Staying on the topic of drugs, on my last shutdown near Edmonton I was working with a guy in a HUGE boiler, the atmosphere wasn't perfect and we were having gas tests every 3 hours and he started smoking inside the damn thing (keep in mind we were inside the plant), I told him to cut it off and he seemed pretty pissed about it.

After a few minutes I see the main supervisor climbing up the ladder to come inside the boiler and guess what with a damn cig in his mouth. At that time the guy looked at me and said welcome to redneck Canada buddy, hope you enjoy your stay.

TheHustler,
That's some scary and crazy shit man! Wow!

The safety part of working in the oil sands among red necks is one of the main areas that is making me worried. I remember during the H2S Alive course I did in Nisku, the instructor was emphasizing that as workers, we have the legal right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions.

Scotian and all the rest of the boys working in the oil sands, have you faced any similar situations where you felt it was not safe due to recklessness as described by the Hustler? Did you report it to your boss/head office? Local government? Or did you just went on with it and hoped and prayed nothing bad would come out of it while being extra careful?

First post of mine - a big "Thank you" to some forum members for providing fantastic information on how to make good bucks the old fashioned way, with labor-intensive, well paid jobs.

(08-10-2013 11:35 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Did you report it to your boss/head office? Local government? Or did you just went on with it and hoped and prayed nothing bad would come out of it while being extra careful?

'This is the oil patch son not a cabbage patch'

There is no way I would make a big deal about something unsafe onsite. Chances are they have been doing it that way for years and arn't going to change anytime soon. The guys would think you are a pussy and lose all respect.

I watch, learn and keep myself out of trouble. Just like seeing a guy at a bar doing a bad approach or acting the fool-as long as it doesn't affect me its his problem not mine.

I have heard countless stories of ripped, crush and lost limbs already but it doesn't bother me much. If something looks like it could be dangerous I will send someone else in first or just not do it. Thats what the roughnecks are for haha. No need to make a big deal out of it though.

(08-10-2013 11:35 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  TheHustler,
That's some scary and crazy shit man! Wow!

The safety part of working in the oil sands among red necks is one of the main areas that is making me worried. I remember during the H2S Alive course I did in Nisku, the instructor was emphasizing that as workers, we have the legal right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions.

Scotian and all the rest of the boys working in the oil sands, have you faced any similar situations where you felt it was not safe due to recklessness as described by the Hustler? Did you report it to your boss/head office? Local government? Or did you just went on with it and hoped and prayed nothing bad would come out of it while being extra careful?

Had the same concern as you. I trained with a a roughneck who's been drilling for 15 years and became a Safety Supervisor. I mentioned a scenario, and he said right off the bat. "Don't confront the idiot, you find a Safety guy like me, point it out, and it'll be taken care of promptly." Co-workers who violate rules tend to not listen to other co-workers, however, they listen quick to people who can send them home. Like the Safety guys! Just make sure the Safety guys you work with actually care about safety. Observe them daily, and decide from there if you want to stay.

I recently ran into a guy who had a mashed up hand from construction. The contractor he was with were not to keen on safety, even though they did have a safety guy. Man stayed longer than he should've. Hand got mashed up, he got laid off, and then a few months later a young guy died on the same site. A machine that Mashed-up-hand man reported as malfunctioning and unsafe to use was ignored, a few months later after he was laid off, 24 year old worker killed at the machine. Truth be told, some contracting companies don't have the best and brightest. That's why it's IMPERATIVE you pick a reputable company with a good safety record to work with. A company that prides itself on safety won't stand for any nonsense.

And yes, you do have the right to say no to unsafe work conditions. That's why we take CSTS before going onsite! Know your Safety Co-ordinator on-site. They get paid big bucks to spot unsafe conditions AND have the authority to send people off site.

Whatever trade you work in, there's a sense of brotherhood. being part of that brotherhood means you never rat out your co-workers, especially to safety. That would get you black listed pretty quick. Ie: no one wanting to work with you or you getting a rep as a beta (a fate worse than death).

Depending on the severity of the circumstances, the only person anything gets reported too is your boss/Foreman. Even that, I wouldn't recommend. This isn't some fairy land where you go and tattle tale to HR. Any issues, you deal with man to man. That's why I love it out here.

