Stories From Work

Ok, here is the premise of this thread.... Hopefully more people than just myself have jobs out there and hopefully they aren't always dull. Let's hear some of them. I'll Start... (though doing work for Defense Contractors and at Military Bases some I can't talk about)

Here is a story from my job. this one from the Aerostructures plant (though I think it was Textron at the time).....

Anyway, the Aerostructures/Textron plant that I was working at made aircraft wings. Our control modules for the equipment I needed to work on, and control wire I needed to replace, was in the ceiling of the plant, a good 75 feet in the air. We couldn't bring in a lift to get me up to them because they couldn't shut down the plant (actually they probably could, it would just cost them too much money to do so). Fortunately, they were aware that this would be a problem when they built the plant and accounted for it. Unfortunately, the system they came up with was a cable that went along the roof that you hooked to and climbed out on, any tools you would need were put in a basket connected to another cable that wan parallel to the one you were hooked too. So, I hook myself to this flimsy looking cable and proceed to climb out over the plant 75 feet in the air with the only thing keeping me from falling being my ability to hold on and the harness that attached me to this aforementioned cable (at this point in the story I find it prudent to mention my extreme dislike of heights). Well, on the third day of this, while I am dangling precariously trying to get the new control module to work, the area of the plant below me comes to life (they happened to need to use that section while I was actually there). As I am looking down at all the activity below me, suddenly I here an alarm go off and several big red lights start flashing (as you can imagine my heart begins to race, as it took me 45 minutes to crawl out to the point I was at). Suddenly, the covers to the containers that were directly below me opened up revealing a large vat of bubbling liquid. My suspicions were soon confirmed as I was hit by a wave of fumes released from the acid that I was dangling over (the wings are apparently dipped in this acid to remove any imperfections created in the manufacturing process). I then realized why I was replacing the wire and control module, as over the years the acid had eaten away the circuitry and damaged the wire. Then, my thoughts turned to the cable that was installed when the building was built, and whose weight capacity I was nearly exceeding anyway, and I thought that getting out of there would be a prudent course of action. Obviously, I did survive that experience (sorry if I ruined the suspense for anyone) but I did express my desire not to go back.

As a side note, it turns out that replacing that wire and those modules is scheduled every 5 years as part of routine maintenance. I have yet to go back.




I know I can't be the only one with "interesting" stories from work. Do tell.

I have no story that could even match this one. I really haven't worked much in the work field, I was mostly the family caregiver.

I would certainly hope you were duly compensated for doing such a life threatening job. Was it in your job description to do this? I doubt that it was.

No way would anybody get me to go up that high ( I stay as close to the ground as possible ) and then to risk my life...what are they, crazy??

Got another one I can tell.....

Had to go do some work at a chemical plant once. I get there and start to go in when the foreman stops me and asks if this is my first time at the plant. Silly me, I said yes. He then proceeded with his safety talk, this is roughly how it went...

Quote :

if you hear an alarm go off, RUN. If you hear that whistle over there blow continuously, RUN. If you see that orange cloud drifting down, RUN. If you see anyone running, try to pass them.

My immediate thought was, I'm in the wrong place. I didn't come here to be an Olympic athlete. Time to run.



As for stories to match mine, you don't have to match them, I think that a smattering of stories from other people would show the diversity and be interesting at the same time.

I work with animals every day. Today we had A little Yorkie come in that was ripped up by another dog. The poor little guy had wounds everywhere. By the time we sewed him up, he had staples and sutures all over. There was no where you could pick him up without touching them. We did a transfusion and his gums were still real pale...the doctor made me take him out to get his temperature and he died not even 20 seconds after handling him. I felt so bad.
Some days are good, and some are bad. It's a rollercoaster.

Man... That is so sad Turtle.

Work related stories from dangerous to sad....I think I'm glad I don't go out to work.

Knight Templar wrote:

Got another one I can tell.....

Had to go do some work at a chemical plant once. I get there and start to go in when the foreman stops me and asks if this is my first time at the plant. Silly me, I said yes. He then proceeded with his safety talk, this is roughly how it went...

