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..

Ground hog day...! and General observations

Ground Hog Day....
There is always something to look forward to in a normal life at home. There are weekly cycles that are great indicators that life as not stood still. Things to look forward to. Maybe the weekend. Maybe just seeing your children at the end of the day or a meal that you have been looking forward to.

Last piece of ducting being craned in

Out here every day is the same..... From the moment you walk into your Donga after your flight back. There are no changes during a week that make any day feel different. No indicators that life is travelling along. No weekends, no children's sport or training. Bed time is too early to watch regular TV shows. You do your washing on a week night or on a Saturday night. It does't matter. The meals served in the Mess hall are the same every night (except the random seafood night). Time just stops... I have all the technology available to me to help me keep life in order but without a calendar in my face, I have no idea. I call home to check in on my other life and have to consciously try to work out what day it is so I can ask appropriate questions.
And then all the 3.30 wake ups in a row. 13 days without a sleep in. A day off. Then repeat.
Your life is one day that rolls into another... then another...
No complaints. Just a part of this lifestyle.

Next 2 cardumpers shells being built. We are the front runners
on this contract. But they are not ready. These are big cranes...
2 conveyor tunnels are in the foreground.

Other general observations.
Short hair and very few beards.
Lots and lots and lots of goatees.
Tattoos, including chests, backs of hands and necks. Young and old. Male and female. I do feel like the odd one out.
And a favourite...In the evenings at camp. Garish t-shirts with mismatched board shorts. Probably christmas and birthday presents that were never allowed to be worn at home. Some blokes really need their mums or wives to give a little guidance..

I can see why uniforms exist...

2 Secrets and "De-mobing"

Back for my 3rd Swing and feeling a little guilty because I have been hiding information.


My new Donga. I am on the end.
 

    I moved room recently as there is an upgrading of rooms happening at the camp. From a dumpy old room which has been demolished into the new rooms that were recently transported in. Instead of 4 rooms per Building, there are 3 rooms.... 33% larger...  I have a microwave, a double bed, and the air-con is not directly over my head. It is appropriately at my feet. Luxury. Rio Tinto has changed their standard accommodation requirements and all suppliers are expected to comply. Changes which help to keep workers long term.
   Also, for the first time in my life I am exercising regularly.... Yes, even I am surprised.... There are Health Lifestyle Coordinators (HLC's) on all larger camps. They are a FIFO personal trainer who "pre-start" (stretches) camp staff and help them with health and lifestyle issues. They also look after the on-site Gym and run a bootcamp class. Thought that I should look after my mental and physical health if I want to live as a FIFO worker. One night before an RDO I did a bootcamp session for an hour and watched 25 of my fellow workmates gather around a BBQ area next to the class, most in a happy state of intoxication. An instant and happy audience who regularly ribbed me on as I ran past them. I joined them after a shower and quick bite. To my disbelief, the jovial drinkers were all openly supportive to my choice to exercise and had promised themselves that they would start any day soon. "It was just too hot"... "Maybe the next month or so"...


Desk and microwave.

A lifestyle choice... As I walk smokers and drinkers sitting out on their verandahs I know I have made the right decision.

"De-mobing" or De-mobilisation.... When the company lays you off.


After training. Lights, grass, sunset and humidity......

As the Car dumper that I am working on comes towards completion, de-mobing has started. It is an unsettling time for newbies like me. But for most here, it is just a typical part of the cycle. Some look forward to the end for a change of scenery. Rumours are plentiful and spread quickly. Some days one or a few could go, or a group may go as the workforce is shuffled and re-arranged into new work crews. There is no real pattern to who is laid off and management keep that information very close to the chest. They need staff to complete the contract and remain motivated so an end date is never given. Instead there are always discussions about other work on site or work within the company. They lay offs come swiftly and it could be LIFO (last in first out) or removal of problem staff. But eventually it is everyone. Many blokes have feelers out already and hope to be out before they are cut. And it is important that you can be ready to go quickly, and have not collected too much stuff because you may be on a plane pronto. As one told me. You need to be able to pack up your Donga in 1 hour....

What has happened to the Tradie of Yesteryear

Gloves:
"Gloves..You don't need those..." My tradesman would bark at me during my apprenticeship.

Gloves on a belt clip

I would stand my ground and put gloves on. As a pseudo guitar player I always protected my hands and would rib him and others around me, accusing them of secretly wanting the same soft feminine hands.
Today, you can still walk into any small workshop and look at the hands on many a Boilermaker. They are scarred from burns, cuts from handling sharp material and full of ground in dirt. A sign of a tough old-school tradesmen.
Times have changed. Large companies do not want injuries from simple tasks and we are reminded every day that we must wear gloves for any task. It is a minimal requirement and everyone that walks into a work area will have a pair of gloves on a clip attached to their belt. And they have to be task specific. Rubber gloves for chemical, thick leather gauntlets when welding. It is not acceptable to do anything without gloves.
Pre-Start and stretches:
Pre-Start meetings are fairly common now when working on sites. Usually a quick run through of issues on site and a rundown of work for the day.
But afterwards our crew of about 15 Tradesman and assistants walk out onto the bluestone apron around our site sheds and go through a series of stretches alongside 8 other crews. I was surprised.... Everyone has a turn and despite a lot of playful banter, it is taken seriously. We finish off with a bit of a clap and the Supervisor will remind us to "Have a Safe Day".
I downloaded an app with some illustrations so I had more than "touch your toes" in my repertoire
The world has changed. Soft hands and Stretching..? For the better, I think..

Some new things

The "Window Seat"

Wrist lanyards on my tools

It exists. A dropped object is a big deal on these sites. I shudder thinking about items that I have dropped over the years. Not many but every item could had consequences. A piece of timber was dropped 30 metres bouncing off steelwork as it fell down and luckily, it missed workers below. It was a typical piece of timber that you will find on any building site. Hardwood, 4"x2" (100mmx50mm) 1.5 metres long. It was being used to help guide a winch rope.
The problem.. It was used near an opening. The worker was not on stable ground and lost his footing. It was not a tool that was specified for task. It was not secured with a rope or lanyard. It was dropped.. All work stopped in this section. A few hours of investigations and the worker was packed up and on the afternoon flight out... Never to return.

Working directly above a crane

The RDO away from home.
We are working this weekend but another large company in our camp is having their RDO. I watched a bloke (next door neighbour) bring in a box of beer and proceed to drink and smoke into the evening sitting on his verandah. As I walked to get breakfast at 4am the next morning, he was on the verandah, drinking a stubbie. I smiled and wished him a great day. He told me this is what happens when your body clock gets used to the early starts. He cannot sleep in so he has a couple then tries a sleep in. A bloke in his late 30's.... I think that mining is getting to him....
We have an option of 4 weeks and 1 week off or 5 weeks and 9 days off.
I am at the end of a 5 week stint. Trying to align my break with the school holidays.
4 more days to go.......
Temperature are around 38 degrees. Heaven....