The document discusses the importance and benefits of inspection during construction projects. It argues that many problems that occur later, such as corrosion or environmental contamination, are often due to issues that could have been caught during inspection. While inspection adds costs upfront, it saves money in the long run by preventing more expensive accidents and cleanup costs down the road. The document advocates for inspectors to be properly trained, experienced, independent, and have the authority to stop work if issues are found in order to maximize the benefits of inspection.
You need high-quality vacuum insulated piping to protect your engines in aerospace applications. However, a quality vacuum insulated pipe will not be an easy thing to get. It will require a lot of clever engineering and expertise in order to get right.
Visit: http://placestories.com/story/190891
When it comes to having the right process skids, you need to understand how everything works in order to do it well. There also many things that work with pressure vessels that you need to understand. These are two of the most important things in chemical engineering, need to understand everything about them if you are to do the best job for what you are working on.
Visit: https://network-1663773.mn.co/posts/process-skids-and-pressure-vessels
Helium is the bedrock of a significant portion of industrial processes. A helium gas purifier is an important part of your industrial process. Getting things right is key to your success in this arena. Making sure your helium equipment works well can help.
Visit: https://topsitenet.com/article/507798-working-with-helium/
The memo discusses the unethical practices that led to the deadly Hyatt Regency Hotel ceiling collapse in 1981. The engineering firm hired to reconstruct the atrium ceiling failed to properly examine or calculate the load capacity of new steel connections. They also did not follow the preliminary documentation accurately or ensure the design met building codes. The hotel owners, Crown Center Redevelopment Corporation, acted secretively after the incident by delaying investigations and hiding records of a previous roof collapse from safety inspectors. In total, 114 people died and over 200 were injured due to negligence and lack of ethical responsibility in the construction and response.
We created a fully functional Project to have a new parking lot installed at Cincinnati State. Of course, the majority of all figures are fictional - but this taught us how to use the products and services alloted for Project Managers. Cincinnati State 2012.
Some of the shocking facts concerning underground utility strikessygmasolutions
One of the biggest dangers facing workers in the water supply industry is that of accidentally striking electricity cables and gas pipes. If proper plans are not made before commencing any work, cable strikes can be a regular occurrence, leading to injury and sometimes fatalities.
This document discusses how thermal imaging cameras can help locate leaks in heating pipework more efficiently than traditional methods of digging up floors. It describes a case where digging failed to find a leak over 3 days at high cost, while a Testo 875 thermal camera quickly detected a leak by identifying a hot spot that expanded. The camera traced the pipework beyond exposed areas to find the leaking joint. Thermal cameras provide a non-destructive solution to save time and money compared to disruptive digging. The document promotes investing in new technologies like thermal cameras to work more professionally and gain competitive advantages.
The document outlines the key roles and responsibilities of a job that involved managing and completing snag lists on construction sites. This included liaising with contractors and subcontractors to prioritize snag work, supervising site workers, ensuring safety protocols were followed, and obtaining sign-off once snag work was finished. It also lists various construction projects the person worked on or completed snag work for, and the types of facade systems used in those projects.
You need high-quality vacuum insulated piping to protect your engines in aerospace applications. However, a quality vacuum insulated pipe will not be an easy thing to get. It will require a lot of clever engineering and expertise in order to get right.
Visit: http://placestories.com/story/190891
When it comes to having the right process skids, you need to understand how everything works in order to do it well. There also many things that work with pressure vessels that you need to understand. These are two of the most important things in chemical engineering, need to understand everything about them if you are to do the best job for what you are working on.
Visit: https://network-1663773.mn.co/posts/process-skids-and-pressure-vessels
Helium is the bedrock of a significant portion of industrial processes. A helium gas purifier is an important part of your industrial process. Getting things right is key to your success in this arena. Making sure your helium equipment works well can help.