Quote :

if you hear an alarm go off, RUN. If you hear that whistle over there blow continuously, RUN. If you see that orange cloud drifting down, RUN. If you see anyone running, try to pass them.

My immediate thought was, I'm in the wrong place. I didn't come here to be an Olympic athlete. Time to run.


As for stories to match mine, you don't have to match them, I think that a smattering of stories from other people would show the diversity and be interesting at the same time.

I hope you ran as fast as your legs could take you. That's ridiculous to expect aomebody to put their lives at risk.

I've had 2 times where I have had loaded Assault Rifles pointed at me. I can't go into detail on the circumstances of those to times but needless to say, I did survive both encounters (and both encounters involved USAF (or ANG) Personnel).

You seem to get jobs that involve danger to yourself.
I'm not that brave.

Flower wrote:

You seem to get jobs that involve danger to yourself.
I'm not that brave.

Yeah, I've about been flattened a few times as well.... but those are stories for another time

My job isn't nearly that "exciting". I work with a Fortune 500 company that sells supplies to beauty salons. The only thing I hate about it is when people fail to understand logistics. Yes, that item is in stock, no, there is abolutely no way that your order of one bottle of hair color is going to be delivered this afternoon--2 or 3 days delivery to Kentucky. Yes, I understand that this is for the mayor's wife who is going to dance on Broadway in front of the Governor of the state, but no, I can't do any better than overnight. I'm sorry, but poor planning on your part, does not consititute an emergency on my part.

Lots of people don't understand that I'm not a telemarketer, but it's like any supply oriented company. The businesses have suppliers that they call to get their products and I make sure their orders arrive in a timely fashion.

I do get to meet interesting people. I know Marie Osmond's hairdresser. And the guy that used to be the personal hairdresser for Margrethe II of Denmark.

Knight Templar wrote:

Flower wrote:

You seem to get jobs that involve danger to yourself.
I'm not that brave.

Yeah, I've about been flattened a few times as well.... but those are stories for another time

Ok, I guess it is "another time"


So, I was working in the field one summer on a new High School. We were working next to a cinder block wall (Probably roughly 30 feet tall and 80 feet long) at a little makeshift table (a pallet on some cinder block legs). We were setting out sleeves for the masons to put in so our pipes and duct can go through the new walls they were going to be putting up the next day.

This particular day was a little stormy and about 9:00 AM (break time) a storm passed just to our north. We could see the lightning just over the hill. We were told to go hide in the connex (basically the trailer part of a tractor-trailer without wheels, so a large metal box) which I am not sure hiding in a big metal box is the best idea in an electrical storm. About noon (lunch) one passed to the south (again, hiding in the big metal box).

At roughly 2:45 (15 min before quitting time) I looked up and saw the entire horizon was black. I turned to the guy I was with (he happened to be our site manager) and said that it wasn't going to miss us. He looked up and said "you're right". He then got on the radio and told all of our people just to grab what ever they could and leave and just to abandon in place whatever couldn't be carried quickly.

As I got to his truck I saw the tree line at the site just drop, and the rain was so heavy it looked like a wall of water. Maybe one or 2 seconds later the shed on the site exploded and I watched the pieces fly over the hill. For some reason I looked over to the wall I had been working next to right as it started to tip. I watched it fall, and it looked like slow motion.

When we got back to the site the next day we found that the wall had done significant damage. It fell on several pipes stubbed up through the slab (causing them to bend or shatter and forcing the slab to be torn up so the pipes could be reinstalled, and then poured back). It flattened 3 industrial air handling units (made of steel and aluminum) and shattered 3 pallets of cast iron pipe. The table I had been working at less than 1 minute before the wall fell was never found.

For those that don't know, cinder blocks are shaped much like a boxy 8 (with 2 hollow sections). Every 6 hollow sections had a piece of 1 inch rebar (a steel ribbed bar) all the way up the wall and then filled with concrete. These pieces of rebar were twisted and looked like soggy noodles. We were told that the wall was hit head on (not a glancing blow) by 87 mph straight line winds.

What a close call, thank goodness you weren't near that table.

As for the storm, it sounds like a hurricane or tornado, such severe damaging winds and things. What link of storm was it?

Wow thank God you saw it coming.