COVID-19: who’s going full doomsday prep on this?

SummitFever

Eats Squid
At the risk of mansplaining...

In answer to your first question? Yes. They do turn into floating bombs. Metal objects when surrounded by salt water tend to rust fairly rapidly when not attended to with constant painting, maintenance, parts replacement and other remedial work. You can imagine how much riskier that gets when said metal objects are filled with explosive gases at incredibly high pressures.

Why is there not enough manpower?
1. The oil and gas industry is an international one. Crews come from all over the world. The bloke whose role I wound up in (after being retrenched from my own full-time position in WA at the start of COVID) was actually based in Malaysia. Some of the key personnel we're missing are based in places as far away as the UK and Canada. Even within Australia, interstate travel has become so complicated and requiring so many exemptions that companies are forced to cut back on the amount of applicants because of the amount of hoops that they are required to jump through

2. Those qualified personnel they have managed to get in as replacements also have to quarantine both on the way into work and on the way out. Depending on location of the site and the home address of the person a 3 - 4 week swing offshore may require as much as 4 weeks in quarantine. That means you have a need for almost twice as many workers as per normal because if one bloke is in quarantine and his back-to-back is on leave, then there's nobody actually on the job site. Unfortunately the availability is more like half.

3. The attrition rate is through the roof. Staff used to 2 - 3 weeks away from home at most are spending up to 8 weeks away every trip and if they're coming from states like WA they've also got the added stress of occasional additional spells in home isolation because their home state has decided to play hard ball because of a single positive case in an area where they may just have transited through.

This has an effect in two ways. First off, People just quit, leaving us even more short-handed. Secondly those of us who are left are seriously mentally fatigued and often burnt out. That's not a recipe for success if you're building scaffolds, performing heavy lifts, operating high-pressure equipment, swinging off ropes etc. etc.

Then you can add in all the supply chain issues that are affecting every industry, constant dicking around with flights and schedules, reduced support from the beach because the engineers and admin people are all working-from-home, and for a lot of staff the stress from partners who are having to raise the kids during lockdown alone for months at a time.

It's an absolute fucking shit-show and the general ignorance of most people as to what's happening not just in my industry, but also all the others that are working to ensure that everyone can keep the lights on and still get their mail order bike parts arriving on time, tends to trigger me.
Thanks for explaining the manpower issue. I feel your pain and frustration. Do you think if they paid more that would solve the manpower issues? There are a variety of critical infrastructure suppliers that have been underspending (and under-preparing) for decades while at the same time handing out healthy dividends to shareholders. Is this maybe profit over people?

Also, do you get paid a hazardous pay loading, do you get paid while you're in quarantine? A close relative works as a casual in healthcare and she doesn't get paid any danger money even though her job has radically changed now that covid is here. She also has had to quarantine by herself on her own dime. No work, no pay.
 

PINT of Stella. mate!

Many, many Scotches
I'm never one to turn down a pay rise but it wouldn't make any difference to the situation. It's the availability of suitably qualified people to make up for the shortfall in workers who are based overseas and to cover for all the time spent in quarantine. A pay hike might attract back some of the people who have jacked it in for mental health reasons but the last people you want to be working with are people who are there essentially under duress.

That said, there is light at the end of the tunnel. VIC and NSWs plans to stop mandatory quarantine for double-vaxxed from November 1st means that I'll probably only have to spend a couple of days in quarantine at the end of this swing instead of two weeks and the company are similarly looking to do away with isolating on the way out to work so that's going to free up a lot of the workforce.

It's not without it's perils however. A positive case getting out to any work site where everyone's working and living in close confines is always going to be a major risk. PCR testing will be obviously be ramped up and there'll no doubt be occasions where work gets stuffed around by a positive case or two but it at least its going to allow us to get back to operating with enough crew to keep on top of the maintenance (and clear 18 months of backlog)

Edit: Oh and as far as our outfit's concerned, quarantine's paid for. Originally they tried dicking us around with half-rates and/or reduced hours but once people started jacking it in, they soon changed their tune.
 
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Flow-Rider

Burner
I'm never one to turn down a pay rise but it wouldn't make any difference to the situation. It's the availability of suitably qualified people to make up for the shortfall in workers who are based overseas and to cover for all the time spent in quarantine. A pay hike might attract back some of the people who have jacked it in for mental health reasons but the last people you want to be working with are people who are there essentially under duress.

