Archive
¡Ayyy – El yoyo es grande!
EDC SolarWall®
I have volunteered to be the coordinator for security issues on site to ensure that all relevant info is checked and logged through the security office. This seemed simple enough until it turned out that some employees are not US citizens and apparently this creates a tidal wave of bureaucracy….something I can relate to. I think it might be more appropriate for me to form a support group instead, offering the benefit of my own experience.
The required structural changes for the SolarWall® had to come out at a zero cost (the Client can’t go back to the government cap in hand for more money without creating a fuss). The way around this is to parcel the project into ‘options’ whereby the bulk of the work can be achieved in the face of varying requirements, meaning that one or more of the options can be tweaked to make sure the project comes in at the allocated budget. This must be one of those fudges that people have found to try and make the most out of the system. The Client has requested that the proposed supports for the wall are to be covered in the same material as the existing building. As a result the last wall now has less coverage to pay for the modification. Changing stuff is all well and good – but it needs to be done the right way under the contract. This means either an ‘Equitable Adjustment’ or a ‘Request for Proposal’. RFP is pending.
Now that I am getting into the Resident Management System (RMS) I identified a few housekeeping issues that needed to be rectified (proof of insurance and bonds, cost variations between schedules and turn around times for submittals. I envisage more will follow as I continue to get to grips with the system. It was interesting to see how the contractor shuffles the funds to fit his changing schedule.
DDSP Buildings 732 / 760
Reviewed the PMP again as they still have not made amendments that were submitted. It is USACE policy that every project will have a PMP. The result is that project engineers appear to see this as an additional hurdle to jump through and pay lip service to it. What is the point in not identifying risks as part of the PMP? By not identifying the risks they avoid having to do more work on the PMP but completely negate the whole purpose of it. The PMBP manual has arrived and a copy should be with PEW soon. I will likely be asked to review other PMPs in the near future.
Ashley Reservist Center
I am revising my report for consumption by the contractor in relation to defects on site. I was asked to remove some of the solutions to the problems as we don’t want to do the contractor’s work for them. This was immediately after mentioning that we’re meant to be in a partnering relationship with them…..
It now also turns out the contractor has taken cores through foundation slabs to fit conduits that they had forgotten place previously. They have cut through rebar and we now need to remedy. If anyone has any top tips or resources on this it would be much appreciated.
Training
I had the pleasure of sitting in on the USACE anti terrorism training. This was a recording of the presentation that was given last year by a very nervous lady. The take home quote was ‘Don’t do any work for anybody in exchange for cash or other payments…[mumble – pause]…unless it’s your actual job.’
Trench safety presentations were completed in less than 20 minutes……take note John!
Hablando Español
There are issues with a contractor’s subbie not paying his workers the correct amount. Part of what we do is police these sort of issues and once identified we have to investigate. Frustratingly for the girl who has to process this, the majority of the workforce was Hispanic and do not speak any English. Having received feedback (in Spanish) I called some of the workers to clarify and translate a bunch of questionnaires for processing. This is likely to be a recurring topic.
Other News
Ulli has had yet another episode in the MVA (DVLA) almost resulting in flaming torches and pitch-forks.
Had a great Memorial weekend where I learned to ride a 2-wheeled skateboard contraption, discovered that we do actually have some neighbours who aren’t miserable old farts, and it all ended in the shooting (and subsequent death) of a rooster.
SSP project will simply not die…
Current situation with Steam Sterilisation Plant.
We have now gotten to a bit of a Mexican standoff with the SSP.
Pretty much all the work on site has been finished, however due to the modification that will have to be made to the design, to correct the problems encountered during testing, we cannot hand the plant over.
Due to the fact that the plant is a large and complex steam system it cannot simply be “turned off and locked up” until the design of the modification has been completed and is ready to be implemented, as the various seals and gaskets will fail on restart.
Grimberg, the lead contractor are clearly in the best place to maintain the system on tick-over as they are fully aware of its quirks, and also it keeps all responsibility with them should there be anything wrong. They have been asked to provide a per diem quote for the caretaking of the plant for a couple of months, and they are clearly aware of the strong position that they are in.
The quote that Grimberg offered and their lack of negotiation flexibility has offended the senior management so much that they have been told to P@SS OFF, and get all their staff/trailers off site. This clearly makes the situation more tense, and a lot more difficult to get the last few bits of work out of Grimberg (namely O&M manuals, which Grimberg seems to be hoping will go away and compost under a desk somewhere, it is requiring quite a lot of very specific feedback, but I am still managing to maintain an amicable relationship with Grimberg’s PM).
In the end I expect that some agreement will be found as it makes no sense to “spoil the ship for a hapeth of tar, ” and also the people that we will almost certainly get to do the work of the modification will be Grimberg, so we do need to keep some working relationships with them.
