Blog on the Lillypad
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
| Rainy Autumn Day
It rained today in buckets. Early this a.m. when I came outside to get into the car, I could see the waning moon and stars. The hour-ride was clear. About an hour later I saw that it had grayed up outside and drizzled. Then I had four hours of class on company time (learning de-ionized beds and deactivated water processes). When I came out to catch the shuttle back to the work site, it was pouring. The downpour did not let up all day. There were things to do in the new building. I had to go up into an interstitial space and locate the solenoid cabinets where an air-actuated valve (one of many) controls a hot water supply pipe to my freeze dryer. Scalding water pours through piping that runs all the way around the machine. When it comes time to do maintenance on the piping, the only way to assure safe conditions for the maintenance techs is to close off the scalding water flow by means of a command through the computer control system. But because anybody, anywhere else in the building, can go to their control screens and reactivate the scalding water flow, the techs also have to pull the air line off the solenoid upstairs in the interstitial, plug it, and put a tag on it to warn against reconnecting it. By disconnecting the solenoid, I can make sure that the hot water valve cannot be opened, not even through the computer system. |  |
My trusty tech, David, was ready when I phoned. So I slogged through the downpour, using my hard hat as my head cover, and met him downstairs in the new building. We had another tech with us, a new guy, and we found our way up into the catwalks, low ceilings, and dim light of the interstitial area. There were lots of people up there: welders, electricians, and system technicians. We soon located the panels and found the correct solenoids. Then we went back down to the freeze dryers and double checked valve numbers. All accomplished in less than thirty minutes. Then I had another long slog through the rain, back to the office trailer. Everybody was staying inside, so I had the gray outdoors to myself. The pouring rain ran down the hard plastic brim of my hard hat and dripped down in long streams in front of me. But the day was oddly peaceful. I felt proud of my work and happy.
