My daughter's crayon dredge map pointed right to a weak joint

My seven-year-old loves to sketch our equipment, so she drew a detailed picture of the dredge pipeline last Tuesday (with all her colorful crayons, of course). I was admiring it on the kitchen table when I saw she added a squiggly line near one connector, which looked odd since that part should be straight. Out of curiosity, I decided to check the actual pipeline during my next shift, and guess what? There was a small bulge forming in the hose right at that joint. If we hadn't caught it, it could have ruptured and caused a major spill, messing up our whole schedule. It's funny how kids notice things we overlook because we see it every day. Now, I sometimes ask her to draw my gear after school, and it's a neat way to bond over my work. You might try showing your family around the site safely, just to see what they pick up. It could save you a headache down the line.

3 comments

3 Comments

barbara_wright993d ago

Kids and fresh eyes see stuff we're blind to after a while. We get so used to our own spaces and routines that our brains just filter out the small changes. Like, I never notice when a light bulb starts to dim until someone points it out, lol. It's that whole thing where new people spot problems right away because they're not on autopilot. Your story about the dredge map is a perfect example of how valuable that different view can be. Makes me wonder what else we're missing in plain sight.

coleperry8d ago

Totally get that about kids noticing stuff, my niece once pointed out frayed wiring I'd walked past for weeks.

aaron1508d ago

My cousin's four year old spotted a hornet nest under our deck last summer. We'd been out there every day and never looked up. Kids just have a different focus sometimes.

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