Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog

So first day back in to work today after paternity leave to find my desk stripped out, someone else sat there and being told that I’ve been moved projects. A happy start at 0530!

I am now a project engineer on the MOF project doing a direct swap with one of the graduate engineers so that I can get some on-site experience.  Not an issue and hopefully beneficial for my DOs.

I will now be running the concrete works which is abutments, capping beams and pile caps.  Good stuff with lots of reinforcement detailing to get my head into. Transition period of 2-3 weeks as we hand over responsibilities and get up to speed.  If only there was someone on here that was sharing their lessons on RC….

More to follow once I have a clue what’s going on as there appears to have been little planning conducted so far.

WRT the desk issue I have now turfed out the individual sat there, reclaimed it and am beavering away once again!

So this week I have mostly been on paternity leave.  This has simply added a new string to my “work avoidance” bow with an upcoming TMR deadline.  That said, I have managed to do the little and often approach, although not as often as I would have liked!  Harrison is now 15 days old, doing well (as is Lisa) and Team Serevena is semi ready for my return to work.

I did spend a day in the office this week and after the many back pats and congratulatory pleasantries (I really didn’t do a great deal) spent Thursday undertaking a design review of the Jetty temporary works.  I needed to be in as one of the discussion points was the pile testing, the part of the scope that I am solely responsible for (and this ties in neatly with my thesis proposal – I love it when a plan comes together!).  As well as the pile testing, we also looked at the traveller in detail, including the construction sequence, operation and reconfiguration for phase 2 of the Jetty trestle installation.  Several areas of concern worked through but no pressing challenges relating to the traveller for me to raise in this forum.

The only potential challenge that I’m open to suggestions for is how to splice piles and their reo cages when working over the water. Concept is to drive a 30-32m section which is as long as we can drive with the likely barge/crane configuration and then have to undertake a vertical splice of the last 10-14m pile section.  Typically this would be done in a nice jig but it’s not that easy on this occasion. Thoughts welcome from one and all.

That’s about it really this week.  I return to work on Tuesday, CIs visit at the start of the following week and then pedal to the metal with pile testing for me! (Although we still don’t have any idea of a start date – we’ll be poised like coiled springs)

So I haven’t blogged for a couple of weeks, although I have maintained a heckling watch on posts, due to Lisa giving birth and our lives being a bit crazy with the change that baby Harrison has brought with him.  Time is tight, so I will be brief, but also there is very little to report in terms of “work”.

Week 7 was the 2nd week without Barry the Package Leader and our work had slowly dried up. We got to a stage where we (me and the 2 junior engineers) had done as much as we could without input from the PL and the PM didn’t really want to know.  The resultant was that we trudged through as much as we could in terms of work and had started to try to re-work some of our previous efforts.  Luckily though an opportunity arose for the end of the week to complete a lift planning package that would mean we could plan and execute the lifting of the piles on the Jetty project. As a bonus it also meant that we got a late start as the course was on the mainland and a free lunch on the company!

Before the course though was Anzac Day, 25th April.  After trying to get some sort of response from BDLS as to what was expected of us, attendance requirements, protocol (of course I received nothing as usual) I decided to attend the dawn service to pay my respects to our allied troops.  My neighbour (works for JHG on the MOF and is a veteran) took me down and I was glad that I experienced part of the Australian culture with him, although I respectfully declined the opportunity to drink many a rum toddy and indulge in the games of 2up afterwards for fear of the pain that Lisa  (39 wks, 4 days pregnant) would have unleashed on me. Well worth attending – just wish that BDLS would send some advice out on significant events in the calendar such as this).

Thursday 26th was day 1 of the lift planning course. It was split into 2 parts; Part 2 – Lift planning overview and part 3 – lift planning tool. For those clever enough to have noticed that there is no part 1, this is covered in the JHG induction and thus I’d already passed.  Part 2 was covered in the morning and was just a safety induction in greater detail.  It was interesting and gave more meat on the bones as well as a greater overall awareness. Part 3 however involved the use of a scientific calculator, determining load paths and other exciting structures mathematics so the brain got going.  The afternoon was when the learning started but the real meat was to be on the Friday.

