Day 10 - Robotic CPT Rig

I get into work at about 6:45 and check my email. there is an email from a Fugro Hong Kong person who found my blog on the web! he worked in Leidschendam from a few months back in the 90's and said he remembers the endless cups of coffee and sandwiches for lunch. hahah the internet is a great thing huh?

So at 7AM I meet Jan Willem, robotic CPT operator. I say "hello are you Jan Willen?" he says "Right. Let's go" and marches towards to yard. wow. today is going to be a long day i think. (on another note, Jan looks EXACTLY like Adam and Loree Berry's friend Tom.)

So we get into the nicest, sweetest, top-of-the line CPT flatbed truck transporter (the rig is already on the jobsite). The CPT rigs in california look like we got them at Goodwill compared to this bad boy. I try to make conversation but find it hard to concentrate because Jan is driving this huge transport truck in rush-hour traffic like its a mini cooper. He's one of those drivers that if you cut in front he flashes the high beams and rides your bumper into submision then flips you off on the way by. awesome. but after awhile, i realize that we are by far the biggest vehicle on the road. if any collision were to occur, i doubt Jan's coffee would even spill.

So we get to the jobsite, and the coolest little track rig is sitting in the middle of a mudfield. perfectly painted and shiny and new despite its surroundings. We get into the rig, Jan immediately plugs in the coffee pot and says simply "No coffee, no work." Right, of course. So i try to make some more conversation, pull out all my best witty banter. not getting very far. he makes a comment about my fugro jacket. i'm wearing my black winter fugro jacket that i brought from CA. i can tell he likes it. i offer to let him try it on and he smiles. **i'm in**. its a bit small but i say that i can get a bigger one shipped here and i'll give it to him.

from then on, we chatted and joked and laughed all day. we talked about the running race this weekend (Jan is running as well), the upcoming SinterKlaas festivities, his two daughters, fun things to do in Holland, etc. Jan says all the other CPT operators were jealous of him beacuse i was with him today. its becoming more clear that there really are NO women out in the field. Ever. no women field engineers or anything.

This CPT rig is like the fine italian sportscars of CPT rigs. Compact, track mounted, with a built-in touch screen computer with optional keyboard, onboard wireless, surround sound speakers, a counter area with tools and a vice, a desk and chair, overhead storage, side and back doors, about 8 big windows, and of course, the robotic wireless CPT. there is no wire that goes inside the CPT. the CPT data is transmitted wirelessly from the cone to the onboard computer. the rods are kept upright in a rack and a robotic arm picks up the rod, screws it in, and hydraulically pushes the probe all in a continuous motion. Then, it automatically retracts the probe, unsrews, and puts the rod back in the rack. Its like poetry in motion. This is still a test model so there are some kinks to be worked out. This rig has only been used for about 2 months. its not as fast as an operator + assistant on a regular rig, but i think once the kinks are worked out and the process is fine tuned, then all the rigs will be like this in the future.

Jan let me help pushing the buttons, but wouldn't let me drive the rig around the site inbetween locations. its done with this cool remote control. oh well maybe next time :) when we got back to the yard Jan gave me a fugro polo and hat, i'll be sure to send him his jacket. :) overall, i thought Jan was pretty cool and i enjoyed my day with him. Tomorrow i will be out with a drill rig in Delft and i'm looking forward to doing some sampling and getting a little dirty.