"it" happens.

Back in my (much) younger days, my (former) company had to run a job on some really nice paper.
(I'm a printer.)

When the paper finally came in, the owner and the so-called foreman (he liked his liquor) had gone out to 'drink' lunch, so, I was 'charged' with getting the paper cut and placed beside the press.


Well, I opened the box, and this NASTY looking paper was staring back at me.
Two of the edges looked like they had been cut with a circular saw.

The paper looked like this:




Well, this job was "Rush". It HAD to go.
So, I took the measurements of the paper, and I calculated that I could make the trims and get rid of that trashy looking edges and still have enough paper (with overages) to print/score the invitations.


When the boss (owner) came back to work, he asked if the paper had come in.

"Yessir. I cut it to size and put it on the press table."

He went to get the job started, but, returned to the bindery and asked me where the 'good' paper was.

"On the table, sir!"

Well...... I got my education on "Deckle Edge Paper".




Verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry expensive paper.


The owner of the shop gave me that education, and he also told me that since I was just a "YPK" (young punk kid) he would 'eat' the loss, but, the next time I did it, "I" am paying for it.


With that, he called the paper house, and sent me to NE DC to pick up another case of paper.




As the foreman said, "Just remember, kid. The sun don't shine up one dog's ________ (ahem....... donkey) every day of the week."


By the way. That case of paper was over $500.00!



Yes...... "it" happens.

 

Shoot, you haven't begun to make expensive mistakes until you're running heavy equipment. Especially if you're doing snow removal.

3 gallons of diesel? $500 of paper? You're barely getting warmed up!

Jason

 

Go on.....

 

Jason, $500 worth of paper was FORTUNE, when I was making $1.65 per hour!!!

 

yup. i was only running escort, but the guy driving the low boy decided not to listen to me and chain the D11 cat down, saying "them chains aint gonna hold it on the trailer"
he went around a turn and that 225,000 lb dozer slid off the trailer onto a major roadway closing it down for over 45 minutes until i could get it back onto the trailer.

 

Well, the dump bed cost $5000 to have it welded back on...and I was only making $15/hr (that one wasn't really my fault, though).

The sign pole in a major retailer's lot that I didn't see was worth about $2500 (again, damage to the truck, the pole just popped right out of the pavement).

Those are probably my two biggest. I've killed a couple shopping carts, too--those are worth about $2-300 a pop, but I don't think we ever got charged for those. They push out of the way nicely when you're plowing, up until they catch a curb and flip under your tire.

A D11 sliding off a trailer would be quite a sight! I've had a couple close calls pulling a trailer with a Bobcat on it. One time was when I went into a curve that was tighter than I remembered, so I was going too fast for comfort, another I hadn't adjusted the trailer brakes properly, so I skidded past the intersection where I wanted to turn. There's also some pucker factor when you take a turn into the aforementioned retailer on snowy pavement with that dump truck, trailer and Bobcat, and the truck turns fine, but the trailer decides it wants to continue straight.

Jason

 

at the last job one of the guys was speeding and at the last second he realized he was on his turn. so he made the turn.

forgetting he had the tag-along trailer with a 410 John Deere on the trailer. needless to say, the tandem dump made the turn just fine.
but i had to divert with the 330 cat excavator on the lowboy to put the trailer and machine back on their wheels.
luckily it was a little used road so it was not a big thing to close the intersection for the 2 hours it took me to get there, unload, put the trailer wheels wheels down, then put the 410 wheels down and lift it up onto the trailer to it could be taken back to the shop and replace the crushed cab.
then reload the 330 and finish delivering it to the new jobsite.