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Blogs > Shebuha
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Shebuha
Profile Blog Joined May 2011
Canada1335 Posts
January 05 2014 23:47 GMT
#1
I'm just gonna write about my job because writing is good for you. It also helps me think about stuff, and thinking about things that are good in life makes me happy. This is pretty long, so if you don't want to/aren't going to read it please kindly fuck off. Thanks!

+ Show Spoiler +
I guess I'll start by saying that I'm 19 years old since that helps frame the things I say a bit. At the start of September I got a job that I could potentially stay at for the rest of my life (it would kind of suck to be there that long, but not the worst thing since it's got a good union). I work at a production plant that produces pipes! The plant runs 24/7 all year round except for 2-3 weeks at Christmas where we clean and paint while maintenance does work and installations and contractors do dangerous work in unsafe ways because if you're doing any sort of construction your life sucks. The other day a contractor got some gunk in his eyes and now he's off the job for awhile and last year another fell 20 feet through the roof onto his head and somehow lived.

So the plant produces all sorts of pipes, from "spaghetti pipe" that's 3/4" in diameter and 20 ft long that bounces around and bends infinitely to 24 ft 36" diameter pipe that can take shots from a sledgehammer. My job is to quality check whatever pipe every hour and to make minor adjustments to keep it in the specifications so that it can be shipped and sold. Of course, before it's shipped I have to move it from the production line into a bundle so that I can weigh it and take it away with a forklift. There are all sorts of little things to do like cleaning valves and filters, making wooden frames and more, but that's typically easy.

I can't tell if I like shift work more or less than Monday-Friday work. 12 hour shifts are definitely not for everyone, that's for sure. The shift work at this job is waaaaaaay better than at other jobs though. Here I work 2 weeks days and then 2 weeks nights. On the 2 weeks of days I work 5 days one week, then 2 days the next, and then the same on the nights. It works out that I only work 14 days a month, which is SUPER nice, but 12 hour shifts leave time for little on my days on. Going back to Mon-Fri work would be really nice because 8 hour shifts are NOTHING to me now, but working 5 days in a row every week would be lame for sure.

Since the job is all about seniority people like me can get screwed pretty badly when it comes to picking lines. Lines are picked at the beginning of the first shift on any cycle. Once you pick a line, you're on it for those 2 or 3 shifts, and next cycle they're all picked again. Lines are always switching types of pipe, so for a couple shifts you could be doing one line, but then it might switch to something really juicy, and it'll get taken by a guy with more seniority.

What makes a line juicy? Speed, length, and wall-thickness, baby. The slowest line in the plant producing the slowest (longest, thickest) type of pipe will produce a pipe every 45 minutes. That's a lot of downtime. Did I mention the shifts are 12 hours? That's a lot of downtime. Some lines are "dual lines," and produce 2 kinds of pipes at once. Some of these are very desirable because they are consistently produce thicker, longer pipe, but some of them are really really shit.

As the bottom of the food chain, I get dropped off on these shitty lines sometimes and it's really really hard work. Worst case scenario you have a bundle that takes 63 pipes that are 10 ft in length and 10 lbs each and they are being produced at 15 ft/min. After some simple math we realize that it only takes 42 minutes per bundle, which means we're gonna have to bundle up and move 34 bundles in our shift. THAT'S A LOT OF WORK since you also have to do all of your other stuff, make more wood because there's more bundles and do more cleanup because there will be more shavings from the pipes. In total: 21,600 lbs lifted in a day. Compare this to the guy moving a pipe every 45 minutes using a small crane, and taking out 1 bundle per shift. X___X haha

But that's worst case scenario. There have been days where I've sat in the lunch room reading and listening to music for 6 hours because my line isn't running and maintenance is doing work on it. The way our scheduling works we end up working 1 Sunday day shift per month, so my crew (1 of 4) always does a lunch or breakfast for everyone (15+ people).

