Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission

Soup’s Blog – Tape and Dope

juliefolk — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:38:55 +0000

Jack’s safety orientation took longer than expected. Not because of anything he did – it was just another crew of people from various trades and service industries who needed to get officially ‘oriented’ to the site. Or maybe it is orientated? Either way, construction sites can be dangerous places if you get careless or lazy or get carried away with whatever it is you may be working on. So safety has to be thorough – and the on-site safety supervisor, Lester Finkletree, was as thorough as it got.

The delay meant Mack had left me to attend to the rest of his crew. “Tape nipples Soup. You taped nipples before? “Mack had that sly look to him.

“Yeah boss.” I grinned. “Do I need to make a joke?”

“No…” He smiled back. “Just tape and dope. But make sure you dope… then tape. Tyrone embarrassed me with his tape-then-dope nonsense… I seriously wonder about him sometimes… Anyway, Jack should be done before lunch. Make sure he gets these.” And with that he left me with a set of drawings all rolled up and walked away.

I hoped Jack was a decent guy and not some power-tripping jerk. Or worse. That was always something to think about on a worksite. You just don’t know what to expect when you work with so many people. I was figuring on a guy around my age. Maybe older. I was hoping he might show me some ‘old-school’ stuff. But really, I hoped he didn’t have really bad body odour or crooked teeth.

I surveyed the floor. Wide open and empty. The framers had not started yet. I was more or less alone by myself on the entire wing of the floor. I found a large pile of insulated tarps that had been brought up. These were the only things in my immediate area. Those and a skid/pallet of our material – boxes of one-inch pipe fittings and elbows, tees, unions, and nipples. Boxes of nipples. These were from a factory in China. They were 25 to a box. One-inch diameter black-iron pipe cut to three-inch lengths. Their opposite ends were shiny, mostly, and contrasted against their black-iron shaded middles.

Every so often one of the ends, the threads, would be dark or burnt looking or had a bit of a rainbow effect. This would occur in the factory, usually if the oil did not get applied correctly. I had a feeling I should set them aside.

I got tired of standing so I slid over a couple of tarps and made myself a makeshift beanbag chair. I was able to turn and block most of the wind too. I grabbed a bottle of pipe dope from one of the boxes along with a roll of tape. Actually, it was a package of six rolls of tape. They had a pink cover and the tape was white. The tape was made of Teflon material and was strictly for use with water. The tape was made in Australia.

I got to work doping a box of nipples. I would set them down on one of the many plastic bags and then come back and tape them all. Dope can help take out inconsistencies in the threads and provides lubrication. The Teflon tape allows the fitting to be turned with less friction, allowing for a greater likelihood of a positive seal. The tape is applied by winding it around the threads in a clockwise direction – like you are turning a nut or bolt.

I was well into taping my next box of 25 when I saw a figure come walking into my line of sight. At break some of the guys said Jack was shorter and had a beard. This person had a beard. It had to be Jack. If someone had handed him a battle axe I would have thought him to be Gimli from ‘Lord of the Rings.’ What is it with plumbers and their beards?

“You must be Jack.” I smiled as he got to within earshot.
“And you must be very comfortable.” Jack smiled at me through his beard.

It turns out he was 28… and would have a difficult time taking me under his wing – he was a full foot shorter than I.

“That’s a good idea using those tarps. They will be perfect for wrapping up your lifeless body and dumping you somewhere after I sacrifice you to the Gods of Plumbing.” Jack had a sly grin on his face.

“You should sacrifice the safety guy.” I smiled back. “No one will miss him. Besides, I’m too important to be killed like some goat..”

“Hmmm,” He paused to think. “That may be true. We’ll have to wait and see. I’m thinking a machete might still be useful.”

I got up to shake his hand. “I’m Colin. But just call me Soup.”

“Soup?” He replied. “Why Soup?”

“I’ll tell you only if you promise not to sacrifice me…” We were both joking now and I could tell he was happy to be out of the safety meeting.

I gave him the drawings and told him Mack would be back sometime to fill him in.

“Works for me,” he replied. “Stay with what you’re doing, I am gonna take a walk around the floor and see what we are dealing with.”

I settled back into my makeshift wind blocking lazy-boy tarps. “Don’t get lost,” I joked. “I won’t come looking for you until after lunch. I made extra-awesome sandwiches today.”

SIAST and SATCC Add Electrician Apprentice Intakes

audreywolf — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:58:22 +0000

In response to high demand for technical programming, SIAST is working with the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC) to offer Level 1 Electrician apprenticeship training year-round. Additional intakes will be provided at SIAST Palliser Campus in Moose Jaw this summer.

