This week we started another lot of EME. Because Facilities Dept was replacing an air handler in the Solutions area, we could not get purified water from Room 33 or Room 34. So, purchased purified water in boxes was provided to us by the warehouse.
The only problem with this water is that it was going out-of-date at the end of the month, so QA took a few boxes and sent them out to have them tested. Bernhard approved the beginning of the lot as an "At-Risk Manufacturing" process.
We made the lot with four different batches of this purified water. It was awkward to dispense this water because it comes in soft plastic bladders with a screw cap. You can either lift the bladder up and unscrew the cap (being careful not to drop the cap!), or you can use a pump and pump it out with a narrow dip tube.
We also used the purified water to do all of the cleaning.
There were also problems with the boiler during this lot. We had to stop for awhile when the boiler feed pump motor got wet and stopped working. Fortunately, Maintenance found another pump and motor just like the failed unit and got the boiler going again in a few hours.
We turned over to Crew C on Thursday and went home thinking we would come back to finish the lot on Monday. When we got back we were pleasantly surprised to find that the lot was finished, dried, and in The Vault already. Most of the cleaning was done. All we had to do was finish cleaning the conical tank.
Before we got started on the Conical Tank, we got word from QA that two of the lots of water had failed the re-test on microbials. As it turns out, the two lots that failed were the ones we used to manufacture and clean with.
We sat around doing nothing almost all day Monday. On Tuesday we got word that the two remaining lots of water had passed so we went in to Room 006 and cleaned the Conical Tank and Reactor 107. That's all the water we had available.
On Wednesday the air system was restored to Solutions Department and they cleaned Room 033 for us. We went in and got 220 gallons of purified water in poly drums and brought it to our airlock. Then we began re-cleaning all of the equipment in Room 006.
What an ordeal!
On Wednesday evening we had an All API Meeting in the Heart Conference Room. Dustin bought pizza for us! It was just an effort to show how appreciated we are!
I guess they need to do that - we are at minimum manning on all four crews. They have interviewed and offered jobs to several candidates, but even if we got those people, it will be weeks before they are actually useful.
My guess is Bernhard won't be approving any further at-risk manufacturing anytime soon.
Friday, September 25, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
Aluminum
The wind was calm this afternoon so I set up my propane furnace and spent two hours melting down the accumulated aluminum hard drive cases, cut up explosion-proof box, and strips of aluminum extrusion. I cast 55-1/2 aluminum muffins (I use a cast iron muffin pan as an ingot mold), and each ingot weights 7.0 - 7.5 ounces. That's 24 - 26 pounds!
I put two of the three winter windows into the chicken coop today. I left one of them out so it does not get too hot inside, but in a few weeks that last window will have to be put in too.
I have to dress and drive to Cody in a few hours for work, but it is hard for me to sleep when I would normally be wide awake and working at this time of day. I guess I will eventually get my sleep turned around and be fully ready for day shift.
I put two of the three winter windows into the chicken coop today. I left one of them out so it does not get too hot inside, but in a few weeks that last window will have to be put in too.
I have to dress and drive to Cody in a few hours for work, but it is hard for me to sleep when I would normally be wide awake and working at this time of day. I guess I will eventually get my sleep turned around and be fully ready for day shift.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Ram Tough
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| Using the selfie stick. |
We drove to Red Lodge, MT this morning and had breakfast at Cafe Regis before heading up the Beartooth Highway and into the park. This will be our last trip to the park this year because winter weather will be here soon.
It snowed in the mountains this week, but the road was mostly dry except for a couple of patches of slush.
We hiked part of the way up Mount Washburn, but it was so windy we turned back after we got above the treeline. Later we explored part of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and we drove up to the overlook above Yellowstone Lake. It was so clear today you could see the Tetons to the south!
I start working on day shift on Monday. Monday is also the first day of Autumn. Weather Service predicts a cold and wet fall followed by a warmer-than-average and dry winter. Let's hope so!
Friday, September 18, 2015
Increase
September has shaped up to be a great month!
Not only did I get promoted to Operator 2 and get an increase for that, there was a merit increase this month of over 13%. That brings my total pay increase to over 33% since January!
Temps are still cooler. The past two nights we have had rain, but at higher elevations it was snowing. They closed the east gate to Yellowstone and the Beartooth Pass last night due to winter conditions. They are both open again now.
Yesterday evening, on the way to work, the odometer on the truck rolled over 30,000 miles. The truck will be one year old tomorrow. We are sure rolling over the miles in that truck!
Not only did I get promoted to Operator 2 and get an increase for that, there was a merit increase this month of over 13%. That brings my total pay increase to over 33% since January!
Temps are still cooler. The past two nights we have had rain, but at higher elevations it was snowing. They closed the east gate to Yellowstone and the Beartooth Pass last night due to winter conditions. They are both open again now.
Yesterday evening, on the way to work, the odometer on the truck rolled over 30,000 miles. The truck will be one year old tomorrow. We are sure rolling over the miles in that truck!
Tuesday, September 08, 2015
Clark, Wyoming
We have cut back watering our tomatoes to once every three days and I trimmed them way back. We are picking ripened tomatoes almost everyday. I am also getting a lot of tomatillos and peppers.
