I joined PB in 1994 after eight years with a smaller, regional engineering firm where the main focus was on water and wastewater.  My main reason for coming to PB was the expectation that I would be exposed to a wider variety of projects and experience.  As this tale will attest, PB did not let me down. 

In 1996, Bill Gray (my supervisor at the time) first related the news that PB had just won a big job in Singapore.  Bill's enthusiasm was contagious as he described the project's details and its challenges.  The Singapore Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) would be the world's largest sewerage infrastructure project.  We would be responsible for preliminary design of this design-build project, and would provide construction management services as contractors came on board to complete the designs and construction.  It was possible I could be assigned to the project if I was willing to travel and spend some time overseas. (I was!)

An Ideal Research Opportunity

The DTSS was to meet Singapore's sewerage system needs over the next century.  It will:      

• Eliminate nearly 100 existing sewage pump stations and six wastewater treatment plants, and replace them with a new network of gravity sewers, tunnels, and two centralized wastewater treatment plants.       
• Include approximately 84 km (52 miles) of deep tunnels, 161 km (100 miles) of surface sewers, 14 drop structures, two 6-km (4-mile)-long deep-sea ocean outfalls, and two new treatment plants, each with initial capacities of 796 million liters per day (210 million gallons per day).

The design of the drop structures would be something between an art and a science, and Bill believed that the engineering field had much to learn in this regard.  With encouragement and sponsorship from him and many others, I decided to apply for (and was awarded) the 1998 William Barclay Parsons Fellowship with a proposal to develop design guidelines for drop structures.  The timing of this award was ideal, considering my participation on DTSS project.  I would be able to immerse myself in drop structure research and have the opportunity to apply what I learned to the DTSS project.

Challenges and Rewards

Previous to my Singapore trip, I hadn't traveled much beyond the borders of the U.S.  After I looked at some travel books on Singapore, I was eager to get there and get started.  I arrived late on a Friday night and made my way to the office the next morning.  After introductions and a quick tour, I was given a stack of reports to review.  From there, it was full speed ahead. 

New information was streaming in that needed to be reviewed, checked, and summarized for the many reports, workshops, and memorandums that served to document the basis of the preliminary designs.  My initial efforts were focused mainly on the development of a flow model that would represent the proposed tunnels, surface sewers, and portions of the existing collection system.  The flow model would be used to determine the size of the pipes, tunnels, and dropshafts that would need to somehow fit within the maze of subsurface infrastructure beneath Singapore's busy streets.  Potential fatal flaws had to be identified early on to ensure that only buildable and economical alternatives were evaluated for more detailed design.  Several viable alternatives would be identified and the preferred alternative would be made by consensus among the various governmental agencies charged with overseeing the project. 

Coming from Boston, I had to shed all my preconceived notions of design process.  For example, public input played a comparatively minor role in site selection, in comparison to what I was used to.  This was my first experience on a design-build project and it was a great opportunity to learn by working closely with the talented geotechnical, structural, and seasoned field engineers who had the requisite experience in tunneling and trenchless construction methods that would be used to build the DTSS.  The success of the DTSS project depended on strong management and coordination among these disciplines. 

Project directors Brian Van Weele and Dick Flanagan kept the staff informed of the big picture and provided daily direction so that everyone was moving together in the right direction.  It was clear that a project of this magnitude required not only engineering expertise but also equal parts of hustle and hard work from all those involved. 

Daily Life

During my stay in Singapore I had the good fortune to meet many good and talented people.  This was my first experience living overseas and it was exciting to be submerged in the local culture.  Nearly all Singaporeans speak very good English so conversing with them and finding my way around presented no problems.  Singapore is very close to the equator and the intense tropical heat would occasionally be cooled by torrential downpours.  The office itself was in a renovated "shop house" in the older and more interesting part of Singapore and turf-battles over the air conditioner settings were won and lost daily. 

Office staff was a mix of "ex-pats" and Singaporeans.  I made lifelong friends and a big contribution to office morale when I led a successful campaign to have the building's owner turn off the "Kenny G" tape that was constantly piped into the office against our will.  The daily routine included meals at any of the ubiquitous "hawker" stalls and walks through the crowded city streets.  Singapore gets moving early and, like New York City, is a place that never really sleeps.  In addition to the great people I met over there, I'll never forget the sites, sounds, smells, the hustle and bustle that were all a big part of the adventure. 

An Unexpected Reward

Somehow in the midst of all the work-related mayhem I met my wife, who was also working on the project with our DTSS joint venture partner.  To make a long story very short, we were married in Singapore in March of 1998 in the presence of family, friends, coworkers, and hundreds of relatives (all "aunts and uncles") who had come to town from Malaysia for the event.  Without a doubt, the most rewarding aspects of my assignment in Singapore are finding my wife and having our son, who was 7 years old in April, 2006!  Over the years we've returned to Singapore several times to visit family and friends.  During our most recent visit, I was given a tour of the DTSS and it was gratifying to see the concrete and steel products of our design efforts now in place.  Much of the Phase 1 work is now complete and 48 km (30 miles) of tunnel are online.  The project is expected to be complete in 2015.

Advice to PB Employees Considering Working Abroad

Most engineers will agree that each new project adds depth to your engineering knowledge and skills.  Work assignments abroad provide unique opportunities to learn new things and establish valuable contacts and friendships within the PB community.  If you keep your eyes, ears, and mind open you will get the most from the experience.  I've been fortunate that mine enriched me personally and professionally and I could never have predicted the impact that the Singapore assignment would have on my life.  If the opportunity to work and travel comes your way, don't hesitate!