engineer

geologist

mining engineer

mechanical engineer

senior project engineer

Fortescue

Above industry average in total financial remuneration, unfortunately there are glaring deficiencies in relation to culture, management and leadership, and the general work environment. 

A corrupt and toxic culture of blatant nepotism, backed by an insidious undercurrent of intimidation, harassment and bullying by key personnel in managerial and leadership roles is rampant throughout numerous areas of the Fortescue operation. A well acknowledged and subsequently ignored group of highly positioned personnel (referred to as the purple circle) leverage their positions to promote a working environment that is beneficial only to the few and not the many, often resulting in a fear to speak out and act on overt displays that are counter to the visions and values of the company.  

The work is uninspiring, bland and repetitive. Job enrichment, expansion and opportunity is non-existent, despite requests and actions to "step-up". Empowerment, a value of the organisation, is met with road blocks, ridicule, fear and in some cases bullying. As a organisation it is apparent that it is very much "jobs for the boys".

The onsite crew and management were 5 Star! Work hard, get on with team mates and produce results and rewards will follow. This is until re-structuring comes into play, managed remotely from Perth. Casualties of frictional and economic restructuring result in top performers being terminated, and the mediocre retained. The best guess is that the better performers were deemed more likely to get work after termination, however that is generous speculation. Moving from 8-6 to 2-1 roster was never popular, however what made life unbearable was the fact that 1 person took on more than double the workload, with an extra 7 days on. Although targets are achievable in the short term, fatigue and burn out will occur. For what it's worth, look elsewhere if you want to physically survive to retirement. The workload is too extreme for a sustained period, and until 8-6 returns to FMG, I'm afraid that work stresses will cause both physical and psychological burn out.

A typical day is full of your day to day tasks set out at the start of the day but in true mining style a curve ball would be thrown in that you must manage using time management, problem solving and decision making skills. You learn quickly about all facets of the mining industry as there is a push to all work together and use each department as a resource to get the job done. You're all working towards the same goal. Management know what they do and are a great advisors of their team and work. There is a culture of pushing your boundaries, the value of "stretch targets" rings very true and if you don't hold this yourself you won't be able to keep up! If you are unsure if something can be completed you just manage to go out and do it, plus some. This can be hardest yet the most rewarded part of working at Fortescue Metals Group as its all about your own personal dedication  and responsibility to your job and the company.

1. pre-start meetings, plant running for previous 12 hrs and threats for next 12 hrs. Plan for plant run management for current shift.
brief crew on each section of plant
crew training
oversee control room operations
liaise with production supervisor and/or superintendant
JHA's with crew, review and approval
Isolation Statement creation and implementation
Permit Coordination and approval
Overall plant running and maximisation of throughput
Shift handover

2. managment of the crew
production procedures
plant processes

3. ever-changing

4. differing skillsets and ojectives, same as any industry

5. none

6. Keeping the crew safe, insisting that they step back and identify all hazards and implement all necessary controls before performing a task.
training of the crew

You can manage your day to work from home or the office, it may start at 5.30am or finish at 8.30pm, but is very flexible in between.
I am learning something new everyday as we are involved in new technologies, I am energized to come to work, the work is challenging but the people make it easier, I am meeting loads of great new colleagues and I hope, friends

Best parts of the job were the ambition, purpose, the opportunities to learn (so many world class experts at hand) and resources available.
The worst part was the culture at HQ and quality of hiring (hiring for competence over attitude).
Management was a mixed bag: lots of talent blighted by a lack of cohesion and pockets of toxicity.
HQ workplace culture was generally poor but there were some excellent local workplace cultures in satellite offices.
Hardest part of the job was dealing with people that didn't have the company's best interest at heart.
 


Christmas creek was one of the best sites I have ever worked on. 12hr day of training/assessing was such drama free job. the mining managers were a pleasure to work with and extremely approachable. Any questions asked were answered and help and support was always there. My co-workers were great listeners and learnt from me and became great mates. The hardest part of the job was flying home for days off, could have stayed there 24/7, such a great place. The most enjoyable part of the job was being able to teach indigenous trainees my operating skills and them being so keen to learn something new each day. They would call me up and tell me they found things I had them look for that morning, the willingness to learn was incredible.

My day comprised of supervising and working hand in hand with staff... I had excellent staff..
I learnt from working with FMG commradary between staff, and the ability to pull together when needed...
We all worked hand in hand with supervisors with mutual respect.
The work culture when I began there was ok, however over time the improvement became 100% due pulling together ...
Hardest kart of my job was dealing with new staff and their ability to not turn up for their swing ...
I feel the misconception was, you work for extremely good money, however, do not put in the hard yards... So hence, they would not turn up for their flights back to camp .
Most enjoyable part of the job was the commradary ...

What is the best part of working at the company?
was ok but management are terrible and don’t care about the average worker.
you really are just a number and not a human as far as management are concerned.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
management  , only care about moving tonnes no empathy towards the workers on the ground.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
really bad culture and environment, a lot of upper management who have done all their mining in an office in perth and know nothing about on the ground mining 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
exhausting  and hard work, thirteen hour days and only paid for twelve

Used to be a good job.  They killed it when they changed the roster.  Effectively a massive pro rata pay cut and swapping a good work/life balance to a death grind.  They treat their operators with contempt and condescension.  Difficult to advance in the job or to learn anything new unless you are in the purple circle.  Very demotivating being constantly lied to by dishonest management.  Being assessed on spurious company "values".  

Positives are the people you work with - generally a good bunch of people from a variety of backgrounds.  Very civil and polite working relationships compared to other mine sites I have worked at.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Engineer 5 salaries reported	$132,600 per year
Geologist 3 salaries reported	$145,000 per year
Mining engineer 3 salaries reported	$157,250 per year
Mechanical engineer 4 salaries reported	$151,000 per year
Senior project engineer 3 salaries reported	$188,000 per year

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