What are the worst conditions you have worked in?

[johnboy6083]

whilst working on the isle of grain power station, i was working at the bottom of the feedwater tower. The laggers were working all over the job, and the air was thick with fibreglass! im convinced its no good for you.
On the same job, when they were commissioning the plant, we had a few steam valve failures. I was working wiring the lights, and heard a whistle. i looked down, and saw the steam rising. By the time i reached the other sparks, i couldnt see the way back. managed to feel my way along the handrail, and get out. Fortunatley the steam had been through the compressor, and was at just over 100deg, so it wasnt as dangerous as it would of been further down the process.
I was installing conduit for more lights , and felt the building shake. I jumped down a level (literaly)and ran outside, crapping myself. Then the saftey release valve operated. It made the whole building shake, and released all of the steam from the boiler. It was the loudest sound i have ever heard. the plume must of been seen for miles and miles. Power stations are scary places.

 

[1shortcircuit]

whilst working on the isle of grain power station, i was working at the bottom of the feedwater tower. The laggers were working all over the jobv, and the air was thick with fibreglass! im convinced its no good for you.
On the same job, when they were commsioning the plant, we had a few steam calve failures. I was working wiring the lights, and heard a whistle. i looked down, and saw tghe steam rising. By the time i reached theother sparks, i couldnt asee th way back. managed to feel my way along the handrail, and get out. Fortunatley the stam had been through the compressor, and was at just over 100deg, so it wasnt as dangerous as it would of been further down the process.
I was installing conduit for more lights , and felt the building shake. I jumped down a level (literaly)and ran outside, crapping myself. Then the saftey release valve operated. It madde the wholebuilding shake, and released all of the steam from the boiler. It was the loudest sound i have ever heard. the plume must of been seen for miles and miles. Power stations are scary places.

So you could have been steam fried to no fault of your own? I think I'll stick with Domestic and hope to venture into commercial at a later date. Industrial can stay where it is in my mind lol

 

[johnboy6083]

that job was a very dangerous job. At one point the steel stairs ect were covered in ice, and our foreman was trying to get us to work. I told him that he could go and work, as he would get sick pay from NG baileys, but as we were agency, we would get nothing.
We had pipe fitters suspending 3ton pipes from a tirfor jack up ended, with the Steekl wire poking through the kennedy grating
. I nearly had kittens, it only takes the mechanism to fail, and you have squashed workers, and unhappy wifes and kids.

ive also been in a pit on my current job, and been flooded. Just managed to get out.

 

[1shortcircuit]

Yep and that is why on commercial "I" was the one SAT in a telescopic forklift truck telling the site manager to go forth and mulitiply or the lifting co-ordinator of the cranes to come out of his office and take control of my crane!

Amazing when you ask them to lead by example they cower down like a puppy dawg!

I've walked off sites for far less and I always will. Money and paying the bills is one thing but losing your life and NEVER seeing your family or BEING there for your family is another. It's only when you reach a certain age you start to think this way

 

[dingledong]

yes your right when i think back to things i did when younger i do wonder like 15 pallets on a forktruck . i think its all the electrical shocks makes you become stupid sorry i meant stupider

 

[Knobhead]

I think for me it was working inside a coal mill. When working the airflow through them is heated by the kiln exhaust to around 300c. They are built to withstand an internal explosion so are not light weight bits of kit, even after 12hrs of cooling air was forced through them they are bloody hot. So you’ve got the heat and pulverised coal to contend with. Just to get the lid off the thermocouple housings was a two-man job they were that heavy. Not a nice place at all. It would take 3hrs to do the 77 isolations required.

On a day I was due to go in to a mill the manager called me in to the office to tell me the fire brigade were doing a rescue exercise on site so I was to be the guinea pig for rescue. The brigade showed up as we finished the job, so ideal timing, they had to get me out. They had that much PPE on and about them they couldn’t get through the porthole! My manager was passing cups of tea in to me while the brigade faffed about. In the end I got fed up and dived out the porthole to go and get a shower. My comment that I’d be dead by now waiting for you lot didn’t go down to well! To get in or out there is a handle above the porthole which you grab while you launch your legs through the hole. It’s only a 12 X 18” oval to get through.

