Alberto Luis Cigarruista
Maintenance Coordinator, Panama
Alberto, can you tell us more about your role as Maintenance Coordinator?
I’m part of the Technical Maintenance team at VTTI’s terminal in Panama, sometimes known as PATSA. I see my role as more of an engineer than a coordinator. I don’t just plan the maintenance; I’m involved in it every day. As I like to say, wherever there is a pump, I’m there. As a mechanical engineer, I’m focused on maintaining equipment such as pumps, engines, loading racks and engines.
The coordination side of my job involves planning preventative and corrective maintenance with the operations team. When there is new equipment at the terminal, I also help write the accompanying technical documentation.
At VTTI, we have a highly proactive, welcoming team. If I need help with something, it is never difficult to find someone willing to share their time and expertise.
Maintenance is a daily event, so what does your work routine look like?
My typical day starts the day before with an assessment of all the work and improvements to be carried out the following day. On the day, I review the work permits for the planned jobs, which hopefully have already been approved by the Operations and Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) teams. Then my contractors can get to work. I spend the first few hours of the day with them to make sure there aren’t any problems with the job.
With everything going to plan, I return to the office to plan our longer-running projects. I’m always talking with our contractors and colleagues in operations. We coordinate on timescales and resources. For me, it’s a contrast between individual focus and teamwork.
What were you looking for when you came to VTTI?
I was looking for a career that would keep me intellectually stimulated. VTTI fits the bill perfectly. Everyone here is open-minded, and we’re always on the lookout for new ideas that are being tested across the industry.
At VTTI, we have a highly proactive, welcoming team. If I need help with something, it is never difficult to find someone willing to share their time and expertise. I also enjoy the flexibility I have as a Maintenance Coordinator. There is always a new project or something different that I can get involved in.
What is your proudest achievement?
I’ve been helping the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) team here with their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reports. Initially, I was just involved with collecting the data, but I also had the skills to carry out the carbon calculations. It makes a huge difference to be able to do these calculations locally, even though it was the first time we had done it in Panama.
Whenever you solve a big challenge like this, it’s a proud, ‘Hey, we did it!’ moment. It was great to be recognised by my manager for taking on the challenge of reporting our carbon emissions from the Panama terminal. Colleagues and leaders were keen to learn more about the method, which was a great opportunity to share knowledge with others. Receiving recognition like this means a lot to me.
