Inglenook Engineering was founded to provide sound engineering and process safety advice to operating companies around the world.  Our mission statement is: we aim to help facilities operate safely and efficiently without injuring personnel or the environment (read the whole statement HERE).  The engineering and process safety work define what we do, but why we do the work may be the most important.  At Inglenook, we want everyone to be able to go home at the end of the day and enjoy life outside of the work environment.

So, we thought it would be fun to highlight one of the things we, as employees of Inglenook, have done outside the office.  As of last weekend, all Inglenook employees have taken part in a Tough Mudder run.  When we thought about it, the run can be a pretty strong analog for working at a small engineering company.  Below, with the help of some pictures, we’ll explain why.

Running a Tough Mudder takes teamwork, just as working on an engineering team requires us to rely on complementary skills to effectively execute projects.  Prior to leaving the start area everyone is asked to repeat that the event is for the team and everyone will put the team’s success above their individual performance.

Sometimes, in the course of completing project work or administrative tasks, we all have to tackle things that aren’t exactly glamorous.  It might require getting down in the trenches and categorizing data, or in the case of the Tough Mudder dragging one’s self through a literal mud filled trench.  When everyone is willing to chip in, the end result is almost always positive.

And at times during the course of a project, we all may need to be picked up and carried a bit to push and meet deadlines or technical challenges.

Did anyone else notice that we were only able to find pictures of one Inglenooker carrying others?  Interesting…

At the end of the day, the technical excellence of our work is how we will be judged as a company.  It may not always be pretty, but we will fight to the finish to produce high quality work that provides practical solutions to the challenges faced by our clients.

While this post is slightly different than our other Fireside Chats and is meant to be lighthearted, the reason for it is a serious part of why we do business.  Stay safe out there.  Enjoy life.