The girls arrived and I was responsible for looking after ten 13-year-old girls, something I thought I was prepared for. But at the end of the day, I realized it was a lot more work than I had anticipated!

We ushered the young ladies through the college on a quick tour of the trades, which included welding, electrical, masonry, carpentry, hairstyling, esthetics and fashion. A lot of the girls were very eager to participate in the hands-on demonstration given by the masonry students. They were able to get their hands dirty (literally) and lay a brick down! I managed to capture a picture of one of the women in the masonry shop instructing a student from our tour group. After the demonstration, a lot of the girls admitted they would love to try that job in the future.

Following a delicious lunch provided by Red River College, we assisted the girls in making some yo-yo’s (designed and manufactured by Red River College students), which to their delight, they got to take home with them.

I gave a quick presentation about what I do for Manitoba Hydro, and was pleased with the feedback I received. A few girls asked some very mature questions, such as, “Do you have problems with sexism at work?” I assured these young workers of the future that many (if not all) of the trades are a safe place where men and women coexist without ANY form of “ism.” I’m really happy I was able to get that point across because I think it is what holds a lot of women back from starting a career in the trades.

I also brought along some of my safety gear for the girls to check out. To my amazement, one of them even wanted to try it on!

All in all, the day was a success. A lot of girls admitted they didn’t know what was out there and that they were very interested in pursuing a trade as a career! I had a lot of fun and would gladly do it all over again.

One of the tickets that I have is my 2″ high pressure pipe ticket. I am required to renew this ticket annually at a local testing centre.

When that time of year rolls around it is definitely quite stressful. I am usually okay until the morning of the test and I get shaky and nervous, which makes it incredibly difficult to weld at the best of your capabilities. This is however a part of being a welder and it eventually gets a little easier each time. All you can do is do your best and stay calm and relaxed.

My last pipe test went very successfully and I took a few pictures of what the test “coupons” look like once they are bent and tested.

Once you have completely finished welding the pipe, it is cooled, divided into four sections and torch cut. Once the sections cool again, you grind off the complete convex shape of the weld so the piece is flat. When they return to room temperature they are then strategically placed in a hydraulic press and bent. If the weld opens up more than 1/8″ it is a fail, if it doesn’t open up or opens less than 1/8″ it is a pass.

A welding ticket is a laminated card that you must keep on you when performing the work. This verifies what you are certified to do. Some procedures may also require you to stamp your “number” that you are issued when you obtain your first high pressure ticket, on the material you just welded, to verify that you, a certified welder, welded it.

I will be bringing my camera to take photos of the experience throughout the day!

Click here for information about the 2012 Young Women’s Conference.

The brushes come from the manufacturer with a bit of an angle on the bottom. The slip rings are round, so we need to sand them to ensure they fit snugly against the surface of the ring. Before the sanding begins, we must inspect the new brushes.

As shown above, the brush on the left has some damage, and it was not used.

This particular unit uses two different styles of brushes. A left-hand side and a right-hand side. As shown below, the copper pigtail protrudes from the left and right sides of the brush. It is important that the correct brushes are used for the right slip ring!

Left side and right side brushes.

It is a lot easier (not to mention quicker) to prepare the brushes using a sanding jig. This way all the brushes can be sanded in the shop, and only minor final touches need to be made when they are installed in the unit. We use a coarse grit first, followed by a fine grit sandpaper. Pictured below is the sanding jig all set up with sandpaper and loaded with a brush.

The sanding jig that is an exact replica of the unit’s slip ring.

A better view of the sanding jig.

The brushes are made of carbon and graphite, and it is very messy work. Gloves are worn to keep your hands clean, safety glasses to keep the dust out of your eyes, and a dust mask is worn to keep the dust from your lungs. We also continually vacuum the dust up to keep the shop nice and clean.

When cars are sent to us from the plant, some fuses are intentionally left out and are up to the technicians to install during a PDI. This is because during shipping, they don’t want any systems such as security, interior/ exterior lighting, horns, entertainment systems, SRS systems and others to have power during shipment. This is because these systems draw power, and a car can be in transport for up to three months if coming from overseas. This is done for safety reasons and to maintain battery power. Also, tire pressures are set high (60psi) at factory, and have to be lowered to specifications (35) to obtain the fuel economy they are rated for. Here in Canada, we face very cold temperatures and need to plug vehicles in to help start them in the cold. Due to low population in comparison to other countries, car companies have very low sales percentages in Canada. As a result, block heaters are something that are not installed at factory; it is up to the dealership that receives the vehicle.

