CFE sees 2010 revenue helped by dredgers - Dredging News Online

CFE sees 2010 revenue helped by dredgers - Dredging News Online

Dredging company DEME, Herbosch-Kiere and Multraship team up to form CTOW - Dredging News Online

Dredging company DEME, Herbosch-Kiere and Multraship team up to form CTOW - Dredging News Online

Important contracts buoy DEME - Dredging News Online

Important contracts buoy DEME - Dredging News Online

IHC lays keel for two new dredgers for DEME - Dredging News Online

IHC lays keel for two new dredgers for DEME - Dredging News Online

Belgian firm in lake rehab to seek int’l arbitration

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:31:00 11/22/2010

Filed Under: Foreign affairs & international relations, Government Contracts, Conflicts (general)

STA. CRUZ, Laguna—The Belgian firm that was awarded the dredging contract of the Laguna de Bay said it would pursue an international arbitration upon receipt of a formal notice of cancellation, after the Philippine government issued a press statement that the P18-billion Laguna Lake Rehabilitation Project was terminated.
Sources from the Baggerwerken Decloedt en Zoon (BDC) on Saturday said a senior official from the Belgian embassy in the Philippines would also recommend to the Belgian government and to the European community “to suspend all investments in the Philippines, as it is an unreliable and unprofessional country to do business with.”
The source said on Friday that the Belgian official met with an undersecretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the BDC to discuss the contract, after Malacañang announced earlier that afternoon that the deal was canceled.
Quoted from the website of the Official Gazette, a press statement from the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson said: “The Laguna Lake Rehabilitation Project stays canceled, despite pronouncements from Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) General Manager Rodrigo Cabrera that the deal is under review.”
“[The Belgian official] felt insulted at the insinuation that Belgium provided ODA (official development assistance) to fund [a] graft-ridden project,” the source added in a text message to the Inquirer.

Not informed
Meanwhile, BDC consultant Arthur Ponce said they were surprised with President Benigno Aquino III’s cancellation of the project, which they only learned from media reports.
“We never received any formal or even an informal notice of cancellation from the other contracting party,” he said, referring to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
“This is the first time our contract was canceled by a press statement,” he said.
Also according to Malacañang’s press statement: “Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, however, refuted (Cabrera’s) statements. ‘I have talked with President Aquino. It is clear that his views on this deal have not changed. It has already been canceled),’ Lacierda said.”
“‘The President has also already instructed Executive Secretary (Paquito) Ochoa to invite General Manager Cabrera to explain his statements,’ Lacierda added.”
The source said “the President probably got irked by Cabrera’s statement,” and that a meeting at the Palace is scheduled Monday.
On Thursday, Cabrera said President Aquino was far from shelving the project, which according to him, was under review.
He was asked by the Inquirer of the President’s stand on shelving the deal, he said, “not totally shelved, there are revisions to put in some more components,” he said on the sidelines of a Laguna fishers’ forum organized by nongovernment coalition Mamamayan para sa Pagpapanatili at Pagpapaunlad ng Lawa ng Laguna (Mapagpala).

Clarification
But on Friday, Cabrera issued a statement to the Inquirer, clarifying that “the President was quite clear in his instructions to the Cabinet on Oct. 1 where he called for a thorough review of the deal that was forged towards the end of the previous administration.”
The additional components Cabrera was referring to were the watershed rehabilitation, global positioning mapping system of the lake, relocation of squatters and economic programs for fishermen, which he said did not directly come from Mr. Aquino, but were part of the discussions between the DENR and the LLDA on what the lake really badly needs at present.
The Philippine government signed an agreement with the Belgian government on the deal last April.
Cabrera, however, said he was uncertain when Mr. Aquino would give the green light for the project.
The lake dredging contract has been put on hold by the Department of Finance.
Cabrera, however, defended the contract against accusations that it was among the Arroyo administration’s midnight deals.
“It went through and completed the processes, only that it was signed at the time [when the Arroyo administration was about to end its term],” he said.
Ponce said they had always been open to changes in the project, as long as these are within the framework of the original contract.

Dredging
Cabrera said he also saw the need to dredge the lake, especially after floods brought by Storms “Ondoy” and “Santi” caused the lake to overflow.
“We have consulted several experts and according to them, there is no doubt the lake should be dredged,” he said.
Melchor Magano, Mapagpala chair, said his group wasn’t opposing the dredging but the other components of the contract, especially the proposal to build a 12-station ferry lane in the lake.
He said at least 70,000 fishermen dependent on the lake for their livelihood would be displaced if a ferry lane took precedence over fishing areas.
Cabrera said the ferry system would help speed up transportation from Manila to South Luzon and reduce road pollution.

Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Contract Pricing

Quick Quiz

By Barbee Davis, MA, PHR, PMP

Awful

 

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My company wants me to head a project to set up a consulting business using our current employees. I have been told to price services so that we make at least a 5% profit on the hours our people work. How do I calculate my profitability?

1. Find out what your competition charges and undercut them by $5.37 per hour.
2. Use a Cost Plus contract, then use international billing standards to pick your price.
3. Use a Time and Materials contract and calculate profit using current salary numbers plus a materials fee.
4. Use a Firm Fixed Price contract and add 5% to your actual costs.

C. Use a Time and Materials contract and calculate profit using current salary numbers, plus a materials fee.
Reputable consulting firms have a variety of ways to calculate their prices depending on their industry and the amount of risk they assume under the contract. For a new venture such as yours, one way that works is to use a Time and Materials (T&M) contract and understand how to do the math to be sure you meet your profitability goals.
Time and Materials means you will bill your customer a standard hourly rate for the services you provide in each of several labor or role categories, and you will also bill for the cost of materials plus a disclosed amount for your profit on the materials.
For example, you are preparing a contract that calls for 50 hours of developer work and 100 hours of testing work. (Substitute the types of worker roles for your industry and the math will still work.) You also will provide $750 in testing software and $250 in training manuals for the end-users plus a 3% fee for these materials. You know the per-hour range for the developers and testers in your organization, so you test out a per-hour fee of $80 for developers and $45 for testers to see if it brings you your profit goal of 5% or more.
($80 * 50 hrs.) + ($45 * 100 hrs.) + ($750 + $250) * 1.03 = Contract Amount
     ($4,000)      +         ($4,500)       +        ($1,030)               = $9,530 Contract Amount
Contract Revenue for Developers = $4,000
Contract Revenue for Tester          = $4,500
Total Labor Revenue                         $8,500
Now you look at your actual people and see that the first developer, Venkat, makes $82 per hour (more than the contract amount) and the second one, Alezia, earns $70 an hour (less than the contract amount). Each of them will work 25 hours of the 50 hours needed. The tester, Luis, is paid $42 per hour and can fulfill the entire 100 hrs. you promised your customer.
$82 * 25 hrs. + $70 * 25 hrs. + $42 * 100 = Actual Cost of Labor
     ($2,050)    +      ($1,750)    +  ($4,200)  = $8,000 Actual Cost of Labor
To figure profitability, take the difference between the Total Labor Revenue and the Actual Cost of Labor and divide it by the Total Labor Revenue.
($8,500 - $8,000)/ $8,500 = Profit Margin on Labor
          ($500)          / $8,500 = 5.9% Profit Margin on Labor
If the answer doesn’t meet your goals, adjust the amount per hour you will charge the client for labor. Of course, you will want to check the market to see if you are overpricing your services. You do have the risk that Alezia, the lower-priced developer, will be promoted or quit and you will have to replace her with a higher-rate person. Or Venkat might have skill sets that require him to contribute more than half the planned hours on the project. But currently you do have a profit margin that will exceed your goal, allow a risk margin, and also make a contribution to the overhead for the project.
To add in the profit on the materials:
$500 Labor Profit + $30 Materials Profit/Contract Amount = Total Profit
                         ($530)                                 / $9,530                   = 5.6% Total Profit
Move ahead with confidence that your contract processes and employee risks allow you to make the 5% profit goal set out in your project charter.
Barbee Davis, MA, PHR, PMP, is a reviewer for the global PMI Registered Education Provider Review Team. She owns Davis Consulting and is a published author, speaker, writer of training materials and an innovator in presentation skill workshops for corporate trainers. She holds a Black Belt in MS Project and teaches at the university level.
Barbee’s latest book, Quick Quizzes for Project Managers, is now available for ordering. Her book, 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know, includes practical tips from experienced project managers around the world. Ms. Davis is available for speaking engagements and encourages your questions or comments.

DEME Turning Brown to Gold

No matter how good the intentions are, unless the developer manages the many risks and constraints diligently, there could be serious issues.

By Pertr Roose, DEME Enviornmental Contractors, Zwijndrecht, Belgium (http://www.deme.be/)
Pupliched by Project Management Institute in their November 2010 eddition of PM Network. p12-13 (http://www.pmi.org/)

DEME Creating Land for the Future

We are creating land for the future! DEME Group http://www.deme.be/video/video_corporate.html