Watts Bar

[Dream Tar Heel]

Gave it away!

Very strange, never heard that before about Watts Bar. Must be more to the story, gotta be, but that is very strange. But then again, Watts Bar is under new management. And slowly but surely, things are changing.

Nuclear can be a very strange thing sometimes, and things dont make sense sometimes; that's for sure. But my understanding is they have it staffed (for the most part), so getting in now could be tough, but dont stop if you really want in. There is alot of people on their way there, but they are not in the door yet!

Or maybe it's not Watts Bar, always a chance of that. Maybe Eric will latch on to this one and spread some sunshine on it.

It's all yours Eric.

[Eric_Bartlett]

...A friend of mine confirmed her position at Watts Bar months ago.  She called Bartlett because her hire-in date is rapidly approaching and she hadn't recieved a in-processing package yet.  Bartlett then informed her that they had given her spot away....didn't call to tell her, or anything...

...Maybe Eric will latch on to this one and spread some sunshine on it...It's all yours Eric.

Dunno what to say - would need to know who it is and who she "confirmed" with...there have been a few people that have been told that they were approved, but at that point in time did not want to confirm, then called back later in the game after it was staffed only to find out that "their" spot had been filled...but as stated before with out knowing names and circumstances I wouldn't be able to address the situation appropriatly .  Sorry if I wasn't any help.

Eric

[foreverajr]

I have PM'd Eric.  Thanks a bunch.

[Dream Tar Heel]

Thanks Eric,

Just like always, you got your ear to the ground, checkin on that renta-tech heart beat. It's good to know your listening. But I agree with you, you gotta know the "WHOLE" story.

[Roll Tide]

The TVA Board Friday authorized a comprehensive evaluation of the cost and schedule for completing the second unit at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant to determine if it is a viable option to meet future power demand.

The Board approved a recommendation from the Operations, Environment and Safety Committee to begin a Detailed Scoping, Estimating and Planning study for Watts Bar Unit 2, similar to a study TVA did on Unit 1 at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.

The Board approved the study along with the 2007 fiscal year budget, which includes $20 million to begin the study, at a meeting in Knoxville.


http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_90056.asp


Source: www.chattanoogan.com

Am I the only one excited about resuming construction? TVA would love to slip a unit in the back door prior to the ABWR & AP1000 construction flurry that is hopefully approaching.

[ageoldtech]

Unit 1 just crapped out at 12:15 today, don't know the full extent of the damage yet or if it will affect our SGR, but assessment teams are on the way in.

[Roll Tide]

Lots of folks planning on working the SGRP. How about a heads up if that schedule changes?

[ageoldtech]

Sure thing Roll Tide, I've got my finger on the pulse. We have a leak on the Safety injection system inside the polar crane wall that will require some welding and we have some turbine generator issues that have not been total addressed yet. As of now the outage is still a go for 9/11/06.

[Dave Warren]

Devil's advocate here.........

When I was at Oak Ridge, word on the street was this:
Alot of folks were pretty miffed when they all sent their resumes to Bartlett for a special project at Watts Bar prior to the SGRP, and the next thing you know, their co-workers are saying "Hey, Bartlett called me about Watts Bar, and I didn't even submit".

The conspiracy theories snowballed, and the consensus was that they used alot of resumes in the contract pre-approval process, that never even got considered for the jobs there. The fix was in, and Bartlett knew well in advance, who was going and who wasn't.

Just what I observed folks.....Eric would have never let that happen anyway..

[Dream Tar Heel]

Maybe............

Resumes were sent in, "QUALIFIED PEOPLE" were requested and contacted and after they shook the bag, they accepted the ones they took. WBN that is, not Bartlett. Just cause you send in your resume, doesn't mean they cant call someone who didnt send one in.

Whats so covert about that, been the way Nuclear Power operates for decades.

like I said, Maybe..........

[Dave Warren]

Maybe I won the Powerball last night too.....

