I have some spare time at work so thought I'd type up some words.
I'm in Torrance California, a city that is just one of the several merged cities of greater Los Angeles. It does have city limits and all that, so it's not technically LA, but no one could tell if they didn't read the street signs. I'm working at one of the more industrial Honeywell plants around the country. Think long cement floored hallways with big shops on either side. There are multiple buildings on this campus.
I have to sign in at a security desk every day. That wasn't a problem last week, but this week I need to start at 6 AM, and that's when the lobby is supposed to open, but the young security guard guy isn't very punctual. Today it was 6:15 before he appeared. So walking around outside in the dark for a spell. I had to take a safety test my first day, sign and initial 30 times, and carry a card that says I did that. I have to show him that card every morning. The place has signs all over saying 'Export Controlled' meaning that only US citizens can even walk through the halls of those areas.
When I get to the area that I am supporting, about a 1/2 mile and 40 stairs from the lobby, I find a desk that has power, and get my laptop going. Finding power is the trick. I work with the team that does Maintenance and Overhaul, or M&O of aircraft turbine type parts. There are a LOT of different turbine type parts across a lot of different aircraft that they work on.
My group is the initial set of tech's that do the analytical work on the incoming part, break it down into components and do what they call a dispo(sition) on each sub part. They may be serviceable, worn, and about 20 other defect codes. Than they decide what to do with it, replace, exchange, install, scrap etc. The parts and sub parts are read into a computer program (that's what I'm here for), and fed to the main Honeywell business system. Everything in aviation is documented to a T. When your airplanes wing falls off, you want to be able to trace the offending part back to it's birth, and every time it's touched after that.After the part is dispo'd, it may go to an area for more extensive tests, x-rays, dye tests, may be repaired, with some or all new parts before being sent back to the customer to bolt back onto an airplane to get you where you need to go.
Yesterday, while I was getting ready for work about 5:30AM, the power in the hotel went out. Ok, I turned on a light in my cell phone and completed getting ready. When I stepped outside, I noticed that the buildings were glowing orange, like from a campfire. Well, it wasn't a campfire, but the huge refinery across the street, having been deprived of all power, was flaring all of the 'stuff' out the tall flare stacks. Crude Oil, various products, vapors and the in between stuff, all went to the towers and was flared off. That created flames hundreds of feet into the air that could be seen for miles. Along with ugly smoke, and a lot of fumes from stuff that didn't burn completely. It was quite a sight. Later at work, Honeywell went on a 'Shelter-In-Place' order, meaning all doors were closed, and the A/C and fresh air to the buildings was turned off. I had to drive near the place, and the fumes downwind were pretty awful. I had a sore throat for the rest of the day from breating 'something' that was in the air. I don't want to have to do that again.
So goes a day in the life.
Dad
This is incredible
ReplyDelete- Bradley