C Billingsley, post: 396901, member: 1965 wrote: A bit of a hijack, but this reminds me of a situation that happened right after I was given my first instrument man position. I had been switched to a new crew and was running one of my first level loops with them. Our rodman had also just started with the company, but he was a 30-year vet of surveying who claimed that he took the rodman position because it was all he could find. We ran our level loop through a subdivision full of sewer stakes with me on the level and the 30-year guy on the rod. Arrive at the tie-in and da****, busted 0.2'. We ran the loop again, came to the tie-in, and same thing, busted 0.2'. The party chief was none to happy with me, and I'm claiming innocence to whole time. Well, by coincidence, one of the young engineers from the office had gone out with us that day to get some field experience. This time the party chief asked the engineer to walk the rod, with me still on the level. Same routine, same turn points, but this time we get to the tie-in point and, bam, tied flat. The party chief is pretty suspicious and starts looking for differences in his notes. He finds the hub with the elevation difference and asks the engineer to shoot it again. Same elevation we shot. Then he says "shoot the ground next to it". He shot the ground and the difference was exactly the amount we busted. It was pretty clear at that point what happened. There was a big production made out of it, and even though I was too ignorant at the time to realize the 30-year guy was trying to get me out of the way so he could have my job, he ended up being the one who was fired.
I went several years and never thought much more about it, except there was always the little question in the back of my mind about what if the guy was innocent, and it was an accident. Then I was working with an old timer who had been surveying in our area for about 40 years. I told him the story of what happened. He looked at me kind of puzzled and said, "Was the guy's name xxxxx xxxxxxx?" I said "Yes, it was!" He said "That guy did the exact same thing to me fifteen years ago!" Well, that removed any doubt in my mind, and I was glad the guy got fired. The would-be saboteur left in such a hurry, he left behind his well-worn plumb bob, which resides in my truck to this day.
Another bit of a high jack...I once worked with a guy we called the "veteran" hell of a guy worked state full time an us on weekends..that guy could cut 800 foot an hour through the thickest brush on east coast, straight as an arrow..and loved every minute of it.
paden cash, post: 396804, member: 20 wrote: Robert it happened pretty fast and it really wasn't that bad of an accident. One of those things where you see something but by the time your mouth gets the signal, it was over with. But firing a passenger for not "back seat driving" might be a little difficult to write up in my mind.
Dunno,
An accident on the job is an issue no
matter how small. One that could have been avoided even more so . Accidents involving commercial vehicles and autos can get tricky. You've seen the commercials. Depositions etc.
It's a time and money waste.
Your recollection of a young surveyorÛªs experience sounds just a bit familiar. According to my Dad, I was 5 when I went along with him to do a survey and found my first corner. At 13 I was turning angles on a vernier transit. Dad was unusually hard on me from day one. Other crew members would receive praise and pats on the back, but I was only given instructions as to how to better perform my duties next time. This nearly drove me out of surveying for life. I was probably 18 when I finally gathered the courage to speak up in private. When asked why I was treated so harshly compared to the others, Dad replied that he didnÛªt want me to get arrogant. BUT, the main reason was that, unlike the others, I had a stake in this profession (no pun intended). That gave me a renewed sense of importance once I knew what he really meant when he told me how to improve. After a few more years, I began to get that offended attitude again though. It seemed like I was never given the opportunity to advance, never allowed to comp anything. I was about 20 or 21 when the pendulum swung the other way. We were staking a rather complex section of C&G that the architect made look really pretty but wouldnÛªt work in reality. Dad was computing a compound curve that was out of sorts. I got bored and decided to do some comps myselfÛ? with my shiny new HP 41CX. When Dad was distracted by the contractor, I had the bright idea to stake my comps and see what they looked like. So, the rodman and I had time to set ONE hub when Dad got near. I realized that he might be upset because I was experimenting in the open with the client there, but it was too late. With his stakeout sheet in hand, he gave me the angle and distance. I didnÛªt have to turn a knob for angle. As he neared the hub, I knew I would be getting new teeth marks on my backside. ÛÏWhat the heck is this?Û. I told him and he reached down, pulled it up and flung it, mad as a hatter at me. When staked, his computed position and mine were identical. From then on, I was respected a bit more and given a LOT of responsibility. Good times for sure.
Me. "What's the difference?"
T.C. Carroll "It's the difference between right and wrong!"
Stacy Carroll, post: 397019, member: 150 wrote: ... Dad was unusually hard on me from day one..... Good times for sure.
I never actually worked on a crew with Pops after I became a "real" employee. All of my time with him was on the weekends, And there were a lot of times I remember thinking he was harder on me than others on the crews.
But nobody really ribbed me about being the boss's son. I really think everyone was aware that Pops would probably believe them over me. I probably took some ribbing, but I got kicked around just like every other kid that started on the bottom of the pole.
In later years, after my licensure, I did work with my father on several projects. We always had a mutual respect for each other's work, but could get in some rough and tumble scraps from time to time. Guess a nut doesn't fall far from the tree. 😉
paden cash, post: 397021, member: 20 wrote: I never actually worked on a crew with Pops after I became a "real" employee. All of my time with him was on the weekends, And there were a lot of times I remember thinking he was harder on me than others on the crews.
But nobody really ribbed me about being the boss's son. I really think everyone was aware that Pops would probably believe them over me. I probably took some ribbing, but I got kicked around just like every other kid that started on the bottom of the pole.
In later years, after my licensure, I did work with my father on several projects. We always had a mutual respect for each other's work, but could get in some rough and tumble scraps from time to time. Guess a nut doesn't fall far from the tree. 😉
Our stories are very similar. I used to think Dad just didn't want to be accused of nepotism but as I got older, i could see that he expected more because I was capable of more. God rest his soul, he ran front rod til he was 78 because "that's the business end of the survey"
Me. "What's the difference?"
T.C. Carroll "It's the difference between right and wrong!"
I can honestly say the smartass and $$it talking definitely carried over beyond just a PC, probably one of the biggest reason I enjoyed working under your direction!