Point Beach

[tennbuck]

Carpenter looking at the 9/2008 outage.
how long will outage be(really), says 4.3 weeks?
how many hours/days a week do they typically work during outages?
whats the pay and per diem?
contact number?

any info would be appreciated

thanks

[Drywell Rat]

Tennbuck,
Your guess is as good as mine. We barely got in more than 60 hours/week and even had to work 8's the 3 days before shutdown. Nobody was very happy, especially the fitters and electricians. Also, they laid almost everybody off before the outage even ended.This next outage may be different but I am looking elsewhere first.
GSA per diem lists this area as $99/day.

[nickscott13]

hey Birddog, click on his name, check out his email address.  if that doesnt tell you who he is, not sure what else to say to you.

I actually enjoyed this outage alot.  At least from an RP perspective.  The RP group is great and there was hardly a dull moment, especially if you came over to the decon area. 

As for the plant, word on the street from an FPL employee is that there are going to be some big changes at PBNP in the next few months.

As for Rats take on the plant, I cant relate to your craft so theres no need for me to even try and compare.  we worked 72's just about the entire time, with the exception of training.  The stand down needed to happen.  when you have 1 or 2 instances, then you can have private meetings, but when there are constant events concerning safety, then yes, you need a stand down. 

Overall, I loved this place and would recommend it to anyone.  Per Diem is 95 and the cost of living isnt too bad.  The only thing that gets old is the wind ripping off of lake michigan.

And if you cant figure out who I am by looking at my handle, well, not quite sure what to say to you!

[Birdog]

Hey Nick, Thanks, I figured it out. 

Nice working with you this last outage, hope you come back. The evil general has left!!   Take care,  Birdog

[iroyster]

Heading back to the "Beach" in September.  Looking forward to getting there!!!!!!
Ira

[iroyster]

Carpenter looking at the 9/2008 outage.
how long will outage be(really), says 4.3 weeks?
how many hours/days a week do they typically work during outages?
whats the pay and per diem?
contact number?

any info would be appreciated

thanks

Try  this web site not sure how accurate but looks close http://www.findunionwork.com/outage_central/outage_work.php?find_unionwork_PSID=4l0uesif81923iup6d9bocb5p0this

Ira

[bradley535]

Hello all,
   Just thought I'd start a topic about Point Beach and what it would take to move there for all those who may need the advice... Like myself.
   I recently accepted a position with FPL up at the Point Beach facility, and will be moving to the Green Bay area. I have a few questions and concerns before I head up there. Most importantly, what is a good bank? I've maintained an account with another bank for years, but their service and charges leave something to be desired. For that reason, I was hoping to get a little more detail before signing up with another bank. If you've found a good bank, please let me know where.
   What's a good location to move a growing family into? I have a wife and one child (3 year boy). Where is a good place to move to, not too far from the city, not too far from the plant.
   Once I'm up there, how does FPL deal with getting my family up there with me? I am certain that they can't just give me 30 days to get everything established while I'm on the clock, but what can I expect. Anyone whose done a recent move may have a little more information on what to expect, and I will repost an answer to my own question once I've moved myself.
   I'm sure there is more to ask, and more useful information out there. Please share what you can and ask what you need.
     Very Respectfully,
           Bradley Derington

[iroyster]

Good evening!
I can't help too much but I did open an account at the local branch of Wells Fargo in Two Rivers.  They were all very nice people and glad to help me.
Don't know from where you are moving from but be prepared for cold if you are not from a northern state.  I was last there from March until May and being from Georgia I was frozen.  Even with the cold I thoroughly enjoyed working with everyone there.  Everybody was super nice.
I am returning on 8/25/08 and should be there for 8-10 weeks.  Look me up if you are there by then.  You can locate me at the Day and Zimmerman NPS office in the safety Dept.
Good luck and congrats on your new job.
Ira

[NightCrawler]

For those of you who may be coming to The Beach for U1R31, if you have dogs and are concerned with what to do for them while you work, our good friend and ex-deconner Adrianne Spaulding has opened her new business in Manitowoc.  Central Bark is a full time doggy daycare and dog grooming store, and Adrianne and her staff will go out of their way to make your dog's stay a great one.  In order for your dog to stay there, the dog must be current on rabies, distemper, and kennel cough shots.  They also have what is called Canine Cab where they can pick up and drop off the dog each day.  For more information, check it out on www.centralbarkusa.com.

[bogeyplus1]

It is pretty quiet, the outage must be going fairly well.

