LOGO

Date: 2020-08-22

I'm a summer intern at PECL's BIM Center. I am an Indonesian and I am currently pursuing my master's degree as an international student at NTUST (Taiwan Tech). I would like to express that it has been a very great opportunity for me to be able to join PECL and work together with everyone as a team during this summer internship.

This months, the other summer interns and I had a great opportunity to visit the ongoing Danhai LRT Project along with our Buddies and seniors. During the site visit, we were accompanied by the site engineers, who act as our guide. We wore safety equipment at all times during the visit. The main focus of the site visit was the Depot. The Depot is mainly for train maintenance, and for parking when the trains are not in operation. The Depot has several facilities. It had the administration office, the train maintenance workshop, the train wash area, the spare part storage area, and the train parking lot among other facilities. We had the chance to visit the facilities and at the same time, we also learned about the functions of each facility under the guidance from the site engineers.

Even though the explanations were mostly given in Chinese, my friends and my Buddy, Mr. Leo always patiently try to translate the meanings to me in English. I really appreciate the kindness from everyone, and I am always happy to be able to work together with everyone.

Personally, I found the site visit to be quite an insightful and memorable experience. Previously, I had several chances to visit high-rise building projects back in my country. However, I had never been to an LRT Project Site up until working with PECL. This can be due to the scarcity of LRT projects in Indonesia, where the public transportation system is not as well-developed as the public transportation system Taiwan. I had lots of fun visiting the site of the Danhai LRT Project.

Date: 2020-02-15

People know the magnitude of the Riyadh metro project well. However, since Saudi Arabia is a conservative country, people aren't as familiar with what life is like in Riyadh. I spent the past 2 years in Riyadh. During that time, I witnessed big changes and the start of a new era. A lot was new for me: I was asked to cover my hair in public. As for big changes, the country's first cinema opened in 2018 and, women were allowed to drive from June 2019. All these changes were due to the objective of the authorities to develop the tourist industry.

Work life in Riyadh is stable and regular. The driver picked us from the compound of our homes to the office and dropped the female employees at home after work. Most of the male employees stayed at the camp next to the office. Females are forbidden to enter the male employee's camp.

Below are some facts during my stay in Riyadh. These could be travel tips for you should you decide to go to Riyadh in future.

1. Restaurants are separated into two sections – a section for singles and a section for families. Singles refer to unmarried males or a married male on his own. Single females should use the section for families. Some restaurants no longer have the separated sections. This is going to be increasingly normal.

2. There are five prayer times each day. All the shops are closed during prayer times.

3. Best shawarma (a dish in Middle Eastern cuisine consisting of meat cut into thin slices, stacked in a cone-like shape, and roasted on a slowly-turning vertical rotisserie or spit) in town is Shawarma house.

4. Saudi people are obsessed with picnics. Winter is the perfect time for picnics.

5. Tamimi and Danube are the most common supermarket, and the hypermarket LuLu has everything you need.

6. You will be surprised by the interior design of the shops. Their scale represents the wealth of the country.

7. Apply body lotion as much as you can. Otherwise your skin will crack like the asphalt on the road.

My two years in Riyadh were the most unforgettable experience in my career. It was an honor to be part of this remarkable project.

Date: 2020-02-10

It was my second Weiya while employed at PECL. And I could not believe that I was chosen to co-host the 2019 year-end party with Alex Ho.

At the beginning, Alex and I tried to make fun of the Presidential candidates of Taiwan, since the year-end party was just one day before the election. However, we decided against this; we did not want to risk offending some of the Presidential candidate's supporters in the audience. We formed a live band comprising five talented PECL fathers. Alex and I joined the rehearsals during weekdays. One of our band members was so versatile that he sang and played the guitar, piano and Jazz drums. Leo Kung sang like Asin, who is the lead singer of Mayday. Leo also had his own cheering squad at the year-end party! Lung Chang Chen was such a good singer that I believed he could give an unplugged show all by himself. Jerry Tsai's trumpet was so refreshing, and he was so good at Taiwanese songs. Lastly Yu Chuan Lin, who looked like the Korean actor Gong Yoo, played the bass guitar as the background music. Unfortunately, it was Yu's last performance for PECL.