The patch'll learn ya how to be a man real quick.

Oh yea, you can't count on safety. Most of them are incompetent (read: woman) and cant be trusted with anything, especially your life. I had one safety chick that couldn't even work a gas monitor who was in charge of monitoring our LEL's.

(08-10-2013 11:29 PM)Thehustler Wrote:  Staying on the topic of drugs, on my last shutdown near Edmonton I was working with a guy in a HUGE boiler, the atmosphere wasn't perfect and we were having gas tests every 3 hours and he started smoking inside the damn thing (keep in mind we were inside the plant), I told him to cut it off and he seemed pretty pissed about it.

After a few minutes I see the main supervisor climbing up the ladder to come inside the boiler and guess what with a damn cig in his mouth. At that time the guy looked at me and said welcome to redneck Canada buddy, hope you enjoy your stay.

I had to laugh when I read this because for the past two months, I've been working in a huge boiler and smoking like a chimney with all of the boilermakers. Officially we're not allowed to but no one gives a shit because there's not too much that a lit cigarette can do that a bunch of guys welding can't do (smoke, flame, sparks, etc).

Its a fine line guys, you want to be working in a safe environment but you never want to be labelled a rat on a job site, especially if you rat on someone and they end up getting fired, that could hurt your career prospects.

Kick is right, issues tend to be resolved in person as they happen between men, the way it should be. He works for a company that I used to work for and I was once busted for speeding in a company vehicle by some rat who called the office and reported my unit number, I got back to the office and the president of the company told me off pretty good and ended the conversation by saying "if you do it again, I'll rip your fucking head off and shit down your neck!". That was the last time I was caught speeding in a company truck.

(08-11-2013 10:56 AM)?Kick Wrote:  Whatever trade you work in, there's a sense of brotherhood. being part of that brotherhood means you never rat out your co-workers, especially to safety. That would get you black listed pretty quick. Ie: no one wanting to work with you or you getting a rep as a beta (a fate worse than death).

Depending on the severity of the circumstances, the only person anything gets reported too is your boss/Foreman. Even that, I wouldn't recommend. This isn't some fairy land where you go and tattle tale to HR. Any issues, you deal with man to man. That's why I love it out here.

The patch'll learn ya how to be a man real quick.

Oh yea, you can't count on safety. Most of them are incompetent (read: woman) and cant be trusted with anything, especially your life. I had one safety chick that couldn't even work a gas monitor who was in charge of monitoring our LEL's.

Screw the brother hood if you got a coke head running a heavy equipment while you're working on site. Some things warrant DISOWNING a family member! They know the rules, they break 'em, they are adult enough to live with the consequences. That's called being a grown up. If they aren't ready for that, they shouldn't be in Trade work.

No snitchin policy only protects the violators, not the victims. Allows the violators to act with impunity. F*ck that! Sites can get shut-down for people being negligent with safety. A site shut down means NO WORK, NO CASH FLOW! So think about that before letting violations slide.

Stand up for something or be walked on like a doormat. Nothing manly about not standing up for what's right. It's more beta to go along to get along than have conviction to stand up for what's right. Frankly, if one is so scared about losing a job by reporting a violation then that's a fool, in my opinion. No one should put themselves in a position where they feel they can't walk away. That's how you get turned out. Might as well put on a pair of heels and a skirt, and stand on a street corner.

If you got an incompetent Safety Co-ordinator, find another crew or company to work with. Can't enjoy the fruits of your labour when you're in the hospital or dead, due to an unsafe work site.

(08-11-2013 07:44 PM)RossTan Wrote:  Screw the brother hood if you got a coke head running a heavy equipment while you're working on site. Some things warrant DISOWNING a family member! They know the rules, they break 'em, they are adult enough to live with the consequences. That's called being a grown up. If they aren't ready for that, they shouldn't be in Trade work.

No snitchin policy only protects the violators, not the victims. Allows the violators to act with impunity. F*ck that! Sites can get shut-down for people being negligent with safety. A site shut down means NO WORK, NO CASH FLOW! So think about that before letting violations slide.

