More than pipes and wires

Poor old Arthur Carlson at “WKRP in Cincinnati”. He just didn’t understand the turkey’s design limitations. Or his own liability clause.

When you’re out to bid on engineered products or services, do you understand every aspect of the specification? Do you need to? If you’re alone, maybe. But if you have resources available to you…

I spent some time at a nuclear power plant on the West Coast, responsible for contracted labor and services on the turbine deck.  Responsibilities included contracts for work provided during overhauls and refueling cycles.  And, as I was to experience, contracts for emergency repair work on a main generator rotor. 

Soon after a planned refueling and minor overhaul outage, vibration anomalies and temperature spikes were noted in the unit’s main generator rotor.  Left unaddressed, it could lead to a catastrophic event at a power plant providing about 20% of Californi ... Read more »