V&M Star Youngstown, gave a presentation on their multi-stand pipe mill (MPM) project. The MPM project was a complete replacement of the 6-stand block with a new hydraulic-controlled generation. The close-coupled pipe mill block includes three large and three small MPM housings, complete with hydraulic gap control capsules. The committee was then treated to a complete tour of V&M Star’s facility. The second day of the meeting began with a very informative presentation by Dave Giancola, maintenance manager of V&M Star Youngstown, on the upgrade to their continuous caster machine. The continuous caster upgrade included: structural repairs, increased casting tower floor space, engineered utility and service routings, automation, operating pulpit and casting technological equipment replacement. The PCMTC session layout for AISTech was reviewed. The need for an entry-level-type training seminar was discussed. The consensus was to have each subsequent meeting focus on a specific topic or aspect of project management. The PCMTC members could then market the meeting to those most interested in the topic. The committee reviewed the Project Excellence Award, which was presented to Neal Fenton of Latrobe Specialty Steel for their VIM/VAR project during the Pittsburgh Member Chapter meeting on March 1. The PCMTC discussed the nominations for leadership for the coming year. The elections took place at the AISTech meeting in May.
The Project & Construction Management Technology Committee (PCMTC) held a meeting in Burlington, Ont., Canada, on Oct. 26–27, 2009. The committee chair, Tom Zacharewicz of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc., opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to the meeting and asked all the attendees to introduce themselves. Ken Buker of CDMG volunteered to take the meeting minutes. Mr. Zacharewicz reviewed the AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines. The 2009 Steel Mill Fatality Report was reviewed. The PCMTC chose abstracts for AISTech 2010 and arranged them into sessions. Tom Sloan of General Physics Corp. reviewed the selection process and nominated a project for the 2009 Project Excellence Award. The committee approved the recommendation. The next PCMTC meeting, which will focus on contract strategies and training, is scheduled for March 25, 2010, in Boardman, Ohio, with a tour of V&M Star’s facility.
The Project and Construction Management Technology Committee (PCMTC) met on May 5 at AISTech 2009 in St. Louis, Mo. Tom Zacharewicz of ArcelorMittal Dofasco started the meeting by welcoming everyone. Ken Buker of Continental Design volunteered to take the meeting minutes. The previous meeting minutes from the teleconference on March 10 were reviewed and approved. The meeting attendees noted that a good Project Management 101 training session is still a need in the industry. The session should focus on topics that a young employee with little PM experience needs to know to successfully manage a project. It was suggested that the training session should focus more on project execution as opposed to project planning. It was agreed that the meeting attendees will each develop a tentative outline for the training session. Once developed, the training session could coincide with AISTech 2010 in Pittsburgh as part of the technical sessions or as a standalone Specialty Training Conference. Tom Sloan of General Physics Corp. explained that three submissions have been received for the Project Excellence Award. A subcommittee was selected to review the submissions, with the goal of selecting the winner and presenting the award at a Member Chapter meeting this fall. The PCMTC mission statement was reviewed and approved by those in attendance. The statement reads, “To improve the implementation, safety, and start-up of steel industry projects via improved project and construction management techniques. The Project and Construction Management Technology Committee shall provide opportunities for publication, training, technology exchange, and networking to personnel serving the steel industry as producers, suppliers, contractors, and consultants.” The PCMTC established the following objectives for the coming year: develop a training session for young project managers and increase PCMTC membership and activity, particularly among owners. A plaque was presented to Mr. Zacharewicz for his service as the committee chair for the previous year. A tentative fall meeting will be held at ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton, Ont., Canada, in October. A tour will be included. The meeting will be scheduled to coincide with a local Member Chapter meeting if possible. United Spiral Pipe in Pittsburg, Calif., is a potential site for the winter meeting in January or February 2010.