I enjoyed working with everyone who spent time to make the show perfect. I hope everyone enjoyed the night like we did. Most importantly, I would like to thank my partner, Alex! He was definitely the best singer of the night.

Date: 2020-01-10

The PECL Annual Slow Softball Competition for 2019 was originally scheduled for December 7th. It was cancelled due to rain. The competition was rescheduled to January 4th, 2020. It was a sunny day and the softball game was completed successfully.

This is my second softball match with the nuclear power team. As in previous years, the softball field was at Dazhimeiti Riverside Park. Early in the morning, the teams gathered at the scene and were ready to go. The teams actively warmed up on the court with passes and swings. Unfortunately, in the first game we met the championship team from last year. After a fierce defense, the nuclear power team's starting pitcher, our Most Valued Player Su Yongqi, arduously defended the first match. Our team members were very excited. Then we took down three games and won our long-lost championship trophy.

We would like to thank all our colleagues at the Kuosheng and Maanshan job sites for their joint efforts, as well as our team leader, Manager Fu-Hsing Hsieh. We also want to thank the organizers and staff of PECL for their hard work and support. Such events really allow all PECL employees to practice teamwork.

Date: 2019-12-23

On December 19 and 20, we had a warm family gathering of 854 members of the PECL family. 2019 was PECL's 40th anniversary. Starting from the beginning of the year, we had a series of celebrations which ended perfectly in the warm and beautiful hot spring tour.

The memories of our travels these years were planned, designed and organized by the Administration department. This small team is dedicated to creating high-quality experiences. Their attitude is that organizing the outing is not just a job but a task that is worth doing well. I was fortunate to participate in the organization meeting of this outing. Eric's personal SOP manual covered the past decades of employee travels and recorded past events. It was a perfect set of guidelines.

A perfect tour is also dependent on the weather. Two days before departure, Eric led the team of five people to Xingtian Palace to pray for a successful travel activity for the members of our big family.

When I saw the many satisfied smiles on faces of each of our family members, I felt that this tour was full of happiness and warmth. How about you?

As we say goodbye to 2019, we are looking forward to another amazing experience from our 2020 employee tour.

Thanks to the Administration team -- Eric, Frank, Tzu Yang and Hsuan Husan -- for this perfect experience.

Date: 2019-11-01

The annual escape evacuation drill is more than a drill. PECL's escape drill was held along with the building's fire drills. In the morning, PECL's first aid and protection teams and the rest of the staff of the building and other companies were given a fire safety and first aid course in Conference Room 14A by cooperating firefighters. The firefighters also instructed everyone on how to operate the building's fire protection facilities, including fire water column and fire extinguisher. At 5 PM, we performed the escape evacuation drill.

We are constantly evolving in simulations of escape drills. For example, we closed the fire damper during the drill to simulate what would happen in a real fire, and we stopped the elevator to create a realistic situation in the event of a disaster. In addition, we simulated injuries to colleagues in order to give rescuers a chance to practice.

Of course, we could not replicate an actual fire with total accuracy. We can only use the feedback of our shortcomings with each subsequent review to improve our performance.

Escape drills are boring and take a long time. Walking for a long time on the stairs caused dizziness. Some colleagues even indicated that they did not feel well and went downstairs in advance. We could understand.

However, we appreciate everyone's participation, which makes the drill as real as possible.

Participating in regular escape drills help our first aid and protection teams. More importantly, participation helps you to arm yourself with the necessary knowledge and experience to escape safely in the event of an actual disaster.

