I consider myself more of a practical than theoretical professional, and I feel myself alive when working on complex tasks. So I do not think, that it is a coincidence that I sometimes find myself involved in challenging projects. Currently, I'm engaged in one such project as an interim manager, with an interesting twist. I'll share the lessons learned, hoping it might help others too.
The technology we're installing is explosive, fire hazardous, and deals with hazardous materials. It was clear that the key to the project would be regulatory compliance. Based on the owner's previous experiences and regulations abroad, we considered what might be necessary here, involved the appropriate experts, and began developing plans for what needed to be established and acquired for safe operation.
And here's the twist: while the technology exists for decades, there are not too many of these factories, and such production has never been done in Hungary. There's no specific legal regulation for it here, and the "what does it resemble" question also doesn't provide much guidance in all areas, so
- even authorities who have never needed to cooperate with in any previous investment, or who normally works with a relatively narrow scope and easily manageable requirements, are showing detailed interest in the technology.
- detailed interest means that for any usual, routine permit application, it may be necessary to submit much more comprehensive content, detailed technological descriptions, accompanied by documents of machinery, equipment, and technological parameters.
- this is tricky for two reasons: firstly, because a significant portion of the documents usually arrive with the machinery and are only needed for commissioning, but they need to be requested well in advance, potentially causing confusion for foreign suppliers who need to prepare translations much earlier. The usual sequence of when documentation needs to be ready is disrupted.
- secondly, because nowhere can we count on the usual decision-making deadlines due to unforeseeable supplementation needs, additional questions, and consultations.
And the whole root of this is simply that since the activity is unknown locally, there's no regulation for it that various authorities could use, so they need a lot of information to be able to form the necessary framework.
Such projects are relatively rare, but if I would participate in another one, I would probably suggest starting consultations with various authorities and jointly developing the framework for the specific technology before making the investment decision. The more unique the task, the less established schemes work, and this can save a lot of time and hassle.
by