The Island

This past summer, in an effort to escape the trials and tribulations of work and everyday life, I ventured off to the “Big Island” of my forefathers. And so, stepping off the ferry, I shouldered my pack and set out to find a suitable pony trap for the ride up one of the island’s narrow roads to find the next village, the remnants of my family, and my bed for the night. At that point, I was content in the idea that I wasn’t in Kansas anymore; and that I was far, far away from the hustle and bustle of the modern world.

And so one night I settled myself in to the crowd and the sweet sounds of banjo, squeeze-box, and taps pouring out pint upon pint of the black stuff at Ti Joe Watty’s. Performing my duties, I proceeded conversation hopping around the pub and soon found myself talking to a hard hat diver working on the island. Before I knew if, I was returned to the real world, discussing equipment problems and contract constraints; and regaling both the hardships and simple joy of being swallowed by the sea.

The scope of this project includes the following:

• Construction of a 550 m breakwater to provide shelter to the harbour from significant swell waves from Galway harbour;
• The extension and upgrading of the existing pier to facilitate larger vessels;
• The creation of a deepwater berth for fishing boats;
• Provision of a cargo quay and slipway to service roll-on roll-off (RO-RO) cargo service;
• Provision of a pedestrian only zone for ferry passengers;
• A berth for the lifeboat.

The Firm’s Website

And all along, I had been thinking I was on vacation for some reason.

That having been said, I did get the chance to spend a few days hill trekking, getting to know the locals, and just smelling the flowers. And I was left to ponder certain facts of life:

1. There are few pints like the one (or five) had with a life-long fisherman
2. The more things change, the more they stay the same
3. You never really leave work behind…

Then, like so many before me, I began the long journey across the ocean to America; hoping that someday I might be able to set foot on the island of patchwork greens once more…

-Andrew Hummers

GAO Reports on TWIC Challenges

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued its report on challenges relating to the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. Issuance of TWICs to maritime workers was delayed, but is now largely completed. A significant source of delay was the power failure at the government facility processing TWIC data. Full recovery from that incident pends and the cost is estimated at $26m. Development of the electronic card reader faces challenges due to inadequate planning. GAO-10-43 (12/10/09).

Source: Bryant’s Maritime News

To TWIC or not to TWIC, that is the question? For those of you who are looking at this acronym twice and thinking it’s a chocolate bar, read on.   The Transportation Security Administration defines the TWIC card as “a common identification credential for all personnel requiring unescorted access to secure areas of Maritime Transportation Security Act-regulated facilities and vessels, and all mariners holding Coast Guard-issued credentials.”  In other words, if you’re working on the water, above the water, near the water, you’re going to need one of these prized pieces of plastic.  Sorry Charlie.

In response to reading the article about the Reports on TWIC Challenges, I have to say I am not surprised by the incident.  Engineers and divers at our firm had to comply with this new program and we had a few problems ourselves.  We had to continually check the status and follow up with numerous members of the Help Desk before receiving the card which should not be an issue if we followed their protocol by pre-enrolling, getting fingerprinted, scheduling the interview and filling out all necessary paperwork.

With the TWIC incident and its “inadequate planning” and many other events that have transpired in recent years, it is easy to pin our society as reactive rather than proactive.  This article also comes at a time where our nation is rushing to push through a healthcare reform.  Is it ready?  Who knows? While no one can deny the urgency of the matter, its best to take the time to make sure it is done right the first time.  I agree this should apply to all government programs, TWIC cards, healthcare, you name it.  It is best to be thorough and get it right instead of trying to pick up the pieces after disaster strikes due to being too hasty with important legislation.

However, if you know you must obtain a TWIC card, I highly recommend reading the TWIC information on the Transportation Security Administration website (www.tsa.gov) thoroughly before you begin the 6-8 week process.  Note to self:  don’t punch a hole in your card thinking you’ll put it on a nifty lanyard so you don’t lose it.  The hole can “disable or obstruct security features on the card, invalidate electronic/technology components within the card that are necessary for electronic verification, and may impair the ability to conduct a full visual inspection of the security features on the card.”  It will cost you $60.00 to replace.  I wish I had better news for you, but I will leave you with well wishes with your reading and application process!