 

[johnboy6083]

I think for me it was working inside a coal mill. When working the airflow through them is heated by the kiln exhaust to around 300c. They are built to withstand an internal explosion so are not light weight bits of kit, even after 12hrs of cooling air was forced through them they are bloody hot. So you’ve got the heat and pulverised coal to contend with. Just to get the lid off the thermocouple housings was a two-man job they were that heavy. Not a nice place at all. It would take 3hrs to do the 77 isolations required.

On a day I was due to go in to a mill the manager called me in to the office to tell me the fire brigade were doing a rescue exercise on site so I was to be the guinea pig for rescue. The brigade showed up as we finished the job, so ideal timing, they had to get me out. They had that much PPE on and about them they couldn’t get through the porthole! My manager was passing cups of tea in to me while the brigade faffed about. In the end I got fed up and dived out the porthole to go and get a shower. My comment that I’d be dead by now waiting for you lot didn’t go down to well! To get in or out there is a handle above the porthole which you grab while you launch your legs through the hole. It’s only a 12 X 18” oval to get through.

the access ports into the boiler on the power station were tiny too! there were only 3 on the whole boiler, and the boiler was about 30m high. If there was a fire inside due to welding ect, or somebody collapsed, theres not a chance that they would get out alive. A polish firm (Remak) had the contract to do all of the welding ect in the boiler, and when the blokes went in, they had no respiratory gear, and would not leave until it was dinner time. The fumes that would escape through the access port were pheonominal. H+S werent interested

 

[Marvo]

I'm thinking back to some of the places I've worked and there's quite a few I wouldn't work there again. Abattoirs, gold mines, survey ships, morgues without refrigeration to name but a few. I don't think I could single one out in particular as being the worst.

 

[Knobhead]

We had mine life preservers, they would give air for 20 minutes I think. Enough air to get out or keep your mate alive while you got him out. There were always the safety lads on the outside to help if needed, and more importantly pass drinks in.

One plant I didn’t work on was for handling the waste solvents and PCB’s we added to the coal. The maintenance lads on there looked like Dan Dare when they were fully suited.

 

[mogga]

Used to a lot of site temps for a large local building contractor,every november I used to get the phone call"Gaffer can you come and put christmas lights on the top of our tower crane".No problem, but the cranes always seemed to be on the coast(wind and rain)and always seemed to be involved in concrete pours(do you know how much cranes move at the top?).
Always seemed to be worse in January when I had to take them all down again though!!!!Bloody COLD!.
Also worked for the local council for a while,did alot of work on sewage pumping stations.One station had had a burst and the chamber containing the five pumps had flooded.A mate and I had to go in and strip the pumps and isolators ,rebuild and make it all work again.Quite litrally a **** job! built up a complete seperate set of tools for jobs like this and disinfect them at the end of everyday.

Did the christmas lights on a crane in glasgow city center right out over the buildings next to site it was crackin view The driver turned crane so he could watch the footy on big screen at parkhead through his binoculers lol Best bit was we got flashed at from hotel across the road Couldnt tell if she looked good or not but she had a fair pair of bazonggaz pointing our way

 

[i=p/u]

wel not as an electixian , but slaughtering animals, use to come home with cows blood in your cacks and stinking of **** if you take the bellies out.... better money than im getting somedays now, but them days are gone.. i hope..

 

[i=p/u]

so reading this thread, farmers are officaly smelly and love it.

 

[parker56]

Had to replace a motor/pump unit on a gas oil tank which was in the new born calf shed, calfs were great farmers kids a real pain.

 

[Big n Daft]

Animal reclamation or sewage, yes proper poo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[trev]

While house bashing for Gateshead council some of the places we had to go in sewage would have been preferable