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Prarie Island

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16 (38.1%)
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10 (23.8%)
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Total Members Voted: 8

Author Topic: Prairie Island  (Read 163472 times)

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yuffie_2000us

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #25 on: Sep 12, 2004, 09:34 »
Sure sounds like things are crazy there. I have not been there since 1983. It was a great place then. Good people and plenty of places to rest. In containment they used to have low dose waiting areas to sleep in if you were on stand-by or things were just slow. I hope you guys get a break there. Now I am glad the place staffed early and I could not get in.  Just make the best of it you can and dont get hurt. Good luck to all up there.

HPTech419

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #26 on: Sep 12, 2004, 09:53 »
Yes, things sure are different.  I noticed that for the last 3 days Beevis has gone in the building in the morning and soon after came out looking REALLY ticked off.  I'm sure that he keeps going in with hopes of finding the drywell and like soooo many men, just won't stop and ask for directions.

radmama

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #27 on: Sep 14, 2004, 02:24 »
Things have changed here a great deal in the last year - RP management isn't what it used to be, unfortunately.  But then total plant management has changed drastically also.  Morale is at an all-time low, people are continually searching for new jobs, almost every group has organized, including our engineers!  Worker bees are treated as second class citizens.  We are management top heavy and eventually, the top will fall. I'm constantly looking for other opportunities..........and I used to love my job here!  This outage should prove to be interesting, to say the least.  Wish us well - or send sympathy cards!

ramdog_1

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #28 on: Sep 14, 2004, 07:35 »
is not PI part of the fleet of what is it NMC? I thought all of you were on big happy fam!  just a question ? any ways I used to be a palisadies part of the flleet as will .
good luck.

HPTech419

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #29 on: Sep 14, 2004, 09:22 »
Yes, Prairie Island is part of NMC which to most of the tech's here stands for 'Nazi Management Corporation'.  We're starting to think that Butthead's goal is to work us till we drop.  It's very effective, too.  We're only 3 days into the outage and someone has gone down everyday so far from heat stress.  Not just tech's either.  Even the most seasoned heat lovers are coming out with shaky legs.  When Butthead noticed that a tech in the breakroom was sitting there with soaking wet clothes, he asked the fellow where he had been.  The tech replied that he had been in the cavity and Butthead wanted to know if that was the cavity in containment.  I haven't noticed any sink holes in the parking lot lately.  Hopefully, he's just distracted with thoughts of where he might send his resume to next week.  We can only hope.

gatornorm1958

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #30 on: Sep 15, 2004, 09:18 »
This management reminds me of the tight farmer that has a field that requires 2 mules to plow but only buys one to save money, and then beats that one to get more work out of it. One of two things will happen: a) the mule falls over dead from exhaustion, b) the mule kicks you. If the mule falls over dead I hope it kicks them on the way down.

Offline roadhp

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #31 on: Sep 16, 2004, 02:19 »
    Next rumor, heard second hand:  Barney was talking to a laborer who was stocking PC's, and this laborer had segregated the right and left hand gloves so the workers wouldn't have to search for each one.  Everyone there thought Barney would praise this worker, since this has been a problem with the company doing laundry only sending lefts or rights in one bag, and the workers having to turn them inside out to get both.  But Barney told the laborer not to do that again because we don't care to make it easy on the workers.
    This seems to be the way of this outage; we don't want to make it easy on you.  Well, they are getting their pound of flesh and pint of blood alright.  Imagine this:  It is 80 some degrees with high humidity, you have just put on about 20 pounds of clothes, and you go into the aux building to go to containment.  You have to climb up about 7 flights of stairs (104 steps, yes they have been counted by numerous people) to go from the dress out facility to get to the containment step off pad.  The site has made it clear that workers are not allowed to use the elevator in the aux building.
    It is only day 6 of the outage, and I don't know of a single HP who will return in the spring.  If there is one out there, he or she must be a glutton for punishment.
« Last Edit: Sep 16, 2004, 02:35 by roadhp »
Brave, brave Sir Robin, set forth from Camelot!!!!

deskjockey

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #32 on: Sep 17, 2004, 12:21 »
The time has come for the road tech to step up to the plate and finally say what is on their mind.  For this has become a road show that has gone bad.  I am counting my time until the next job brings me to a more lucrative situation.  House is leaving and road is thinking about staying.  What more can be said about a bad situation.  I believe Fred is clueless about PWRs and Barney is arogent enough to believe he can run the show.  By the way Barney was a member of the barganing unit for the engineers (one of the ones who was fighting for a contract).  He bailed for a better paying job to enhance his career even thought he had no experiece.  For those of us who know better this mean I have a background (6 yrs Navy (ELT)) in radcon and can make all kinds of decisions and be good at it.  OHHHH BY THE WAY I WAS THE S/G ENGINEER FOR YEARS AND KNOW EVERY THING.  Thing will improve at PI but the when is seriously in question.  Will new management help, I think not but the hope is alway there.  This has alway been a great place to work and the people (workers only) have been great.  I am sad to see this change but it should have been expected given the NMC is running the show.  They are an operating company and have no assets that I know of to make them care.  The employee is not an assest to them only a means to fill their pockets.  The outage will go on with or without the road tech, love them or leave them.

out 

duke99301

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #33 on: Sep 17, 2004, 10:06 »
So ok we know people are not happy But how is the SGRP going and are they doing ok?