Friday 27th did not run according to my diary and at about 0130 Lisa woke me to tell me that her contractions had started.  Immediate concern was that I was going to have a steak for lunch (JHG were paying) to make up for the healthy salad option I had embarrassingly chosen on the Thursday and that I would miss out.  Apart from this, I called the hospital whilst Lisa completed her nesting, booked us in for the morning and went back to bed (on Lisa’s instruction) as I needed my rest.

Shortly after 0600 I got up, sorted out the 2 boys, deposited them with a friend for the day and then took Lisa to the hospital at 0800.  No detail necessary for the next few hours but at 1153 Harrison was born! Weighed in at 8lbs 8oz.  After the post birth admin was completed I left Lisa and Harrison to get some rest and went for a celebratory Hungry Jacks (Burger King) which didn’t make up for the missed steak opportunity, picked up the boys and then went home before returning to the hospital at 1800 to pick up Lisa. We were home by 1930 just in time to watch the Broncos on Friday night football! So a busy day all in all.

3 brothers – Future England three-quarter combo?

Week 8 – Paternity Leave – little sleep, madness, need I say more….same again for week 9 no doubt!

This week has been quiet as the Project Leader, Barry, has taken 2 weeks annual leave back on the Emerald Isle which means that all is quiet on the Jetty front.  Barry has left me in charge by virtue of my seniority and ability to get things done but there is not that much happening.  On the Friday of the previous week we had received a letter from Bechtel stating that the project start date would be in the window of July to October.  This means that we have no certainty, no ability to commit to contracts as we don’t know when they’ll start and I have that nagging feeling that if it continues on I may be at risk of failing to complete my DOs.  That said, things may start in July and potentially the enabling works could begin before that, which is actually one of my subcontracts.  Once the birth has happened and my paternity leave over I’ll need to fully assess what is happening with this project and whether my DOs are achievable.  I suspect that this might best be discussed during the CI’s visit in late May.

The week has been spent finalising Activity Method Statements to find out that the risk assessment format has just been changed by JHG and need to be rewritten. Joy! So at least that’s something for next week.  Also, I have been working on some pile testing stuff in conjunction with the Brisbane design office.  Finally has been trying to get involved in meetings and discussions that Barry would normally be in to find that people are only interested in the organ grinder and not the monkey!  This week I have allowed it to happen but next week I will be a little firmer with them and make sure that they include me in their discussions.

One good thing that did happen was that I organised a trip on Friday to the JHG workshops in Rockhampton, an hour and a half north of Gladstone. We went and saw the pile gates for one of our piling barges and inspected their workshops as one of our suppliers.  A good trip, similar to the Civils trip to NuSteel, only with slightly less to see and nowhere near as tidy around the edges.  Some big positives though in that neither of the junior engineers had been to/seen a workshop like this so a good development opportunity for each of them.

Not a great deal else to report without a site to actually be working on!  (Note the frustration in the writers tone tempered with the fact that his wife is about to give birth and being quiet on site is not such a bad thing when about to take 2 weeks paternity leave!)

It has been a sad week personally with the loss of not one but 2 dogs.  Jackson was put to sleep and then on Saturday I got a call saying that Blaze had started whelping! Unknown to us, Blaze had been knocked up by the foster carer’s dog, which was supposedly neutered! Blaze is 7 (70 in human years) and in no state for this and so she went to the vet for a c-section.  After Blaze had got out of the car a still-born pup was found wrapped in blankets.  The vet x-rayed her and could not see any more pups which is not surprising with her age.  So an overall sad week for Blaze and my parents who have stepped in and had to deal with all of this trauma.  It’s also been fairly hard on Team Serevena with mini-me the third due any day now as we enter week 40 of the pregnancy.

Looking ahead, next week will be fairly quiet again giving me the opportunity to finalise AER 2 and my thesis proposal. It’s also a bit stop start with Wednesday off for Anzac Day on Wed.  I have been invited to the dawn service and shall be attending to pay my respects.  Beyond that, it’s building up for another R&R break the following week so most people will be winding down from now on.