Stand up for something or be walked on like a doormat. Nothing manly about not standing up for what's right. It's more beta to go along to get along than have conviction to stand up for what's right. Frankly, if one is so scared about losing a job by reporting a violation then that's a fool, in my opinion. No one should put themselves in a position where they feel they can't walk away. That's how you get turned out. Might as well put on a pair of heels and a skirt, and stand on a street corner.

If you got an incompetent Safety Co-ordinator, find another crew or company to work with. Can't enjoy the fruits of your labour when you're in the hospital or dead, due to an unsafe work site.

Try working on the oil patch with this mentality. You'll get eaten alive.

I get what you're saying: safety isn't something to fuck around with. But when you got a family back home that you gotta feed and bills that rely only on your salary to be cleared, job security is a very important thing. It means letting some shit slide for the sake of keeping your job, and keeping your crew tight with you. The guys you work with, over time, become your boys. They also got families to feed and bills to pay. To fuck their job over because you ratted on them gets you blacklisted, not to mention getting sliced and diced by your co-workers for being a punk-ass rat and then eventually getting the boot. Have fun looking for work with your tunnel-visioned safety ethics after that.

That's your crew. You see these people more than your family.

I think you're blowing the whole 'unsafe worksite' thing out of proportion. Some of these 'violations' that occur on a daily basis are really not a big deal. The guys know not to be a dumbass on site, and if you are, you get called out real quick and told to fuck off with that bullshit. Simple as that.

(08-11-2013 07:44 PM)RossTan Wrote:  Screw the brother hood if you got a coke head running a heavy equipment while you're working on site. Some things warrant DISOWNING a family member! They know the rules, they break 'em, they are adult enough to live with the consequences. That's called being a grown up. If they aren't ready for that, they shouldn't be in Trade work.

No snitchin policy only protects the violators, not the victims. Allows the violators to act with impunity. F*ck that! Sites can get shut-down for people being negligent with safety. A site shut down means NO WORK, NO CASH FLOW! So think about that before letting violations slide.

Stand up for something or be walked on like a doormat. Nothing manly about not standing up for what's right. It's more beta to go along to get along than have conviction to stand up for what's right. Frankly, if one is so scared about losing a job by reporting a violation then that's a fool, in my opinion. No one should put themselves in a position where they feel they can't walk away. That's how you get turned out. Might as well put on a pair of heels and a skirt, and stand on a street corner.

If you got an incompetent Safety Co-ordinator, find another crew or company to work with. Can't enjoy the fruits of your labour when you're in the hospital or dead, due to an unsafe work site.

Stitches for the snitches PreacherTan. I don't know what the fuck you're preaching on about. Something about how to get turned out and walking street corners in heels? Anyway, I think you have failed to realize what my point was. I never mentioned anything about being walked over like a doormat and letting guys get away with reckless behaviour. I said deal with it like a man. Not like a little snot nosed, pre-school tattle tale, running off to find the closest safety officer for protection. There's a name for guys like that in the patch, it's called Site Princess.

So I see my post stirred up quite some discussion. Keep in mind it was written in good humor, and there's no way in hell that I'd have reported that incident. I guess you need to work in the patch for a while to understand the mentality.

Yes it's not perfect behavior but keep in mind you're not working in a pc office and the atmosphere is much more flexible and relaxing. Took me a while to get used to it, NOBODY is trying to lit themselves to fire or trying to harm themselves but on the other hand a lot of people don't wear proper PPE & stuff. Is it 100% safe? maybe not so but do they get the job done? Hell yes. All I can say about me is that I try to work as safely as possible and stay away from trouble, if someone is doing something unsafe that could potentially harm me, I'll simply avoid that area of work. But you can't be running around snitching people lmao.

Thanks to everybody for the amazing intel on this.

I'm a 23 y.o. guy who grew up in Quebec, and i've had the oil patch on my mind for a few months now. Been travelling for 4 months in Eastern/Central Europe, and I've no cash left; the job situation in QC is horrible & wages low, so I'm giving this a shot.
I actually have cousins who live in Alberta, one in Edmonton, so that could come in handy at the beginning.


From what I understand what I'm looking for is either "Roustabout" or "Floorhand" position. Grunt work. Sounds good, up for it.