Offline roadhp

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #34 on: Sep 17, 2004, 09:48 »
Am not a spokesman for Prairie Island, so cannot say for sure.  It sure is an anthill here, and things are getting done.  SGT will probably get the keys sometime next week, and that scares some of us.  Will they run over us or can we keep control of radcon concerns?  There are doubts that we can do that without giving the keys to a group whose sole interest is getting the job done on or ahead of time, no matter what.  Those of us in the trenches will do our duty and put our finger in the dike hoping the waves don't wash us away.  Wish us luck.
    Oh, and by the way, I just saw the Engineers Union sign saying unfair not too far from the access road, right where everyone can see it who leaves or enters Prairie Island, and I don't know if it is new, in which case, "Houston, we have a problem."  I don't think that all of these SGT union workers would cross a picket line, but I won't, no matter what certain people in high places say in my place.
Brave, brave Sir Robin, set forth from Camelot!!!!

kissup

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #35 on: Sep 17, 2004, 10:36 »
The sign for the engineers has been up for a while now and they have supposedly reach an agreement.  The outage seems to be going alright so far nothing major happening beside scaffoldling, sheildling, and insulation going on.  HPs seem to be a little happier and we actually have a little cooler air since the equipment hatch is open.  Safety meeting a joke it was about heat stress (stay time of 80 minutes while HP's have three hours)  its obvious that we dont work.  We didnt get checks on time, but we did get some nice bright yellow hard hats instead.    Life in PI seems to be getting better we actually have a midsize fridge and coffee maker and everybody seems to be over the initial shock of the outage.  SGT and HPs seem to be getting along nicely. Management is trying to be nice to us which is great.  Stay tune for the second week of outage.  One day behind

HPTech419

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #36 on: Sep 19, 2004, 04:02 »
HELLO..........

It would seem that the preNMC management has taken over again here at PI.  They have come to see that NMC and their flunkies have totally blown the great name that was once Prairie Island and are now in the process of damage control.  Thank God for small favors.  The contract HP's now have a fairly decent break area.  They are hoping for better break times for those in containmnet but unfortunately, due to house tech management mentality, it's pretty much a pipe dream.  Out of the 125 tech's that were ordered up for an operation of this sort, management hired 80.  At least 1/3 will be leaving within 30 days for other outages and the rest will be worked to death.

RAD-GHOST

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #37 on: Sep 19, 2004, 07:41 »
It sounds like the typical outage of today!  Half Staffed, Piss Poor Compensation, Lousy Benefits, Zero Respect and so on!  Wait till that thirty days rolls around, if you lose 33% the staff, consider yourself lucky!  My guess would be at least 50% DRF, when the generator are out and pipe ends deconned!  You don't need a lot of techs to weld new stuff and reload the pot!

10 week outage = 5 weeks of work, it's the new contract company math!

Best of Luck, RG!

Offline roadhp

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #38 on: Sep 20, 2004, 06:45 »
My, what a difference a day makes.  A new schedule, fewer techs sitting in containment, better attitude, and I haven't seen Fred in days.  I guess he or someone finally got the message.  Things here are better, just wonder how long they will last.  It is, after all, Monday morning, and things have a tendency to change when the big guns come back after a weekend.
Brave, brave Sir Robin, set forth from Camelot!!!!

Offline starving_dog

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #39 on: Sep 23, 2004, 11:25 »
So the ISI is eating your lunch.  How is everything else going during your outage?

Is the safety good?

This a Steam Generator Replacement Outage and there are a whole lot of things going on that you have probably not seen before.
There are the Habs, and the Hab nots.

Offline roadhp

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #40 on: Sep 25, 2004, 10:02 »
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the outage, Hurricane Fred strikes again.  He was seen at the gate, comparing gate times with the times logged in the time book and the official time sheet.  Bad thing is, he did it only to one shift, and only on the way out, so then we caught hell the next morning.  We were told what times to put in the book to take credit of the hours we are here, but now we have to check and see what time is on the gate when we come in and not leave until 12.5 hours later if we want to get credit for 12. 
    Personally, I think that Fred is trying to do whatever it takes to get rid of Bartlett and bring in one of the other vendors that he is used to dealing with.  He has already let us know what he thinks of Bartlett.  I guess that he is trying to drive the techs away so Bartlett can't staff the outage next time and the backup will have to staff.
    What he doesn't realize is that techs work for the company that pays, and Numanco, Atlantic Group, and Bartlett, as well as all the other companies out there, draw from the same pool of techs, although some techs, like me, have a tendency to go with one company just for consistency.  If he drives techs away from one company, he may not be able to staff with any company.  But it is his ball of wax.  I was just to the point of reviewing my options as far as PI's spring outage, but forget that. 
Brave, brave Sir Robin, set forth from Camelot!!!!