Date: 2019-10-15

This year, several PECL employees attended the Pathways to Leadership conference in Sydney, Australia. During the visit, they engaged with colleagues and counterparts from the Bechtel family. Below are a few reflections:

“I was very happy to have the opportunity to go to Sydney for the PM [Project Management] Simulation workshop. There were 21 colleagues from Infrastructure, M&M and PECL. The main focus of this workshop was Leadership. Through interactive courses and simulation platform designed by lecturers, we had learned not only from the class material,but also from the people we met. In addition, the interactions with colleagues from various countries and territories, had let us learn different thinking logics and attitudes when facing difficulties during the project operations. The last day was a field trip to the construction site, which allowed us to experience the implementation of real projects and figured out difficulties we will face in the future.”

-- Alex Ho, Management Information Analyst

“It was my pleasure and honor to participate in this two-day Pathways to Leadership Workshop and one-day site visit to Sydney Australia on October 8 – 10, 2019. The workshop was well organized, and the delivered content was well prepared and fruitful. The topic covered Bechtel Behavioural Framework including leadership panel and PM Simulation. The two-day workshop composed of different structure, but both designed for us to have the team brainstorming and discussions. It was a great opportunity for us to meet and learn from numerous Bechtel senior managers and other early career hire peers from Australia. I really enjoyed and learned a lot from attending the leadership workshop. I believe what we learnt from the workshop are very helpful to apply to our own career.”

-- Lisa Chen, IS&T

“Thanks for giving me a chance of lifetime to participate in the workshop in Australia. The theme of this workshop is PM-Simulation.

With this course and simulation contest, I understand that managing a project is not a piece of cake. Every decision you make will affect the execution and benefits of the project. In addition, being able to discuss and share opinions with colleagues from all over the world also makes me feel their enthusiasm and willingness to share ideas.

On the last day, we went to the site of West Sydney Airport and Martin Place subway. I also understood how the actual project was planned in advance and how to solve the difficulties encountered during implementation.”

--Frank Li, Nuclear/Mechanical

“It was quite a valuable chance to visit Sydney and to attend the workshop covering leadership behavior and Project Manager Simulation. We had attendees mostly from Bechtel Infrastructure and 5 of PECL Early-Career Hire employees. Colleagues were keen on speaking out their thoughts, which really impressed me. It was not merely a class taught by a teacher, but more like a seminar in which attendees were able to exchange their opinions and to share their experience.

The PM simulation was also an interesting event. We participated in the role reversal, playing a scenario in which I assumed the role of a project manager in an on-going project. We had to make decisions and discussed with the team members. As all decisions leading to different consequences, it affected the performance of GM, cost, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. As the old saying goes, “Looking into history, you foresee the destiny of your nation.”

The simulation was based on the past case study of Bechtel. We learned what kind of details and traps we should notice when running an EPC project. The senior managers from Bechtel shared their remarkable experiences; for all we know, we returned with our pockets full.”

-- Yo Lee and Josephine Ku, Project Controls

Date: 2019-04-30

In commemoration of PECL's 40th anniversary on April 30, our PECL family celebrated this event with much excitement and gratitude around different offices throughout the country.

Gifts and a cake cutting ceremony are indispensable for a birthday party. For the event to go smoothly, the organizing team held a meeting to review this event and to share tips on how to slice a cake - several 16 and 20 inches birthday cakes had to be sliced into 50 - 70 pieces.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the familiar pipe-in music sounded announcing the party. PECL colleagues gathered at each conference room to start the celebration. We began with a brief speech and happy birthday song. Then, we took pictures, chatted, sliced the cakes, enjoyed some drinks, and each colleague received a red envelope. Wayne Chin, chairman, also joined the parties to recognize our achievements and contributions, took pictures and shared the joy with everyone at each floor of our Taipei office.

This simple yet grand and meaningful celebration was successfully executed in a relaxed atmosphere. Even the Human Resources Department was quite surprised at how quickly we set up and cleaned up the venue! This is an excellent tradition of the PECL family—Teamwork.

We hope you enjoyed this event and join us in wishing PECL another equally rich 40 years. Celebrating the 40th Anniversary with the Birthday Cake is just the beginning, let us await the other celebration events!

Date: 2019-01-29

The PECL Year-End Party was held in the Grand Hotel on January 25, with all PECL employees together to welcome the incoming “Year of the Pig.”

