I need to know the financial structure and meet with the financial controller.

I will draw up budget proposals according to the constraints within the financial control structure.

These budget proposals need to be supported by detailed estimates for which current costs need to be researched and confirmed by our accountants.

Company activities will fall into the following elements which need to work concurrently.



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Administration, marketing, legal, financial control, accountancy and communications.

Hardware and periferals manufacture, purchasing and stock control.

Training, marketing and technical consultancy.

Survey and field engineering.

Software production, development, installation, commisioning, maintenance and client software-usage training.

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Administration.

This will be headed up by Rebecca, the operational manager.

The operational manager will have to organise the structure which will provide the end product which is to make a profit by stopping corrosion.

This will be achieved by supporting the technical activities of data gathering, computer analysis, display and adjustment of cathodic protection balance to show corrosion stopping.

Personel will be recruited for each activity and their financial requirements be met through the company accountant.

Hardware will be manufactured through contracts arranged by Bonny and supervised by the operational manager.

Marketing will be 'demand led' in the first instance, by the operational manager, but who might need experienced assistance at a very early stage.

Publicity and PR information can be obtained in the first instance by meeting John Tiratsoo and maybe through the Pipeline Industries Guild.

It might be advantageous to meet with Cathodic Protection Ltd of Grantham, who might be an ideal supplier.

Neville Walker will be our first point of entry to IP and legal matters.

Neville will appoint the company accountants and I will arrange banking facilities and control all funding.

Communications are paramount as we will need 24/7 cover, total reliability and back up for every aspect including power supply.

We can draw on advice from Pharos Communications and Vortex Internet to structure this. My own limitations can be supplemented by advice from Graham Walker who has an in depth knowledge of the latest hardware device management.

Continuous discussion using 'on line' forum facilities, makes it possible to raise and resolve problems as they arise and reduce the need for expensive meetings and travel. The forum can be readily set up and must be managed by the operational manager.



Software development....the Dynamic Project

Software development

We need to recruit a software team leader who is capable of turning the Excell software tools into a dynamic map. Anushka is interested but is in full time demanding work at present.

Software will require a laptop and docking station for each developer with two screens and networked to the main server which will be on broadband.

I will spend a total of 1 week giving a detailed description of the specification and function of each part of the required software, and from then on will be available on line for ad hoc advice as needed.

Initially, the team leader and his developers will work from home, but they will need a common meeting place with white-boards to discuss and plan each stage and progress.

They will need to keep close contact with the hardware design and production as they are writing the drivers.

The software will consist of available products which we will combine for our purposes. This is the way that Pharos has used so successfully.

Their first requirement will be to make all the periferals talk to the interface module which will contain a buffer data base and communications capability.

We need this to be ready in 6 weeks for the launch of Mk 1 prototype to be filed tested in Brazil and Nigeria.

The head office data base can be set up concurrently with a developer working on the display and others working on each of the tools from my Excell worksheets. Ela reckonned that they would be fairly easy to compile into C++ or any of the languages in current use. Pharos are finding that the movement is towards Java and web based development so that might be the way to go.



Hardware

Joe already has accumulated sufficient hardware to carry out the Brazil contract but this is only capable of rendering CIPS and DCVG surveys.

We need to start immediate manufacture of far better equipment than is available from any other source.

This will take a week of my time getting the items specified and IP protected in co-operation with Neville, MTEK and Holt.

The business side of this will have to be agreed first and the financial control in place to the satisfaction of all parties.

Working co-operation has proved to be the best way of managing hardware requirements in the experience of Pharos, because of the continuous changes in design which come to light with usage of the products.

We have the option of contracting out all hardware matters or forming a close partnership within the premises of the manufacturer. The latter seems to be the best option as we will have a continuous flow of information from our field operatives.



Training

The training requirement is immediate and we need a training manager (or company) to review the volume of material I have relating to many courses I have run successfully in the past.

It will be good to put these into action in Iran and it would then be necessary for an Iranian manager to be appointed to work alongside the UK training manager from the very start.

I can spend my time in each country while maintaining continuity 'on-line'

The training needs to be very detailed and produce disciplined technicians, engineers and consultants.

I have the outline for the content of all the courses within the 'on-line' cathodic protection course, but much of the content needs colating with the help of an experienced trainer or teacher.

We need to recruit such an individual in the UK and Iran as well as exploring the recruitment of others for each country and language of our operations.

We would hold residential courses at one of the many such establishments that are offering these facilities, as I have done in the past.

It might be to our advantage to get help from the UK government through their well publicised initiatives, and we can discuss this through the contacts I have already made, that led me to meeting Neville.



Survey and field engineering.

Joe and Louis are already active and we can use their experience to adopt our activities to meet current market demands.

It seems that pipeline operators need general maintenance surveys to meet the minimum requirements of pipeline licences, specific to each country

We need to acquire details of licences for the USA, UK, Brazil, Nigeria, The Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, Sudan, New Zealand, China and Russia as a start, so that we can compile an international concensus.

It is fairly certain that we can already meet the standards for each of these countries and the procedures for each of these activities are already written.

These need to be included at the level of 'accreditation' for each of our trainees.

We can ascertain that Joe and his contacts are aware of the standards to which they are working and that they let their clients know.

I already have the expressed demand for training in the countries mentioned above and this needs to be consolidated with the training manager and colator.