It's Raining in the Cleanroom !

Welcome to the first in a new series about the disasters that can happen in a maintenance environment, I'll cover a few case studies and look at what went wrong, ok... I’ll tell you about what happened and you can have a good laugh.

I used to be the maintenance manager at a CD,DVD and Bluray factory, at one point we had to install 2 new DVD lines. We got the floor marked out and organised all the subcontractors for the installation of the services… Air, water, argon, power.

The services for the factory came from a separate building containing the compressors, water treatment, electrical cabinets, etc. All this passed over a bridge into the space above the cleanroom, this space looked a mess, but it was made of load bearing panels.  You could walk about without bending over too much, as long as you minded your head.

So on the big day, we took delivery of over €1.0M of machines and after getting them all lined up, set about connecting them.

For the water and air, we used a system of stainless tubes with crimped connections, 28mm for water and 22mm for air. It is a clever system, you cut the tubes to length then fit connectors, Ts, angles, threaded adaptors, etc. These fittings push on to the tube and have a captive o-ring so that when the joint is crimped together you get a strong leak-proof seal. After getting everything dry fitted so that it looks good, you can go around with the crimping tool to permanently fasten everything together. The installation as I said before was subcontracted as we didn’t have the hydraulic crimping tool to do it ourselves.

I was still in the clean room when one of the 2 guys installing the tubes came to tell me they had finished the water and were going to lunch before starting on the air. The shut of valves at the side of the machine were closed, but they had opened the valves above the clean room so we could start connecting everything  when we wanted. It was about 1:30, so I went for some food too.

When I got back everything had gone pear shaped...

Inside the cleanroom, it was raining. Water was pouring from between the seals on the roof panels, filling up the fluorescent fittings and leaking from the filters. The new machines were getting soaked and everyone was running about shouting.

All I could think was to get everything turned off before someone got electrocuted as the rest of the lines were still working. After this, the second priority was finding something to cover the machines with. A 2.5m x 30m roll of bubble wrap from the warehouse was rushed in and used to try and cover everything up. Once that was underway, I went upstairs to find out what had happened.

As I worked my way to the far end of the space above the clean room (minding my head), it became obvious. One of the fittings had not been pushed on to the tube correctly before crimping it together, so the o ring didn’t seal properly. After opening the valve, the 6 bars of pressure had slowly pushed the fitting off the tube, then proceeded to empty 2 tons of cooling water. As I tried to work my way past the torrent to the valves to isolate the flow, the low level float switch in the cooling water tank tripped and the pumps stopped.

In the end we had well over an inch of water covering the clean room floor with oil slicks around the hydraulic machines, and floating plastic everywhere. We opened the emergency exits and started to sweep the water out.

We had a wet vac, but the bucket was only about 10 litres so it wasn’t too helpful. We borrowed a bigger one and kept at it. 

The next morning after some good work by the night shift, I returned to find almost everything back to normal except for some persistent puddles caused by water underneath some machines that was hard to get to.

The installer’s insurance company was lucky, thanks to the bubble wrap, there wasn't too much damage.  A 20KV power supply that was working when it all kicked off had shorted out, 2 heaters and a couple of HEPA filters had also given up the ghost. I think the total was less than €20k.

I don’t know if the Installers got paid, although they did get something... a good shouting at, first from me, then from my boss.

Before the next installation came around, I ordered a hydraulic crimper and some tubes and fittings. We did all the fitting ourselves from then on. The price for the crimper and associated stuff was less than we paid for the 2 guys to come in and fit the tubes in the first place.

Peru Amazon trip Pt. 2 the ACTS canopy Walkway

Amazon part 2 The ACTS canopy walkway

One of the day trips started early, too early for a French family as it turned out, as they were having
problems with a recalcitrant teenager and turned up late.

We left Ceiba Tops around 6:30 in a launch to Indiana, where we took a mototaxi over to another
river. Followed by a 50 minute cruise downstream. Over the noise of the outboard, I had one of the
most tranquil moments of my life.

7am, wearing a short sleeved shirt. 30 mph wind of the purest air I’ll ever breathe in my face,
heading into the sun with godlights peeping from behind the clouds and the treelined banks of the
Amazon slipping by. My wife leaning against my back and the French family all asleep... bliss.

