FIFO in aus

d.pop

s20101938 wrote: »

dpop,

Who does your job on your week off, and do you have to do someone else's job on their's? Is this a good or bad thing? How do you hack the long days? Productivity goes way down with too much overtime. Is the pace the same on weekends? Are you indoors much? Is their much time spent in meetings? Is it all much the same as back home? Is it boring work?

Depending on your role you would either have a "back to back", i.e a guy who does the same job as you, eg, if you were on a 2/1 swing you would be on opposite shifts so that there is always one of you around and then you also have an overlap of a week, some longer swings such as 4/4 you only meet your opposite number for a few hours or a day to handover. In my own case some of the other guys pick up the slack while i'm away and i do the same for them. If only you can do a particular task then it just has to wait, same as if you're on holidays at home in ireland.
I think the job sharing is a good thing as you get to work across some areas that you might not normally have done.
The days are not much longer than home, while you may be doing a typical 10.5 to 12hr day, there is no travel as such as you are living on the job, if you do have to travel it is part of your work day. At home you live in the midlands, commute 1.5hrs each way to city and do a 9 hour day inbetween then the FIFO hrs are actually better in so far as at least you get paid for every hour.
The hours don't get you it is the consecutive days and maybe also the early starts, by the end of the swing most guys are pretty much ready to sleep for a few days straight or at least stay in bed past 4.30am!!
The pace never lets up, the days of the week don't change the only way you tell days apart is that Friday night is usually fish and chip night while sunday is roast night, if sunday is an RDO then saturday night the place can be a bit livelier than normal as guys have an extra drink or 3, other than that no change.
this can be a bit bizarre as if you are up to your neck in it at 3pm on sunday afternoon and you can't reach anybody back in Perth by email or phone it takes a second for to stop and realise that it is actually a sunday and most people are relaxing at home...
As far as meetings or indoors goes, again totally depends on your role, eg a formwork chippy is going to be outside every day all day with no meetings except a daily pre-start in the site office.
Supervisors (Foremen) spend about 50% of time out on site, remainder doing paperwork, construction managers etc spend 95% of time in office/meetings, Admin girls spend 100% of day in office.
Actually saw for the first time 2 days ago the full force of an irate camp manger in action. Fella had too much to drink and got in arguement with another guy over spilled drink, nothing serious but there was some squaring up. Not enough to lose your job but what they do is take away your accomodation privilages, i.e. take your room off you and tell you there is a seat on next available flight booked for you and car outside to take you to airport if you wish! Technically you still have a job but with nowhere to sleep or eat and 1000km from anywhere you have only one choice. Sacked without being sacked. Tough but would not like to imagine what the camps would be like if fellas could get steamed up and rowdy everynight, would be like wild west.

Slidey

Thanks for the info d.pop.

Had my interview on Friday. Thought it went well enough, wouldn't be quite as experienced with the plant as they probably want but have other factors on my side.

Was told I would be on a 7 day, 7 night roster then home for 6, whats the deal with changing from the night to the day?

You know any mechanics there? Is the work hectic or is it a slow slog through the day?

Is the grub good or just passable?

ellaq

Slidey wrote: »

Thanks for the info d.pop.

Had my interview on Friday. Thought it went well enough, wouldn't be quite as experienced with the plant as they probably want but have other factors on my side.

Was told I would be on a 7 day, 7 night roster then home for 6, whats the deal with changing from the night to the day?

You know any mechanics there? Is the work hectic or is it a slow slog through the day?

Is the grub good or just passable?

On changeover day you basically get 24 hour break. You may finish at 5pm on any given day and start nights at 5pm the next day. Most guys go to the wet mess for a few extra and catch up on sleep and laundry. The only downside is that you may have to do your own laundry.

As a mechanic, if you are not doing service work you are on call. You will have days where you are busy and days where you are not. You will not be 100% productive for the entire shift. There is a fair amount of paperwork involved. There will be lots of safety meetings. You are not allowed touch anything onsite until it is safety checked. Like d.pop said you will most likely get paid door to door. The minesite will be away from the camp so you should get paid for hours worked including travelling.