There are other cool benefits too, like management works Monday-Friday and leaves at 4, so there's plenty of time where there's no management skulking around. Most of management started on the bottom where I am, so they recognize that if you're sitting around doing nothing you probably completed your work or just need a break, but it's just bothersome to have them wandering around or whatever. It could be a lot worse... I could be working a minimum wage job again where management won't leave you the fuck alone and let you work or break in peace.

You can tell that I'm young when I'm addressing benefits and mentioning how annoying management is/isn't before I mention the actual benefits. Lot's of dental, lot's of medical, RSP's (YUMYUMYUM) that my work puts into and other goodies that will be very nice to take advantage of.

I like the employees here too. 30-50 year old guys who like coffee, beer, hot women, guns and not much else. I'm not like that at all, but they're fun to talk to and always have funny stories to tell about back when the plant was a shit hole. No supervisors, people doing rails off their desks, people meeting with drug dealers on their breaks, people with anger management issues breaking shit. The plant also happens to be on a Native Reserve... fuel for the fire back then. Now it's a lot more legit and there are always supervisors and such.

Inside this giant spoiler I'll spoiler (spoilerception) a couple funny/weird instances with shitty grammar:
+ Show Spoiler +
- the plant manager comes down from his office one day to find a guy who had fallen asleep on a forklift while it was holding a bundle. the manager was shaking the guy and pulling on his leg and he wouldn't wake up. fired.
- a guy comes into work on the first day of a cycle and in a desperate, shaky voice says to another guy "HEY MAN, I'VE BEEN AWAKE FOR THREE DAYS HIGH ON CRACK HELP ME OUT MAN." and the guy responds sternly "you gimme a hundred bucks and i'll watch your line for 4 hours." and the guy goes and sleeps in a 5x5x5 box with a tarp over it.
- a smokin' red Firebird drives into the plant's yard and parks just outside a guy's line (no one is allowed to park in the yard, we have a parking lot across the street by reception) and leaves 5 minutes later. The same guy from the last story goes over "hey johnny who was that?" and he responds "oh that was my grandmother, i was just giving her a tour of the plant." HURRRR
- a guy named Clarence who mouths off like crazy to everyone is known to also mouth off to people at bars. The story goes that he mouthed off to the wrong bikers at a bar and was found dead in a ditch with multiple stab wounds. Yeah, you don't fuck with Hell's Angels.
- every pipe gets ink printed on it saying what type of pipe it is, and the printers used to be total garbage, so one day when one guy got really pissed off he took a sledge hammer and caved the printer in, leaving a sledge hammer shaped print in it. He made up a really elaborate lie and he still works there today.
- this one happened to me when i was 3 weeks on the job. the same guy from the last story likes to throw fireworks at people on night shifts, and one night I was moving some stuff around with the forklift. I put something down and backed up, and something under the back of my forklift fucking EXPLODED. it was REALLY loud even with earplugs in and there was tons of smoke. thinking i just blew up a forklift and that im totally screwed, i go to find someone to tell what happened. I turn the corner into the plant and he's there dying of laughter. F THAT haha


So, I originally thought that I would work here for 2 years and then go to school for something.. I don't know what yet and I refuse to go without knowing certainly, or at least to the absolute certainty I can know. However, there's a guy who started working here 6 years ago who's 23 now, and he has a nice apartment, a nice car, he's getting a nice promotion and everything is going really well for him.

I believe it's dangerous to rush into schooling, but the attitude of, "well I can always go back to school, no rush, no rush," is dangerous too, but I just have no idea what I'd go to school for. All I know is that I'm thankful that I didn't go straight out of highschool. Holy flip... I don't understand how teenagers can make such a commitment without thinking about the consequences in depth. I know one guy who KNEW he would become an engineer, and a year later he KNEW he was going to be a doctor. I don't know what's going on with him a year later after that, but that's just so fucking stupid imo. A girl I knew went for "general studies" and when I told her I didn't know why/what I should go to school for she said, "just take general studies!" I think it was a mistake to assume I'd get a thoughtful answer out of someone going for general studies.