This industry has been that way forever. You are correct. I just thought I would throw out some fodder for the good old boys down at Oak Ridge, who didn't get a shot at the WBN network....

We gotta stick together. It's a scary world out there...

[ageoldtech]

Dream Tarheel is correct; the résumé's were approved by TVA and contract personnel. At one point there were over 200 résumé's on the table.  TVA was looking for techs with SGR experience, with Ft. Calhoun happening at the same time and paying more cash, those folks were hard to find. A percentage of the people on the list were brought in simply because they were TVA returnees and would need no training. Training was a huge concern, due to the fact that TVA had limited resources in the training department. For some of the non returnees it took 6 months to complete all their training. We also hand picked techs that were not on the initial list, but that was mostly for ALARA engineering, supervisors, lead techs and radwaste positions.
Plant Update: The unit is now in mode 3, the SI leak is repaired, and we should sink back to the grid this weekend if all goes well.

[Dave Warren]

Hey, it sounds like you were keeping it real, ageoldtech.

As long as you got the most qualified techs, that's all that matters....

[foreverajr]

I know for a fact that there were a few brand new juniors who were brought in early.  I won't disclose the reason, but it wasn't all on the up and up.  They were brought in before returnees and locals which does upset people.....can't imagine why.  It hasn't happened to me, getting kicked aside for a junior right off the street, however seeing it happen to friends/family is never fun.

[Dave Warren]

I knew there was a straight shooter out there somewhere.

So, obviously, the rumors weren't all false.
Hey, foreverajr, kudos to you for keeping it real.

From the consensus, some of the folks that went there were not what you might call the most qualified or the elite. I guess it all boils down to which side of the game you are on.

[foreverajr]

Oh, I'm not trying to stir up trouble.  Really, I'm not.  No matter who Bartlett turns in for a job, it's ultimately Watts Bar's decision which techs come in and at what time.  I've been in the buisiness for a while....long enough to realize that things aren't always fair.  Having said that, when I think back, I was always brought in early and kept way after the outage was over.  I'd like to think it was because I was a good tech, an added bonus that I was a local returnee.  I'm sure that was part of it, however I maintained good relationships with people at that plant.....even to this day. 

I know that there were newbies that were hired in before locals and returnees.....I know this because people close to me were pushed back.  I just hate to see it, thats all. 

[ageoldtech]

Foreverajr, where did you get your start? I too was a junior at one time. Newbie's were brought in, a total of 3. At this time they are not being used as Junior Techs. They were brought in because we needed laborers to shake out over 200,000 lbs of shielding. Plant services did not have the resources. Newbie juniors also cost less than Senior Techs. I don't know many Techs that want to come here just to hump lead, and as for family and friends, yes my son is now a laborer making junior pay and I'm very proud of him! 

[foreverajr]

In my previous posts, I don't think I was trying to make any job look like it wasn't difficult.  Even when I was a newbie....Junior Techs were not used to hump lead at any TVA site.  That was a job for plant services.  I have done it before at other sites, it's hard work.  My point was that brand new right off the street junior technicians were hired in while other junior technicians, that are local and returnees, were given a much later hire in date.  As far as cheaper pay....of course brand new junior techs are going to be cheaper than a seasoned senior tech.  However, two juniors, one local and one that requires diem......which one would cost less?  I could be wrong, but it would appear that a local would be a more appropriate choice.

[Dream Tar Heel]

YEA YEA YEA!

Somedays you get the job, somedays the job gets you.

A junior is a junior. Everybody needs connections, sometimes you got them and sometimes you dont, another part of the Nuclear Business.

As far a the two before mentioned 'early entry draft pick' juniors, one is a senior now and the other is "priceless", (it's what I hear).

Seems like they were two good decisions to me. The wonderful thing is, we live in the United States of America, you have the right to not like decisions made not in your or your family favor. We all have been there at one time or another.

And that "Son of a Ageoldtech", some people might have a problem with it, and they are usually the ones who forget the people who help them when they were starting out, nothing wrong with it. More power to them. I'd hire my entire family if I was the site coordinator.