This is an interesting study into the final throws of the lifecycle of a project, and really indicates the importance of a sound tendering process which fully evaluates all project possibilities, and gets quotes for these as well as the expected work. However no matter how much foresight is applied there will be the unforeseeable and clients/budget holders must have their expectations managed, especially on such a complicated/experimental job.
Other things that I have been working on:
Liquid Nitrogen Cryovent system. USAMRIID
We have managed to get to a solution that is acceptable to all sides with the question of the industry standards of a Cryovent system. We will be using pre-insulated copper piping, the exact placement of the vents will be made by the Cryo Associates and shown on shop drawings. We are acknowledging that this is a change, and paying for the upgrade for copper to pre-insulated copper, realistically this won’t amount to much as the installation cost will be similar ball park. This solution was rushed to due to the necessity of allowing the work to move forward, and these areas be closed in.
Close-in inspections USAMRIID.
We have conducted various close-in inspections, at which we have found things ranging from the stud being cut through to allow a pipe to be placed, to holes in the firewall, to pipes not being fixed for more than 5m of run, and so swinging like pendulum. It does appear that MTJV try at every turn to use the USACE as their quality control, and just see what gets through.
Backward placed heat exchanger USAMRIID.
One of the heat exchangers in the USAMRIID was placed fully back-to-front, apparently “because it was easier to get it in that way, and it doesn’t make any difference anyway.” Whilst it is true that it makes no real difference it has been noticed and mentioned higher up to the client and so now needs has to be corrected for a political rather than engineering viewpoint, no skin off our nose, but the subcontractor is hurting.
On site tests : Pressure Tests of air handling units, Ducting and compressed gas systems.
Every system that is being installed has to be pressure tested to ensure they meet the rigorous standards required for bio-containment, this is really quite a significant undertaking on its own. The process involves a centrifugal pump with a baffle plate that can change the airflow. The airflow in measured accurately by the use of a calibrated orifice plate, and the pressure achieved in the duct is measured by a U tube Manometer. It all looks pretty Heath-Robinson but it works effectively. Dependant on the length (and thus area) of duct being tested an allowable flow rate is calculated.
Pall Filters meetings.
The discussion with PALL filters is still rumbling on, as it appears that testing/maintenance of the filter skids without the use of Isopropyl alcohol will be difficult, however the client is reticent at allowing IPA use due to the fire risk etc. We have coordinated various meetings between the client and PALL to see if a solution to the problem can be found.
Off site tests: HEPA filter skid – Factory acceptance testing.
There are various tests of the equipment before it is installed onsite. This is a HEPA filter skid that is due to be used in many areas of the USAMRIID building. Due to the knowledge gained previously working with PALL filters on slightly similar skids in the SSP we visited the local factory where they make the stainless steel components and assemble the skid. Impressively they had mounted the pressure gauges the wrong way round, and we could see other more significant design problems which would make the maintenance difficult. It is great to be able to catch these early, and so keep the project as a whole running more smoothly.
Officer Professional development day
Attending an Officer Professional Development day was a good opportunity to meet the other uniformed officers who operate within the district. It did hammer home what a civilian organisation the Corp of Engineers really is, and how few uniformed personnel they actually have.
Also of interest
Memorial Day.
Memorial Day is the equivalent to Remembrance Day, however the Americans really go all out for it. It is a national holiday and pretty much each town has a parade of some sort. We went into Washington DC to watch their parade. It went on for a continuous 2 hours mostly made up of high school marching bands, and only at the very end actual military guys. There were thousands of people out in support along both sides of the main street in Washington DC for a stretch of 2 miles. Also Buzz Aldrin was there on a float. It was an amazing show.
Muscle Car Weekend
Matt, Ulli, Rob, Robin, (his Girlfriend), Sarah and I all attended a Muscle Car weekend at Ocean City; a collection of hundreds of absolutely amazing cars, with more BHP than weight in KGS. They really shift, and they were doing unofficial burnouts in the high street, fine in the early evening but it does begin to get a little tiresome at 0300. It also really showed how much time and money people were willing to spend on their hobbies out here, the cars were literally shined to within an inch of their lives, and some were up for sale, showing price tags around the $50000 – $100000
Home Brew.
We have got a home brew set from the shop just down the road, and are trying this out (we will keep you posted…), it makes the house smell like a brewery!
Queens Diamond Jubilee
I am trying to get the Americans a bit excited about the Jubilee, but oddly they don’t seem as interested by this as they were by the royal wedding!
Sarah’s work visa.
Sarah has finally got a work visa through, and now has a Social Security Number, and so is finally in a position to get a job. Hopefully all the networking she has been doing will rapidly pay off and she will find a good job.
Heat and humidity.
The heat and humidity are really jacking up, now as soon as you do anything physical you break a real sweat.
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