ASTALDI CONTRACT "A RECIPE FOR DISASTER" AMONG CONCERNS OF TOP HYDRO ENGINEER

Guest Post by James L. Gordon, P. Eng.

When Astaldi demolished the half-built dome, I just could not understand the reason for their decision. Now I know!

All hydro projects built in Northern Canada are constructed with heated and illuminated, insulated fabric enclosures covering all concrete work, sometimes with a small high-speed crane at the top to transport concrete buckets and skips of re-bar. The enclosures provide an excellent 24-hour, 7 days per week work environment, greatly increasing productivity.

With the release of the EY interim report, they mentioned that remuneration for the work undertaken is based on man-hours. Page 9, part 5.8, states –“However, the payment mechanism is based on person-hours expended rather than m3 of concrete poured.” This is a recipe for disaster, since the contractor, Astaldi, can increase remuneration and hence profit, by increasing staff.

ASTALDI UNBOWED: TAKES OPPOSITE VIEW TO ED MARTIN'S CLAIM COMPANY IS FAILING

Nalcor CEO Ed Martin is not forthright with the public about the status of the Astaldi contract at Muskrat Falls. 

Astaldi’s version may not be entirely accurate either; but it is very different than the one Ed Martin relates, and we need to know why..

In October, 2013, after six months of evaluation, Nalcor awarded a contract to Astaldi to build the powerhouse, intake, gated spillway, transition structures and other associated work. Astaldi booked the contract with a value of C$1.0 billion.

Last week Martin told reporters: "We do have an issue with the powerhouse that Astaldi is constructing. They have fallen behind significantly”. That lag will have "schedule implications….and with schedule implications, there will be some cost implications", the CBC reported.

This is not the first time Ed Martin has spoken poorly of Astaldi’s performance; the Muskrat Falls Oversight Committee has referred to the problem frequently, too. This excerpt from the March 2015 Report is just one, and not necessarily the latest, example:

LEGEND OF THE BLACKBIRD: BIRTH OF THE " DOME"

Ed Martin sent Gilbert Bennett to Paddy Daly’s VOCM Open Line Show, this week, to blame the Dome fiasco squarely on Astaldi.

But there was a time when all was la Dolce Vita between Nalcor and Astaldi.

As Nalcor VP Gil Bennett tells it, it seems none of the other international contractors had any original ideas for building Muskrat Falls in a Labrador winter.

Then came along Astaldi.

So, how did Astaldi beat out Canadian Company Aecon for the $1 billion plus Muskrat Falls project?

Well, back in 2013 it may have gone something like this:

Mr. Astaldi might have said to Ed Martin: “We can solve your problem, Mr. Martinelli…we Italians have come to defeat your Labrador winter. We know what we are doing.

But you have never worked in a Labrador winter, says Ed: how can you possibly know how cold it gets up there?