Now , that's the proper attitude ! I've made a lot of friends from the Operators - it's a win-win for everyone . They look out for us and don't "create" extra work and we take care of them in turn...we all cooperate . I've worked with some of the best Pipeline hoe operators in the biz , and in turn have worked around some real "company rammer clowns" as well - I walk away , just not worth it . I've been hurt twice , and pretty badly at that from the ignorance of others - not going to happen that majic 3rd time ...this last injury put me out of commission for nearly 4yrs and away from most of the work we do due to severe limitations . Now , I'm mostly just a target out on the Roads trying to look out for the crews and handle traffic . I'm fine with it , but it's cut my work hours by over half on average since 2010 and it's making the goal of retirement nearly impossible . You have to look out for yourself and the others you work with , no one else is going to do it for you with the competition/profit attitudes out there in the last 10yrs or so ...
I've really enjoyed this thread , and watching Mark build a very nice looking engine - bet it will run sweet as well .
Sarge