The Adventures of Krystal Kid: How confined is your space?

Saturday, May 19, 2007

How confined is your space?

As you may have noticed, I don't write about work on here often. The main reason is this: Krystal Adventures is all about having fun. Much like there is no "I" in "Team" there is no "Fun" in "Work." But I got to thinking the other day that while the topic may not be fun, if the interpretation is, then that is good enough. So with that said..
If you have been watching the news around Macon or reading our local Fish Wrapper You would have seen there's lots of changes happening at Robins Air Force Base. The paint shop got a brand new, huge paint facility that allows them to pain the monster C-5's without removing the wing tips. Yes that's right, the old paint building wasn't wide enough for the whole plane so they would have to remove the wings tips to pain the plane. Why would someone do that?
For starters you have no concept of just how big these planes are until you see them up close and personal. I happen to walk under the wing of one or two every day coming and going to work. It is awe inspiring. Also, a lot of the buildings on base were built during WWII and the cold war. In fact my office used to be a "bed room" for crew members waiting in the "alert center" for the big alarm to go off when they'd run downstairs and hop in a big plane to go fight the cold war. Or something like that.
Due to the age of the buildings they are trying to get them on the national register of historic buildings. Seems like a nice idea. However, ideas like that cause problems. The building is so old the A/C doesn't work right. There is exposed wiring and plumbing all over the building. While it may appear at first I have my own office, I need only point out the half million black mold spores on the A/C vent that I share my office with. (Thankfully they keep the noise down!) And the biggest thing, there is no elevator. My office is on the 3rd floor. All classes are on the 2nd floor. Stairmaster aint got nothing on me. And our disabled students hate it, too.
Why won't the put in an elevator? Its expensive and might somehow damage the chances of getting it on the register. Why won't they fix the AC and wiring and assorted problems? Well you see there is one crowd that wants to knock it down and build a new one. They don't want to invest anything in a building they feel is "doomed." There is another crowd who wants the building preserved, intact. While their goals are opposite directions the result is the same: no way are we getting anything fixed. They were, however, kind enough to buy me 6 (six) standing occilating fans for my class room. Which would help if I had more then 4 working power outlets.
While preparing for a class I will be teaching at some poit in the future, I learned of the Air Force definition of a "confined space:"

A space large enough and configured so a worker can, bodily enter and perform assigned work, has limited or restricted means for entry & exit, and is not designed for continuous human occupancy

The course is mainly a safety class for people who have to climb into tight spaces to do their jobs. But it didn't take long for me to realize, it is applicable everywhere. Suddenly I realized I work in a confined space.
While my classroom has 2 doors out, one is always blocked by a fan, trying desperately to suck cool air in from the hall way. My desk has me wedged in the corner with cables (trip hazards) running out both sides to connect my computer to power, projector, and the network. If I can get out from behind my desk, and avoid tripping, I still must hurdle 2 rows of student desks, and a dangerous occilating fan to escape my room.
Obviously it is not designed for continuous human occupancy, since the temperature stays at roughly 84 degrees during class, with 4 fans running. (Small room, no air, 11 bodies plus 11 computers, adds up quick.) I'll give you the story on how I know the exactly classroom temperature tomorrow. And sadly, no, I didn't use the thermostat on the wall, since there isn't one. Anywhere. The box on the wall that looks like a thermostat has no buttons, dials, or readouts of any kind. It's essentially a large chunk of plastic glued to the wall where a thermostat should go.
I don't mean to say that I am unaccustomed to working in a confined space. Most offices are confined spaces, though rarely are you trapped and dealing with mold spores and toaster oven temperatures.
Heck I once worked at a job where I got moved to a cubicle. That's a fairly confined space. However, since I am roughly 6'2" I could take advantage of "Prarie Dogging to see what was going on around me and get fresh air. If the situation got ugly, I am quite certain I could go over or through those cubicle walls.
So your phrase for the day is this: confined space. Stop by tomorrow and I will give you some suggestions on how to get out of a confined space.
As for today, I believe I will venture down to Krystal, where they put all their burgers in steamy confined spaces. And I will attempt to rescue as many as I can, because I know how it feels. Krystal Lovers like it steamy.