Work

 We sell a few key equipment and products to the oil & gas drilling contractors, and we started out in a 40-foot container office. When I say "we", I don't mean we as in I have a stake in the business (although it could have been). I say "we" as in I belong to a team that has a boss, a GM, and everyone in between.

Generally, my customers would procure equipment like gate valves to build manifolds for their rigs.
On paper, a manifold looks like this (above & below). High pressure equipments are high in cost & material specs. Most of the time, they also take a long time to be manufactured. Long lead time does not sit well with the project people who always tell me they needed those stuff "yesterday". So juggling customer's expectations takes planning and a lot of energy. I used to say that "urgent" is a vulgar word but now I have learned to manage vulgarity. 

A high pressure gate valve looks like this.

Normally, I would update the OIM (Offshore Installation Manager) as I go along. For instance, he would appreciate it that I let him know my receiving status (I would consolidate and minimize the frequency of delivery because on some rare occasion; partial deliveries get misplaced)

 I would also do Markings on my equipment so that they could be easily identified.
Documents like Certificates are extremely important; they have to be at-hand before the equipment could be installed. Sometimes after five years, my customer will hunt for the certificates especially when they are about to do repairs or upgrades. I have been hunted so many times until I have established my own e-library for the sole purpose of giving my customer this priceless value-add service. For some strange reasons, they could never find the certs when they need them and then they will all panic and accusations will start flying. Although they don't thank me enough, I know that they always heave a big sigh of relief when I tell them I've got the certificates. It's like a father finding his child's lost birth certificate that kind of relief.

 Arranging delivery.

 A dusty & greasy work environment

Sometimes, if the rig is in town, I may go visit it if there're jobs for us.
What you see here are very old, rundown rigs. New rigs look nothing like this. New rigs are very grand and gleaming.

Although I have no engineering or technical background, I am always in awe when I see various equipment on board. It's a joy to see the make-up of such colossal structures and even more so when I could identify some of the equipment we supply. 

The other time, we took back three units of drilling tongs to repair.
After repair, the units look like this-- 

Okay, that's all for today.

Hope you've enjoyed a glimpse of my work life.