-Melissa Stein

Arctic Diving



Having just concluded a winter dive trip of the pier at Georges Island in Boston Harbor Islands National Park, I can confirm that it is cold in New England.

While this is not a revelation to many, including myself having grown up on the Massachusetts coast, it nonetheless presented a learning experience and a host of additional factors to consider when planning to dive, or do boating, in cold weather.

The primary factor with the cold is that it affects everything you do. With temps regularly in the 30’s and winds in the 20mps range, simply moving around can be a challenge, and staying warm and dry may be more of an aspiration than an actual goal. While layering clothes is important, it can also make performing tasks more challenging, and layers of wet clothing can make you question career decisions.  The best option is to have the proper cold weather gear to keep you comfortable, which means planning.

Fortunately for me, I made this trip with two excellent team members; one a seasoned diver and experienced engineer with over 1,000 dive hours, and the other a young diver with solid safety training and good boating experience.  As a result, the trip was a success from both a business and personal perspective.

-Bryan Van Lenten

London Bridges Falling Down

“Hundreds of bridges across Cumbria County in England were under review following the Nov. 20 flooding resulting from the highest rainfall in a 24-hour period on record in the U.K. The flooding caused the collapse of six bridges and the death of one police officer. One of the larger bridges to fail was the 50-meter-long, two-span, brick-built road bridge over the Derwent River in Workington. Official says the bridge was inspected and declared sound in July 2008. The town’s second bridge, the Calva, was closed because of serious damage.”

I am surprised to hear that not just one or two bridges, but a total of 6 bridges collapsed due to flooding and rainfall. However, I am more surprised by how little coverage and news these collapses are getting. We all remember how big the bridge collapse in Minnesota was (I even had one of my college classes do a case study on it) and that was just one bridge, this is 6!  The circumstances are different though, since these collapses were due to a natural event, not a calculation or construction error.  These collapses also might be downplayed because they happened in another country.

Since there is little information on these collapses, I was left with unanswered questions on the incident.  I have yet to find out how old these bridges were and of which materials each bridge was made.  I wonder who (if anyone) will be blamed for the collapses.  Is this just an act of nature that couldn’t have been avoided? Or is this a slight oversight by engineers and now the worst case scenario actually happened, causing a structural collapse? Most likely the first, but it does raise the question, “What should an engineer design for when it comes to acts of nature?”  I am still new to the industry, but I have seen that designing for a 100 year flood seems to be a rule of thumb.  Obviously this flooding event was the most extreme that England has ever seen, so there would have been no way an engineer could design for such a flood.  Luckily, only one death was caused by these collapses, but what if these bridges weren’t in one of the least populated counties in England, but in a highly populated city like London? The death toll would be much larger and the amount of money in damages would be as well.  It again raises the question, “What should an engineer design for when it comes to acts of nature?”  On one hand you can design for what the codes call for and meet the minimum requirements which reduces costs and makes a smaller footprint on the Earth.  On the other hand, designing for the minimum amount increases your chances for a failure.  Even though those chances are small, they do happen.  Cumbria County and its flood is just one example, there was also New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina, as well as San Francisco and its earthquakes.  Since these events have occurred, some engineers have been taking nature’s effects into stronger consideration.  Many buildings in high seismic categories, like California, are being designed to withstand higher earthquake effects.

There is no clear answer to this question and different people will have different opinions. It really boils down to if you want to save money, or potentially save lives.  I vote for saving lives, plus no engineer wants to see one of their projects be in headlines because of a failure, whether it was nature’s fault or not.

-Doug Cantrell

For more information about this article that was featured in ENR, please read our latest e-newsletter.

