Knife free rig rant, vol. II

Will52100

Will52100

Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Messages
3,824
Well the date has come and gone and now we are suposadly knife free. It wouldn't chap my but so bad but we've got several morons for supervisors that believe everything they read and that corporat tells them and are looking for some one to disipline if they catch them using a knife. The bad thing is they have "alternative cutting devices" placed at several locations on the rig, but haven't issued any out for individual use. I personaly wind up using a knife at the minimum several times a day, at the risk of getting a warning letter, or posibly worse.

I'm curently looking into contacting the president of the company and speaking to him as I have about had it with this nonsence. It may cost me my job, but I can no longer stand by and watch this BS, rules handed down by some one with soft manacured hands that's never done a days work in there life that think they know better what I need than I do. Pissed doesn't even begin to cover my reaction. One of the OIM's stated that all he uses his for is to open snuff cans, well if I was sitting behind a desk all day that's all I'd probably use mine for. The only reason they could give for the policy is that there were 11 knife injuries fleet wide in three years.

If any of you have dealt with big corporate before, I'd apreciate any advise. I don't expect to get any results, but I am sick of someone trying to decide "what's best for me"

Thanks,

Will, aka disgruntaled employee of the month. :mad:
 
It isn't just there Will. I just read the paper and one of the rural counties here just suspended an 8 year old boy for 10 days because his mother packed a butter knife in his lunch so he could spread peanut butter.

On to your situation....your a knife maker. Maybe it's time to invent the "unknife " :cool:
 
Will

I don't know about your company (TransOcean?), but most drilling contractors really frown on someone questioning safety policy (Grey Wolf and Nabors do, anyway). I tried to go through the proper channels to change a stupid safety rule a few years ago with Grey Wolf. I reasoned with the division safety coordinator, who agreed with me to my face and then made me look like a trouble making a ss with the other office people. Fortunately, all I got was a stern reprimand. I saw the same thing happen with Nabors twice before I left them. If you try to confront the problem, do it calmly and try to reason with whoever you go to, and don't expect any results. Insurance premiums have a lot to do with all these stupid rules.

Todd
 
I've been with the company I work for, for over 27 years and I've always carried a knife to work. I work for a major grocery chain and cutting is a big part of my job. They issue a boxcutter, which really is the best tool for what I do but I still take a knife to work especially if I want to see how well they hold up to lengthy cutting. A few years ago upper management came out with a form to sign about carrying weapons to work. Of course the non-knife corporate morons considered a knife a weapon unless it was used as part of your job, so fortunately I do use my knife for various cutting and I can get away with carrying it. But your case doesn't surprise me since we live in a society that doesn't trust anyone. Good luck with your situation.
Scott
 
Don't you guys realize how dangerous knives are? They may be even worse than guns. Your rig sounds like a very safe place to work. I salute them.
 
sharpen your screwdriver. let it go
Arguing with corporate entity is like argueing with a pig.
It wastes your time and annoys the pig

pig-3.jpg
 
Make and present the boss a sweet custom knife, and I'll bet you can carry a sword around with you after that (or you'll get fired)!
 
30 years ago, working derricks for various drilling contractors around the Rocky Mts. I always would make up a couple os "sack knives" and stash them in the mud house and mixing shed. Just ground a point and chisel edge on pieces of flatstock, sometimes cut from angle or channel iron. It saved my good knives for more fun uses.

We always had wheel grinders around, either in the bottom dog house or boiler shed. If things were slow we might have knife throwing contests in the mud shack,sticking them into targets drawn on mud sacks.

I guess times have changed...I never saw OSHA on or anywhere near a rig until the mid-80s.
 
I think hammers and tire irons are underrated you can beat the sheet out of someone with those much better than a knife.

the media is going to sink us all. hey, we all watch the news and we are the ones that cause the ratings, the rating are what they want ,, hint hint..needs to be pasted on..

:confused: do some of the news crews carry Knives??

Will
ask them how many got hurt by a screw driver slipping or how many banged them selves with a hammer in the last three years.?
if they say non tell them I said they are lyres, all of them. :mad:
 
I worked for the Dept. of Defense for over twenty years and they issued pocket knives at the tool crib.
 
