jade47•2mo ago

I hit 50 hours straight on a boiler retube job in Philly and it changed my view on crew size

I mean, I always thought a smaller crew of 3 was better for tight spaces, less people to manage. But this job at the old plant on Delaware Ave, we had a bad tube pull and then a fit-up issue. The 50 hour mark hit and we were all just fried, making dumb mistakes. Having a fourth guy to rotate in for breaks would have saved us maybe 15 hours total. Anyone else run into a job that made you flip on how many people you bring?

3 comments

3 Comments

brooke53321d ago

That Delaware Ave plant is always a grind, I've heard stories. So besides the rotation for breaks, did the fourth guy change how you split up the tube pulling or did he just float and handle the extra small stuff that was slowing you down?

faith_perez2mo ago

That old plant on Delaware Ave is no joke, the access points alone can cost you half a day. I see what you mean about the fourth guy, but isn't it more about having the right skill mix than just a warm body? Like @tarak17's story, being a man short hurts, but putting a tired fitter on a valve rack he doesn't know is just asking for it. Sometimes you need that extra hand just to keep the main crew fresh enough to use their heads.

tarak172mo ago

My buddy had a similar thing happen on a refinery turnaround. They were a man short and got stuck on a simple valve rack because everyone was too tired to think straight. Ended up adding a day to the schedule.