BRIDGE REPLACEMENT

The abandoned steel railroad bridge at the Roebling Steel Plant crossing Crafts Creek in Roebling, New Jersey needed to be converted into a roadway bridge able to support construction vehicles up to 110,000 lbs. W.J. Castle P.E. & Associates P.C. was retained by WRS Infrastructure & Environment, Inc. in October 2008 to perform an in-depth inspection of the existing bridge. Once the analysis was complete, Castle designed the new bridge utilizing the existing main steel beams and the concrete substructure with modifications and repairs. Hydro-Marine Construction Co., Inc. performed the actual construction of the bridge.

 

Following cleaning of the existing beams, deteriorated portions of the beams were reinforced by attaching steel bent plates (6 foot long) to both sides at each end. Existing bearing plates were also deteriorated and replaced to accommodate the new spacing of the steel beams.  In order to save labor cost, a single continuous bearing plate was used at each abutment. New stringers, diaphragms, deck pans, and edge plates were installed as well as new steel guiderail and posts. The composite reinforced concrete bridge deck was built utilizing angle sections attached to the main steel beams. The concrete deck was poured in place in less than one day.

                 

Hydro-Marine performed all of the construction aspects of the project including all repairs, removal of the existing structure, and installation of the new bridge structure. Removal of the existing structure began in November 2008, the deck was poured the first week in January 2009, and the bridge was open to traffic by January 23, 2009.

Women on the Water Conference 2009

Coming up very soon, on October 15-17, 2009, is the 3rd Annual Women on the Water Conference. This event is hosted by the Maine Maritime Academy in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration. The purpose of the event is primarily to connect cadets from the Federal and State Merchant Marine Academies and Colleges with professional women already established and working as leaders in the maritime industry.

As a woman in the marine industry, it was suggested that I comment/blog about this particular topic.  What struck me about this event is that it is only the 3rd conference of its kind. Surely I thought that women are well established in this industry and that these types of events would have been happening for years, right?  So I started to do more research, mostly out of curiosity, to find out what particular events and organizations are out there for women working in the industry.  Now you think I would know that, being that I have been working in the industry for over 15 years, but honestly involving yourself in these types of things takes time; time away from the day to day operations of business; time which I apparently have not had or at the least budgeted in the last decade and a half.

One organization I discovered right here in my backyard, or my front yard depending how you look at it, is the Woman Divers Hall of Fame (in NYC). This organization will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this March 2010. There are currently 146 members from 29 U.S. states and territories and 11 countries worldwide. Members are selected annually and nomination guidelines require the highest of credentials.

The member roster includes a woman who holds a world record for women’s deep air diving, to the depth of 425 feet, another who acted as the underwater damsel in distress in the TV series Sea Hunt, a renowned underwater photojournalist, a U.S. Navy Diving and Salvage Officer, and another who founded an organization which teaches people with disabilities how to scuba dive. One woman even worked as a stunt diver. Now that is an unusual job.

As I’m reading about these woman and their amazing contributions, honestly, I’m wondering where they got the time to accomplish all this fantastic stuff. That’s when I came across the bio of a member with 10 children who trained over 500 students and logged over 1,000 hours underwater on 2,000+ dives. Yet still, one of her most memorable accomplishments included diving the Andrea Doria. Now that’s what I call amazing.

I’m realizing I really need to get my head out of the office more to look at the bigger picture, so to speak, of Women on (or under) the Water. The marine industry really is a male dominated industry from what I’ve seen. Maybe it’s true that these organizations that support women in the industry are still in their youth, but women have been in the industry a lot longer than many people think.  Some women may have arrived through a connection with a husband or parent and some may have arrived as individuals, but all are pioneers; even today in the 21st century.

My little research project has inspired me to consider where I might leave my mark on this industry. I hope the female Merchant Marine Cadets in attendance at the upcoming Women on the Water event are inspired to make their own mark on the industry.

-Janet Castle, President of Hydo-Marine Construction

Hydro-Marine Construction Thrives Above, Below Water

We are proud to announce that The Philadelphia Business Journal recently wrote an article about The Castle Group. In it, they discuss the benefits of all three companies that comprise The Castle Group working together for the greater good of our clients.

Click here to read the article.