That said, there is light at the end of the tunnel. VIC and NSWs plans to stop mandatory quarantine for double-vaxxed from November 1st means that I'll probably only have to spend a couple of days in quarantine at the end of this swing instead of two weeks and the company are similarly looking to do away with isolating on the way out to work so that's going to free up a lot of the workforce.

It's not without it's perils however. A positive case getting out to any work site where everyone's working and living in close confines is always going to be a major risk. PCR testing will be obviously be ramped up and there'll no doubt be occasions where work gets stuffed around by a positive case or two but it at least its going to allow us to get back to operating with enough crew to keep on top of the maintenance (and clear 18 months of backlog)
382032
 

PJO

in me vL comy
Well if SA follows, my Tassie trip is GO !
Latest word is that you will have to show a negative test conducted no more than 72hrs prior to entering Tas.
Here in Tas an asymptomatic test is not covered by the govt. so will have to come out of pocket. A PCR test is $145 with no Medicare reimbursement. Not sure what it is in SA or whether it will apply to travelers from all states.
Might need to factor that into your plans.
The local news is saying that the requirement for a a neg. test might only be for four weeks after Dec15 opening date, but no definites yet.
 

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
Latest word is that you will have to show a negative test conducted no more than 72hrs prior to entering Tas.
Here in Tas an asymptomatic test is not covered by the govt. so will have to come out of pocket. A PCR test is $145 with no Medicare reimbursement. Not sure what it is in SA or whether it will apply to travelers from all states.
Might need to factor that into your plans.
The local news is saying that the requirement for a a neg. test might only be for four weeks after Dec15 opening date, but no definites yet.
The new 15th December announcement doesnt affect me.

Right now, today or on the 13th of December when we travel, I need to have the entry form filled in and drive from a low risk state, directly to the boat only stopping for fuel on the way.

Tassie then lets me in.

On the flip side... on the way home on the 11th Jan, SA will not let me back into my home state because I have driven in Melbourne.

I have been on the phone to Tassie Corona .gov twice now, both times I have been assured that a direct drive from Low-Risk SA to the SOT was acceptable. We will fill up in SA and have booked a cabin and will not be roaming the boat when we board either.

I have been advised (By another traveller) to run a tracking app like ExploreOz or something that records route and timeline.


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tubby74

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Wierd feeling going through sunday night prep for the school week with the big return tomorrow. Of course the big kid has outgrown uniforms which he figured out today after a week of nagging to try.

Not that lockdown was fun but i am going to miss having them around so much.
 
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tubby74

Likes Bikes and Dirt
While taxing, it would have been a good bonding experience, though the social aspect of being at school will be awesome for them.
They're both very excited to get back to see their friends. More so the primary school kid, they have very little direct contact with friends beyond the full class zoom calls. High schooler is on calls and messaging apps all day as they do their classwork but still doesnt cover just hanging out.
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
MTB trails are going to get smashed this weekend in Vic. What's the status for best trail to go to?

  • Lysterfield is still closed from memory
  • Red Hill has had a tonne of rain and will likely be full
  • Seen some FB posts about buxton and could be a big turnout as a begineer/intermediate course

Thinking Lake mtn or harcourt. I don't think I have the skills anymore to ride harcourt without a warmup soemwhere else, been off the mtb for months now.
 

Asininedrivel

caviar connoisseur
Thinking Lake mtn or harcourt. I don't think I have the skills anymore to ride harcourt without a warmup soemwhere else, been off the mtb for months now.
Lake Mountain will likely be very soggy, certainly the upper sections. Imo the three best places in Vic for riding after moderate / heavy rain are probably Harcourt, You Yangs and Red Hill. The former two are nice and open too so will likely dry better, while some of the Red Hill trails are actually better when it's been raining a bit.

Harcourt has a lot of blue trails that aren't too sketchy when ridden at sensible speeds (and that's coming from a total pansy).
 

caad9

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Lake Mountain will be very wet, there's still more rain to come this week.

I'd say Harcourt or You Yangs will be the best bet, although every trail network will be packed to the rafters
 

caad9

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Yeah maybe harcourt sounds liek the way to go. Just last 2 times I was there someone got carried off on circuit 2. It's an easy one but also easy to full send and bin.
I've only ridden Harcourt once, but if Track 2 is the one with the jumps, I can see how that would happen.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
I've only ridden Harcourt once, but if Track 2 is the one with the jumps, I can see how that would happen.
Thats the one. Scared myself once or thrice coming into those jumps a bit hot... (which is anything over lukewarm frankly...).
 
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