Visit: https://topsitenet.com/article/507798-working-with-helium/
The memo discusses the unethical practices that led to the deadly Hyatt Regency Hotel ceiling collapse in 1981. The engineering firm hired to reconstruct the atrium ceiling failed to properly examine or calculate the load capacity of new steel connections. They also did not follow the preliminary documentation accurately or ensure the design met building codes. The hotel owners, Crown Center Redevelopment Corporation, acted secretively after the incident by delaying investigations and hiding records of a previous roof collapse from safety inspectors. In total, 114 people died and over 200 were injured due to negligence and lack of ethical responsibility in the construction and response.
We created a fully functional Project to have a new parking lot installed at Cincinnati State. Of course, the majority of all figures are fictional - but this taught us how to use the products and services alloted for Project Managers. Cincinnati State 2012.
Some of the shocking facts concerning underground utility strikessygmasolutions
One of the biggest dangers facing workers in the water supply industry is that of accidentally striking electricity cables and gas pipes. If proper plans are not made before commencing any work, cable strikes can be a regular occurrence, leading to injury and sometimes fatalities.
This document discusses how thermal imaging cameras can help locate leaks in heating pipework more efficiently than traditional methods of digging up floors. It describes a case where digging failed to find a leak over 3 days at high cost, while a Testo 875 thermal camera quickly detected a leak by identifying a hot spot that expanded. The camera traced the pipework beyond exposed areas to find the leaking joint. Thermal cameras provide a non-destructive solution to save time and money compared to disruptive digging. The document promotes investing in new technologies like thermal cameras to work more professionally and gain competitive advantages.
The document outlines the key roles and responsibilities of a job that involved managing and completing snag lists on construction sites. This included liaising with contractors and subcontractors to prioritize snag work, supervising site workers, ensuring safety protocols were followed, and obtaining sign-off once snag work was finished. It also lists various construction projects the person worked on or completed snag work for, and the types of facade systems used in those projects.
Twitter is a microblogging site that allows users to share updates in 140 characters or less. The document provides tips for businesses on using Twitter, including not sharing personal details, following people in your target industry, and growing a following organically over time by curating good content. It also describes paid services available from Netmediauk to help businesses gain Twitter followers through press releases, listings, social media promotions, and workshops.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive functioning. Exercise boosts blood flow, releases endorphins, and promotes changes in the brain which help regulate emotions and stress levels.
Con questo white paper vogliamo mettere in evidenza il valore e l’importanza del customer profiling nel contesto del food retailing, nel quale oramai riveste un ruolo sempre più centrale la gestione della Loyalty tanto da diventare una vera e propria funzione del Management dei retailer di medie e grandi dimensioni; in tal senso nel corso del paper utilizzeremo il termine Loyalty Management (LM). In un piano di LM è essenziale profilare i clienti su cui concentrare le azioni di Marketing per evidenziare le diverse clusterizzazioni di clientela in termini di variabili fondamentali quali il “valore” e la fedeltà.
Il brand Farmacia Evoluzione identifica una serie di attività nel mercato della distribuzione del farmaco.
In questo settore organizziamo numerosi Business Meeting
di successo collaborando con autorevoli realtà di settore
come IMS Health, Nielsen, Unipro, Assosalute, Deloitte, Bain. Progettiamo workshop e progetti formativi per aziende, organizziamo eventi e sviluppiamo business plan per la crescita di network di farmacie.
ВЕБИНАР "БРЕНД EGT - ИСТОРИЯ, ТОВАРНЫЕ ГРУППЫ И ПРЕИМУЩЕСТВА"
Трансляция видео с вебинара http://www.autozap.biz/webinars/brend-egt-istoriya-tovarnye-grupp-i-preimushchestva-952/
Questo white paper nasce dall’esperienza sul campo che abbiamo maturato con un progetto di Business Intelligence per un’interessante realtà emergente del mercato italiano del Rent-a-Car. Il progetto ha previsto circa un anno di intenso lavoro di implementazione e customizzazione di una soluzione di BI gestita con piattaforma Pentaho Enterprise. Nello specifico sono stati prodotti 7 Datamart in una logica integrata
di Datawharehousing con il software gestionale in uso presso l’azienda.
