The January weather in the Ciuc Basin is not favoring ski enthusiasts or tourism operators, who still have to wait for true winter and snow. However, it is being very merciful to us. Even the weather seems to align with the objectives set out in Miercurea Ciuc's Integrated Urban Development Strategic Plan—at least regarding the economic development sector.
When designing the project, we wouldn't have dared to schedule the foundation and concreting work for January. Even this past December, when we wished our construction partner a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, we expected works to resume around the end of February. In the Ciuc Basin, January and February are typically the coldest months with severe frosts. Then the new year arrived, but the severe cold didn't come. So, we are continuing the work.
Following the excavation of the strip foundation, construction continued with the concreting of the strip foundation and the formwork and rebar placement for the ground beams. Nevertheless, the weather cannot be called warm. We thank the specialists working on the site for their efforts—while 1 degree is enough for the concrete right now, for those working outside, no matter how you look at it, it is cold, feeling like -3 degrees due to the wind chill.
This surprising turn in the weather is also an important experience for us as an automation and process control company, because our clients are just as affected by changing weather conditions as we are now. It is no longer possible to make accurate annual plans using past knowledge alone. In the latest R&D process for our webSCADA product, artificial intelligence features will play an increasingly vital role. Today, there is a demand not only for real-time data provision, but also for forecasting unexpected events predicted by the software based on integrated data. Whether it's a forecasted milder-than-usual weather period—during which part of the maintenance planned for later can be brought forward—this can result in better human resource allocation and/or reduced operating costs.
In any case, for now, as long as the weather permits, we continue construction... down to minus 10 degrees with MO5 setting accelerators and tough Szekler specialists who stand firm against the cold.