But before I make a big move, I'd like to defer to the more knowledgeable experts here to see if I'm making sense in this.
Again, I'm not expecting anyone to do the work for me, I'll report back as things happen, as that's what inspired me in the first place!

I'm actually certified as a technician in Quebec; but my training is in microelectronics (micro controllers, anything programming i can do it, making electronic circuits etc) but nothing in the traditional sense of "electrician", i.e. I can't install building wiring or any high voltage. So i'm not sure if that's useful.

Then after that, computer science degree, _not yet completed_ about one year left. My experiences with this have not been so good, they tend to want to hire you as an intern for a meagre pay of 12/hr.. that was in QC.. and i'm just looking for temp work for half a year or something.

So yeah, right now making a spreadsheet to track my progress at applying. I can't go up in person just yet, still living in Germany
till end September. But calls with Skype are an option. Will report back.

Best way to use the RVF Oil Sands info:

Read the WHOLE thread

Pick a particular job (In this case working on the rigs) and do some more independent research yourself

Make posts that show you have read the whole thread, done some independent research and figured out some portion out by yourself

If you do this then people on here who have made the move themselves are a lot more likely to help you out and maybe actually meet up when you arrive.

I can only speak for myself but any PMs I get that show zero research and effort get deleted pretty fast. Likewise any PMs that show research and effort get a detailed response.

I don't recall sending you a PM, didn't waste your precious time? not sure why my post rubbed you the wrong way.

That's a good idea though, I'm going to read the thread a second time.

It did not rub me the wrong way -just letting you know the best way to go about it.

Irishman what's the craic lad? How's tricks?:-)

I'm staying on topic. UNSAFE worksite, co-worker violating safety rules that will endanger other co-workers that's someone who doesn't care, I have zero sympathy for a person like that, regardless if they have family or not.

When I was supervisor I fired people who had newborn babies, 'cause their actions endangered the jobs of 20 of my other crew who also had family and personal obligations and that took priority and they were willing to adhere to processes and procedures.

If integrity isn't enough, By LEGISLATIVE LAW you are obligated to report, lest you be held as an accessory/accomplice to negligence come investigation time.

And you don't need to be PC to adhere to safety rules CLEARLY outlined upon hire.

Those Chinese workers that died in Ft McMurray due to an unsafe worksite, would probably be alive today had their co-workers stood up to do the right thing.

If you feel the Trades are a Brotherhood, then act like your Brother's Keeper. Take care of each other. (adhering to safety, and if someone doesn't want to do that, they need to be reported and removed from the site by the proper manager.) Their willful negligence endangers the rest of your Brothers and Sisters. That's my overall point.

P.S. This is a JOB, not the MOB or a street gang. This is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

(08-13-2013 09:05 PM)RossTan Wrote:  When I was supervisor I fired people who had newborn babies, 'cause their actions endangered the jobs of 20 of my other crew who also had family and personal obligations and that took priority and they were willing to adhere to processes and procedures.

[...]

P.S. This is a JOB, not the MOB or a street gang. This is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

Mob or street gang? What the fuck?

You fired guys who just started a family because they may be a risk to your crew? I hope I'm not reading that correctly.

Because if I did, before I respond to this, I have to ask a few of things:

1) What type of company (or if you want, the name of the company) were you a 'supervisor' for? And how much experience did you have with this company or in that field you were working in?

2) Have you ever worked on the oil patch/oil field?

3) Have you ever been part of a competitive sports team? i.e. high school football, provincial basketball team

I don't think it's fair for me to come to any assumptions without at least knowing where this dogmatic attitude to safety comes from.

RossTan you might want to provide a more detailed context for firing these people because its obviously starting to annoy people on this thread who work in the patch.

From what you have written so far it appears you are arbitrarily firing people to avoid even the risk of an incident. A lot of us made, and continue to make, huge personal sacrifices to work out here so such behavior doesn't exactly earn much respect. Yes safety is important but so is the comradery of a crew and a certain amount of leeway is expected. Following safety rules to the letter is unrealistic at times and people should be given some credit to make the right decision themselves.

