Aina Sonde

Bid Pursuit & Management: Procurement and Tender of Major Project Pursuits across Ontario, Canada

Responsibilities

• Function as primary point of contact for bid management.
• Evaluate development opportunity proposals and prepare and advise on the business case for procurement (go-no-go).
• Provide leadership, guidance/direction to multidisciplinary bid teams.
• Actively participate in the selection of the project resources, prepare cash flows, procure subcontractors, prepare and administer trade packages, budgets, and schedules.
• Maintain client’s relationship, provide technical advice, and collaborate on strategic planning and implementation.
• Leading by example, mentor, motivate, delegate, and promote culture of collaboration, diversity, equity, and inclusivity amongst the projects’ teams.
• Facilitate team integration through exemplary leadership, guidance, and effective communication.
• Act in a leadership role for the implementation, compliance and promotion of environmental and occupational health and safety (EHS) requirements.
• Managing budgets, project staff, subcontractors, task schedules, change orders and project risks.
• Coordinate, direct, and oversee bids’ periodical reviews, monitoring progress and compliance.
• Collaborate with bid teams to explore innovations, best-for-project solutions, and winning themes.
• Review and proof-read bid technical/commercial submissions, focusing on tender/bid compliance.

Project: Hurontario LRT Mississauga-Brampton, Ontario, Canada: Delivery Model - DBFOM, Value: $1.5 billion - 18 km rapid rail transit, from the Port Credit Go in Mississauga to the Brampton Gateway Terminal in Brampton. It consists of 18 at-grade stops, one underground station and OMSF.

Responsibilities

• Provided technical inputs that guided the design to compliance with PSOS.
• Routinely reviewed staging and TCPs, focusing on minimizing traffic/construction disruptions.
• Provided guidance and direction in the removal, relocation, and installation of dry and wet utilities.
• Collaborated and actively engaged with stakeholders, fostering communication, participation and ensuring business continuity.
• Actively participated in risk control sessions, devised mitigation strategies that enhanced quality.
• Prepared and had the monthly Mobility Matters monthly reports submitted, within contractual timelines.
• Managed and negotiated variation orders, preparing unbiased and compelling narratives as needed.
• Reviewed and provided design inputs to ensure compliance and securing permits, licenses, and approvals.
• Reviewed and optimized TCPs, minimizing construction footprints and traffic disruption costs.
• Prepared and developed algorithms that modeled construction impact and associated cost evaluation.
• Managed project conformance, focusing on quality and routinely investigated non-conformances (NCRs) and PA breaches, and directing efforts on mitigation measures.
• Developed succession plans and hand-over tutoring, to ensure development and transfer of critical skills.

Highlights: Team developed a reliable in-house algorithm, that accurately tracked traffic impacts and the associated costs, saving the project a software subscription fee ($10,000/per month).

Team was instrumental in the successful prosecution of various claims: on one occasion, over $3 million was realized on a claim, citing incongruence between municipality policy and PA requirements.

Highway 401 Expansion – Mississauga /Milton, Ontario, Canada: Delivery Model - DBF, Value: $638 million (Bid Phase): reconstructing and widening of 18 km segment of Highway 401, from the Credit River in Mississauga to Regional Road 25 in Milton, along with bridge reconstruction and replacement, culvert replacements, drainage, utilities, and environmental protection features.

Hurontario LRT Mississauga-Brampton, Ontario, Canada: Delivery Model - DBFOM, Value: $1.5 billion (Bid Phase): an 18 km rapid rail transit, from the Port Credit Go in Mississauga to the Brampton Gateway Terminal in Brampton.

