PlantSuccess
Newsletter
Volume
IV, Issue 2
21
January 2004
Dear Subscriber:
On this date 50 years ago, the USS Nautilus
(SSN-571) was launched. Her length is 319 feet, her width 27 feet; she
displaces 4092 tons. President Harry S Truman laid the keel on 14 June 1952;
scuttlebutt says the initials HST are welded on the keel plate.
On 17 January 1955, the USS Nautilus sailed from her
dock at the Electric Boat Division in Groton, Ct and Capt. Wilkinsons (1918
-) words Underway on Nuclear Power were penned for posterity in the
logbook. Photographs recording this event show signs of exhaust; was the maiden
voyage taken under diesel power?
The USS Nautilus was the worlds first true
submersible; her nuclear core, the first of its kind, was designed and built by
Argonne National Labs (ANL) and Westinghouse Corp. The cost of
this pioneering vessel was $65 million. As with all new technologies, there was
no shortage of skeptics and the USS Nautilus had to prove herself. One
convincing measure was the ability of the Nautilus to avoid detection when
being hunted by the surface-Navys best sub-detectors. Matching screw turns, the
submarine hid directly under the groups aircraft carrier for almost two weeks
an unbelievable length of time.
Acceptance was earned and the nuclear submarine
program is one of our countrys most successful military projects, is widely
credited as being the single greatest factor in bringing about the demise of
the Soviet Union almost 15 years ago and ending the Cold War.
It is remarkable that a program of this magnitude and
consequence could be so strongly determined by one man ADM Hyman G Rickover
(1900 1986), regarded by all as the Father of the nuclear fleet, its
officers and men. A graduate of the US Naval Academy in 1922, Rickover
served on several diesel-powered boats and was named Director of Naval Reactors
in 1949.
In this position, he defined the US Nuclear Navy its
goals, objectives, procedures and personnel. Rickover was truly a living legend
and many quotes are attributed to him. Perhaps one of the most appropriate: If
you are going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy. God will forgive
you but the bureaucracy won't.
When the officers and men in this program rejoined
the civilian world, they brought knowledge and experience with them that would
enhance their careers and define this countrys commercial nuclear power
generation program the worlds largest, safest and most successful. Their
training impacted the engineering, construction, operation and maintenance of
process plants as well. In addition, numerous technologies, methodologies and
products developed for use under the sea have demonstrated commercial value.
After 21 years of service, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
was decommissioned in March 1980. In 1982, after six decades of service, ADM
Rickover retired from the position he held for 33 years.
Often the question is asked: What can one person
accomplish? Fortunately, history provides many positive examples -- ADM
Rickover is one of the best. We should celebrate his accomplishments and those
who serve as submariners.
PlantSuccess Gulf Coast 2004 22
April at the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake -- will celebrate industry leaders and the
accomplishments of managers of work processes and other decision makers as they
present Best Practices Driving Plant Performance. Join us for one of
this years most important networking events and a series of lively discussions
on the successful implementation of engineering IT and its impact on business
drivers, work processes and integration requirements.
Information on this unique event will be forthcoming
at www.PlantSuccess.com and in this
Newsletter. Of course, we are always interested in talking to potential
speakers, moderators and sponsors. Please call me at 770-565-3282.
Carl Howk, Chairman
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Current Links
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10 Emerging
Technologies That Will Change Your World
The annual list of emerging technologies from MITs
Technology Review is always interesting. The areas of impact are:
computing, medicine, communication, and our energy infrastructure and the
editors admit the timeframe for impacting our lives or work in revolutionary
ways may be next year or the next decade. For each of these technologies, the
editors identify a researcher whose ideas and efforts both epitomize and
reinvent his or her field. READ MORE.
Productivity
Through a Healthy Technology Infrastructure
By all reports, the US economy continues to show
strong signs of growth and is being led by even higher rates of productivity.
With this backdrop, Dan Hebert, PE, Senior Technical Editor for Control
Magazine, has written an interesting piece with the sub-title: Cheap Labor
is Not the Only Measure of Competitiveness. READ
MORE.
Another anniversary worth
recognizing is the Construction
Industry Institute (CII), Austin, Texas, celebrating 20 years in part by lowering the
price of products to non-member companies by 50 percent for the year 2004.
The CII has more than 300 titles in its research
inventory, with funded studies spanning the three key sectors of the industry
that CII studies: heavy-civil, infrastructure, and general buildings/
commercial. Topics range from pre-project planning to zero accidents, and many
support "best practices" that help the industry improve projects from
initial planning to start-up and commissioning. READ MORE.
The PlantSuccess Newsletter generates a substantial
number of visits to our website, we welcome the interest and the access to
previous issues of the Newsletter which are available there. If you'd like to
share this newsletter with a colleague, just forward a copy. Subscribe or
cancel by sending a request to Carl.Howk@PlantSuccess.com
Full links to Volume IV, Issue 2 Newsletter articles:
2. http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/emerging0204.asp
3. http://www.controlmag.com/Web_First/CT.nsf/ContentFrameset?OpenForm&ArticleID=SKUN-5T8SPV
4. http://construction-institute.org/booksale.htm