Page 158 - Adobe Photoshop PDF
P. 158
welding training program for Arabs. His abilities had not been utilized
and at this time he was working as a labor foreman over tank cleaning
RSHUDWLRQV LQ WKH UH¿QHU\ , SHUVXDGHG 5XVKPHU WKDW +RGJHV ZDV WKH
man for the job. We promoted Warren to be Training Superintendent and
RXU H൵HFWLYH WUDLQLQJ RI 6DXGL $UDEV WRRN R൵
George Ehrgott was our Safety Engineer. George had been
trained in safety but did not have engineering training or a degree.
George was a big talker but did not really have the respect of the oil
operations and maintenance groups that were our principal activities.
Georges wife was very bright. She taught school in Ras Tanura. We
IRXQG D YHU\ ¿WWLQJ DVVLJQPHQW IRU KLP LQ SXEOLF UHODWLRQV LQ 'KDKUDQ
where he would receive mid-level visitors, arrange their itineraries and
he and his wife would host them at their home for dinner parties. To re-
place him, I selected Al Downing, who was a professional engineer with
D ORW RI ¿UH SUHYHQWLRQ H[SHULHQFH :H SXW $O LQ WKH MRE KH VRRQ KDG D
¿UH WUDLQLQJ JURXQG EXLOW DQG LQ RSHUDWLRQ DQG ZH WUDLQHG RXU YROXQWHHU
¿UHPHQ UHDOLVWLFDOO\ $O ZRQ WKH UHVSHFW RI WKH RSHUDWLQJ RUJDQL]DWLRQV
The maintenance group had come up with all kinds of excuses
IRU QRW ZHDULQJ KDUG KDWV ZKHQ GRLQJ PDMRU UH¿QHU\ PDLQWHQDQFH SUR-
grams. The hard hats were bothersome, hot, and in the way. Unfor-
tunately, the Maintenance Superintendent and General Superintendent
supported these objections. One day a maintenance machinist was hit on
the head by something dropped from above, which caused him to fall
backward into pipelines below. He broke his leg and had internal inju-
ries, but worst of all, he partially scrambled his brains, having no head
protection. It was amazing how the former objections to hard hats disap-
peared and there was a run on hard hats among all the maintenance men.
The Ras Tanura District had had a good safety record before my
time. However, our district now compiled a record of 3 million man-
GD\V ZLWKRXW D VLQJOH ORVW WLPH LQGXVWULDO LQMXU\ ,W ZDV WKH ¿QHVW VDIHW\
record the company had ever achieved at that time. The president of the
American Safety Society came out to Arabia to present an award to our
district.
Al Gleasner was our Superintendant of Wages and Salaries. He
154