Well, you can call this a brag blog or whatever else if you want, I just wanted to write something. If you find any parts of this interesting or fun then I'm glad. Thanks for reading!

****
EJK
Profile Blog Joined September 2013
United States1302 Posts
January 06 2014 00:01 GMT
#2
sounds like a dream flushed down the toilet and into some cool ass pipes!
Sc2 Terran Coach, top 16GM NA - interested in coaching? Message me on teamliquid!
YouthSC
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
United Kingdom355 Posts
January 06 2014 00:34 GMT
#3
Haha it was actually a really interesting read! It's brilliant you are passionate for your job.
The more I practice, the luckier I get!
Shebuha
Profile Blog Joined May 2011
Canada1335 Posts
January 06 2014 01:28 GMT
#4
On January 06 2014 09:01 Smurfett3 wrote:
sounds like a dream flushed down the toilet and into some cool ass pipes!

NO DREAMS NOW ONLY PIPES

hahaha thanks for the posts guys
lichter
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts
January 06 2014 01:54 GMT
#5
If you see advancement opportunities in your job that doesn't require you to study, and you're happy there, then I don't see any reason to leave
AdministratorYOU MUST HEED MY INSTRUCTIONS TAKE OFF YOUR THIIIINGS
[MD]Frostbite
Profile Blog Joined May 2012
Canada292 Posts
January 06 2014 02:42 GMT
#6
On January 06 2014 09:01 Smurfett3 wrote:
sounds like a dream flushed down the toilet and into some cool ass pipes!


I love miscellaneous stories. I have a question though. What happens to the pipes that are under the required specifications? They get crushed (I'm assuming they are made of concrete?) and the materiel is used again?
What are the pipes made of? If you say that they are flexible means plastic? Or just many different materiel's depending of the length and thickness of the pipe?
White-Ra, the godfather Protoss
Shebuha
Profile Blog Joined May 2011
Canada1335 Posts
January 06 2014 04:43 GMT
#7
On January 06 2014 11:42 GalDiator wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 06 2014 09:01 Smurfett3 wrote:
sounds like a dream flushed down the toilet and into some cool ass pipes!


I love miscellaneous stories. I have a question though. What happens to the pipes that are under the required specifications? They get crushed (I'm assuming they are made of concrete?) and the materiel is used again?
What are the pipes made of? If you say that they are flexible means plastic? Or just many different materiel's depending of the length and thickness of the pipe?

Pipes are all made of plastic, yeah. They're all made with different blends that are kept in big silos that feed into the extruders at the ends of each line. The plastic is hard plastic so it's not super flexible, but the longer the pipe, the smaller the diameter and the thinner the walls the more flexible it'll be. "Spaghetti" pipe has fairly thick diameter but is typically cut 20 ft long and has a really small diameter, so as a result it flexes like crazy and NEVER EVER EVER breaks. One time a guy left his line for like an hour (idiot) and the saw stopped cutting for some reason while he was gone, and since this pipe never breaks it just kept going until it got stuck, then it bent and tangled itself forever. Like imagine a 1 1/2" diameter chord tangled 20 ft in the air. It took him like an hour to cut it all up with a saw because it runs at like 25-35 ft/min hahaha.
Uh, wee don't always scrap pipe if it's just slightly over/under. Example: if I had a 10ft, 4" diameter pipe the spec requirements are gonna be something like:
length: 120" +/- 1/4"
wall thickness: 4.206-4.223"
bell length: 4" +/- 1/4"
Length and bell length are the same in that under spec is 100% scrap every time, but 1/2" over is okay. Better over than under. Same applies for wall thickness, but not as harshly. The min/max you could let that hang at would be like 4.205/4.227. Sometimes something with your line is screwing up and you sort of just have to let some things be out of spec because if you screw with it something might mess up, or the line might go down. Then you gotta get your Leadhands and get it back up + Show Spoiler +
WOAH THERE COWBOY
, which sucks.



