truck driver

blaster

crew member

location manager

laborer

Austin Powder

Austin Powder is a good company overall but the location in Tulsa has some serious problems, the main one being an emphasis on profit over a prudent, long term situation.  The trucks and equipment are sorely neglected and not even close to being DOT worthy.  The daily pace and workload almost always involve 12-16 hour days in the field with no priority on vehicle upkeep except when unavoidable and then it's a "patch'em up and get'em back on the road" mentality.  There is no opportunity for management at the local level and middle/upper management is ineffective and, for all practical purposes, non-existent.  Employees are regularly asked to drive vehicle combinations for which they are not licensed and laws which pertain to transporting explosives are not heeded or even noticed.  Worst of all, is an atmosphere of arrogance, disrespect, and, occasionally, verbal abuse, however, the main offenders are essentially bulletproof and immune to disciplinary action.  Consequently, there is a turnover rate of nearly 70% though it may now be higher.  If I considered my CDL and driving record important, it's the last place I'd want to work.  Most people agree - of the three people hired over the five months I spent there, two are gone in addition to the part time clerk/data entry person.  The location is even more woefully understaffed than when I hired on, not so much because of the workload, but mostly due to the bullying tendencies of a couple of untouchables.

I really enjoyed working for them but they rip you off with lunch breaks cause you never get to take them but are expected to be logged on ELD and they do deduct the 30 minutes off your pay even though you didn’t get it. At times it feels as if the Inwood site is treated like a stepchild and less important than others but the manager is very laid back and great to work for and has improved the site exponentially. You do have to be willing to do some mechanic work cause the site does not have one. Safety is a big deal to Austin and it’s employees and is by far the most safety conscious company I have ever ever ever worked for. 

Working for Austin as an Engineer has been a very difficult experience. Austin Powder, does not see the benefits of any type program that would increase efficiency or cut waste. They continue to run their manufacturing business in way that is current with the 1950s.  As Austin continues to move toward a more volatile coal and mining industry, their inability to make strides to update facilities and the constant overspending on new ones will inevitably be their downfall.

My suggestion is to avoid working for Austin Powder as they do not pay any salary personnel at market value, offer no raises (unless the "business is doing well", and in that case could be 1 year or 5 years before you see a raise), and bonuses have no incentive to increase production and profits.

Austin Powder does allow plenty of time to work at your own pace and spend time with family. As there is no accountability or incentive to do better.

Decent place to work for, and mostly good people to work with. There really is no room for advancement with this company. They either hire new people off the street for higher positions, or only friends and family get promoted. The only way to advance is move to a different city or state within the company. 

Pay is decent but insurance is horrible. The insurance gets worse and worse every year. Your pay is always on time without any issues. But they pay you just enough to keep you from quitting and going somewhere else, but not enough to make you happy about working there. 

The people are really great to work with. You have some that are not so great, but you have that everywhere. The worst part about this company is the management. All of them have got their position because of the “buddy system”
Most don’t do their own job. They have the people under them do it for them. If anything does go wrong it’s either swept under the rug, or is blamed on the people under them. Management screams SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY!!! until it’s an inconvenience then it’s expected to do what it takes to get the job done. 

Lets start by saying the get you to take the job for less money than what you wanted and then they work you and work you.  Hire others and pay them more money   They seem  to hire hot heads then after you been there just shy of your 2 years they fire you and take your 401  so beware  of them     They write you up  for going over your hours  They Blame you for what others have done  They treat you like dirt   And the reason you drive so early is to avoid the truck scales   you will never be anything to this Company  I gave them everything I had every days work while other got to pick and choose what truck there were taking and which Quarry they were not going to  its like a daycare center with kids   and the younger hires get there way   If you tell the company you want to be a blaster  they will keep you   You will not become a blaster unless you do it on your own   I when I was hired the people that was there left after 6 months   days are 12-16 hours when they have work  they lost some very big Quarry's they have people's net on the trucks so you are always speeding so the say

Wake up at 3am, arrive at the yard to meet your coworkers who are the most unhappy lot you'll ever encounter.  Obtain your load sheets, lading sheets, msds.  Log in to people net.  Pretrip assigned truck.  Either don ear plugs or prepare to listen to hours upon hours of constant complaints about other coworkers, about how much others hate the job, about how ignorant management is, about how unappreciated employees are, about how underpaid employees are, about everything really.  Report to appropriate loading magazine to pull product, check, double check, triple check for accuracy.  Place proper placard on truck.  Review predetermined route for delays or issues.  Call dispatch with departure time, destination, contents, and placard assignment.   Report to destination and unload.  Return home.   Do everything asked of you while dealing with constant elitist attitudes.  Be treated like a terrorist because you are not related to, friends with, or having relationships with supervisors.  

A typical day at the chico tx yard starts with confusion, bad planning,  and flying by the seed of your pants with little to no leadership with some days working 12+ hours or a very forcefully payed 8.

Learned: most of the skills you will need to learn will be in the field between driver and blasters. 

Management: management  is a joke with no concern or care for the crews. Extremely por management skills and  communication. 

Workplace culture: most blasters ,drives and hands work well with each other, willing to help and achieve the goals of the day.

Hardest part of the job: that would definitely be scheduled, leadership and staying with in the DOT guide line. 

Most enjoyable: the end of the day

If your looking for long hours, hard work, working in all weather elements to make sure you meet that monthly quota this is the for you. Just remember you get paid from the neck down.

Great place to work....Great Pay..... but you make a mistake and cost them money then the attitudes change towards you.  Equipment Fails,  messes happen sometimes.  Then They all tuck and run and find a way to place blame instead of helping to remedy the problem. And generally then the driver is the low man on the totem pole that catches the blame.  The Office is too head strong and the drivers basically fend for themselves.  Great Company to work for until you make a mistake then you're own your own and the play the customer against the driver. (The customer is always right) doesn't always hold true when ..ITS A LIE AND SOMEONES LIVLIEHOOD IS ON THE LINE.

Austin Powder is a full time job that is very demanding career. It has very long hours and hours vary on time you report and time you leave based on work load and customer delivery location and how difficult the blast site goes that day. The work conditions are sometimes hard depending on weather conditions that day. The job pertains to more than just driving a truck its a lot of physical manual labor envolved also plus preventative maintenance on trucks too. Guess in short there really is no one job title to the work because of of all the steps in process. But they have been a good company to me and I have good benefits . I have really enjoyed the guys I have worked with. Its a shame its coming to an end.

Worked with Austin for a year and a half and obtained my blasting license after they told me to get them and I’d get a 3 dollar raise which that never happened. I got the license and they gave me “questions about what to do and not to do” while being the blaster in charge and so I turned them in and they told me whoops those were the wrong ones. Gave me 5 folders with at least 15-20 pages of questions in each and was told to complete them and mail them to corporate and I’d get the other half and finish them and mail them to corporate as well... then I’d get my raise. Honest to god the worst management I’ve ever been apart of. ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE MANAGEMENT.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Truck driver 6 salaries reported	$28.33 per hour
Blaster 5 salaries reported	$84,000 per year
Crew member 21 salaries reported	$20.14 per hour
Location manager 1 salary reported	$80,000 per year
Laborer 2 salaries reported	$21.00 per hour

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