First Post

Hi All,

Scotland for me has been fantastic.  To summarize everything would take too long...  Since I have not blogged, I would like to really tell you about my two vocational day.  My first was to the Forth Road Bridge, built in 1968 and at the time the fourth longest suspension bridge in the world.    I was given acces to the whole bridge.  I even got to got to the top (450 feet).  It was an amazing experience.  Although not in my field as a Dam Safety engineering many design traits were discussed with the owners especially the foundation.  The foundation conditions is very important to us and the designs between bridges and dams are very similar.  After my meeting I have gained valuable knowledge that i will be able to take back to my employer and share with my fellow employees.
The second vocational day was with the Wood Group.  A company specializing in safety, especially in the Oil and Gas industry.  This industry is starting to boom in Pennsylvania and is heavily regulated by my employer.  The Wood Group has studied many aspects of the Oil and Gas industry and it findings have increased the safety in the industry.  The detailed analysis found in these reports can easily be brought back to the states and used to further enhance safety there. 

I would like to thank Barry Coldurd at the Forth Road Bridge and Dennis Keown at the Wood Group for hosting me.   As for tomorrow we move on again to Abeerdeen Deeside.  As they say here, Cheers.

Jim