Showing a rookie the ropes brought back memories of old school dredging

I was training a new operator last month, and he kept staring at the digital readouts. It reminded me of when we used to rely on marked poles and gut instinct to find the channel. Those methods were slower, but you felt more connected to the job, in my opinion. Do any of you folks think the trade has lost something with all the automation, or is it just progress?

3 comments

3 Comments

baker.simon1mo agoTop Commenter

Wait, are we really gonna pretend that getting hurt or killed on the job somehow made you more of a man? I remember a guy on my old crew lost two fingers to a cable snap because we were running on feel instead of proper gear. That kind of stuff isn't a badge of honor, it's just stupid. The new systems let operators focus on the big picture instead of worrying if their depth readings are even close. You can still learn the river, you just aren't gambling with your life every time the tide shifts. If anything, skill means more now because you have to understand what the software is telling you, not just guess.

miles_nguyen304mo ago

I caught a segment on local news about port modernization. The old timers they interviewed all said the new tech makes the job safer but less hands-on. Kinda miss when skill meant more than software.

oscar7024mo ago

Ha, progress is always messy! Those old methods got people hurt and wasted time we can now spend actually getting work done.