Everysite is different with regards to food. OH is on a good site at the moment. The food is good and if you don't fancy anything that has been laid out you can get a steak (or 2) or fish freshly cooked to your liking. Breakfast and dinner you eat in the dry mess, lunch you take with you. They don't provide soft drinks. They often do special nights, Irish night, Seafood night, Italian night, etc. where they go all out on the food.

Like d.pop said you don't know what day of the week it is, you just work. The wet mess (pub) is just busier on a Saturday and Sunday morning is also popular if you do nights, they call it Church. But it is purely social drinking. Mess up with your behaviour they will remove your accommodation making it impossible to keep working there. Every company is different, OH company doesn't sack people, they are just moved to a different site. You have to be able to get on with all sorts and take a joke, especially when you first start. Don;t be surprise if you encounter disorganisation when you first start.

If you are doing 2/1 there will be 3 different swing shifts. 5 minute hand over is normal.

someday2010

What happens on Public holiday days, does the site keep on working and pay you extra for the day? For holiday leave in general is it like CIF holidays in Ireland or can you pick when you want to go on leave?

d.pop

someday2010 wrote: »

What happens on Public holiday days, does the site keep on working and pay you extra for the day? For holiday leave in general is it like CIF holidays in Ireland or can you pick when you want to go on leave?

There is no difference between the days, if it's your day to work you work, get paid flat rate, christmas day, new years day, no difference, the mines run 24:7:365. My mate started his job last christmas on the 24th December as a chef on a 3/1 roster, first days work was xmas dinner for 500 guys.
Some construction sites not involved directly with the mine shut down for a week at xmas but other than that you book your holidays to suit yourself as long as your boss approves and cover is available. Most guys like to take a few weeks at xmas if they can manage it. Can work out ok if you work your holidays around your R&R, eg if you work 2/1, you could book 2 weeks off after your R&R so you would have 3 weeks off for the price of 2! or skip a whole roster - take your scheduled roster off, then 2 weeks, then your roster off again and blam 4 weeks off for the price of 2 weeks holidays.
Really there is no set routine but most companies like to lock you in to a roster at start of year so they can book your flights, as long as you give them notice pretty much book holidays as you wish and hope that you get in before your mate does espically around xmas etc.

s20101938

dpop,

you're a Civil Engineer, yes? Can you give us a bit more details about your role, because mining is quite specialised? How long did it take you to get settled in, and how long have you been there now? I've seen some clips on YouTube that give some idea of what its like. Is there any advice you'd have for an engineer?

Thanks

d.pop

s20101938 wrote: »

dpop,

you're a Civil Engineer, yes? Can you give us a bit more details about your role, because mining is quite specialised? How long did it take you to get settled in, and how long have you been there now? I've seen some clips on YouTube that give some idea of what its like. Is there any advice you'd have for an engineer?

Thanks

Can't be giving away all my secrets.....
Basically i work for an EPCM company (Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management), we work for all the major mining companies, BHP, FMG, RIO etc, depending on the job your on you are essentially entrenched within the mine group for the duration of the project.
We don't work with the miners as such, the department i'm in at the moment is within Rio Expansions, basically Rio's geotechs find the ore out in the field and come up with a mine plan, We then go out and build the primary and secondary crushers for them, conveyors, stackers, reclaimers, trian load out, railway lines etc, once built we hand over the shiny new "mine" to the mine ops guys. They then spend the next 30 years trying to break it! Our typical projects take about 3 years and run at about $2billion each, we currently have approx 25 of these projects at various stages across the area.
As an EPCM we have different departments from mech/elec/civil/struct/comms etc and split between design and construction teams.
I'm basically a site civil engineer and spend most of my days checking contractors QA and acting as a liason between the contractor and the design team. Once designed the construction team essentaily become project managers on site and all the guys are supervisors/managers/engineers or superintendents.
It's pretty cool to be honest, espically as a lot of the work involves tie-ins to existing mines.
As far as advice goes it comes down to luck to be honest, apply for jobs with EPCM companies or else contractors working on resource projects. There is a shortage of suitable people at the moment across all disciplines but Permanent Residency is critcal as the cost of getting a guy on site first day is astronomical.