Highlights included a dance competition among five dance groups representing different departments; a greater than 75% winning rate for the raffle; and the awards ceremony honoring PECL excellence.

The Year-End Party started with a brief introduction by this year's hosts, Indoo Li, from the Nuclear department, and Vera Chang from Human Resources. Chairman Wayne Chin gave a speech encouraging us to have a prosperous 2019. This was followed by the presentation of the Business Development Award and the Dr. Huang-Hui Technical Paper Award. This year introduced the Quality Excellence Award and the Golden Quality Award for Public Construction.

Our Business Development managers also prepared red envelopes for each member of our PECL family. The dance competition, featuring teams from the Piping, Civil, Environmental, Electrical, Project Control, Financial Account, Human Resource, Management Information BIM and Mechanical departments, were awesome! People were screaming and couldn't stop taking pictures while the performers were dancing. Every team got prizes for their performances, and had sweat and smiles on their faces.

Thanks to Office & Administration Services for organizing such a great party. Thanks for all staff who spent extra time paying all kinds of effort to make this amazing night. I wish we all have a wonderful 2019!

Date: 2018-08-29

I am honored to have been chosen to participate in the APAC Graduate & Early Career Hire Development Program held in Brisbane, Australia from August 23 – 24, 2018 . Unlike previous workshops that were focused on the United States, this workshop was concentrated on the Asia Pacific region. Along with Vera Chang and Ren Lin, the 3 of us from PECL participated in this workshop together with 9 other Australian based colleagues at the Victoria Park Golf Course. The purpose of the conference was to help newly hired graduates gain an overview of Bechtel, to understand Bechtel's vision, values and covenants, and to learn how to map a career development plan as shared by the experiences of senior leaders.

The two-day conference started with Hugh Morrison, Asia Pacific Engineering Manager, giving a comprehensive introduction of our company's organization and global business units. Many other senior leaders also shared their own career and life experiences with us. They encouraged us to chase our futures without fear by giving serious consideration to how our strengths can optimize our career paths. Along with listening to many inspiring speeches, we were divided into smaller groups for more focused early career "TEAM" activities. These activities included training of our logical thinking capability, and also tested our oral presentation skills. These trainings taught us not only how to cultivate our personal skills but also how to lead such collaborative platforms back at PECL.

This workshop benefited me a lot not only because I gained a better understanding of Bechtel and myself, but I was also able to make friends from different projects around the world. We all have wonderful memories of this Early Career workshop.

Date: 2018-06-25

The 2018 Taipei Dragon Boat festival held on June 18 was an important day for the PECL dragon boat team. This was the fourth competition since PECL kicked off the dragon boat team in March, 2017. Although our teammates had put in lots of training for the past 18 months, we were not satisfied with our results in the previous three matches and believed that we could do better. Therefore, most of us considered 2018 Dragon Boat races as a milestone and trained harder than before to get a better result. We spent at least 2 hours each Sunday for on-boat training and 20 minutes of our workday lunch time for indoor exercise to improve our physical condition. We prepared ourselves better than before and waited for the big day…

PECL's two dragon boats, "Tide Breaker" and "Wind Rider," participated the festival. "Tide Breaker" is our pioneer, composed of experienced teammates who trained from the beginning. Based on their great skill and excellent teamwork, they faced tough opponents such as the Australia Dragon Boat Club and the IBM Dragon Boat Team. In this race, "Tide Breaker" defeated IBM by 0.02 second and advanced to the second round.

The other team, "Wind Rider," was composed of newbies. Most of them had only held a paddle for the first time in their lives 3 months before the boat race. However, the excellent power and explosiveness of "Wind Rider" craft gave them a great advantage, and they defeated three more experienced teams and win first place in the first round and proceed to the next round.

