My Living and Working Experience at a Project Site in Thailand

— Harry Lin, Engineer at LNG Project Division, CTCI Corporation, Group Engineering Business

Could you briefly tell us about yourself?

After receiving a graduate degree from the Geotechnical Section at the Department of Civil Engineering, National Central University, I worked at a consulting company in Taiwan, where I took part in the engineering design of Taiwan Taoyuan Airport. In 2018, I joined the railway, site preparation and drainage team at CTCI Civil Engineering Department, where I was mainly responsible for road, drainage and pavement planning and design. In 2019, I was mobilized to the Thailand PTTLNG NongFab LNG terminal project construction site, first as a field civil engineer before becoming a field engineering manager. As field civil engineer, my job was mainly about clarifying the technical drawings and specifications with the subcontractor and the owner, and modifying the drawings so that the site work can carry on smoothly. As field engineering manager, I was mainly responsible for communicating cross-departmental issues as well as horizontal and vertical coordination, so that the team members can understand the requirement from the owner and project team.

What made you join CTCI?

During my studies at the Department of Civil Engineering, I got to know CTCI. Many graduates senior than me also worked at CTCI Group. As a student, my impression was that CTCI executed many big international projects. After I began my career, I have been looking for learning opportunities that allow me to participate in overseas projects. I am very honored to be able to join CTCI and also very lucky to be part of the LNG receiving terminal project team in Thailand. Another important reason why I chose to join CTCI is to be able to have full understanding on the various stages involved over the entire project lifecycle.

Could you give us some examples of the foreign culture and people that impress you during your stay (when being relocated)?

One impression during my stay in Thailand is that there were monks begging for alms at roadside in the morning. Thai people would give alms, and in return, the monk would pray for peace. The Buddhist belief is prevalent in the Thai culture, and I was deeply impressed by the smiles on Thai people’s faces and the way that they always show appreciation for other people and things.

Many interesting things also happened at our site. For example, a giant snake showed up on our site one day and was quickly removed by the workers. There was heavy rain one afternoon that turned the surrounding environment into a mess. Fortunately, no one was injured.

While working in Thailand, I had a chance to learn Muay Thai, also known as Thai boxing, at my coach's house. Although the coach could not speak English, I could sense his enthusiasm for Muay Thai, as he put detailed effort into teaching, and was very demanding in terms of doing every movement correctly.

How do you get rid of work stress?

To get rid of work stress at the construction site, I would go to the basketball court and play basketball on Sundays, just to be alone for a while. I enjoyed the tranquility in the morning and sweating through exercise. This was a way to balance my life tempo, as I did too much talking and was constantly bombarded by lots of information at work. 

Since the construction site and my dormitory were located at the suburbs, I sometimes went to Pattaya during the holidays, which is about an hour’s drive away from the dormitory. I would go shopping at department stores, eat junk food, relax through massage, and pull myself away from work for the time being, so that I could get ready for new challenges.

Could you share some interesting experiences you had when working in CTCI?

I was part of the PTTLNG NongFab LNG Terminal project team between 2019 and 2023. This project was a joint venture between CTCI and Saipem of Italy, so I had the chance to work with Saipem’s employees from countries such as Italy, France, and Brazil. I was impressed by the different working habits and cultures. For example, among the colleagues I met at site, Italians tended to be agitated when they speak, and their emotions changed quickly. One second, they seemed angry, but the next second they talked joyfully as if nothing had happened. They talked business and did not take things personally, so their emotions came and went real fast. The French, on the other hand, worked with graceful tempo. Whenever I became nervous about something and rushed to deal with it, my French colleagues would try to reassure me, start making coffee, and offer their advice on living. They would tell me to treat the urgent matter from a broad perspective.

Among the subcontractors, Korean subcontractors impressed me the most. They were adamant on their views during the meeting, never giving up on what they aimed for, and they would prepare all supporting materials in advance to back up their position.

Such was my routine every day, always adapting and adjusting the way I communicated with colleagues from different countries to achieve better understanding. I always needed to search for common ground among all partners who came from contrasting cultural backgrounds, so as to achieve the goals at every stage while maintaining work harmony.

When it comes to covid 19, there are a couple of special personal experience. During the pandemic, I had been through numerous quarantines. I had even been the only passenger on the plane. Even though the covid virus had got many engineers at the work site infected, as well as caused a shortage of office manpower, we still tried our best to keep the work running through video conferences with our colleagues, subcontractors, and owners. We also showed the pictures or videos of the construction site that we took to CTCI colleagues who were under quarantine, so as to keep them updated on the status of construction site. This is how we were able to come up with timely improvement plans to maintain CTCI's reliable services.