evosteo

d.pop wrote: »

Can't be giving away all my secrets.....
Basically i work for an EPCM company (Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management), we work for all the major mining companies, BHP, FMG, RIO etc, depending on the job your on you are essentially entrenched within the mine group for the duration of the project.
We don't work with the miners as such, the department i'm in at the moment is within Rio Expansions, basically Rio's geotechs find the ore out in the field and come up with a mine plan, We then go out and build the primary and secondary crushers for them, conveyors, stackers, reclaimers, trian load out, railway lines etc, once built we hand over the shiny new "mine" to the mine ops guys. They then spend the next 30 years trying to break it! Our typical projects take about 3 years and run at about $2billion each, we currently have approx 25 of these projects at various stages across the area.
As an EPCM we have different departments from mech/elec/civil/struct/comms etc and split between design and construction teams.
I'm basically a site civil engineer and spend most of my days checking contractors QA and acting as a liason between the contractor and the design team. Once designed the construction team essentaily become project managers on site and all the guys are supervisors/managers/engineers or superintendents.
It's pretty cool to be honest, espically as a lot of the work involves tie-ins to existing mines.
As far as advice goes it comes down to luck to be honest, apply for jobs with EPCM companies or else contractors working on resource projects. There is a shortage of suitable people at the moment across all disciplines but Permanent Residency is critcal as the cost of getting a guy on site first day is astronomical.

i take it that they have no interest in people entering australia on WH visas??? or would they be open to sponsor the right person?

is there a route to take for people on wh visas that you know of d.pop??

d.pop

evosteo wrote: »

i take it that they have no interest in people entering australia on WH visas??? or would they be open to sponsor the right person?

is there a route to take for people on wh visas that you know of d.pop??

Evosteo, don't know what to say to you mate, i don't know of anybody in the company who was sponsored or came in on a WHV. Right or Wrong, EPCM jobs are up there at the top of the pile as the place where all contracting staff want to end up so there is a lot of competion for places, we are looking for a civil supervisor at the moment and of all the cv's i've seen pass through the office (100's) not one person was anything but an aussie or a permanent resident.
To be perfectly honest i reckon the only reason i got in for first interview at all was because a contact in one of the mine groups passed my cv along at just the right time and because my contact was well respected in the industry.
You might be lucky with sponsorship through a contractor but as far as i've seen on other threads on boards, sponsorship generally is no longer as easy as it was.
Don't know if your over here now or back in Ireland but you're best chance of getting sponsorship i reckon is by being here and taking work with a company and then seeing how you go.
I have heard some exploration drilling companies have hired WHV workers as driller offsiders (helpers/labourers) and were quite happy with the guys they had and were offering sponsorship, guess those guys were genuine hardworkers and an asset to the company.

yogimotorsport

Slidey wrote: »

Thanks for the info d.pop.

Had my interview on Friday. Thought it went well enough, wouldn't be quite as experienced with the plant as they probably want but have other factors on my side.

Was told I would be on a 7 day, 7 night roster then home for 6, whats the deal with changing from the night to the day?

You know any mechanics there? Is the work hectic or is it a slow slog through the day?

Is the grub good or just passable?

I know im probably dragging up a month old thread but thought id offer my insight
I work FIFO in the Goldfields doing a 2:1 roster 7 days and 7 nights as a heavy duty fitter,there are somedays when we are flat out 6 to 6 and other days its just routine servicing with the possibility of being called to a breakdown etc.Night shifts are usually easier no big jobs were basically on call in case were needed to make sure gear is kept going a minimum of 23 hours a day but then again we we very busy every night on my last swing!
Food its generally good something for everyone everything is free except beer,chocolate and soft drinks etc

Ian Mac

Any of these places offering Entry Level jobs??

To be honest I don't have much experience in the field , although if there was an opening position I be happy to go for it.

Any advice appreciated

ellaq

The only entry level positions I know of are as driller assistants and servicemen.