The things mentioned above are a few basic tasks that are to be done during a PDI. The list is quite long. To sum things up, we are looking for anything the factory has missed, failed to tighten or any flaws in workmanship. We are also looking for damage to vehicles’ undercarriage, body (paint, scratches) bent or broken parts that could have happened during shipment. We are to set up, test and make sure every car accessory is operable and that includes a 5-km road test. I just started doing PDI’s the last couple weeks and look forward to each and every one.

As a journeyman, I go on a flat rate pay system. Basically, I get paid by job instead of hourly. Flat rate is the book time that a job such as replacing front struts, for example, should take according to the manufacturer and is what the shop can charge a customer. Front shocks normally would be about 1.3 hours or so to complete. So, I would get paid 1.3 hours to complete the task.

Flat rate can have its advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is that a good technician is quick and can beat the book time in completing the job. For example, if I have done a lot of these struts and know some shortcuts, I get them done in 30 minutes. Even though I did them in 30 minutes, I still get paid 1.3 hours. In an eight-hour workday you can make a lot more, because you could make 12 hours, or 14, or even more in a day. This system allows you to make good money if the shop is busy. A disadvantage is that if I took longer than 1.3 hours, maybe two or three hours to complete the job, I still only get paid 1.3 hours. You can have bad days and in eight hours, you may have only made four hours of pay or less. The book time is also what the shop can charge a customer for labour by law. Shop rate is $105/hr so 1.3 hours is roughly $130.

I had a few problems where the key would not lock or unlock the doors, and in some cases wouldn’t even go into the lock. Turns out we can rebuild and replace tumblers. I took the tumbler apart to find that one little spring was bent, not allowing one of the 12 tumblers to fit the key. I rebuilt the lock by replacing all the tumblers and the key worked perfectly. The tumblers are very tiny I might add. About a centimetre and the springs are about a millimetre or so. It can become frustrating at times but like they say, practice makes perfect.

I apologize that I have not posted anything for quite some time. For 10 weeks, starting in April 2011, I was attending my Power Electrician courses at Red River College. I am proud to announce that I have successfully completed my third level of training! I am scheduled to complete my schooling, which is the fourth level, in April 2012. I am very eager to find out where I will be permanently situated within the trade once I am finished in school.

I am currently stationed at the Pointe du Bois Generating Station, which is situated on the Winnipeg River. It is approximately half an hour east of Lac du Bonnet. The station was established in 1911, and celebrated its centennial year in October 2011. The equipment is old, but is very educational to work with.

Most recently at Manitoba Hydro, I have agreed to join a Women in the Trades mentoring program. I have been paired with another woman in the same field as me, and am acting as a mentor. It is a new experience, and one that I am constantly learning from.

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable holiday, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year! Thanks again for reading.

Again it has been a few months since my last blog but a lot of new and exciting things have occurred in these past months. I have transferred over to our Honda dealership and I have grown stronger as a level 4 technician. I have gained some experience in the hybrid vehicles, wheel alignments, and plenty more. One of the biggest advantages for my move is getting my vehicle safety certification. The dealership signed me up, I challenged the test, did the practical and I am now recognized to perform motor vehicle safeties.

I’m sure most of you know, but when you buy or sell a vehicle it is necessary to get a safety done at a vehicle inspection station (any shop or dealer that is licensed). The safety is required before the buyer can license or put insurance on a vehicle. The safety is a basic check with sections and categories that include inspections of items that allow for safe operation of the vehicle. Some of items we inspect are suspension (bushings, springs, shocks, tie rods, steering system, ball joints etc.), brake components and brake measurements, all lights, and a road test for drive-ability problems. As a technician it is my responsibility to make sure that vehicles are safe to be on our roads.

One method was to use a machine that would detect and beep/light display where a crack or thin area appeared.

The Magnetic Particle Method uses a dust that will gather in a location where a defect could be.

Following the testing the conclusion was that there was no trace of any deformities or cracks in the hub and we could end our repairs for this unit. We decided to throw a coat of paint on the hub to help prevent any more damage from the water once the unit is started up again.