Liz’s Blog – Done Properly in the First Place

juliefolk — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:29:35 +0000

When working on a house, there may be some designated people to do certain tasks. These people may include a concrete crew, a framing crew, an insulating and vapor barrier crew, and so on and so forth until the house is done and turned over to the new owner. What we need to remember is that no matter which crew you are on, your work will affect the next crew and potentially slow down production. A recent example of this is when I was sent to drywall a house. The framing crew missed a bunch of drywall backing, which meant that we had to go around the house and start cutting the vapor barrier so that we could get drywall backing into the walls to fasten the drywall to. Not only does that put us back because now we have a bunch of backing to put in, but it also means having to reseal the vapor barrier that we cut into.

Sometimes in this business, we hear some people say, “Oh don’t worry about that, it’ll get covered up.” The problem is if it’s not done properly in the first place, the next crew has to deal with it and it becomes a chain reaction problem that could have been prevented in the first place. It can be very frustrating at times. My preference would be to be involved in the construction from the footings all the way to the finish so that if you do run into any problems or need to fix someone else’s mistake, the only person you have to blame is yourself.

Gordon’s Blog – Safety Manual Review

juliefolk — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:17:15 +0000

Yesterday we reviewed the mine site’s safety manual. This is something we do annually. I don’t think it is regulated that we review it, but it is a good idea. We were able to get through half of the review in our safety meeting.

Wow, is there ever a lot of changes. In the past year we have had an overhaul of our safety department, which is probably the reason for them.

One of the big changes is the “Safety Absolutes” have been added. Safety Absolutes are rules that were introduced about one year ago. If you break a Safety Absolute you will undoubtedly have some unpaid time to think about what you could have done better. For the most part the Safety Absolutes are a good thing. What they mean to the workers is NO Shortcuts. A shortcut is something that may be unsafe. While ninety–nine times out of one hundred nothing happens and no one gets hurt, something very serious could happen. This could be not using a face shield when grinding as one example.

Another addition to the Safety Manual is the Hazard Assessment Card. These are cards we use when planning a job to help us spot hazards and hopefully not get injured. They have red, yellow and green boxes that you go through for each task. Check a red box, and you have to stop and find an answer to correct that hazard. Check four red boxes and your supervisor has to help you complete the hazard assessment. Yellow boxes may be something like repetitive motions – reminding you to stretch while completing your task. There is an area on the back of the cards for comments, which are posted monthly plant-wide for feedback.

Next week we will continue or review and I’m sure there will be more changes.

Ryan’s Blog – Work/Life Balance

juliefolk — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:17:11 +0000

Life in the trades can be a busy place. Life is what we make it, but this time of year always seems to get busier for me. The weather gets nicer and more and more people start wanting work to be done. It is the nature of the beast. As the work comes in, I find myself working longer hours, and working through the weekends and holidays. I know I am not the only one guilty of this, but I have to stop myself and make sure I make time for my family. It is a fine balance to find, but if you are able to do that then you will be a much happier and healthier person.

Knowing that there is so much work and a somewhat short timeframe to finish it all in, I feel the pressure to keep working, but I know I need to make the time for my family. I have been getting better at it through the years, but it is still a challenge to find the balance. Some things I do include setting aside half days to be with my family. Spend the morning working and then spend the afternoon going on a picnic or a trip to the lake. Make the time you do spend with your family special. This can be applied to all walks of life, be it a desk job or any job for that matter. I wish everyone luck in finding that balance and encourage those who have found it to help those struggling.

Gordon’s Blog – Nuclear Density

juliefolk — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:06:46 +0000

As part of my trade we have to deal with nuclear density meters. To the average worker who is never exposed to any of these there is always concern for the fact that there is the possibility of Radiation close by.

To work on the nuclear density meters, we have to take an eight-hour course from a service provider that specializes in nuclear density meters and radiation, as regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), plus on the job training from our Radiation Safety Officer as well as my journeyperson.

The first year of school our instructors were discussing the nuclear density meters, and the comment was made about the fact that most workplaces had their specialized trained workers who dealt with these. I had to raise my hand and say, “I hate to ruin your confidence, but I’m one of those trained workers.”

Dealing with a nuclear device is actually quite simple. We have a survey meter that detects the radiation from the source. When we are asked to lock out a nuclear density meter, we take the survey meter and take a reading in the open position. We then close the shutter, a device made of lead designed to block the radiation. Another reading is then taken to ensure there is a significant drop in the reading on the survey meter.