Responsibilities

• Participated in the project’s Design Integration Groups (DIGs) sessions and explored the winning themes.
• Reviewed (RCD) drawings, for compliance with the relevant design standards and project requirements.
• Collaborated on Risk Management Workshop sessions, aimed at evaluating risk and opportunities.
• Administered RFIs, monitored RFP addenda, and evaluated impacts on project deliverables.
• Oversaw trade procurement packages in support of the estimation efforts.
• Prepared narratives for the RFP Technical Submission, particularly on Quality Management Plans, Construction Management Plan, Stakeholders Engagement and Traffic / Transit Management Plans.
• Reviewed and proofread RFP Technical submissions, ascertaining robustness, technical adequacy, consistency, contextual accuracy, meticulousness, and compliance with applicable guidelines.

Fountain St/King St & Shantz Hill Rd/Eagle St Improvements, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada: Delivery Model – DBB, Value $12 million (Construction Phase): widening Fountain Street, reconfiguring the intersection of Fountain and Shantz Hill Road, and installing a large roundabout at the intersection of King and Fountain Streets.

Responsibilities

• Coordinated the relocation and installation of dry/wet utilities.
• Reviewed and optimized staging and TCPs, ensuring compliance with OTM Book 7 and municipal regulations.
• Prepared sub-trade packages and managed subcontractors.
• Successfully engaged stakeholders and the community, addressed their concerns, and maintained their interests.

Highlight: Impacts to schedule significantly minimized through promotion of collaborative and supportive liaison with municipalities, and other third-party entities in matters relating to Permits, Licenses, Authorizations and Approvals (PLAAs), resulting in short turn around.

Waterloo LRT – Kitchener /Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Delivery: DBFOM, Value - $868million (Construction Phase): Light Rail Transit (LRT) and associated infrastructure – a 19km, 19 stops, between Conestoga Mall in Waterloo and Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener. The route utilizes a mixture of on-street running and existing railway corridors and generally uses a twin track cross section.

Responsibilities

• Reviewed, quantified, analyzed and evaluated variations and change orders.
• Prepared documentation and narratives for claims
• Liaising closely with stake holders and the community, site activities were coordinated in a manner that minimized disruption and ensure business continuity.

Highlight: through meticulous documentation, compelling narratives, backed by change-order-related records, I led Amico’s team in successful negotiation of CA $4.2million claim, reducing it to $1.1 million.

BABY-CARE GREENFIELD AGBARA PROJECT - Lagos, Nigeria: Delivery Model - DBB, Value: $1.4 billion: a greenfield LEED-compliant manufacturing facility of 36,000 m2with ten outlying facilities. Construction included two warehouses, storage, power generation and distribution, water boreholes, water treatment plant, water supply and treatment, fire protection systems, roads, and associated infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Routinely conducted constructability reviews of design and provided resolutions that conformed with projects’ technical and performance goals.
• Provided the much-needed motivation and influenced the project team to strive for improved quality service excellence and client’s satisfaction.
• Led, advised, and directed construction methodologies need to achieve the Low Impact Developments (LIDs) and the project’s LEED silver rating requirements including material sourcing, recycling, and construction waste management.
• Managed budgets, project staffing requirements, subcontractors, task schedules, change orders and project risks.
• Interfaced with the contractor and design consultants in managing design changes and variations.
• Devised, oversaw, and led project controls strategies, with emphasis on addressing emerging risks.
• Conducted periodical project audits, identified and addressed deficiencies as and when applicable.
• Routinely conducted QMS audits, performed quality reviews of work method proposals and assessed the conformance of project deliverables.
• Verified work measurements and approved interim payments.
• Conducted testing and commissioning.
• Reviewed and verified as-built drawings and documentation.
• Conducted the post-construction evaluation, negotiated agreement on final accounts.
• Robust QA management plan, with inspection and testing protocol, resulted in significant quality of the project delivery.

Highlights:

Accurate and meticulous record keeping was decisive in the successful negotiation of $18 million back charged to the main contractor.

Decisive was the use of alternative material that reduced the compaction time, thus mitigating the schedule slippage caused by incessant rainfall.

LEKKI FREE TRADE ZONE – Lagos, Nigeria: Delivery Model - DBFOM, Value: $700 million (May 2009 - Jun 2010): 30km2 of urban infrastructure, and ICI building development.

