Water and Sewage Treatment: Expertise Unlimited

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Lecturing

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:20:00 +0000

After an interview yesterday, I now have a formal contract for lecturing, at Nottingham Trent University. I am continuing with my less formal arrangements at Loughborough and Nottingham Uni.s...

Busier

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:11:00 +0000

All of a sudden things are getting busy. I've got an interview on Wednesday to teach more formally at a third University, and I have a number of enquiries for troubleshooting jobs.

Off to see that misbehaving package plant tomorrow, with a possibility of a side visit to upgrade that pharma effluent plant to remove titanium on the way.

Teaching at Notts Uni again on Thursday, I even had an Envirowise enquiry when I came back to my desk.

It's dragging me away from the educational research I was reading for the next MA session, but that's a price I'll just have to pay. LOL!

Package Treatment Plant Problems etc.

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:19:00 +0000

We got an enquiry today to help with a misbehaving Package Sewage Treatment Plant. I used to get at least one of these a month back before the recession hit. I always relish the challenge. As usual the client is on the brink of prosecution by the EA. No pressure then!

I've got a few books coming for reviews in the Chemical Engineer Magazine, and I'm finalising the material on solid waste treatment I'm due to deliver at Nottingham University on Wednesday.

I'm also negotiating with two separate clients for delivery of a distance learning course in hydraulic design.

Quite busy by recent standards...

What happens when you let an architect design a pumping station?

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:06:00 +0000

Ever wondered what would happen if you abandoned your objections to the architect's artistic vision of the project and gave them free rein?

This is a sewage pumping station as designed by an architect.

More info

Business as usual II

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:52:00 +0000

The call-out didn't come at 3AM Sunday morning as predicted, but at noon the previous day. Frost damage had shattered many pipes, several pumps were air-locked, and there were unexpected foreign bodies in the feed which were causing blockages-and of course the buffer tanks were completely full at both sites, and the generators, instrumentation and SCADA system were also misbehaving.

It took half a day to patch things up, clear the blockages and airlocks, and get both plants running at top speed again to shift the melt-water.

Teaching/Bits and Bats

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:34:00 +0000

I've been asked to be on high alert for problems with the Manchester groundwater treatment plants, but experience suggests that they never fail during the working week. I'm expecting the callout Sunday morning 3AM. Luckily I love an emergency.

I've received all sorts of exciteable emails from Invent Water Features/Invent Water Treatment's other creditors this last week, including solicitor's letters, threats of reporting to the DTI and so on.

I'd be a lot more excited if they owed me more than the £650 I'm down, and if I thought that it wasn't too apparent what happened to all of the company's assets and director's loans as the emails tell me it isn't.

Business as usual

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:41:00 +0000

Called out again over the break, had a great drive over the Peak on empty frozen roads to Manchester to repair freezing damage to a groundwater treatment plant. This is why I have a Land Rover and snowchains-365 day call-out, weather not a factor. All went well, and we had a fine kebab on the way home.

Other than that, ploughing through Educational Research papers ready for the start of my MA-they are so sloppy compared with real science!

Invent Water Features creditor's meeting is in Bicester tomorrow, a long way away from all of the people up North who they owe money to. I hear official investigations of the directors and receivers are to be requested. People are unhappy.

The Big Freeze

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:57:00 +0000

I was called out on Christmas Eve through the freezing fog to a groundwater treatment plant supposedly frozen solid. Four bags of rock salt and a fair bit of persistence by myself and an assistant allowed us to get the plant back up and running, an outcome the client had thought vanishingly unlikely. Most satisfying.

Happy New Year from all here.

Xmas Break

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:57:00 +0000

Coming up to the Christmas break, with only a bit of coursework and some babysitting of a groundwater treatment plant to do over the next couple of weeks.

Merry Xmas from all here...

Lean times

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:34:00 +0000

Only two tenders in the European Journal for the whole of the UK today, as opposed to the normal count of around 50. We aren't out of the recession yet!

I've been teaching and had a call-out to problems at a groundwater treatment plant in Manchester, but work has been pretty quiet overall. We are tendering for some new public sector work, and hope to fill any gaps with some bread and butter consultancy. We are not too worried, as teaching is proving time-consuming enough at present.

It looks like I'm not going to be getting better than 40p in the pound from Invent Water Features' unpaid debt, and even that is based on some pretty optimistic expectations of repayment of their own outstanding debts.

Invent Water Features

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:57:00 +0000

A long-time client, Invent Water Features are in receivership, owing us a bit of money. Just as well we weren't relying on them to keep us afloat. Things are clearly still tough in the UK economy.

Emergency Callout Groundwater Treatment

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:40:00 +0000

A call-out to a groundwater treatment plant earlier in the week showed a few interesting problems. "Dirty" power from a failing generator caused the failure of a single instrument (a Siemens Hydroranger), but the knock-on effect was total plant failure.

The software programmer had "interpreted" the requirements of the Functional Design Specification in such a way that this instrument became critical for plant operation. This was especially annoying as there was a backup instrument working on a more robust principle, but no way to switch plant operation over to this alternative instrument without a programmer on site.

Of course at the point where I was called, the working day was coming to an end, the plant's feed lagoon was on the point of overtopping, and it was raining. I love a challenge!

Naturally there was an expedient way to get the plant to go again, but the fix was a little questionable. I consequently thought it best to connect a web-cam into the system so that I could see and hear what was going on remotely, as well as being able to see what the SCADA shows. All is now well with the plant.

Anaerobic Digestion Lecturing

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:22:00 +0000

I gave my first unattended University lecture yesterday, a seminar on Anaerobic Digestion, which seemed to go well enough. We'll see when I get the feedback questionnaires how well.

More of the same...

