Do any ROV companies really care about ‘their’ teams ?

[Savante]

‘fraid so. You’ve uncovered my dirty secret. 😆

In the last year I’ve received extensive training in diplomacy. It’s clearly paying off.

[Ewan McKen]

Kinda funny when its the blokes at the coalface who are generating the revenue..

With the Organ Grinder and the Monkey, it is the Monkey that generates the revenue.

[Andy Shiers]

Yes but what came first 😯
The Chicken or the egg 😕

[Cowboy]

I’m not usually one for posting replys, just generally look through the forums buit this one has twanged a raw nerve with me.

I’ve only been in the ROV game for 3 years, but been in the offshore game for 7 tears and consider myself (by other peoples opinions) to be a good hand and certainly a good mechanic.

What my gripe is are the companys sending "supervisors" who don’t know there arse from they’re elbows. Some who left the job 5 or 10 years ago and suddenly have decided to come back but certainly weren’t supervisors when they left. Agency supervisors who are being sent on workclass jobs but have no experience at all of hydraulic vehicles
I’ve been on several jobs where the "super" hasn’t a clue where to start. I’m on a job just now where we have myself, a trainee and the suoervisor. Been having major problems with the sub and I’ve been the mug doing all the work on my shift, having to teach the trainee AND the supervisor how the thing works. If that isn’t bad enough the supervisor has been passing it all off as his own doing and taking the credit for getting the sub from a liability to near as hell 100% (still a few niggles)

I’ve knocked my back in on these types of jobs cos stupidly I have loyalty to the company and my fellow crew members and the appreciation never seems to come forward from the office, if anything it’s the opposite, the scumbags are holding back on promotions.

Am I just being bad tempered or do I have a valid point?

[Micbeth]

You have a valid point.
Unfortunately you are not alone nor is this a new occurrence.

Have patience, if you are good then your reputation will spread, don’t worry about supervisors taking credit for your good work, they get found out when on jobs with other less able people. And when you are a supervisor, you will get certain types complaining about you and saying you don’t do your job, when what you are doing is training them by getting them take responsibility for maintenance or operational tasks. These people also get found out when they are with supervisors who aren’t up to the job.

So take some deep breaths, calm down, and congratulate yourself on a job well done. Learn from the experience and carry it forward with you to your next job.

[Cowboy]

Yeah I guess you’re right. Some day it’ll all come out in the wash. I just hope the trainee doesn’t follow this guys example as at the moment he seems to be his no.1 fan and won’t do sod all I tell him too when the supervisor isn’t around for fear of getting a row when he comes back. Simple things like a full set of deck checks!

The future is bright lol! . . . . . . .

[Mike Kidd]

I think that the problem is not with the quality of supervisors, but the lack of Sub engs, due the rapid growth in the industry in the last 3 years all we get on systems now seems to be a supervisor (who wishes he was still a Sub eng) and inexperienced people who thru no fault of their own are being sent out as Sub engs and trainees, but we seem to drifted of the subject,
Companies will do what ever it takes to get bums on seats and as long as they dont lose the contract, their happy.
How many times do we get our trip extended? No LOI or visa for relief, the box is empty we haven’t got anyone else! etc etc
Last year 203 days far to many, this year probably even more 🙁

[Ewan McKen]

If that isn’t bad enough the supervisor has been passing it all off as his own doing and taking the credit …

and the appreciation never seems to come forward from the office …

You just told us (from the Office point of view) the Supervisor is the Hero.

So why would you expect the Office to send you the extra Jelly Babies?

[Alex Kerr]

[Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem

But we don’t do that anymore!

[Cowboy]

You just told us (from the Office point of view) the Supervisor is the Hero.

So why would you expect the Office to send you the extra Jelly Babies?

Because as I said I’ve knocked my back in on these kinds of jobs before where the supervisor has been unable to help and the reports have gone back to the office prasing the work I’ve done.
According to my companys own criteria I am a sub-eng. Twice I’ve been left to run systems because supervisors have either not come on board or have left without an immediate replacement but it’s not remembered when it comes to promotions. I’m still a pilot tech.

