Side notes on the expansion project of Shanghai Vopak Terminal by CCCC Third Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd.

70 kilometers from downtown Shanghai, on the north shore of Hangzhou Bay, at the Vopak Terminal in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park, the 50,000-ton chemical carrier 'Ninghua 412' is berthing upstream of the 'F'-shaped wharf. Every day, various types of crude oil, refined oil, liquid and gaseous chemicals are transported through pipelines on the wharf to the tank farm in the chemical industry park for storage, sub-packaging, and sale and distribution to various places. It is understood that this terminal contributes a daily turnover of up to 30 million yuan to Royal Vopak of the Netherlands.

Tightly 'hugging' the other side of the old wharf, the silver fireproof coating makes the steel pipe racks shine in the sunlight. The Vopak Terminal project department of CCCC Third Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd., surrounded by flammable, explosive and highly toxic chemical products, overcame the safety risks of production, operation and construction at the wharf simultaneously and the harsh natural weather conditions of offshore construction, completed the arduous task of building a wharf in a 'minefield', and officially delivered a brand-new expansion wharf to the owner with a record of 516 days of safe operation without accidents and 500,000 safe man-hours without recordable incidents.

Unconventional, high-standard 'Safety+' management

Water operations require wearing 10.5kg buoyancy life jackets, working at heights above 1.5 meters is considered work at height, and entering the construction site requires wearing protective goggles... Building a wharf in a 'minefield', the foreign-invested Vopak owner adopts the safety control level of a hazardous chemicals tank farm. To ensure construction safety, the project fully adopts unconventional, high-standard safety management throughout; many management measures not only exceed the common standards for water operations but some even exceed current national regulations.

When first entering the site, the project department and subcontractor teams experienced 'acclimatization' issues. I recall in December 2014, a pile-driving vessel was sinking steel pipe piles on the side near the old wharf. Since the pile foundation was only 68 cm from the old wharf, a swell came and the pile-driving vessel had a 'close encounter' with the old wharf. But the whole process was just 'a touch and go', with no adverse effects. However, afterwards the project department still reported a 'near-miss report' to the owner as required. Project manager Wang Wei admitted that after decades of engineering, it was the first time he knew that 'near misses' also required reports. It was precisely this incident that made Wang Wei realize that building a wharf in a 'minefield' must not rely on empiricism, and everyone must be fully alert.

'For lifting operations, if guy ropes are not attached as required, the rigger is fined 30 yuan and the crane driver is fined 30 yuan.' 'Without a construction work permit, if work is started, the work supervisor is fined 200 yuan.'... The project department has formulated detailed penalty regulations for unsafe conditions and unsafe behaviors. On-site safety officers strictly enforce fines for violations, but they are also 'sharp-tongued with a soft heart', punishing, educating, guiding, and encouraging simultaneously, promising team leaders that 'if on-site safety management improves next month, the rewards will be given back to you'. Since the start of the project, 180 person-times of subcontractor teams have been penalized, with fines totaling about 10,000 yuan, and safety bonuses exceeding 20,000 yuan.

Facing the high-pressure safety situation, the project department continuously strengthens internal management, unifies thinking, and raises the safety awareness of employees and subcontractor teams. At the same time, it actively communicates and discusses with the owner, and has gained the owner's recognition by increasing investment in safety hardware and strengthening on-site safety protection levels. During the construction of the lower structure pile caps of the wharf, the project department widened the temporary passages on both sides to one meter and installed double insurance of railings and life ropes on both sides of the passages. All workers wear 'double-hook five-point safety harnesses' and fasten one hook at each step when moving. From a distance, the water operations personnel look like grasshoppers strung together by life ropes, effectively preventing drowning accidents.

The project department's unconventional, high-standard 'Safety+' management has taken root, and on-site management and construction personnel have not only improved safety awareness but can also proactively identify hidden dangers around them. During a routine construction, worker Gu Zhengxiang, who was troweling the concrete surface, faintly smelled a pungent odor. He suddenly recalled the previous hazardous chemical leak drill and immediately felt something might be wrong, so he promptly informed on-duty safety officer Xu Hao. Xu Hao calmly took out his walkie-talkie and reported to the central control room of the chemical industry park on the dedicated safety channel. Two minutes later, the central control room test results confirmed a chemical leak! 'Attention all personnel, this is not a drill. There is a hazardous chemical leak in the pipe rack at the corner platform of the main approach bridge. Do not panic, follow instructions and evacuate in order.' Project safety director Zheng Weikang directed through a megaphone. All safety officers mobilized and organized on-site workers to evacuate in an orderly queue along the branch approach bridge. Ten minutes later, all workers reached the assembly point, no one showed poisoning symptoms, and a chemical leak accident was thus avoided.

The Vopak Terminal expansion project ranked second nationwide in the 2015 Ministry of Transport inspection, with the inspection evaluating that the project management objectives were clear, quality control was generally good, and education, training, and safety production work were implemented in place.

Fighting wind and waves to rush the schedule

The construction area of the Vopak Terminal expansion project has frequent winds, rapid currents, and large swells, with harsh natural conditions; the water flow speed here is one-half faster than in general sea areas. In addition, the construction area is adjacent to an operating hazardous chemicals terminal. According to incomplete statistics, the old wharf accommodates over 170 vessel calls per year. When vessels berth at the east side or transfer chemical liquids, the anchor positions are affected and construction must stop; sometimes the effective working time per month is only one week, making operation time extremely limited.

The unpredictable offshore climate is also truly 'maddening'; the originally planned entry operation time may be helplessly delayed due to sudden strong winds, rapid currents, or heavy fog. March and April are the strong wind season, when operating vessels cannot carry out continuous construction. Therefore, the project department set a milestone target of completing pile foundation construction before that.

