Chapter 95 Engineering Project
While Perfectcott was working on the research and development of the new steam engine, the construction company that arrived at Sweet Berry Island also obtained the construction drawings and began to unload various engineering equipment and start work. .
They recruited some local aborigines and also brought some workers from their own company.
After all, in addition to physical work, construction also involves some technical work. In addition to laborers who need to do physical work, they also need engineers and skilled workers who understand technology.
Just when the engineers of this construction company got the construction drawings and asked people to survey the site and discuss the construction plan, the manager in charge of the project looked at the drawings and complained: "Who designed this? ? It’s just a warehouse built on an island. Why do we need to dig such a deep foundation?
Not only the cost has tripled, but the entire warehouse is half-sunk underground. Not only is it difficult to load, unload, and store, but the construction difficulty and cycle are much higher than that of a normal warehouse!
This is simply amateur design! No, I need to talk to the owner. This should use a simpler construction plan! Tom, find out the construction drawings of our last port warehouse! I remember asking you to bring it. ”
The behavior of this project manager seems a bit unreasonable, but from another perspective, it is not a problem.
After all, his starting point is to save investment for the customer, and of course the ultimate goal It is to allow the company to complete the projects at hand more efficiently, so as to take on more jobs and make more money.
Convert the semi-submersible basement designed by Perficott into an ordinary normal warehouse. , the construction period can be shortened by two-thirds, and the construction difficulty and construction costs will be greatly reduced
At first glance, it may seem like the construction company is making less money, but that’s not how the accounts work out.
First of all, the money earned by the company will not be reduced due to the shortened construction period and reduced construction costs.
The construction company settles the project payment according to the project progress, not the construction period. The sooner it is completed, the more it can earn.
This was originally intended to reduce the malicious delay in the construction period by construction companies in order to pay more for the project, but to some extent it has also caused the bad habit of project managers who like to meet deadlines.
After all, when the construction deadline is rushed, sometimes some details will not be handled in place, and problems are likely to occur.
But in this era, this is not a big deal. As long as it can pass the customer's acceptance, the rest is not the construction company's business.
The project manager gets commission based on the project. The more projects he does, the more he earns.
So this leads to the fact that project managers often like to adopt construction plans that can shorten the construction period, so that they can take on more projects in the same amount of time and earn more money.
This is also the main reason why this construction company can become the largest construction company in the New World, because their ability to make money is really strong.
So when encountering such a complex and time-consuming project, the project manager of this company will take the initiative to help the customer "optimize" the construction plan, while meeting the requirements and minimizing the cost as much as possible. cost and compressed schedule.
For customers, spending less money and achieving their goals in less time is not a bad thing.
So most of the time, these project managers can convince customers to accept their solutions with their "professionalism".
Although the company's engineers were not used to this approach, they chose to shut up and cooperate in the face of the real bonuses they received.
Only this time, when the project manager and the engineer went to the old housekeeper Foster and asked to see Perficott, they hit a snag. "The construction plan given by the lady does not require your suggestions or doubts. The only thing you need to do is to complete the construction according to her requirements." The old housekeeper was almost unkind and coldly rejected the project manager's request.
In Foster's view, the only thing these hired construction workers need to do is to construct according to the lady's requirements and complete what she needs to build, instead of questioning her design.
How come my young lady’s genius can’t be reached or criticized by this group of colonial guys who look full of philistines at first glance?
Because of this, Foster doesn't have a good look on them.
But the project manager obviously did not give up. He still pulled Foster and persuaded him: "Listen to me sir, I don't know who designed this drawing, but it does have problems. !
This kind of sunken warehouse is not only more troublesome to load, unload and move goods, but also has higher construction and maintenance costs. It also requires a long construction period to complete it.
If you are willing to take me to see your lady, I can convince her to adopt a simpler and more efficient solution. With this solution, we can shorten the construction period to one-third of the original time and reduce the cost by at least four-ninths! ”
Foster doesn’t care about the cost issue. Although the Brandless family is not very wealthy, Purficott had just sold her property in Longton for a large sum of money. , but I don’t care about this expenditure.
Not to mention that this project is paid for by the empire, and the account of the Arctic scientific research funds raised by Purficott in the name of the royal family before leaving is even less necessary. He cares about spending money.
But if it can shorten the construction period and save time, then Foster still cares about it.
After all, he has heard Perficott mention that the end of the world is approaching more than once. , if time is running out, naturally you are very concerned about the time issue.
So after careful consideration, Foster decided to take them to see Perfectcott.
"You have five minutes." The cold-faced old butler took them aboard the White Gem.
According to Purficott's schedule, she will have a fifteen-minute break, which is just enough time to listen to what they want to say.
The project manager and engineer suddenly felt happy. They thought this was a good signal. As long as they could convince this so-called lady, they would make more money this time.
However, when they boarded the White Jewel, they began to feel uneasy again, because there were soldiers standing guard in almost every corridor and every corner of the ship. The security was tight, even worse than the Governor's Palace. Not on.
Especially when they arrived at the door of the laboratory where Purficott was, there were two heavily armed knights guarding the door.
This attitude made them retreat, thinking that it would be okay to make less money occasionally.
But in the end greed prevailed over reason. They walked into the library and saw Perficott sitting at a coffee table resting, and explained their purpose to her.
(End of this chapter)