SHIFT STORIES with FOREMAN GÜVEN

ACT 1: SAIM’S FIRST DAY IN THE MINE

Necmi, Mehmet and the foreman Güven, who are all underground mining employees, have established close friendships with each other outside of their business life. In this act, foreman Güven introduces the newcomer Saim to his friends. The good friends who are attached to each other also talk about the memories of their friendships that go back a long way in order to introduce themselves to Saim better. Foreman Güven talks about the process that Necmi went through when he first started working. While talking about Necmi’s adventures during “Orientation Training” in a humorous way in the presence of Ms. Cansu, the occupational safety expert, the importance of “Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)” in the life of a miner employee is also emphasised.

In the interactive section, the audience talks about the importance of PPE, accompanied by the moderator. During the conversation, issues such as the degree of correct use of these equipment in real life, whether employees warn each other when they are misused, and collective protection measures are discussed.

ACT 2: WE ARE A FAMILY

Although Saim is new to his job, he has already started to gain the appreciation of his colleagues and superiors. While the four friends are chatting with each other after the shift, Mehmet mentions a letter that his daughter wrote to him. In the letter, his daughter writes that she is worried about her father and wishes him to come home safely. The aim here is to show that there is a life outside the mines. And it is underlined that the employee must take all occupational health and safety measures. Apart from this, Saim has some questions about the mine supports. These questions are again very important. While foreman Güven answers these questions in an instructive and entertaining way, he also gives information about the solutions to the problems that may be encountered in the mines. In this section, mining life is staged through the perspective of nature.

At the end of the act, the moderator discusses the importance of mine supports, what to do when there is doubt about whether the supports are required in the work area, the importance of mine support control, and whether the concerns of family members have an emotional pressure on mine employees.

ACT 3: I’LL BE FINE!

Saim is newly married and became a father. He shares this news with his friends. Everyone welcomes this news with joy. Upon receiving this news, Güven wants to host Saim at his house. In the evening, Saim goes to the house of foreman Güven. Just as they are about to start dinner, Necmi and Mehmet arrive by surprise. At the dinner, foreman Güven receives a phone call about how there has been an accident in the mine. Mine employee Sezai had a transport accident.

At the end of this episode, the mistakes that caused this accident are discussed by the audience.

ACT 4: THE WORLD OF FOREMAN GUVEN

Foreman Güven is watching TV with his wife and daughter. As foreman Güven, who has spent a pleasant evening with his family, is getting ready to go to his shift, the phone rings. The news arrive by phone that Güven’s mother is ill. Güven is troubled by this unpleasant news and causes an occupational accident in the mine. It is very thought-provoking that even Güven, who is extremely careful and so firmly committed to occupational health and safety, makes this mistake.

At the end of the act, aside from the risks of working while distracted, the emergency plan, who can intervene in the accident, and the controls of the measuring devices are discussed based on the causes of the accident with the contributions of the audience.

ACT 5: DREAMS AND REALITY

An “employee representative” will be elected at the mine workplace. Necmi says that he is the best candidate for this and tries to convince his friends. Foreman Güven informs Necmi about the duties and responsibilities of the employee representative, but Necmi cannot grasp the seriousness of the job. In this act, every mine employee talks about their own mining dream. We watch four different dreams from our protagonists.

At the end of this act, the current OHS law, rights, and duties of the employee representative are discussed with the audience.

ACT 6: THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION

Necmi is at home with his arms bandaged. His friends come to visit and convey their get well soon wishes. Saim explains what happened to Necmi’s wife, as she cannot fully understand the cause of the accident. Despite Saim warning him several times during the shift, Necmi attempts to do something that is not his duty and suffers an electric shock.

At the end of the act, how communication is managed in emergency management, whether there are problems with communication and whether the employees communicate with each other between shifts are discussed with the audience.

ACT 7: OUR PROTAGONISTS VISIT A DOCTOR

Saim is in perfect health compared to Mehmet, who has a hearing loss, Güven, who suffers from low back pain from carrying heavy loads, and Necmi, who has a coughing fit due to dust. This situation confuses Necmi. The answer is easy, Saim takes very good care of himself and does not have any problems.

At the end of the act, the actors talk to the audience about occupational diseases, regular health checks, the importance of cooperation between the occupational physician and the occupational safety expert.

ACT 8: THE WAITING

There has been an accident and Necmi and Saim are waiting to be rescued. Although neither of them show it to each other, they are both in fear. Contrary to his usual behaviour, Necmi is extremely serious this time and he acts like a big brother and looks after Saim, comforts him and gives him hope. Maybe we will see a completely different side of Necmi in this play for the first time. He embraces, protects and watches over his brother Saim… On the other hand, Saim is running out of hope. At that very moment, the voices of the rescue team are heard and for the first time, Necmi pronounces Saim’s name correctly.

At the end of this act, how a rescue team works, who can participate in search and rescue activities, and the importance of keeping the health and safety document up to date are discussed with the audience.