Not unlike most companies around the world, Aboitiz Construction met significant headwinds in 2020. It was a period not for the faint hearted and the team acted decisively. Battened down the hatches amidst rough financial water, it surmounted waves of operational issues.
In 2021, Aboitiz Construction launched its Big Shift strategy, a comprehensive business pivot that will enable the company to navigate the changing market dynamics, refocus priorities, implement changes, fuel recovery and find new business value.
As the Big Shift introduces the new and improved, all will still embody time tested company values of Responsibility, Innovation, Integrity, Teamwork, and Execution Excellence. It is a shared belief among its leaders and team members that deeply embedding core values in practices and interactions enables them with resilience, purpose and achievement.
In its 45th year in the industry, Aboitiz Construction celebrates its long term relationships with clients, business partners, host communities, and welcomes its new opportunities with great optimism.
Responsibility
To Levi Agoncillo, Division Vice President for Business Development, Tender Planning, Engineering and Design, the core value of Responsibility reminds leaders and team members about commitment to customers and stakeholders as a reliable business partner. And in project sites, the company promotes strict compliance to safety standards and health protocols.
In March of this year, Aboitiz Construction sites in the Philippine Coastal Storage and Pipeline Corporation (PCSPC) and Tecnimont and JGC Philippines Joint Ventures (TJJV) achieved a total of 2.1 and 3 million safe man-hours, respectively, with zero lost-time injury.
Aboitiz Construction strictly implements COVID-19 safety guidelines across all its projects sites as it continues its business operations while ensuring a healthy and safe working environment for its team members and clients under the “new normal” situation.
“As a construction company, we need to be aware of our responsibility to take actions in order to mitigate risks that are inherent in the construction environment. Thus, we should be aware of the tasks that we are expected to do as responsible team members,” Agoncillo added.
Innovation
Leaders who champion Innovation find ways to guide the organization to embrace change and improvements.
For Alice Pascual, Assistant Vice President for Supply Chain and Materials Management, the core value of Innovation is an integral part of achieving strategic goals. Innovation activities should be aligned with the strategy and must take into account practical constraints like the available resources and capabilities.
For Alex Garciano, Vice President for Construction Operations, innovation is part of his day to day professional life. He shares this – “As a leader, I always challenge what is currently being practiced, frequently find fresh approaches to processes, and put them into action. And I empower and lead my team members to do the same. Because for me, without innovation, there is not anything new, and without anything new, there will be no progress.”
To promote innovation in Aboitiz Construction, the Project SHIFT was launched in January during its first townhall for the year. SHIFT is a company-wide drive to cultivate innovation with team members’ new ideas that will improve practices, processes and systems in support of the Big Shift strategy.
As of this writing, there are 14 active innovation projects from various departments. Most are “just do it” or automation projects such as; Travel Request from Corporate Shared Services team, CAPEX Request process from the Finance team, and Krane, a one stop hub for information for team members co-developed by Reputation Management, SHES-Q, Digital Information Tech with contributions from all departments.
Integrity
Charisse De Villa, Head of Accounting, Finance and Treasury Group, mentioned that the core value of Integrity is an essential factor in achieving business success because it sets the path straight.
This core value is about being committed to what was promised to stakeholders and clients. This year, in order to spur business growth, Aboitiz Construction plans to pursue traditional industrial projects and thrive further from transport and water-related infrastructures, marine works, and transmission lines and substations.
In addition, the company will continue to offer maintenance services for industries such as mines, petrochemical, oil, and gas.
The commitment to deliver quality, safe, and excellent projects is rooted in the company’s core value of integrity, which is being trustworthy by keeping its promises. .
“When we embody integrity, it will eventually bring to us long-term gains, limitless opportunities and possibilities,” De Villa added.
Teamwork
According to Nina Ylagan-Pedro, Teamwork is at its finest when team members collaborate and break away silos in order to serve better and achieve excellence. And to us in Aboitiz Construction, our shared goal is to build a better future for all our important stakeholders.
Aboitiz Construction has had many opportunities to collaborate with other business units within the Aboitiz Group. The most recent is a partnership with AboitizPower’s Oil Business Unit’s Project Development and Execution team in the installation of the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Therma Marine, Inc. (TMI) facility in Maco, Davao De Oro.
The BESS project will fortify TMI’s effort to supplement Mindanao’s electricity grid especially during the dry season where hydro power plants cannot generate enough electricity.
It is expected to be completed within the year, benefitting from the different expertise areas of various Aboitiz business units. The collaboration is proof that teamwork is alive in the Group, which leads to invaluable learning and collective success.
“In Aboitiz, I had the fortune of leading and being part of successful group-wide projects. The diverse talent, creativity, smarts, passion, fun, and supportive relationships made the magic happen,” Pedro shared.
Execution Excellence
For Antonio Penalver, Executive Director of Aboitiz Construction, Execution Excellence is not only about delivering projects with quality, within the budget, on time, and zero accidents. According to him, going an extra mile to deliver beyond expectations is what will bring repeat clients who trust the company.
Aboitiz Construction took part in the delivery of Austal Philippines’ FSTR which is currently the country’s largest ferry by volume. It fabricated and installed pillars to support the mezzanine of the high-speed ferry. With execution excellence, Aboitiz Construction won the trust of Austal and was repeatedly requested to construct and fabricate for its offshore ferries.
To equip and upgrade the capability of its frontline leaders Aboitiz Construction organized a Supervisory and Frontline Leadership course at its Taganito High-Pressure Acid Leach (THPAL) site in Surigao del Norte. The courses provided the participants with skills that will equip them to lead their teams effectively and to execute the work together with excellence.
Aboitiz Construction is proud of its long history and envisions itself to become a reliable, trusted, and sought-after partner in the construction and engineering industry. Armed with its core values of Responsibility, Innovation, Integrity, Teamwork, and Execution Excellence, the company is poised to shift gears for success..
Aboitiz Construction is the construction arm of one of the biggest conglomerates in the Philippines, the Aboitiz Group, and is a privately-held company, with a 45-year track record in building structures of value through quality and safety in order to build a better future by advancing businesses and communities.