Щербачев Михаил (Руководитель компании http://lp-up.com) о том, как правильно составлять title, чтобы не было стыдно перед другими оптимизиторами и поисковыми системами.
1. O documento apresenta 4 pensadores políticos: Maquiavel, Hobbes, Bossuet e Bodin. 2. Maquiavel defendia que os fins justificam os meios para o monarca manter o controle do reino. 3. Hobbes via o homem como um lobo para o homem no estado natural, necessitando de um governo forte.
The document defines key terms related to asepsis including asepsis, antisepsis, sterilization, disinfection, and cleaning. It describes the aim of asepsis and antisepsis as preventing and eliminating wound infections in surgical patients. Various methods of disinfection and sterilization are outlined, including heat, chemicals, autoclaving, and filtration. The importance of proper surgical attire and technique, skin preparation, theatre design, and intraoperative and postoperative care are emphasized for maintaining asepsis.
GCC Countries Logistics Market MENA Logistics Industry Growth : Ken ResearchKen Research Pvt ltd.
Ken Research report on Saudi Arabia Logistics Market research report covers Cold Storage Market Saudi Arabia,Future Saudi Arabia Value Added Services,Developments Saudi Arabia Logistics,Express Delivery Market Saudi Arabia,GCC Countries Logistics Market,MENA Logistics Industry Growth
An exploration of the cyber security market factors that lend to pervasive issues with hyperbole and feelings of broken trust across the various participants. Much is left off the slide & was covered in narrative at a recent OWASP LA meetup, original done for B-Sides LV.
The document discusses asset integrity management, which involves analyzing large industrial assets like refineries and plants to improve cost and profitability while maintaining safety. It aims to determine optimal operating conditions and maintenance over the asset's lifetime. As projects and understanding of markets change, applying asset integrity management principles helps facilities adapt safely and efficiently through monitoring performance and risks. Someone needs to track changing operational details to identify integrity issues before failures occur.
The CATWOE model is used to analyze an ethical dilemma faced by a regional manager regarding whether to pay a bribe. CATWOE identifies the stakeholders - Customers who want the product launch to succeed, Actors like employees who could be influenced, the Transformation of paying the bribe, the company Owners prioritizing success over means, and an Environment where bribery is illegal. Analyzing stakeholders' perspectives shows bribery could damage the company and manager's reputation, encourage unethical behavior, and raise costs for Customers. The suggested solution is for the manager to refuse paying and resolve the issue properly with help from top management.
Calibration is a comparison between measurements – one of known magnitude or correctness made or set with one device and another measurement made in as similar a way as possible with a second device.
WIPAC Monthly is the magazine of the LinkedIn Group - Water Industry Process Automation & Control.
In this edition of WIPAC Monthly we talk about new developments in BOD monitors, the efficient use of VSDs, the perils of ignoring your instrumentation and whether or not you need to install an instrument at all
Decision making is fundamental to any professional activity. The study of “decision bias” is a fascinating subject. These studies show that the root cause of most faulty decision making is a wrong assumption.
One of the most common faulty assumptions in the product development world is that the development budget and time is an obvious thing. This assumption leads to a world of trouble
Chapter-3-Responsibility of Engineering.pdfLouie Serrano
Individual engineers have a moral obligation to act with honesty, fairness and due care to protect public safety. They are responsible both for meeting engineering standards and legal standards of care in their work. Responsibility can take two forms - obligation to act with care, and blame for failures that result from negligence. While standards provide guidelines, engineers must also exercise judgment to address unexpected problems. When failures do occur, responsibility is determined by analyzing physical causes, organizational factors, and the roles and actions of individuals involved. Groups and corporations can also bear responsibility through their decision-making processes and policies.
The six-step process for conducting an incident investigation includes:
1) Preserving and documenting the scene immediately by taking photos, securing evidence, and interviewing witnesses while memories are fresh.
2) Collecting facts through interviews to understand what happened without blame.
3) Analyzing the collected information to determine the sequence of events.
4) Identifying the underlying causes that contributed to the incident.