Responsibilities

• Construction Management roles: contract administration, contract change management, validation, testing and commissioning, budgetary control, value engineering, stakeholders’ management, negotiation and conflicts resolution.
• Reviewed and approved the QMS Plan including the Inspection and Testing Protocols (ITPs)
• Oversaw the implementation of storm water management and the site’s erosion and sediment control.
• Provided guidance and directed the installation of photovoltaic streetlights other renewable energy initiatives.
• Legislation and Compliance to Codes and Regulations
• Conducted the validation, testing and commissioning, including the delivery and hand-over.
• Monitored existing and emerging risks, deploying best-for-the-project mitigation measures.
• Routinely performed value engineering with the view of optimizing schedule and cost without compromising quality
• Prepared regular (monthly) progress reports, and project updates.

LAMATA Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) - Lagos, Nigeria: Delivery Model - DBB, Value: $850 million (Mar 2007 - Dec 2008): 40km BRT highway with signalized junction priority, included redefined lane pavement structure, road widening & segregation barriers consisted of 28no bus stations; 3no major bus terminals; 1nos looped large bus depot / garage; The BRT had a system and intermodal integration with rail and ferry, planned for future expansion.

Responsibilities

• Directed the overall construction/contract administration and project management.
• Reviewed, evaluated negotiated and approved variation orders.
• Provided leadership and oversaw the work-method statement plans, and the Inspection and Testing Plans (ITPs)
• Maintained and optimized production outputs while controlling costs and maintaining quality.
• Liaised with various stakeholders and planning authorities in PLAA-related matters, detours, staging and business continuity.

Highlight: A stellar achievement - robust health and safety strategies resulted in no single incident of fatality, with minimal disruption to the chaotic and highly congested Lagos traffic.

TINAPA BUSINESS RESORT - Calabar, Nigeria: Delivery Model – DBB, Value: $1.7 billion (Jun 2006 to May 2007): A business resort consisting of road infrastructure, shopping complexes, hotel, entertainment centre, and human-made beach on reclaimed land.

Responsibilities

• Led a team of consultants in the supervision of works for quality.
• Acting in a leadership role for implementing, complying, and promoting health and safety requirements and guidance
• Oversaw the contract administration – including variations, works valuations, and approval of interim payments.
• Conducted periodic audits, tracking and monitoring risks relating to safety, staffing, procurement, Project control including budget/schedule tracking, compliance and reporting.
• Directed and oversaw the Testing and Commissioning, snags and deficiencies rework, as-built drawings verification, and hand-over.

Highlights: successfully managed the incessant incursions and disruption of works by the local community. With collaboration, productive engagements, dialogues, tact, diplomacy and transparency, the trust and cordiality of the local community were eventually earned.

MERSEY GATEWAY MILLENNIUM BRIDGE – Runcorn/Widnes, England: Delivery Model - DBFOM, Value: $2.47 billion: a 3km, 6-lane New Mersey Gateway Bridge, and Road \Infrastructure spanning between Widnes (Merseyside) - Runcorn.

CHESTER - DEESIDE HIGHWAY REHABILITATION –Chester, England: Delivery Model -DBB, Value: $450 million: Rehabilitation of a 14km - dual carriageway between Chester (England) and Deeside (North Wales), consisting of new and upgraded pavements, streetlights, and ancillary works.

Responsibilities

• Prepared the design of the structural pavements and associated facilities including street furniture.
• Modeled traffic routing, traffic queues, signaling and lane assignments.
• Collated, analyzed, and evaluated accident data, and identified accident black spots.
• Assessed and prepared the feasibility, cost, and economic benefits analysis.
• Prepared technical projects reports and made presentations at public inquiries.
• Provided leadership for our Highway team, pioneering a structural design of flexible pavement, based on analytical, dissipated energy concept. This approach resulted in economic lean pavement layers, with a longer service life and saving of 30% in comparison to conventional design.