Just Pictures Today

I thought that posting some photos today would be refreshing change of pace versus a lengthy post.

The boiler room. Believe it or not, but it actually gets below 40 degrees in Saudi Arabia

Trace Gregg educating the group about the central cooling and pumping plant.

More cooling towers in one spot than I've seen in my entire  life!

Day 8

Today Jim gave us an overview of the mechanical system being used at KSU, which was quite intricate to say the least.  After explaining the heating and cooling systems in place, Trace gave us a tour of the central plant and showed us everything we had just seen on the plans.  Seeing it both in person and on plans helped it register in my brain alot better.  In the afternoon we were given a tutourial on BIM and how it's being integrated into this project. We also went to building 26, which is where the auditorium is, and Vidos gave us a short call on acustics and explained the design of the auditorium to us.  We cap off the day with a short, but very exciting, meeting with Engineer Nawaf.

Monday madness

Monday, May 21 Today feels like I am sprinting just to keep up with the pace. It's  only 3:30 here in Saudi but I am beat tired. Let me give you a debriefing.  My day began by trying to shave my beard with a razor blade, it was like trying to run a push mower through foot tall grass. But the mission was accomplished! Our next mission was getting to the conference room on time. Everything was going well until it was 7:30 am and we realized Nazir was still sleeping! But he was ready in a flash and we arrived on time for our first session at 8 am.  We reviewed our MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) knowledge and studied the main power plant facility of the girls campus. Then we  headed out for a job site tour of the power plant. I would like to thank Trace Gregg for the tour; his knowledge on MEP is amazing. Also, I would like to thank Jim  Mistry who led the lecture sessions. He led the MEP review and the commissioner review.  After lunch Henry Cabansag showed us how he is using BIM to coordinate MEP in a building on site. As much as I love 3D modeling, I have much to learn. Thanks Henry!  Our last session was with Vidas Juzenas. He gave us a tour of the auditorium explaining the engineering behind acoustic paneling and how to use them to achieve a desired comfort.  We have a couple more sessions with Vidas and I am looking forward to hearing from him again. Thanks Vidas!  Tonight we have something really exciting planned but I will update everyone on that tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

Today we went on a tour of the science labs led by Max Mejia (pardon my improper spelling of Maxs' last name in my previous post) and Todd Enninga. Being able to gain a new perspective of a jobsite through the eyes of these two extremely knowledge professionals gave the team and I a lot of useful information that we will be able to apply to our time in industry and in the classroom.  Jamie Moffat's presentation on heat safety helped us to gain knowledge on how to combat the ill effects of the extreme heat here in Riyadh. This presentation will go a long way in keeping the team and I safe once the 120 degree temperature hits.  I also sincerely appreciate the insight Mike Rodgers gave us on QA/QC and the steps FTR International of Nevada takes to ensure that the KSU Girls campus is built to the highest of standards. Nazir took us to an amazing shawerma restaurant for dinner tonight. We all ate so much that it was hard to walk to the car once we were finished! Tomorrow we have more jobsite tours set up so its time to hydrate.

Jobsite Video!

Tim Here-

Here's a short little video filmed during one of our jobsite tours. Special thanks to Bill Koscovich and Max Mejia for helping us understand everything that was going on!

Sunday- May 20, research lab tour

I just got back to the conference room from our morning job site tour. Max and Todd Enninga helped us understand the superintendent’s role on a project and how to do field inspections. We analyzed a research building fully equipped with chemical control laboratories. There was one instant when we were observing the basement and the power was turned off, leaving us in the pitch black. We hustled right out of there! One phase of the construction that I thought was particularly interesting was the amount of HVAC that is required for ventilating the research laboratories.   Now we are getting ready to discuss heat stress and how to keep safe in the heat prepared by Jamie Moffat.
time: 11:00 am

On an off note...It is really fun learning in the office.  All the people that have taught us thus far work right outside the conference room (our classroom) during our break I get to see what they are working on.  The seasoned veterans (they call themselves here) have insurmountable knowledge of construction management. I often relate things to sports, and I thought to myself if these are the players for FTR then they could win the World Series! The other perk the office brings is free lunch, today we had KFC, and life is perfect!
time: 11: am

We ended up our day with a presentation on Quality control prepaired by Mike Rogers.  He taught us the imporatance of quality control on a construction sight.  Now, as far as tonight goes I think we are having pizza hut for dinner.
time: 4:00 pm

The Perfect Weekend

-Tim Here
In Saudi Arabia, the weekend is on Thursday and Friday because Friday is their day of worship. During our first weekend here, Kati from FTR International of Nevada arranged to fly us out to Jeddah. We got there on Thursday night and ate at a restaurant named "Goodies". The name did not disappoint as we feasted on some delicious Middle Eastern kabobs, hummus, and rice. After dinner, we went back to a fully furnished house where we attracted a bunch of stray kittens by feeding them cheese.

The next morning, we arrived at a beautiful resort next to the Red Sea and it was paradise to say the least. There were no clouds in the sky, and the water was the perfect temperature. We geared up to go scuba diving and explored the amazing coral reef at the bottom of the sea. Our scuba instructor brought us down about 15 meters, and we were able to see all sorts of tropical fish. It was the perfect weekend.

Paradise

Feeding the stray kittens cheese.