Weyerhaeuser: Pulp, Lumber and Insect Mill
June 22, 2015 12:00 pm Leave your thoughts
First and foremost, an immense thank you to FPAC and the Green Dream scholarship for providing me with this opportunity! And congratulations to all my fellow winners.
Now onto my newest internship adventures; originally there was truly nothing I disliked about Weyerhaeuser or my job in general for that matter… I think that has changed. THE BUGS.
I’ve been given a project to replace a gigantic diesel engine that pumps all our “raw water” from the river up to the mill. Well, I had been to the small, riverside pump house a couple times before and nothing was all that noteworthy. It was humid and warm, and there was the odd spot of flowing water here and there but that was about it. Apparently at that time the diverse swarms of insects were in hiding, merely biding their time, plotting and scheming to overthrow the pump house and take back the river. When I made the trip to the pump house the other day, things were certainly different. It was clear that the ants had claimed the floor as their own, as the carcasses of much larger, grotesque beetles lay fallen amongst the greatly outnumbering colony of ants. As I tip-toed past the ants that formed rivers of their own, careful not to step on one and meet the same fate as the beetles, something else caught my eye. I was initially relieved to see was it just a number of leaves scattered throughout the room. Nope. Those were indeed even more insects, horrendously large moths to be exact. I feared to look around much more, convinced there was nothing in there that I couldn’t simply see in my nightmares. Unfortunately, there was work to be done and I had only gone as far as walking in the door. What passed were a couple of the most uncomfortable hours, as I gathered my measurements, some requiring me to get on my hands and knees. The only thing keeping me going was the thought of turning the bleed valve on the water lines and flooding the place, along with the horrors that lurked inside. I think I will try to avoid this place from now on.
Luckily the bulk of my work happens within my thankfully bug-free office. I have been keeping busy with my EOP Washer project, contacting various companies for quotes and finalizing my cost estimates. Unfortunately my work on the project will end soon, as all the planning will be complete and I won’t be around for its implementation. However, the diesel engine replacement has got me right back into making more cost estimates. I’ve been working with on-site contractors to go over the job and design motor bases and the necessary piping changes. In contrast to the other project, I will get to see this one come to fruition and will actually be in charge of the whole ordeal.
Hopefully I’ll gather some more non-work related stories to blog and give you all a better idea of what Grande Prairie is all about, besides just the bugs.
Until next time,
Tanner Linssen