During the peak pile-driving period, the project department added the pile-driving vessel 'Zhepugong No. 51', with two pile-driving vessels working simultaneously to ensure pile-sinking progress. At the same time, three 1000t-class transport barges were used to transport steel pipe piles. According to the specific pile-sinking sequence in the construction plan, pile loading and barge plans were drawn in batches, and steel pipe piles were transported to the site in batches according to the barge plans, greatly speeding up the lifting efficiency before pile sinking. To ensure pile-sinking accuracy, the project also adopted the 'Offshore Engineering Long-Distance GPS Pile Driving Positioning System' for measurement and positioning. Compared with conventional theodolite positioning, this method has the advantages of all-weather operation, continuity, and high precision, giving pile-sinking operations a boost. Surveying department head Zhao Chunjie said: 'We cannot sacrifice accuracy for progress. Brothers, work hard; people rest but machines do not!' Despite climate constraints, the project department continuously set new records for daily pile sinking, with the highest number of piles sunk by a single vessel reaching 14. Over 69 days, the project department finally completed the sinking of all 799 steel pipe piles on February 7, 2015, creating conditions for a major push in construction after the Spring Festival.

After the pile foundation work was completed, the urgency of the construction schedule increased rather than decreased. June to September is the typhoon-prone period in Shanghai. To rush the schedule and progress, the project department held a mobilization meeting to 'make persistent efforts and ensure completion of all lower structure construction by May 30'. When planning to pour the concrete at the end of the last lower crossbeam, the 'Sanhang Concrete No. 17' was on standby for pouring. However, the offshore wind and waves suddenly increased, and all vessels might need to enter the harbor for shelter. But in that case, the quality of the previously tied rebar would be affected, and the formwork could very likely be overturned by swells; the site fell into a tense atmosphere. After receiving the news, project manager Wang Wei immediately rushed to the site. After discussion and study, it was decided to race against time to pour the concrete. Meanwhile, the traffic boat stood by to evacuate workers quickly once the concrete pouring was completed. Heaven rewards the diligent; after repeated strong winds and high waves in Hangzhou Bay, at 18:00 on May 30, 2015, the lower crossbeams of sections E4-7 and E4-8 were successfully poured.

For large-volume surface concrete pouring, the project department advanced both by water and land and added concrete boom pump trucks. However, the accessible width of the old wharf approach bridge is only 3.7 meters, and it is adjacent to dense hazardous chemical pipelines. In addition, due to load restrictions, during concrete pouring, the originally 12 m³ transport trucks only carried 5 m³ of concrete each time. The project department also arranged dedicated personnel to stand guard at the entrance to the approach bridge, reasonably dispatch incoming and outgoing vehicles with internal personnel, and coordinate with external operating vehicles in the construction area. Often, over 100 cubic meters of concrete took 7 hours to pour.
Looking at the aerial panoramic view of the Vopak Terminal expansion project, engineering department head Wang Xuesen was filled with emotion and immediately set it as his desktop background. Time flies; everyone has fought wind and waves countless times, and the efforts are unimaginable in conventional construction. He remembers that when he first came, it was an empty area, and now a 10,000-ton-class product terminal stands on Hangzhou Bay; he deeply feels that his efforts are worthwhile.

Building a 'bullet train' team

The Vopak project department is a newly formed team. The four members of the leadership team were transferred from different project departments, and employees came from multiple project departments such as Haian, Qidong, Changzhou, Wuhu, and Yangshan. How to enhance cohesion and get everyone quickly into working mode was an urgent problem to solve in the early days of the project department.

As the saying goes, 'A train runs fast because of the locomotive.' However, at Vopak, project manager Wang Wei believes that a 'bullet train' team can better exert overall synergy. If everyone, like each carriage of a bullet train, has their own power and is interlinked, the project department can be like a fast-moving train, continuously improving work efficiency.

After the project department was established, it quickly built the project structure and formed a preliminary work group with the leadership team as the core, including positions in construction, quality, and business. While assisting the owner in handling construction permits and coordinating external relations, the project department actively communicated with the design team and, on the premise of meeting structural quality and safety, optimized the length and wall thickness of steel pipe piles, the grade of pile core concrete, the positions of protective piles, and the specifications of berthing components. This preparation period allowed the project department to quickly integrate and warm up internally, laying the foundation for quickly opening up the project's early stage.

The project department has 49 employees, of whom 31 are under 35 years old, and as many as 17 have less than 2 years of work experience. Facing a group of 'new recruits' with insufficient construction experience, the project department leaders gave them a stage and pressed responsibilities on them, boldly appointing Wang Xuesen, a young university graduate with only two years of experience, as construction manager. At the same time, in response to the characteristics of many young people and lack of experience, the project department regularly organized youth lectures, QC group activities, etc., to effectively help young people improve their professional quality and stimulate work enthusiasm.

With the support of party branch secretary Li Changzhi, the project department's official Weibo and WeChat were successively opened. Activities such as master-apprentice mentoring, green travel, movie viewing, and Spring Festival galas quickly enhanced the cohesion of the project department's young employees. In the micro-film competition organized by the company, all project department staff participated, and even the old masters fumbled with their phones to vote for their own film. Ultimately, the project department won second place with 2,455 votes in the off-site voting stage.

Project manager Wang Wei firmly believes that 'every employee has motivation, but some have not been activated'. What the project department leadership team needs to do is scientifically organize human resources and production factors, leverage strengths and avoid weaknesses, and then the entire project department can, like a bullet train, move in unison at full speed.