I'm Back. 15th of November.

Starting again. 2 new Cardumpers are being built. What beautiful weather.... And a week of it. 

Finally De-Mobilised... Heading back very soon for the next one.

Sitting at Perth Airport waiting on a delayed flight home to Melbourne. Up since 4 am, expect to be home at 2 am..
Finally cut but have been asked to come back for the next contract. There will be about 400 positions and there are over 700 employees on the books for this company wanting to get on this contract. The slowdown in construction of Iron Ore infrastructure is here..
Some thoughts and random observations...
Do NOT post use Facebook to make nasty comments about your employers...!!
Our crew sat through a prestart meeting where we were told of a member who had decided to vent his grievances on Facebook with a photo and caption. The Supervisor was livid and the perpetrator admitted to it... (Couldn't deny it as his name was all over the photocopies that we were shown) Marched out the door and Window seated... All within 24 hours.. Oops.
The food.... Nothing wrong with it. Just the same, day after day after day... after day........ after day.
I have fallen in love with Melbourne's food and coffee. Deeply in love.
Blogging on a laptop is fine.. Not so much fun on the Ipad. Sorry if it looks messy
FIFO work is fine for me. But a real struggle on the home front...

Sunrise on my last day..

Brand new Re-Claimer.

Brand new Stacker

Car Dumper unloading rair cars

Screenhouse.. Basically a huge garden sieve...

Riggers installing drain pies

Love the random tumbleweed. Reminds me that
I am in the desert

The drainage system that I have
worked on for the last 3 months

Father's Day lunch. KFC...Yay...

 

A McDonalds/KFC run

Camp B. The new camp..!
2 years old. No real vegetation
and bluestone everywhere. Desolate
and clinical. Terrible.

RDO Sunday and a minibus is made available.. A quick shopping run into Karratha. 45 minutes each way. The priority is to get a feed of McDonalds or KFC for lunch....! Eating the same food everyday gets tiring. This is one of the advantages of working near large towns rather than on a remote mine. I am heading home in 2 days so I decline the offer which I would have accepted willingly. I am looking forward to the food served up by Qantas.. Seriously.... Because it is different..
On two occasions, as a treat, the company that I work for has ordered KFC for lunch. Boxes of chicken, with gravy, coleslaw and buns for 300 blokes... And it is goood..!
One thing that is different up here is the lack of animals. My camp has lots of native plantings and this makes a lot of difference. I hear birds in the morning... A sound that is not common in this dry tree less land.

A Brand new Stacker. To the left is the first mountain
of iron ore, ready for loading a ship in about 2 weeks.
1 ship holds enough ore to build 3 Sydney Harbour bridges.

Camp A. The old camp.
My Donga is on the left.
Small trees, bushes, small plants,
red dirt and small grass patches. All
with sprinklers to keep the alive.




 

Weeks and weeks fitting a drainage system

The car dumper is running but we are still fitting a multi million dollar drainage system.. Involves 10 men, a crane and weeks in a 3 EWP's (Elevated working platforms)... Mixed with a bit of dust as iron ore is being dumped from above... 3 different machines in the air. Each requires a spotter.. someone on the ground watching barricaded drop zones.. and making sure that you are not running over or crashing into anything and capable of lowering you down if you are hurt... Remembering that we cannot drop anything... or big trouble, possibly a 'window seat"

The Gym

The Gym.. Another big demountable building...

 Impressive large gym that gets crowded straight after work. I go at 3.30am about 3 days a week to beat the crowds.... Boot camp does not exist here, so it is a rowing machine or a bicycle....Kinda boring.. Cannot do the cross-trainer or treadmill... Too noisy for me..

These is not a proper Gyms. There are trainers running classes and will advise if needed, but, they will not write programs or explain much. They look after staff on camp. We just sign a disclaimer stating that we are fit and injury free and will not sue them if we hurt ourselves.

