Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog

C4ISR:

Now that I am gearing up for the shift to District I am actively trying to remove myself from this project. The vast quantities of information need to be in the Office Engineer’s head and not mine otherwise it will be lost. I have continued to sift the info and formulate the facts relating to this claim which is now pushing over $4M. The OE really needs some more manpower to be able to get through this in tact.

EDC Solarwall:

Coming along really nicely. I urged the contractor to switch his schedule and we’re all really glad he did now. Access to a high wall section is required and the ground is soft and has a heavy cross fall. His rigs trip out if he exceeds the safe working envelope which has now proven that he can’t do the job with the tools at hand (Glad this came to light now and not a the end of the project – he still has options to tackle other sections before his time runs out). We’re now looking at building a temporary road using our old friend Tensar. Unfortunately the contractor doesn’t really know what he’s doing with it and the bottom fell out of his world when I systematically picked the plan to pieces. His re-show was not much better so this could be an interesting stand off as I won’t let him continue unless he can either prove his engineering or establish the world’s most robust mitigation plans.

The working relationship with the Huntsville Contract Specialist has broken down all together. I feel they are good at the contract side of things but they are so far removed from the coal face they have no idea about what the impact of their decisions are. USACE has developed training courses (PROSPECT) based on ensuring that procedures match the Federal Acquisition Regulation. All of the office procedures are built up on this basis. Huntsville produced a very ‘lean’ contract and are sticking to their interpretation of the words so rigidly that it means several of my team can no longer fulfill their duties as required …meaning that the measures put in place to enforce compliance to the FAR are now defunct by someone else’s interpretation of other sections of the FAR. I’ve raised it though the correct channels and we came close to pulling the plug all together as a result….but for now I carry on regardless but have to be careful to caveat everything and reference all decisions back to the final decision of the Huntsville office…..I’d love for the department of labor to pay a surprise visit.

I also signed off on my first electrical submittal this week….very proud…so if the whole place burns down…you haven’t seen me….right?

EDC Roofing Project:

The pre-construction meeting has been held and already there are some clashes with the Solarwall project. I need to ensure verification and testing occurs but none of the air handling units on the roof work. The units are to be replaced under the new roof contract so there is no appetite to spend money on the repairs. The maintenance guys are saying they can fix, but only in 2 month’s time, leaving a very small window for my guys to remain on their schedule….but I’ll be gone by then! I’m eventually handing this over to Mike Notto (an ex Westpointer) and I suppose any legacy of this will filter down to Nick when he arrives.

Time for less typing on a Friday night and more wine with the wife….that makes much more sense. Stay safe folks.