SLEEPING WITH PROJECTS AND WAKE UP WITH THEM

Samet Koç, who served the Ministry of Transportation for a long time, has the biggest dream of completing the High Speed ​​Train Project from A to Z with all its design and construction and operating it for the rest of his life. The person he takes as an example is Nuri Demirağ…

This week, our guest is Samet Koç. He is a “hidden hero” in both transportation and energy. He is originally from Kayseri. Today, he shuttles between Istanbul and Kayseri. He has made serious contributions to the Marmaray Project. He is also an award-winning manager. In addition to the successes he achieved at a young age, he has a family that he cherishes. He has also included his employees in this beautiful family. He smiles when he talks about them. I asked about your work and your home. Samet Bey’s modesty and gentlemanliness were also reflected in his answers. We couldn’t help but share…

– Can you briefly explain what you do for readers to understand?

We produce rail system metros, high-speed trains and conventional train switches that carry people from one point to another faster and safer and use a clean energy source. We also do the engineering design of the railway infrastructure and the project design and field application of this design from A to Z. In addition, we have been conducting a 2-year R&D study to make and operate the first build-operate-transfer high-speed railway investment in Turkey. We pursue our goals with a fully equipped staff in many areas such as demand analyses, feasibilities, route maps, ground drillings, station back area plans, and set simulations suitable for the infrastructure. We also conduct R&D, problem-free project development, EPC and O&M studies on wind energy plants and solar energy plants, which I refer to as clean energy.

– Everything in the name of transportation and energy, as it were?

We can also say that.

“MARMARAY WAS A SERIOUS EXPERIENCE FOR ME”

– What kind of family did you grow up in?

My family consists of individuals with different professions, my interest in this profession was independent of my family. However, the opportunities my family provided me with regarding my education and the patience and support my wife showed towards the intensity of my profession are undeniable. I would like to thank both my family and my wife through these lines.

– When and how did you decide to do this job?

I served the Ministry of Transportation for a long time as the Marmaray Project Coordinator, and during these services I had the opportunity to examine the railway sector in depth. I changed the course of my education to transportation management and completed my master’s degree in transportation at Bahçeşehir University. After completing the Marmaray Project, I built my business life on railway businesses. Especially the high-speed train railway build-operate-transfer project is one of the issues I care about the most, as they say; I go to bed and wake up with this project. Of course, since the project was big, I had to find partners with different expertise for each stage. We have completed the pillars of our project with competent partners in many areas such as infrastructure, superstructure, switch and signaling, management, maintenance and repair. Our negotiations with the government and the ministry are currently ongoing. I would like to thank Erol Çıtak, the General Manager of Railway Regulation responsible for the project, through you. He guides us in the field of legislation and implementation with his vision and future goals. As individuals who are aware of the responsibility given to us, we work with all our might to fulfill our duties duly.

“I DON’T BRING WORK HOME”

– How do you ensure harmony and peace among all this work?

My family lives in Kayseri, I visit them frequently. We have a fast-paced life in Istanbul with my wife and children, of course the fact that the children are young is an advantage right now. I especially try not to have business meetings in the evenings, because if I go home late, my daughter will be asleep. Spending time with her is very important to me. On the weekends, I visit the power plant construction sites, and since it is in the southern regions, I take my wife and children with me. So, even if it is a business trip, I try not to be away from them. At work, I have a very harmonious team, they are young and full of energy. They also work devotedly, we could not have done this without them.

– What other profession would you prefer?

I would like to be an architect, after my education, I have an interest in architectural designs. I was very successful in Technical Drawing class at school. I love my profession very much now, but I definitely have an answer to this question.

“I HAVE A DREAM OF COURSE”

– Is there a memory you can never forget? Something that made you laugh a lot or surprised you, or maybe made you angry? I don’t trust my memory, so there are very few memories from the past, I try to remember even the names by adding many things. I mostly keep political events or some news that occupied the agenda for a long time in my memories. Sometimes when I hear a song from the past, a memory takes shape in my mind or the sweet breeze of spring takes me back to my childhood. But I really don’t have a memory that I can tell you that I can’t forget.

– What is your dream goal?

My biggest dream is to complete the High Speed ​​Train Project from A to Z with all its design and construction and to operate it for the rest of my life. There is a name I take as an example in Turkey, Nuri Demirağ… On this blessed path he opened, Samet Koç is the person who has been able to balance work and family the most in our country. Even when he visits power plant constructions on weekends, he takes his family with him and creates the opportunity to be with them. Koç also says that he is especially careful not to have business meetings in the evenings. One of my greatest ideals is to achieve the production breakthrough needed in the railway sector on May 13-15, 2016.

– Do you want your children to do this job?

My children are still very young, of course I want them to receive a good education before their professions. My son wants to become a scientist and go to Japan. His biggest desire is to make robots, my daughter is only 1 year old. It is still early. But I would like my son to work on these jobs after completing his education.

THE SHINING STAR OF THE NEXT 10 YEARS…

– What percentage do you think education, relationships and experience have in this job?

Especially in your profession… I believe that all three concepts are complete and equally important. It is unthinkable for you to dare to undertake these projects without education. The share of education is 33 percent. Then you need to have experience, and we overcome this threshold by incorporating the experiences of our partners into our organization. The share of experience is 33 percent. When it comes to relationships, in every job you do, you definitely establish some equations and gain stakeholders. Especially in our country, there are many obstacles in such projects, if you cannot perform bilateral relations and persuasion methods well, it becomes that much harder for you to be successful. That’s why I think the share of relationships is 33 percent. I attribute the remaining 1 percent to luck. Sometimes you need luck too.

– Is there any bread in this business?

I think the railway and renewable energy sector will be the shining star of the next 10 years. In our country, urban and intercity transportation methods will rapidly shift towards rail systems. Not only construction, but also operation and maintenance and repair issues will be very important. That’s why if we have readers who are starting a new profession or have career concerns in choosing a university, I recommend railway or energy engineering. I recommend our readers who will establish a business to examine the subject of railway and renewable energy O&M, they can achieve great things in this field by starting with small capitals.

RENEWABLE ENERGY IS A MUST!

– So what do you have to say about solar energy?

The increase in energy demand in the last century has accelerated the search for new and sustainable energy sources. The fact that fossil fuels are about to be depleted, energy demand is insufficient and the energy demand due to the rapidly increasing world population necessitates renewable energy-based energy supply in the next century. The leading sustainable, completely environmentally friendly renewable energy sources are solar energy and wind energy. I can say that the decrease in initial investment costs in parallel with the technological developments in the last century has made solar energy and wind energy not only an environmentally friendly but also an economical energy source. Our goal is to establish and operate highly recognized and sustainable power plants in Turkey in terms of renewable energy. We have a Solar Energy Power Plant Investment Program consisting of 9 separate parts with a size of 100 MW and we are working non-stop to achieve this goal.

Source: https://www.dunya.com/gundem/projelerle-uyur-onlarla-uyanirim-haberi-326143