Packing Arnott's @ Toll

Last spring I worked in Toll Altona's Arnott's biscuits distribution warehouse. Worked there for 7 weeks in total. I made a few friends, learned a few things and some bux (which I desperately needed for the repairs of my car).



This picture I have drawn was a typical day, with the main stream of boxes traversing the conveyor belt from a high elevation. At the ground level, the boxes are streamed into separate lanes (12 in total), where people like myself pick them, and stack them into forklift pallets for distribution to places like Coles Clayton, Safeway Fountain Gate etc. Any Arnott's biscuits that you can find in a supermarket shelf in Victoria comes from this location. Once the pallet is filled, we use a cling wrap tape to secure the boxes so that they can be transported to the giant cling wrapper for further securing. That basically summarises the job really. However, it was quite a tiring job I must admit. I estimate that I had to bend at least a thousand times a day and some boxes can weigh up to 10 kgs.

I remember this because I for a while then, I lived on the wages this job paid. It gave me something to do and I had a mini sense of security. As opposed to staying at home and composing strange songs, this was something.



This picture above shows lunchtime at Toll. Back facing the foreground is yours truly, on my right would always be Glen (my best buddy there) and facing me on the other side of the table would be Ken. Tugged at the far end, next to the vending machine, would be Johnnie B., who was always a quiet worker. Owing to tight time constraints during lunch time, most of our energy are conserved. Most would keep quiet and gobble down the food as fast as possible and if there was any time leftover, it would be quiet time. Occasionally, there would be some small chatter. Other times we (the regular people on my regular table) are contend listening in to the jokes of other people. Cracky bunch really they were ....

I remember this scene because it was just another day at the workplace, and I remember the feeling of rushing through lunch and watching others do the same. The race to use the microwave first exists and determined how soon you finish your food and how much time you have to rest, even have a little siesta. That, was how I spent my spring 2004 Furdelance.