Offline Already Gone

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #41 on: Sep 26, 2004, 04:35 »
Checking the gate log is the hallmark of the novice manager.  When someone is elevated to a position of authority, it is usually for one of two reasons - he is qualified for the job, or it was just his turn.  A manager who is qualified knows how to get the best and the most out of his people.  The unqualified manager tries to wring out more by force.
There is no point in guessing which manager gets the better result.    Maybe someone will give this guy some indispensible advice - If you insist that everyone does exactly as you tell them, they will and you'll never overcome it.  But, if you treat people like adults, they will act like adults.  If you give people trust and respect, they will earn it.
I wouldn't worry too much about this guy.  If everything posted here about him is true, he won't be there much longer.  You don't fire the players when they lose; you fire the coach.
"To be content with little is hard; to be content with much, impossible." - Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

Offline Roll Tide

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #42 on: Sep 27, 2004, 12:35 »
Checking the gate log is the hallmark of the novice manager. 

I saw that played out with an interesting result at one site. The Manager expressed his intention to check the gate log, and the Chief Job Steward explained that the gate times were not accurate, nor did they need to be accurate to accomplish their desired function.

Not wanting to get in a dispute over that issue, the Chief Job Steward agreed that gate time could be used with this requirement: every bargaining member would be paid based on their gate times in and out for the full quarter. The steward would not accept weeks, days, or only specific individuals.

Needless to say, corporate management explained to this manager why this would be a "BAD" idea. Pity, I would have brought in quite a bit of extra money!
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Hawk095

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #43 on: Sep 30, 2004, 11:05 »
Outage is under way, and it is a cluster f---. Am not an hp, am Mech. Supt. for one of the contracters, and would just like to say THANX to all the HP's out here at PI for the excellent support that they are giving my men in the Aux. Bldg. No it is hectic and those of us that use u for support we appreciate it. Thanks and hopefully some of the techs from here will come to my next outage at Palo and give us the same great support. Thanks again Hawk095 ;

Oly

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #44 on: Oct 04, 2004, 11:18 »
Was initially impressed to see the home office folks stop by for a visit. Was unimpressed that they were under escort.  The outage continues like any other, as many of you out there know. Trying to herd cats has become a way of life for some of us and it never gets easier.

What the hell was I thinking.......

HPTech419

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #45 on: Oct 08, 2004, 12:43 »
It's so nice to know that our RPM is aware of what is really important.  He was making a tour of the Rad Waste Building a few days ago, when he came upon a couple of young men throwing bags into the back of a trailer.  He stopped them and asked "What is the most important thing to keep in mind this outage?"  After much thought, one young man with much confidence answered, "SAFETY!"  At that point, the RPM said, "NO!  IT'S LAUNDRY!"  I had to wonder who was paying attention in training.  I also had to wonder what I would have said if I had been in the same situation.  After hearing what the
RPM thought was important, the best I could come up with was "POT LUCK DINNERS!"  If nothing else, we do eat well.  After hearing the previous response I knew there was no real wrong answer...other than LAUNDRY!

HPTech419

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #46 on: Oct 18, 2004, 09:21 »
I wonder if we could call "merry maids" for this messy problem that has been discovered in our new generators.  We did a little FOSAR and found that both generators have an unusually LARGE amount of debris in them.  It looks like someone put a vacuum hose inside, set it to blow and tried to fill the inside of each one with metal shavings, dirt and anything else that happened to be laying around.  SGT claims they've never had a problem like this before.  If that's the case, they might want some suggestions as to how they can get all that extra material out.  :'(  Updates to come. 

Offline arizonie

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #47 on: Oct 20, 2004, 01:54 »
I was an bni hp tech at PI in 97 and 98
and ya know it was a  very different kinda plant but OK .
we did things fast and easy ,small ,friendly staff and super labor/decon support.
maybe things will turn around for the better,if not we still have the memories.

good luck richard and cathy and the whole hp team.
"JUST WIN BABY"

Iowa_HP

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #48 on: Oct 20, 2004, 05:31 »
Good Luck to all @ PI....I hate to hear about conditions up there. I had always heard that it was a great place to work. Give it your best and your next outage will be right in front of you. Have a safe outage.

Offline mitch

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Re: Prairie Island
« Reply #49 on: Oct 24, 2004, 02:52 »
I too was up there working with arizonie. We had a good crew but some nuttie supervisors like Jack Early..... and Jerry Malonowski who looks just like Kramer from Sienfeld. It was the coldest I felt and going to the Mall of America was fun with friends. I too hope things settle down up there. RPM Al seemed to be pretty good people as well. Maybe I'll get back there again someday.

 


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