5) Developing recommendations to address the root causes and prevent future incidents.
6) Writing a report of the investigation findings, causes, and corrective actions.
Twitter is a microblogging site that allows users to share updates in 140 characters or less. The document provides tips for businesses on using Twitter, including not sharing personal details, following people in your target industry, and growing a following organically over time by curating good content. It also describes paid services available from Netmediauk to help businesses gain Twitter followers through press releases, listings, social media promotions, and workshops.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive functioning. Exercise boosts blood flow, releases endorphins, and promotes changes in the brain which help regulate emotions and stress levels.
Con questo white paper vogliamo mettere in evidenza il valore e l’importanza del customer profiling nel contesto del food retailing, nel quale oramai riveste un ruolo sempre più centrale la gestione della Loyalty tanto da diventare una vera e propria funzione del Management dei retailer di medie e grandi dimensioni; in tal senso nel corso del paper utilizzeremo il termine Loyalty Management (LM). In un piano di LM è essenziale profilare i clienti su cui concentrare le azioni di Marketing per evidenziare le diverse clusterizzazioni di clientela in termini di variabili fondamentali quali il “valore” e la fedeltà.
Il brand Farmacia Evoluzione identifica una serie di attività nel mercato della distribuzione del farmaco.
In questo settore organizziamo numerosi Business Meeting
di successo collaborando con autorevoli realtà di settore
come IMS Health, Nielsen, Unipro, Assosalute, Deloitte, Bain. Progettiamo workshop e progetti formativi per aziende, organizziamo eventi e sviluppiamo business plan per la crescita di network di farmacie.
ВЕБИНАР "БРЕНД EGT - ИСТОРИЯ, ТОВАРНЫЕ ГРУППЫ И ПРЕИМУЩЕСТВА"
Трансляция видео с вебинара http://www.autozap.biz/webinars/brend-egt-istoriya-tovarnye-grupp-i-preimushchestva-952/
Questo white paper nasce dall’esperienza sul campo che abbiamo maturato con un progetto di Business Intelligence per un’interessante realtà emergente del mercato italiano del Rent-a-Car. Il progetto ha previsto circa un anno di intenso lavoro di implementazione e customizzazione di una soluzione di BI gestita con piattaforma Pentaho Enterprise. Nello specifico sono stati prodotti 7 Datamart in una logica integrata
di Datawharehousing con il software gestionale in uso presso l’azienda.
Щербачев Михаил (Руководитель компании http://lp-up.com) о том, как правильно составлять title, чтобы не было стыдно перед другими оптимизиторами и поисковыми системами.
1. O documento apresenta 4 pensadores políticos: Maquiavel, Hobbes, Bossuet e Bodin. 2. Maquiavel defendia que os fins justificam os meios para o monarca manter o controle do reino. 3. Hobbes via o homem como um lobo para o homem no estado natural, necessitando de um governo forte.
The document defines key terms related to asepsis including asepsis, antisepsis, sterilization, disinfection, and cleaning. It describes the aim of asepsis and antisepsis as preventing and eliminating wound infections in surgical patients. Various methods of disinfection and sterilization are outlined, including heat, chemicals, autoclaving, and filtration. The importance of proper surgical attire and technique, skin preparation, theatre design, and intraoperative and postoperative care are emphasized for maintaining asepsis.
GCC Countries Logistics Market MENA Logistics Industry Growth : Ken ResearchKen Research Pvt ltd.
Ken Research report on Saudi Arabia Logistics Market research report covers Cold Storage Market Saudi Arabia,Future Saudi Arabia Value Added Services,Developments Saudi Arabia Logistics,Express Delivery Market Saudi Arabia,GCC Countries Logistics Market,MENA Logistics Industry Growth
An exploration of the cyber security market factors that lend to pervasive issues with hyperbole and feelings of broken trust across the various participants. Much is left off the slide & was covered in narrative at a recent OWASP LA meetup, original done for B-Sides LV.