If I was out in the mountains and I was in the woods with a bunch of dudes and there was a shack called the "Bottom House" I'm pretty sure I wouldn't go in. Just my 2 cents. ;)
 
If I was out in the mountains and I was in the woods with a bunch of dudes and there was a shack called the "Bottom House" I'm pretty sure I wouldn't go in. Just my 2 cents

Me either....sounds too much like a red light bar. I hope they weren't wearing chaps !!!!!1 :barf: :D :barf: :D :footinmou :D :barf:
 
Thanks guys, I am writting a letter that will be sent to the CEO. Don't worry I will be polite and informative as posible. Trust me it's not easy, I've got a quik temper and low tollerance for BS, but am trying to do the reasearch and gather info. Not that I think it will do any good, but I've got to be able to look myself in the mirror.

We have a "motivational gettogether/BS session" on two of my off days and I will talk with the rig manager then.

If they say no one has been injured with a hammer, I know that's a lie, I've seen several people messed up a lot worse than a nick from a knife.

As for the news, I've gotten to the point I don't even watch it any more. I came in a day or so a go and the news was on about a "special report" on how dangeriouse cheer leading is.

If it does cost me my job, I've been looking for a new one and disatisfied with the current shape of the oilfield, it's getting so a guy can't give an honest days work anymore.
 
I'll tell what it is Will, there are people out there that don't know what it means to WORK for a living. I mean get down and bust your ass, sweating and get alittle dirty kind of working. My job my not be A "profession" stocking shelves at nite in a grocery store, but I've raised a family, own two vehicles, bought a house and started my own business making and selling knives. I've worked six days a week for the last 27 years! And nite work on top of it. How many people could work third shift for that long. Not many, cause I've seen them come and I've seen them go. My job involves very heavy lifting, bending and kneeling. It's taken it's toll on my joints over the years. I'm just sick of the regular worker always getting the sh*t end of the stick, while corporate america keeps getting richer. Sorry for the rant, just frustrated I guess. good luck Will
Scott
 
Not a problem Scott, I'm fed up myself.

here's a copy of the letter I will be sending to the CEO once I polish it up and such.


I beg a moment of your time, my name is William Courtney and I am an employee curently working as a roustabout on the Discovery Spirit. Due to recent events I feel I can not in good consence keep silent and must speak out, though the price be my employment and I do not expect a positive responce.

Recently knives were banned fleet wide, and the only reason given was that in three years eleven people were injured. I would ask how many people were injured using other tools that are necisary to operations such as hammers or screw drivers? I know most people in the office probably do not consider a knife to be an esential tool, however those people are not on the deck doing the physicle work. We had a high ranking supervisior tell us that all he uses his for is to open mail and snuff cans. If I worked in an office all day that's probably all I would use my knife for. As it is I use a knife at minimum several times a day from cutting rope to the plastic covering on pallets to a mirroud of other task. I am not the only who feels that a knife to be an essential piece of equipment, but most have families to support and are affraid to speak out. Nearly everyone that doesn't have an office job are disgusted with the new regulation and are against it.

There have been Craftsman Handy Cuts issued out to be kept at stratigic locations as an alternative. They do work well for rope. However like every alternative cutting device I've used while working for anouther offshore company, they only work well for one specific task and are inadiquit and dangeriouse for other tasks. They are also bulky and if left in the open position are dangerouse and likely to cause an accident. The simple fact of the matter is that there is no cutting impliment that is as versital or safe as a good knife coupled with the knowlege and skill to use it.

One of the most important uses for a knife is an event that you don't or can't plan. I would like to relate such an event that happened while I was in service of our country as a U.S. Marine. While onboard an LHD ship a friend of mine launched as a gunner on board a Huey Hellicoper. Opon takeoff the aircraft lost power and my friend and his crew hit the waters of the Pacific Ocean seventy feet below. My friend was tangled in his harness and was unable to get out and went down with the aircraft. Had he carried a knife he may have been able to cut himself free. He may have drowned anyway, but he would have had a chance. The other crew members were for the most part un-injured.