From what I’ve seen recently there are too many people passing themselves off as supervisors when in the real worls they are Pilot Techs and it’s only when things really turn for the worse that their lack of knowledge of what should be considered basic knowledge is actually found out. Of course by then it’s too late.

I’ll be expecting some decent recognition pretty soon otherwise . . . . . well I might just go agency as a supervisor lol!

[Ewan McKen]

Because as I said … the reports have gone back to the office prasing the work I’ve done.

That might be what you meant to say, but what you actually said was:

the supervisor has been passing it all off as his own doing and taking the credit

🙄

[Andy Shiers]

Tea 🙂
I find a good cup of Tea helps to fortify the mind and cope with the days events 😀

[Savante]

Cuppa Tea solves most ails, but also the addage…..

"tis a squeaky sheave that needs greased……….."

have you had an appraisal recently? have you asked for one? Maybe get those who have been claiming glory for your efforts to put in a favourable report about you?? They should be chuffed enough to give you a favourable report if you’ve pulled their nuts out the vice……..

Goodio luckio.

[luckyjim37]

I see what Cowboy is saying. On his current job he is doing the business but on a previous job he got the credit for doing the job well.

Having supervised for a year or so now I see his point. The office I hope know if I say something good about someone they deserve it and if I say nothing then they probably should not be offshore, in my opinion anyway.

Going back to the original point though someone hit the nail on the head with one of the biggest problems. There are trainees and there are supervisors but very few in the middle. This may be due to promotion for retention by companies over the past few years or due to the total lack of investment in people over the last few years. Either way this is probably a bad thing.

There are a lot of supervisors out there who are complete pretenders and like cowboy I have met a few. I am not saying everyone is a complete package but there are a lot of guys who should stay as a sub-eng due to no manmanagement skills or who cannot talk to a client without starting a fight. My favorite supervisor screw up is when they cannot follow basic fault finding techniques and then induce hours of problems for themselves and the other shift.

Companies may or may not give a stuff about the crews but we as an industry need to treat each other with a little respect and work with each other not against each other. Give the trainees a chance they are after all the future and also inform the office when guys do not cut it to improve standards accross the board.

[3_Of_Diamonds]

The last couple of posts are very close to the truth..

There is No meat in the sandwich….

Lots of trainees and newbie ‘supervisors’ but a complete lack of experienced PT’s / Snr Pilot tech ( real ones that can fly.. to quote another BM) Plus the odd old hand holding the job together.

And guess what ? Once again it’s all about pay…. 🙄 yeah I know..

What happens is you get a guy with some experience.. He’s starting to be useful and realises it. Just to flex his muscles he asks for a payrise. The Op’s bloke/HR tart tell’s him no way .. They say there isn’t any room for a payrise.. They don’t want to loose another guy so what do they do….? You guessed it.. The promote him.. So he gets more money and a bit more seniority and stays.. Meanwhile the company is happy cos they have preserved the dayrate at the guys previous level.. The just replace him with another trainee or junior P/T… The rates remain the same..

So what has happened.. The company has a new ‘Supervisor’ or ‘Sub Eng’ They are still paying the same rates and the newly promoted bloke is happy…

Trouble is he isn’t ready for the promotion.. maybe all his experience is on one vessel or on one system.. The moment they send him to a completely different work enviroment there is a chance of problems.. Especially if the rest of the crew is inexperienced too..

Before guys were kept in their level for longer.. They received payrises on merit and weren’t too worried about their title.. After all there was only P/T and Supv ( sub Eng too in some companies) Now there are dozens of levels and it’s cheaper to move a guy up thru the ranks than just give him a pay rise.. This means rates stagnate….

It also means you end up on jobs where every swinging dick is a Supv. or a Supt 🙄 But still can’t fly………… 😆 Or fix anything…

[Author]

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