Another short week following the Easter R&R period has been jam-packed with activity as the package leader is heading home to Ireland on Saturday for a 2 week break which means we’ve been thrashing ourselves to tie up all the loose ends.  Having just been in the handover meeting I’ve ended up with a fair amount of responsibility in his absence, particularly chairing the weekly meetings and liaison with the design team.  This should not be an overly onerous task and the extra responsibility will be good for raising my profile a bit with the key players.

My main effort has been finalising a contract for the pile cut off platforms which is going to end up in the region of $110,000 and the enabling works for the project site which is about $250,000 all up.  I’ve also been investing time in the junior engineers, sweeping up their basic skills such as the production of meeting minutes through to formatting documents and improving the general professionalism of our products.

A new task this week has been investigating, researching and selecting the method for abrasive blasting over the water as well as the painting of the welded areas of the Jetty structural.  This will probably be the subject area for my first TMR and will therefore leave the meat of the detail for that.  What I will say though is that convincing people that the ecological/environmental benefits outweigh the financial is a very difficult task to which there is significant friction!

The plan for next week sees our team halved for the first part whilst the PL is on leave and our graduate engineer on a JH trg package for 3 days (opportunity to have some beers on the company is the basic aim) so I’ll be fairly busy.  When this is combined to the fact that Lisa is going to be pushing towards 39 weeks pregnant it will be a tough balancing act.  We’re all set though with friends appointed to take the kids during the birth and an escape plan hatched to get me off the island when the time comes!

The latest news I have had for a start date is that we won’t commence until 25 June 12. Whether this includes the enabling works is uncertain but I will keep PEW updated and the review of DOs due on 21 May should give a decent perspective of where I’m at.  Not an issue yet at least.

So overall, things are ticking along.  The long days are taking their toll but it makes the day off on the weekend very much appreciated and the management here are allowing me the time to undertake my coursework as and when required which means that the time off is largely dedicated to the family.

Until next week, Au Revoir!

This week was a short one with the project (all GLNG works on Curtis Island) being stood down for 6 days after cease works on Wednesday.  In typical army fashion, this meant that everyone started to close down from about mid day on Tuesday and thus next to nothing seemed to be achieved.  That said, work carried on for the Jetty team with the production of more reams of paperwork, safety plans and activity method statements! I also continued to plough on with my contractor negotiations for some enabling works which are almost sorted now…they just need to sharpen their pencils a touch more and we’ll then sign a contract for $225k.

Most importantly however was 1430hrs on Wednesday when we were stood down for R&R. For team Serevena this meant jumping in the car early doors of Thursday morning for a drive to the Sunshine Coast for a bit of sun, sea, sand and SCUBA DIVING!!!!!  So we were away for all of Easter at Noosa, which was very  nice, and had some quality family time prior to the arrival of youngling number 3 in the next 2-3 weeks (touch wood).  So to compensate for the fact that there are no site pictures as yet (mainly due to the fact that we still haven’t got access to the site!) I have added some gratuitous underwater shots of me below on the wreck of the HMAS Brisbane from Good Friday.  Enjoy!

Week 3 as a JHG employee has seen the Jetty project team grow from 3 to 4 engineers, of which worryingly (for the package leader) I am the second most experienced in the construction industry.  What does this mean? Well I’m being leant on to look at some of the more tricky elements of our preparations and providing that mentoring/guidance role to the 2 junior guys.  All good really and nice to have that little bit of responsibility.

The week started with a 2 day design review, where the Brisbane based design manager, his procurement lead and 3 senior engineers from ARUP visited the Curtis Island site.  The whole design was scrutinised and at times it was painful but in the end I came away from the review with a better understanding of some of the detailed/technical elements of the design.  It was more of a listening/ non-speaking part for me but interesting to see the PM at work and gauge how his mind works.  The project is certainly global as at one point we had a telephone conference with Bechtel in Houston, the design review team (for Bechtel) in Malaysia and us. Interesting to be a part of it and start to understand some of the politics involved.

