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...

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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.