Workers dont know whats being built

I have worked in construction before (my dad owns a plumbing company), and often the workers are only given the prints that deal with their section. Yes, the person who did the bid for the job or job foreman has all the plans, but I think it's reasonable that the workers who are laying the footers may just have a print of where the footers go, what size, etc. I'm not saying that they couldn't get access to the other prints, but they may not be completely readily available at all times.

On Media Day a camera crew from a website was over by the site and interviewed a construction worker about the project. He was more than willing to talk, in fact, he wanted to talk. He didn't seem to know much of anything though. I wish I could find that video somewhere....

cpfanatic2006 said:
guys digging holes and pouring cement dont ahve to know anything as long as they are told what to do...so prove it

I don't have to prove anything to you.

oh im osrry, but do u have a reason to be so upset that i said that they dont know whast going on. you have no idea what they know and dont, so chill.

MichiganStateFan said:

Plus how to they know what type of stuff they need to put down if they don't know what it is? I'm, saying how do they now where to put the supports down, or other stuff down?

Huh?! Michigan fan. (Period)

cpfanatic2006 said:
oh im osrry, but do u have a reason to be so upset that i said that they dont know whast going on. you have no idea what they know and dont, so chill.

THEY ALL KNOW. They sign a confidentiality agreement, they get the plans, they build the ride. Chances are they aren't coaster enthusiasts dying to spread what they know like everyone around here would be. Seriosuly, it would be the biggest inconvenience on the whole project to try and keep what it is away from so many people who could just as easily be on the inside.

I actually stood on a garbage can and peaked over the fence so I could see better. I yelled at some of the workers to tell me what was being built, but they just looked away and seemed kind of annoyed. Guess I would be to if someone was yelling at me during work...Lol.

That is funny. Cause I did the same exact thing. Minus the garbage can, I stood one the backrest of a bench. LOL! And I got the same stupid look. I do not understand why they did not tell me. (Sarcasm), I even waived a crisp, new $1 bill at them.

They get asked all the time. I was in the shuttle last time we were there, and when we passed by it I just casually brought up the subject (so have you been following this, etc) as something to talk about, not prying for information. The shuttle driver sighed and said that he gets asked that every single time he drives by, thousands of times a day.

kylepark said:
I work in construction and find that hard to believe. When a contractor bids on a job, they need to know everything about the project and see all the specs and plans. You just don't agree to do work for something and not know what it is, that doesn't make any sense.

And in this case, the only thing they need to know is that they have to dig some holes and pour some foundations to the specification they're given.

Those guys don't know jack about the ride.

thanks jeff

If nobody knew anything about the ride, then how could you build it?

kylepark said:
If nobody knew anything about the ride, then how could you build it?

Easy, in this case you follow the print that you are given from the manufacturer that only shows the location of each footer from a predetermined reference point, dig a hole in the appropriate dimensions, bulid a rebar lattice if required, erect cement form, add threaded rod stock, fill with cement and finally remove cement form.

Presto changeo you have the beginings of a rollercoaster and you don't even know what the finished product will look like.

kylepark said:
If nobody knew anything about the ride, then how could you build it?

Im sure enough people DO know about the ride, the point is that the guys who are tying rebar and pouring cement more than likely dont. As David said, i could come up to you and hand you a shovel and tell you to dig a hole 3 feet deep and 5 feet wide right on a certain spot, and you could do it and not even have to know what its for. All these guys likely know is where theyre digging holes, where they are putting footers, and how big those footers are. Keep in mind that the same guys who are moving dirt and pouring footers are probably not the same guys who will be erecting steel. Even the guys erecting steel might not know what it is aside from how tall, and what elements. They probably will have nothign to do with the trains themselves so they could know they are building a 450ft coaster with twists n turns n helixes but what they might not know is that the trains will have seats facign backwards. Jobs today in construction are specialized. You have to realize the guys who put the plumbing in a new house are not the same guys who are laying the bricks. They only know what they need to know to get their job done.

kylepark said:
If nobody knew anything about the ride, then how could you build it?

Do you have to know the name, the stats and the color of the ride to dig holes and pour cement?

cpfanatic2006 said:
guys digging holes and pouring cement dont ahve to know anything as long as they are told what to do...so prove it

How do you know? Are you a construction worker? If you are, are you only told of where to pour the cement and where to put supports and stuff, or are you told what it is going to be? If you not then you shouldn't be saying "guys digging holes and pouring cement dont ahve to know anything as long as they are told what to do...so prove it" because I think they might have to to know how much cement need to be poured, or what shape or something it will look like, or what is going to be their so they can get the exact thing right, maybe not though I don't know, I'm not the one to judge. Just don't say you know if you don't know or if your not a construction worker. I can't stand people who do that, and that's a lot of people these days.

They don't know much, if anything about the final product. Go to any big construction site, be it an expressway overpass or a commercial complex. Ask one of the guys digging a hole or assembling a concrete form, and he will likely have little to no idea what the final product will look like. This fact has nothing to do with secrecy at all. Its simple - the people doing the "grunt" work follow instructions, digging here, dumping sand there. Those people are doing their jobs, and typically have little interest in what the actual product will be. So, you can imagine how easy the transition is to a project where they are not supposed to know what they're building. There doesn't need to be much change from a project management standpoint - simply make sure you don't leave the blueprints laying around.

And, yeah, I have worked in construction. I spent 4 summers working for a company in SE MI, which builds bridges, stadiums (we were actually one of the many subcontractors working on Comerica Park) and so forth. And, I spent a year working in Carmel Valley, California as an assistant to a project manager for a large (150,000 acre) residential project.

I hate spewing my resume here, but if that's what it takes to get some sanity around here...

speaking from experiance blue prints are made up of many pages one page will be the footings.... another will be the structure as a whole and several others wll be close ups of the spec'd out tight shot areas, more than likely, the concrete crew were given the footings sections.. it will have the layout.... for sure.. but i doubt it would have the ride.. but on each and every page.. mandated by law there must be a few things.. one is a key the other is the build parameters.. like height and size.. it is in the title box.. i'm sure the concrete guys know something but most assuradly not all.....and also.. when the contractor bid on the price that person or persons would have the privvy details and supplies list deadline times and etc. etc. so he could make an accurate bid. Hope this clears some things up.. I really hate the argueing in here!!

oh and another thing.. the guys driving the concrete trucks.. they probably know nothing.. they would be directed to each pour area from the lead man or foreman..... who would put in the concrete order each day before based on the calculations of what they would have ready for concrete.....so if you asked a concrete truck driver he would really "know nothing" oh and the confidentiality agreement is a FACT that everyman on a given crew will sign.. because in every job trailer there will be a complete set of prints on hand OHIO law for inspectors to check up on and i'm sure building inspectors are there quite often. wish I could tell you how i know all of this but then i'd have to make you all "sleep with the fishes" lol

In My opinion, if they did know, they aren't going to tell the public anyway because like one of you said, they could probably get written up. The same probably applies to any Ride Operator of any ride at Cedar Point. If they said anything, they get in serious trouble.