Chris Stobie Recognized as Apprentice Highlight
Published Date – Oct 16, 2015
Buffalo Pipefitter, Chris Stobie is this month’s Apprentice Highlight. Chris is a 2nd year apprentice with Danforth working out of the Local 22. He began his career at Danforth 4 years ago as a metal tradesman before switching to the piping side of the business. Chris has been utilized in both the fabrication shop and on various jobsites around Western New York.
While in the fabrication shop, Chris was exposed to the metal trade. There he worked with journeymen mentors to fabricate rooftop pipe stands and prefabricating duct runs for numerous projects.
Chris is currently working on the University at Buffalo School of Medicine project located in Downtown Buffalo. Chris has been instrumental to this project because of his expertise of embedded hanger layouts. He has shown so much promise in this area that he is training others on the system to be used moving forward at the School of Medicine and on future projects. Chris and his team have completed five floors thus far. The facility boasts 8 stories above ground level and 2 additional stories below. This project is a cornerstone in Buffalo’s future and the Danforth Team is working 11 hour days to see it to completion. Chris has been on the job for just over 5 months and has been involved in several other projects including the Canalside construction, Dupont and Occidental Chemical.
Chris has learned many things during his 4 year career at Danforth. The most important is shop and jobsite safety. Chris takes time every morning to do the company mandated “stretch and flex” warm-up with his team. This activity is designed to loosen up the muscle groups that will be used throughout the day to prevent injury and improve team building on site. Additionally, Chris is mindful of his surroundings to stay safe. He commented, “I’ve always got my eyes open and am aware of what others are doing around me.” This activity keeps both Chris and his team safe by increasing the awareness of the job site at all times.
Looking out for each other in the field is important. Chris is proud of the camaraderie that he and his team have developed over their time together. Everyone works together as a team to achieve a common goal of delivering industry leading quality on the jobsite.
In the future, Chris would like to continue to work on site because he enjoys the variety of work he encounters on a day-to-day basis. As he continues to gain experience, he would like to continue to learn about new systems and methods of installations. Chris’ ultimate goal is to lead a team of his own down the road.
