Learning to Co-ordinate Small Projects
June 5, 2013 2:34 pm Leave your thoughts
Well, I am almost a month into work now and continuing to learn new things at a rapid pace. These past couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to be the contact between external company representatives and Millar Western on certain trials we have been running. Typically, what will happen is that a technician or a salesman for the meter company we happen to be trialing will come up from various parts of North America and will be on site for 1-2 days. I have been in charge of coordinating their testing work and letting the engineer I am working with know the results of the trials (i.e., if it appears that this particular product will or will not suit the specific parameters of the process). I find this is giving me valuable experience in managing my time and working with professionals. (Also, I get taken out for lunch every once in a while, which is always great – not just for the free food but for the opportunity to get to know interesting people who do fascinating work.)
On a separate note, the forest industry continues to impress me with every new piece of interesting information I receive. For instance, for an individual to be environmentally conscious with a resource such as paper, my assumption, prior to this summer, was that you had to simply minimize the use of paper as much as possible. I have learned that this is not the only way to “be green” with respect to this product. Every email I receive, and in numerous other places, I read the following note: “It's OK to print this e-mail. Paper is a biodegradable, renewable, sustainable product made from trees. Growing and harvesting trees provides jobs for millions of men and women, and working forests are good for the environment — providing clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat, and carbon storage. When you are through, please do remember to recycle it.” I have never considered paper to be a renewable resource, but, when I think about it, it is made from trees, which grow back, and can be recycled. This made me really think more carefully about the true impact of other products – some that I had simply written off as not being environmentally friendly but that have the potential to be greener if the proper procedures are taken. Some polymers, for example, would fall into that category.
Aerial view of Millar Western Pulp Mill
I have found that there have been several aspects of my general environmental knowledge and awareness that have changed as a result of working in this industry, however briefly. I hope that I will continue to learn as I go through this summer and pick up experience that will assist me in my later career. Thanks for reading this, and I will talk to you next time.