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10 Episodes 2022 - 2022
Episode 1
Mon, Oct 17, 2022
We are introduced to the daily adventures and unfortunately some misadventures of Watco, a company that moves cargo from the docks by rail. Not much cargo, only an average 1,400,000,000 tons a year. From automobiles and fuel to windows and wind turbine blades, and everything in between, especially cargo containers.
Episode 2
Mon, Oct 24, 2022
We start off with training with a firefighting training company named Grayback. We see how lines are cut through forested areas to create fire lines and breakpoints, how drones are used and everything else in between that firefighters will encounter.
Episode 3
Mon, Oct 31, 2022
In this episode we are introduced to the ins and outs of how cement and then concrete is made. Most of this episode is showing the viewer what happens when the very heavy duty equipment and facilities cause issues that stop or slow down production. Every step of the way from gathering the materials to combining them to shipping them out on rail is shown in one of 2000 plants in the United States that sends out 5500 tons of cement a day.
Episode 4
Mon, Nov 7, 2022
This episode about the U.S. Army starts off with some statistics: 1.1 million soldiers, 200 installations worldwide, 6,000 tanks, 1,200 helicopters, 500 howitzers and all of the other equipment needed to take decisive action when and where needed. Mike Rowe ends up at Fort Carson at Colorado Springs. Here he sees an exercise that includes ground teams, air, space and cyberspace support. The episode shows various equipment failures from communication, to a howitzer, to the kitchen, to a helicopter. It makes it look like everything the Army has is junk, but it emphasizes the ability of the men and women that have been trained to overcome adversity, resolve the situation and carry on with the mission. End result, mission accomplished.
Episode 5
Mon, Nov 14, 2022
We are with companies Kinder Morgan and contractors LouTex that are putting in natural gas pipelines in western Alabama. The process is for bulldozers to come in and clear the area for the pipe. Then truckloads of pipes are brought in, three at a time, and positioned where they will be placed in the ground. Next, bending crews will bend the pipes to conform to the ground. Lastly, welders will join the pipes before the are lowered into the ditch and buried. To do all of these tasks, a multitude of equipment, general and specialized, will be used.
Episode 6
Mon, Nov 21, 2022
After a brief introduction into what we use copper in and how many pounds of it in an average lifespan, Mike takes us to the Rio Tinto Kennecott copper mine in Utah where they produce over 1,000,000 pounds of copper a day, which has recently been increased to 1,500,000 a day. In this huge mining operation to obtain 10 pounds of copper 2,000 pounds of ore has to be unearthed. In the maintenance facility we get to see how they change a truck tire. Sort of like changing a tire on a car except this tire is twelve feet tall, weighs 20,000 pounds and costs $40,000. Within the "normal" day we are introduced to a myriad of problems that occur, from cleaning copper plates, changing a belt big enough to require ten people to replace and numerous other problems requiring maintenance, general and special. The size of the quarry is so huge that from the top 4,000 feet below to the bottom the gigantic three story tall cranes look minute, while the people look smaller than ants. This operation functions in very large sizes to get very large quantities of copper removed from the earth, separated from other minerals, cleaned, refined and shipped all with precision on a grand scale.
Episode 7
Mon, Nov 28, 2022
Mike talks about America's National Parks that if combined occupy the space equal to the size of Colorado. We get to see the activities at Joshua Tree National Park before the busy tourist season despite stifling triple digit heat and staff shortages. We are introduced to the day to day tasks of the staff from road maintenance to trash collection to rescuing climbers to animal, plant and even insect conservation.
Episode 8
Mon, Dec 5, 2022
America's wheat fields equal the size of the state of Georgia. And in partial consumption of all of this wheat, the average American eats 180 pounds of wheat per year. We see how the people at one mill receives, sorts and processes 1,000,000+ pounds of wheat in a day. And since Mike Rowe is narrating the program operations at the facility do not always run like well oiled machines, and we get an inside view of some of the maintenance required to meet the daily production requirements. But, at day's end the people at this mill accomplish their daily tasks and make sure everything is ready for tomorrow.
Episode 9
Mon, Dec 12, 2022
Episode 10
Mon, Dec 19, 2022