Temperatures have moderated a lot. Highs are in the 70's and 80's now. Lows go down into the 40's at night. This is a very nice time of the year - right before the first frost comes.
I brought home a big heavy-duty aluminum box from the scrap pile at work (I got permission). I have been cutting it up to melt down. Yesterday I cut it into 15 pieces. I have a large side of it I still have to cut up and I will likely get another 5 pieces from that. I added this to my pile of cut up hard drive cases to be melted down. Now I just need a calm day to fire up the furnace.
Tomorrow night I return to work. Three nights. I think we are making EME again. I am going to work 5 nights next week - Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thu. I am covering two nights on Crew D, and then the three nights on my own crew. After that we go back to day shift.
Temperatures have moderated a lot. Highs are in the 70's and 80's now. Lows go down into the 40's at night. This is a very nice time of the year - right before the first frost comes.
I brought home a big heavy-duty aluminum box from the scrap pile at work (I got permission). I have been cutting it up to melt down. Yesterday I cut it into 15 pieces. I have a large side of it I still have to cut up and I will likely get another 5 pieces from that. I added this to my pile of cut up hard drive cases to be melted down. Now I just need a calm day to fire up the furnace.
Tomorrow night I return to work. Three nights. I think we are making EME again. I am going to work 5 nights next week - Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thu. I am covering two nights on Crew D, and then the three nights on my own crew. After that we go back to day shift.
Wednesday, September 02, 2015
September
Holy smokes! It's September already! Fall is going to be here in just 3 weeks!
Our tomatoes are ripening nicely - we have a window sill and counter full of them. Nevertheless, I am trimming the vines back and reducing the watering to once every three days to make them ripen faster. There is only about a month left before the frost comes!
Cutting the tomatoes back will probably help the tomatillos, peppers, thyme, and lemon balm planted in front of them. Bob has been cutting some of the herbs back and drying them out. There are also red peppers and brussels sprouts growing. I will probably leave the brussels sprouts growing until mid-October or November since they like cooler weather.
The chickens have been enjoying the tomato heels and melon rind we throw out to them. They clean up the melon rind right down to the skin!
In the evening I pulled out my furnace and melted down a partial crucible of brass. It wasn't a very successful pour - I got about 1/4 of a muffin of melted metal and the rest just stuck in the bottom of the melting pot. I turned the crucible upside down and left it on the gravel. As the metal cooled it dropped out. I am glad because if it did not come out, the next time I fired it up, the expanding metal would have cracked that fireclay crucible and it would have been ruined.
I also made two aluminum pours. I got about 11 muffin-shaped ingots out of that. I have much more aluminum scrap to cut up and melt, but it needs to be cut up into smaller pieces first. I have some hard drive cases and a big cast aluminum box that I salvaged from the scrap pile at work.
While I was running the furnace, Bob set up a paper target down behind the house and began target practice with the .22 from 25 yards away. We both need more practice, but we also need to practice in daylight and it was after sundown when we did all of this.
There was a breeze today, but it was a hot breeze in the 90's. Temps really cooled off after the sun went down. We opened the windows to cool down the inside of the house.
Tomorrow we intend to go to Cody and get a load of water. While we are there, Bob wants to get potatoes. I guess we will just browse Wal*Mart while we are in Cody.
Our tomatoes are ripening nicely - we have a window sill and counter full of them. Nevertheless, I am trimming the vines back and reducing the watering to once every three days to make them ripen faster. There is only about a month left before the frost comes!
Cutting the tomatoes back will probably help the tomatillos, peppers, thyme, and lemon balm planted in front of them. Bob has been cutting some of the herbs back and drying them out. There are also red peppers and brussels sprouts growing. I will probably leave the brussels sprouts growing until mid-October or November since they like cooler weather.
The chickens have been enjoying the tomato heels and melon rind we throw out to them. They clean up the melon rind right down to the skin!
In the evening I pulled out my furnace and melted down a partial crucible of brass. It wasn't a very successful pour - I got about 1/4 of a muffin of melted metal and the rest just stuck in the bottom of the melting pot. I turned the crucible upside down and left it on the gravel. As the metal cooled it dropped out. I am glad because if it did not come out, the next time I fired it up, the expanding metal would have cracked that fireclay crucible and it would have been ruined.
I also made two aluminum pours. I got about 11 muffin-shaped ingots out of that. I have much more aluminum scrap to cut up and melt, but it needs to be cut up into smaller pieces first. I have some hard drive cases and a big cast aluminum box that I salvaged from the scrap pile at work.
While I was running the furnace, Bob set up a paper target down behind the house and began target practice with the .22 from 25 yards away. We both need more practice, but we also need to practice in daylight and it was after sundown when we did all of this.
There was a breeze today, but it was a hot breeze in the 90's. Temps really cooled off after the sun went down. We opened the windows to cool down the inside of the house.
Tomorrow we intend to go to Cody and get a load of water. While we are there, Bob wants to get potatoes. I guess we will just browse Wal*Mart while we are in Cody.