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Taking the pulse

Hansen checks meters, fixes problems

Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Dec 08/00) - First he helped build a pipeline, now Dwayne Hansen takes readings here for Inuvik Gas Ltd.

Hansen, of Aklavik, has been a gas production operator with the company for about 18 months. Before that he worked for two years in Rainbow Lake, Alberta.

Hansen said that he went to Rainbow Lake to work on a pipeline, but had a change of plans.

"I never thought I'd get into this field at all," Hansen said. "It's just when I went down to Rainbow and had a look at the gas plant, it seemed interesting.

"Here I am," he said.

"We start here in the morning with a little meeting. We go to the meter station, do a set of readings and see what was sold to Power Corp. and to the town."

Hansen said that he checks to ensure the temperatures and pressures are all correct. If something's wrong, he'll notify his supervisor and then try to fix it.

"Usually it's just a simple thing," he said. "Every day's something else new. It keeps us on our toes."

Once a week Hansen travels to the gas plant at Ikhil, 50 kilometres north of Inuvik, to take readings and do maintenance work.

Hansen said that after filing his daily report, he helps out with installing and reading meters. He also locates the service line to fulfil requests from companies.

He said most of his training has come on the job, although he did take a one-week gas production operators course last year in Nisku, Alberta.