I took a new job. I started last Monday.
I'm going to be taking over the surveying for the site in about a month after I learn all the control and requirements. There is about 3-4 years left at this site. It's the Bluestone dam in Hinton, WV.
We are drilling holes in the dam to anchor it into bedrock.
The drill head has a set of lights at the cutting end and we have a camera on the theodolite scope that looks directly down the the shaft and we keep the drill on line by watching the lights and doing minor corrections every 5 feet they drill. We record the error in a field book and realign the drill each time. The drillers are awesome and are usually right on the money. We are going around 200' on a 45å¡ angle with each hole. We are generally correcting only by 10-20 seconds or so if any at all. The set of lights with a center light are LED so very small. We have a special made theodolite with the camera and 40 power scope. It's probably overkill but they wanted the holes as straight as possible. I would have spent more money on a higher quality theodolite but this is what they bought. It's their gun not ours. It's a spectra precision DET-2. 2 second gun that floats like crazy and we have to reset zero every 50 feet or so and I've found it out by up to a minute. But there again overkill.
I'm set up in a man lift to watch make corrections with the theodolite that is mounted about 18 feet off the platform so we can get a direct line of site. Here are a couple pics.
theodolite looking down drill
platform over outlet end of dam. Blue bracing is part of bracket that holds theodolite in place.
I'm enjoying it so far. Not saying it's better than boundary but it is definitely different.
I got this job offer and took it. I'm still wondering why, but I did it. I turned down the job then they just kept offering more and more until I finally said yes. It's still a blur. I went from working when I want to, to working 50 hours a week starting at 7 am each morning. But they moved my family down with me and are taking care of housing and utility bills.
This should have gone under construction. Sorry force of habit to put it in this category.
Takes me back. I lived in Shady Springs the first 6years of my life. We spent every summer camping at bluestone campground. 🙂
What is your first impression of employee vs other?
McCracker, post: 352413, member: 9299 wrote: What is your first impression of employee vs other?
I don't have to worry about anything being an employee. It's all provided to me. I don't even have to worry about how much it cost to heat the home they provided. It's all paid for. No stress. I write down my time in a field book and email a pic of it to my boss each Friday. I get paid the next Monday. I'm salary at 40 hours per week and guaranteed 8 hours pay each day whether I work 8 or none. Plus I get paid overtime for anything over 8 hours in any day. I've never heard of a pay system like this but I like it.
Right now I'm being trained up on the site and will take it over in about a month. Then I will basically be my own boss (since my boss is working in Texas) I will probably never see my boss until next winter around Christmas (unless I really screw up something). So there is less headache so far. I'm still finishing up surveys I started before I took the job but after those I don't know that I want the headache of taking on anymore though I am free to do so as a condition of taking the job. My new boss has zero interest in doing boundary and says I can do as much as I have time for.
I feel a sense of relief from the headaches that come with being self employed.
Sounds like a great gig. Congrats!
I second McCracker, sounds like a great gig. It's beautiful country to boot.
1. The project itself sounds very cool. Your first post is excellent. Please keep these coming. It is our WV version of watching Scott Z on the WTC project (maybe an unfair comparison, but just my dumb thoughts). Any way very cool.
2. On the personal / family side. I am glad to hear that you are off to such a good start. Nice job turning down their offers until they made it hard to keep turning down. Please remember if/when the going gets tough, to check back in with us here. I know from my own experience that such a big change from employer to employee can bring unexpected baggage.
3. Regardless, this is a very exciting new change and I know that you will succeed no matter what happens.
Keep us posted.
John Giles, post: 352415, member: 57 wrote:
Right now I'm being trained up on the site and will take it over in about a month. Then I will basically be my own boss (since my boss is working in Texas) I will probably never see my boss until next winter around Christmas (unless I really screw up something). So there is less headache so far. I'm still finishing up surveys I started before I took the job but after those I don't know that I want the headache of taking on anymore though I am free to do so as a condition of taking the job. My new boss has zero interest in doing boundary and says I can do as much as I have time for.I feel a sense of relief from the headaches that come with being self employed.
A quick internet search produced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Status page. It has been over 15 years since I worked on survey projects of the Huntington District. I doubt if any of my contacts are still there. On second thought it might be better if you just forget I mentioned that.
