So Thursday we continued to do work. The days are starting to blend together so I will try my best to post every day from here on out. That is doubtful to happen but it is good to hope. My job basically is to shadow the lead inspector and assist him in anyway possible. I have so far taken the duty of doing all the FIR's which are field inspection reports on all of the bid items to make sure that ODOT will accept them. Hardly ever does this become an issue but I am in charge of that because if something goes wrong we have something to fall back on. My daily reports for the project will be reviewed by the lead inspector so it is really good to pay attention to detail and make sure you over exaggerate things to make an impression. The weather was supposed to get bad Friday so the contractor did the best it could to met their weekly goals. Some of those goals were finishing the storm drainage from one inlet to the other inlet which they did and marking centerline for subgrade of the road with hubs so the road later next week could be checked by surveyors.
Friday it of course rained. I spent most of the day in the office working on pay notes for the bid items. How the contractor gets paid monthly is by the amount of bid items they install. They give us the report and we write up the pay note. That is my job. So that kept me busy. Another thing is taking a lot of pictures of the site so we have something to fall back on if something goes wrong. So I uploaded the pictures to the computer and filed them. Along with all of the paperwork, I make copies of everything just in case and since I am not paying for the paper why not.
Today I was out on the site the first half of the day by myself. This was kinda boring because I didn't have really any direction to start with so I had to make myself busy. It is hard when other utility companies come up to you and ask you questions and you have no idea. In the end it all worked out. One downside to the project we found out today was the 18 inch storm pipe they installed last week didn't meet specifications with compaction. Since ODOT is in charge of the job they have different standards and specifications are always changing so it was to bad to see this happen. Now they have to dig up the 3/4 minus and recompact everything which throws them out for a loop. We are nearing the end of the storm drainage installation on the first phase of the project so I look forward to seeing it complete.
This week I am supposed to be getting some action on some asphalt paving so I am looking forward to that. I will most likely be a night shift but this weather has to change for anything to happen. Anyways, I hope to keep you all posted with the progress. I hope to post pictures of the plans to people have an idea what I have to look at and translate to real life situations. Till next time.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
My first three days
So I started work Monday, spent two hours filling out paper work to start out the morning. I found out in the process of all of this that I get my own work space, a cell phone, an email, and a computer for the duration that I am working with ODOT. Pretty cool if you ask me. The only thing I could ask for is that the email stays the same and that this position opens up an opportunity somewhere within ODOT. This has been my selfish prayer for the last year to get a job somewhere and so far it is working to plan. So thankful. After getting settled in I got paired with the engineer I am shadowing. Nice guy with lots of experience. The site I am working on should be a city job but ODOT has it. A local construction company is doing all the work with the engineer I am shadowing being the main inspector. So let's just say I do a lot of standing a round but I am learning a lot. I probably make more then the laborers on the job site do but that is okay I guess. After getting settled in it was basically the end of the day. A local landscape truck delivering soil to a local resident it one of the contractors water truck but no damage was done. With this happening I can finally go into all the paper work I am going to have to deal with on the job. Should be fun. After each day I have to fill out a daily report of what construction has been done and keep it on record. Tasks should pick up as the job progresses but this is okay with me, I don't mind it.
Tuesday I started at 7 in the morning and headed out to the site. To give you a low down on the project, the road heading towards the new high school built in South Medford is being extended and having sidewalks constructed. Along this is a storm drain system that has to be dug out to be completed. This has been the main focus thus far in the project. Blueprints for projects never work out to print I have come to find out. On paper it works but in the real world you are bound to have a problem. An example is on Tuesday we hit a lateral sewer line that was not marked and not far enough down. Man are their more stories that go with this problem. This halted construction for half a day but luckily they found something else to work on. Installation on the storm drain will continue for the rest of the week.
Today I was lead inspector on the job. The engineer I shadow had another project to inspect so I imagine this will be happening a lot but I am up for the challenge. I got a little of crap today but a lot of the guys are super funny and nice so I can deal with it. Prior to the job other companies like for power, water and sewer to be exact should have finished their job. This was supposed to be done by the end of May. We had everyone their today. I have never seen so many backhoes excavators and trucks in one strip at once. I made sure I took notes of everything I saw so I could record it in my daily report. I also have a camera so we can go back and double check what has happened just to double check. So far this internship is more than I could ask for! I started my day at 7 and got home at 6 but that is okay, I want the experience. I'll get to work tomorrow at 6:30 to finish more paperwork in hopes that I get off around 3 but we will see. Overtime is time and a half so since most of the people I hang out with are in Corvallis except a select few in Eagle Point, I'll take all the overtime I can get. Look forward to filling you all in more with stories as time goes on. Should be an enjoyable ride. God bless you all and until next time
Tuesday I started at 7 in the morning and headed out to the site. To give you a low down on the project, the road heading towards the new high school built in South Medford is being extended and having sidewalks constructed. Along this is a storm drain system that has to be dug out to be completed. This has been the main focus thus far in the project. Blueprints for projects never work out to print I have come to find out. On paper it works but in the real world you are bound to have a problem. An example is on Tuesday we hit a lateral sewer line that was not marked and not far enough down. Man are their more stories that go with this problem. This halted construction for half a day but luckily they found something else to work on. Installation on the storm drain will continue for the rest of the week.
Today I was lead inspector on the job. The engineer I shadow had another project to inspect so I imagine this will be happening a lot but I am up for the challenge. I got a little of crap today but a lot of the guys are super funny and nice so I can deal with it. Prior to the job other companies like for power, water and sewer to be exact should have finished their job. This was supposed to be done by the end of May. We had everyone their today. I have never seen so many backhoes excavators and trucks in one strip at once. I made sure I took notes of everything I saw so I could record it in my daily report. I also have a camera so we can go back and double check what has happened just to double check. So far this internship is more than I could ask for! I started my day at 7 and got home at 6 but that is okay, I want the experience. I'll get to work tomorrow at 6:30 to finish more paperwork in hopes that I get off around 3 but we will see. Overtime is time and a half so since most of the people I hang out with are in Corvallis except a select few in Eagle Point, I'll take all the overtime I can get. Look forward to filling you all in more with stories as time goes on. Should be an enjoyable ride. God bless you all and until next time
Summer of Fun
Howdy all, wanted to really try and keep the people that are interested in my life posted on what is happening this summer. As some of you know I have an internship with ODOT in Medford which is a blessing! I grew up here and living with my family one last time will be super fun and enjoyable as well. I will be working a lot but will be seeing some people I haven't seen in a while as well. Some of you have already asked me how my internship is and I have said it is great! I want to use this blog as much as possible to update you day to day. Just in the three days I have worked I have so many funny stories and this blog will help organize my thoughts. My past three days will be posted later tonight but I wanted to put this out there to the people that might want to follow over the summer :) Thanks!
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