The document discusses asset integrity management, which involves analyzing large industrial assets like refineries and plants to improve cost and profitability while maintaining safety. It aims to determine optimal operating conditions and maintenance over the asset's lifetime. As projects and understanding of markets change, applying asset integrity management principles helps facilities adapt safely and efficiently through monitoring performance and risks. Someone needs to track changing operational details to identify integrity issues before failures occur.
The CATWOE model is used to analyze an ethical dilemma faced by a regional manager regarding whether to pay a bribe. CATWOE identifies the stakeholders - Customers who want the product launch to succeed, Actors like employees who could be influenced, the Transformation of paying the bribe, the company Owners prioritizing success over means, and an Environment where bribery is illegal. Analyzing stakeholders' perspectives shows bribery could damage the company and manager's reputation, encourage unethical behavior, and raise costs for Customers. The suggested solution is for the manager to refuse paying and resolve the issue properly with help from top management.
Calibration is a comparison between measurements – one of known magnitude or correctness made or set with one device and another measurement made in as similar a way as possible with a second device.
WIPAC Monthly is the magazine of the LinkedIn Group - Water Industry Process Automation & Control.
In this edition of WIPAC Monthly we talk about new developments in BOD monitors, the efficient use of VSDs, the perils of ignoring your instrumentation and whether or not you need to install an instrument at all
Decision making is fundamental to any professional activity. The study of “decision bias” is a fascinating subject. These studies show that the root cause of most faulty decision making is a wrong assumption.
One of the most common faulty assumptions in the product development world is that the development budget and time is an obvious thing. This assumption leads to a world of trouble
Chapter-3-Responsibility of Engineering.pdfLouie Serrano
Individual engineers have a moral obligation to act with honesty, fairness and due care to protect public safety. They are responsible both for meeting engineering standards and legal standards of care in their work. Responsibility can take two forms - obligation to act with care, and blame for failures that result from negligence. While standards provide guidelines, engineers must also exercise judgment to address unexpected problems. When failures do occur, responsibility is determined by analyzing physical causes, organizational factors, and the roles and actions of individuals involved. Groups and corporations can also bear responsibility through their decision-making processes and policies.
The six-step process for conducting an incident investigation includes:
1) Preserving and documenting the scene immediately by taking photos, securing evidence, and interviewing witnesses while memories are fresh.
2) Collecting facts through interviews to understand what happened without blame.
3) Analyzing the collected information to determine the sequence of events.
4) Identifying the underlying causes that contributed to the incident.
5) Developing recommendations to address the root causes and prevent future incidents.
6) Writing a report of the investigation findings, causes, and corrective actions.
Today, quality assurance is a very crucial factor in the supply chain. Our supply chain software will help you to avoid mistakes and faster the process. Reach out to the expert at Katalyst for the best software solution.
The document discusses biometric scan technologies as a more advanced and reliable authentication method compared to passwords and passcodes. Biometric scans use unique physical attributes like fingerprints, iris scans, or facial recognition for authentication. This helps overcome weaknesses of passwords, like being forgotten or shared. The document argues biometric scans provide stronger authentication through unique physical traits, improving security for computers, phones, and other devices.
Using Periodic Audits To Prevent Catastrophic Project Failureicgfmconference
The document discusses the importance of periodic audits in preventing IT project failures. It argues that audits can help ensure projects are on track to meet requirements and catch problems before it's too late. While audits are costly and politically difficult, they can help avoid wasting tens or hundreds of millions by uncovering issues with a project's scope, design, or feasibility. Regular assessments by an independent third party are recommended to objectively evaluate a project's status and direction.
Some Rules for Successful Data Center OperationsThomas Goulding
Rule 1: Evaluate operations and prevent unplanned outages. An "emergency power off" switch in a data center should have clear signage to prevent accidental or malicious shutdowns.
Rule 2: Test defenses like maintenance practices and disaster recovery plans. Thoroughly review maintenance logs and check equipment readings to identify issues. Budget to replace aging infrastructure to avoid failures.
Rule 3: Challenge assumptions through hands-on inspections of the data center. Address misleading statements by asking clarifying questions. Get to know new equipment thoroughly to use all features for monitoring and management.