The Project and Construction Management Technology Committee (PCMTC) held a teleconference on March 10. Tom Zacharewicz of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc. welcomed everyone to the call and thanked them for taking the time to meet. After introductions, the AIST Antitrust Guidelines were reviewed. The AISTech 2009 PCMTC sessions were then discussed. The PCMTC will be sponsoring three sessions at AISTech 2009, with one of those being a round table discussion on “Managing Maintenance Projects” on Tuesday afternoon, May 5. The paper order and session chairs were reviewed and adjusted as needed. The session chairs were encouraged to contact the authors within their sessions and discuss with them their responsibilities and upcoming deadlines for participation. The PCMTC’s topics for the AISTech 2010 Call for Papers were reviewed and approved. The application deadline for the Project Excellence Award was extended to April 15 to allow potential applicants enough time to submit them. The committee decided to forgo a training seminar at this time. They have elected instead to have more round table discussions on various topics during their upcoming committee meetings. Mr. Zacharewicz offered to continue the duties of committee chair for the coming year, so the committee leadership will remain the same for 2009–2010. The next PCMTC meeting will be on Tuesday, May 5 during AISTech 2009 in St. Louis, Mo.
The Project and Construction Management Technology Committee (PCMTC) met Nov. 17–19, 2008, in Dearborn, Mich. Tom Zacharewicz of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc. started off the meeting by welcoming the attendees and thanking them for the good turnout despite the weather. Mr. Zacharewicz also thanked Dave Morris of Severstal Dearborn for hosting the tour of their new blast furnace. Ken Buker of Continental Design volunteered to take the meeting minutes. Tom Sloan of General Physics provided an update on the 2008 Project Excellence Award. The committee decided to extend the submittal deadline until Jan. 31, 2009, with the final submittals due by March 1, 2009. The award subcommittee will then judge the entries and present the award at the PCMTC meeting during AISTech 2009. Mr. Zacharewicz and Al Riebel of JNE Consulting provided a review of the benefits and value they received by attending the AIST Leadership Development Conference that was held Nov. 5–7 near Jacksonville, Fla. The PCMTC developed their technical sessions for AISTech 2009, including a “Project Management Tools, Techniques, and Systems” session, a “Completed Projects” session, and a joint session that will include a round table with the Maintenance and Reliability Technology Committee. The PCMTC discussed a need for a Project Management 101 beginner training course for entry-level project managers. Mr. Zacharewicz and Mr. Sloan were given the task of researching possible curricula for the training course. The next PCMTC meeting will be held Tuesday, March 10 in Merrillville, Ind., and will coincide with the local chapter dinner meeting.
The Project & Construction Management Technology Committee (PCMTC) held an Officers Transition Meeting at AIST headquarters in Warrendale, Pa., on July 15, 2008. The PCMTC officers include Tom Zacharewicz as chair, Al Riebel as vice chair, Eugene Arnold as programs chair, Tomas Sloan as papers chair and Al Soltesz as past chair. The purpose of the meeting was to plan upcoming meetings and establish topics of value for the membership. The group agreed that the next meetings should be located in the South and in the Chicago area. The officers tentatively scheduled the next PCMTC meeting for late October in Mobile, Ala. The winter meeting is tentatively scheduled for late March in Merrillville, Ind., and will include a round table on project development and execution.
The Project and Construction Management Operating Committee (PCMOC) met at AISTech 2008 on May 5. The committee chair, Al Soltesz of S/D Engineering Inc., welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for their time and participation. Kenneth Buker of Continental Design and Management Group volunteered to take the meeting minutes. Eugene Arnold of ArcelorMittal Steel reviewed the AISI/AIST committee integration progress and explained the new committee structure. The PCMOC was renamed the Project and Construction Management Technology Committee (PCMTC) and joined three other committees in Technology Division VIII: Plant Services and Reliability. An update on efforts toward a future training seminar was given. The committee hopes to have a one-day course paired with a PCMTC meeting and plant tour. The course topic and audience will be determined during the committee’s Leadership Transition Meeting, scheduled for July 15, 2008, at the AIST headquarters in Warrendale, Pa. The election of officers took place, with Tom Zacharewicz of ArcelorMittal Dofasco being elected as chair, Al Riebel of JNE Consulting Inc. as vice chair, Eugene Arnold as program chair, and Tomas Sloan as papers chair. The committee members were asked to review the committee’s mission statement and submit their suggestions to for final review at the Transition Meeting. The fall meeting date and location were also to be decided during the July 15 meeting. The committee presented Mr. Soltesz with a plaque for his exceptional service and dedication as committee chair for 2007–2008. Look for additional information online at www.aist.org.
