Fall Protection: Friends Don’t Let Friends Go Splat

On July 1 and 8, 2008, Valdes Engineering Company was pleased to host Mike Murphy and the Miller-Dalloz Fall Protection demonstration trailer. Mike set up his trailer for Valdes employees at the BP Whiting Refinery in Indiana, the ExxonMobil Refinery in Joliet, the CITGO Refinery in Lemont, and our Lombard, Illinois staff. This unique event was attended by 36 employees who wear or anticipate wearing fall protection. It was GREAT safety training!

We learned how to inspect the equipment, don and adjust it properly, reviewed the capabilities and limitations of the equipment, discussed new equipment solutions, and asked lots of questions. Some lucky participants were even suspended from the rig to see how they might feel if suspended. The “drop tests” Mike did clearly showed why you want to use your equipment properly. (Only 220# test bags were dropped – not real people!)

This kind of interactive training is one of the many steps Valdes employees are taking to become safety performance leaders.











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Valdes Engineering Company (VEC) sets the standard for excellence in engineering serving regional, national and global corporations with on-time, on-budget projects. VEC is a Chicago-based engineering consulting firm, specializing in the petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, power, chemical, alternative energy, and manufacturing industries.

VEC in the News

Congratulations, everyone!

The safety awards we received from Three Rivers Manufacturers’ Association in May are in the news. VEC is featured in a full page advertisement in the Joliet Herald, Sunday, June 29, 2008.

Keep up the good work being safety conscious! And remember that these awards are based on the safety performance ALL Valdes employees, not only field personnel.


Sincerely,

Amy Gibson
Manager of Safety



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Valdes Engineering Company (VEC) sets the standard for excellence in engineering serving regional, national and global corporations with on-time, on-budget projects. VEC is a Chicago-based engineering consulting firm, specializing in the petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, power, chemical, alternative energy, and manufacturing industries.

Somerset Pilot Plant

Valdes Engineering Company (VEC) is proud to be a part of what is happening in Somerset, Mass. The project is a Pilot Plant for GreatPoint Energy. The Pilot Plant will test GreatPoint's coal gasification process, a process that makes pipeline grade natural gas from coal, petcoke, or other feedstock. The process is part of the solution to provide the world with environmentally friendly energy, or green energy. GreatPoint came to VEC with the technology. VEC provided the technology transfer in the form of this Pilot Plant. The project, located adjacent to the Brayton Point Power Station, broke ground in February and is scheduled to start-up this fall.

For more information:
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/business/x1898463585/Coal-gasification-project-beginning-to-take-shape


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Valdes Engineering Company (VEC) sets the standard for excellence in engineering serving regional, national and global corporations with on-time, on-budget projects. VEC is a Chicago-based engineering consulting firm, specializing in the petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, power, chemical, alternative energy, and manufacturing industries.

VEC and BP Team Up for Another Golf Victory!

Despite implementation of the "Palmer Rule", as coined by BP Whiting Golf League President, Ralph Ford, Valdes Engineering Company's (VEC) Pat Morris and Bill Palmer teamed with BP's Mike Berna and his son, Evan Berna to claim 1st place in the Summer Golf Outing on June 21, 2008 at The Course at Aberdeen in Valparaiso, Indiana. By posting a 13 under par score of 59, which included eagles on the par 4 13th and par 5 15th holes, the team won their 4th straight BP Whiting Golf League outing. VEC participated in this event with three foursomes made up of VEC employees and guests. Other VEC employees participating in the outing were Chris Baccino, Tim Leib, Pat Fitzpatrick, Chris Schnabel, and Bill Zato.

The team hopes to continue their winning streak when they play in the year end outing on September 20th!



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Valdes Engineering Company (VEC) sets the standard for excellence in engineering serving regional, national and global corporations with on-time, on-budget projects. VEC is a Chicago-based engineering consulting firm, specializing in the petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, power, chemical, alternative energy, and manufacturing industries.

Let's Bowl!

The VEC Management Team kicked off their shoes last Friday night, and slipped on some new ones—bowling shoes! The team headed out to Lucky Strike in Lombard for an evening of bowling and bonding. It looks like a great time was had by all. Check out some pictures below...


















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Valdes Engineering Company (VEC) sets the standard for excellence in engineering serving regional, national and global corporations with on-time, on-budget projects. VEC is a Chicago-based engineering consulting firm, specializing in the petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, power, chemical, alternative energy, and manufacturing industries.