Week 2 – 14-18 Jan 13
This week has again been fairly quiet with the office still missing about a third of the staff who have taken extended holiday post Christmas (bearing in mind that it is the main school break here as well). Despite the horsepower shortage there is still not enough real work available in the office to keep everyone busy so there is a fair amount of tension as people are (slightly) fearing for their jobs. This places me in an interesting predicament of not wanting to take someones work away from them yet also get amongst something to gain the full benefit of the attachment. I’ve got the balance right thus far but a couple more weeks of this may prove interesting…
What I have been doing is preparing (as part of a team of 4) a proposal to bid for an option study. This sounds a bit dry but luckily I have been digging into the depths of the commercial world and cost benefit analysis which is broadening my perspective of the engineers role. There is plenty to learn and with a bit of legal thrown in for good measure I have learnt that there are certain words/phrases banned from use in all GHD documents including “best practice”, “expert”, and “fit for purpose”.
I managed to get out of the office to a client meeting for the bid proposal and added some value which was appreciated by the team leader and am starting to find my level in the office hierarchy. The option study is for the upgrade of a road to a dual carriageway / motorway for the port and the main element is how to deal with a junction that gets blocked up during peak periods (apparently queuing in traffic for more than 5 minutes is unacceptable in Australia). I am currently of the opinion that the best solution is a burger bun roundabout but convincing the team is challenging and even if successful there, the greater challenge is convincing the department for transport and main roads that it’s not a wind-up, it increases traffic flow/volumes and would prove to be successful in the cost-benefit analysis. We’ll see how it goes but I don’t expect it to get approved in my lifetime…. if all else fails I could suggest a replica of the magic roundabout in Swindon!!! As one of the team keeps reminding us, you always need a “crap option” to make your preferred one look better!!!
Away from the trials and tribulations of the office I am pleased to report that a more favourable work-life balance (for now) has harmonized the Serevena household and I have joined a gym. Having undertaken a cost-benefit analysis of gym membership it was proven to be the way ahead and it is nice to get back running again. The weekend sees us doing not a lot (TMR 4 needs a bit of a nip/tuck) and thus nothing overly exciting to report on that front. Next weekend however will be slightly more exciting with Australia Day celebrations.
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Hi Roy,
The magic roudabout option in swidon actually works for the flow regime that it serves and is an imitation of the hemel hempstead one which is even more impressive. The challenge with roundabouts is that they only work effectively if the flow in is approaximately balanced around the arms and are increasingly inefficient as traffic density rises. This has lead to the gradual replacement of roundabouts with light controlled junctions in most busy UK situations either with complete removal of the roundabout or with signlal control on the roundabout. The mini roundabout (which has a strict set of rules all of its own) is very sensitive to the geometry for its operation and you must be careful wrt the inscribed circle diameter – more, if it ever becomes necessary. Sir Christopher Wren tried the Crap Option tactic for St Pauls and famously got stuffed by selection of a neo gothic monstority. His escape was through a carefully worded contract…