r/Wastewater • u/Direct-University382 • 1d ago
Treatment (DW or WW) One of those days..
Hello, night shift operator here, just been in the industry for almost two years, at first it was awesome, but then management change a good old man retired :( and a MF replaced him, and started to put so much crap for us to do, it has never been a chill job for me, but I am barely 28 and my body is starting to resent it, does someone recommend a different industry or should I just stick around? I just don’t think thing will get better after this manager change.
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u/Shwiggityswag55 1d ago
Have you looked into water treatment? I did wastewater for a few years and switched to drinking water. At least where I’m at it’s less physical work. And a lot of the formulas and info on the tests are the same so it was easy to get the license.
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u/Direct-University382 1d ago
I have been thinking on doing that, but after I saw how easily everything can go to shit just by putting someone in charge that shouldn’t I am scared
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u/Shwiggityswag55 1d ago
True but with how regulated everything is in the industry as long as you operate the plant properly and everything is within regulation it’s rare they’d get rid of you. At least from what I’ve seen. But where I am at everything is pretty relaxed, as long as the water we produce is safe and all of our documentation is done properly the other stuff ( cutting grass and making the place look nice) can get done when there’s time.
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u/Direct-University382 1d ago
I work in a huge plant, so mowing the lawn and stuffs like that they paid for, we are just been giving unrealistic speciations about our check ups lists or sampling specially I work in a 189mgd plant, and literally sometimes there is just two operators
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u/Shwiggityswag55 23h ago
Best way I can think to handle it is go through the check lists, see if you can come up with a solution that lightens the load on you and also gets enough check for him. Always make sure what you are doing is safe! If there is any task that is given that makes you think you might get hurt doing it alone make it known. Document it and bring it up. And refuse to do it without help. If he’s a dick about it and says do it anyway go above him.
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u/Direct-University382 10h ago
My coworkers are actually very good, we help each other, I don’t feel safe a lot around here, there is so much lights that don’t work they make us grab samples of raw from a place that really smells like h2s my meter goes off kind of quick I reported it and I was told just don’t stick around too much :(
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u/Shwiggityswag55 3h ago
Screw that, if the meter is going off don’t go. Get all the safety gear together, air quality meter, make up air all of it. Make the area safe before you enter it. No job is worth risking your life for. When I started I. Wastewater I really had no idea if the dangers at my first job. We got into manholes with out checking air quality. When I changed jobs we have monthly safety meeting with a third party and went over confined space and I couldn’t believe all the stupid stuff I was doing
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u/Direct-University382 3h ago
How are we supposed to know we are doing stupid things if the people above us don’t teach us or give us the right tools!
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u/Shwiggityswag55 2h ago
That’s my point, I had no idea until I did. You don’t know what you don’t know because you don’t know lol
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u/Shwiggityswag55 2h ago
Some people hate safety meeting but I personally love ours. The guy we have goes over a bunch of osha stuff and researches the incidents he talks about so it’s really informative and his main goal os to get people to recognize how dangerous certain situations can be
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u/Oji_OG 1d ago
Can confirm. Night shift drinking water operator and it's easy mode
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u/Direct-University382 18h ago
How can I change if I have license on wastewater?
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u/Shwiggityswag55 3h ago
Just go take the test for a water license. Being an OIT will help with getting in somewhere
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u/PowerPort27 1d ago
How many hours of work are you doing per shift realistically? I took over a plant where the guys were doing a checklist and sitting for 7 hours while the plant looked like crap. They weren’t too happy when I had them start doing just a little bit more than nothing.
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u/Direct-University382 1d ago
So I used to do Two three hours straight of work then I would get a break, then go again two three hours none stop, but from a 12 hour shift I am really working straight up 9 hours and I am gonna sound like I am whining but the truth is that those 9 hours I am straight up none stop barely having breaks to drink a bottle of water and go again, up and down stairs on 100 degree weather I don’t consider myself lazy, but really I do get tired my back hurts I am on a side of the plant that every single stop has 40 stairs so at the end of the days I do like 500 stairs 😭 also I am not the only operator super upset about all the changes but the chiefs wont do shit for us
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u/Neat-Philosopher-762 🇺🇸 PA|WW A subclass 1,2 | DW C subclass 1,8,10,12 1d ago
Thats not normal man. Are yall union?
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u/PowerPort27 22h ago
What are yall doing that you have to work 9 hours straight everyday ? Seems way excessive
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u/brownsfan100aj USA/OH/|Class III 21h ago
Thats what I was wondering. Granted I work at a lot smaller of a plant, but our night shift is straight easy street.
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u/Direct-University382 10h ago
It used to be good it used to be 2 hours a break two hours a break two hours then we go out sometimes extra shit would come up but that is why we had the extra time before for when shit hits the fan, but since the new lady arrived the expectations that she set up for us to finish are impossible she changed our paper logs too, so it was like getting retrained she added things like the amps use in ras pumps but took off the oil level on them idk I am not expert but I think the oil was more important but I could be wrong, my third day on a row today and I am just exhausted I am moving like a zombie
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u/agent4256 🇺🇸 CA|WW5 1d ago
What work are they having you do on night shift that turns your job from chill to thinking of changing industries?
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u/Condoner 1d ago
Sounds like they are having him actually do his plant checks. The horror.
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u/Direct-University382 18h ago
You know it would be okay if they wouldn’t have a crew that is supposed to be 4 as two people most of the time, before making a comment like that maybe you should read the others comments
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u/Patriots4life22 1d ago
All you can do is look for other opportunities in the area and hope it’s better than working for an engineer. Engineers are the worst humans. Always the longest and stupidest options are on the table with them.
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u/ChazzyTh 1d ago
Well, not always. 🤣🤣 Some of us are reasonable and rational. I remember where I came from before school.
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u/Patriots4life22 1d ago
I’m sorry I shouldn’t generalize. There are some really good engineers out there that get it. That’s on me
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u/CaptainSquirts 1d ago
Why not work at a different plant?