At the beginning of March, I asked for some general advice about a new job I landed: writing procedures and other documentation for a new factory that is gearing up to start production. Now that the dust has settled somewhat, I thought I might provide a followup for anyone who is interested. In this installment, I'll just lay out some of the background details.

First, my background: before taking this job, I never did any technical writing. I have mostly worked in print publishing, specifically educational books for children. So, there's been a lot to learn and in a short period of time.

As for the company I am working for, it is manufacturing houses made of recycled glass and fiberglass. The chief component--and the one part of the process that is proprietary--is a rectangular panel. The center of this panel is a hard core made of tiny glass pellets (recycled glass) mixed with resin. This core is then sandwiched between two fiberglass sheets.

A house is built up using these panels; the panels are held together with a skeleton frame of fiberglass beams, as well as fiberglass rods that run through the center of each panel and tie the panels together. The houses will be sold unassembled--a shipment will arrive at the construction site, and a crew will build the house.

I may be biased, but this technology has impressed me with its relative simplicity and its effectiveness. An order for a house involves a set of panels (rectangles and a few other simple shapes) and a set of fiberglass beams and rods. The panels are very thermal efficient; they are also impervious to mold and are good at withstanding both extreme heat and blunt force. The people who created the technology see hurricane zones as being a prime market, at least initially.

In my next installment, I'll talk about the people who put this all together and the machines that will manufacture the components.