So, YouTube and observing ot5 hers and I am an instant expert... Warm up and then start lifting things.. I am getting there. After 5 months, I am almost comfortable being here.

Consumable run

The township of Wickham is only a few kilometres away from camp. A population of about 2000+. It

Every Laundry has one. A breath test machine.
A quick check in the morning before you head
off to work if you think you may be close.

has a small shopping centre with a chemist, Post office, 2 take away shops and a Safety clothing shop...! There is a proper Safeway supermarket with a BWS bottle shop attached. The only bottle shop for miles.... With 3000 cashed up miners nearby, it is a winner...
 I decided to join in with "the usual suspects" on the twice weekly run. The bus roster is reconfigured on Tuesday and Friday afternoon so one minibus is dedicated to the consumable run.  Absolute genius...... The reason is to beat the 6 other minibuses, plethora of utes and private cars and one coach loaded with thirsty miners. The moment the bus stops, we all walk quickly to the bottle shop which is similar in layout to any other. Clean and well lit. The only difference is the verandah is steel security meshed with a staff member who controls numbers like a night club bouncer letting a person in as one exits. Yellow shirts with cartons move through swiftly as the line outside grows. As we walk out, the line inside is 30 deep and the same outside with more to come. It is a little frantic but controlled as workers triumphantly exit with their spoils.
A few head in to the supermarket to grab small items as some knock back 3 cans & 2 cigarettes and we are back in the bus. The selection of boutique beer is not as broad as at home.
Not a place for Beer Snobs like me...
Beer, mixed cans & wine can be bought at the wet mess in camp. The wet mess is usually open from 7 to 8 am (Night Shift) and 5.30 to 9.00 (no alcohol is sold between 6.45 to 7.30 so drinkers will have a break and get some food in their stomach. The rule of thumb is 9 before 9 (mid strengths) and you will blow zeros in the morning. I have not tested it as I know I would not be able to stand up.....
The only down side of buying at the wet mess. A six pack a day limit... Costs do not come down if you buy a six pack... So it gets expensive....

Feels like a holiday in the Tropics



A steel work bench cooking up in the sun

 It is starting to warm up. A week of 30 degrees and getting hotter and the heat is radiating off the rock walls and steel work benches. After two months of sipping water it is time to start drinking again. No more yellow water......... Must be clear..

2 umbrellas. Pina Colada please....!

Moved again. 3rd time in 6 months.

I am in the Donga marked with
the Blue Dot...
 

Made another move. The company is consolidating all personnel to one camp, so we packed up and moved within a day. I can now pack up a room in 1 hour and unpack in half an hour. We have moved to Birrabira Camp. A Rio Tinto camp adjacent to the work site. No more 70km drives any more. This camp holds 2400 FIFO workers. It has 2 large gyms, 2 large canteens and 2 large wet messes. It has a Medic on site and is meant to have really tough security. Answer back or argue with staff, especially security then "Window seat" for you. And it happened on the Sunday after a typical RDO Saturday night. A drunk bloke gave security a mouthful. Out on the 1.30 flight.......... NASA will not looking to employ this Rocket Scientist.....!
Look at the real estate. I know that you are jealous...


My verandah with the door open.
 

 


Peek into my room



My desk

My bed and fridge



Typical Cabins.



Lunch.... (In WA it is called "Crib".. Don't know why...)

At breakfast time there is a separate area in the canteen to make lunch.

This are will normally be swarming
with workers getting lunch.

You have access to bread and bread rolls, and cold meats and cheeses. Frozen pies, pasties etc. There are different types of salads (of which some combinations are really odd) and leftover meats and vegetables from the night before. Some camps have leftovers already in plastic containers ready to go. Usually, there are cakes and sweets and of course, plenty of chopped up melons and whole fruit. It is pretty simple and does not vary a lot. After 4 weeks you get very tired of the same foods day after day. But, generally it is as healthy as you want it to be. Keeping in mind that all of this food travels from Perth, which is 2 days on the road. So things don't seem as crisp and fresh as hoped..