The document discusses developing a fresh perspective, or "new eyes", to identify waste and opportunities for improvement at all levels of manufacturing. It provides examples of simple tools that can help break paradigms, such as imagining a perfect process, understanding the customer perspective, analyzing inventory levels, and bringing in outsiders. A key part of gaining a new perspective involves studying process variation to identify sources of variability that can be addressed to simultaneously improve quality and reduce costs.
Douglas Land presents the concept of blameless system design, which aims to remove fear from system failures and improvements by assuming good faith, conducting blameless post-mortems, promoting empathy, experimentation, honesty, and communication. The goal is to change an organization's culture away from retribution by encouraging openness, risk-taking, and shared learning from failures and successes. However, changing culture is challenging work that requires buy-in from leadership and a willingness to accept uncertainty.
How To Write A Thesis Statement In 5 Simple StepsLiz Harris
The document outlines a 5-step process for writing a thesis statement, including creating an account, completing an order form with instructions and deadline, reviewing bids from writers and choosing one, reviewing and authorizing payment for the completed paper, and having the option to request revisions until satisfied. It provides guidance on utilizing a writing assistance website to help write academic papers.
This document summarizes and discusses changes happening in the software testing industry. It notes that while testing has grown as a profession, there may now be too many "plain old functional testers" as more testing tasks can be automated. It predicts testing roles will be redistributed as developers take on more automated checking through practices like test-driven development. It also discusses how new architectures like SaaS and trends toward continuous delivery will require changes in how software is tested. The document argues the testing industry needs leadership to help guide these changes and ensure testing keeps pace with new technologies and ways of working.
Pack up your troubles - Packaging optimisation Anecto
Packaging for medical devices must meet strict validation criteria and regulations to ensure safety. Treating packaging as an afterthought can lead to costly failures and delays. Early consultation with packaging experts can help optimize packaging design to meet requirements for reliability, usability and cost while also considering transportation, markets and point of use. This prevents issues and ensures smooth validation.
The document discusses similarities and differences between engineering experiments and general experiments, as well as the moral responsibilities of engineers. It addresses several questions:
1) Engineering experiments and general experiments both have uncertainties and require monitoring, but engineering experiments generally do not have a control group due to human subjects being outside the experimenter's control.
2) Engineers must obtain informed consent when experiments involve humans and properly assess information to understand wider implications of their work and mitigate harm.
3) However, it can be difficult for engineers to develop a comprehensive perspective and exercise moral commitment due to constraints like workplace pressures prioritizing employer obligations over public welfare.
From Lust to Dust: A Product Life CycleJorge Boria
Traditional software engineering deals with two phases of a product lifecycle: Development and Maintenance. In this short paper we propose to take a different approach and look at the product’s lifecycle using an analogy with the human lifecycle. We use this analogy to define roles that we call ‘research’, ‘engineering’, and ‘support’ to accommodate all the required activities that will keep a product useful for the longest period possible, while at the same time giving rapid response to customer needs.
1. What Does it Cost NOT To Inspect New Construction?
As I wrote in the March issue, the Eagle Ford Shale development is causing a huge construction
boom in infrastructure, pipelines, and plants. Our business is in the corrosion protection and
environmental compliance, assessment and cleanup industries. It’s difficult to admit, but most of
the problems we are asked to solve can be called “self-inflicted wounds!”
What do I mean by that? In the case of corrosion issues, we find most of the problems to be
man-caused. They’re not just “luck of the draw” or Mother Nature inflicting “acts of God.” The
corrosion hole in a pipe, for instance, was very often started by some person not doing his or her
job right. An environmental contamination problem may begin as somebody cross-threads a
fitting, or attaches two different metals to each other. A product leak results, and then the release
gets discovered, and then a lot of money is spent to clean it up, investigate how widespread the
damage is, and so on. Hopefully, nobody gets hurt in the whole process, or that multiplies the
negative consequences.
What can be done about all this? We preach INSPECTION! This should be done during
construction, when repairs are being done, and even when maintenance and other fairly mundane
procedures are being performed.