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:17:00 +0000

I'm finishing the materials to be used in my anaerobic digestion course for Loughborough today, and preparing for a visit to Nottingham next week to see their first-years in action in a field experiment.

I've upgraded my teaching course to an MA, as there is little point in doing initial teacher training to teach in Higher Education. We learn as we go...

I got some interesting results from the laboratory trial of various coagulants for the pharmaceutical effluent treatment plant. Note floating sludge and reduced clarity in left-hand cylinder.

The best coagulant tested is around 1/10 the price of what is being used at the moment. It works better in the lab, but experience tells me that until we trial it on the plant, no firm conclusions can be drawn.

There is an added complication that the client has signed up for a long-term contract with a chemical supplier, so unless they can provide an equivalent product, there will be some serious contractual wrangling to be done. Rather them than me!

Troubleshooting, Teaching , and so on

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:14:00 +0000

I've been quite busy with learning to teach, but I went down to see a plant I upgraded about a year ago last Friday for a "health check".

As it took the operators three-quarters of an hour to even find the O+M manual, it looked as if it hadn't seen much use. The recommended daily checks had been reduced to a quick look through the fence as they went past, and no checks at all on weekends or holidays. They had turned the coagulant dose right down and filled the plant with 32% acid and alkali to save on chemical costs, and unsupervised tanker drivers had been walking on the tray-work. Despite all of this, everything was still basically working.

I'm going to do a bit of lab-work this afternoon to see if they can use a cheaper coagulant than the fancy blend the original plant installers recommended. At £2 a litre, I can see how they want to turn the dose down, even if it does degrade plant performance.

I'm off to Nottingham this morning to see a few examples of good lecturing practice, and if I have time, I'm going to make a start on the anaerobic digestion course I'm doing for Loughborough.

Teaching

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 11:31:00 +0000

A quiet month so far, other than getting confirmation that I will be able to teach at Nottingham University as well as Loughborough as part of my formal training as a lecturer.

Lecturing

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:49:00 +0000

Picked up some lecturing work at Loughborough Uni.'s Engineering Dept. yesterday, which will give me an opportunity to practice the teaching skills I will learn in the diploma course I start in September.

I've got an interview at another relatively local University next month to see if I can pick up a little more, I need at least 75 hours of UK based teaching time per year for the practical bit of the teaching course.

Sewage Treatment Plant Operation and Maintenace

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:10:00 +0000

Looks like we will be delivering the Sewage Treatment Plant Operation and Maintenance course in London come November. Spaces are available.

It will be being run two-handed between myself and a colleague who spent 20 years as a municipal plant manager and trade waste officer, so there will be a very practical slant.

Will have started the teaching course by then, so there will be an opportunity to integrate what I have learned into preparation of the course material.

Sudan, and continuing work

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:22:00 +0000

Talking to someone about giving a course in Sudan in September. I won't be flying with the local airlines. They can crash without even getting off the runway.

Other than that, things are ticking over nicely. On site in Manchester a fair bit, water feature design on-going, discussions with Universities with respect to teaching continuing...

Iranian air travel, work and training

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:08:00 +0000

Not so long ago a potential client told me that Iranian air travel was more or less as safe as anywhere when I declined to take internal flights in the country. He seemed pretty angry that I declined to fly with local carriers to save him a bit of money.

Recent events have however suggested that my concerns were well founded. Al Jazeera's report glosses over matters a little-Caspian Airways may not have crashed a plane since it was founded in 1993, but the Tupolev Tu-154 has had three serious crashes in Iran alone since 2002.

The combination of dodgy old Russian 'planes, poor maintenance procedures, and lack of spare parts are all contributors to Iran's poor aviation safety record. Look how overrepresented both Iran and the Tu-154 are on the BBC's Air Disasters list.

Water feature hydraulic design work is continuing, and am providing cover for plant operation in Manchester pretty regularly recently.

I'm looking to get a formal teaching qualification to boost my skills on the training side of things. I've been accepted on the course, now I just need to get a bit of UK based lecturing to practice with. I have a few Universities interested, just need to get something agreed before September...

Picking up...

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:11:00 +0000

Things have picked up a little, with a callout on Monday to nurse a malfunctioning plant, as well as continuing work on the water feature job.

Got an enquiry to go and look at an underperforming effluent treatment plant from a very old contact on Tuesday too. Sounds like someone bought on the cheapest quote, without qualified professional advice. I've come across the equipment vendor before.....

Pharma effluent treatment plant health check visit negotiations continue. There's a lot of negotiation going on for a one-day visit!

Agencies

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:57:00 +0000

Lots of calls from agencies last week seeing if I can provide jobs for engineers working in the municipal water sector. Looks like things are tight there, based on my discussions with the consultants from the agencies.

My water feature work continues, after a meeting last week to square the aesthetic requirements of architects with Montgomery Scott's traditional cry: " I canna' change the laws of physics".

I might be going back to see what the operators have made of the pharma effluent treatment plant I commissioned back at the turn of the year.

Oh, and there might be a training opportunity in Papua New Guinea.

Hydraulic design

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Picked up a bit of hydraulic design work yesterday, water features again...

Iran

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Moran-Expertise Limited) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:41:00 +0000

Went to see a man about a job in Iran yesterday. It's an interesting one, but under the present circumstances, I'm not falling over myself to go there.

I'm going to see UKTI this morning and discuss, and then send in my quote afterwards, once I have quantified the risks and seen how well they can be controlled.

One of the things I certainly won't be doing is taking any internal flights, despite the prospective client's protestations.

It is well known that the internal carrier's fleet is ageing and poorly maintained due in part due to lack of parts as a result of US sanctions. They are consequently rated 85 of a possible 88 in the world's airline accident ratings.