But he was correct, them MEN were brought in to move lead, alot of lead. Special picked? I would hope so, seeing how not everyone can handle lead. I cant, the blankets are taller than I am.

We all sometimes wish we had someone to take care of use from time to time, and kids espically are lucky to have a dad or uncle who can help them and steer them in the right direction.

Couple of Seniors out there who could still use some "Parental Guidence"!

But back to the Oak Ridge Tech thing, lets do keep it real. Just cause your 5 year vacation @ DOE is over dont mean WBN needs you.

Just a thought.

[HydroDave63]

Unit 1 just crapped out at 12:15 today, don't know the full extent of the damage yet or if it will affect our SGR, but assessment teams are on the way in.

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/2006/20060801en.html

AUTOMATIC REACTOR TRIP DUE TO MAIN GENERATOR TRIP

"At approximately 1213 hours on July 31, 2006, with Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 1 operating normally at 100% power, the main generator tripped resulting in a reactor trip per design.

"All control rods inserted [fully] and the auxiliary feedwater system [AFW] automatically actuated per design and the reactor was stabilized in mode 3. This event is reportable under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) for the reactor trip (4-hour report) and under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A ) for the RPS [reactor protection system] and AFW actuations (8-hour report).

"The cause of the generator trip is currently under investigation."

Steam is being released via steam dump to the condenser and all systems functioned as required.

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

[RAD-GHOST]

This one should make for some interesting reading in the future!

[RADBASTARD]

Yeah and i heard that they cut the jrs from 72 to 60 hrs even before the start of the outage.
Man it sux to be them 6-10's.
I bet they wish they went some where else

[foreverajr]

At first they told the juniors that they would be working 7 10's - taking away their day off, but leaving them short of a 72 hour work week.  Now some juniors are on 6 8's and some are on 6 10's.  I'm sure that they wish that they had gone somewhere else.  However, my source says that there are a ton of new kids right off the street.  It's hard to get work when you are brand new, so you go where they will take you.  But I do hear that the workers aren't as happy as normal which means it will only be harder to get techs in the future.  (Maybe a reason for all the newbies?)  Watts Bar really is a great place to work, so I hate that for them.

[tigger]

I am sorry to say, but the juniors that were last brought in, screwed themselves out of 10 hours. Someone had the bright idea to write up a petition..... And 26 out of 31 signed it. So the answer to the petition was 6- 10's, not 6- 12's like some would have liked. This was brought on themselves. Being a jr, and also liking money... well, I am quite ticked off that a few people who didn't like what was being given to them couldn't suck it up. Now those of us that were already inside the plant have lost out on hours. Sure no one was happy about it, but that is what we were being given for hours.
To be honest I am surprised the RPM's answer wasn't to send those that signed it down the road and hire in others.
No matter where you go, people will be unhappy about something. To those I say... please grow up and keep the nasties to yourself.

[RAD-GHOST]

Hum, Interesting Tigger.

Sounds like an excellent method for promoting open communications. 

Hey, if you got a problem, let us know, but not in writting and especially not that problem!

Yea, one could figure that the Juniors are expendable, but I think not!  I heard the number is around thirty.  I find it hard to believe any manager wants to cut 30 of their staff before an outage, especially as a result of addressing a problem of concern.  Maybe the site just found it in their heart to bring in a group of juniors and provide a training environment for some new techs!  In reality I believe they are a necessary portion of the staff augmentation and serve a very necessary function.  Of course you still have to deal with the junior jokes!

Seems that Health Physics Management has become so preoccupied with preserving their pedistool, they can't see the building falling down around them and the outage hasn't even started!

Rumor has it four seniors have bailed this week, more to come? I heard the other companies phone number is etch in just about every phone in the plant!  Actually just hit redial, odds are it will get you there!

Be Safe, RG

PS:  If you haven't lined up other opportunities for October and November, your looking at a lean Holiday season!