America’s Greatest Projects & their Engineers – Vol. III

Course Description:

This third course in the series of America’s Greatest Projects & Their Engineers describes the perseverance as well as the innovations developed and implemented on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. TAPS was a project of extreme national importance at a critical time in our nation’s history. This course described in great detail the many ups and downs of the project and the reasons why the project was lengthier and much more costly than it should have been. This course traces the events from the time that ARCO had a major crude oil find in 1968 on the North Slope of Alaska until the first oil tanker left the Valdez Terminal in 1977. The many engineering challenges faced by Alyeska and its engineering and construction team is related in an intimate manner never before described.

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

·         Understand why TAPS moved forward with the project despite lack of government approval.

·        Learn why the TAPS plans did not materialize in the early years of the project.

·        Acknowledge and understand the role that the federal government officials can play in the disapproval or acceleration of even a large, privately funded project.

·        Discover how leadership played such a major factor in one of the most significant projects in the history of the United States.

·        Discover how the Alyeska Task Group continued to emphasize control even during the lengthy delay process.

·        Understand the obstacles that confronted the Projects Team members and the unique techniques that were implemented.

·         Realize that the success of the Trans-Alaskan System startup and operation even to this day was the result of excellent engineering and full commitment by all of the staff and experienced construction workers.