Ken Putt Snippet A

Metallurgical engineer Ken Putt describes his role overseeing the building of the Strathcona Refinery at Edmonton, then the biggest project that his employer, Imperial Oil, had ever done. The new refinery replaced existing refineries in Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, and Winnipeg, and its product was pipelined to Vancouver, Winnipeg, and points between. He was the owner's representative on the design team, and learned chemical engineering "by doing". When the design was finished, he was sent to Edmonton to do the start-up planning. Eventually he was in charge of start-up operations for half the plant.