NeuroticPsychosis
Profile Blog Joined September 2013
United States322 Posts
January 06 2014 04:49 GMT
#8
You should probably go to college at some point in the near future. Speaking in the long term, if you can't see yourself being happy in your current job and surrounded by the people who work there, then it's better to get a new direction in life. It does sound like this job isn't intellectually stimulating you enough and you feel bored (or maybe appalled) by your coworkers and their primitive attitudes. If that's the case then you should really think about investing in your education.
intricate, elaborate, articulate, crystallize, conceptualize, synthesize
Ushio
Profile Blog Joined June 2010
Canada868 Posts
January 06 2014 05:33 GMT
#9
On January 06 2014 13:49 NeuroticPsychosis wrote:
You should probably go to college at some point in the near future. Speaking in the long term, if you can't see yourself being happy in your current job and surrounded by the people who work there, then it's better to get a new direction in life. It does sound like this job isn't intellectually stimulating you enough and you feel bored (or maybe appalled) by your coworkers and their primitive attitudes. If that's the case then you should really think about investing in your education.


Thats some pretty advice right there. Yeah if you see yourself staying there for life then you dont need the extra education, otherwise college would be a good idea if you want to do something else later in life.
http://myanimelist.net/profile/billng
Shebuha
Profile Blog Joined May 2011
Canada1335 Posts
January 06 2014 06:15 GMT
#10
On January 06 2014 13:49 NeuroticPsychosis wrote:
You should probably go to college at some point in the near future. Speaking in the long term, if you can't see yourself being happy in your current job and surrounded by the people who work there, then it's better to get a new direction in life. It does sound like this job isn't intellectually stimulating you enough and you feel bored (or maybe appalled) by your coworkers and their primitive attitudes. If that's the case then you should really think about investing in your education.

No, it really isn't very intellectually stimulating, but there are things to learn about how the plant runs and understanding how the equipment works. Whenever I have free time I read books though. I read Freakonomics and that was okay, now I'm reading a book on eating meat (it's not just an argument for vegetarianism) and then my next one is actually a university textbook on political science.

I wouldn't say I'm bored by my coworkers at all. I like listening to their stories (whether they're the weird ones I had in the OP, or actual situations in their lives) and learning things. A lot of them talk about things going on with the union, different options they have to invest money using different union/company methods, past jobs they've worked at, etc. Since I'm young, a lot of them even give advice that they wish they had at my age, however it may not always be very relevant since a lot of them are older, but there's always things to take away.

I wouldn't call their attitudes primitive at all. I stated in the OP that the stories these guys tell are from years earlier and that the plant is a lot more legit now. Most of these guys are just like everyone else; they have a house, a family and happily show pictures of their kids learning to skate like their dad did on the pond out back behind the tool shed. 3 guys on my shifts have tattoos of their kid's names on their arms too -- it's pretty cool haha.
run.at.me
Profile Joined December 2011
Australia550 Posts
January 06 2014 06:25 GMT
#11
Sounds good, just save your money or make sure you have something to show for it at the end of 2years work, coz if you don't you'll feel as though you just wasted two years.

While it sounds like an experience, which I'm sure it is, the novelty will wear off eventually and it will just become a job. This is pretty normal but have a financial goal I think would be wise
Shebuha
Profile Blog Joined May 2011
Canada1335 Posts
January 06 2014 09:19 GMT
#12
On January 06 2014 15:25 run.at.me wrote:
Sounds good, just save your money or make sure you have something to show for it at the end of 2years work, coz if you don't you'll feel as though you just wasted two years.

While it sounds like an experience, which I'm sure it is, the novelty will wear off eventually and it will just become a job. This is pretty normal but have a financial goal I think would be wise

Oh yeah, I'm definitely saving the money. I'd like to get a nicer car in the next year, and I'm continuing to live at home so I'm banking a lot every month so it won't be a pain, only a pleasure.

Oh don't you worry, the work already sucks and feels very job-ish hahaha. I'm still meeting people all the time because people are on different crews and basically live in different times that me. ^^
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