My Crib. Healthy in comparison to my fellow workers

Fly out day....

5 weeks and 3 days this time..... Too bloody long....! Trying to align my break with school holidays. I will be home for 10 days though. Most companies allow you to manipulate your length of roster a little. Some do not...
We work 4 weeks on and 1 week off, or 5 weeks on and 9 days off. We fly on our own time.
This is how my usual fly out day plays out.
3.30 am. Alarm... Usual breakfast, pack food and off to work.
4.45 am. Catch bus to work.
6.00 am. Prestart meeting and off to work Work until 9.00. Pack up.
9.30 am. Catch bus back to camp. Arrive 10.30 am. Final pack and shower
11.45 am. Pick up by bus to airport. Check baggage and time for a mid strength beer. First one in over a week. No heavy beer at Karratha airport. Just like the MCG. Too much trouble.....
1.15 pm board. 1.35 pm take off. 2 hr flight to Perth. Arrive 3.35pm
5.00 pm flight to Melbourne. 10.30 pm land.
11.30 pm - 12.00 am. Home in bed...
18.5 hours.....! But I am home...

Add caption

Thought I would throw in a picture of us core drilling into concrete.

2 days of rain, then everything clears. Like nothing happened.. Except......

Unseasonal rain....
200mm of rain in 24 hours, 80% of the annual rainfall.. Just for me.
This will push the job back as all the electrical switch boxes, electric motors and cabling will need to be replaced.

The light tower is revealed. As are generators, the huge pump
that couldn't, and directly under me, 2 scissor lifts
and a boom lift.

As soon as the rain passed, I could wear thongs again.. So I am happy.....
As the water was pumped out all sorts of things turned up.

Flooded basement.

Lucky they moved their crane.

Uh-oh. A brand new Tadano 70 tonne
crane emerges.  Approx $800+K
These machines are full of electronics
so it is knackered. 
 Back to Perth it goes...

Wet, wet, wet. Unseasonal rain.....

  Unseasonal rain.... What a surprise... Mud everywhere.... Big coaches, mini-buses and work utes loaded with workers spray muddy water as we track into our work areas. Yesterday it was dust with water tankers spraying the ground trying to control it. Apparently in the Pilbara it would only rain once during winter and the daytime temperatures would be warm to hot. This year it is different... Maximum of 18 degrees and overnight lows of 16. Should be in shoes I guess but thongs will do...
  Never get comfortable in this game. The only thing that is guaranteed in this line of work is that things will change.... constantly. From accommodation, workgroups, workfronts. Our smoko huts slowly reduce in number as the workforce becomes smaller. So you will be moved from smoko room to smoko room. The main downside is that it is not really possible to lock in holidays or breaks. If you wish to take the family on a long holiday, it is easiest to ask, then expect to resign, hoping that you will be picked up again afterwards.
 With the 2 large contracts on this site getting closer to completion, I keep anticipating the "tap on the shoulder". I have been here on site for 5 months and have been waiting to be de-mobilised for the past 3 months...... It can be draining and all consuming sometimes, but there is a promise that other work is available on other sites. Or, the possibilty of being a part of the commissioning  crew who get involved with firing up everything and make sure it works before it is handed over to the client. Or the punchlist crew (defects), who can remain for a while fixing and modifying even after hand-over. These blokes are usually distinctive. They come home everyday covered in red iron ore dust. There clothing and boots are permanently stained browny-red.
I am almost keen to go, rather than wait and see the workings of another site. Apparently this site is the best because it is close to civilisation. Most are in the middle of nowhere..... Remote and desolate.
  Finally, Toyotas everywhere.... Everywhere......!!
Land Cruisers, Prados, Hi-Ace vans, Coaster buses and Utes.
Every model and every configuration. All with Bull bars, Flashing beacons, Roll bars, Noisy reversing alarms, whip aerials with a light on the top and one colour only. White..... and latest models.
And I forgot. Reflective Yellow tape and Bold numbers on the side and back.
Parking is always reverse to the kerb. Safety First....

