Rodney Symmers

I am very competent and safety oriented in all aspects of mining. I've been in Fort McMurray since 2007 and have thrived here over the years gaining endless experience and understanding in how most operations work out here. I can honestly say i really enjoy working here and love the many freedoms this lifestyle brings to us. I always try to remember what a privilege it is to work here. I've made some mistakes in my life and i really enjoy sharing with the younger or newer people how to best navigate and make a positive future for themselves. I always try to encourage fellow workers when the opportunity shows itself

I began working here in April 2008 operating a 40 ton rock truck and from there I began focusing and bigger and better opportunities. I ended up at another company on 930 haul trucks and quickly moved to Komatsu 475 dozers pushing overburden and then cat D11 working overburden dumps. then I got in to projects and started using D10 to take oil waste.

When they recognized I was a competent operator they began putting me on excavators just bulking material and getting it ready for dozers to take trucks. also scratching boxes and really I just loved it. from there I'd go to plants and load trucks with plant reject material. eventually I got opportunities to operate bigger excavators from 1200 up to 2500 loading out waste trucks. I thrived on that because it was so different and I just developed my skills and did the best I could. Eventually I ended up on haul trucks for suncor operating 930 and 980. I got very comfortable on the 980 and ended up working in atonymous at suncor millenium. I loved my job!

Before all that i have experience on bobcat and case skidstear, john deer back hoe, I'm also familiar with any type of construction and i was a welder for 7 years. these experiences make it quite easy for me to recognize possible equipment failures that can happen in the operators world