I have worked on two other rigs before this one while working for Pride. Both rigs were suposadly knife free, but most people carried one anyway simply because they had a need for a knife to do there job. While working on a Pride rig I have personaly seen a tool pusher literaly beg "Doesn't anyone have a knife?" while throughing the safety sissors over the hand rail in disgust. I have also seen uncountable numbers of hook type sack cutters with the plastic hook broken off so that a half inch of razor blade is sticking out just so the deric man could open sacks. I personaly have had to cut tangled tag lines in a hurry least they cause damage or injury to myself or other personelle.

The knife is mankind's oldest tool. It is the tool that makes other tools posible, without the knife we would never have left the caves. Being a tool user is one of the things that seperate us from the animals. Rules such as the anti knife policy are only helping to "dumb down" and take what used to be known as "comon sence" away from people.

Instead of banning a needed tool, what about a training course? I am a part time knife maker and would gladly help to teach knife safety. I have probably destroyed in testing more knives than most people ever own in search of increased performance and safety. A knife while a most useful tool, is liken to a hammer or spinner hawks, in that it requires knowlege of safe operation and proper handling and use. A rig based traing course would likely be much less expensive than buying useless "alternative cutting devises", and would likely be a huge moral boster over having to deal with inefective tools that simply don't work.

It seems that a lot of people who are un-imformed about knives consider them to be weopons. All I can say to that is that anything can be use as a weopon. Cast iron skillets and cresent wrenches can cause as much or more violent injury and on a drilling rig there is always tools or other objects within easy reach for use as a weopon, but the media has chosen the faithful knife as the bad guy. All I wish for is to give an honest days work in return for my pay, but that is becoming increasingly dificult.
 
If your higher ups where you work have any intellegence they will understand where you're coming from. Very well written and diplomaticly presented. I can't see where that letter should cause you any hardship.
Scott
 
Will,
Good letter, but one small piece of advice: run your letter through spell check and then have someone besides yourself proofread it (no one can proofread their own words -- you read what you intended to write). If you want to be taken seriously by the CEO, your presentation must be professional.
 
Bill I'll second Scott's statement that your letter is very diplomatic and non-threatening. I've rubbed too many elbows with corporate types though, and I know that your argument won't persuade any decision makers. Unless you can propose cost savings based on knife carry that exceed any cost savings they may recognize in insurance premiums, they won't have any reason to budge. A significant part of their compensation is profit sharing, and all their decisions will reflect this - the bottom line. There's also a public image aspect to all their thinking though I doubt in this case that's part of it.

Here are some suggestions you might use to offer monetary advantage to knife carry:

Cost of lost time looking for provided cutter
Cost of lost time applying incorrect tool for the cutting job at hand
Cost of treating injuries due to using incorrect tool (give examples how the provided cutter won't be effective and might cause injury) (they are insured for work related injuries on your rig though)
Cost of lost time due to injury caused by using the incorrect tool
Cost of potential for loss of life (example your buddy who drowned) (remember they're insured for this too)

I'll keep thinking about this and add anything else that comes to mind. What you should do to frame these costs in terms that will make sense to them is to estimate the actual annual cost of the time lost due to employees working without the proper tools. Take the minutes, for example, one might spend looking for the provided cutter. Then multiply those minutes by the number of times someone would go looking for it; then multiply those minutes by the average per-minute salary of those who'd be doing the looking. Put this in annual dollar expense terms, and do it for each cost you can come up with.

You need to use statistics and money to convince corporate decision makers of anything. For your estimates to carry any weight they must be credible, so site the sources and methods used to come up with your estimates.

Finally, have someone you trust proofread your letter for accuracy, typographical errors, spelling and sentance structure. Your argument will get more attention if they can't pick nits with it's presentation. Make it as refined as they think they are.

Good luck Will, this burns my ass too - the whole save-a-dollar-today, this-quarter, look-at-my-cost-savings approach to management. It looks nice on paper for managers and investors, but the long term consequences are never realized because managers move from position to position and never have to live with them.
 
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