New Textbook Gives Students and Professionals the Lowdown on Global Capital Projects
A new project logistics textbook – the first of its kind in English – aims to give logistics students and professionals alike the lowdown on shipping oversized and specialized cargoes for global capital projects.
Co-authored by Marco Poisler, chief operational officer of global energy and capital projects at Houston-based international freight forwarder UTC Overseas, and Richard Knoll, owner of Texas-headquartered Drexel Logistics, 'Project Logistics: The Universal Transportation Course' is primarily aimed at students at the University of Houston’s College of Technology, where Poisler teaches project logistics and transportation economic and policy.
“There are a lot of management books out there dealing with the technical aspects of supply chain and moving cargo and I have many of these books in my office and home library. But there is nothing really on capital projects,” Poisler said. “This book aims to bridge that gap.”
The book is jammed full of practical, hands-on information on project management, with chapters dedicated to pricing and bidding, commercial process, chartering, packing, ocean, truck, and rail vendor relationships.
The book outlines strategies in managing these relationships backed with a solid appendix of more granular technical guidance.
Although designed to help prepare the next generation of project logistics professionals, according to Poisler, the book will also serve as an invaluable guide for those already working in the industry.
The book already ranks number 19 on Amazon’s top-selling books in exports and economics.
“You could be a project forwarder, an EPC logistics manager or even a project owner supervising the whole process. There is no question that this book is useful to all those people. Even if they are experienced, it is a good refresher,” Poisler said.
Margaret Kidd, the University of Houston’s program director and instructional associate professor for supply chain and logistics technology, said the book was a brilliant introduction on understanding the sector.
“We have never had this knowledge put into a textbook for project logistics, which is very specialized,” Kidd said. “It is a great book, and we are really proud to offer it to our students.”
“If you consider that Houston is ground zero for the EPC world, and you see all the global capital projects not only stemming from energy transition but all the infrastructure investment, then this is a great time for students to consider project logistics as a career.”
Houston is host city for Breakbulk Americas 2022, taking place on 27-29 September at the George R. Brown Convention Centre. To register for the conference, click on the link below.
