Sincerely Hate This Industry Right Now

[Brett LaVigne]

I have noticed in the last twenty something years that the industry has really dumbed down the function of a radiation protection technician. It is amazing to me, how little you really need to know to survive. I still enjoy working an outage, but have found much more satisfaction from working on a decommissioning project. Nothing is cookie cutter and everything is the first time it seems. The challenges are so satisfying when we find our way through. Of course we have qualifications for positions like most anywhere would, but the position descriptions cover a lot more ground. I have done everything from routine surveys to bid proposal reviews/approvals to touring groups from other countries explaining our controls. Our Decon folks are probably the most versatile work group on site doing rigging, glove bag installs, special fabrications of all kinds and we even promote the idea of qualifying them on some meters. It is a small mom/pop shop environment that fosters creativity from the WHOLE team. I work with several local hires that worked decon, went to our RP training program and are now 3.1 techs working in the field.

Having the ability to voice an idea and have it taken seriously no matter what your position is makes for a healthy and productive team I think.

[GLW]

....I work with several local hires that worked decon, went to our RP training program and are now 3.1 techs working in the field....

Only where you are,...

...Which is why a dirt pounder at a DnD can get paid and termed to be a senior and get pretty sold on himself only to be devastated after six years or so when the DnD is over and the best job he can land is Jr. RP at a utility outage making a third to half what he thought he was worth,....

Hard sad fact,....

Without a commercial outage resume, PADS, and NEI 14, the home grown DnD 3.1 Seniors are Jr.s to the commercial power world,....

Advise them to not get used to it (paywise), or to break out now into commercial power production on their own best terms that they can get, or stick to DnD,...

[Old HP]

Brett,

I agree with your comment about the industry. It seems that the outage managers are coming from the outside world as they are increasingly unfamiliar with the actual requirements to complete high risk evolutions. It becomes more difficult to adjust to directions from someone with a couple of outages, when a number of us have the experience gained from over 50 to 100 outages. But I have learned to ask " are you sure you want to do that now" so that I am on record as having questioned an evolution that is very likely to fail. Not many plants care about what we may have learned in our travels.
 

[Brett LaVigne]

Hard sad fact,....

Without a commercial outage resume, PADS, and NEI 14, the home grown DnD 3.1 Seniors are Jr.s to the commercial power world,....

Advise them to not get used to it (paywise), or to break out now into commercial power production on their own best terms that they can get, or stick to DnD,...

Our guys are ANSI 3.1 once they are done and since one of our consultants actually helped author what makes a 3.1 technician, there should be no debates once released to the wild. Many have also been sent to Diablo Canyon for outage work. I believe our training program (which goes into PADS) is pretty unique. It was developed with it in mind that we wanted the newbees to be ready for the "Real World" when they left. I have a tremendous amount of respect for our RPM that pushed to make that a part of our program. They will have no problem getting jobs when they leave here, or at least will be playing on level ground with the rest. Believe me when I say, one of our new 3.1 techs (less than 5 years) has seen and covered higher level work than they will ever see in a commercial outage. Both from the perspective of a Decon technician and RP technician (they had to do both jobs). As a non-ANSI Jr. RP fresh out of class, you are expected to provide coverage (with a mentor of course) for anything other than high rad and free release. I really wish others took this approach to developing new folks, makes for strong capable technicians who actually know about the science they are protecting people from.  

[UncaBuffalo]

Our guys are ANSI 3.1 once they are done and since one of our consultants actually helped author what makes a 3.1 technician, there should be no debates once released to the wild. Many have also been sent to Diablo Canyon for outage work. I believe our training program (which goes into PADS) is pretty unique. It was developed with it in mind that we wanted the newbees to be ready for the "Real World" when they left. I have a tremendous amount of respect for our RPM that pushed to make that a part of our program. They will have no problem getting jobs when they leave here, or at least will be playing on level ground with the rest. Believe me when I say, one of our new 3.1 techs (less than 5 years) has seen and covered higher level work than they will ever see in a commercial outage. Both from the perspective of a Decon technician and RP technician (they had to do both jobs). As a non-ANSI Jr. RP fresh out of class, you are expected to provide coverage (with a mentor of course) for anything other than high rad and free release. I really wish others took this approach to developing new folks, makes for strong capable technicians who actually know about the science they are protecting people from.  

Gotta protect people from that science... 

[GLW]

Our guys are ANSI 3.1 once they are done and since one of our consultants actually helped author what makes a 3.1 technician, there should be no debates once released to the wild. Many have also been sent to Diablo Canyon for outage work. I believe our training program (which goes into PADS) is pretty unique. It was developed with it in mind that we wanted the newbees to be ready for the "Real World" when they left. I have a tremendous amount of respect for our RPM that pushed to make that a part of our program. They will have no problem getting jobs when they leave here, or at least will be playing on level ground with the rest. Believe me when I say, one of our new 3.1 techs (less than 5 years) has seen and covered higher level work than they will ever see in a commercial outage. Both from the perspective of a Decon technician and RP technician (they had to do both jobs). As a non-ANSI Jr. RP fresh out of class, you are expected to provide coverage (with a mentor of course) for anything other than high rad and free release. I really wish others took this approach to developing new folks, makes for strong capable technicians who actually know about the science they are protecting people from.  

Good to hear,....

From a PM I sent to a newbie not so long ago:

..................Shipyard Article 108 might be your better resume enhancer, get 108 qualed, hang at the shipyard for a couple of years and try commercial again,...

the other option would be a long term DnD of a NRC licensed facility, cover major component removal and segmentation, try to get picked up for radwaste and get certified as a DOT Class 7 shipper while gaining your Senior HP and absorbing as much as you can with pool to pad (ISFSI) experience (so you can work with real neutron dose rates and no chit it could kill ya ARM controls at the SF bridge), Final Status Survey, and HPGE/count room stints,...

Zion has a number of years to go, Kewaunee may start DnD next fall, Humboldt is ongoing for a lot of years to go (and it's an alpha nightmare, but you did say you wanted to get good quick IIRC),..

stay away from.....................,...

The efforts on the part of your RPM which you have detailed speak volumes,....

Our guys are ANSI 3.1 once they are done and since one of our consultants actually helped author what makes a 3.1 technician, there should be no debates once released to the wild.............

How much I agree and applaud and why does not change the reality of the last decades,...

To be honest with ya, in the 24 yrs I've been do'n this I've never seen a non-commercial or D&D site take a commercial qualified SHP as anything less than a SHP whereas the commercial world is not to keen on taking a non-commercial or D&D SHP as a SHP until said tech has at least 6-12 mo's commercial under his/her belt.   Not saying it doesnt happen, just never seen it. 

Perhaps as the pool of slower, but well seasoned techs diminishes the paradigm will be forced to change,...

I don't read tea leaves so I don't know,...

Tell Marty I said hi,...check your PM's,...

[jkj]

This "Industry" sux and I'll be glad to get out. Sad.

[hamsamich]

spring 2005 Indian Point took a bunch of RCTs.  RCTs that couldn't get RCT work even.  Didn't work out very well.  But I worked with a bunch at SRS recently (House RCTs) that were better IMHO than many commercial techs. Maybe we got the bottom of the barrel in 05.