Last week's blog was received very well so I decided to drop 5 more hacks from my days at the coal mines. I will just carry on with the numbers and someday I will put them all together in one post đ 6. Take someone with you to the field. There are obvious advantages to this i.e. it's safer, logging and sampling goes faster, and you have someone to talk to. But probably the most important reason is to open/close farm gates and scare off sheep and cows. You think those sheep are just chilling there near the gate? No ways, they are waiting for that moment you open the gate and they have their one shot at freedom. You are the only thing standing between them and the life they could be living on the outside. Stay woke. 7. Do a crash course in finance. I can remember the first time I heard the term EBITDA and there were actual cricket noises in my mind. You don't have to go do a BComm, just know the basics so you can at least follow what the financial manager is saying. 8. Be picky about your overall (underground). The ideal overall is one size too big for you and has 2 pockets at the hips, 2 pockets at the knees, 1 pocket at the chest and 1 pocket at yr backside. My colour of choice is the yellow overall. More pockets mean more places to store snacks, tissues and sanitizer. If your overall is too big then you can also put your skaftin (lunchbox) inside your overall. Y'all can thank me later. 9. Attend the morning meeting. If you are working at a mine, there is always a morning meeting for production. This is the meeting where the plan for the day is discussed and any issues arising from the previous shift are reported. This is how you stay on top of things, especially if you are working for a small operation.
10. Get yourself a metre stick. This is a stick that is exactly 1 metre long, preferrable made of pvc or wood (then it would be an actual stick, lol). You then would use this to estimate the depth of the water and/or mud that is obstructing you from doing your job. You can also use it to measure the roof height underground, with a distometer, and water won't be an issue. I spraypainted my metre stick pink and taped it with reflective tape so everyone knew it was mine #NotTodayThieves
That's all from me today, feel free to leave a comment with your own hacks!
Until next time, stay safe!
