Poo Plant Diary: Day 1

Today I started a new job.

I work for a city on the central coast of California at a wastewater (Poo) plant. As, you may know, I had previously worked at a wastewater plant in the lab. This time things are not so, lets say, "sterile". I am an Operator in Training.

I have never worked in a labor union or city type of atmosphere. I noticed that things are different. The biggest thing I noticed was that people all took breaks at set times throughout the day. I am not used to this. Lunch can be the exception, but even then I commonly took lunch when there was a break in the work I was doing. the fifteen minute breaks were never really a big issue for me, unless I was working hard. To these people, a break every two hours is the way it is.

Here is what happened on my first day...

Day 1
8 am: I arrived at the plant, met my supervisor then, toured offices.
8:30 am: An Operator, Pete, showed me around some of the the plant.
9:30 am: Pete took me to a store to buy hard hat and safety/sun glasses (city paid $50)
10 am: break
10:15 am: Drove to town 30 miles away and got steel toe boots (city paid $150)
11:20 am: Stopped at Mexican restaurant and had tacos for lunch
12:15 pm: Arrived back at plant and the boss told Pete and I to go to lunch. I just had lunch, but Pete seamed like another lunch would be nice, so he went to the break-room. I walked around outside.
1 pm: More touring of the plant, got picture taken for city ID card.
2 pm: Break
2:20 pm: Took a tour final outfall or where the treated water goes to a creek.
2:50 pm: Attended a daily meeting for maintenance and operation staff. A bunch of yelling, cussing, and figuring out what got done and needs to be done. A lot of goofing around, including jokes about farting. On the up side, it lasted only ten minutes.
3 pm: Another meeting, this one was for me. My boss and I went over a list of basic items I need to complete as a new employee.
4 pm: Gone home

The plant is being completely upgraded and redesigned. If you are interested in reading more about this plant, the website is here. I am happy that I am with this team at a time when change is "king" and the old guys are crying about this new system. I thrive on absorbing all the new stuff! At the same time, I have to learn the old "hands on" with the old plant and equipment.