Figure 5.
EA Technology staff celebrate the end of the survey
work at Posof, on the Georgian border. ©Peter Brookman.
around a quarter of the size of a football pitch – taking a day to
complete.
This was the largest overseas services project of its kind
that EA Technology had ever done and each member of the
team came away with their own unique cultural experience.
Ramiz said: “Personally, it was the biggest project I’d ever
managed and it really was a baptism of fire in terms of resource
and safety management. We are extremely proud of the high
quality of work undertaken. When considering the scale of
the project, the fact that we had no significant safety issues is
a testament to the policies and training put in place by both
BTC Co. and EA Technology.
“There were also unprecedented logistical issues, but overall I
feel that we proved we have the right resources, knowledge and
capacity to carry out such huge undertakings. It was a fantastic
project to manage.”
Peter continued: “For me, it was great to see the quality of
the work done, by both ourselves and by the engineers from
BTC Co. who accompanied us at every location. By the end of
the project we had all made some new friends and still keep in
regular contact with many.
“The quality of the health and safety procedures – the
training, the equipment and the rigorous procedures set in place
was essential to ensure the success of the project. Despite the
difficult terrain, the wildlife risks and the weather, we felt safe at
every stage of the journey.”
Steve Holmes reflected: “This entire project proved to be an
enormous confidence boost for EA Technology. We’ve known for
years what a talented and technically brilliant team we have, and
successfully completing a project on such a massive scale was a
huge achievement.
“It’s opened our eyes up to the possibilities – having handled
the logistical challenges presented to us in Turkey, I don’t think
there’s anything we can’t take on.” (Figure 5)
Peter closed by saying: “The findings of the survey work have
allowed BTC Co. to have a detailed overview of all their earthing
and lightning protection systems. Only the Turkey section of
the BTC pipeline was surveyed so hopefully the journey is only
halfway through.”