There are very few issues with the nuclear density meters. They are ordered for the specific product and the size of the pipe or vessel. At the course they tell us that really the only time there are problems it is due to Instrumentation workers breaking the shutter, from forcing them when they are stuck. Our policy is to keep our exposure to radiation “As Low As Reasonably Achievable.” (ALARA)

So if you are out working and you see a sign with a tri foil and it says “Radiation,” if you are not sure what it means to you, please, ask someone.

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Gordon’s Blog – Workplace Characters

juliefolk — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:06:42 +0000

Every workplace has their characters. Mine is no exception. This goes back before I started at the mine, and will continue on long after I’ve gone.

We had the “Pigeon Man” – sure he had pigeons, but not the guy you’d think. He was a tough Yugoslavian guy that you’d never mess with.

There is “Big Bird”. He thinks he got the name because he played defense like Larry Robinson. He didn’t – he got it because he skates like he’s from the Sesame Street Ice Capades. But he is big. It is sure something to see him driving his rather large yellow Harley Davidson motorcycle. He bought it due to a good deal he says, not the fact that it is yellow.

We have “Snapshow” and “Snake” in our shop. You’d never expect the one guy to be called Snake. I never saw it coming. We were on strike in 2008, and the RCMP officer at our picket line had a familiar last name. I asked him if he knew my co-worker, and he said “Yes I do, he’s my cousin. Call him ‘Snake.’” I then said I thought we were confused and told him this guy was in instrumentation. “Yes, call him Snake,” was the reply. So I do. “Snapshow,” on the other hand is a bit of a wild card. He’s got a smile so big that you never see the snap coming.

We have “The Stork.” He’s a pretty tall and skinny engineer who thought “Big Bird” was funny.

There is “The Penguin.” not as tall as the stork.

Last one I can think of is “The Rat.”

Every work place has its characters, that’s for sure – it’s almost like working at a comic book factory some days.

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Congrats Riley!

juliefolk — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:22:58 +0000

Riley Gamble (left) and SATCC CEO Jeff Ritter.

Congratulations to Riley Gamble, the winner of the All About Apprenticeship contest.

The contest ran from January 28th to April 14th.

Riley was randomly selected out of the participants who answered all 10 questions correctly to win an iPad Mini.

Thank you to all of the participants!

Ryan’s Blog – Tool Addiction

juliefolk — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:00:44 +0000

There are many things I love about carpentry. Building things, working outside when the weather is nice, finally coming up with a solution to a problem. One of the things that excites me the most about carpentry is the tools we can use. I know it may sound lame, but I am really excited about the tools that are available to us. In today’s market there are thousands of tools available to whoever can afford to part with the right amount of money. Even just in carpentry there are machines that create mortise and tenon joints in a fraction of the time it takes to make a hand crafted joint. There are table saws that can detect flesh, and stop a blade spinning at 3400 rpm in a fraction of a second. Cordless tools today weigh half the weight and last twice as long as cordless tools ten years ago. I know that plumbers and electricians have their fair share of fun tools as well.

I have to admit I have an addiction to buying tool boxes. I have way more tool boxes than I will ever need in my lifetime, but I can’t seem to help myself. If I see a toolbox that seems like it is built well or has some different or interesting method of storage I just have to get it. I bug my wife about buying too many shoes, but truthfully I am just as bad. I am not sure I know how to curb it, so I guess I will continue on buying toolboxes. I think I saw one on sale at Canadian Tire today…….

Gordon’s Blog – Fixing the Instruments

juliefolk — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:59:30 +0000

“Let’s play train tracks Dad,” I hear as I walk in the door from work. She’s four years old and likes trains and cars. We play it every day. So I tell her that we have to eat supper first, just like I tell her every day.

After supper it’s on to the train tracks. They’re made of wood and have a male and female end on each piece so you can fit them together. Making a track consists of her designing it and me starting it, and then her re-designing it. Just like at work, the project always can change. We then run the train along the tracks for a bit by hand, until the cars take over. The cars and trucks always clog the track, blocking the train’s movement. At that point the game becomes too hard for her and it’s on to the next toy.

Today it’s building blocks. I’m always amazed at what she comes up with. I’m usually in need of a rest at this point – exhausted from the train tracks – so it’s building block free play.

“I’ll fix the instruments” I hear, so I look over in her direction. Here she has built a hammer out of the blocks, and is hitting some other blocks that she has assembled. Wow! I now have my own apprentice. Sure she is four and doesn’t really have a clue, but you have to start somewhere.

After the blocks, we read books. Many adults do not understand Instrumentation, so I’ll have to teach her slowly, but she is definitely interested.

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