The example I would use is a bouncer in a nightclub: He is there to monitor safety, to prevent the nightclub being liable under its insurance policy and maintain some sort of order. Now people are going to get drunk, have fun and maybe do slightly dangerous things. That is okay because people know the risk and choose to enter that nightclub themselves. They are free to go to a different nightclub or drink at home if they want. Now throughout the night maybe the bouncer breaks up a fight or stops some drunk fat girl from dancing on the bar but if he goes running around all night trying to prevent any possible breach of safety before it even happens he won't get much respect and is just being a dick . Right now it sounds like you are kicking people out just for ordering some shots at the bar.

I've compiled an offline version of this thread for comfortable reading.

It's in Webarchive format, so you will need Safari for either Mac or Windows to open the file.

http://meklort.com/~sinet3k/oilsands.webarchive

Hi Everyone

This is my first post now, after reading this thread for already one year.
I'm really grateful for all the informations here guys, especially to scotian and Irishman. Without all the advices i wouldn't make the move to Alberta next month.

I'm 29 years old and from Germany. I applied for the IEC Visa in January, everything went smooth and i got it just a few weeks later. I received my drivers abstract and my international drivers license (Class 5) also.
I have a health, accident and a liability insurance for Canada and over 10k Euro in my bank account. I'm ready to go i think.

I will translate my Bachelors Degree (Production and Logistics) into English language the following days. Do i need to translate my Highschool Degree also or is it unnecessary?

My biggest concern is that i have nearly no work experience. The last 4 years i was playing poker and traveling around the world and wasted my time i think. 9 years ago i was working 1 year at the German Red Cross riding physically handicapped people around in a truck to doctors or their therapies. Beside this delivering newspapers and pizza lol. I have an uncle in Poland who has a mining company (coal mining), is it a good idea to write in my resume that i made an internship there although i never made it?

When i arrive in Edmonton, i will take any job i can to gain some experience. I read on the big oil thread at reality-check.ca that it's really easy to get a job in well testing, the pay is not as good as in other jobs but the career path is not bad and the salary is getting bigger over the years. Does anyone hear have more informations about well testing?

Mudlogging sounded also interestuing for me, but i read that its not a good career path and most of them just stuck forever on the same level, so i think i won't go for it.

Thanks again for all your help, hope to see you in the Oil sands

Well boys I'm officially here after a brutal 14 hour drive. I start my new job tomorrow, actually should be good since I have to be on the computer all day getting some tickets and certs I don't have to be in till 10am. My guess is I will be working in Nisku for a week or two until I am a little trained and then the travel will start, as the guy stressed to me its a 60% or more travel job, which is fine for me just means more tax free allowance. I am staying kind of far from Edmonton about 15-20 minutes in Leduc county. Pretty nice out here except zero women and not a whole lot to do. I would like to hit up Whyte ave in the coming weeks and seeing as I don't have any friends here except my lame ass cousin who has 3 kids and a horribly, fat wife, RVF guys in town should PM me and see whats up. Will keep updates on how the job goes.

(08-18-2013 07:43 PM)Kdog Wrote:  Well boys I'm officially here after a brutal 14 hour drive. I start my new job tomorrow, actually should be good since I have to be on the computer all day getting some tickets and certs I don't have to be in till 10am. My guess is I will be working in Nisku for a week or two until I am a little trained and then the travel will start, as the guy stressed to me its a 60% or more travel job, which is fine for me just means more tax free allowance. I am staying kind of far from Edmonton about 15-20 minutes in Leduc county. Pretty nice out here except zero women and not a whole lot to do. I would like to hit up Whyte ave in the coming weeks and seeing as I don't have any friends here except my lame ass cousin who has 3 kids and a horribly, fat wife, RVF guys in town should PM me and see whats up. Will keep updates on how the job goes.

Cool. Do you mind sharing what job you will be doing?

Alright lads!?
Im flying up to Kearl Lake tomorrow to start a 3week stint for a company called "Atcopower" can anyone tell me much about Kearl lake and the company?

Does anyone have experience with underwater welding on offshore oil rigs? I've seen the topic come up a few times in the thread, but never covered in detail.

I have my professional dive license, and now want to begin training for welding + the underwater specialization. I realize that the beginner 'dive tender' position is not terribly well paying, but with 2-3 years experience the pay becomes pretty nice. No idea where to start/which programs to look into, any help would be appreciated.