[Dick Pickles]

With a deep sense of hope they seem to be recovering from the NMC saga that has left Point Beach in a sort of crippled state in a couple of ways.
They have gone from a Fleet Optimization to a (reluctant) staffing increase. This is one of PBNP's sorest wounds and a hurdle that's glad to be past. The Slinkster and his head nodding have cut the deepest. Although staffing increases have been kept to a minimum and it's slowwww to get things going back in the right direction and look at things like retirements and fatigue rules.
The worst part of the whole change in management was that they always thought that it couldn't get any worse.
Well, it did.....
Putting people in the wrong places long enough (like Chemistry Supervisors running an RP Dept) in a mere couple of years has set Point Beach back so far that it's hard to imagine when and how long it'll take to recover.
Now that some of the worst nightmares are gone they are finding the skeletons left behind? These plans on how to "cull the weak" (no kidding, they actually had plans on how to get rid of people) are apparent. They're lucky that the people that wanted to dictate and "how dare you question my authority" have shoved off to create havoc and some other poor nuke plant, good ridings!
After all this Point Beach still has a sort of reputation of being hard to visit. Well, if it was, they've changed, if they haven't changed enough, they'll work at it. They stick together because of what they've been through in the last few years, that's what's kept them together, them watching each others back....
If you go there and wanna get in the RPM's ear about how wrong they are with all the procedures and how they should do it, please feel free. But don't think he'll be real eager to bring ya'll back, he is from Philly right?
OK, that's all, gotta pack my outage suitcase?

[vagabond]

I'm interested in a position in Operations at PB, but looking over some posts I'm curious about a few things.  What's the current state of management at PB?  Have things turned around since FPL's takeover?  It seems some of the past experiences with PB weren't that great, as is reflected in the the poll results.  Although my experience will be different than many that post here, anything will help.

Thanks!

[justatech]

If you go there and wanna get in the RPM's ear about how wrong they are with all the procedures and how they should do it, please feel free. But don't think he'll be real eager to bring ya'll back, he is from Philly right?
OK, that's all, gotta pack my outage suitcase?

I found this comment to be rather interesting because he was at my plant prior to PB as the RPM and did listen to the techs. So I'm curious as to the approach you took in discussing the issue at hand?

[sscone]

Just some info on being in Wisconsin. I am headed there in Feb. Wondering if I need a 4 wheel drive? And what to wear? I'm an Alabamian and this is way out of my element for winter.

[Marlin]

Just some info on being in Wisconsin. I am headed there in Feb. Wondering if I need a 4 wheel drive? And what to wear? I'm an Alabamian and this is way out of my element for winter.

The fishing is great, bring your waders.   



   Learn to layer your clothes don't buy one big heavy coat, it will be cold and the plant is right on the lake. You got boot socks, nice heavy ones? Snow tires are a better investment than a four wheel drive but it wouldn't hurt. The nearby town of Two Rivers is pronounced Trivers by the locals.
   On the bright side they have lots of very nice sports bars. I got a free tee-shirt from one of them for about a hundred dollars many years ago.

[sscone]

Thanks guys for the info. Marssim the Jetta doesn't have much ground clearance. Is that a problem? I thought about getting some different rims and snow tires on it, but I think the ground clearance might be an issue. Let me know what ya think. I was thinking of buying another front wheel drive car.

[evil-leprachaun]

Well we have just finished refueling Uni2 2R31 and the Unit is still off line with the Power Uprate modifications.
We will be doing Unit 1 Uprate in the fall of 2001.

The weather is improving with Bealtaine almost here.
Slainte

[bradley535]

ILT 2011 class is up for the NRC exam starting Monday. Time to put up or shut up.

We are nervous, but optimistic. 10 SROTs and 2 COTs are going up. All good guys, and me. It's been a long 2-years and now it's down to the next two weeks.

[fueldryer]

Well we have just finished refueling Uni2 2R31 and the Unit is still off line with the Power Uprate modifications.
We will be doing Unit 1 Uprate in the fall of 2001.

The weather is improving with Bealtaine almost here.
Slainte

RP's were a pleasure to work with at the Beach,OP's on the other hand were real A#*Ho*'s.Plant manager was a joke as well,texting on his phone during an IPTE brief.Real professional stand up kind of guy...

[Frankie Love]

Plant manager was a joke as well,texting on his phone during an IPTE brief

Who's the PM and RPM up there now. It's been awhile since I've been there.

[Cycoticpenguin]

Just some "FYI" for the dude with the jetta, if you have a 1.8t jetta, get your timing belt replaced before 80k miles if you havent done so already. Also, your coolant system is "special and unique" . If you take it to some moron mechanic who thinks its normal coolant, expect long headaches as you wait for your replacement engine to come in. Replace once every 60k miles and it should be fine. Its going to be a little pricey and you CAN NOT use normal coolant in that engine, EVER, even after a good flush. German cars... sheesh

[nspunx4]

I read that point beach entered into an unusual event action level for a loss of offsite power to the "essential"? Buses for greater than 15 minutes. I read in the event report that the unit remained at power. I thought that loop caused a reactor trip? Is the requirement to shut down only if the safety buses Lose off site power or is there another reason they were able to stay in power operation mode?

[evil-leprachaun]

Auto actuation of the diesel generators keep us up. The safety systems responded as designed.

[ski2313]

And a gigantic gas turbine.

[inyourface]

who is the rpm now?