The 2nd Job March 17, 2014

The 2nd Job March 17, 2014

Today Monday, was the second time I have met with my mentor, Jose Quintero, a pipeline expert and civil engineer for PG&E. We met a Starbucks again, we all arrived and Jose handed me a waiver/permission slip that his boss gave him in order for me to be able to accompany him to an ordinary day in the office and an actual work site. Jose also gave me and a fellow peer the basics on how to put a pipe and/or replace a pipe underground. I learned that in order to be able to replace a pipe, you must first use a pig, which is a device that is shot through the pipes and picks up where exactly the problem is and what kind of problem it is. In order to do this though, you must shut off the valve so there isn't any gas flowing through the pipes. Jose also went over hula pressure (if I'm not mistaken) and that is, that before any pipe is actually put into the ground and welded, it is tested for safety/safety code. In order to test it, the pipe is sealed at both ends and gas is forced in there, then they observe how much psi that pipe can actually withstand. They force incredible amount of pressure that the pipe can withstand so they can know that the pipe can withhold any pressure under that. They never want to use the 100% of pressure in the pipe and always use 70% or 80% of the max pressure it can hold. Then once put into the ground, the pipe is covered with sand., allowing it to slightly move if anything were to happen like that of an earthquake. That way if anything were to ever happen like an earthquake or an 18-wheel truck passes over it, the force would be spread out evenly among the pipe and not at one single point or it'll burst. Once the new pipe has been placed into the ground, the pipe it is going to be weldded to is sawed or scratched off in order to get to new part of metal. That way the new pipe won't be welded on to rusty. Mr. Quintero also gave us an overview about college and what it takes to succeed and how to approach the issue of any financial problems that we might be facing due to college. he also explained how no matter where you came from or how you grew up, if you work hard enough you can accomplish anything you want. On my next meeting with Mr. Quintero he will take me and my fellow peer to an ordinary day in the office.


Time logged for this session: 1.5 hours

Total time logged: 2.5 hours