The discussions were heated, and I had to take many a reprimand for late delivery of large-diameter pipes.
This was still within bounds until a nasty omission occurred. I had not managed to deliver a huge fitting with a diameter of over two meters in the shape of a Ypsilon, also known as a ‘Y-piece’ because of its appearance, to the construction site on the required date.
The chief construction manager went berserk because the missing part was causing the continuation of the route to be considerably behind schedule. Reason enough to exert enormous pressure at the pipe mill.
Finally, the trouser part was ready for shipment on a flat Reichsbahn stake car, and I could look forward to the next meeting with peace of mind.
As usual, the protocol was worked through from stipulation to stipulation until it was my turn, among other things, for the delivery of the Ypsilon fitting.
‘Where’s the Y-form piece?!’ The site manager’s voice sounded sharp and very displeased. ‘Must have been on site for about a week.’ – ‘You’ve got to be kidding me, comrade!’ My name cracked like a whip across the conference room.
The site manager jumped to his feet. All the participants stared at their minutes in embarrassment, for such sharp negotiation was unusual. Unsettled, but in a firm voice, I reported that I had personally supervised the production and also the loading of the molded part.
The boss became calmer. He had known me long enough to be able to assess that I was not capable of such a brazen lie. The secretary was given the task of immediately calling the railroad to find out which siding they had shunted the gigantic piece that could not be overlooked.
But the search remained fruitless. Back in my office, I continued the search. Despite all efforts, the stake car and its very conspicuous load remained missing.
It was not until the third day after the fruitless search that I received an unexpected call from a site manager of the large construction site at the Boxberg power plant, who told me that a wagon with an oversized piece of pipe had been standing with him for days, which he had not ordered and could not use, and what should he do?
Relieved, I enlightened my colleague and asked for urgent transport to the northern power plant. With that, the next report, apart from the usual minor difficulties, went normally again. Apart from this embarrassing mishap, I enjoyed this work, and it enriched my professional experience.
During the regular site inspections, I had the opportunity to see the enormous meter-thick concrete walls, reinforced with strong reinforcing bars. They gave me an idea of the elemental force that lurks behind these walls when the nuclear reactors begin their work.
I would have liked to visit the plant in operation, but this was not allowed. The safety regulations were extremely high. Also at the last report, as usual, I had to hand in my service card at the guard and wait until I was picked up for counseling. 𝓣𝓸 𝓑𝓮 𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓾𝓮𝓭…
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