Constructionarium

Toughest day of our lives… full and busy of work. All hands on the deck! Captain’s orders! (In other words, everyone needs to work on the bridge decks). Sections bolted in a straight line, plywood pieces for the decks put in place and a heavy pylon all set up to end the day with one bridge deck complete. Levelling took some time but it is more or less ready for launch. The other deck… not so much… It will need to be complete tomorrow morning but nevertheless, we are ALL EXCITED WAHEEEY for both deck launches over the piers. Doomsday has arrived. We’ll find out tomorrow if all our work has paid off…

ALL IN ALL (Seriously…):

• Stronger start to the day again, plenty of work to be done and it was all completed. Deck launches set to be tomorrow (Day 5)
• Stressful day with lots of staff questioning the team to ensure everything is on schedule
• First deck close to launch, other deck not ready but should be completed and launched tomorrow
• Rebar club resigned as they completed their job. They delivered fantastic work for us and have joined the deck team
• An organised team is keen and planning to go in strong tomorrow and get the bridge completed

Read Millau Viaduct Blog Feed Day 4: Thursday in full

FOUNDATIONS AND PIERS COMPLETE! A slight gleam of happiness and joy had soon become coldly clouded, by concrete trucks arriving but no formwork being ready. Despite the rainy start to the day, work shifted to top gear as the deck team started setting up both decks. Once the basics were set, all focus turned to the deck on the side where the pier was formed and ready. No impact sockets had meant that the team had to work tirelessly to tighten the most important bolts by a ratchet and socket. Slight havoc broke out as the team created the formwork for the bearing pads yet specific pieces were missing! OH NO! MY GOODNESS! No panic… swift woodwork got it formed in 10 minutes and we were set and ready to go. Yet another hard day of work, but nevertheless, there was strong progress (cheeky rhyme… and the day ended with a Corona and lime).

ALL IN ALL (Seriously…):

• Stronger start to the day, work started quicker and the team had a brief meeting in the morning (as everyday)
• Slight hiccup with the formwork for the bearing pads but it was corrected very quickly and efficiently
• Both decks have been started. One deck (our ‘priority deck’) will be launched first (aim is to do it tomorrow on day 4)
• Slight problem with tools yet the team dug deep to find the best they could for the job
• Rebar Club stayed strong and did a terrific job today (as always!)

Read Millau Viaduct Blog Feed Day 3: Wednesday in full

• Despite the team working well for the day we have fallen behind due to a few issues with equipment provided
• The rebar provided was not the type that we required or ordered and so valuable time was spent trying to ensure that we could still build safely with this rebar.
• Also bolts to hold the formwork together were not provided and proved difficult to find the required sizes for our formwork. This also meant that a lot of time was wasted causing us to be unable to pour the concrete at the end of the day as planned.
• This leaves us with more to do tomorrow but the team is working well as a unit and the organisation and  communication of the group has improved drastically over the day.
• It has been a steep learning curve and we were perhaps a little naive to assume that the materials provided are of sufficient standard and also a little optimistic in the times we estimated for completing tasks.

To follow our progress further we have twitter: @BirchamBNuclear

instagram:birchambnuclear

Read Nuclear Island Blog Feed Day 1: Monday in full

A misty start to an otherwise glorious day, full of keen (yet slightly tired) Imperial students ready to push the GO button. Ignoring the effects of the late night world cup matches, our team fuelled up during breakfast and met up for a brief morning meeting. Our project manager (Winnie) with our Site Manager (Orrin) discussed the safety issues and the day’s targets. Fastening our safety boots, we shifted into drive mode and set out in various sub groups. A few of the team boggled their minds over the encrypted A3 drawings, whilst others spent their time working their muscles and tying the rebar’s. All was well and the team was on target for the aims of the day. Work effort took a notch down while the aweing concrete truck strutted through the site. Team members stopped their work to gather and watch their first live concrete pour. A few conflicts emerged here and there due to this but who can blame us? This is Constructionarium where the aim is to gain experience for every moment on site. Nevertheless, our targets were met, lessons were learnt and we look forward for Day 2…

ALL IN ALL (Seriously…):

• Slow start to the day but steep learning curve. Acquiring a feel of the site
• All target objectives met: first foundation completed
• Slow communication problems (solution found after evening meeting)
• Greater awareness of safety learnt after a few major/minor mistakes during the day
• Bridge deck drawings analysed and ready to figure out how to launch the deck

Read Millau Viaduct Blog Feed Day 1: Monday in full