We arrived at ExplorNapo lodge and had some breakfast, (did I mention that Explorama are really
well organised) then got in a smaller boat to go down a smaller, more bendy and significantly
shallower river to the walkway. The small river had been previously cleared to make navigation
possible, but still caused a few problems, paddles were deployed. BIG spiders on a tree.

After getting precariously off the boat and being entertained by the recalcitrant teenager who nearly
fell into the river and got his clean white trainers muddy, we had a short walk to the canopy
walkway. 

Before you go up to the first level the guides lay down a few ground rules. No shouting for
people in front to hurry up, keep voices low, max 3 people on a walkway at any time and max 4
people on any platform.

The walkway its self is well thought out and constructed. 2 steel cables run from tree to tree, the
trees being protected from chafing by wood and rubber. More cables go down to the jungle floor in
the opposite direction to make sure the trees aren’t pulled over by the weight. Hung from the steel
cables there are aluminium ladders, fastened to the cables by rope which passes through the rungs,
with a knot each side to control lateral movement. There is a rope every 3 rungs, so there ladder is
always well supported. On top of the ladder is a slim wooden plank that sits between the sides. This
gets wooden slats 6 inches apart where the walkway is steepest just before and after a platform. A
net is either side at about elbow height with another underneath the ladders, you would really have
to want to fall off to fall off.

The platforms themselves are like little tree houses without roofs. They are hung from higher
branches with steel cables and again the tree is protected by rubber and wood. No nails go into the
tree.

Being an engineer I can appreciate the work that went into building the walkway, but the forest is
the real star, that is what the walkway was made for after all. A sea of green stretches to a 360
degree horizon from the highest platform.

We saw a group of monkeys, the first to appear watching us for a while before giving the all clear to
the rest. They went up one tree, down another and jumped to the next, just like in a BBC
documentary, in my head the dulcet tones of David Attenborough calmly explaining what was
happening.

We spent 15 minutes watching a baby sloth being taught which leaves to eat by its mum in slow
motion.

A couple of parrots pulling berries off a tree, licking them for a while then spitting them out.

A small Capuchin monkey going out on a limb for a bit of fruit.

Small lizards right at the top, I never thought they would want to go so high, I have always seen
them on the floor or half way up a wall before now.

We were being quiet, so the jungle made some noise.

The French family returned to the lodge by boat after leaving the walkway and meeting up with the
recalcitrant teen, who , after being flown half way across the world to get there, didn’t go up to the
canopy. I think he was still fuming about the trainers.

Instead of returning by boat to the lodge, we (along with our guide, obvs) took a trail back through
the jungle arriving 40 minutes later at Renuperu, a botanical garden dedicated to growing and
studying medicinal plants. Two shamans explained different plants and their properties, tasting and
smelling some and just looking at others (with a snake in). This was followed by a ceremonial
cleansing of our spirits which left me feeling even calmer, and I was already pretty chilled to start
with.

Back at the lodge, dinner time, then the French went off to the shamans for some medicinal
education. About 45 minutes after they left it started thundering and lightning, accompanied by a
torrential downpour, just about the time the recalcitrant teen was getting his spirit cleansed we
reckon. When they came back, they were all smiling and laughing, despite being soaked through. So
maybe it worked.

The wierd cars you see in South America but not Europe Part 1: The Mototaxi

After spending a couple of weeks in Peru, I thought I'd try and get some observations about the cars here jotted down.

The cars you see here are "Different" from those available in Europe, obviously there are some that are the same.

Firstly, lets get Iquitos out of the way. You don't see many cars at all there, so it's mostly scooters and mototaxis. There are several makes of mototaxi, the most popular being Honda CG125 based contraptions, I honestly don't know if they are made or just lashed together from a kit of parts.

I'll try to describe it and you picture it in your head. After I've finished, I'll show you a photo and see how close you are :-)

You get the front part of the motorbike, front suspension, handlebars, motor and gearbox. Then all trace of normality goes out of the window, behind the drivers seat is a tubular frame with a seat and luggage platform. Underneath are 2 trailing arms with 2 coilover dampers each, each holding a hub assembly and a wheel.
The left hand side wheel is driven by a chain, coming from a shaft which in turn is driven by another chain on the centreline of the "bike", coming from the gearbox.  All of this is topped by a cloth "tent" (?) which serves as weather protection.

Got it fixed in your mind ?... here we go...