The remainder of the week has been focussed on the preparation of a Marine Execution Plan, which is basically re-writing a previous plan from the MOF/Fisherman’s landing task originally prepared by a Mr R Marsh.  The document was not adhering to JSP 101 but my revision does now!  I’ve also been focussing my efforts onto some commercial aspects including obtaining quotes for the fabrication of pile cut off platforms and setting up contracts for the installation of a RC abutment / temporary footings for the canti-traveller.

I was also invited to attend some fatigue management training laid on by JHG.  All of the site personnel attended in small groups over the course of 2 days and it was okay. I was expecting it to be disappointing but actually it was well presented and most took on the points.  It will be followed up in a couple of weeks time with a practical workshop so I’ll see how that goes.

I’ve been in contact with the ICE Queensland branch and disappointingly they do not hold any events outside of Brisbane.  This means that it will be unlikely for me to attend anything for my CPD until I move there in December due to the time needed and expense involved (JHG do not pay for this).  I will do my best though.

On a personal front we have had some issues back in the UK with our dogs.  My father has kindly stepped in and now has them. This has caused some angst but should now be sorted. Not much you can do from the other side of the world and I think we’ve now used up this years worth of favours!  We’ve also attended the hospital for Lisa’s first ante-natal appointments and all is well. She is now 36 weeks and ready to pop.

Next week is a short week, finishing on Wednesday with a R&R period from Thursday through until the following Tuesday. Leave pass has been submitted on JPA for the Bank Holidays over Easter. The other days are project Rostered Days Off (RDOs).  Annex B of my AER 1 will show this clearly.  The AER will be submitted (assuming the moodle works okay from my JHG laptop) on Monday in line with the submission timetable.

NFTR at this stage.

This week I have mostly been finding my feet (try and say it like the fast show character).  With the arrival of a mobile phone, a temporary laptop and having acquired a desk by buttering up the PMs PA, I have commenced working.  At the start of the week it was a bit slow as we moved into our house and I had to deal with the removals arriving, but from Wednesday on it was all work, work, work.  Well at least until 11am when the heavens opened and we had 120mm of rain in 2 hours. Oh how I love my scooter in the rain, particularly when water creeps into the engine and it keeps stalling!

Rain does not however stop the office which continues to be a hive of activity until about 2pm on a friday when people start to sly away for flights home if they’ve got Saturday off. This week I am not so lucky and am on the saturday shift but at least it’s an early finish with an 8 hour instead of 10 hour shift.  It’s also giving me the opportunity to write this!

My roles and responsibilities are slowly taking shape and I’m running with the enabling works for the traveller to construct the jetty. We had our first meeting with a contractor this week and I will take the tender forward for revision of the scope of works before advising my package leader as to when to award the contract.  This is only a measly $250,000 but it is something none the less and I am happy for it.  I shall be looking to squeeze the contractors price in order to maximise profitability balanced against the fact that we still don’t know when the start date will be.  We are waiting on Bechtel to issue permits for construction and from that point it will take about 8 weeks until the first boots on the ground.

I have also been tied up in classic Sqn 2IC business, proof-reading the work of junior personnel.  The project plans (there are numerous including, traffic, safety, environment, etc) all need to be submitted for signature by the PM before being approved by Bechtel.  I’ve been going through each of these in turn and conducting the proof reading, re-formatting, etc but it does give me a strong understanding of the project.  I have also been amending accordingly, adding what engineer value I can where appropriate.  Disappointingly they do not conform to JSP 101 but they will by the end of April when I’ve finished with these docs!  The package leader is semi-impressed with my OCD and attention to detail but would probably prefer me to be a bit quicker.

In terms of engineering, I’ve not seen much as yet as the Jetty project will not be starting until May. However, the commercial side is ramping up and I’m going to be getting ticks in those boxes at least.  I am going to be responsible for the test piles and their testing and to save money I am currently trying to use existing pile cut-offs that would otherwise be sent for scrap. The concept is to weld sections together in the hope of saving on the outlay for a 40m length of 1200mm diameter, 25mm pile.  This might work but I need to do a bit of work on the strengths of welds, etc to ensure that they don’t fail in the testing. Watch this space.

