I recently found a CWI job on a 56 day shut down at chevron refinery in pascagoula ms with american
inspection services. So i retired from US NAVY civil service QA SUP SHIP GULF COAST at INGALLS SHIPYARD.
I am actually on annual leave until may 1,2008 but had to do this if i wanted the job.
I had 43 years and 3 months and was maxed out on my pension so i decided to use my CWI that i kept
up since 1999.I just renewed my CWI using 80 hours of continuing education.
We spent 3 days and 30 hours[which we were paid for] going to the safety council,site specific,meetings
on site with chevron QA,filling out our paper work, drug test, badges,safety training by CHEVRON,etc.
I thought the ship yard was a dangerous place to work however there are a lot more risks at chevron.One
of the big ones is hydrogen sulfide gas among other hazards.As it turns we will be doing a lot of piping
inspection as well as welding inspection.My lead man for american inspection services is a former INGALLS
QA inspector who knows me well as we worked together on LHDS[about 880 feet long].He has been doing
contract work for over 10 years and has been to ALASKA among other places.
This is a new venture for me and i am going to pay close attention especially on safety to the veterans
on this project that i work with.Any one out there with refinery experience?The coker plant is what we
will be working on.
DON KUMPUNEN
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Congrats Don!! Refineries are a different animal. It is all about safety. WIth your experience I am sure you will be valuable asset. Dont rely solely on the veterans. If you see something out of the ordinary, speak up!! Maybe you can save someone else from being hurt. I am sure that the safety videos enforced the fact that Safety is everyones job. It is about to get real hot in MS so slips are a real hazard especially when climbing through racks or shelves. Tie off 100% when required. Watch out for others. You never know what the guy next to you is thinking or not thinking about. I am sure you will do real well if you take an extra moment and proper precautions.
Sounds Good Don.
Do watch the refineries. Hope it all goes good for you.
Don: I found that the Chevron refinery in Pascagoula was one of the safest places to work as long as you kept your head out of your back pocket. In my days there with the old Longview Insp, Cheveron had us complete a JSA and have an outside operator walkdown the job with us before we were allowed to do anything. That did'nt happen at other places we went during the outage season.
Congrats and good luck!!!!
Regards, Donnie Mann
DKUMPUNEN
Back in 93' I worked on the coker plant Arco refinery Torrance Calif and it was December with record heat of 104 degrees, The plant was running as we were installing catwalk, and what I learned from this ordeal is keep hydrated also good luck!