Does anyone on here work away on a regular basis?
Here I am bag packed ready for yet another week out on the road!
Here I am bag packed ready for yet another week out on the road!
Working away
- Thread starter RF Lighting
- Start date
Not on a regular basis but quite a bit at the moment.
Spent a week in Barrow then down to Portsmouth and am now two weeks into a five week stint in the Isle of Man. Still, at least I come home for the weekend. No fun though as we normally work 12hr days so by the time you're back at the hotel, showered and fed it's past nine and you're fit for nothing!
Spent a week in Barrow then down to Portsmouth and am now two weeks into a five week stint in the Isle of Man. Still, at least I come home for the weekend. No fun though as we normally work 12hr days so by the time you're back at the hotel, showered and fed it's past nine and you're fit for nothing!
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Not any more but what do you consider as working away?
2.5 years Algeria
4.5 years Falklands
6 months Hong Kong
That I considered as working away.
The 4 years Sizewell power station, and 2 years seven bridge and even the 6 months in Belfast I did not really consider as working away. OK maybe Belfast but the rest I could get home if I wanted.
I live in North Wales and I have worked a day in Cornwell i.e. not used B&B.
However from memory 25 miles was the official point where I could lodge rather than drive home. Out towards Liverpool I would travel 50 miles each way without any worries but into Wales was another matter where road conditions were far worse.
Many firms I have worked for insured me to and from work and I have questioned if one travels over the agreed mileage would this cause problems with insurance?
I do remember one firm where two or more people were to travel in the same car had to send the driver for training to comply with insurance. Seems there has been an accident where it was claimed the driver was no longer fit to drive.
We come across so many odd rules as we move job to job. GEC Large Steam Turbines would not allow me to use any of my own tools. Insurance would not cover. This was the only firm I know who calibrated the crimp pliers.
2.5 years Algeria
4.5 years Falklands
6 months Hong Kong
That I considered as working away.
The 4 years Sizewell power station, and 2 years seven bridge and even the 6 months in Belfast I did not really consider as working away. OK maybe Belfast but the rest I could get home if I wanted.
I live in North Wales and I have worked a day in Cornwell i.e. not used B&B.
However from memory 25 miles was the official point where I could lodge rather than drive home. Out towards Liverpool I would travel 50 miles each way without any worries but into Wales was another matter where road conditions were far worse.
Many firms I have worked for insured me to and from work and I have questioned if one travels over the agreed mileage would this cause problems with insurance?
I do remember one firm where two or more people were to travel in the same car had to send the driver for training to comply with insurance. Seems there has been an accident where it was claimed the driver was no longer fit to drive.
We come across so many odd rules as we move job to job. GEC Large Steam Turbines would not allow me to use any of my own tools. Insurance would not cover. This was the only firm I know who calibrated the crimp pliers.
I used work away all the time years ago, never home. It was great when I was younger!
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The drop in the cost of air travel vs hotels means that I've found myself doing day trips to places where once upon a time you'd have stayed overnight - end up catching some stupid-o-clock flight in the morning and getting home 16+ hours after you left.
Eric's comment about Wales brought back memories. Years ago I used to regularly visit the Texaco refinery in Pembroke, and there was no way you could drive there and back from London in a day - the M4 stopped at about Newport, much of the A48 and A40 was single carriageway, and after St Clears there were stretches where you could fantasize that you were a rally driver. In fact a colleague once put his car in a ditch, so realistic did he make his imaginings
Eric's comment about Wales brought back memories. Years ago I used to regularly visit the Texaco refinery in Pembroke, and there was no way you could drive there and back from London in a day - the M4 stopped at about Newport, much of the A48 and A40 was single carriageway, and after St Clears there were stretches where you could fantasize that you were a rally driver. In fact a colleague once put his car in a ditch, so realistic did he make his imaginings
Was in Barrow-in-Furness myself a few times last week (not working though, just pottering about). Were about's were you working?
Not the liveliest place is it?!
I was working on three ships, should have been five but one was moved to Workington and the other to Portsmouth so had to travel to those two.
Yeah, Workington wasn't too impressive.
It went downhill fast when we checked in the room. Had a shower, whilst in I noticed insulation tape on the top surface of the electric shower. Further investigation revealed it was a substitute to fixing screws and it actually held the front cover on!
Got out of the shower to a towel with dirty marks, sink taps rotated 360 degrees. Realised why the window was open when we checked in - damp!
Extension leads routed under carpets only to pop up 6 metres away. WiFi down, TV received one channel and to turn it on you had to push your finger around 30mm into the casing as the power button had been pushed inside.
Had an argument with the manager, told him his 4 star hotel was a death trap, left without paying (£90) and booked into another hotel just up the road for £140, still, I'd sooner have slept in the van than the first hotel!
It went downhill fast when we checked in the room. Had a shower, whilst in I noticed insulation tape on the top surface of the electric shower. Further investigation revealed it was a substitute to fixing screws and it actually held the front cover on!
Got out of the shower to a towel with dirty marks, sink taps rotated 360 degrees. Realised why the window was open when we checked in - damp!
Extension leads routed under carpets only to pop up 6 metres away. WiFi down, TV received one channel and to turn it on you had to push your finger around 30mm into the casing as the power button had been pushed inside.
Had an argument with the manager, told him his 4 star hotel was a death trap, left without paying (£90) and booked into another hotel just up the road for £140, still, I'd sooner have slept in the van than the first hotel!
GEC on the East Lancs in Liverpool calibrated EVERYTHING!
Including 12" steel rules and Stanley Tape rules. If you were caught using an uncalibrated or out of date tool you were severely rollicked and your work was sent for inspection before you were allowed to continue, (with calibrated equipment obviously). Give them their due though, if you took in your own micrometer or vernier etc they would calibrate and certify it free of charge
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From memory all MOD work required calibrated crimpers
- Joined
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Me too, must attract a certain type
Not anymore TG!
The long African contracts were OK, but the European and UK trips were a mare. The worst was probably Ireland because the company was based in London and, whilst they understood it took a long time to drive from town to town on the continent, they had no idea about Eire and seemed to assume the map scale was the same as the A-Z. Not unusual to be in Belfast and be told that I was expected in Cork in 2 hour's time.
The long African contracts were OK, but the European and UK trips were a mare. The worst was probably Ireland because the company was based in London and, whilst they understood it took a long time to drive from town to town on the continent, they had no idea about Eire and seemed to assume the map scale was the same as the A-Z. Not unusual to be in Belfast and be told that I was expected in Cork in 2 hour's time.
I did a conference in Rome once, organised by Americans, and they used a number of different hotels, and scheduled things on the assumption that coaches could travel across Rome at any time of day at an average of 20mph.
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