Number One Thousand
I've been prattling away here on this space for four years, Ms J. Almost exactly four years. I've written nine hundred and ninety-nine posts. The one you're about to read is number one thousand. Really!
I went over to the TMC recently (Toronto Maintenance Centre, Ms J. Remember?) and asked for replacements for a couple of keys I’d lost.
All mainline switches have locks on them to prevent vandals, and other thoughtless individuals from turning a switch and causing a high speed train to divert abruptly to another track. It’s happened before and with devastating results: Two engineers were killed a few years ago at Thamesville, near London, when their VIA train suddenly veered off into an industrial spur at ninety-five miles per hour. Some switches now have high security locks instead of the older, lighter style. These new locks are EXTREMELY robust. At CN, I’d be interrogated and berated before being forced to fill out forms in triplicate. In the end, they’d probably have no spare keys to offer me and simply invite me to "do the best you can."
But this is not CN. This is VIA. Here, they provide employees with all necessary tools and always treat people with respect. I took a deep breath and walked in to the office.
“I’ve misplaced a couple of keys,” I explained to my supervisor. “I don’t know what I did with them. They’re around somewhere I’m sure, but I can’t find them.”
“Better fill out an incident report,” he said, pulling a sheet of paper from a file drawer.
“An incident report?” I said. “There was no incident. I just lost my keys. That's all.”
He lowered his head and regarded me over his glasses.
“That’s the incident then, isn’t it? You’ve lost your keys. Write that here at the top, sign it, date it, and take it upstairs. The girl there will get you some new keys.”
I smiled and took the paper from him. He offered me his pen and I wrote:
L-o-s-t k-e-y-s
Then I signed it, dated it, and took it upstairs.
I have new switch keys, Ms J. I like this company. I’m really going to be happy here.
***
Mused by Dale @ 5:26 pm
At 31 August 2008 at 00:31, 
said...
At 5 September 2008 at 17:10, 
Daphne said...
2 Comments:
Hi Dale..it's your other brother dale still at dreaded go transit. Not good here, after almost 33 yrs, just clinging onto a job. I hate these new csa's and cto's at Go...chicken sh.t a..holes and crash test operators, I think they stand for, lol. I'm nervous in the service for the first time in my career, seeing these undertrained operators coming at me at track speed. I won't even comment on the scabs who f..ked us over from our own union or the retirees from via who have helped bombardier stick it to us. I won't even speak to them. I hate my job more and more everyday now. They are everywhere now at work; we are surrounded by smug, young idiots who think they know everything and look down their noses at us old experienced hawgers. You got out at a good time brother, I think that I will try to join you at via if I get the opportunity because I hate it here now and dread the idea of going back to the, what do you call it, the bbrc? Take care ....dale
Good to hear of a company which minimises the bureaucracy. Here in England we do bureaucracy big-time. Shame!
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