I’m also designing (well on a fag packet as John would say) a concept pile cut off platform by bastardising (technical term on site here) a 3 pile group platform that was fabricated and not used on the MOF project.  This is a work in progress and once I’ve done some calcs and with a bit of builders eye, I’ll hopefully be able to send my design off to the fabricators for said bastardisation!

Moving to off-site matters, I have spoken with John Reddie this week who was keen to learn from our transition from the UK to Gladstone. We certainly had a better one than the Marsh family but I suspect it was more to do with personality on my side and subtle/gentle persuasion as appropriate.  That said, the PM won’t let me have international dialling on my phone!  I’ve also been in contact with a communications executive (media man) from JHG who met me on a site visit. He’s going to run an internal JHG piece on me (us – I let him know of Steve, Ros and Dan’s existence) so there may be more to follow on that.

Family is all well. Lisa is now 35 weeks pregnant so the final push is getting ever closer. She is more relaxed now with us being in the house which is allowing me to focus on work. It’s long hours so we don’t see each other much in the week but any more and I might spoil things! Lisa has successfully filled the house with tat and I’m amazed at how much she sent without me knowing, particularly cushions, throws and bunting!  Most importantly though is the fact that the kids mountains of toys are here, my dive kit (not that there’s any dive clubs in Gladstone as it’s only in the barrier reef national park) and of course, Austyn’s birthday presents!

All-in-all, life is good.  More of the same is to follow and I’m still enjoying it (apart from the 4am wake up call).  No photo’s as yet as I’m awaiting permission from Bechtel but this should be through soon. Otherwise I will set up a covert OP and they’ll never even know….

TTFN,

Roy

I have now started working for John Holland (following mandatory inductions) and have been given my first areas of responsibility.  The marine Jetty project that I’m part of the project team for is basically constructed on 1200mm diameter Steel hollow piles that are all vertical. They are reinforced internally to transfer/resist all vertical loads as it is deemed better than installing raking piles due to the sensitivity of the area.

I have been put in charge of the test piles! This will delight John, knowing how much I enjoyed the foundations exercise, but it has potential for a TMR.  This is because John Holland are using a new testing procedure (for JHG that is) with Osterberg Cells (O-Cells) to ensure that the piles will meet the axial (compression and tension) loads and pass lateral load tests.  I will be researching this to death over the next few weeks with the test piles due for installation in May in order that we (the team) understand the methodology and meet the necessary specifications laid down in the Australian standards and Bechtel’s own scope.

I am thinking that seeing as I am already completing research into the O-Cells, why not compare it to the traditional static load testing and do a cost, safety, time analysis to see if on this particular project the selected method provides the best all round value. I can compare to the MOF project that is ongoing as they used traditional test methods using big weights and jacks.  Thoughts and guidance welcomed on developing this concept further!

In addition I will also be responsible for the contract negotiation with subbies, sourcing the piles, manufacturing them as necessary (delivered in segments requiring on site welding), transporting them and installing them from a barge in the ocean. Then, obviously, the testing!

I am also going to be working on the temporary office facilities for the project and foundation design for the traveller. (This will become clearer in AER 1 where I will detail what this is – basically a moving platform that cantilevers out over the ocean to install the pile pairs. John may even have a drawing of one in his office?!?!)

So it’s now all go for me. Motivation is tough at 0415 when my alarm goes off but tends to pick up at about 0450 when I jump on the red rocket to whizz through the empty streets of Gladstone. The team are all friendly (I just don’t mention the ashes, RWC 2003 final, etc) and I’m steadily integrating with them and learning the lingo. There is a family BBQ on Sunday that we’re invited to, to celebrate a year on the GLNG contract, so a good opportunity to meet people socially and Lisa can meet the WAGs. There are quite a few ex-pats and Irish so she’ll be able to pick their brains if nothing else.  The boys have settled into their kindergarten and nursery and even made some new friends (The family all had a play date today with one of Austyn’s Kindy mates).  All-in-all, very happy, work is looking good and a free lunch thrown in on Sunday!

Roy