Even if our two teams encountered more famous and stronger opponents in the second round and could go no further, we still treasure these wonderful experiences and memories. Our hard training will not go in vain, and even if we might not see immediate success, we will continue to work hard for victory, confident that success will beat a path to our door. for now, though, the memories of our teammates' encouragement during every moment, their cheers and encouragement as they ran along the riverbank, and the celebration after the game, make our efforts feel worthwhile. These are the precious rewards of the festival and will be embedded in every teammate's mind. Let us meet again for the next championship!

Date: 2018-02-05

The PECL Lunar Year-End party took place on February 2 at the Grand Hotel in Taipei. It was hosted by Ren Lin and Heather Chang, who worked together on the Riyadh Metro Project 2E1 Station.

Our very own chairman, Wayne Chin, delivered inspiring opening remarks in amazingly fluent Mandarin. After the Dr. Huang Hui Technical Paper Award and Business Development Award were given out, the dinner party began with a dance competition between dance groups representing the different departments. The dancing was of a quality unparalleled in PECL history, with five dance teams and one game show host team competing for cash prizes.

As usual, the Lucky Draw with the largest prizes were saved until the end of the Year-End Party, as we say, "winner, winner, chicken dinner." This year, we also had the band Phone Kulo and Dreamers serenade us. Thanks again to the Office & Administration Services for once again organizing a memorable party, as they do every year. It is one way for all PECL employees to have the opportunity to know each other even better … like a family!

Date: 2017-05-30

As Bechtel employees working on the Riyadh Metro Station project, our group of six colleagues from Egypt has had the opportunity to travel to many places around the world, and Taipei was definitely one of the best. Taiwanese people are very friendly and although our stay in Taipei was relatively short, our experience was pleasant and our colleagues have been very helpful.

Taiwan has lots of delicious food and we ate many scrumptious meals at the office. One challenge we encountered is that as Muslims, we cannot eat pork, but of course pork is very common in Taiwan. So, we changed our diet to become healthy vegetarians!

We ride the U-bike to the mosque every Friday noon for prayer, and management has been thoughtful to provide us with a room for prayers every 12 noon and 3:30 in the afternoon. We liked the fact that the company encourages camaraderie of their employees with its numerous sports activities.

We the joined the Jogging Club for its run around the National Taiwan University campus and are excited to participate in the upcoming Sportsfest. We are amazed at how the company manages everything superbly! We are really happy to be here and will treasure our PECL t-shirt as part of our fond memories of Formosa.

Date: 2016-12-29

In late 2016, I was glad to have this chance to exchange Building Information Modeling (BIM) experience and develop manuals for GBU Infrastructure development with Bechtel's Reston office. As a BIM coordinator for the Riyadh Metro Project (Stations), I shared project lessons learned while also taking in new approaches for future projects from my Bechtel colleagues. It was a great experience for me to work with Bechtel colleagues and obtain a clearer picture of Taipei Execution Unit's (TEU) future in Data Centric modelling.

Experiencing Bechtel's culture of teamwork and open communication were the two important highlights for this trip. During my stay in Reston, I worked closely with the local staff. I learned that the workplace culture in Reston office is quite different from TEU in that colleagues are actively encouraged to share their opinions and are comfortable expressing their views regardless of position or specialization. I discovered that although language ability is important, working attitude is more essential. I recognize that being proactive and confident instead of shy and hesitant is crucial to success in such a vibrant workplace.

In the future, we will have more opportunities to collaborate with our Bechtel colleagues both in Reston and around the world. It's inevitable that we all need to learn how to live in this era of globalization. "Broadening one's horizon" does not only apply to inside the office for business but outside with strangers as well. I always encourage myself to seize opportunities to go out to meet people, experience the culture and try to do something different. Enjoy challenges and keep challenging my limits.

Date: 2016-06-09

In 2016, over 120 employees in PECL's Taipei headquarters as well aBusiness English classes and various TOEIC classes have been provided in Taipei Main Office and Kaohsiung Office respectively in 2016. Over 120 employees attended the inhouse English classes and/or external English courses to enhance their English capability. More than 100 trainees took the TOEIC test in 2016, and 74% of them obtained improvements.