Kelli28

We're a fifo fam maybe a double act next yr! It's not the best conditions but as far as I'm concerned everyone has a price! I think you have to always remember the reason you took the fifo position in the first place for us it works but I know it doesn't for a lot of families.

scrubbedexpat098

I totally agree, it's still working to a fair degree for us but the end is nigh. We'll have new bathrooms, new kitchen and half off the mortgage, which I'm seeing as a result TBH, specially as my marriage is still intact. I'm working with some guys who've been doing FIFO upwards of 10 years, they're virtually institutionalised. The trick is to know when the personal price is starting to outweigh the financial gain.

The hardest time for me is down time, that's when I start missing home, as I could just as easily be doing sod all there

Ooh and living AND working together??? best of luck with that

verystormy

Have been FIFO for years as it goes with the nature of my role - exploration. Was international from the UK to South America and Asia. Since moving to oz have done everything from 8:6 in WA to 7:1 (weeks) in Africa.

Although I would take a fifo role again - currently unemployed - I am pretty over it. Have seen an awful lot of marriages destroyed by it. A lot of kids go off the rails by one of their parents not being there and a lot of guys lament that they have missed an awful lot of their families key points.

When I was first starting out in my career, I shared an apartment at a site in China with a guy who had spent 20+ years doing it. We were chatting one night and he had a daughter getting close to Uni age. I asked - all enthusiastic as I was in them days - if he was going to encourage her to come into the industry. He turned to me and in perfect seriousness said "he will put her in a short skirt and get her to stand on a street corner before he let her into this game". At the time I thought he was mad. Now, many years later, I know where he was coming from.

The future for me has been decided for me, as no work for what I do. But, to be honest, that is a blessing in some ways.

verystormy

Don't get your hopes to high on mining. As you know, I have been a manager in a number of mines for a long time. I have also been members of the ERT teams and even captained one team. I was also a member of the emergency co-ord team at my last mine. That is the senior managemt team that meets in a crisis to co-ord everything from production to press releases and gives orders to the ERT team in an emergency. There are a number of companies that provide the training in this to managers and that might be a better option for you. It's also great fun - the most realistic and best training I have ever done. If slightly "callus".

Most mines only have one full time member of staff in ERT. The rest are volunteers who give up their free time and some departmental release to be a member. The full time member will normally have a combination of the experience you have along with a number of years mining experience. Usually in the specific mine where they work as knowing the mine intimately is vital. Also, knowing and understanding how mines work very thoroughly is vital. A lot start as site medics.

renth

Thanks for the heads up. I do actually have 6 month experience working on a remote mine site and the mob I'm doing my training with, apparently places you with an employer at the end of it. We'll see though. If it does happen I'll dovetail the first few swings of my new job with 8 day blocks of long service leave from my existing one. So if I can't hack it, no harm done!

My fire brigade buddies who do it are encouraging me to go for it so I'll give it a crack and see what happens!

Kelli28

I have to agree with stormy, the ERT is run by a group of skilled volunteers that also have other jobs within the EOHS teams.

Kelli28

I plan on being the boss at work too!

Poor bloke even I'm starting to feel sorry for him

verystormy

Just be careful and don't put eggs in the basket.

Particularly at the moment as all mines are desperately trying to cut costs - about 30% of oz mines are buring through cash as currently running at loss.

Sadly, one of the areas that is being cut is safety. All mines will deny this, but many are reducing massively budgets for areas such as ERT. I know a number who have scrubbed ERT entirely recently. A very bad decision but the thinking is that they simply have no cash.

There are a lot of technical / academic papers in most mines. These are important as they will detail issues you can take to interview such as geotechnical areas of known instability. Understanding the rock types and the problems they create can be a huge issue - happy for you to pm me on these.

To be honest, there is no way way I would employ someone in an underground mine without a couple of years in that mine as a minimum. Just too many variables that only being in the mine. For example, I worked in a mine that was 1.3km deep. Some areas would, in the event of a fire be fine - no vent cross over. While other areas a team at the bottom could be dead in minutes from a fire at surface. The ERT proffessional needs to be instantly know how the mine will perform in that emergency. The vents, the rescue chambers - which can be moved daily between sites and even the people.

Then the differences in things like gas play a huge part. In coal this can mean not even considering sending a team down. To gold, where it may be fine whee it can be deadly in one part but safe in another. The ERT proffessional needs to know which.

Pollyana

Specially for you Steve......... its gonna get windy....

http://britishexpats.com/forum/flood.../#post11537473

scrubbedexpat098

That's going to mess up my schedule totally, brilliant

Pollyana

LeeWillo

Our mine ERT team is made up of volunteers from the workforce as verystormy has said. It is headed by the client so I don't know if they a full time ERT person, I know they certainly don't have a full time team.

Some of those are made up of part time firefighters who are involved in the Country Fire Service SA.

verystormy

Another mine closed today. Magellan lead mine in WA.

scrubbedexpat098

On the upside..... Rio has seen the last of me for a while worked my bollocks off this swing, onto Roy Hill in a fortnight, home time now

ozzieeagle

Daughters Industrial Electrician Fiancee came back from there recently after helping build the dock... He's on the Ships here in Williamstown at present... Looks like he is going back to WA again. He is trying very hard via his close contacts to get her on the Fifo books with him. Does anyone know of any couples that FIFO together

i've never known anyone change jobs as dramatically yet successfully as my 2nd oldest Daughter. Shes a Fitness instructor this year.