UCDS is busy in the field!
Everyone at UCDS is very busy this quarter. I think this weekend is the first that Dave will be home all weekend, and a good weekend for him and his family as they are celebrating becoming US Citizens. We congratulate them and wish them all well as they make a commitment to the US. I remember when I took the oath, what joy and a great sense of reality. We had a wonderful party with over 60 friends. I have in my office a beautiful plaque made by our very own Melinda, of Old Glory the American flag and a spectacular Eagle with embroider in red, white and blue with the words God Bless America, which reminds me of that unique point in our history.
When you are born in a country you become a citizen automatically and you never consider the responsibility or appreciate the heritage you inherit. However, when you choose a Country to live in and become a citizen you have to consider the consequences of your actions and the responsibility you have to become a good member of society. Things are very different to what you are used to, such as the political system, the voting system, the law of the land and the very way you interact with people is very different. We belong to two Countries divided by a common language!
Is a UK Conservative equal to a Republican or an Independent? Is Labor party equal to a Democrat? It is not that simple as we examine our values and beliefs and the differences between what we anticipated and reality.
But it is a joy; we have so many great friends in the UK and now also in America. Since we moved here, we have seen a dramatic swing in the values and beliefs of society. When we first came over 20 years ago, we were struck by what a Godly Country America was with more churches than we had ever seen before. Today we see these values under an evil attack and many businesses moving away from their compassionate and honest values, which drove me away from Corporate America to form my own company that would maintain these values and be proud to follow the traditions of this great country.
Harry has started another new project in Salt Lake City with our good friend Jack Pankoff (who is still working with us one whole year at the same site). Harry has a team of very experienced writers and is currently writing new operator training manuals. I have to say I am very impressed with the job the team is doing and more importantly so is our customer.
Dave and I have been moving around the country and in and out of Canada; we spent some time in Victoria, Texas as we kicked-off a very big project. As most of you are aware, we like to start these projects by creating a common vision, getting in-depth understanding of Situation Awareness and developing new standards and Guidelines for the project team and the operations department.
In quite a contrast weather wise, we then traveled to Salt Lake City and them to Chicago for two new projects. Our big challenge being finding time to do OSHA Basic Plus training and site specific training and juggle our existing projects. We are trying to get Harlan engaged in some of these projects as they will benefit from his impressive experience and the good work he does for us.
We are setting up travel for Chile and Trinidad this next month. I was disappointed we did not get a project in Australia; it has been a while since we visited all our friends in Australia and I want to tell them I miss them and some of the great times we have had together down under. I hope for more work in that part of the world. Let me tell you the Aussy’s are great folks to work with.
We should have an article coming out soon in Controlglobal about the major project we did for Borregaard in Norway. The Plant Manager is very proud of what they have achieved and has made a video about the project which is available on their website. http://www.borregaard.com/About-us/Videos
Many of you know our Sales Director Steve Maddox. He is very committed to our customers and works diligently to make sure we, as a company, are meeting your needs and exceeding your expectations. He keeps our customers informed about changes in the industry and updates them on news stories. If you do not know Steve yet you may be missing out on some gems of information that could impact your company. Please feel free to contact him through our website or direct through email smaddox@mycontrolroom.com
I will be in Salt Lake City, Corpus Christie, Texas and Fort Saskachewan, Canada this month, to name some of the places I will be traveling to. I hope to catch-up with you in the next few months, and if not me I know you are in very good hands if one of my team is with you. I am proud of everyone working for us and I am confident in the work they do. Each one is a true professional and is dedicated to what they do. They put in a lot more hours than requested or expected. They do it not for me but for you. They are proud of what they do and are committed to achieving excellence.
Please check out the following link regarding an upcoming Conference in Phoenix, AZ on:
• ASM HMI Best Practices
• High Performance HMI Demo
• Safety Instrumented Systems
• Cyber Security
• Maximizing Control System Projects
Date: April 25th – 27th
Registration: http://www.linandassociates.com/pages/Anniversary.html