SUMMER13

A long week again as things progress with the company under new management. I continued to go through posted jobs on BXWA to find some work for our boys and came up with a few options. We have sent out 2 more bids over the last week. I found myself a bit nervous as I had the proposal sitting there waiting to be sent off at the correct time. Once I hit send my hard numbers can mean completely killing a job and making a ton of money, missing something and loosing a bunch, or anywhere in between! Confidence is something I am learning and getting more comfortable with as I plug my numbers in.

I just received shop drawings back from a previous job we are in the middle of and have come to find out this job is ALOT bigger than I anticipated. Though I didn't bid this job and had no real idea of how large it was it came as a shock when the final quantities of everything we need to fab came it. Looks like it is going to be a busy couple months for us as this job takes off. 80 steel balconies, 25 steel canopies, and 50 steel columns.... HERE WE GO!!!

Though this internship has been a bit out of the realm of diesel tech due to how the company has promoted me into different positions that have come available I have been able to take many things I am learning and transfer them into the diesel world. I plan on sticking around this company for years to come but the thought of having the tools to be able to transfer into the diesel industry at any point is comforting. I have kept my schooling in mind as multiple things have come up which need the experience of a BTC Diesel graduate. Things like servicing of equipment, preventative maintenance,  lifting and rigging heavy loads, thinking on your feet and making due with what you have available are all things I come in contact with. The experience I have gained over the last two years is absolutely blowing me away. Its been quite the adventure.

Hours: 62
Total:295

Phoenix MW

SummerQT JW-More New Things

After my week off for my honeymoon I am back in the swing of things and embarking and yet another new task. Now that we have gotten through one of the busiest couple weeks I have seen here at Phoenix Metalworks we are going to be needing to get more work line up for the future to keep things rolling smoothly. Bidding/Estimating steel projects is my newest venture in learning. We use a site called Builders Exchange of Washington (BXWA) where owners and/or general contractors post upcoming jobs that we are able to put bids on. Navigating through the site didn't take too long to figure out but crunching the numbers for a hard bid has proved to be quite the stretch.

Things that I am learning when it comes to bidding is being aware of steel prices as they tend to fluctuate drastically from week to week. A bid could be put in months before the project actually takes off and the steel prices can often spike or dive. Navigating through plans can be a tedious process of jumping from on sheet to another and detail to detail of a specific part of job. Things could easily be missed in doing a take-off so attention to details is highly important. Also, considering every aspect to a job needs to be included. For example, if a bid is put in for fabricating and installing steel canopies you need to consider the job site access for use with forklifts/cranes or any other needed equipment. I ran into an issue with a general on our last install that proved to be a learning experience when it came to this. Although we had been to the jobsite and planned out the install with use of forklifts and man lifts, he seemed to think we were complete newbies in doing it this way. He fought with me for 20 minutes trying to get us to rent a crane for the install which would have cost nearly $5 a minute to have somebody operate it.... NOT WHAT I WANTED TO DO!!! After winning that argument we showed up on set ready to rock that morning and had all steel erected by the end of the week. The general was extremely impressed with our decision and we have now made a solid contact with that company for future work.

Learning each and every day is exciting and stressful all at once but I am building confidence with every single lesson learned.

Hours: 40
Total: 233

Unreal

60 hours this week, 70 the week before! Things are busy and moving along. This last week was spent in the office for the most part and running a crew of 2 guys on the floor. I was able to complete another revision of shop drawings for the cornerstone building going up in Barkley village. We are fabricating the canopies and balconies for this new building.

This week I also learned more about project managing as I had a crew of 4 down in Seattle that I was in constant communication with as they installed a previously drawn project for the Mercedes Benz dealership. Keeping those guys stocked with all needed equipment proved to take up quite a bit of time in itself.  Also this week I was pretty much thrown into the middle of learning how the office runs purchase orders, keeps track of job cost, etc. needless to say I'm learning a ton in a short amount of time. Slightly overwhelmed but excited to settle in with all these new opportunities.

Below are some pictures of the job site in Seattle 

Hours 60

What a week!

This week was quite the stretch. We were 2 man down and had 13 storefront canopies to make in 5 days. A jig was built out of some steel ibeam and we were lucky enough to get them fabricated and shipped out on Saturday. This week was new for me in a lot of ways with project managing, running a shop floor, and keeping stress levels down! 

Hours: 70

Summer13 JW

Last week as been a big transition as our lead project manager is leaving. I spent much time going over bid jobs and shop drawings wrapping my head around ever detail I may need to know once our project manager leaves. I also did a steel order take off for 26 canopies that I drew earlier last quarter. The last two days have been spent down in Seattle erecting  steel at an REI and silverdale. Rigging straps and hard hats!!

I have learned a lot this last month in project management, being detailed, organization, and time efficiency. All need to be considered and practiced in the new role I will be taking in the company. Being a man down and trying something new on my part should stretch me quite thin. Bend don't break... 

Included is a picture of the hanger plates (just a small part of these canopies) as well as the beam we erected. This beam was HSS 10x6x.5  and 63ft long! At the time of the picture we were somewhere around 70ft-80ft in the air. Up and over the parapet and wedge anchor and welded the rear of the structure. Quite the experience moving iron today. 

Hours:63

Spq13 jw

Shop hours: 40

Running total: 336

Last week was spent more with hydraulics with an intro into preventive maintenance. The Bobcat mini excavator became a great teaching tool in that we were able to actually see and feel the hydraulics working and not just look at a schematic. My group and I traced through the joystick pilot controls and not only learned the system but studied about what the specific service schedules and procedures were. I feel confident in the hydraulic system in that particular machine as well as what the needed servicing. 

On a somewhat related note I was driving over the pass and had some transmission problems. Looks like I'm going to need to pull it and dive inside... More pictures to come.