Not finishing a project is frustrating

Our Christmas photo contest is over and big thanks go to all participants! Now you can read an interview with Pierpaolo Bonora, winner of first place.

• What is the background of you as a paint inspector – how did you encounter that kind of job?

I have started this job in 1986 with a little familiar Company with my father. Corrosion prevent advice, writing specification, paint supervision, coating failure analysis, paint and paint system qualification.

So, studding and analyzing the coating failures, I have learned which kind of  situation must be absolutely avoided to have a good paint system and guarantee the expected service life. Day by day I have become a certified level 3 Nace coating inspector.

• Your projects make you travel all around the world. Where furthest from your homeland have you been?

Fortunately I have not travelled so much around the world. I have been more travelling in Europe. But in Italy I have travelled a lot, from the shipyard in Sicily to the northern part near Bolzano.

• What do you like about your profession?

 In this moment I am working from project to project. I am working as a paint inspector for one big company in Italy which projects and builds platform for oil and gas. So I have to follow all parts of the job, writing the paint procedure, qualify the blast and paint personnel, write the ITP. Part of the work is in the office and the rest is outside on yard, in paint shop…It’s a really good and exciting challenge. I like when the Client is satisfied of my work. When I can find acceptable solution to some problem.

• Is there also something what you do not like?

I don’t’ like to be not able to complete the work, because some reason (ambient condition, mechanical problem, painter not able to apply correctly) These situation are frustrating, need to be rectified with wasting of time, delay, cost…These are not good situation.

• What is for you the most interesting thing you have experienced as a paint inspector?

The most interesting situations are during problem solving: to find why one paint system failure quickly. It seems like the work of a private investigator. Part of this job is on the field, to take and record all the factor, and part is in laboratory, to analyses the paint. At the end of this complicated job and finding the solution you can share the results to avoid repeat the error. The most common error are wrong mixing ratio of paint and activator, using a wrong activator for one paint .. But really most interesting are the particular and most technical application: Thermal spray application, zinc, aluminum and magnesium, FBE.

• Did you have some project which was from some reason special? 

Probably the most involving, interesting that really make you feel being part of a big project is building a ship (both barge than engine propeller). Day by day, week by week, all the big sections become a shape. All the meeting for the sequence of construction, all the time spent on drawing become one real thing. The day of launching on sea is full of emotion. Seams to be in contact with a life creature. One ship, especially cruised one, is one different world. You know that after the contruction, after all the time spent for paint, for made beautiful appearance, other the for anticorrosion, for protect the steel. And the day that the ship leave the harbor, all the people on the docks, all the sound of other ships that say “hello”…It’s a really big satisfaction for the job you have done!!

• Where is your next project taking place?

Now, I am working onto a Shell project, one living quarter for 84 person , North sea destination.  Sail away foreseen for may 2014. Next project ( but I will work on it at already started project)shall be a big dek platform for Ivory Coast.

• What are your hobbies? 

Because I work far from home (I live in Genova but I am working in Ravenna) when I can go home my hobbies are my lovely family. My partner, my daughters, her daughters . Some years ago I was a good diver with a dive master certification. 

• Please continue  in following sentence with first thing coming to you mind:

 I always wanted to …… It’s not so easy to say exactly what I always wanted to do. I am started just after military service as a simple worker, and after completion of my study, after have made experience on field I was naturally to find myself as Coating inspector and Consulting.  So, probably this is was I always want to do, but I didn’t know!!

I am very happy of my actually job. I am always in relationship  whit good person creating a good job team. And this is really important for that kind of job.

Winning picture. Total ready for sail away, Italy, plt LIBONDO