A Honda CG125 motortaxi

Pros:

• Super light weight, so a few hp can go a long way. so...
• Economical
• Cheap, the Honda shown above is about 6,000 Soles or about 1500 Euros.
• Easy to repair, the thing is basically bullet proof and as they are like cockroaches, spares are easy to come by.
• Soft suspension means a comfortable ride on broken roads.
• You can get to the bottom of the machine for maintenance by flipping it on its side. 

Cons:

• S  L  O  W
• Unstable
• No Crash protection whatsoever.
• Only one wheel drive. 
• You get wet if it rains, the tent is really only for the shade.

I reckon 90% of motorised transport in Iquitos is a variant of the above, there are (even) cheaper chinese versions and also little trucks that even have an axle with a differential and 2 wheel drive.

There are roads specifically designed for the things too. They are like jungle motorways... poured concrete slabs just wide enough for two moto taxis to fit side by side, a car would cause chaos.

I tried designing a replacement in my head with 4 wheels (maybe using suspension from a quad), a generator and battery for power, then a couple of electric hub motors. 

To be honest, it would be more stable, more economical to run, safer and 2WD !, but unless the parts could be sourced very cheaply it may cost a bit more. Also the spares would be more expensive for a while until a critical mass of donor vehicles have been crashed.

So... this is my Blog.

Well, after prematurely publishing a bit of the Amazon trip before even introducing my blog, I thought I'd get it out of the way before it happens again.

I don't know who this is for, or if anyone will read it. but I'm going to do it anyway. Maybe my mum will read it.

I'm a machine technician working for a Swiss company, I service and install machines mostly in Spain and Portugal, but I have the odd trip to Germany, Italy and wherever else I get sent to.

I don't know if I'll talk about the machines here, or just talk about what interests me at the time. If I see something I like I'll probably look into it a bit and maybe discuss it, but I won't promise anything.

If you read something you like, please comment, a bit of encouragement goes a long way :-)

SPECIAL EDITION... Peru Amazon trip Pt. 1

From grim Lima to even grimmer Iquitos then to the Spectacular Amazon rain forest, this was a trip of contrasts.

Lima has a climatic problem, it never rains. Because of this, the place has a perpetually grubby air, as it never has a nice rain shower to wash away the dirt. Iquitos has a different set of difficulties, the place is miles away from anywhere, so it is the most expensive city in Peru. Transport and logistics make up a huge percentage of the price of goods. unfortunately the general population don't have much money to start with, so conditions seem grim to outsiders.

The Amazon on the other hand is holding its own, with slash and burn farming now illegal and tourism  playing a bigger part in the local economy. Unfortunately tourism brings its own set of problems, the biggest being that the act of observing a thing, changes the thing.

We went on a four day trip to the Amazon booked with a company called Explorama (I have no ties or obligations to this company, we just used and paid for their services). The company was started over 50 years ago and they have a laudable attitude to conservation and helping the local population. They have 3 lodges in the amazon at varying distances from Iquitos, transport to and from the lodges is by outboard powered launches. Ceiba Tops lodges are in a previously farmed area (secondary rainforest... recovering over the years,  but not a primary and unspoiled environment) and have Air conditioning, hot water, even a pool.

Every day, our personal tour guide took us on trips. these included fishing for piranhas (didn't catch any), trolling slowly down the middle of a tributary looking at local wildlife, walking through the ACTS canopy walkway, and walking through the jungle after dark. Spectacular is the most apt adjective for these few days, there was no adrenaline, no breathless build up, no stressful timetable, just an educated guy and a boat driver showing us things they obviously know and care about.

Traditional (for us anyway) foot and background photo.

No idea what these plants are called but it was most tranquil.

Black water tributary caused by more acidic conditions.

Taken at ACTS canopy walkway, he was just licking the berries then spitting them out.

Here we come to my slightly sad observation from earlier. In order for modern day tourists to feel comfortable in the middle of the rain forest, a few compromises have to be made. Where do you think the power comes from for the air conditioning and hot water? ... there are generators located away from the lodges where the noise won't bother anyone. How do they have internet access in the public areas? ... the cell phone tower is located behind the main lodge complex.

Also there are the same tourist traps you see all over the world, locals capture a local species, then show it off to shipped in tourists while saying it was rescued from some made up situation. By the way, please buy our artisan products (made locally, in a factory just down the road and available in all nearby tourist gift shops).

I know, I'm cynical, but I like to think I'm also aware of what it takes to show off an unspoiled wilderness, you have to spoil it a bit.