As a drillers assistant you need to be fit and able to take crap from the drillers. Some of these jobs are just shocking, you might be living in a tent with very basic camp facilities. My friend is a exploratory driller and he can work in very basic conditions. There is a high turnover of staff and pay is not too great. Therefore it is easier to try to get into this type of role. If you can get into a bigger drilling company as a driller assistant and you are good you can be trained up to be a driller.

As a servicemen you have to have mechanical experience. Basically this is an unqualified position, sort of like a trade assistant but usually with experience. These jobs are harder to get.

jank

Good read this thread. Puts paid to the notion that your average Irish guy can come out on a WHV and be on plane to a mine next day to earn 400k+.

FIFO seems to be hard work, more on the state of your mind than your body. I suppose for a lot of people it is a means to an end, a few years of doing it and you have a house or two paid for...

yogimotorsport

jank wrote: »

Good read this thread. Puts paid to the notion that your average Irish guy can come out on a WHV and be on plane to a mine next day to earn 400k+.

FIFO seems to be hard work, more on the state of your mind than your body. I suppose for a lot of people it is a means to an end, a few years of doing it and you have a house or two paid for...

Its not as easy as people make out,People arnt stupid there are always going to pick a person with relevant qualifications for the job,It is a state of mind you need to try to get on with your work mates concidering the amount of time your going to be spending with them!
This notion that its easy to make $400k a year is nonsence yes there is jobs that pay that degree of wages but thats for highly qualified engineers etc,realistically you are looking at $100k - $120k if even that

Slidey

The position I went for as heavy diesel fitter had wages starting at 115 rising to a ceiling of 145.

I didn't get it though.

jimbojazz

Has anyone on here any info on what these posts are like for Quantity Surveyors - contractor not pqs - they seem to be crying out for these- are they also site based or based in Perth

Myself and one of the lads are getting calls from agencies to apply for these positions - we are still in Ireland - but from reading some of the posts on here they dont really appeal in terms of lifestyle, the tax situation and the lack of a base for the week that you have off especially for when the kids come over for a holiday

Like everyone else here we have to consider making the move but from what I'm reading I'm beginning to think that it mightn't be worth basically giving up your social life

Anyone here any views or experience of working as a QS for the FIFO system

Thanks

ellaq

Some low wages posted here for fitters. I know there is a skill shortgage but I wouldn't want companies to be taking advantage of people with lower wages being offered. I always thought that a base wage of $130k per year was pretty standard for a 2/1 shift with a ceiling going to $160k before you took on extra responsibility. My OH company hasn't the best reputation for wages and yet their starting wage is $128k for people with no mining experience at all. They don't however sponsor people from overseas yet.

My friend who works a 1/1 roster gets $115k per year. He is a HD fitter with only 1 year mining experience and only 2 years out of his apprenticeship as a plant mechanic.

I would be wary of any company offering a low wage on a sponsored visa as you are stuck with them while you may find people around you getting paid more for the same work.

mandrake04

Slidey wrote: »

The position I went for as heavy diesel fitter had wages starting at 115 rising to a ceiling of 145.

I didn't get it though.

If you dont mind me asking did they give a reason? ie. visa etc

Slidey

No reason given. In fact they didn't even get in touch. Thought it was poor enough.

mandrake04

Slidey wrote: »

No reason given. In fact they didn't even get in touch. Thought it was poor enough.

Bad form alright, was it direct with the company or was it an agency you were dealing with?

Bad luck man.

ellaq

Slidey wrote: »

No reason given. In fact they didn't even get in touch. Thought it was poor enough.

Welcome to the word of bad manners, this is pretty standard. But don't be surprised if you get a phonecall in a few months time. But you got this far once and if you really want it then pursue it.

population

Slidey what agency did you use?

Slidey

I applied for job that was in the local paper. Think the crowd that placed the ad were called something like globester recruitment.

population

Have they still not contacted you? Are you still thinking of doing it?

Slidey

In fairness they have been in touch by phone. but it I didn't hear from the company that interviewed me.

the guy from the agency who I was dealin with was to send on details of another job but didn't.