Roofing Experience Part I.

I remember that first time going up a ladder to the roof -my hands were cold, my heart was beating fast, my legs were trembling and my whole body and soul was shaking. I was terrified because it was my first time in a construction roofing job! Somehow I kept the 5 points of contact when climbing that ladder -of course, OSHA states 3 points of contact; but due to my circumstances I was more stringent applying this rule to myself.

At that specific moment I did not know anything about OSHA or safety rules!
I wanted a job in order to bring food to the family's table; and when I saw the asphalt fumes going sky high -my new fellow co-workers were working with hot stuff, I kept a 20 Ft. distance from such stuff. I had no idea what the heck was going on. I just knew that I was going to be paid US$40 per day. My new co-workers briefed me about company policies -if you work hard the boss will give you a raise of US$5.00 a day. Another guy told me that if I don't set paper I wouldn't be able to work the 5 days of the week; of course I had to pay back for such wonderful information by helping the paper setter specialist organizing his rolls and being promptly there when he stretched his arm to grab a roll and set it.

This gentleman was my first roofing teacher -Roberto "Chinaman" from Nicaragua. He defended me from the Guatemalan timekeeper oppressor, he introduced me to the foreman in charge Luis Perez -another gentleman from Cuba but tough like a legionnaire. My greatest weakpoint was my English, because many workers considered that I would be able to climb the corporate ladder faster than many of them -the timekeeper ex-Guatemala soldier decided to teach me who was boss there, and he did; once, he hit my chest open-handed and invited me to a gun duel John Wayne/Gary Cooper type of. I was defecating in my pants, and scared to oblivion -but another co-worker friend came to my rescue and talked the would be killer out of the duel -he always had two guns in his pick up truck. That was a close one.

Time to do a root cause analysis...

Marcos Munoz
Outreach Trainer