Days 4 and 5

Hated them too.

Day 4 was unbearably hot in the plant! I drank so much ice water I was almost sick. I swear I was sloshing when I walked. I did get to the flex lab, that I had been ignoring all week. It is about 1/4 the size of the dynamic lab. Yet, it is more dangerous. The aisles are much closer together. Most belts run up and down as opposed to the other lab where they run length wise. This lab is located in a closed hall way between the 1st and 2nd floor. It too is a card access only lab. The biggest difference between the two? There is almost never anybody in there. All belts are on a timer if they should break, so nobody needs to watch them. The timer is so we know how long the belts run before they wear out and burst.

That means, if you get caught in one, there is nobody anywhere near to help. Due to the noise level and the location, it is highly unlikely anybody would hear you if you were to SCREAM! It is air conditioned, but I was sweating big time when I left there. My knees were even a little shaky, if you know what I mean. I think this area should require a "man down" radio. It is a device that sends an alarm somewhere in the plant if a person is not in an upright position after a certain amount of time. I would have requested one from our safety director, but he was out of the plant Thursday and Friday.

I went into day 5 with the intention of doing my job just like the 1st shifters. After all, it was my last day on 1st. The only area I was concerned about was this one lab with no name. I hadn't touched that area yet. Not much there. Big open area, except for the south side. One belt running. One big, long belt. It was between 6 to 8 inches wide. I have no idea how long it was. It was on pulleys up, down, sideways and everywhere in between. Very impressive. Also scary. In the end, I decided not to do it. I would use the old excuses, "honest " mistake, I didn't know where it was or, you mean "that was on my list"?

How do you do your job like a 1st shifter? Well, it means looking real busy for eight hours and doing about four hours of work. I was so exhausted from the effort I couldn't fix supper when I got home. We had to go out to eat.

And that was the highlight of my week !!