There are so many work areas that need attention. As just one discussion point, if a new plant or
facility is being designed and built, the designers had better do their work well. The materials
and equipment have to be ordered and brought to the site. Good craftsmen, contractors, and
construction managers had better be “on the job.” But on top of all that, QUALIFIED AND
EXPERIENCED INSPECTORS need to be ON THE JOB! Here are a few qualifications for
inspectors, in my opinion:
1. An inspector has to be properly trained in his or her field of expertise, including some
certification by a well-known, independent institution. Most trades have this sort of
independent training and standards-writing body, and the trades-people know which
organization is strong for a particular trade;
2. That inspector should have work experience in the field of expertise, too, IN
ADDITION TO the book and classroom training. There are people who excel at
classroom stuff. Do they have the work time in the field, which has taught them there
are a whole bunch of problems which don’t fit the classroom examples? That there
are a lot of answers that fall in the huge gray area between “it’s clearly this way” and
“it’s clearly that way?”
3. The inspector has to be INDEPENDENT, and have the AUTHORITY to shut down a
crew doing bad stuff, or correct a work practice that’s not right. We so frequently see
an inspector who is brought in by the contractor, under that bid package, because the
“specs” say it should be that way. What is the motivation for this inspector to “call a
2. foul” on the contractor’s people, or a subcontractor? He works WITH them, FOR
them! Then again, the inspector may belong to the operating company, who’s paying
for the whole project. He or she is the “company man.” And yet, he or she is still
often motivated to “get pipe in the ground,” and not necessarily make sure all the pipe
coating is inspected for damage. When everyone is in a hurry to get the project done,
the inspector takes a lot of heat for any holdups, in the face of that driving motivation.
The inspector needs a strong sense of right and wrong, and the strength of personality
to say “STOP” when everyone wants it to keep going! (In that case, the company
really ought to hire a completely independent inspector, with clear authority to stop
the job based on clear specifications, procedures and industry-standard test methods
being used.)
So what is the cost of NOT doing good inspection? Every time there is an accident related to
construction, investigations dig into the “root cause.” Those construction accidents are often
pretty high-visibility and get a lot of attention. Contrast that with the leak from a tank or a
pipeline a few years after it was built. You no longer have a lot of people working on the site,
day to day. The story may not make the news. But if it is a leak, and the system gets shut down,
and a product spill has to get assessed and cleaned up, we are probably looking at tens of
thousands, or hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs. If somebody does get hurt because of it,
cost just went up a whole lot more. That is when the cost of inspection looks like a great
investment, in comparison to what just happened. But it’s a few years too late.
Not enough people take this line of thinking and turn it the other way. If you do perform good
inspection, you are most likely going to operate that asset for a lot less money, and at a lot lower
risk, over its lifetime. What is that worth in dollars? I would love to see studies done that show
good-quality inspection DOES pay back as a good investment. We don’t measure what never
happens . . . (think about that.)
Over the years, my selling technique has basically been to tell people, “use our leak detection
process” or “use our corrosion protection approaches” and we will save you money by
preventing leaks, or minimizing the sizes of problems if they occur; we will help you sleep better
at night because of that. But I could not measure them actual dollar savings in accidents
avoided, releases that never happened, and product that stayed inside the tank or pipeline. It’s an
intuitive argument that makes sense, if I can just get somebody to think about it. Now, how
much budget they may be willing to steer to this approach is another question . . . and that’s a
continual balancing act: how much money to spend on “preventive maintenance” and on up-
front inspection, versus saving all that money and betting that nothing bad will happen.
You know, there is one other problem area with inspection. Finding good inspectors is not all
that easy. If they are good, they are usually very busy. And we don’t find a lot of young people
entering the work force who say, “I want to become an inspector, a quality assurance specialist.”
And yet, in every field, for the sake of health and safety, for the security of the structure or
3. facility owner and operator, and even for the contractors and their personnel to perform better-
quality work job by job, we NEED GOOD INSPECTORS.
END