That time I overheard a foreman say 'good enough' about a weld joint

I was working a shutdown down at the Marathon refinery in Garyville last month, and I heard the foreman tell a helper that a fillet weld was 'good enough' even though the leg length was clearly short. I walked over and checked it myself with my gauge, and it was a good 1/8 inch under spec. I called him out on it and he got all defensive, but the inspector caught it later and made us grind it out and redo it anyway. Has anyone else had a foreman try to slide by with sloppy work like that?

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3 Comments

victorclark3mo ago

Foreman's been doing this long enough to know what'll pass.

4

hugog433mo ago

Yeah, "Foreman's been doing this long enough to know what'll pass" - that's the truth right there. I've seen guys try to cut corners and get away with it for years, but the good ones have that sixth sense for what the inspector's gonna flag. Had a job once where a guy thought he could save time by skipping a few steps on a foundation pour, but the foreman caught it and made him redo it before the inspector even showed up. Saved everyone a headache and a fine. Some people don't get that experience counts for a lot more than just showing up.

4

dakota7873mo ago

Yeah til the inspector shows up and shuts it down anyway.

1