I arrive to the reporting office to meet up with my crew. The weather looks beautiful today and I love being outside, but you’ve got to be prepared for the elements in our line of work.

We have an all-employee Toolbox Talk on safety and discuss our agenda for the day. Next, I head out to do a truck check and make sure all the tools are on the truck and it has been inspected.

We head to the job site in the company vehicle. Once we arrive, our Foreman talked us through the Job Hazard Assessmentnalysis (JHA) for the day and our goals we aim to accomplish.

We prep the site for the day’s work, which includes removing the safety protocol from the night before.

I’m trenching by hand with a shovel. It is labor intensive. You have to be hydrated. The first few days I remember feeling some cramps and fatigue while my body adjusted. Now, I’m grateful I get to skip the gym.

We break for lunch and ensure the site is secured safely before we leave. Today, we’re headed out to lunch as a crew, most days we pack lunch and bring it.

We conduct a mid-day JHA repot to notice any new job site hazards. We continue our work for the day. I’m learning from the ground up in the natural gas industry. This has been on-the-job training from day one. Natural gas is unlike any other construction or utility industry.

My foreman confirms I’m scheduled for Locate Training tomorrow. This is something the company invests in me so I can learn to locate utilities ahead of the team trenching and drilling. I’ll learn how to find water lines or previously installed gas lines, sewer lines, power lines and telecommunication lines. This is also a great opportunity to get ready for a promotion down the road.

We finish up on the job site, secure it safely and head back to the main office to close out for the day. Many of our crews are different, but I’m headed home for the day, every day.

Our day begins early meeting up with the crew at our main office and having a Toolbox Talk to cover safety procedures before heading out for the day.

We’re on the job site, where I stay busy. My day will be spent 70% hands on helping the fitter in the hole and 30% on the machine trenching with the excavator or backhoe.

I help the crew members spot the utilities before I start operating to find the 6” plastic main that we’re digging around today.

I realize the hole will need to be deeper than 6 feet, so the foreman calls in a shore box to be put in. Luckily we’re close to the office so a CDL driver is able to bring the shore box out to us quickly and we don’t lose much time. During this time, we’re able to continue locating utilities for other parts of the job.

We inspect the shore box and then it’s installed and we’re back in action.

After lunch, we review the mid-day JHA and I spend the afternoon on the machine. My favorite part of the job is mastering the machine. I love the technicality and being able to work in small spaces. This is true precision digging – moving around utilities such as water lines and fiber optic cables. This level of complexity is not something you get to do in every industry. We like to joke we could pick up an egg with the excavator, and it’s probably true.

We finish up for the day and I ensure all of the equipment is secure before we head back to the office and then home. 

Our day begins early meeting up with the crew at our main office and having a Toolbox Talk to cover safety procedures before they head out for the day.

Today is a little different for me because I’ll be preparing for an OQ or Operator Qualification. I head to the training room to prepare.

Our Safety lead is helping us prepare for these critical examinations that will be in both written and practical form, administered by our gas company customer.

The Training continues after a quick lunch break. My role fusing pipes once the hole has been trenched and safety boxes installed involves connecting pipes at certain intervals. I’ve learned my skills on the job since starting as a laborer two years ago and cross training to be a certified fitter/fuser. Today, I know more than I ever thought I would about electric fusion, socket fusion, and butt fusion since we use more than one method for plastic or steel.

I head home to rest up for the big exam tomorrow. These certifications are critically important to getting the job done and I’m ready to do my best.

I’m kicking off the day helping to lead a Toolbox Talk on a safety topic today. Keeping our crews safe is the most important thing we do every day and I’m happy to contribute lessons learned and bring awareness to important safety-related issues.

I sign off on our crew’s work order for the job site today with the Supervisor d before I leave.

After inspecting the vehicle for the day and filling out my pre-trip inspection book, I drive us to our job site. I take home the company vehicle every day so it’s my responsibility to ensure it’s properly fueled, equipped, and ready for our workday.

Once we arrive onsite, I lead the team through our Job Safety Assessment (JSA). From there we talk through the plan for the day and I delegate parts of the job to the crew members.

Traffic control arrives on the job site and I show them where to set up and go over the JHA to let them know of any hazards they may come across.

I determine if the hole we’re working on needs to be hand dug by a laborer or if the operator can come in with equipment to dig. The operator will come in to help hand dig if needed, one of the things that separates us from road construction crews.

I’m a working foreman, so I help alongside the crew. At the same time, I am responsible for the safety of the public and the crew members, as well as the property of the company so my eyes are always open to anticipate any potential issues.

A large part of my job is coaching and recognizing the team for great work. As a leader, sometimes I have to deliver tough feedback, but I also make sure my team knows when they’re doing a good job. It’s my job to observe team members closely and answer questions as they come up.

After we return from our lunch break we access the job site for any new hazards and do our mid-day JHA.

My supervisor drops in and I present the JHA to him. He checks in with me and then talks to the customer to make sure they are satisfied. He checks to make sure safety measures are in place and will shut down our site if someone is doing something wrong. He’s also the main contact for customer’s coordinator. While he’s there I ask his perspective for an issue we ran into earlier in the day.

The property owner comes out to compliment our crews on their hard work and how clean they’ve kept the job site. Our goal is always to provide the best service, so this makes the crew particularly proud.

I check the job site to ensure it’s secure, sign off on what is left at the location, set out safety cones and caution tape, and make sure our company equipment is back on the truck.

Once we are back at the office, I have 30 min to fill out the daily paperwork. No one would say this job is easy, but I’m proud of the work I do – especially the opportunity to grow a team.