Car park in Camp. 100+ Toyotas.

Land Cruiser.





Unusual Ute. Single cab...!

Prado.

Moved camp..

Just moved to another camp. All 15 blokes in Searipple Camp were advised that we were moving the next day. Rio Tinto decision...
We moved to "Gap Ridge Village". One of the largest camps in the Pilbara, 8km out of town.

Gap Ridge: Central Dry Mess. Wet Mess and Gym at either end.
Indoor Boot camp, Cycle and Boxing Gym on the left.
 4 Basketball, tennis and soccer courts. Security gates
and on-camp Medics.

It has 2100 beds. Built 5 years ago for $212 Million and is so large that it has 3 separate gyms and 2 Wet Messes. It is very organised and a little sterile but comfortable and clean with Category 4 rated Dongas. There are many rules here and we have to tolerate a 15 minute video/induction before signing a document agreeing to all the terms and conditions. There are "Golden rules" which cannot be broken. No fighting, no explosives and yep, urinating and defecating in public. There would have been a reason behind this rule being included. Charming.... Usual rules in the Food Mess. Minimum dress standard is thongs, and a shirt with sleeves. Anyway, the food is fresher and appetising. Packing up to move in 2 hours was challenging but I have settled in. I need to cull some stuff in case I need to pack up quickly. I am close to the Laundry, Gym and Wet Mess. What more can I want....
In the FIFO world there is something called "erms". Electronic Recruitment Management System..
It is a blacklist that all companies and accommodation suppliers use. If you muck up especially in camp, you will be blacklisted and not be able to get accommodation. All FIFO workers need accommodation.. So we are warned by our respective employers to not muck up as they cannot save us once we are listed...

My New Donga

 

4 Dongas in 1 Cabin. Another cabin behind.


 

Out door Wet Mess. Under cover with
Big fans and Plasmas playing sport.

My desk.

My bed. Door is open to the ensuite
Toilet is 2 steps from the bed. Perfect

Typical Laundry. Plenty of machines.

Changes to the weather. End of another swing.

Installing a Gantry crane at the Screen house.

I thought it was hot to warm all year around up here... It's not...
I wanted to wear shorts and thongs every single day of the year..!
I walked into my Donga to find warm air coming out of the air-con......, and walked out in the morning to find the outside colder than inside......, This is very unfortunate. Not paradise after all....
Dropped the air-con from 24 to 21 to stop the hot air from driving me insane.
As the 5 week swing finishes, I have gone from anxious, waiting for the "de-mobe" to relaxed, waiting for something to happen. As it happens, lots have moved onto other jobs rather than wait to be pushed. (Gorgon/Barrow Island - $50+ billion dollar gas plant, Gladstone/Curtis Island - $20+ billion gas plant and then Wheatstone - Gas plant and Darwin - gas plant) There is plenty of work around so changes may happen, but it is a part of the cycle. I packed up excess clothing etc. and am flying them home.


5 of 15 Helicopters that I counted for Offshore platforms

It is still odd to be boot camping (my new passion) and watch 2 Qantas planes come into land. This is a town of 17,000 people and it has commercial jets coming in and out everyday. To drive into an airport with nothing around it, and see 15 Sikorsky Helicopters (Big.. 16-20 seaters) servicing the offshore platforms sitting there. This place is a hive of activity.


Went to a Social Club function.
Salami, cheese and coloured pickled onions.
Bring back the 70's. Tasted great...
 

Strangely enough, the constant noise of generators, vehicles reversing, triple locomotives connected to 2 kilometres of rail cars, cranes and machinery are now familiar. I am no longer outside my comfort zone.
Heading home for 9 days.... Lets see how the family cope with a stranger in the house..