Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog

A 3 week delay enforced because I have not been in the office much means I have lots to tell! 3 weeks ago was the annual British Army Staff Conference (BASCON) held every year for all UK Army personnel to receive an update on the current Army issues. This was briefed by a number of generals looking at the current challenges and giving us the latest news which we are not able to get over the US intranet. For those coming out this is a great time to make contacts. I have now got a POC at Quantico where the USMC is pioneering research in my thesis field, deployable energy production and integration. I have been invited to come and see how the USMC is tackling the situation which will prove invaluable I am sure. Time of visit is still TBC but hopefully in the next week before the Thanksgiving/Christmas shut down. There is also the Association of US Army Annual (AUSA) meeting where defence manufacturers descend on DC to show off their wares. Attendence is by invitation according to the Embassy so I missed it, but I know others organised their own tickets and got in. Luckily a colleague of mine grabbed a load of literature for my thesis so I was ablt to get some benefit even if I did not get in.

In Aberdeen work is ramping as people leave the Office Engineer realises I only have 3 weeks left in office. Current issues include:
Equipment Maintenance: The customer, contactor and I have been working to ensure that the everyone understands what is expected. Recently we have had design firm representatives on site to brief up the boiloer operators on how to use the kit more efficiently, a tricky problem especially as the boilers have no real load to supply. After my visit to see the automated boiler water quality monitoring system and seeing how the manual method of water quality management is not very effective I have asked the designer and Customer to consider an early upgrade prior to or as part of the service contract. This has met with an encouraging response as everyone is aware of the potential problems and expense of a boiler breaking.

Pump 17: Having asked the design team to review the design for the whole system for the condenser cooler they have agreed that the pump is oversized (to allow for scaling!) and should face remedial action. An impeller reduction is their prefered solution because they are hoping to pin this back on the contractor. The electrical issue with the pump is still not resolved but Pump 19 is now tripping the same way that Pump 17 is. It was agreed that a VFD would be the best solution but the purse is pretty empty and long term cost saving is rarley considered an investment. The motor manufacturer has yet to reply to any questions.

Surge Tank: The blow down seperator to the boiler, which removes debris from the boiler tank currently empties in to a 4inch drain which floods because it is to small. It was thought that a surge tank would alleviate this issue so I was sent to investigate. Initially it seemed the best option although at $30,000 an expensive one. There were a number of issues. Location was a problem because of existing pipe work but more importantly how could the tank actually get in to the building with the only access a standard door. When I reviewed the as builts it did not match the “current plans” we were issued. In fact there was a 6 inch drain 6 feet from the blow down point. So instead I proposed a new floor drain be installed at a cost of $5,000 instead which went down well on all sides. It proved the importance of updating team documents too!

Sound Attenuator: As previously mentioned our exhaust sound attenuators from the NEAT labs (where the nasty experiments go down) were to be replaced with welded ones as the screwed and glued type were not sarin proof. This has had a Request for Equitable Adjustment for $2.3 million and 236 days from the contractor. It is now my job to work out if the work has been done, by how many workers, with what kit and how long it took. Initially I thought there were only 178 to review. However this was on old plans. After review there are actually 573 to review. That will keep me busy until I leave and reinforces the importance of updating documents!

Generator Commissioning: Our 12.5 kW generators have been going through their precommissioning tests involving running them at various levels for long periods on mobile load banks (truck mounted resistors with fans to cool them down). These have been going well once the subcontractor got the load banks working (3 days lost) with all criteria being met which is a relief because most other commissioning tests have been problematic due to failures in the systems.

Lab Vacuum Pumps: This started as a previous RFI on the size of filters for a lab vac system. As this has been going round the houses a while I have decided to investigate to close the loop. Having looked at the spec the information is confusing. Apart from the fact vacuum is measured using Standard Cubic Feet per Minute (SCFM) in standard conditions and Actual Cubic Feet Per Minute (ACFM) based on atmosheric pressure, temp and humidity. Installed are 3x vacuum pumps rated at 330 ACFM at 28″ of Hg (more imperial units!) but the spec calls for 2 pumps to provide 104 ACFM, with one in reserve, so it appears the pumps are 6x oversized! I have asked the designer to show me the calcs to confirm that the pumps are sized right and apparently under vacuum the pumps produce 25ACFM. They are however being very cagey about how this was worked out. Even if this is correct the single charcoal filter rated at 25ACFM would be irrelevant if 50ACFM is going through it. THis was my first authorised change for the 2 filters in parallel in July. Now I not sure that even this configuration will work especially asa in the other building wing 2 filters identified for this system but in a different location are actually 350ACFM rated. I have very little data to work this out my self other than the number of outlets and the diversity factor so I will wait until I receive the information before I go further.

Payment Assessments: the monthly investigation into the works of fiction the contractor submits as pay requests. These never match up.

In Harrisburg one of the QA guys has been sacked and escorted off the premesis by security. After being told his contractor was not being renewed the guy went to the contractor and off loaded a whole loaded of information they did not need to know thus putting USACE in an awkward position. Once this was found out he was off the site but there could be issues in the future. The roof is still going well with 35% covered but the Contractor still has no plans to get equipment on to the roof. A submission to cut the 45 ft roof beams in to 3 to make the more managable on the roof is being considered. In 3 weeks they have removed on 15ft Air Handler off the roof in pieces. There is still no plan on how a replacement unit will be installed.

And in Other News:
Halloween was a mental experience. The whole neighbourhood was decked out ghoulishly with most parents sat out giving out candy while the kids and teenagers topped up on sugar and food colouring. It was 20 degrees so great for the kids and finished at 2000hrs on the dot because the heavens opened, but a merry time was had by all. We handed out 6lbs of candy and the kids brought just as much back! A trip to New York with my parents was very enjoyable, with trips to the empire state building (reduced entry for military personnel – not free!) Central Park, Times Square, The Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero. The Ravens are still struggling and temperatures are now freezing which means roof work is stopping soon. Shortly it is Thanksgiving then silly season starts just as I arrive at the district design office. Fun times!