Back in Saudi Arabia... (I hate heights...)

Afternoon all,

I'm back in the land of the camels, Saudi Arabia. I did a short job in Dammam and now I am in Hofuf, somewhere in the middle of Saudi. I was here to commission a few new systems. Unfortunately the customer decided that they could do the job themselves and the result is below...

That is the stainless steel protection cap of a furnace camera. They managed to burn it. Our systems have failsafes against this happening but as the camera kept retracting as there was something wrong (hint hint...) they switched them off, with this result. So I had to find a way to repair it...

So with some fine mechanics and small scale electronics ( a lump hammer...) we got the thing back into shape and wonder of wonders the inside elctronics were ok and the thing worked again...

Then it was off to the scanner towers to set up a shell scanner. These towers are bloody high, some 90 foot and I don't like heights. It is amazing when you look at a ladder you think, well, that doesn't look to bad. Then when you are half way up it suddenly strikes you that if you fall off you are dead.... Never mind, got up there ok and the next piccie is me looking stupid in a chinese helmet...

This is the view in the control room with the three hanging screens showing the inside of the 1400 degree kiln and the blue screen at the bottom showing the shell scanner...

I have one more day here and then it is back to Blighty. Next weekend I am off to Holland for my parents 45th wedding party and then three days later I am off again, this time to Malaysia and Thailand for a week, busy busy busy....

Cheerio,
Alex.