Just airing a little.  I have noticed in prior posts that when a pump itself is in a rollover, accident of some type, damaged, etc. there are numerous replies.

Yet, when one of our community is involved in a senseless accident there was not one reply.  There are two sides to safety - the  operator's responsibility and the company's responsibility.  I have an obligation to my employee that any repairs, maintenance, etc. on his pump is completed immediately and correctly.  And that goes right down to even the small issues such as a tail light - headlight - etc.  It gets reported and fixed immediately.

My company revolves around my operators and their families.  Even though their familes are not on my payroll, they are just as much a part of the team as my employees.  Pumping is a demanding job - and anything I can do to make their job easier, less stressful and make their job safer is also my responsibility.  Having properly maintained equipment is one of those responsibilities. If a pump was found to have an issue that could in any way compromise safety - I would let that pump sit before it will see a jobsite. I have seen pumps on jobsites that have absolutely no business pumping.  Contrary to popular belief, money is not everything.

My operators on my team are not just replacable.  My equipment (as much as we love them also) is just that - equipment that can be replaced - but human lives can not.

Once again, my heart and thoughts go out to those that have recently lost their loved ones.

Deidra

Dear Deidra.

I understand what you are saying, why when its about a pump accident we talk about it but when its about an operator getting killed we are all silent. I would like to answer your post if I may and I hope it makes sense.

When a fellow operator is killed it hurts us all, so much, so deep our collective heads fall, we hold our breath push back the tears.  We hope to have some time alone, a moment to let the tears fall.

I remember when my dad died when I was just 6 years old, why was I not allowed to talk about it, why did nobody answer my questions everyone wanted to act like nothing had happen. Everyone I met I just wanted to tell them My DAD Died but nobody wanted to hear it.

We as humans do not share grief well, nor do we know how to handle others grief. I know way too many men who can not go to a funeral, I being one of them. I remember my dads. Be quite, be a little man, this is not the place. In time most of us find a way to deal with our grief but each time an operator dies from some accident or preventable death everything comes back the sorrow is too great, the loss is compounded our heads drop and its hard to breath and we can not see the computer monitor to type so we don’t. When we lift our heads we push away the thoughts and pain.

With much respect that is the reason I created the memorial page of this site, to honor those who have died in this industry to help us all grieve.

I hope this has answered your question.

Just my 2 cents

I know you guys new the last two guys who passed and I am truly sorry for the loss, we all our. Please do not think that our silence is indifference because it is not. Our Silence is the voice of pain and our inability to express ourselves in a way in which we feel could represent how we feel.

I am a leader .What does that mean? In my eyes it means a person with the ability to lead.To lead you must put your followers in the best position to succeed.As I was growing as a operator I listened to my superiors,as I grew I started realizing some of the so-called leaders at that time didn't have my best interest at heart.By this time I had become a seasoned operator.One day that stands out is a wall job that I went on one afternoon,as I arrived I noticed power lines one every side of the wall which was square.I called my superior and told them they needed a line pump,I was told to get the job done.I thought a minute and called my supervisor,and was told the same so I did it.And you can guess what happened when I swung away from the wall at the end of the day.ZAP! no one was injured and the equipment wasn't hurt ,but from that day on, I make the decision, what I will do and what I want .Now I'm in a position to lead and I lead,not expecting,letting,or asking my operators to do anything they don't feel secure about.Working with them and their families,helping them if they need it,in return I have operators that are loyal to me and the equipment that pays there salaries,in turn I feel like all of my operators are learning by example on how to be a quality leader.

My one and only job responsibility as an owner operator as i see it with my heart, is to take care of my family. How big is your family?

My family includes not only my immediate family, but everyone on the payroll and their immediate family. If I fail, we all fail.

I have never seen the word team spelled with an I, and it starts with ??????????????????

PumperMike: And it is so fun being part of your family. I'm not on their payroll but it's great being part of their family and I'm glad we all found eachother.

Very well said Todd.  My father died when I was 14, never understood it, was totally sorrowful, but nobody ever wanted to talk about it.  Somebody would ask, "so where does your father work", I would reply, "he died", and the silence would be deafening.  Funny how we are, us humans.

hey Derputzmeister  sorry to hear about your dad. we all lose our dads, i dont know how much easer it is to lose them as adults, i am guessing not much but none the less it is hard to take as a kid.