I'd buy a lottery ticket. 🙂
I have an LS friend in Central Washington who had something similar happen to him back in the eighties. A Canadian Company(s) developed an underground mine in Central Washington and there was some sort of hire local clause, so they hired him as the mine surveyor *even though he'd never set foot in a mine*, with training and an estimated 10 year project lifespan. I too was contacted but have a problem with restricted spaces. He pondered the switch from being Chief of Parties at a local firm, concerns about the unknown and whether he was up to the task, but the compensation package was unreal, he felt more comfortable doing construction than boundary work, and he felt he had to do it for his family.
As the years passed he became one of the happiest LSs I know. Mostly it was the excitement of controlling thousands of tons of above and below ground equipment, state of the art survey gear and techniques, spearheading streamlining the local government paperwork, endless variety, building a dam; a comprehensive drilling exploratory campaign, and ultimately handling EPA reclamation of the entire site. He mentioned dealing with mining engineers instead of civil engineers, developers and architects was a pleasant switch. It was hard work; the light sandstone geography meant drifts progressed at 500' per week, so there was a lot of overtime keeping up. Best thing for him was going home every night to his family 5 miles away, no more week long out of town trips. He retired soon after the mine closed at the ripe age of 52. I assume he's fishing, hunting and grandchildrening now if still alive.
You're gonna love heavy high accuracy construction surveying; great pay, a competent employer who highly values land surveying positioning services and your job ain't going away for at least 4 years. With the skills you'll gain you'll be a marketable asset worldwide and be able to move anywhere (at the new employer's expense) for an even bigger dip into what is really good money and maybe retire sooner than you think.
My hat's off to your sir, a wise career choice move. BTW, requirements that high strength tiebacks (especially 200' into solid rock) be dead bore straight to the end is mission critical; wavy bores stress the cables and grouting system, make installation more difficult and hard to get a solid lock, and badly placed end anchors too close to adjacent ones in a high density array can cause blowouts.
Awesome gig! congrats. But if the gun floats like crazy, how are you adjusting 10-20 seconds?? PS. I know nothing about large construction projects. Just curious.
Andy J, post: 352611, member: 44 wrote: Awesome gig! congrats. But if the gun floats like crazy, how are you adjusting 10-20 seconds?? PS. I know nothing about large construction projects. Just curious.
exactly my thoughts.
We are required by the COE to record every 5 feet to nearest second. We are using a 2 second gun and it's not a high quality gun to boot. We have a target set up that we check into every 50 feet or so and adjust back to zero. So we are good to 2 seconds at least at first. But I've noticed it doesn't hold zero very well. As long as the COE are happy so are we. Keep in mind we can see the entire length of the drill hole to the lights at the end of it and if we were off by much some of the light wouldn't be visible so we are confident our method is working. The entire diameter of the circle of lights is only 2 1/2" with the center light being .005 or smaller. I haven't actually seen it when it's not magnified by 40 so I am guessing it's width. It's a small LED center light we keep on line plus we keep the theodolite adjusted throughout the process. Even with the 'floating' we are drilling a very straight hole. Even if we didn't re-zero the gun (which we do about every 50 feet) we would be within a half inch or so at 200', our target depth, and we have 2 inches that we are allowed
John Giles, post: 352940, member: 57 wrote: exactly my thoughts.
We are required by the COE to record every 5 feet to nearest second. We are using a 2 second gun and it's not a high quality gun to boot. We have a target set up that we check into every 50 feet or so and adjust back to zero. So we are good to 2 seconds at least at first. But I've noticed it doesn't hold zero very well. As long as the COE are happy so are we. Keep in mind we can see the entire length of the drill hole to the lights at the end of it and if we were off by much some of the light wouldn't be visible so we are confident our method is working. The entire diameter of the circle of lights is only 2 1/2" with the center light being .005 or smaller. I haven't actually seen it when it's not magnified by 40 so I am guessing it's width. It's a small LED center light we keep on line plus we keep the theodolite adjusted throughout the process. Even with the 'floating' we are drilling a very straight hole. Even if we didn't re-zero the gun (which we do about every 50 feet) we would be within a half inch or so at 200', our target depth, and we have 2 inches that we are allowed
Very, very cool. Please keep these detailed updates coming.
