Yanis Josephine

Day in the life - Yanis Josephine

Yanis is a Contracts Manager, specializing in post-award site subcontract administration and cost control for large scale international EPC projects.

He is currently working on a major transportation project in Montréal, Canada, where he focuses on the management of claims and the prevention of disputes.

What is your typical day?

Working remotely from Barcelona, Spain, I will usually start my day 6 hours ahead of the client local time. I will review information issued by the contractors on various issues ranging from claims for extension of time to requests for compensation due to additional works.

According to the agenda for the day, I may participate in interdisciplinary coordination meetings on contractors’ defaults, interface management or claims resolution. My role in these meetings is to clarify the contractual status , propose guidelines and present options available to the client.

What are the interesting aspects of your work?

Whether at site or home office, the most exciting part of my work is to interact with a wide variety of specialists in the field of engineering, construction or quality control. It is a common trope among engineers worldwide to be passionate about their discipline, which makes it a real pleasure to understand the differences between a gate valve and a ball valve in piping works, scrubbing, levelling and grading in civil works or the welding techniques involved in the erection of a water tank.

What are the challenges?

There is a fine balance between the need to build sufficient technical knowledge on an issue, in a limited amount of time, and the risk of an excessive level of detail, without any added benefit for the contractual position one is trying to put together.

Remote working in Montreal
LNG project

What training and support has Systech given you?

Having joined the company in March 2020, a mere week before the first confinement measures were rolled out in Montréal, I did not get the opportunity to meet my colleagues. Despite these unprecedented circumstances, I have never felt isolated and was often amazed by the flexibility and overall kindness displayed by management.

Remote working was implemented seamlessly and I received significant support from my Country Manager upon relocating home.

What words of advice would you offer someone thinking of working for Systech?

I would advise to develop a T-shape skill set, where one must have a deep knowledge of one core discipline while being knowledgeable in a couple of related fields. It is essential to gain as much knowledge as possible on a range of international projects with various contract setups and clients in order to create a wide range of experience on which you can draw.

And of course, one should be geographically fluid.

What is the culture like?

There is a strong “can do” attitude not dissimilar to that of a startup company. Expertise and experience are highly valued and shared internally with a genuine willingness to contribute to a common goal.

This is a refreshing environment which contrasts with the corporate world I had known up to now.

How has working for Systech helped you achieve your career goals?

After 12 years spent managing cost control and subcontract administration in the oil & gas industry for EPC contractors, I felt that the time was right to join a team on the client side, in a work environment where I would be able to develop an expertise in claims management.

Systech has provided me with the opportunity to concentrate all my time and efforts on this goal instead of having to juggle between team management, budget forecasting and training.

What makes working for Systech different from the competition?

I feel that Systech is much nimbler on its feet, with a keen focus on the excellence of its staff. I also find a greater reactivity and flexibility in this organization than what I have been accustomed to.

What has been your greatest achievement working for Systech?

It might be somewhat premature to record an achievement in such a short period of time, but I feel proud of having been able to work simultaneously for two clients in Canada and Japan . I liked the idea of assisting our clients in Asia with short-term requirements while carrying on with my main project in Canada.

Tell us about a project where you have learnt a key lesson?

I have learned from a recent project how to adapt my communication style with contractors depending on their size as well as their command on project management procedures.

I realised that it is actually more beneficial to the overall progress of a project to invest some time at the beginning in order to explain the main contractual procedures to the contractors and listen to their concerns.Better that than to simply assume that they had read and understood all the requirements and obligations.

 

Mont Royal